FTessaro - Lead Programmer
Upon returning from vacation I was immediately stricken with a sickness, certainly a fun time. At least I managed to rest during our Christmas Break, so now I’m fully reinvigorated and raring to go! Anyway, it’ll be a fairly short entry this month as I’ve been primarily working on fixing an assortment of bugs and modifying various existing mechanics in preparation for Updates 5 and 6, such as pickup/carrying. It’s vital that I make these changes now rather than later, otherwise we’d likely run into complications that would extend development time. We’ve also started development on the Skin System which is slated to debut as part of Update #5, but some additional meetings are necessary so that we may nail down its final intricacies.
Amar0k - Programmer
Hey everyone, back in full-swing after the much needed Christmas Break. I’ve spent the last few weeks looking at our EasyAntiCheat integration and resolving a number of issues that had arisen with its initial implementation. It’s important to note that we have a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of cheating/hacking as we deem it imperative to ensure that our players can engage with one another in a safe & secure environment.
Swinging over to a lighter topic, I’ve also been delving more into the behaviours for our ambient AI animals with some new animations and more appropriate movement for their respective species. And lastly I’ve begun reworking and testing some of the Dinosaur AI and can’t wait to share it with you all!
dmIV - Programmer
After getting back from the holidays I got started on the courting mechanic, which is part of the upcoming nesting system. In a way it’s similar to how players currently utilize the friendly vocalization to form groups, except you have to repeat the process several times to build up your affinity towards each other. Once that’s done two dinosaurs will form a pair and can begin nesting. I made a nest building prototype a long time ago, but since then we decided to come up with a more in-depth system so I’m currently working on that, which we’ll share more information about as it develops.
Lastly, I also added a system that generates unique identifiers for each dinosaur. It doesn’t mean much from a gameplay standpoint yet, but it will be necessary for us to have a functional ancestry system.
Seiza - Video Editor
After the release of the Update 4 trailer "Subsistence.", I spent the vacation reading your feedback on the shots, which always helps me improve on future projects.
Speaking of future projects: of course I've already started thinking about the next update trailer. I've begun with the planning phase again, with lots of brainstorming, research, reviewing possible soundtracks, and writing down preliminary scene ideas so I can start writing the storyboard. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming update and the accompanying trailer and can't wait to start the applicatory phase.
Over the past few weeks I've also been creating some additional WIP clips. You probably noticed that the last animation concept clips were filmed using the engine. This gives you a more natural look at the WIP animations. In this way I also created internal WIP clips on future content that can help the team develop mechanics and animation.
VisualTech48 - 3D Environment Artist
This month's work was all about the docks, and its peripherals, containing, but not limited to buildings and items. First order after the vacation was pretty much getting back on track and with a bit change of direction we have decided to add far more metal into our constructions. Both for style and to act as reinforced parts of the buildings, making them look bulkier in the process.
This means we got a new trim which consists only of metals, which will be further used for any metal parts of the docks and detailing. A great example of this is the Dockyard Watchtower, featured here:
The Trim:
And as previously said, new bulkier buildings, which now have more metallic reinforcements and different shapes, to make them feel more unique. Keep in mind this is work in progress and is not done, so the special shader which features the damage and the special color coding is not yet baked onto these buildings.
The next order of business is pretty much making a lot of buildings for the Docks, and making sure we have multi story buildings as well, both small and big but keeping scale in size.
See you next month!
Tapwing - 2D Artist
I’ve been at work drafting nest concepts for a couple of newer animals. For the Hypsilophodon we wanted to try something more arboreal and inspired by weaver birds and hamerkops. I’ve been playing with a number of different shapes made out of mud and/or a medley of fibers. The Pteranodons nests are simpler for the most part, outside of cliff-side nest ideas I’ve also explored nests you might see on a sea stack. More information on that as we begin to solidify a direction.
KissenKitten - Producer
It’s great to be back! Our vacation was very much needed after such a hectic year for everybody. Including you as well I would imagine. Since we’ve been back, we’ve had a lot of meetings in preparation for the rest of the year and still more meetings to come. But alongside that, production on Update 5 has officially begun as many of you may have seen via the ongoing courting animations. The majority of art creation right now is centered around courting, nests, eggs, hatchlings and skins as we prototype the look and interactions we want to lean towards or away from for this update. Definitely expect a more robust nesting experience than you have previously experienced. With this month being shorter for us, this post shall also be but we do come bearing updates to the Public Roadmap! So check that out to know the direction we’re heading in. Chat more in February!
You can check out the Public Roadmap via the link below!
https://trello.com/b/G5tsb4XI/public-roadmap