Nathaniel Power

In grade 11, having just finished my first computer science class, I found myself wanting to explore the topic further, outside class. Being already comfortable with it, I found myself opening Roblox Studio and creating a new project, which would be the culmination of my knowledge in computer science at the time.

SABOT is a project where I am able to test my knowledge and apply it in a way where I can combine my two interests: coding and history. Along with this, the project pushed me to develop my skills in multiple areas. Most, if not all of the game assets were created by me. Models and animations were done by myself using the tools Roblox Studio had to offer along with third-party software such as Blender.

Throughout the development of SABOT, I have accomplished many things that I would have previously thought impossible for someone of my skill level. Autonomous navigation, AI vehicle behaviour, an in-depth ballistics simulator that calculated projectile motion and impact physics in real time, advanced movement and vehicle interaction systems, and so on. When I first started SABOT, I wouldn't have thought I could accomplish such things. Looking back at the project, it's clear how much I've grown since I first started over a year ago.

While work continued on SABOT, I found myself feeling limited by the boundaries of the Roblox engine. Along with this, as SABOT grew larger in size and complexity, I found myself becoming more wary of Roblox Studio. Due to being based off the Roblox platform, much of the project was built off of pre-existing systems that were built into Roblox Studio. However, my major concern was the fact that Roblox Studio, and by extension, anything made using it, was essentially under the control of Roblox. Assets are moderated, and projects are reliant on you being able to access your Roblox account. If for whatever reason you were hacked, banned, or the Roblox servers went down, your work would go with it. I wanted more freedom, a bigger challenge for myself where I can put to use all the things I have learned with a tool that offers greater control over the project.

I found myself gravitating to Godot. It's a capable game engine that many games I know utilize, however its main attraction is that it's open source. This means that while some software come as-is, Godot allows anyone to modify it to suit their needs. Godot also provides .NET support, which lets me code in C#.