Hello everyone!
I'm super excited to release DOGMAN 1.2 to you guys tonight! I've made tons of changes, tons of fixes, and I can finally say that I am proud of the game. Enough talk, lets have a look at what's new!
HIGHWAY 22 MAP REMASTER
Oh boy, did this need to happen. Highway 22 was by far the worst map in the game. The concept was experimental, and the idea was cool, but the execution was awful. This was due to me not knowing how to program what I wanted to achieve, and also not having a clear view of player expectations. Every time someone played Highway 22, I felt embarrassed, and not very proud of my work. That all changes tonight. Highway 22 is now a new creation, and a fun experience. Let's look at what's changed!
First off, the white fog is gone. It was too bright, looked ugly, and didn't add to the gameplay in anyway. I'd argue that it actually eased the tension the map should have built. The fog was also a little too thick for my liking, so now the fog has been thinned, darkened, and the view distance has been slightly increased.
Next, the map size has been reduced by 75%. The old highway 22 was way too big. As I watched you guys play highway 22, I realized how boring it was. Everything looked the same, radio parts were few and far between, there was 0 sense of direction, and player interest dropped fast. By reducing the map size, and consolidating areas of interest, I feel that the map now finally offers an interesting, and enjoyable experience.
Next, the foliage on Highway 22 has been overhauled. The old swamp tree assets were cool, but the collision was awful. I had multiple reports of Dogmen getting stuck in trees, floating to the top of them (lol I would have loved to have seen that), and players glitching through the map. The old trees have been replaced with the conifer model from Hopkins State Park. Not only does this fix the collision issues, it also improves the maps performance, and visual quality. Some assets from the old swamp are still present however. Bundles of mossy logs and roots are still present on the map, but collision is turned off. Excessive foliage has also been removed, improving performance.
Next up, I've made some small changes to models around the map. Specifically the bridges and docks. I updated them with a much cooler looking one, and it also fixes collision issues as well.
Next, 75% of dynamic Dogman spawns have been removed. I like the idea, but there were too many triggers that spawned more Dogmen. The more Dogmen there were, the higher the chance of the player dying. It's not cool to spend 30 minutes looking for radio parts, and then dying because the level is punishing you for progressing. I did leave one dynamic spawn in the map however. I think it suits the event that the player will trigger.
Next, radio parts will now have a blue glow. This change was made to help players locate them easier, and not become discouraged if they are struggling to find them. A suspenseful sound will also play if the player enters a radio part's radius. (More on this change later.)
Lastly, I've made visual and audio QOL changes to the Highway 22 intro level.
I hope you guys enjoy the new Highway 22, it was a blast remaking it, and I'm looking forward to seeing your guys' experiences.
GRAPHICS MENU OVERHAUL
The graphics menu has now gotten 3 overhauls. The last two were trash. The first iteration didn't even save player settings, the second one did, but had a visual glitch that caused the menu to display ultra settings constantly. I finally, after a lot of time and thinking, created my very own, and very complex system. This system actually works, and will save your settings and display them properly. The background of the graphics menu has also been update to be a moving image.
LEVEL SELECTION SCREEN UPDATE
So the level selection screen has been the ugliest part of the game for a while. I couldn't seem to get it right, and even the prototype I showed a couple weeks back was bad. The final solution has arrived however. The new level selection screen features a background video for each map in the game, a description of the map, and extra details. Once a player has beat a level, they will earn a yellow badge with the level name, and it will display on the level selection screen.
Once the player has beat all 4 levels in the game, the main menu will display a "GAME COMPLETED"
message.
HOW TO PLAY GUIDE RETURNS
The how to play guide has returned to the game. It is no longer a link to a steam guide, but rather built directly into the game. It features updated information, and multiple pages.
QOL CHANGES
Don't skip this part! There's good stuff in here!
First off, the flashlight has been updated to be brighter, and also display a light shaft.
This was a big request, and was way trickier to implement than I thought it would be.
- The player death animation has been updated. The camera will now lock, and follow the player's
death animation. This added much more immersion and a much bigger shock.
- Body found sound on Hopkins has been changed, and the camera shake amount has been reduced.
- Heartbeat sound effect has been updated and replaced with a better one.
- When a player approaches an objective on any map, a suspenseful sound will play and get louder as
they get closer to the objective. This is especially useful on large maps.
- All Trail Cams, 3 of the 5 Missing Hikers, all Confidential Documents, and all Radio parts have been
relocated to refresh gameplay.
- Dead body models have been updated to a model more inductive of a Dogman attack. Blood and
gore warning.
- The handheld map has been removed from Blue Ridge Campgrounds. It looked bad, and there is no
longer a need for it with the new audio clue system.
- The Wendigo model and sound effects have been changed in Blue Ridge Campgrounds.
- A level intro for Blue Ridge Campgrounds has been added.
FINAL MESSAGE
This is planned to be the final update for DOGMAN. I know I've said this many times, but I finally feel at peace with the game. Of course if any bugs are discovered I will put out fixes ASAP, but content updates conclude with DOGMAN 1.2
I am deeply grateful for everyone of you who decided to buy my first game, and give me correction, insight, ideas, inspiration, and practice. It was all of you who pushed me to become a better developer, try new things, and learn more about programming. With the successful release of my newest game Chester, I've seen that game development can be a legitimate source of income for me, and I would not be where I am without every one of you. I've made a few friends from game development as well. Tomoboy2436 was the first person to show a genuine faith in what I was doing. He singlehandedly saved DOGMAN from becoming a half finished project rotting on my hard drive. We owe him all a big thanks. Luli has helped me tremendously with feedback, and outstanding gameplay ideas for both Chester, and DOGMAN. He also is the one who convinced me to create and release DOGMAN 1.2
The both of you have my deepest thanks, and I hope to continue our great friendships. Update 1.2 is dedicated to you both.
Good luck to everyone as you enter the forest, who knows if you'll return alive.
Thank you everyone once again, you are all appreciated.
Respectfully,
Daniel, Developer of DOGMAN.