Hi everyone,
the new Escape the Pacific version 'Alpha 22' is now available.
For this last 'Summer Schedule update' we were mainly focusing on finalizing the promised engine changes: We have new island topology, a new 100 meter deep ocean, new vegetation models and a new wind system.
The most important new feature is the fully customizable island topology generator. It allows to generate islands with any given type and size whenever they are needed. The main advantage of this feaure is the ability to easily create island clusters based on difficulty setting and the latitude the player is located in. The maximum size of islands above plant level area (not counting the beaches) in this Alpha 22 build has been set to ~100x100 meters. Bigger islands (plant level area above 250x250 meters or more) which the new topology system makes possible will be enabled when the new vegetation distribution system will be implemented.
The next feature that brings a whole new immersion level to the game is the 100 meters deep ocean. It can contain much more sea life as there is actually implemented. The sea bed could be safely reached only with maxed out swimming, diving and endurance skills - of course when fully rested. The vertical swimming speed has been altered a little - it offers a little slower diving and a little faster swimming up.
Vegetation has got its tune-up also. There are 10 new models added to create more diverse foliage. All of the vegetation models have also gotten a brand new wind animation system which gives them a much more realistic look. We will continue adding new vegetation models continually. We have updated the LOD levels for many vegetation models which results in ~50% higher FPS in dense populated areas. The vegetation models are now randomly rotated when spawning which also helps the environment look more natural.
The last added feature is the new wind system. It is configurable much more easily and together with the new wind animations brings the visual experience to a whole new level.
Please note: The actual state of the island topology and vegetation animations are very good but they will need some more configuring, tweaking and balancing to achieve the best result as we can get. It means that in the future builds the island topology, island foliage and underwater life can get updates which can result in their changed look, position, rotation or distribution.
At this point we would like to inform you that the update schedule interval will be changed from 1 week to 2 weeks to allow us to work also on some more advanced and also more interesting features.
Changelog:
New features:
1. Added: New customizable Island topology generation system
2. Added: New 100 meter deep ocean
3. Added: New Vegetation models
4. Added: New realistic vegetation wind animations
5. Added: New customizable Wind system
6. Added: Random rotation for vegetation
General:
1. Added: Ground texture mapping is updated. The transition between different textures is no more square shaped
2. Changed: Higher MainMenu island rotation maximal height
3. Fixed: Ground texture generation in case of steep topology fixed for remote islands
4. Changed: Breath level has been changed to allow easier breathing when swimming
5. Changed: Vertical swim speed has been increased when swimming upwards and decreased when swimming downwards
6. Fixed: In new game started after drowning the Air stat is now correctly 100%
7. Changed: Updated many LOD setting for vegetation models
8. Changed: OysterFarm Rocks are located on 0 - 20 degree steep seabed (not only on 0 - 10 degree)
We will continue to work on fine-tuning the new island topology system. Furthermore we plan to work some more on the Animals' AI as there are some issues which should be addressed with higher priority. Other new features will be added as implementing of the planned features and fixing issues allows us.
Thank you for your patience and for your constructive feedbacks helping us to get rid of the issues as fast as is possible.
Please be aware that during early access phase game code could change as much as affecting gameplay when loading/saving savegames from earlier versions. To always be on the safe side make sure to start a new game with each update. Thank you!
G4GTeam.
If you have any further questions do not hesitate to ask us. We will try to answer your questions in detail.