Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great summer.
I'm taking advantage of the end of July to share some news about the upcoming major update.
And "major update" is an understatement. It's going to be a complete change to the overall gameplay. I'll tell you all about it in detail.
Keeping up the pace of work, but
sometimes the cat gets his balls on the mouse.
The main concern after the feedback from the early access release was optimization and bug fixing. After several hours of work, I ended up having to shorten the levels I had created. I actually use an asset (umodeler) that allows me to model the levels very quickly. However, this requires considerable performance if these models are present in the scene, in any way, whether with an aggressive LOD, occlusion everywhere, or deactivation. The only reliable and simple solution was to halve the maps to achieve decent performance. I can find other ways to optimize, but this was the fastest because I want to be able to deliver my early access updates on time.
The second concern was game design. Since I shrunk the majority of my levels, an idea had started to germinate in my head, what if I made an expedition system to go directly to these places ? like that I could create levels very easily at will with freedom of creativity without the problem of the open world. In addition, I could put various different objectives or even mini games in these levels.
So, instead of working on the perk system, I developed a whole new "mission" system with my freelance programmer, similar to games like Metal Gear Solid 5 and Warface. We have "hub" areas with quest givers and merchants, and we go through levels that will offer specific objectives. The unique feature is that we'll have several missions with various modes (race, elimination, extraction, defense), as well as missions that follow the main quest.
The explorators villages will serve as expedition points
I'm completely changing the entire structure of the game, the menus, the saves, the levels, and it's going to take me all of next month, but I'm pretty confident because, on the one hand, the levels will now be easier to optimize/work on, and on the other hand, I think it'll make the game even more fun. I can have fun building any type of setting without having to follow the narrative design of my basic structure. I also took the opportunity to add challenges to the missions (like finishing the mission within a given time limit). For the more hardcore players who want to challenge themselves more, in the future, I'm also thinking about creating modes that could be played endlessly with gradual difficulty, like Survivors.
The levels will offer more verticality
To complement this, there will be a "crafting" system instead of the merchant. In fact, as we complete missions, we'll be able to unlock items that can be upgraded as we unlock the next levels. I find this progression system fun, which would go hand in hand with the mission system. We'll be able to prioritize unlocking items that suit our playstyle (light armor, heavy weapons, special grenades, etc.).
Normally, I could release this update by September. By the time we can test/balance everything, you'll have to start the adventure again, but believe me, you won't regret it. All the areas have been redone, and I've learned from the level design mistakes. There will be much more verticality and dynamism, especially since I've been able to add more detail to my levels since I reduced their size.
The levels will be smaller but will have more details
On the other hand, I want to warn you that the perk system is still in the forefront. Once I've implemented the big mission feature, I want to make the experience even more light RPG-like, so you'll want to replay the missions in several play styles! I also plan to add new enemies, but I don't know if I'll have time by September. In any case, expect to see lots of new, unique levels !
By the way, I'd like to point out that I've improved the "visibility" in the levels quite a bit. I noticed that on some screens, the contrast was really poorly calibrated, and that on other screens everything was really dark, which many people have pointed out. It should be much better soon. (Keep in mind that I have planned missions specifically so that we are plunged into total darkness.)
Reworked many places that were too dark
I thank those who purchased a copy of the game and supported its development. It might not seem like it, but every purchase was essential for me to work on the update, otherwise I would have scaled back my ambitions.
Have a great summer !
Sydney