Introduction:
The journey with Hive Mind continues, and this time, I’m diving into perfecting the movement and animations of my ants. Adding the low poly ant mesh with 17 premade animations was a big leap forward, but making those animations work correctly has presented some interesting challenges.

Challenges with Animations and Movement
One of the trickiest parts of this stage has been using the animations effectively. Ants in Hive Mind don’t just move forward; they can move backward, sideways, and in combinations like diagonally forward. Ensuring that these directions are represented naturally has pushed me to learn and adapt.

First Time Using Blendspaces
To address this challenge, I’m exploring blend spaces in Unreal Engine for the first time. Blend spaces will allow me to blend animations smoothly between these movement directions, making the ants’ movement look as lifelike as possible.

Testing with Manual Control
Before letting the AI take over, I plan to use a player controller to manually control the ants’ movement. This will help me verify that the animations play correctly, seamlessly transition in all directions, and maintain the right speed. It’s a critical step to ensure that when the AI starts moving the ants autonomously, the movement remains realistic and smooth.

Next Steps: AI-Controlled Movement
Once I’m satisfied with how the animations work under manual control, I’ll integrate AI to manage the ants’ movement randomly. The goal is to check if the animations still look natural when controlled by the game logic. This will be the true test to ensure that Hive Mind feels immersive and believable.

Conclusion:
This stage of development has been both challenging and rewarding. Learning to use blend spaces is adding a new tool to my Unreal Engine skill set and moving Hive Mind one step closer to being a seamless ant colony simulation. As always, I’m eager to see how these changes will enhance the project and bring it to life.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue refining the mechanics and perfecting the details!