*Note - These changes are only on the Experimental Branch. To access the Experimental Branch, be sure to select it in your Steam Library. If this app does not appear, please check if this app is hidden in your Library. Experimental Branch changes upgrade to the primary branch monthly.
While we're working on restoring Aziel, adding seamless space travel, and creating a much improved cloud saving system, we were able to hit a number of items from our bug reports to improve the overall experience. When we play the game we feel much still needs to be done to improve the core gameplay, and we're chipping away at it week over week.
Mecha Crab
We rewrote the creature driving system to be far less complex in code and more modular. In addition to having strafing, running, jumping and shooting from the Mecha Crab with improved physics and math driven IK, this system can possibly be used in other ways. We'll experiment more with how to use this new tech as we go.
Temperature
The temperature dial has been changed to reflect your suit temperature, which is calculated by a number of real time weather forces in the game. You'll notice now that your temperature gauge will change when entering an enclosed vehicle or structure, which will also affect the frost on screen, since these areas are considered "optimal temperature zones."
We hope with making the temperature suit-centric will be more clear, and give more piece of mind when entering a warm zone. Remember, all the temperature readings are in Celsius.
Hover and Stamina Adjustments
In the Survival Update we re-established a baseline for the survival gameplay. In the past, many of the features were over powered and took away from the survival mechanics, and therefore we rebalanced in the Survival Update. That said, when we make adjustments we typically go too far on purpose, then gradually ease up to find the sweet spot.
Hover and Stamina are both key features in the game and will probably be endlessly tweaked, and in this build we're trying this: Hover duration is doubled, Stamina usage rate halved with its restore rate doubled. This will allow you to sprint for longer periods of time while feeling more responsive. The hover now sports a replenish timer, since hover replenishing takes 5 seconds to fill.
Lots of Minor Fixes
We've been chatting on Discord and fielding your responses on the Houston email channel, and have been able to knock out a large number of issues reported. The worms have been removed from the interior of the map (for now), suit attachment rendering fixed, and lots of other small things, including a quick pass on UI audio.
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Added - support for oxygen replenish in enclosed vehicles
Added - support for optimal suit temperature in enclosed vehicles
Added support to be at optimal suit temperature in structures
Added - support for Inflatable Dome to give Oxygen
Added - timer to hover replenish
Added - more space for inventory UI
Added - reverb to System Computer and player voice
Fixed - Mecha Crab movement
Fixed - first person weapon shadows
Fixed - first person attachment rendering
Fixed - Depository to allow accessing from side
Fixed - Inflatable Dome ramp
Changed - Made heartbeat sound ramp up intensity
Changed - Reworked foot landing sound
Changed - Halved all footstep sounds
Changed - Updated all UI sounds
Changed - Increased default hover duration by double
Changed - Removed worms from inside continent
Changed - Changed Temperature reading to show suit temperature, not outside temperature
Changed - hover replenish rate to double
Changed - Stamina to replenish faster
Changed - Made Stamina more responsive
Changed - Improved sounds for building
Work In Progress
Save Game System
We're attacking the save game issues from all sides and are making this our top priority. Essentially, the legacy save system uses MySQL database calls. Because of the increased traffic these calls sometimes fail on the servers, which causes incomplete data. When we get the data back incomplete, the game doesn't quite know how to parse it. Rather than continually fixing this system, we're migrating to a new file cloud save system, which has backwards compatibility and redundancy, and will also allow for versions of your save data to be recovered if needed.
Aziel
The Aziel map has been restored and optimized and almost made it into this Experimental Build, but not quite. We've improved the lava rendering and snow FX, and Aziel is looking better than ever. We've been playing on Aziel all week and should be ready for the next release.
Space Travel
We're continuing to bring over features and content from the Beta Branches, and the Seamless Space Travel has been brought over and we've been space travelling internally all week. All that is left is to add the multiplayer component and the save game data when entering a new planet, which ties into the new Save Game System currently being worked on.
While we still have much to do to add, restore, and polish I'm happy to say development is coming along smoothly, mostly due to the code refactor and clean up that occurred leading up to the Survival Update. It seems we have a very solid base now, many of the performance problems of the past are behind us, and once we have the data system bulletproof we'll be able to really play offense week over week.
Over and out,
Brian