Today we are releasing v0.2.0, the first major update of Preface: Undiscovered World. This version introduces more elevation and terrain variety, optional ray-traced global illumination, smoother visuals, and several community-requested fixes. It also includes deeper changes to the tech foundations.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2820060/Preface_Undiscovered_World/
It has been almost 6 months since we launched Preface and we have loved seeing users get hands-on with the technology. We are lucky to have a great community on Discord who have helped us understand what is exciting about the tech, what is not up to expectations, and what needs to be challenged. Your feedback has been vital in shaping what comes next.
A Stronger Foundation
One of the things that became clear to us shortly after launch was the need to rethink some of our foundational systems. Especially the design of our Entity Component System (ECS). Our initial implementation did not scale as well as we had hoped, it wasn’t optimal for parallel execution, and it proved difficult to work with from a developer point of view.
(An ECS builds the world from simple, modular parts).
Rather than pushing forward on an unstable base, we took the time to pause, rethink and improve.
Today, we are happy to say that those changes have given us what we needed: a stronger foundation to build upon.
What’s new in v0.2.0
There are several major upgrades in v0.2.0 that we are excited to share:
- Mountainous elevations
- Our new terrain generation system adds a lot more elevation and variation. Hills and more pronounced mountains are now in Preface. They make for great scenery and they are fun to explore.
- Ray-Traced Global Illumination (optional but awesome)
- If your setup can handle it, switch on Ray-Tracing in the settings. It’s off by default, but it really transforms the lighting and mood of the world.
- Note: You’ll need to restart Preface after enabling or disabling it.
- If your setup can handle it, switch on Ray-Tracing in the settings. It’s off by default, but it really transforms the lighting and mood of the world.
- Smoother Visuals
- DLSS and FSR are supported. You can fine-tune performance and visual quality to suit your setup.
- Feature Requests from the Community
- Flight mode and inverted mouse are just a few of the changes in this release that came straight from your feedback. Keep it coming!
To see everything we’ve added, improved, and rebuilt: Read the v0.2.0 Changelog.
Opening Up a Bit More
We are also starting to open up more of our internal thinking. Our new GitHub documentation repository will host a range of documents we believe are worth making public. One of the first is our Credits Policy, it describes how we approach recognition and credit across projects, something we care deeply about and are excited to share.
As part of our open development, here is the updated high-level roadmap:
Thanks again for exploring with us, and please keep the feedback coming on Discord. We’ve loved the journey so far and are excited to continue building Preface with you.
Laurent Gorga, CTO PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions