Dec 13, 2023

Picayune Dreams - Stepford

Hello! ːNekoː Stepford here again. This is the third update to the game I'm putting out, aimed at adding a few suggestions and fixing a few bugs in the game! Please keep leaving suggestions and bugs in the the Community forums, they have been really helpful and I read them all. ːGunfireRebornloveː

Added: X and Y coordinates to the HUD.
Added: You can now toggle XP combining into Canisters, if you preferred the XP Text growing enormous and filling the screen.
Added: If you want to play with both a controller AND a mouse at the same time, there is now an option in the Gamepad section to help with that.
Added: A unique sound to the XP Canister pickup.
Added: You now revisit memories from the Loadout menu directly, instead of having to kill the boss again. This does make the skill a bit redundant, I might have to make it do something else instead.
Added: You can now instantly pick one of the three upgrades with the directional pad. (Turn this off in the Gamepad settings if you don't like it.)
Added: You can now play with Autoaim Deadzone, a setting in the Gamepad settings, to toggle autoaim if you're moving the analog stick or not.
Change: Made levelling up your profile slightly faster.
Change: XP Cans are now influenced by Late Game Auto XP, instantly adding their stored XP to your XP pool the moment it starts getting sucked.
Change: Recolored XP Cannisters.
Change: Made it more obvious when your Curse has raised.
Change: Made it more obvious which statues will raise your Curse.
Change: Biker has stun/slow immunity during some attacks.
Change: Reverted Ghost Boss' blue bullets back to being red, like in the demo.
Change: Ghost Boss now forcibly lowers weapon alpha, just like the Final Boss.
Change: Holding Tab to see your current upgrades now slows down the game.
Change: Made explosive modifier less intensive.
Change: Modified Areas now have updated descriptions, to better inform the player that they also boost their stats.
Change: Increased how long destination text stays on the screen, so people have more time to read said descriptions.
Change: Dark Matter Overload will no longer trigger if you are immortal.
Change: Made it a lot more obvious when you are immortal/can't take damage.
Change: Made some more HUD elements have black outlines.
Change: Debris that spawn during the final Boss will have an outline, making them easier to find.
Change: Final Boss, Phase 1 teleports half as often.
Change: Several performance changes.
Change: Rainbowsplosion skill can no longer cause Statues to explode.
Change: Adjusted Yuki fight to be more like Gimmiko.
Fix: Banned items would draw over your selected upgrade stats, now it draws behind them.
Fix: Fixed a bug where the Biker would get stuck in place if the game paused/slowed down during their leaping phase.
Fix: Telecom would damage the enemy that spawned the AoE, basically making it a 50% damage buff on everything that spawned it. The initial hit enemy is excluded now from the AoE damage.
Fix: Some weapons didn't have hitsounds assigned.
Fix: Wibbler enemies were not having Peril speed applied to them properly.
Nerf: Statue of Gamble asks for +1 Reroll each time you use it. (1,2,3,4,etc.)
Nerf: Sentry damage adjusted, (10+VERSION) > (15).
Nerf: Missile Pack damage adjusted, (10 impact, 50 explosion) > (15 impact, 45 explosion).
Nerf: XP Cannisters no longer gain the benefits of Unstable Enhancement skill.
Nerf: Stack Overflow now has a cooldown of 2.147 seconds.
Buff: Stack Overflow now does 10,000 damage instead of 999.
Buff: Snow Globe knockback increased, 0 > 0.75.
Buff: Soul Spear damage increased, (40+VERSION) > (45+VERSION).
Buff: Demon Wings damage increased, (3+VERSION) > (5+(VERSION*2)).
Buff: Demon Horns radius increased, (48+VERSION) > (48+(VERSION*2)).
Buff: Demon Horns activate radius is now visible on the player.
Rework: Hunter's Bow no longer splits on contact, instead piercing through, homing to enemies near the cursor, able to hit the same enemy multiple times. Upgrading it now increases how long it stays around, instead of split count. This should help it stay relevant during bosses and late game.

Quite a lot of changes here. I will say, with this many changes, there is bound to be a few new bugs that flew under my radar while making this patch. Even after just releasing it, I had to fix and issue relating to the music stopping because I tried changing some of the sound priorities to make late game's audiospace feel more "balanced" so you hear the stuff you need to, and the pointless stuff gets drowned out, but some stuff slipped through the cracks so if there is any important audio that doesn't play or gets cut off, please tell me.

And then after I uploaded that build, I accidentally set the pitch to 10 making everything sound like chipmunks. So then I had to upload a new build. ːsteamhappyː fml this video game crap is hard.

I will probably end up taking some time to make a public beta branch so everyone can playtest the next patch. If you have any immediate issues or suggestions, you can also come join the Discord as well. Sorry for all the fuffing about, it's my fault.

There will probably be one more patch focused around fixes/balancing before Christmas, and then I'll basically be full steam ahead on the first actual meaty content update.

Dec 13, 2023

Following the Roadmap: WT Mobile Login & Keeping you updated with our plans

War Thunder - magazine2

In this Roadmap article, we’ll be talking about one of the Roadmap additions to the Air Superiority major update, as well as talking about some of the plans we have for the future.

The majority of the original changes that we announced for the Roadmap have now been implemented into the game, so we’d now like to announce our future plans. We’ve now implemented the vast majority of planned changes that we set out back in the summer (43/45), with minor deviations from the original planned schedule without a delay of more than one update, which is a level of planning that we’re happy with.

Only two changes that were planned for this year have not been released, which we’re going to tell you more about now, so please read on.

Other progression updates: Logging into WT Mobile to keep your login streak

First, one of the final Roadmap additions was the ability to login to WT Mobile to keep your login streak on the PC version of War Thunder, and in the Air Superiority update this feature will be implemented. To get started, you’ll need to install WT Mobile (from Google Play, or App Store), login to your Gaijin Account that you use to login to War Thunder on PC, and you’ll be able to login to keep your streak. We’d like to note that you won’t be able to collect rewards from the mobile version, but only to login to keep the streak.

Postponing the Improved target hit alert for aircraft (the Severe Damage Mechanic design that we proposed)

In one of our previous Roadmap articles, we asked for your feedback on the Severe Damage Mechanic. Your feedback was and is greatly appreciated, however at the moment we’ve run into some issues with implementing this mechanic.

This mechanic has turned out to be quite complex in a technical sense, requiring careful testing. Part of the necessary code for this testing will be included in the game in the Air Superiority major update, and will be used by us for testing and debugging. Although you shouldn’t notice any changes to the game, this code inclusion will bring this mechanic closer to being completed. We’re planning to introduce this mechanic between the 5th update of 2023 and the 1st update of 2024.

Postponing Research bonuses for new nations

We won’t beat around the bush, we’re postponing RP bonuses for new nations for players with top-tier vehicles of another nation for the time being — however, this feature is still planned to be implemented. We previously mentioned why we’re postponing it, but we’d like to explain why we’ve had to postpone it again. This is due to the fact that any meta changes can have long-term consequences for the game, which are difficult to evaluate if there are many changes at once.

We’re already analyzing the current data and calculating the amount needed for the planned bonuses. This analysis will take some more time (as we mentioned — due to the long-term changes that are being analyzed, where objectively a long time is required), with this feature planned to be implemented in an update in the spring of 2024.

Looking ahead to 2024

We think that the way of implementing features from a list suggested by you, the community, while also announcing deadlines for these features was an interesting idea, being useful for us as well as you.

Therefore, we’d like to continue this process and are happy to announce that we’ll be starting a new Roadmap for War Thunder in 2024. We hope that just like back in the summer, we can form an interesting set of War Thunder features and improvements that enhance the game further to be the best it can be. Further details to come soon.

Dec 13, 2023

Dev Update #14: Opportunities and Influence

Unforetold: Witchstone - PatBrutal

Salutations Adventurers!

We’ve spoken a lot about the setting so far, but I’m certain many of you have been wondering; what exactly are you going to do in Unforetold: Witchstone? In most RPGs, you get your direction from one primary source: quests!

Except… we don’t have quests. Instead, we have something we call Opportunities.

Opportunities are potential threads you can choose to follow in order to achieve some outcome. There is no “Main Quest” in Unforetold: Witchstone, no having to choose between pursuing core progression or tangential side content. You make your own goals as you adventure in Kalsundia, and the ultimate endgame is up to you. Every action you take, every Opportunity you follow, every faction you decide to empower or topple, is all part of what makes the story your own.

Now, that doesn’t mean you won’t ever roll the credits, or that there won’t be a satisfying conclusion to your adventure. What it does mean is that the fate of the land isn’t tied to any one character, faction, or Opportunity. How you change the world is your decision alone.

When you do decide to pursue an Opportunity, that means somebody wants something. They may suggest a way for you to go about getting it for them, but ultimately, as long as you fulfill that desire, the approach is entirely up to you.

Let’s take a look at one of the first Opportunities you might come across in Kalsundia. After landing in the port of Kalsundar, the entire docks are on lockdown. The only way out is guarded by an enterprising Lawblade named Els Druthdrang, and he’s agreed to let you pass if you procure a rare gemstone for him from the mainland.

After asking around, you learn that a certain individual at the warehouse may have the artifact you need. Easy enough, just whack him over the head with your sword and take it from him!

Or, if assault isn’t your jam, you can opt for a stealthy approach. Sneak up behind him and deftly
take the artifact straight out of his pocket. Surely he won’t notice, at least not anytime soon.

But, there are more ways to interact with the world and these characters than just murdering and thieving. This brings us to one of the systems that we’re most excited for you to try: Influence.

You can think of Influence as building your own dialogue. In traditional RPGs, the dialogue choices you can make with characters in the world is limited to what the writers and designers thought to prepare for you. Influence gives you the power to build your own custom requests for anyone you meet in Unforetold: Witchstone.

You can walk up to any NPC and sweet-talk them into joining your party. Intimidate others into running away. Ask someone to help you out with an assassination. Request that your target meet you someplace private, the kind of place where there won’t be any witnesses. Convince two people to talk to each other, so they can reconcile their differences… or maybe just to make sure that they’re distracted enough for you to sneak past them into a restricted area.

Not only do you get to build your own requests, but you also choose how you’re going to go about convincing these characters to cooperate. Are you a big burly fighter with low charisma? Just flex those pecs, look menacing, and you might be surprised what some moderate threats of violence can accomplish.

Let’s go back to the individual at the warehouse. You know he has the artifact you need, but you’re a bit iffy on the whole murder thing. Well, if you’re particularly silver tongued, you can just Influence him to hand it over!

But wait, when you speak to Andrath, he mentions that he’s had a falling out with his daughter, and he would do anything to get her back home, even give up his rare artifact. By finding her and Influencing her to go talk to her dad, you can reunite a broken family and get the item you need.

On the other hand, what about Els, the guard that’s extorting you to get him the artifact? Maybe there’s some other way you can get him to move without giving him what he wants…

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this sneak peek into how you’re going to interact with the lands and people of Kalsundia. However you choose to accomplish your goals, through violence or theft, through diplomacy or intimidation, by helping others or removing them as obstacles, just remember that the people of Kalsundia are watching. Getting a reputation as a notorious killer might not make you many friends with the broader population, but to others, you might be exactly the kind of person they’re looking for.

You can discover this and more when Unforetold: Witchstone releases in early access January 25th, 2024!

Follow us here:
https://discord.gg/spearheadgames
https://twitter.com/WitchstoneGame
https://www.facebook.com/WitchstoneGame[/url]

Dec 13, 2023

A Dive into Next-Gen Game Development

Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 - Feeona_PDX

My name is Andrea Sancio, and I am the Associate Technical Director working on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 at The Chinese Room. Together with Nick Slaven, our Studio Technical Director, it has been my honour to lead our talented team on the technical side of the game.

I’m going to share with you now a behind-the-scenes look at what our team has been doing on the game, and when you play it, we hope that you will all love it as much as we do.

In the ever-evolving world of video game development, staying at the cutting edge is a continuous pursuit. With the release of Unreal Engine 5, the landscape has shifted dramatically, presenting game developers with an array of groundbreaking technologies and tools. I wanted to delve into our experiences and challenges with some of the experimental technologies that have come to define UE5: Nanite, Virtual Shadow Maps and Lumen. These technologies play a pivotal role in creating a realistic and dark world that aligns perfectly with the neo-noir art direction of our game.

An important milestone in our development was the upgrade from Unreal 4 to Unreal 5. It was a big risk because normally you lock in the version of your development engine early. The changes touched every part of the game, and all our scenes, lighting and assets had to be converted. All the dev teams communicated with us brilliantly to make sure the new tools were exactly what we needed to make the game look amazing and run smoothly.

Lumen is a new real-time global illumination tech. It brings a level of realism to game lighting with raytracing to simulate the path of light and how it interacts with surfaces and materials. It can simulate indirect (bounce) lighting and reflections. However, integrating Lumen into our games was no small feat. Ensuring consistent and smooth performance was the key to achieving the atmospheric lighting required for our world. Working with dynamic lighting and shadow has always been a challenge. In performance terms it was expensive, placing lights is an art and overlapping lights exponentially increase complexity and the costs of rendering the scene because a lot of calculation must be done for each pixel hit by each light. Normally, the solution is to “pre-bake” lights. All the shadows were saved to the level before release, and you couldn’t change them. This provided great quality results for a cheap cost, but the lights and shadows were... well... faked. You would then have to include other tricks like light probes to show that on objects moving inside that space.

Lumen lets us change the colour, position, and intensity of lots of lights that can change dynamically. So to figure out the best way to include these new lights, we spent a lot of time working with our artists. It works by storing all the surfaces hit by light in a memory cache. This cache is at a lower resolution than the output. This means it’s way faster to calculate the effects of lighting. Then, Lumen uses Temporal Upsampling which makes the lower resolution larger without losing quality and detail. None of this can work without Nanite, Cached Virtual Shadows and Temporal Super Resolution so we adapted all those technologies too!

Virtual Shadow Maps introduced a fundamental change in how we handle shadows in Unreal Engine 5. By decoupling the shadow resolution from screen resolution, this technology delivers razor-sharp shadows with minimal performance overhead. Implementing Virtual Shadow Maps required a rethinking of our shadow casting and rendering techniques, but the result was a marked improvement in the visual quality. This was especially crucial in creating the dark and mysterious shadows that are synonymous with the neo-noir genre.

If you want fast frame rates, Programmers have always had to contend with draw calls. Draw calls are instructions sent from the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). To understand it in simple terms, think of a draw call as a request to draw or render a particular set of graphics. Each draw call carries information about how to paint a part of the scene - this includes textures, shading information, and geometry (like vertices). However, too many draw calls can slow down a game because each call requires the CPU and GPU to communicate and process information, which is valuable time spent when one frame is a fraction of a second. Nanite marks a seismic shift in how we handle geometry in games. Rather than relying on traditional Level of Detail (LOD) systems, Nanite virtualises geometry, allowing for detailed assets and performance. With Nanite all the meshes that use the same material get placed in what is called a "bucket” and are processed on the same draw call, greatly reducing their number. It reduces the complexity of asset creation but also opens the door to photorealistic environments that were previously unattainable. Now we can have some ornate architecture and densely detailed environments in our scenes.

Debugging and optimising our code and the world environment became increasingly complex, and we were acutely aware of the constant need to stay up to date with frequent engine upgrades. These upgrades were essential for acquiring crucial fixes and performance improvements. This is a process that many studios might prefer to avoid, as such transitions rarely occur without their own costs. With limited documentation and a scarcity of experienced individuals to consult, our journey involved extensive research, talking with Epic, trials and errors.

It feels cheesy to say but making all this work for our team made everyone’s bond stronger because we all had to communicate constantly. The results were worth it because our art team used it to realise the neo-noir direction they were looking for. And because games are made with tools and technology developed during previous games, The Chinese Room’s future titles will benefit from this hard work too. Everyone did a great job to best use the new workflows. Personally, after many years on projects that used similar approaches, this was a fresh and exciting evolution!

Your experience of playing the game should be seamless. In a way, the less you think about the tech as you’re playing, the better we did our jobs. It’s been a pride of our careers to take on a project that is already so complex on many different levels, and to give it a chance to be ground-breaking in the realm of visual fidelity.

What’s Next

Following the holiday break, we’ll be back in January with more dev diaries and an extended gameplay reveal of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2.