Technical Combat Design Showcase

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Athelgard is a solo 4-week Year 2 university technical vertical slice developed in Unreal Engine 5.6.1. The project serves as a research vessel to explore game feel, architecture, and event-driven AI systems.

This project focuses entirely on Technical Design: the bridge between pure code and creative gameplay. The majority of AI logic is implemented using clean, object-oriented blueprints, without relying on hard-coded dependencies or event tick overhead.

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Core Technical Features

Vector-Based Directional Hit Reactions

Instead of using standard 4-way blend spaces, the system calculates the impact vector in local space relative to the actor's rotation.

• Tech: Inverse Transformation Direction - Quadrant Calculation - Additive Animation.
• Result: The Boss flinches accurately away from the exact point of impact, regardless of his current orientation or movement state.

Tick-Free AI Architecture

The AI utilise a modular perception system that completely eliminates the need for ticking.

• Tech: State-Based Loops that only fire when a target is perceived.
• Optimisation: Reduces idle CPU cost to near 0.00ms when enemies are not in active combat.

Procedural Spawning

Minions do not simply appear; they are physically launched from the terrain using calculated physics impulses.

• Tech: Rotate Vector Around Axis used to calculate central spawn points, then Launch Character & Play Montage.

Diegetic UI & Object Pooling

To maintain performance:

• Performance: Damage numbers and enemy actors utilise a custom object pool system to prevent garbage collection spikes during combat.                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Controls

• WASD: Movement
• Space: Jump
• Left Click: Light Attack
• Right Click: Heavy Attack
• Q: Parry/Block
• F: Heal
• CTRL: Dodge
• O: Options Menu

                                                                                                                                                                                                

 References & Assets

• Technical References: German Lopez Gutierrez (Howl of Iron), Access-Ability (UI Standards).
• Assets: Paragon (Epic Games), Mixamo.
• Development: Developed as a BSc Specialism Module submission.

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Performance

Component	Minimum (1080p @ 30 FPS)	Recommended (1080p @ 60 FPS)
OS	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
Processor	Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600	Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Memory	16 GB RAM	32 GB RAM
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD RX 580 (8GB)	NVIDIA RTX 3060 / AMD RX 6600
DirectX	Version 12	Version 12
Storage	10 GB available space (SSD Required)	10 GB available space (SSD Required)

Note: This build has been profiled and validated on the following configuration:

• Hardware: RTX 4070 Super / Intel Core i9 / 32GB RAM
• Target Frame Rate: Locked 60 FPS (16.6ms Frame Time)

                                                                                                                                                                                                

How to Install & Play

1. Download: Click the Download button below to save the .zip file to your computer (Size: 700~ MB).
2. Extract: Do not run the game directly from the zip file. Right-click the downloaded file and select Extract All to unzip it to a folder of your choice.
3. Play: Open the extracted folder and double-click Aethelgard.exe to start the game.

Note: If Windows Defender SmartScreen prevents the game from starting, click More Info, then click Run Anyway. This happens because it is not a digitally signed commercial application.

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Devlog: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG-kVe8l5I/sYR23pvlry_DgaD5DYL4OQ/edit?utm_content...