Dear subROVers,
We've updated the demo to v0.6.0. Let's take a look at the changes!
New Save System
In addition to your overall progress and the discovered areas of the maps, the game now saves each dive's current objective, and the states of significant objects in the dive (such as the activated beacons in Hawaii).
New ROV SONAR
Complete Rework
The ROV SONAR now works in a way that is much closer to its real counterpart, by showing the areas blocked by a projected beam gradually rotating around the ROV. We've also changed the grid and coloring, so it looks and feels very different from before.
Tracking Dots
When you ping your surroundings, you will see dots in the SONAR view tracking the positions of nearby relevant objects and creatures, in addition to the icons already present in the external view.
Other visible changes and Fixes
- We've revised the ROV information panel. The Depth reading now has a dedicated subpanel with an icon indicating if the ROV is ascending or descending (sometimes it's not obvious, especially right before surfacing), and it works passively, even if the ROV is offline.
- Pressing the Quick Exit button has the same effect as leaving the map. This saves you the time of getting to the edge of the map after completing a dive's objectives, and helps streamline short dives (such as the certifications). In combination with the save system, things are snappier now 😀
- The map's grid is now static. In previous versions it was always centered on the ship, which was not practical.
- Camera views now keep correct proportions when changing screens (up until now they were just stretching to adapt to the screen they were at).
- The Humpback Whale should not get stuck on the surface anymore. (sorry! 😬)
- The main menu now shows random background images, the globe has a more satisfying spin and zoom, and we've revised the Gallery Layout.
Changes under the Hood
Aside from the changes above, we've worked on other things that you won't see much or at all in the demo, but we'd like to share because they still represent important progress:
New Dives
Three at the moment: one where we'll search for DDT barrels off the coast of California, one where we'll track Humboldt Squid in Cocos Ridge, and another where we'll explore a seamount near the Phoenix Islands.
New Spawning System
We've made a new system that allows us to have fine control over which creatures appear and where, particularly in the water column. The system gives us flexibility to place creatures in specific spots if we need to, balancing hand-crafted with procedural content.
New Creature Behavior System
The creatures in the game now use (when appropriate) behavior trees to control their actions. This sets the foundation for custom behaviors per creature if we need to (e.g. Humboldt squid react to the ROV's light and let you get close... but only so much). We've also revised the creatures' overall movement system to make them swim around more gracefully.
And more!
- Dives now allow for custom parameters, such as Oxygen readings.
- Data buoys now can upload data to the ship (such as oxygen readings!😂).
- The light curve now fades smoothly at dark depths.
- Improved whale animations.
- Fixes and optimizations across the board (always!)
And lastly
We've dropped support for 16:10 resolutions, at least for the time being. The game is designed with 16:9 in mind, and allowing for 16:10 has ramifications we'll have to assess calmly later on.
What's next?
Moving forward we'll be focusing on content. There's already new content in the game (e.g. squid!) but we've opted not to add it to the current dives as that was not the focus of this update. We'll add as much new content (creatures, corals, wrecks, activities) as we can to gear up to the game's release, which is approaching rapidly!
Happy ROVing! 😃⚓
PS. Your feedback is very important to us. This update introduces lots of changes and though we've made our best to test everything, we'd really appreciate it if you'd let us know of any issues you find or thoughts you have on the game.
You can send us feedback in many ways:
- Through our Discord Server,
- Through Twitter,
- By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
Seriously, keep in touch! we'll love to hear from you.