What is it? |
JBirdEngine is a collection of C# scripts that I've written for use in multiple Unity3D projects. I'm of the mindset that creating a toolbox is an important step towards increasing the efficiency of future endeavors, so I started compiling a bunch of functions that I usually end up writing (potentially with slight variation) for most of the projects I work on. Most of the classes and methods in JBirdEngine are geared towards ease of use, but some are niche tools I really just wanted to have available for future projects.
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JBird Color LibraryMultiple colleagues of mine have bemoaned the lack of "Color.orange" or "Color.purple" in Unity3D's base Color class implementation, so I saw to it to add those colors myself for debugging purposes. I eventually realized, however, that I could do much more with color if I made a custom class with methods to handle the HSV color format.
With my HSV color implementation, I was easily able to create all sorts of color schemes by simply shifting the hue of a base color by certain preset amounts. Once I made an editor script to act as a wrapper for my color palette implementation, I had the ability to store and edit lists of colors, which is extremely useful for having a global, editable color scheme. |
Other Useful Tools
JBirdEngine contains more than just some fancy color theory tools, though; I've also made an implementation of A* and a companion node interface that minimizes the time it takes to add simple pathfinding to a project. There's also an entire library of methods and properties to make using a hexagonal grid easier. And, on top of that, I've got helper functions that make using enums as flags super easy and efficient, as well as some templated functions for tracking data at runtime.
Everything in JBirdEngine is geared towards making rapid prototyping in Unity3D that much easier. The less time I have to spend coding things I've already coded, the more time I have to learn new things, and the quicker I can grow as a developer. The way I see it, the more depth of knowledge I have about Unity3D, the more I can apply to other game engines when it comes time to use something else; and, as an added bonus, having JBirdEngine allows me to focus more on the other sides of game design, while still bringing all of my programming skills to the table as part of a team, and then some.
Everything in JBirdEngine is geared towards making rapid prototyping in Unity3D that much easier. The less time I have to spend coding things I've already coded, the more time I have to learn new things, and the quicker I can grow as a developer. The way I see it, the more depth of knowledge I have about Unity3D, the more I can apply to other game engines when it comes time to use something else; and, as an added bonus, having JBirdEngine allows me to focus more on the other sides of game design, while still bringing all of my programming skills to the table as part of a team, and then some.
Want to check out JBirdEngine yourself? |
Updates are still being made, so check back often for new stuff!
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