Commandos: Origins – Infiltrating the Development
As we approach the release of Commandos: Origins on April 9th, we take a look back at four key development topics — this time with Dev Insights into topics like AI and User Experience, among two others.
This is your chance to take a look over our shoulders and get a sneak peek from our journey.
Optimization
Up first, we have insight into fine-tuning the gameplay experience based on your feedback and focusing on performance optimization. Programmer Marina, who is also taking care of bugfixes & polishing, talks about the process:
“After receiving the Beta feedback, we teamed up with Level Design to focus on the key areas we wanted to improve. Working together like this allowed us to adjust the code quickly, making the gameplay smoother and more enjoyable.”
There would be nothing to polish though without the game world itself. Commandos: Origins builds and relies on expansive maps with a multitude of tactical options.
Expansive Map Design
Up second in this week's Insight Series is a look into the expansive map design.
Commandos: Origins is all about multiple approaches and different opportunities in each mission. The Level Design and Game Design team has opted for a multi-layered mission experience and variety in the gameplay - all taking place on expansive maps!
Missions by night, for example, require an exceptional stealth approach - Game Designer Jana told us more about what's important and different in those missions:
“Using the cover of the night and stealth tactics go hand in hand. When we designed Night Missions, our goal was to reflect the advantages of the night. Our first point of action was to impair the enemy’s vision. By drastically reducing the distance they can see clearly in, we left more room for the Commandos to sneak through. However, we quickly noticed that due to the sheer size of our levels, this allowed players to simply outmaneuver the enemies. While this was certainly very stealth focused, it reduced the threat of our enemies too much. We wanted our Night Missions to play differently, but not easier.
In the next step we experimented with sound, if enemies can’t see as well, maybe they are more alert to sound? While initially a nice idea, we scrapped it. We want our players to gradually master the Commando’s tools, and for that to work those tools need to be predictable. A gun does not suddenly emit more noise just because the sun has set. Eventually we brought light back into the mix. Equipping some enemies with flashlights allows them to see almost as well as during daytime. Still, we wanted something that clearly made Night Missions different. Our solution: Using stationary light sources as environmental obstacle. While light alone does no harm, it fully exposes Commandos in illuminated areas if an enemy looks in their direction. With all these systems in place, we hope players are encouraged to truly operate ‘from the shadows’.”
The result of some of these design choices can be seen in our Dev Update Video:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DCcWFW3vl4g
However, even the best and most carefully designed maps would be boring without smart enemies to challenge you. That’s where the AI comes in and takes a pivotal role in Commandos Origins. Let’s take a look into how the team tackles this essential gameplay part.
Ai Behaviour
For the third topic on Dev Insights, the team shared their thoughts on tackling AI behaviour.
Mission tactics are critical, so it is essential that enemies react logically to your actions and advance, which makes AI behaviour an essential gameplay aspect in Commandos: Origins.
Lead Programmer Rahul talked about the teams' workflow concerning AI:
“Using a dynamic system that allows designers to control AI behaviour at the time of level design, we ensure the AI behaves appropriately to the current situation in the mission. Our missions are meticulously designed, keeping in mind the design goals of the AI behaviour, finely balancing them with the goals of our level design to have a balanced difficulty, realistic challenges and intriguing puzzles.”
Gameplay is not just what happens on screen though, but also how the game feels and how our players experience it. That is where User Experience comes in, which the Commandos: Origins Team constantly refined, shaped by player feedback directly.
User Experience
Last but not least topic as our fourth dev insights topic Producer Moritz discusses feedback utilization for improving the game.
How do I move my Commando? What do I have to do now? Is anything breaking my immersion? The User Experience (UX) of Commandos: Origins combines simplicity with efficiency, guiding the player and enabling a smooth and immersive gameplay experience.
Crafted by the Design and Art team and implemented by the Code team, it is constantly getting improved throughout the development process based on feedback from players playing the game.
Our Producer Moritz gave an example of how your feedback helped us improve the game.
“Seeing recordings of players experiencing the game for the first time helps massively in identifying issues we might have overlooked ourselves after working on this game until now. We sometimes know the game too well already to understand what players might miss at first try. Some players, for example, had issues finding out how to shoot barrels in the demo, initially you had to hold CTRL in order to shoot anything non-human. While this was mentioned in one of the tutorial hints, this crucial information was often overlooked. Therefore, we decided to make barrels targetable without holding CTRL, enabling a smoother user experience overall.”
That wraps up this edition of our Dev Insights Series — giving you a closer look at the work that went into Commandos: Origins, and how the Team tackles essential parts like Map Design, AI Behavior, User Experience and Polishing behind the scenes.
We can’t wait for you to enjoy Commandos: Origins on release.