Hi everyone,
it's finally here! Brand new update ːsteamhappyː
It was quite some time since the last update so here is what we have been working since the last update and what was added/changed.
AI
One of the main reason why there was such a huge time gap between the last update and this one, was because we were doing big internal changes in the AI system. Those changes were necessary for the upcoming features, which are yet in the development like fight system, begging on the street, playing on the instruments etc.
Thanks to those changes there are now much more people on the streets and "no life" areas (e.g., Zizkov) have been populated.
Another plus from those changes is that we are now able to make the AI more alive and diverse. We have already implemented that NPCs can go smoking and Hobo characters are starting to have some basic day/night cycle (keep himself warm, have a beer, just chill or go to sleep). The NPCs are also detecting your presence and they are looking at you if you are near. Adding more behaviours is now quite easy and we will be adding new behaviours in the following updates.
Seasons & Characters
One of the biggest highlights of this update are definitely seasons. Each season last 30 days and than you can move on to the next season. However if you don't want to immediately start the next season, you can carry on in the current one and start the new season later.
Each season is more deadlier then the previous one, because of dangerous weather calamities. These calamities are extreme storms with a freezing wind and deep fog. During those storms even NPCs are rather staying inside, so be careful.
However if you will survive the season you will earn coins, which you can use in the brand new character system, where you can unlock or upgrade your characters. There are currently 4 archetypes which you can get (Common Hobo is the standard character which was used until now). Each character has its own specific gameplay style.
Every playable character has already its own 2D visualisation (in the HUD and in the inventory). However currently they all have the same 3D model, but we are already working on a specific model for each character. Hear is sneak peek of Smelly Jack, which is now in progress.
Quests
We have also been working on implementing core of the quest system. First glimpse of it can already be seen in the game, because ending of the season is made as a simple quest.
But before we can start adding proper and more complex quests we need to first finish our internal writing tool for the quest system. This tool is also used for other texts in the game like conversations.
Addictions
You can now became addicted on alcohol, drugs and ciggaretes if you are using one of those items too many times during small amount of time. Once you are addicted using those items will give you benefits, but if you aren't consuming items which are you addicted to, then you have to deal with withdrawal symptoms. Only way to get rid of those addictions is to survive long enough without consuming those items.
Music
Our music composer Ondřej Morcinek created a lot of new unique music. The length of in-game soundtrack has expanded from 7 minutes to almost 35 minutes.
The music is now more zone based rather then random. Tracks are played in different locations, based on mood of the song and mood of the place in which the player currently is. In the future the music will be also affected with other things like actual weather, current state of the player (if he is alive, ill,...) etc.
Languages
The game is now fully translated to chinese except of few texts, which were changed few days before release, but those few texts should be translated as well soon, so don't worry.
Graphics & Optimisation
Since the last update we have been working really hard on optimisation and graphics visuals. We have finished all our tasks regarding graphics optimisation and we can now move more on improving the visuals. However adding those changes to the public version of the game would take us another week of time, so we decided to release now this content update and the optimisation update with already improved visuals on certain places week later.
Other changes & Bug fixes
- Fixed non disappearance of warnings in the bin on the Client
- Fixed issues with creating the game, when playing offline
- GUI optimisation
- Fixed issues on rare monitor setups
- Improved crashing in rare situations
- Fixed problems with initialisation of Volumetric Lights after rare dll corruptions
- Day changes are now visible in lobby for other players
- Fixed opening of help screen
- GI optimisation
- Faster and more optimised NPC streaming
- Fixed indirect lighting around Zizkov
- Fade in/out of players that are inside
- Fixed using character on client from deleted world in different world if they have the same name
- NPC are now present even during nights
- Collider improvements and optimisation
- Dynamic resolution temporarily removed due to performance issues.
- Fixed issues with text bundles
- Added vending machine sound
- Added freezing sound
- Added poop sound
Enjoy the new update!
- Perun Creative