Tannenberg Alpha Testing at full steam!
With the Early Access release drawing nearer we are still hard work testing the current builds, for which we still need more help. We have already been getting a lot of new testers on board. Recently another group of 1,400 soldiers has been released into Tannenberg so we are picking up speed. But we have more room so if you haven’t already, you can join Tannenberg Alpha Testing using the link below. We do ask you to have at least 20 hours of Verdun playtime. We need experienced soldiers!
Join the Tannenberg Alpha: http://steamcommunity.com/app/633460/discussions/0/2217311444342949200/
Do realize, testing games in such an early state is a delicate matter. We don’t only require your valuable feedback, but also your secrecy. Signing an NDA is a serious matter so please don’t post anything from your Alpha Testing experience. And if you find a bug you’d like us to squash, let us know here:
http://bugs.verdungame.com/forums/4-alpha-testing/
Q&A With Artist Jim ‘Volcol’ Chilton
We started things off in June with the first Frontline News, featuring a video the devs did with The Great War on Youtube, with some additional information courtesy of Lead Artist Jim ‘Volcol’ Chilton. Since then we have shared a lot of new in-game action and items with you, showcasing a lot of new assets. A good occasion to get some additional information on the art process, straight from the source!
How have the last month been progressing?
The last few months have (expectedly) been pretty busy. There’s been a lot of finalisation of assets and general little tweaks and edits here and there, to make the scenes, weapons, and characters better before launch. A lot of fixes have been approached based on feedback from the community. There’ll always be improvements going on behind the scene.
Any notable changes in certain models or items that we have only seen in an older state, that you are really proud of?
The weapons have seen a set of new textures created, now with a higher texture resolution. Doubling the texture resolution has allowed for much a much better result, with rifles having much nicer wood stocks, and metals. I’m particularly pleased with the Cyrillic markings on the Russian pieces.
Mosin Carbine and m95 Stutzen example
The maps have some serious set pieces. Do you have personal favourites you would like to put in the spotlight?
The buildings in Poland are some of the first I’ve ever done, and with the aforementioned strict technical limitations (the amount of materials we use being one major performance factor). All In all I’m super pleased with the results. I’ll never think something is perfect, but as an artist it will always be a learning process. I’m really happy with the weapon art I’ve produced also, some of the items were a joy to create but not so much to research.
Which changes in the engine allowed you to do new things with the art and design you are really happy (or surprised) with?
We’ve been keeping up with Unity's 2017 new features with each patch. The art process is pretty standard but in terms of visuals, I’m really pleased with the improvements to environmental effects (not my area). The new fog and weather system works exceptionally well, and can make for a whole different feel from round to round.
Is there a particular part of the higher graphical fidelity you are especially impressed with? Has the new weather system had any effect on creating the art and assets?
The environmental and weather changes haven’t really impacted the art process too much – but have presented a few challenges in getting snow to work well from model to model.
Which of the new units had the most challenging outfits or weapons to model?
Great coats are difficult to approach. We don’t utilise cloth based physics/simulation – so including them in game and getting them to look reasonable is quite frustrating. The characters in general saw a few issues highlighted in previous Tannenberg updates, we’ve since then fixed what we can easily (uniform colouring etc) as well as general improvement. The weapon rigging for the HMG’s was quite a challenge, getting machine gun belts working well for the mounted guns took quite a while to rig.
And which kind of assets in general have been the most challenging to create?
Everything presents its own challenge. I suppose the three areas that have been the biggest challenges for me as of late are the Panzerzug rework – I haven’t done much in the way of vehicle artwork before. The church was also a challenge, given technical limitations and the scale of the asset. Foliage, I had never approached before, so working on new trees (from an existing base) was extremely frustrating and time consuming but rewarding.
Winter trees example
Is there a particular weapon or item you especially enjoyed working on for Tannenberg, as someone genuinely interested in WW1?
Personally I’m really pleased with the Mannlicher m88/90. It was quite a simple item to approach but a really rewarding project and unusual weapon, one that I hadn’t been familiar with until it’s inclusion into Tannenberg.
Stay Tuned!
As the release is getting closer we are able to share more and more inside information, so as always, keep an eye out for upcoming posts and editions of Frontline News. We have more interesting topics coming up!