May 31, 2019

May-pril Update! New Screenshots, Enhanced UI + More Music!

8-Bit Adventures 2 - Critical Games

Sorry about the recent radio silence – development’s been tough, but I’ve thankfully avoided being mauled by an Obligatory Bat or stung by a Kamikazbee! And now I’m back with a new update =D

I’m really making this post because I want to stay in-touch with everyone who’s following the game, and give you all some idea of how things are going. As you may remember, March wasn’t a very good month for me, but the last two have been much better and significant progress has been made in several areas! Slow and steady, but significant.

A lot of what I’ve been working on I can’t really show off, as it’s either polishing, small design improvements, or spoiler-ific content from the final dungeon and endgame – that’s actually part of the reason I didn’t do an update in April haha. But I’ve still got a few fun things to show =)

In terms of progress, Sebastian (the composer) only has the Credits music left to go until the soundtrack is completely finished (making for a whopping 77 tracks!), and Jerram (the artist) is half-way through the final list of graphical assets - so they’re both inches from their finish lines! Sufyan (the programmer) has also been making various tweaks to enhance the game that I've thought of during play-testing.

As for me, I’ve been working on all kinds of things – most significantly all of the cutscenes/events/puzzles for the final dungeon (which is a whopper, believe me!). It’s been quite a fun mixture of serious and bizarre. I’ve tried to make a dungeon that’s well-paced and regularly varies things up – such as with a new environment, puzzle, or boss battle.

At the time of writing, I’m working on the final boss and ending cutscenes, which I feel pretty confident in saying is the coolest part of the game (and I’m desperate to share it!). All spoilers aside, though, I’ll just say that I found it very fulfilling bringing our seven playable characters’ arcs to a close, and I really hope you’ll all walk away from the ending with the same satisfied feeling!

Just thinking about the game as a whole, I probably haven’t given a good sense of just how big 8-Bit Adventures 2 actually is! I think trailers are really the only way to convey that sort of thing, but for now I just wanted to reiterate that this is a full-blown RPG with 28 dungeons and 11 towns - plus many more areas that are a bit harder to define (such as the Arena).

While I’m not sure how it stacks up yet in terms of hours, I think if you’ve played 16-bit JRPGs like Chrono Trigger or the classic Final Fantasies, the amount of content is pretty comparable. We’ve really tried to make a game jam-packed with fun, engaging content, while also maintaining a good sense of pacing and variety. This is a big reason that development has taken so long, but I hope you’ll agree that it was worth the wait!

In release date news (or lack thereof XD), I just wanted to say that I finally do have a deadline set in my head and I’m doing everything in my power to meet it. If everything’s going to plan, then I’ll reveal my goal in either the June or July update. I apologise, as always, for being so cage-y and for taking so long; I’m just trying to avoid past mistakes when it comes to dates and release windows. But as I always say, the game’s done when it’s done; and as soon it’s ready, I’ll be singing that release date from the rooftops! “8-Bit Adventures 2~ Coming out soon~”

I specifically hope to start playing/combing through the game at the start of July, so fingers crossed! =D

Ready for their Close-Ups!

Anyone that’s played the ‘First Look’ Demo of 8-Bit Adventures 2 might remember that the menu UI was basically just a series of empty black rectangles; that aspect of the game hadn’t really been touched at that stage haha. Since then, it’s underdone quite a few changes, and the most recent I wanted to show off were the brand new face portraits for all of the characters!

As per usual, I’m keeping the seventh character under wraps, but I think our cast look very photogenic (thanks to Jerram’s incredible work as always)! =D

And here’s the first game’s trio slotted into the current menu UI! Final Fantasy was obviously a big influence, but I experimented with several different configurations. Ultimately, I felt this was the easiest to read and most aesthetically pleasing. What do you think?

And then below, we have a look at the re-tooled Party selection menu. While you can swap characters in and out at any point in battle, if you prefer to be a little more prepared, you can also visit this menu. Here you can change your party to any configuration you’d like, revert to your original grouping if you change your mind, and get a quick, easy-to-read overview of each character’s stats and equipment.

While I know it’s not that exciting from a player’s perspective, I think the menus have a big impact on how ‘complete’ a game feels. Both the battle and menu UIs feel connected now, and I think the game has a much better sense of cohesion because of it. On a side note, if you played the demo, you might have also noticed that we have new, individual icons for all of the different categories of armour and weaponry! These are little things that I hope add up to a lot =)

I Can Show you the World…

One of the additions made this past month was the mini-map, which serves as a constant guide as you explore the World Map. While a few 16-bit RPGs featured this (Final Fantasy VI, and Terranigma’s boat, for example), it’s something I associate more commonly with PS1 games. So it’s a good example of a slightly more modern convenience that I wanted to bring into 8-Bit Adventures 2.

Jerram somehow managed to construct this incredibly compact, precise mini-map and I think it looks great! The World Map in 8-Bit Adventures 2 is designed to be quite easy to remember, through the use of different colours and biomes; this map just helps you remember where things are in the context of the wider world.

It’s most useful once you get the Airship and can start exploring every nook and cranny, but it should be a big help no matter what stage of the game you’re currently at!

No Scan Spell Required!

Okay, this is the last part of the interface I’m going to talk about, I promise! But all enemies now have their final HP Bar graphics and animations. I’ve mentioned that HP Bars were going to be in the game before, but now I can finally show them off - as you can see below, applied to an enemy from the demo! Big thanks to Jerram for the perfect design, and Sufyan for actually making it all work and animate correctly in the battle system!

The HP Bars only appear when you target an enemy (similar to the Persona series), or when enemies are damaged/healed. I wanted to find a balance between giving the player important information about their enemies, and keeping the battle scene as minimalist and aesthetically pleasing as possible. It was also very important to have an HP Bar system that was easily readable for the player; to give a clear sense of their progress in the fight at a moment’s glance.

There are also pop-ups that tell you if an enemy is weak, resistant, or immune to your attacks; so getting experimental against powerful enemies shouldn't be confusing (or require a guide haha)! Additionally, we’ve made it so that attacks which target all enemies now take you to a targeting screen, rather than immediately activating. These are the sort of small design improvements that I mentioned at the start of this post =)

Even More Music!

And finally, as it’s (somehow) been 5 months since the last selection, I wanted to release a few more music samples! One in particular should be a lot of fun for 8-Bit Adventures 1 veterans as it’s a remix of that game’s final dungeon theme =D

While only short samples, I hope that the 20 that we’ve released so far give you some idea of how unique and varied the full soundtrack is! I’m continually in awe of how many different sounds and styles Sebastian has been able to create within such heavy constraints. If you enjoy chiptune music like me, I think you’re going to *love* the full soundtrack!

The Arena Theme (Sample)

https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/the-arena-theme-sample

Mystery Theme 4 (Sample)

https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/mystery-theme-4

Ruined Factory Remix (Sample)

https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/ruined-factory-remix-sample

That's All Folks!

Again, I sincerely apologise for being so quiet recently. I've really just had my head down working and am trying to get things finished as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, nothing's really "quick" in game development haha, but I'm feeling very good about every step we take.

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!

And if you're wondering, yes! I'm definitely planning to do a June update =D

Speaking of June...we're only a little over a week away from E3 2019! I've felt pretty pessimistic about the Final Fantasy VII Remake, but that recent trailer has me more excited than I've been in a long time XD I think no matter how the game turns out (and how much I'd prefer a turn-based battle system), it's just a lot of fun seeing early PS1 characters and environments transformed by modern hardware.

And to FFVII Remake's credit, there are lots of interesting elements to the battle system that I want to learn more about. I know the developer who designed Kingdom Hearts 2's battle system is involved, so I'm hopeful it'll be an action battle system with a lot of depth! Just...please no Genesis, or flip phones, or perpetually depressed Cloud... =P

Anything you guys are hoping to see from E3? Regardless, I hope everyone has a fantastic June and I'll talk to you again at the end of the month!

It's~ the most~ won-der-ful tiimmeee~ of the year~

~Josh

May 31, 2019

Patch Notes - Early Access Patch #1

XERA: Survival - IcedYoshi

Hello Survivors!

We're happy to announce our first Early Access patch! We hope you enjoy these changes.

Survivor Crates

You can now open Survivor Crates from the main menu

Medical System

Fixed an issue causing weapons to not switch back correctly after quick-medding

Death Screen

Fixed an issue causing 'Fists' to show when actually you died to a weapon

Settings

Fixed an issue causing FPS limit to default on lowest possible value
Disabled FPS limit (While we resolve some issues)

Weapons

Falloff damage added to all weapons except snipers

Loot Tables

Adjusted spawn rates of items on military loot table
Reduced spawn rate of L96-A1 on military and normal loot table

Supply Drops

Reduced chances of uncommon & rare drops

Commands

You can no longer use /respawn while hostile

Player

Fixed an issue with death cam going into sky when dying in first person

Respawn Timer

Respawn nearby timer will now depend on how many players are in your group
4 players = 50 Seconds
3 Players = 45 Seconds
2 Players = 40 Seconds

Redwood Valley

Reduced default fog to 0.02 was 0.03

Macro Detection

Increased kick trigger threshold
Adjusted detection behavior

Servers

Servers will now automatically reboot every 12 hours

Loot

Servers total spawned items will now scale depending on number of players online (1 player = 800, 35 players = 2200)

Hostile

When hostile the log-out timer is now 30 seconds (was 10 seconds)

Experience

Reduced experience lost on death to 100 (was 150)
You will now gain experience when killing players, this is based off their survived time (max 100xp) (30 minutes survived = 100xp, 15minutes = 50xp), you wont get xp for killing someone with under 2 minute survived time

ATV

Fixed an issue with ATV explosions causing player animations to get stuck with ATV animations

Helicopter Transport System

Helicopter will now remain landed for 45 seconds (was 25 seconds)
Fixed an issue causing helicopter to go slow for first few seconds

Player Spawn System

Players will now spawn back into the safe zone when swapping servers if they logged out in one
Players will now spawn at the safe zone after a patch (was nearby)

Player Damage

Moved hands and arms to 1.5x damage multiplier (same as body)

May 31, 2019

Onward : Reloaded v1.6 update released.

Onward - MrDeath

Onward ‘Reloaded’ update has finally arrived! The team has been hard at work putting together new content and refreshing the visuals of the game and the time has come to share it with you. In the interest of providing the best quality we can, we will be staggering the release of maps to ensure that each one gets the proper amount of attention- Onward wouldn’t be what it is without you and you deserve the best we can give.

Map Rollout Schedule:

Today: We are releasing a selection of Onward’s existing maps; Bazaar Day & Night, Cargo, Shooting Range, Suburbia Day & Night, Subway, and Tanker.
Early Next Week -We will see the release of the rest of the classic Onward maps; Downfall Day & Night, Quarantine Day & Night, and Jungle.
At the End of Next Week - We will include two new nighttime map variants and our newest map for 1.6; Snowpeak Day & Night, Abandoned Day & Night, Turbine.

Turbine: This hydroelectric dam provides power for the region and serves as a strategic chokepoint that each faction strives to control. MARSOC and Volk forces control opposite ends of the dam. It's time to break the stalemate.

We are all extremely excited for you to experience all the updates to our core content as well as the new additions. We hope you all enjoy this ‘Reloaded’ update and we can’t wait to see you in Onward!

Main Additions recap:

VIRTUAL GUNSTOCK MODE
We’ve recently been working on a new option for Onward that will allow users with Inside-Out-Tracked VR setups to accurately aim and enjoy the game in a similar fashion to existing VR setups, called “Virtual Gunstock Mode”. There can be tracking deadzones with Inside-Out-Tracked VR headsets, and without this option players can sometimes lose track of their dominant hand when aiming. This new option helps to solve this issue so all players can enjoy the intense gameplay of Onward without tracking problems.

IMPROVED WMR SUPPORT
We’ve made controller keybinds more intuitive for WMR devices.

INDEX CONTROLLER SUPPORT
The Index controllers will be officially supported in Onward upon release. Picking up objects and interacting with weapons and equipment will still be the same as before, but you will now be able to move every finger individually when your hands aren’t holding anything.

STEAMVR INPUT REBINDING SUPPORT
For people who want to customize their input, you will soon be able to rebind all of Onward's input commands in SteamVR in v1.6. This also allows us to support many new devices and control schemes, such as with Windows Mixed Reality.

Here are some sample screenshots of what to expect from 1.6.

The v1.6 update will contain these major features :

A new animation system, including improved running animation, and a brand new crawling animation
More realistic eyes on player models
Better lighting / realtime shadows
Various performance improvements
A complete visual update of the existing maps
An updated loadout UI, including weapon stats and details
New models for the AK-12 and M16A4 rifles
A new watch model, plus the option to wear it on the inside of your wrist
A new killhouse course in the Shooting Range
Better support for WMR controllers
A virtual gunstock option
Index controller support

You will be able to expect these following features in the near future!

Blood decals
Newly reworked and improved scopes
More player slots in Operations lobbies, along with improved AI and additions to Co-Op
Ammo boxes for Support roles
New red dot sight : Aimpoint and PKA-S
A brand new map: Turbine

Changelog.

FEATURED UPDATES

Greatly improved the visuals with more accurate lighting, realistic shadows, and a new post-processing stack.
Added a virtual gunstock option.
Made throwing objects more consistent across all headsets and smoother through deadzones. If you would like to enable the old “vanilla” throwing options, launch the game with the “vanillathrow” launch parameter.
Improved the player animations.
Added a killhouse section to the Shooting Range.
Replaced the M16A4 and AK12 with in-house made models.
Updated the SteamVR integration, allowing users to create their own binds more easily.
Added support for Index controllers and individual finger tracking for gestures.
Improved WMR controller support.
Netcode optimizations and improvements.
Greatly optimized game performance.
Replaced the watch model.
Added an option to rotate the in-game watch to the inside of a player's wrist.

GENERAL

Unity 2018.3.10 upgrade, enabling the use of single pass instanced rendering.
Added two new Main menu scenes.
Improved the Loadout UI and added weapon stats to the loadout screen.
Updated weapon textures for Famas / M1014 / M39 EMR.
Added an option to sprint when joystick / trackpad is on the outer edge.
Added an option to place the watch inside your wrist.
Generally improve spectating performance by enabling occlusion culling on non-main cameras and turning off some special effects.
Tweaked the pistol mag poses to make them easier to insert into the pistols.
Added haptic animation to knife stabbing.
Added ballistic shield weight simulation.
Improved chambering a round when bolt was already locked back.
Improved the M249 and PKM reloading experience.
Improved performance when holstering shotgun shell boxes by re-using existing shells.
Disabled the +1 timeout button in ESL ruleset games in the very first round.
Implemented a function to have a lobby refresh its information before proceeding to join.
Replaced the crashed helicopter model with an in-house made model.
Improved Pimax support with culling on the outer edges of the field of view.

FIXES

Fixed movement speed being affected by framerate.
Reset the player that last damaged you when you get healed from a downed state. no longer dole out teamkills if a teammate wounds you and then you click exit to tent.
Fixed tasers not ending rounds or infracting team-down using them, and also fixed game syncing issues when players join mid-game.
Fixed C4 explosions being offset upwards, causing explosions to not damage properly when stuck to ceilings.
Fixed C4 not affecting shooting range targets.
Fixed knives not affecting shooting range targets, C4, or molotovs.
Potential fix for spectators hearing dead player voices.
Spectator kill feed now shows the last weapon and last damage type that hit you before you suicide by exiting to menu, since that person gets kill credit. Also added kill feed support for RPGs, M203 underbarrel grenades, and Stun Gun.
Moved the front grip on the AK5C to fix a recurring complaint regarding letting go of the grip unintentionally.
Fixed lobby getting stuck when countdown got cancelled.
Fixed players getting booted in Subway.
Fixed Tanker's objectives being offset on the tent map.
Fixed white-squares thumbnails happening at times in Desktop Spectate Mode.
Fixed the AK5C fire mode selector.
Fixed the G36C fire mode selector.
Fixed the audio of other players submerging in water sounding like it comes from your player.
Fixed resetting loadouts when having a red dot selected on pistols.
Fixed long team names not fitting in the losing dialog for spectators.
Fixed no fireteam leader in uplink assault if a team of only Volk starts the game.

May 31, 2019

Free trial version officially launched 免费试玩版正式上线 Kostenlose Testversion offiziell gestartet Официально запущена бесплатная пробная версия Version d'essai gratuite officiellement lancée 無料トライアル版が正式に開始

Community Announcements - liu

Players can experience the game for free. As the official version of the game continues to develop, the free version will also be updated accordingly.
At present, the free version can play the second BOSS. This is based on the V1.1.1 version, which may be slightly different from the paid version. I hope that players can give their opinions after a free trial.

玩家可以免费体验游戏，随着正式版游戏的不断开发，免费版也会做出相应的更新、
目前免费版可以玩到第二个BOSS，这个是基于V1.1.1版本，可能会与付费版略有不同，希望玩家免费试玩后给予意见。

Die Spieler können das Spiel kostenlos erleben. Da sich die offizielle Version des Spiels weiterentwickelt, wird auch die kostenlose Version entsprechend aktualisiert.
Gegenwärtig kann die kostenlose Version den zweiten BOSS spielen. Dies basiert auf der Version 1.1.1, die sich möglicherweise geringfügig von der kostenpflichtigen Version unterscheidet. Ich hoffe, dass die Spieler ihre Meinung nach einer kostenlosen Testversion abgeben können.

Игроки могут испытать игру бесплатно. Поскольку официальная версия игры продолжает развиваться, бесплатная версия также будет соответственно обновлена.
В настоящее время бесплатная версия может играть второй BOSS. Это основано на версии V1.1.1, которая может немного отличаться от платной версии. Я надеюсь, что игроки могут высказать свое мнение после бесплатной пробной версии.

Les joueurs peuvent découvrir le jeu gratuitement.Au fur et à mesure que la version officielle du jeu se développe, la version gratuite sera également mise à jour en conséquence.
À l'heure actuelle, la version gratuite peut jouer sur le second BOSS. Elle est basée sur la version 1.1.1.1, qui peut être légèrement différente de la version payante. J'espère que les joueurs pourront donner leur avis après un essai gratuit.

プレイヤーは無料でゲームを体験することができますゲームの正式版が開発され続けるにつれて、無料版もそれに応じて更新されます。
現時点では、無料版で2番目のBOSSをプレイすることができますが、これは有料版とは多少異なる可能性があるV1.1.1バージョンに基づいています。