Good morning everyone!
It's Sunday and it's time for Q&A part 2! :)
Remember that some texts visible on the images are in the Polish language as we didn't translate the game into English yet.
Part 2 of 2
Q: Dovetail's new fishing game has been getting lambasted in reviews for being a copy/paste of their previous game. Have you done anything to avoid this or are you happy with small changes to the previous version?
UFS2 is not using files or source code from UFS1. It's a completely new game.Q: Is there a progression system - does buy new gear feel like you're actually advancing and getting more equipped, or just an advertisement ploy like in every other arcade fisher these days?
Yes, there will be a progression system based on experience. It will affect items in the store and skills that can be unlocked. A higher level is synonymous with the possibility of purchasing better equipment and other types of equipment.Q: You said the fish are already in the water and not generated. Does this mean there is a limited amount of fish available in one session? Are the fish sizes pre-determined? Doesn't seems fun to know exactly how big the fish is via the underwater cam before you try to catch it.
No. Fish are randomly generated on the map once you entered it but when you take out the fish from the water and will consider to sell it - new random fish will be spawned on its place.Q: Have you considered making a more realistic, in-depth fishing game, or are you guys happy with the simplistic arcade trend?
We are considering creating one more difficulty profile called "hardcore realism" but it is too early to say anything about it.Q: How will US2 be different from the other fishing games? What have you learnt? Please discuss the exciting new feature that never has been seen before?
It's hard to answers this question. All fishing games are similar but what we learned from the previous project is to Listen to The Community. Most of you have incredible ideas (including ones that are really hard to develop) and we would like to support players that are really devoted to supporting this project with feedback.Q: Early access?
Early access is all about collecting players feedback, ideas and share our ideas about game development. We have our roadmap and development process that we stick to but there is also a place for collecting and implementing players ideas.Q: Will bait be more challenging in the game?
Interesting and unique idea. We will have to talk about this. Challenge will be provided for sure by implementing dynamic (migrating) fish spawns.Q: Will there be real weight in the game? The harder the fish splash the more pressure and weight gets put on the rod.
Weight and fish sizes will affect rod bend and reel drag.Q: Will fish be able to run into a log like bass and get your line stuck like in real life?
The underwater environment will be varied and we would like to assign some spots to certain fish species. At these moments it's too early to talk about it.Q: Interaction with the water?
Yes, fish will interact with water-like ripples, bubbles or splashes. Same with fishing line and lures.Q: Underwater camera?
Yes, UFS2 will have a new underwater camera. We hope it will be more advanced than the previous one! We will introduce here follow camera after bait throw! :)
Q: Will fish have lives and growth?
No. Fish will be randomly generated but they will have dynamic spawns and need-zones. So they will roam around waterbody.Q: Tag your fish! It is good if you can tag that fish you caught so if you caught it again it be special! It means the fish is really in the water.
Second interesting idea but as there will be a trophy room, fish tagging may not be an urgent need. We will create a few surveys where you will be able to vote for the next features.Q: Could they be animals added later in the game to bring out the realism of the fishing series?
Yes, we plan to add more life to the waterways and maps.Q: Could they be an aquarium in the game later on?
Possible ;)Q: Can lakes be maintained? So you need to add in more fish and you can customize what fish you want to catch!
Once we will introduce level editor in the game, you will be able to create and customize your maps.Q: Will you bring in real lakes in real life?
Our maps are usally based on real-life locations.Q: What types of fishing will there be in the game? Will there be fly fishing or river fishing?
As in UFS1, we plan to add many fishing techniques including fly fishing, bottom fishing, etc.Q: Physics & behaviour - bad rod & fish physics and behaviours break the immersion every time - pay as much attention to getting this right as possible.
As I wrote above - it will be changed. All game mechanics are redone - so everything is basically new.Q: Bite rates & simulation - as many of the posters have noted, it is impossible to please everyone with one mode. I believe that the best solution here is to create a couple of different modes/difficulty levels - ideally with separate rankings. In a simulation model, fish densities &/or bite rates could be dropped accordingly to cater to those who want to be as close to the real experience as possible. For those who need to cram the experience of a full day fishing into an hour after work bites &/or densities can be much higher so that the action is relatively constant. Things like the hunter sight and underwater camera could be disabled by default in Sim mode but they really do add something in UFS so wouldn't lose them from the game.
Bite rates, game difficulty and "simulation level" will depend from chosen difficulty during creating a game profile.Q: Progression/currency/experience etc - it is great having a number of different mechanisms in the game to give a consistent sense of progression (FP/TF does this well with all of the challenges and missions in addition to levels, and the "RPG" elements of UFS are nice too - don't rely on one mechanism only, and don't let it become a "grind-fest") - you should ideally have a feeling that you can achieve something most if not all times you play. (This doesn't just have to be levels - you could extend and refine the RPG skill tree, build out far more achievements, allow earning of particular skins/outfits & gear that looks differentiated etc - each could have their own path to earn)
We have learned that there needs to be a long-term motivation for players to keep them interested in the game. Some of the players may feel good only with catching fish but some of them are expecting adventures like missions, quest or something else that would interest the player or give them an alternative way to play the game.
Q: Reward per fish - every game seems to load the rewards onto the absolute rather than relative size of the fish. This means that although many devs pop smaller species in the games once you have caught one of each it is pointless fishing for them - this is a real waste of effort for the devs, and also means the fishermen aren't getting the most benefit from the diversity. Rather than absolute weight, reward players on the relative weight of a catch within the species - i.e. if you get a record-breaking minnow that should serve you as well as a record-breaking marlin - that way, you reward and encourage players to explore and hunt down every species that you add. For competitions, have more varied win conditions than total weight, and allow solo competitions vs bots just to give another game mode.
Each species have it's own body weight-length multipliers. So if there is a small fish, that is really hard to catch it may give you more experience but not much money (due to its small weight). So for example, if you would like to progress fast - you will catch fish that is potential "hard" or "extreme" to find or fight with them require a lot of work, and from the other side you have popular fish species which with higher weight will give you more money but you will receive less experience. It's just an idea but we think about it seriously.Q: Diversity - FP/TF have managed to cram a huge variety of locations and species into their game and this really pays off. Putting aside the issues with the game for a minute - it takes a huge number of days to explore all locations and catch all of the species (particularly if you are also collecting the trophy and unique of each where available) - by contrast in just a couple of days I had fished every location in UFS and caught one of each - a real shame as I start to feel that there is not much left to explore after only ~14 hours or so (vs. the 500+ that I have spent on TF to date). In the same vein, the more different techniques the better.
We will also have waterways located around the globe. We will not only limit maps to rivers and lakes. You will be able to fish on the seas, oceans, deltas or marshlands! And don't forget about ice fishing! About fish species - it's a long process, as our new models will have more animations but as always we would like to reach over 100+ species in UFS2 (including DLC's).Q: Modding tools - if you can invest the time and energy in getting the underlying engine, physics and behaviour models right, hopefully, this would allow your dev team to then more rapidly add new environments and species to help address point 5. If this were possible to extend further to allow community-created content it could lead to a huge range of options to build a long-living and engaged community.
Modding is cool - but we didn't plan it at any stage. If we will do a Level Editor, we will want to integrate it with the Steam Workshop.Q: Can they be spectators in the game? So other players can watch other players fish? They can record their fishing while playing and have players able to rotate their cam view to see a different angle of the player. It could be restricted too only a few views from the owner but this could prove exciting so the player can get the first-hand action on the catch! :)
It's an interesting feature. We talked about it and it is possible to do after full game release in one of the future updates.Q: Will it have a better display of other players? I want to see how my friends use the fishing rod to fight (including the splash on the water of other players.) I hope the VR mode can simulate the feeling of two friends fishing/.
Yes, you will be able to see other players and their actions/movement.
Q: Are you gonna answer all those questions that all players are asked?
I will try to talk with the team and answer all the questions!Q: Are there visible or can you see AI fisherman bots in tournaments?
It's possible to implement bots but we didn't focus on it right now. If it will be requested by the community we will do it. There will be a lot on surveys, where players will be able to vote for the next feature.Q: Can you add or see AI fisherman in free form mode?
As above.Q: Option to choose Male/Female fisherman when you create your game profile?
It will be possible.Q: Multiprofile support?
Yep! Same as in UFS1.Q: Can players get at least "15-25%" -loyalty discount if you own the "UFS 1" -game?"
Yes, UFS1 players will receive a loyalty discount.
Kind Regards,
Rafal - COO in Ultimate Games S.A.