As we near closer to the Early Access release, I wanted to go over what I've been working on as well as my plans for what will be included at release.
AI
AI vs. AI
The enemy and friendly artificial intelligence have always been a huge part of the tactical shooter genre, which is why I have spent a large chunk of time getting them right. In the last update (update 3), the enemy AI were drastically improved by completely redoing how their brains worked from the ground up which, in short, made them smarter, more optimized, and less prone to breaking.
Now that individual AI works how I envisioned, I've been experimenting with getting them to fight each other and now have them at a state where I feel happy enough to share it with you all:
Unlike most singleplayer games, the friendly AI in PunjiVR are more than a set piece and will affect the outcome of the battle. AI will target and engage with each other just like they do with the player. No soldier on the battlefield is invincible and can be killed by one bullet, whether it's fired from the enemy, a friendly troop, or the Player. Keep this in mind before pulling the trigger!
My goal for the AI vs AI is to have them fight smart and well while simultaneously maintaining human skill. They take time to line up their sights to get a clear shot, but will spray in the general area of where they think the enemy is if they don't know their exact location. If someone is shooting at them, they'll get down and either move towards the danger to engage in close combat, reposition themselves to try and get a good shot, or hunker down in place if they have a good position already.
AI have two types of combat states: aggressive & defensive. They will rush their combatants if they're marked aggressive or stay in a small area if they're defensive. To better reflect real life tactics, Northern troops will be more likely to fight aggressively, although the Southern armies will use it in missions where they're the assaulters, like some urban levels.
All in all, battles were designed to last, be unique, memorable, replayable, and overall interesting experiences
Squad AI
The ability to command a small squad of friendly AI has always been a staple in tactical shooters which is why it will be featured in PunjiVR! To give diversity in mission design, not every level will have the player commanding a squad, however. Some will be lone wolf missions while others will have the player fighting in larger scale battles and not being the soldier in charge. Anywho, let's dive into your Squad!
Commands:
To start off, Squad AI will be pretty basic. Commands will be limited to a simple hold and follow command, but I plan on expanding it further in the future. Squad commands are able to be accessed via the cleverly named "command button". If and when I add more commands, I imagine using a radial wheel where you can select individual members and give them more specific commands. For the time being, commands are simple and they work well!
Killing and Being Killed:
A few similar design challenges that were experienced with AI vs AI apply with Squad AI as well. The goal is to have the player's squad good enough to fight alongside the player and not just eliminate everyone before the player gets a chance to see the enemy. To do this, squad members are accurate, usually able to grease the enemy in the first burst if they're close enough, but they take some time before firing to line up their shot.
Squad mates can also be killed by you, each other, and the enemy. As a side note, bullet damage is a percentage based system rather than health points, so a bullet has a certain percentage chance to kill its target. If it doesn't kill them, it just wounds them and increases the percentage of the next round that hits the same target. Your squad members will have a lower chance to die from a bullet than normal, which means they're likely to survive longer. At the moment, they will respawn after each mission or when you reload a level.
Your Squad's Purpose:
Like mentioned above, your squad isn't there to win the game for you but rather save you from sneaky enemies you may not be aware of. One of your squad mates will try their best to cover your back which further helps against flanking enemies. In your squad you'll have a machine gunner and a medic (more members with other helpful uses are planned). The machine gunner will carry an ammo can that you can refill your magazines with while the medic will carry health items. Keep in mind that their resources are limited but refill at the start of the level.
Level Design & Optimization Changes
One of the main setbacks with VR currently is performance, which is why optimization is always on the front of my mind when working on the game. Because of this, I'm reimagining the way I design and create levels and moving to a handcrafted workflow rather than the mass-placement system I used in the past. While it's slower and makes it a little more challenging to create larger missions, it allows for a better level as a whole. Some positives include:
- More detailed and realistic scenes
- Better optimized
- Less bugged props (trees inside each other or in a place they don't make sense...)
- More accurate collisions
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Plans for Release
Missions
One full campaign will be available at release with the addition of at least three quick play missions. Each mission takes an average of around 15-25 minutes to complete and are designed to be very replayable.
For clarification, a campaign is an organized collection of 5 to 7 missions that are inspired by real world operations and stories. Quick play missions on the other hand are uncategorized individual missions that don't follow any specific storyline. Regardless, the design theory for each mission is still the same: nonlinear, replayable, and giving the player the goal without telling them how to complete it.
In total, around 10 missions will be available at release. I'll go into more detail with them shortly...
Weapons
There are currently over 20 weapons already in the game covering melee weapons, smoke grenades, and pistols, to the m79 grenade launcher and the m60 machine gun. Adding more isn't going to be a priority for the time being, but I would like to add a few more if I have a spare week or two before launch.
Helicopters!?
What's a Vietnam War game without helicopters? That's why I plan on adding flyable helis to PunjiVR!
The Huey model in its "slick" configuration meant for transportation.
The plan is to have the all the flight controls to work in-game without any physical flight stick or other hardware. It's quite a massive undertaking, but I feel confident I can have one flyable Huey available at release. While there likely won't be any missions or campaigns that revolve around or feature a flyable helicopter on launch day, there will be a large flight range map with multiple landing zones to let you practice for when those missions are added.
I would like to have an arcade flight model for casual users as well as an advanced model which gears more towards a realistic but difficult experience for those who are more interested in that. I won't get too in depth with all of the helicopter's controls but but I do like the idea of adding a few switches and buttons that don't do anything other than add to the immersion and coolness factor.
Helicopters are still in the planning and early testing phases, so I don't want to promise too much yet, but I'll update you all the more I mess with them.
Fixes, Changes, and Other Miscellaneous
I have been getting great feedback from many of you and have been noting all of your suggestions. There's too much to list here, but I will be working on the sound design, visual effects, advanced graphical options, movement options, extra firearm controls, better environmental collisions (see level design), and more!
Conclusion
That's all for now soldiers, thanks for reading and I hope you got some more insight into the game and what to look forward to. As always, remember to check for leeches!