Jul 5, 2019

How a game about photographing tornadoes led me into a void of demon cows

Storm Chasers

Before we get to what might be the weirdest game-breaking bug I've ever experienced, can we talk about how cool storm chasers are? Or at least how cool I imagine they are based on my single source of information about storm chasers: the 1996 masterpiece Twister, starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt.

If Twister is to be believed—and I have no reason to doubt Bill Paxton—storm chasers go speeding around in trucks to find tornadoes, then drive real close to them while yelling things like "It's on the move, let's see what she does!" and "Get ahead of it, it's gonna turn!" and they put monitoring equipment covered with Pepsi cans in the path of the tornadoes and they sometimes kiss in the rain, and also there are evil, wealthy, corporate storm chasers with fancy trucks who want to... monetize tornadoes or something?

I guess I haven't seen the film in a while. Some of the details are a bit hazy.

Point being, the idea of chasing tornadoes is cool, so when I saw an Early Access game called Storm Chasers about being a storm chaser I immediately jumped in to chase storms, and soon after I was led into a black void of demonic cows.

Jokes aside, I am genuinely interested in playing this game, because one of the main things you do in Storm Chasers is take photographs of tornadoes. I already like taking pictures in games, and taking pictures of tornadoes sounds like fun. While the graphics aren't particularly good, the tornadoes themselves do look pretty great.

There are four singleplayer missions you have to complete in Storm Chasers before you can play online with other people in a sort of storm chasing competition. In the first mission, you have to run fairly close to a tornado and take pictures of it. You get scored on your pictures, with more points being awarded for capturing images of debris in the air and being close enough to get a really nice shot. Since the camera in this game is apparently from 100 years ago, you only have a limited number of exposures available, so you have to make sure your shots count.

In the next few missions I get more storm chasing tools. There's my truck, which I steer with disembodied hands and forearms and which has a radar screen on the dashboard that lets me see where the next tornado might land. I have probes in the bed of my truck, which I can take out, activate, and leave behind in the hopes that the tornado passes over them, giving me valuable tornado data (and more points toward my score).

My truck needs to be refueled and repaired at service stations if it's damaged during a storm, which happens when golf-ball-sized hail begins pummeling me and when I completely roll it over after driving over some debris.

The driving in Storm Chasers is, yes, absolutely atrocious. Steering is awful and stopping the truck, even at low speeds, causes a long, slow skid regardless of the weather conditions. While it's a shame that the chasing part of Storm Chasers is so bad at the moment, it's still pretty darn exciting to be in the path of a tornado (or in some cases, multiple tornadoes) while taking pictures.

I guess I should get to the demon cows since it's in the headline and everything. After completing the first four missions, I try out multiplayer, or at least I try to try out multiplayer. I join a lobby and wait, and wait, and wait. There's a game of Snake you can play in the lobby while you wait, where you steer a truck around eating tornadoes, which is cute and gives me something to do while waiting. Eventually, nothing happens. Well, immediately nothing happens, and then nothing continues to happen. No one else joins the lobby, so I head back to singleplayer for my fifth mission.

I load the mission, which is to take pictures of tornadoes on some farmland, and then this happens. This happens. For the video below, you'll need to have the volume turned on, and for the full effect I'd suggest you turn it up as loud as it will go.

Yes, I do in fact seem to be trapped in a black void filled with demonic cows. I am not sure what crime I committed to doom me to Cow Hell—well, okay, maybe the hundreds of burgers and steaks I've consumed in my life would qualify. But it's terrifying in there! I try to load the mission twice more and the same thing happens, nothing but loud, incessant mooing in the darkness. After a restart I'm able to continue my tornado hunting, though every time a level loads I brace myself for a barrage of agonized cow souls.

Honestly, I should have expected this. Again: Believe Twister.

Storm Chasers isn't a great game at the moment—I really hope the driving gets some major improvements while it's in Early Access—but despite the jank it's still kind of fun. And if you're wondering what happens if you walk too close to a tornado, I've got you covered below. Yes, I died, but at least I didn't wake up in Cow Hell this time.

Jun 30, 2019

Upcoming features and bug fixing

Storm Chasers - littlecloudgames

Hi storm chasers!
First of all, I would like to thank you all for your support and interest. It is very motivating to see that the game is followed by the gamers.

As I said in the last post, I'm working on a relatively small update to solve some issues and add simple but important features.

I think it's essential, for an Early Access game, that players can keep an eye on the evolution of development.

So, to keep you inform of the tasks I am working on, I have created a Trello board with the features and bug fixing that will be in the next update of the game and to track features that will be added later.

There are three columns that represent the state of the tasks that will be added in the next version and I have added a fourth column to list interesting features that will be added later.

In case of bug fixing, if I mark a task as Done, it could be because I have fixed it or because I can't reproduce it.

The name of the board includes the version number of the next update. I will change it anytime I upload a new update.

Storm Chasers Trello board

I have seen that many of you would like to know the exact upload date of the next update, but I can't give you more info as I am working on tasks one by one and getting an exact estimate is impossible.

I prefer to not give any date to avoid disappointments, but with this Trello board you will be well informed of the next update's progress.

That's all for today, don't doubt to post suggestions because even if I don't comment, I read every post.

Thank you so much for being here, see you in the game! ːsteamhappyː

Jun 28, 2019

Version 0.5.1 - Fixes and improvements

Storm Chasers - littlecloudgames

Hello,
The game has been live for about 6h and it's already received (a lot of) negative reviews.

Well, I wasn't waiting for this negative tsunami, but I have to stand up and extract of all the possible fixes and improvements that the game needs.
The good thing about Early Access is that the game will never stop to evolve.

From what I've read in forums and reviews, I think that this could be a good roadmap to start:
Bugs:
- In mission 4, it seems that there is a problem to refuel the car
- In mission 2, there seems to be a problem for completing the 2 objectives for some players
- Mission 5 don't load correctly
- When you activate a probe if you press the button to pause, it freezes
- Radar doesn't show all of the activity areas
- Objective's text don't show properly in some resolutions
- Some game's crashes

Improvements:
- Add Singleplayer Free Roaming (Difficulty: 1/5)
- Add Online Free Roaming [like in GMod] (Difficulty: 4/5)
- Make the game brighter (Difficulty: 1/5)
- Remove the need to complete mission 4 to play online (Difficulty: 1/5)
- Better performance in low-end PC [less particles in clouds] (Difficulty: 2/5)
- Better car physics [better speed up and brake] (Difficulty: 2/5)

I think that those are all of the issues and suggestions that I have found in comments and reviews.
I would like to ask you to not post bad reviews until you are totally sure that the game will not fit your needs and desires, because every negative review is very harmful for the game's future.

More important, I would like to really thank you all for buying the game and playing it.

Jun 4, 2019

Devlog #3: Road to Early Access

Storm Chasers - littlecloudgames

Aloha storm chasers!
After two weeks of silence, I'm back to share the current development state of the game.

I have lost a couple of days of work because of my source code repository (where I save all of my work on the game to avoid any issue in case of computer damage). The size of the game's project is getting very big and I had to find another way to save everything in a safe place.

Beside of this problem, I've also been out another couple of days for personal reasons.

Anyway, those have been the progress made during the last two weeks.

Money management

Inspired by some of your comments, I have added money management to the game.

It is the main feature I've added to the game since the last devlog. It is really a great change and it will change the way you'll play in online game mode.

At game start, all players will have the same cash quantity to spend during the whole game duration.

Currently there is no way to earn money but, maybe, I could add one later.

So... how it works: inside the gas station shop (in the center of the map) you will be able to buy new items and to upgrade other ones.

Of course, you don't have enough money to buy everything so you will have to choose wisely what you need to track tornadoes the best way.
Money will also be used to repair your car and to refuel (both in gas station too).

It is a big change as there are other players in your team, so you could create strategies to upgrade your radar while another team mate buy two or three probes and another one upgrades his photo storage to be able to take more pictures.

Of course it is only the beginning and it could become more complex during the Early Access, but I am really exited with this new feature.

Car behaviour

Another small features has been added to the driving experience.

The car engine will be off at game start or when you are refuelling.

The car will no longer explode automatically when it takes too much damages (only a powerful hit will made it explode).

When you are near a tornado, wind gusts will influence the steering.

Some screenshots

I haven't done significant changes in the graphical part of the game, but here are two screenshots taken during my last testing.

-----

That's all for now.

The game will be launched in june but I don't know the exact day of month.

I will not add any new feature to the game before Early Access launch. I will now focus on bug fixing and closing some legacy tasks that needs to be done before the launch.

Thank you so much for all of your kind words.

Stay tuned for more info!

May 18, 2019

Devlog #2: Pre-Early Access

Storm Chasers - littlecloudgames

Hello there!
I'm back for a new devlog about the game. Little more than two weeks have passed since the last one and I have been working on a lot of things. Let's go!

Supercell formation

I think that this will be a sticky section because it will be evolving during the game development to get better results. I have changed the supercell appearance to make it more realistic and it is pretty impressive right now. This "picturesque" screenshot (to quote Black_Eagle99 ːsteamhappyː) captured during the sunset gives you an idea of the new supercell rendering.

Wind information

As TylerPlaysGTA5 suggests in another thread, the wind is very important in storm chasing and I have added more info inside the car about it to better predict movements of supercells. It becomes less accurate when approaching windy zones but it can be very useful when chasing a faraway tornado.

Trees damages

In the last version, trees can be damaged by tornadoes. Tree branches are thrown away, leaves are pulled out and even trunks can be torn off by strong tornadoes.

Car interactions

Your car is your best friend in this game. Without a car, you will have to run to chase (escape from?) tornadoes. To add more interest in driving mechanics, beside from fuel management, I have added some new interactions as repairing car damages or pushing the car when it is stuck in mud during high precipitations weather.

Main menu

It is a temporary UI but it will gives you a better idea of what to expect about the game.
The "Customize" option lets you update your character and car appearance depending on your XP level.
Right now, the free roaming option will not be available for E.A. launch because I use it for testing purposes and it needs to be upgraded.

Online

It has been the main focus of work since the last devlog. I have fixed a lot of things and it is now working as it should. You can't drive other player's cars, but you can sit in passenger seat in cars that belong to your team.

To make chatting easier with gamepad, I have also added a quick chat option as in a lot of other online games.

Launch date

There is a lot of work remaining before Early Access launch but I don't think that anything could be blocking the development. There isn't a fixed day, but it will be released during the first two weeks of june.

As I wrote in another thread's comment, the price will be lower than what I said before (it was setted about $15-$20) but I can't say anything more precise as the final price has not been fixed yet.

-----

That's all for now. Don't doubt to tell me what you think about this devlog and if you have any suggestion in comments. It is really great to read that you are waiting for the game to be launched. It is very motivating!

Thank you so much for all of your kind words.

Stay tuned for more info!

Apr 28, 2019

Devlog #1: The first one

Storm Chasers - littlecloudgames

Hi storm chasers!
This is the first devlog about the game after its announcement. I have been working hard for the last weeks and I would like to share with you what have been done. Let's begin.

Supercell formation and rain shafts

The first thing I have been working was to make supercells more realistic and impressive. In the trailer, there was only a tornado with a small cloud above it, but now there are supercell forming and moving on the map that can ending up creating tornadoes.
I have also added rain shafts below supercells when there is heavy rain or hail precipitations.
You can have a better look of those rain shafts in this screenshot of a tornado that touched the ground pretty far away from my position:

Better GPS radar

There are also a lot of changes in the GPS radar. The supercell's formation are now appearing more realistically and I have added more useful information about roads, buildings, points of interest... etc. Of course it is far to be perfect but I think that I will let it unchanged for the early access launch.

Rain on windows and winshield wipers

Another graphical point that I was wishing to modify was the rain visual effects inside the car. I think that it is very important that the player feels safe and protected inside his vehicle and, for me, the windshield wipers are one element that can gives you this feeling.
It is really great to watch heavy rain falling on the window and listen the wipers cleaning the windshield. Of course, you can't expect a realistic effect like in the Drive Club game but I think it is enough... for the moment ;-).

As you can see in the screenshot above, I have also changed the hands of the driver to match the skin tone that you have selected for your avatar and I have added more info icons (car lights, engine gears... etc.)

Fill up the gas tank

It was something that was already working in the past version of the game, but, to add more realistic interactions, I have added the need to exit your car to fill up the gas tank and not only to have to drive to the gas station and to wait inside the car.

Online

Those was the changes made on the visual part of the game but the main work I have done in the past weeks has been in the online mode. I have fixed a lot of gameplay mechanics and I need to also add more features as "Invite your friends" and "Inactivity disconnection" for example.

That's all for now. Thank you very much for your interest about the game. I will try to respond every question that you could have about it, as I have done for now.

Stay tuned!