finally got the damage popup text to work… was definitely a bit of a struggle. i had to hack together a few different examples i found online and basically get it working my own way.
at the moment it sort of looks like score points rather than damage, but i have begun work on a health system and have already hacked together a small prototype health bar demo scene with a UI slider. i think once i get the health points system fully implemented into the real game, the damage popups will feel better.