Freerunners Flow Update | Camera Rework & Gameplay Improvements
Hi all, First off, big thanks to everyone who has bought the game or taken the time to share feedback . It’s been really great (and very useful) seeing and hearing your thoughts. Originally, I planned for the first patch to focus on fixing a few smaller bugs I noticed during my o
Hi all,
First off, big thanks to everyone who has bought the game or taken the time to share feedback. It’s been really great (and very useful) seeing and hearing your thoughts.
Originally, I planned for the first patch to focus on fixing a few smaller bugs I noticed during my own playthroughs. But after watching people play and reading feedback, I decided to dig deeper and address some bigger things as well.
This patch is live now, so the next time you play you’ll get all these improvements.
Biggest Changes:
Camera Rework
The camera previously followed the character’s pelvis bone, which could cause slight jolts and a feeling of slowdown during certain moves (like the dash vault). The camera now follows the actor capsule instead, resulting in smoother and more consistent movement while interacting with obstacles. I also adjusted the code to reduce camera micro-jitters and smooth things out even more.
It's only subtle, but if you watch the video below a few times, you'll see how the camera changes help with the feeling of flow:
Early Game Rebalancing
Originially the start of the game was intentionally slower to simulate the player being inexperienced at parkour and to contrast with getting better later.
In practice, though, I realised that this made the opening of the game feel a bit sluggish and worked against the feeling of flow that I wanted to give players.
So to fix this, for the early game, I sped up the player and some early obstacle moves, and increased the player’s maximum stamina. I also adjusted the spacing of some obstacles in those early levels to help the flow feel better right from the start.
Below is a behind-the-scenes editor view showing how the levels are built (triggers, Obstacles, and other gameplay elements).
Level Fixes
While playing through the whole game to test the camera and balancing changes, I also found and fixed numerous smaller issues that were getting in the way of the flow.
Full Patch Notes
General Improvements
Player camera now tracks the actor capsule instead of the hips, resulting in smoother camera movement through levels
Reduced camera micro-jitters
Rebalanced the early game to improve flow (slight increases to player speed and stamina)
Adjusted star rating times for early levels to reflect the balancing changes
Slow moves now play at 75% of their original speed, rather than using a fixed speed reduction
Improved slope detection to prevent jittering
Sped up several moves to improve overall movement flow
Step-ups are now more responsive
Improved breakfall animation blend-in and blend-out
Improved the blend transitions for the sliding state
Prevented a speed boost when exiting an obstacle onto sloped surfaces (this could previously cause the player to bounce off and die)
Stamina no longer drains when sliding down slopes while holding sprint
Tricks no longer consume stamina
Improved environmental LODs to reduce popping while running through levels
Improved character heads and hair LODs
End-of-level next unlock text now wraps correctly instead of appearing squished
Removed a duplicate additive out-of-breath animation that caused popping
Removed collision from some small landscape meshes, such as sticks and rocks
Improved the dog profile image used in the intro/outro text sections
Added more sound variation through additional modulation on several effects
Miscellaneous art improvements across multiple levels
Increased the weight of falling air-conditioning units so they feel more realistic
Tweaked various intro and outro level texts
Level Specific Fixes
Chapter01
Level: Getting Better
Moved some obstacles around for a better flow
Fixed an obstacle where the Fast / OK / Slow message wasn’t appearing
Chapter 02
Level: Put It All Together
Adjusted the design slightly to make the step-up easier to use
Level: Rooftops
Fixed a bug that stopped predictive move selection from working on a climb-up
Level: Too Fast Too Furious
Improved grab detection on the lorries
Chapter03:
Level: Thanks For The Lift
Fixed a bug that stopped predictive move selection from working on a climb-up
Added a death-area camera adjustment trigger for a better view
Level: You Spilt My Drink
Removed an incorrect camera adjustment
Chapter04:
Level: Which Way
Fixed a climb-up that wasn’t working correctly with predictive move selection
Level: Breath Of Fresh Air
Fixed an issue where the slide after the machines could throw the player off and cause death when performing a fast move
Fixed a ladder climb-up that caused a jolt
Fixed a ledge grab that caused an upward jolt instead of a smooth transition
Level: Drug Lab
Fixed the end camera volume position so it now triggers consistently
Level: Don't Shoot
Fixed a camera adjustment volume placed incorrectly at the end of the level
Chapter05
Level: Skip The Queues
Improved the starting area camera pop on first play
Fixed a bug that made grabbing one of the Ferris wheel cages difficult
Level: High And Low
Fixed a spot where the player could get stuck while climbing into the sewer
Level: Almost There
Fixed an issue with a ladder climb
Level: Found Tim
Fixed an issue with the swing pole
Added an additional camera volume at the start of the level
Fixed a ledge that caused a pop-up
Changed the animation when climbing out of the elevator to a more appropriate one
Adjusted an early AI so it now blocks the player’s path instead of chasing them
General Fixes
Fixed some bad looping animations on background characters
Miscellaneous environment art fixes across multiple levels
Fixed an issue where the main menu audio fade-out and fade-to-black did not trigger correctly when exiting the game after returning from a level
Fixed a small sprint animation bug
Fixed textures on vans that were using the incorrect world position setup
Fixed a bug where part of the end-level menu UI would flicker and change shape when revealed
Fixed a skinning issue with the white T-shirt and long-sleeve T-shirt combination
Fixed several spelling mistakes in the intro and outro texts
And there you have it, a range of improvements and fixes all aimed at making the overall experience better and the movement feel smoother and more fluid.
Let me know if you have any more feedback or suggestions.
I also updated the demo with these fixes, so if you're curious about the game, give the demo a try and see how it feels.
Thanks again for all the support,
Cheers,
James
