TUESDAY!
Hi everyone, wanted to give you an update on the current progress of the next major change/addition to CAT & MOUSE:
The AI and Art Update
AI
I have completed the first step in AI, creating the AI behavior trees and pathing/Navmesh. This was a massive undertaking and I can now populate levels with the new systems, however, there is one major hurdle still left for the AI and that is incorporating them into the main gameplay systems. I originally created CAT & MOUSE to be a multiplayer only game and as such had no need to handle both AI and Player controllers. I am currently re-writing (for like the 3rd time since EA) the main Game mode to account for AI controlled pawns. This requires more host options (and UI) and the ability to replace AI with players as they join or replace players with AI as they leave.
Navigation Mesh and Navigation Links displayed (ignore the horrid lighting pls)
ART
The Art portion of the next update is also being updated, however this has also been much larger of an undertaking, but I have finally found a style that will work for both the Cats and the Mice while also allowing for dynamic lighting. CAT & MOUSE used baked lighting, meaning maps only had one time of day, baked in shadows, and required a ton of accurate light maps, but this is no longer how I want things done, I want to leverage the dynamic lighting as much as I can but I want to keep areas where Mice hide as dark as possible for Cats, this way Mice players have the advantage when hiding - this has been the single most difficult part of this change. Because of this change some maps will be noticeably different from the originals, but I will have the original maps available as legacy maps you can choose from.
Also, with this update you will notice more variations in maps, not only will there be more than houses and an alley way, but even different Eras. Cats and Mice have always been a thing since Cats were domesticated thousands of years ago; So, I plan on having far more varied locations and Eras with this next update including Medieval, pre/Post Industrial, and Ancient Eras.
Also also, Cats and Mice will be getting new models and animations. I have played with different concepts of handling things like IK and physics driven animation and I have found a solution that will make both playable characters feel really nice.
Finally with the Art portion of this update, you will notice more actual detail in the environment, grass, more varied vegetation, more clutter and stylized textures for objects. Blank walls and floors are a thing of the past, I will post a bigger teaser when I have a full level finalized with all visual upgrades.
I do not want to give a time frame just yeeeet for the next update, but I will announce the update as soon as I have the majority of the changes added.
Other additions such as game modes, achievements and workshop integration will come later this year.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for game modes or maps, or just want to say mean things to me, check out the Discord or the suggestions or issues discussions.
Thanks for playing my stupid game!
-ProzackPH7