Day 7 of Building Last Nexus: A Solo Sci-Fi Horde Wave Defense Game in UE5

This week, I made significant progress by making everything data-driven. 

Spawn rates, damage values, and AI speeds are all now stored in data tables, stopping any hardcoding. 

This change allows me to rebalance the entire game in seconds without modifying blueprint logic, which is crucial for me as a 3rd-year uni student. Iteration speed is key.

I also implemented a priority system for the AI. 

This may be a small change, but it represents a major design decision: if players choose to hide, enemies will stop targeting them and instead swarm the Nexus. 

This mechanic encourages players to engage actively rather than exploit defensive corners.

Additionally, health bars are now functional, and a basic combo system has been integrated. 

The core loop, where enemies spawn, the player defends, and the cycle repeats, is finally becoming a reality rather than just a concept. 

While the visuals are still very much in the prototype stage, the foundational elements )code) are stable enough for continued development.

I built data-driven AI for my solo sci-fi horde game - hide from enemies and they ignore you and rush the objective instead