It’s been two weeks since my last update, and boy, has it been an interesting journey. In my last update, I created a basic menu in my Pong! game and mentioned I would rebuild it in EGUI to add a settings menu. And that is exactly why these two weeks have been quite the adventure.
Difficulty Levels: The Initial Implementation
The first thing I wanted to add to my settings menu was an option to select the difficulty level of the game. This part was actually pretty straightforward. I added a difficulty Enum in my code which holds the speed that the computer player’s paddle can move. In the settings menu, players can now choose between Easy, Difficult, and Impossible difficulty settings.
The Enum value is added as a resource to the world, which means when moving the computer paddle, I can precisely control how fast it moves. Simple enough, right?
The EGUI Challenges Begin
Here’s where things got complicated. First of all, there’s a total lack of documentation for EGUI. You basically have to work with example code or API documentation. There are no comprehensive guides on how to bring everything together. I’ll admit, I was lucky to have Claude.AI help me read through example code and guide me along the way.
However, the real challenge emerged with the Combobox. To select the difficulty, I used a dropdown – which sounds simple. But making it look nice? That’s where the EGUI challenges truly began.
It’s easy to markup buttons and labels. But the Combobox in EGUI seems to completely ignore all layout and markup components. This makes it nearly impossible to properly outline it in the menu. And unfortunately, due to the lack of documentation, I cannot find a way to solve this problem. Even my usually helpful AI assistant is struggling here.
Looking Ahead
For the next update, hopefully by the end of this week, I aim to:
- Find a solution to the Combobox styling issue
- Add an option to select the keyboard keys players can use to play the game
Conclusion
Game development is never a straight path. These EGUI challenges are just part of the journey. My goal remains the same: to create a functional and enjoyable Pong game, one technical hurdle at a time.
Stay tuned for the next update, where I hope to have conquered these EGUI challenges!
Leave a Reply