Hello Drakelings!
Welcome to the twenty-first devblog for Operation: Harsh Doorstop. In this update, we will be reviewing the work that the team completed in the month of April 2022.
To start off this month’s devblog, I would like to cover some of our internal discussion points about what our current tentative path towards early access is looking like, and some plans for post-early access:
Pre-Early Access Task List (in no particular order)
- Bug fixing and polish of the infantry experience: We obviously have a lot of bugs and features to polish up surrounding the core infantry experience. This item goes without saying, but it is still an important one for us. Most of the items on this list are already known and have been reported when the demo came out, but there are also some engine-level bugs that the programmer would like to take care of here to ensure a smoother experience, and help pave the way for future features that we wish to implement.
- Keybinds and options menu expansion: One of the highest requested features is an expansion of the keybinds options and menus. This will include things like allowing for hold ADS, toggle lean, and so on. We aren’t exactly sure when the programmer is going to get around to this item just yet, as it is going to be somewhat of a large undertaking due to all of the user interface (UI) work and more extensive programming that he is going to have to do, but it is something that we intend on completing prior to going to early access.
- Vaulting and mantling: As you will see later on in this devblog, work is already underway on these features. Currently, we are preparing the animation blockouts that we will use to get a first iteration of this system done, and then a few of the other developers are working on a prototype system for vaulting/mantling up and over objects from an idle position, as well as from a sprint movement. Read on to learn more.
- Server admin tools expansion: Currently, we just have a basic RCON setup where server admins can kick, ban, change the map and factions, and so on. As we have covered in previous devblogs, we have a lot of plans for how we will vastly expand this suite of tools for admins to be able to run their servers to their liking. We will be adding in features and functionalities that will be useful for active admins, as well as people who will not be as active in being able to run their communities (such as voting systems). Once we have these tools to a certain point, that is when we anticipate that we will begin admitting people who have signed up and are on the waitlist for the multiplayer playtest sessions.
- FOB/construction systems: This should be self-explanatory—this system will allow players to build and fortify FOBs, fortify firing positions, establish rally points, and so on. This will also mark a point where we will be shifting harder into reinforcing teamwork and communication, which is obviously something that hasn’t been a huge focus with where the game experience currently is (but rest assured it is very important to us).
- Game mode expansion (basic): At the moment, we have a very basic offering of AAS, and it is nothing special. One of the things that we would like to do as we expand the way that the game modes work is simply bring in functionality for many tried-and-true, basic game modes that everyone is familiar with so that there are a variety of experiences that can be had, and the logic is fleshed out and expanded for modders to come in and make their own custom configurations utilizing a wider and more versatile framework. This includes, but is not limited to, game modes such as TDM, CTF (which we figure can be repurposed for things like intel retrieval, hostage rescue, and so on), insurgency (locating and destroying caches), terrorist hunt (PvE AI elimination), 0GQE9-67ZF4-5L7T4, king of the hill, bomb plant/defusal, and so on. This list is not final, nor is it representative of what the final basic game modes could look like.
- Steam workshop support: Self-explanatory—we will set up Steam workshop so that modders will be able to upload and distribute their mods easily to players on day 1.
- Audio overhaul: As many of you have likely seen, we are already currently working towards our first iteration of our audio overhaul. This will not only involve the sounds of the individual weapons, but more importantly how those sounds interact with the environment around them (i.e. if I fire my rifle indoors vs. outdoors, or in a city vs. a forest). We hope to have a first iteration of our new sound systems in the coming weeks. Please keep in mind that audio is extremely complex, so this will likely be an iterative process that will take us time to get right, but we feel that we are on a good path towards having a solid soundstage.
- Bots/AI: Work on bots/AI is constantly happening in the background, as we have a dedicated AI programmer that works on these systems. How bots will look/act by the time early access comes around will largely depend on whatever progress he is able to make in that time. Bots/AI are extremely complex systems, and will be an iterative process as there are still many unknowns to explore and decisions to make for how we want them to play, but we are confident that by the time we go to early access it will be a night and day difference to what they are right now. Some of the things that we are working on and/or planning currently is having the bots actually group together in their respective squads, doctrine-based behaviors such as the ability to get into formations, bound and peel, and react to contact, making it so that they can no longer see through smoke and foliage, and so on.
- Content: We still have some remaining content planned, such as a remake of the WW2 factions to prepare for our shift to Operation: Overlord. We generally get to content as we are able to budget for/afford it, and our main focus right now is features and the framework of OHDcore, so we don’t usually keep too comprehensive of a list of content that we plan on making—whatever feels right at the time is typically how we approach it, so it’s hard to say what sort of additional content that we will work on prior to early access.
After we complete this list, we feel that we should have a solid experience to offer for early access, and we should be able to start establishing a date that we will actually go live and release O:HD for free to the general public. Once we go to early access, this is the list of the more immediate tasks that we believe we will be focusing on first:
Post-Early Access Task List (in no particular order)
- Vehicles: Basic ground vehicle functionality for transport, logistics, and static weaponry (including artillery). As we have stated in the past, most of the work that we need to do when it comes to the basic vehicle mechanics, such as driving, getting in/out of different seats, traction on different materials and inclines/grades, performance of large vs. small vehicles, and so on is largely completed. That being said, it is the remaining networking and multiplayer replication work that still needs to be done, and is arguably one of the largest hurdles for getting in our first implementation of vehicles. This is really just a matter of tasking our lead programmer on this, however, he obviously has a long list of other items that he needs to tackle first before he can dedicated and focus his time towards this, but rest assured it will be done! In the meantime, we are already seeing some impressive work happening in the modding scene with vehicles just using the tools that they already have, so I would not be surprised if we wind up seeing some form of vehicle mod(s) first before we get around to doing an official implementation.
- Medical overhaul: We have many things that we want to overhaul within our medical system, so in light of the rest of our tasks we felt that this would be more appropriate to tackle once we go to early access. We will release more details about what our plans are with this once we further design this internally.
- Game mode expansion (advanced/custom): After we have completed the basic game mode expansion pass, our plan is to venture into our own custom designed game modes. We are still discussing a lot of ideas internally and writing design documents, so we don’t have a description yet of what that will look like yet—still plenty of time before this happens, so we are taking our time with it and exploring many ideas.
- Customization (weapons/gear): Self-explanatory—weapon customization and gear/clothing customization is of course still planned. We already have some very early functionality for some factors of the systems we will need for these (such as the animation overhaul we did, which will make it easier to have a variety of attachments and still maintain fluid and appropriate animations), but there is still a lot to go for these features that will take more time.
- More content: What will that be? Your guess is as good as mine—it’ll be whatever we feel is relevant to make at the time (and we’ll see what sort of mods exist by then as well, and what the community wants to see).
For the sake of clarity: this is NOT a comprehensive/cumulative list of all of our plans with O:HD! This is simply the more immediate items that we feel will be important to prioritize, and what we believe the development cycle for the game will be surrounding early access. This is also NOT any sort of estimation of when early access will be, or how long any of these tasks will take to complete. We are constantly evaluating our development cycle and our action plan leading up to and immediately after early access, and we want to make sure that the community is kept up-to-date with what those plans are along the way. As usual, plans are always subject to change!
Maps
Omaha Beach
Blockout work continued for Omaha Beach:
Lam Dong
More defensive positions and general hardcover were placed for Lam Dong, along with more foliage detailing and opening up some areas. A new dusk lighting preset was also added, alongside other general lighting tweaks/improvements:
Khafji
Some foliage detailing and walls were added to Khafji, and a new clear sunny lighting preset was added in addition to other general lighting improvements:
Animations
Further work was done on the reworked third person character animations since the last time that we shared them in a previous devblog.
Now, we are actually utilizing Lyra’s shooter template blendspace animations in combination with our own in-house animations (we redid the blockout ones that we showed in the past). For those that are unfamiliar with what Lyra is, Lyra is a learning resource (created by Epic themselves) designed as a sample game project to help understand the frameworks of Unreal Engine 5. Its architecture is designed to be modular, including a core system and plugins that are updated regularly along with the development of UE5. We backported portions of this system from UE5 into UE4 in order to utilize some of their advancements, and set us up for continuing to be able to keep OHDcore in line with the direction Epic is taking Unreal Engine into the future (which is a large contributing factor towards what will help keep it performant, and easily modifiable).
In addition to the third person animation work, we also redid a few more existing/older weapon animations:
M9, Makarov, 1911, P38, PKM, and RPD
Objects, Models, and Textures
World Props and Environment Assets
More blockout buildings were created for use on Omaha Beach:
Foliage
New palm trees were created for use in our desert and jungle environments, as well as some new grass for use on our Normandy-based maps:
Upcoming and WIP Features
Vaulting and Mantling
At long last, work has begun on vaulting and mantling! Currently, our third person animator is working on a first pass of blockout animations:
Our goal with this system is to allow for the following types of vaulting/mantling scenarios: vaulting/mantling over/onto objects from an idle position, and vaulting/mantling over/onto objects from a sprint. Whether you vault or mantle will be determined by object height, and whether you should go over or up onto something will be determined by the object itself (i.e. is it a thin fence, or a shipping container).
Beyond the blockout animations, the actual mechanics will of course have to be developed for the animations to be plugged into as well:
Please note that this is a very early prototype, and it is not meant to look good. What is shown above is the first person view model being made to move in tandem with the third person animation so that everything is synced up between what you see and what your third person model is doing. The vaulting system checks if you're within a certain distance to the wall while walking forward and pressing the jump button. If you're within that distance to the wall, then it checks the depth of the wall to determine if the player has enough space to step up onto the obstacle. If there isn't enough space to step up, the player will then vault over instead.
Bots/AI
The AI programmer worked on some of the more technical factors of the bots/AI, and spent time cleaning up and refactoring their vocalization and navigation features. In addition, he pivoted to a somewhat new navigation/locomotion workflow, mainly to prepare for the AI squad movement mechanics. For now, AI squads will only move as a group, but their behavior will be more or less the same as it is now—this workflow will eventually lead to more complex AI squad behavior which will allow them to do things like follow formations, more effectively react to contact with actual small unit tactics and maneuvers, and so on.
—
Thanks to everyone for checking out this month’s devblog. If you managed to claim the hidden playtest key, let us know down below in the comments!
Make sure to join the O:HD Discord, and be sure to follow our Steam announcements to track updates. See you all next time!
-Goomes, Lead Community Manager