Happy Halloween!



Moving right along....

Fixes:

- Tally screen server loop and crash.
- Client crash while trying to share a bunker.
- AI Balancing/Grace period added.
- Damage multiplier bug for players on server.
- Server would allow connections during final stage of cataclysm.
- Melee combat network improvements.
- Bunkers can no longer be placed in certain buildings.
- Adjusted GPS Zero point.

Additions:

- You can now knock on bunkers to let the occupant know someone is outside.
- Servers will now speed through the remaining cataclysm time if all players are safe in their bunkers.
- Added alternate forward facing mouse look for those who prefer it under the keyboard and mouse controls.

Happy Halloween!



Moving right along....

Fixes:

- Tally screen server loop and crash.
- Client crash while trying to share a bunker.
- AI Balancing/Grace period added.
- Damage multiplier bug for players on server.
- Server would allow connections during final stage of cataclysm.
- Melee combat network improvements.
- Bunkers can no longer be placed in certain buildings.
- Adjusted GPS Zero point.

Additions:

- You can now knock on bunkers to let the occupant know someone is outside.
- Servers will now speed through the remaining cataclysm time if all players are safe in their bunkers.
- Added alternate forward facing mouse look for those who prefer it under the keyboard and mouse controls.

Fixes:

- No cursor on HUD.
- HUD crash.
- Network disconnects after score tally..
- MasterServer/Host registration.
- Score tally crash.
- Special items can now be dropped.
- Hit marker sounds after dying.
- Game stages cannot be flipflopped by staving off time.
- If all players die during a critical cataclysm, the day will now immediately end.

Additions:

- Bunker door sounds.
- Game stage warning sounds.
- Monster aggression.
- Positional Footstep sounds.

Fixes:

- No cursor on HUD.
- HUD crash.
- Network disconnects after score tally..
- MasterServer/Host registration.
- Score tally crash.
- Special items can now be dropped.
- Hit marker sounds after dying.
- Game stages cannot be flipflopped by staving off time.
- If all players die during a critical cataclysm, the day will now immediately end.

Additions:

- Bunker door sounds.
- Game stage warning sounds.
- Monster aggression.
- Positional Footstep sounds.

Hey all!

As we close in on the October 27th Noct update, I figured I would take time to outline some of the major changes that have made it into this version, and some of the details behind them.

- Noct Visuals optimized:
We are always trying to improve frame rates within Noct on lower systems. Being a Unity 3D engine game displayed in 2D, we discovered significant ways to improve the graphics of Noct through a rebuild without compromising on the visual style.

- Network Code improvements:
We found that even with the game mechanic revamp, we could still improve on the amount of network error handling. This has been drastically optimized in the new build.

- Completely new AI System developed:
With the old AI system becoming dated and insufficient to our needs, we wanted something where enemies directly reacted to your tactics during combat. The AI System has now been overhauled from the ground up, and its potential is quite promising!

- Cataclysm/Doomsday:
We made the decision to make all of Noct's gameplay take place within short Cataclysmic Events.

This allows for more structured gameplay whereupon emerging from your bunker, you must frantically explore Noct's creepy environment, scavenge what you can and return to the safety of your bunker before the world around you returns to total darkness and chaos.

- Searchable objects for loot:
Players will now be required to search objects within Noct to receive loot. Loot does not respawn.

- Bunkers:
Players will now collect and place a bunker entrance within the game world to serve as their shelter between Cataclysmic events. Progression can only occur via your bunker, and is lost upon death. Bunkers will be eligible for upgrades in future updates.

Players can seek shelter in other players unlocked bunkers, be it by invite or by force.

- New combat mechanics:
Noct is no longer a one hit death game. At least not at it's core. We have updated the game mechanics to place players in close quarter combat situations where melee and gunplay must be equally utilized to ensure survival. This makes combat more enjoyable overall between each Cataclysm.

- Points system:
We have introduced a new points system which will serve to compliment future progression. At the end of each Cataclysmic event you will now be supplied with a score tally of your progress, which will continue to carry over to the next day. This will later be linked to achievements, as well as a global steam leaderboard.

- Health System:
With the removal of one hit kills. We have now made health the core survival stat. Health can be maintained and increased by scavenging different food supplies and medical kits from objects within the game world.

Post your questions if you want, I'll try my best to answer them in a timely fashion!

-c3sk

Hey all!

As we close in on the October 27th Noct update, I figured I would take time to outline some of the major changes that have made it into this version, and some of the details behind them.

- Noct Visuals optimized:
We are always trying to improve frame rates within Noct on lower systems. Being a Unity 3D engine game displayed in 2D, we discovered significant ways to improve the graphics of Noct through a rebuild without compromising on the visual style.

- Network Code improvements:
We found that even with the game mechanic revamp, we could still improve on the amount of network error handling. This has been drastically optimized in the new build.

- Completely new AI System developed:
With the old AI system becoming dated and insufficient to our needs, we wanted something where enemies directly reacted to your tactics during combat. The AI System has now been overhauled from the ground up, and its potential is quite promising!

- Cataclysm/Doomsday:
We made the decision to make all of Noct's gameplay take place within short Cataclysmic Events.

This allows for more structured gameplay whereupon emerging from your bunker, you must frantically explore Noct's creepy environment, scavenge what you can and return to the safety of your bunker before the world around you returns to total darkness and chaos.

- Searchable objects for loot:
Players will now be required to search objects within Noct to receive loot. Loot does not respawn.

- Bunkers:
Players will now collect and place a bunker entrance within the game world to serve as their shelter between Cataclysmic events. Progression can only occur via your bunker, and is lost upon death. Bunkers will be eligible for upgrades in future updates.

Players can seek shelter in other players unlocked bunkers, be it by invite or by force.

- New combat mechanics:
Noct is no longer a one hit death game. At least not at it's core. We have updated the game mechanics to place players in close quarter combat situations where melee and gunplay must be equally utilized to ensure survival. This makes combat more enjoyable overall between each Cataclysm.

- Points system:
We have introduced a new points system which will serve to compliment future progression. At the end of each Cataclysmic event you will now be supplied with a score tally of your progress, which will continue to carry over to the next day. This will later be linked to achievements, as well as a global steam leaderboard.

- Health System:
With the removal of one hit kills. We have now made health the core survival stat. Health can be maintained and increased by scavenging different food supplies and medical kits from objects within the game world.

Post your questions if you want, I'll try my best to answer them in a timely fashion!

-c3sk

We will be conducting our first of many Bi-weekly Dev chat Q&A's tomorrow between 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST

Event: http://steamcommunity.com/games/330570/events/947268330852072252

See you there!

-c3sk

We will be conducting our first of many Bi-weekly Dev chat Q&A's tomorrow between 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST

Event: http://steamcommunity.com/games/330570/events/947268330852072252

See you there!

-c3sk

Hey all!

First I would like to thank everyone for their continued and awesome support through this rough development period. I'm happy to announce that Mark and I are now back full time on development, with Wordclock returning to produce more awesome audio for us.

Noct has taken it in the teeth quite a bit here, and rightfully so. Development is messy, and I won't bore you with the gritty details of it all or a life story. I'm just going to cut right to the good news. Noct is going to be releasing a single huge update, and the new version of the game is #*&$ing rad. Not only that, but it will hit here October 27th, just in time for Halloween. Final release will depend on how things go, but we suspect Q4 2016 if everything goes smoothly.


In short... Everything.

In more detail? See below:

Game performance:

We spent a lot of time overhauling the game's foundation under Unity 4. Unhappy with the performance of the past and current Noct builds, we made the decision to rebuild and streamline the visuals of Noct in order to gain huge performance leaps on much lower end systems. I am happy to report that because of our efforts, we have not only met our performance goals, we exceeded them. Noct will basically run on a potato now, without significant sacrifice to Noct's visuals. That's right. Bust out those low end laptop video cards (or lack thereof) and enjoy your high frame rates.

Core Game Mechanics:

As previously mentioned, we have thrown out the anti-fun "walking simulator" model, and have shifted focus more to wasteland level type frantic gameplay. As such we are refining Noct's core game mechanics from the ground up to construct a superior and more enjoyable gameplay experience, all while keeping all the cool aspects of Noct's creepy atmosphere.

Now when players enter the game (SP or MP) they will be presented with an end of the world timer. This timer basically represents a gameplay round of about 15 or so minutes until the world ends. Players will have this small window of time in which they set out to ensure their survival for the next day/round. This begins with the construction of a fallout shelter/bunker. Once your bunker has been secured, players can now venture out into the wasteland to scavenge and explore for supplies and other items of interest which they can bring back to their bunker to further their progression. As the end of the world timer counts down, The Noct wasteland becomes increasingly hostile, different monsters and bosses begin to emerge, from which special items, upgrades, and other tokens can be harvested/collected for advancing your overall progression. Upon completion of the game, players will be able to pick a reward/achievement based on their overall score, which will carry over to their future playthroughs of Noct's progression system, kinda like leveling up through replays.

A few things worth mentioning about the new gameplay mechanics:

1. Bunkers can be invaded by enemy players if left open.
2. Lower tier monsters do not one hit kill the player anymore.
3. If you are killed, you lose all non reward/achievement based progression.
4. Larger boss monsters are now rare, and will possess their own unique fighting/puzzle AI mechanics, defeating them will be ridiculously challenging and fun, and will yield excellent rewards. Players can expect to see at least one boss per round/end of the world. Items collected from these are required for long term progression.
5. Tokens and other special items can still be collected via game world exploration if players prefer to flight from combat situations instead of fighting.
6. PVP is completely optional. Working together is greatly rewarded.


Obviously there will be a lot of questions now. I'm going to try my best to answer them all over the weekend. Mark and I will also be doing weekly live chats here to keep everyone constantly updated on this massive patch and our progress over the next 9 weeks of development. I'll have more details of each mechanic weekly.

Thanks again for sticking it out with us all!

-c3sk

Hey all!

First I would like to thank everyone for their continued and awesome support through this rough development period. I'm happy to announce that Mark and I are now back full time on development, with Wordclock returning to produce more awesome audio for us.

Noct has taken it in the teeth quite a bit here, and rightfully so. Development is messy, and I won't bore you with the gritty details of it all or a life story. I'm just going to cut right to the good news. Noct is going to be releasing a single huge update, and the new version of the game is #*&$ing rad. Not only that, but it will hit here October 27th, just in time for Halloween. Final release will depend on how things go, but we suspect Q4 2016 if everything goes smoothly.


In short... Everything.

In more detail? See below:

Game performance:

We spent a lot of time overhauling the game's foundation under Unity 4. Unhappy with the performance of the past and current Noct builds, we made the decision to rebuild and streamline the visuals of Noct in order to gain huge performance leaps on much lower end systems. I am happy to report that because of our efforts, we have not only met our performance goals, we exceeded them. Noct will basically run on a potato now, without significant sacrifice to Noct's visuals. That's right. Bust out those low end laptop video cards (or lack thereof) and enjoy your high frame rates.

Core Game Mechanics:

As previously mentioned, we have thrown out the anti-fun "walking simulator" model, and have shifted focus more to wasteland level type frantic gameplay. As such we are refining Noct's core game mechanics from the ground up to construct a superior and more enjoyable gameplay experience, all while keeping all the cool aspects of Noct's creepy atmosphere.

Now when players enter the game (SP or MP) they will be presented with an end of the world timer. This timer basically represents a gameplay round of about 15 or so minutes until the world ends. Players will have this small window of time in which they set out to ensure their survival for the next day/round. This begins with the construction of a fallout shelter/bunker. Once your bunker has been secured, players can now venture out into the wasteland to scavenge and explore for supplies and other items of interest which they can bring back to their bunker to further their progression. As the end of the world timer counts down, The Noct wasteland becomes increasingly hostile, different monsters and bosses begin to emerge, from which special items, upgrades, and other tokens can be harvested/collected for advancing your overall progression. Upon completion of the game, players will be able to pick a reward/achievement based on their overall score, which will carry over to their future playthroughs of Noct's progression system, kinda like leveling up through replays.

A few things worth mentioning about the new gameplay mechanics:

1. Bunkers can be invaded by enemy players if left open.
2. Lower tier monsters do not one hit kill the player anymore.
3. If you are killed, you lose all non reward/achievement based progression.
4. Larger boss monsters are now rare, and will possess their own unique fighting/puzzle AI mechanics, defeating them will be ridiculously challenging and fun, and will yield excellent rewards. Players can expect to see at least one boss per round/end of the world. Items collected from these are required for long term progression.
5. Tokens and other special items can still be collected via game world exploration if players prefer to flight from combat situations instead of fighting.
6. PVP is completely optional. Working together is greatly rewarded.


Obviously there will be a lot of questions now. I'm going to try my best to answer them all over the weekend. Mark and I will also be doing weekly live chats here to keep everyone constantly updated on this massive patch and our progress over the next 9 weeks of development. I'll have more details of each mechanic weekly.

Thanks again for sticking it out with us all!

-c3sk