Filipe - Lead Programmer
This month I was partially working on the latest improvements for Update 5, which we released on the 7th of July with subsequent hot fixes and server performance tests. Meanwhile, we held a significant number of gore design meetings which have already yielded favourable results, showcasing that we have a good and solid plan to move forward with. Some core work for Update 6 had started a little earlier, but we can now start focusing solely on that.
In other news, QA has received the first iteration of Night Vision, with feedback and adjustments already made, there are still a few technical adjustments to be made (not bugs) before we are able to release it into your hands.
Back onto Update 6, I don't have much that I’m able to share just yet, as the majority of it is code work. In short we have big changes coming to the diet system, which is in the process of being expanded upon, with slot combinations, new negative/positive effects, the new Migration System, adaptive diet list and more. Besides of course, the bloody gore, with organs, a lot of blood, new mechanics specific for gore and new corpse interactions, which will include changes to how scent works based on how old a corpse is, for example, or if it became a carcass or even rotten. Due to performance also being a constant concern, expect changes from what you see till the end, everything is heavily work in progress.
Here is a small example video to showcase some what we've been working on, please keep in mind that everything you see in this video is subject to change.
dmIV - Programmer
As we were nearing the release of Update 5 I was making smaller changes and bug fixes, while being careful not to break anything in the last second. These included some improvements to walking in mud, footprint scent, schooling fish ripples and foliage collision issues related to a plugin we’re using. Before the update came out I spent some time playing with our stress testers to get some normal player perspective on the game. I really enjoyed having parents to look after me, bring me food and all that. Unfortunately my parents didn’t usually survive until I entered adulthood, but it was a fun experience nonetheless. I hope you’re also enjoying the update and taking good care of your children.
After that I moved on to something that I’m sure many of you will find exciting, the Beipiaosaurus. There are several new mechanics and movement changes for this dinosaur so I had a lot to do. The creature is very buoyant, so swimming downwards will be a bit difficult, but you can ascend very quickly, which is especially useful when you are running out of air. It can also use its claws to latch to the ground underwater, which leads us to the next feature, foraging. In this state you’ll be able to detect animals living underground in the water, find them and if you’re lucky you can dig up some free food. We still have quite a bit of work to do in both art and programming, but we’ll be able to start testing soon.
amar0k- Programmer
Most of my month was spent working on the new net driver integration with Epic Online Services. This was required for a variety of reasons, specifically Easy Anti Cheat. More recently however, I have been able to shift focus from backend services and devote my attention to upgrading the capabilities of our AI, to which I have been adding the Pterodactylus, a new type of scavenger and getting the Carnotaurus back into the fray. Fish schools have also had a few changes which include fish that now leap out of the water and leave small splashes. Unfortunately this means the end of the flying fish bug. I know how much everyone loves them… Sorry!
Some improvements to dinosaur AI have included the ability for them to seek out food and water, as well as randomize their skins. I have been exploring options for how AI spawning should change to better accommodate the diet system for lower population servers. This means you should always be able to find your perfect diet. I have also improved the rabbit burrowing and ambient animal interaction which will be worked on more over the next month.
Some of you would have seen my recent streams which I just wanted to say I really enjoy doing so thanks everyone for the support and i appreciate all the comments and questions that come in.
Seiza - Video Editor
The update release this month was also exciting for me, because it also meant the release of what I've been working on for the last weeks and months: the trailer "Creation."
As there were, again, many mechanics that should be explained in it, this trailer is the longest so far. Another reason for its unusual length is that it was supposed to be calm and relaxed. After all, it might be the last chance to present such an atmospheric trailer. So let's enjoy every second of peaceful scenes before the world gets darker...
To illustrate the interaction of the different mechanics, my goal was to present each mechanic chronologically: first the skin system, then courting, nesting, hatching, and so on. To avoid it becoming boring however, I have chosen a different species for each mechanic, with smooth transitions between each.
The last scene with the Carnotaurus attack and the hatchling Carnotaurus just seems like a cinematic nice-to-have but actually it has several functions. It closes the parenthesis and opens the chance to show the actual possible in-game impact of the skin system. In addition it demonstrates the ecological cycle that the new nesting mechanic brings.
By the way, I read through a lot of feedback from you guys, and I'm very happy how many liked the depiction of Carnotaurus in this trailer!
After the release of the trailer I immediately started my next project. It's in a new format that many of you have been asking for.
Wedge - Sound Designer
This month has mostly consisted of more work on more Troodon sounds, with the majority of its sounds created and added to the engine, ready for me to spend some time play testing to make sure it sounds fleshed out and balanced. Troodon now only lacks a few sounds for its adult stage which, once complete, will have me moving on to create a juvenile variant for each sound.
I’ve also been working on creating some ‘chorus’ sounds for groups of Pterodactylus in varying group sizes and for different gameplay reasons.
Tapwing - 2D Artist
Despite the updated appearance adding extra floof, we very much wanted to keep Therizinosaur's murder turkey reputation.
One of the main goals was to see how many different ways we could use Theri’s claws, outside of just grabbing tree branches; cutting obstructive foliage, raking large predators, impaling small ones and exploring the potential for mutilation. Another aspect I’d like to see if we can implement is utilizing our Theri’s famously fluffy tail as a defensive feature. Absorbing a set amount of damage from tail attacks, giving Theri another shot at escaping predators trying to chase it down or offering some protection to its hatchlings from smaller creatures looking to steal one away as an easy snack.
Large and in charge. If there’s one idea we wanted to sell with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, it’s don't let it get its jaws on you! Its bite is a force to be reckoned with. In addition to that, we thought it might be time for an additional attack to help it single out targets; a side-striking head swing to stagger or even knock over prey and bust open bothersome gates. You can bet there will be plenty of opportunities for mutilation with the Rex. This is an animal you won’t want to go one-on-one against.
Jace - Level Designer
After a little over a year of being on the team this is actually my first DevBlog entry. And funny enough it's not even about level design, I'm here to talk about the design of the new night vision. Night vision is actually one of the first things I took a crack at when I joined the team, working on it when I had the time. The night vision coming to EVRIMA is quite different to the night vision of the past. In the past the night vision had a large visual impact on your play experience where under certain lighting it was actually best used flipping it on and off, or just off entirely because you could see better without it. The new night vision system was designed with the intent of being able to leave it on all the time if you wanted to. Meaning that it couldn't negatively hinder your vision or detract from the look of the game. But has to allow players to see in the dark.
To achieve these goals there were a few hurdles to get over. Like designing it in a way to not modify any of the colors or values on the screen so that you could retain full color vision and contrast. But how could I improve your vision in the dark if I couldn't make it any brighter? Outlines, inspired by ENVG-B, a newer night vision technology showed off by the U.S. military. In game this effect is done in a purely additive way to the scene where it will draw outlines around the edges of objects that exceed a certain distance from the object behind it. Then the intensity of those lines get masked to only the areas of the scene that are dark enough that the outlines prove beneficial to your vision. Then with a few extra details like fading it out around the edge of your screen and you get night vision that achieves these goals. This new system provides night vision that both retains all the color of the scene, and allows you to see in the dark, but it will also dynamically change and adjust itself to fit the needs of what you're currently looking at.
Jake - 3D Artist
I’m finally making creatures again! Short lived, as I will be back on miscellaneous environment assets and other goodies in the near future but for now I got to wrap up the technical work needed to make Austroraptor game ready, as well as wrap up the Baryonyx finally.
Austroraptor just needed a nice retopology, for feathered animals this can be a bit of a hassle as we need to account for the alpha cards but thankfully Austroraptor wasn’t too bad on this front, fewer than the Therizinosaurus.
Baryonyx was next up to get his face lift, accommodating new ideas for how the creature will work in gameplay as well as bringing it into the aesthetic of the newer dinosaur assets. I hope you guys like how it turned out!
KissenKitten - Producer
As mentioned above, we’re rounding out some changes for night vision so we can get that in your hands. We hope you like the new functionality and that it provides as many tense moments as the legacy version did. So be expecting that to appear.
Now let's talk about gore. The way gore is planned to function is to introduce horror elements into the game in a “natural'' way. Nature can be incredibly cruel by human standards and we do not plan to shy away from that fact. The Isle has always been declared a survival horror game and we plan to show you exactly why. Things are about to get uncomfortable very fast as we intend to emulate the ferocity and despair inherent in the wild. Some of the inhabitants of the island will have the ability to mutilate other animals in various ways, resulting in death. We want to capture the raw and unsettling experience of predation and combat amongst animals so you feel more urgency when it comes to self preservation. Not only will you be able to see the flesh being removed from a body, but in certain circumstances, you may be eaten alive as this happens. Exercise caution.
A dead body will go through different phases depending on varying circumstances. Fresh, eaten, rotten, bones etc. A fresh body that’s been eaten and a rotting body that hasn’t been will not only look visually different but they will function differently as well. Most fresh kills impact carnivores positively. But rotting flesh may be too septic for some carnivores to eat or for some animals to even be around. Further still, bones would only be consumed by a select few. Gore ties in with diets and will come with scent changes. Fresh meat won’t have the same odorous profile as rotting flesh but can still be tracked by other animals. Dragging bodies to more covered locations will become useful for reducing the amount of scent a body gives off and the time it takes to give it off. Which should provide you with a little more time to eat before your kill is inevitably discovered by other animals. There may be changes to which creatures can smell what, what ranges they can smell them at and with what impact. If you make a kill or find one, get it to cover and eat up as fast as you can before it is found or before the body becomes unpalatable. Time will be of the essence as a kill will not go unnoticed for long. Compies and Pteros will rat you out, attracting other predators.
The freshness of a body will matter as well as the contents of that body. If you’re playing as a creature that doesn’t favor certain organs, you may need to remove them to avoid snacking on something that may harm you. Some carnivores may get greater gains from eating certain organs. Others may not. This can help to expand the usefulness of the dead on the island as a single corpse can provide food for a myriad of different creatures at different stages of decomposition.
Stepping into work on playables, troodon will be entering testing to make sure its venom isn’t too strong or too weak and that it feels fluid. The venom does not currently rely on application alone or dosage alone. It is not a set it and forget it venom. It’s based on exposure. The longer the venom is in the bloodstream the worse the effects become. Building to a crescendo that would allow a murder of troodon to quickly drop the health of larger prey. But coordination is key for specifically bringing down larger animals as they only produce so much venom individually. However, a solo troodon is more than capable of killing creatures within its own size range. But together is where their real power lies.
The Beipiaosaurus, although not intended for Update 6, is getting deeper into production. Several animations were created previously alongside older updates but they’re now starting to see the light of day. We’ll showcase some of its current functionality so you’ll have an idea of how it works. Despite being ungainly on land, it is very proficient in the water. But no matter where they’re found, underestimating them is foolish. They have very long, sharp claws and know how to use them. So approach with caution. In water, the Deinosuchus can be found anywhere beneath the surface but the Beipiaosaurus will mostly exist in transit between the surface and the sediment floor. Constantly going back and forth between those two locations for food and air. Occasionally leaving the water to supplement the rest of its diet on land. More information to come. Additionally, we have some other creatures in various states of production like the Cerato, Galli, Herrera etc that we’ll start showing some production on soon.
Another note for Update 6 is our intent to bring the Gen 2s to the live branch so those of you that want to view the game through the eyes of a human won’t have to swap to lonely servers just to get the first-person perspective of the game. Which also serves to provide us with important information on how to make their gameplay visceral.
I think for fear of making this a novel, I’ll stop here. Check out this Austroraptor!
