Nov 2

In Country - Vietnam - IncCountryDev

What's up guys, it's been a few months since the last time I posted an update on here, so I figured I'd take some time on this fine Sunday to share how development is going.

Keep in mind this is not a finished product and is in active development

Combat & AI Behavior

ADDED

Friendly AI teammates that follow the player, engage enemies, and provide cover
Escort and defend mission logic where friendly units protect pilots or intel
AI ambush and wave spawning systems tied to objectives
AI voice-line manager with callouts, chatter, and responses
AI suppressive fire and burst-fire behavior
Weighted enemy spawn logic and adjustable spawn distances
Patrol bands that wander, relocate near players, and auto-respawn after wipes
AI optimization tiers (Near/Mid/Far/Off) that scale updates based on distance
AI despawn safety if they get stuck or can’t move

FIXED

AI rotation lag and pathing issues when following players
AI incorrectly detecting or ignoring enemies and cover
AI bullets not damaging targets
AI continuing to shoot hidden or dead targets
Duplicate AI spawning on helicopters or objectives
AI idle jitter, animation desyncs, and “floating” on uneven terrain
Client/server replication for AI firing, reloading, and behavior sync
Perception and reaction delays during combat

Objectives & Mission Systems

ADDED

Full objective chain system
New mission types:
- Downed Pilot (SAR) – includes triage, escort, defend, and evacuation stages
- Intel Recovery – retrieve intel, defend, and call helicopter extraction
- Secure Bridge, Hold the Line, Riverbed, and Burn House defend-style objectives
- Artillery Objective – fire and defend static gun positions
Director-based mission controller that manages spawns, timers, and LZs
Moving encounter “bubble” for escort stages that updates spawn locations ahead of the player
Extraction helicopter logic with approach, landing, dust FX, and departure
LZ (Landing Zone) markers with smoke and overlap triggers
Post-mission summary screen showing completed objectives and XP earned
Weighted random objective selection for replay variety
Mission playlist planning system that automatically queues next objectives

FIXED

Objective completion radius, overlap triggers, and progression timing
Replication issues causing desynced objectives between host and clients
Incorrect wave spawns, flare FX, or defend zones not appearing
Player interactions failing when multiple players tried to use the same objective
Compass markers and UI indicators not updating properly

CHANGED

Improved objective transitions
Adjusted AI wave distances for level scale and balance

Vehicles & Mounted Weapons

ADDED

Mountable .50 Cal machine gun with rotation controls, camera switch, firing FX, tracers, and overheat effects
Full mount/dismount interaction flow with replicated logic for all players
50 cal overheating system with smoke, cooldown visuals, and sounds
Player-controlled patrol boat with multiple seats (driver, gunners, passengers)
Boat wake system with dynamic V-shaped water ripples and speed-based scaling
Engine audio component with smooth throttle response and layered idle/mid/high loops

FIXED

Camera rotation, firing desync, and input loss after mounting
Clients unable to dismount or still able to fire after leaving the gun
Audio replication for mounted weapons and vehicles
Incorrect recoil or rotation clamping on mounted turrets
Wake artifacts and direction snapping in boat water FX

Visuals, Audio & FX

ADDED

Bullet impact FX with dust, sparks, and debris
Helicopter dust FX that react to ground distance
Downed-state visual indicators (blood, vignette, heartbeat)
Rain, wetness on clothing, and ambient weather layers
Engine, gunfire, and environmental attenuation systems with realistic distance fade
Reverb zones and ambience rings for jungle soundscapes

FIXED

Sound attenuation, timing, and concurrency mismatches
Helicopter FX not visible to clients
Visual clipping or looping issues on smoke and dust particles
Incorrect light bloom, glow, and post-process exposure
Audio desync between host and clients during extractions or flyovers
Over-bright main menu material and bloom artifacts

Weapons & Combat Mechanics

ADDED

RPGs react to water and now trigger water explosion FX
Ammo refill crates with limited uses and cooldowns.

FIXED

Bullet collision detection and damage replication
Negative ammo count bug
Reload desync and magazine updates across network
Incorrect weapon holding animations (e.g., M60 hand placement)
Explosion FX scale, attenuation, and hit rotation alignment

CHANGED

Simplified recoil for more natural look in first and third person
Reworked weapon replication for minimal bandwidth usage
Added cooldown smoothing and predictable overheating curve

Player Mechanics & Camera

ADDED

Idle head and torso rotation for more lifelike third-person stance
Downed state, revive UI, and medpack interaction

FIXED

Sprinting, aiming, and prone transitions
First-person camera misalignment and FOV issues
Aiming offsets after mounting/dismounting
Camera manager desyncs when clients accessed mounted guns
Input lock issues after cutscenes or transitions

CHANGED

Rebalanced recoil, sensitivity, and camera smoothing
Refined fade transitions for cinematic events

UI, Lobby & Menus

ADDED

In-game Settings Menu (graphics, performance, and audio sliders)
Class and weapon selection system with replication in lobby
Updated loading screen system
Startup video intro and main menu scene with rain and ambient FX
Post-game scoreboard and XP tally
Compass and distance indicators with smoothed fade edges
Improved on-screen interact widgets and radial progress rings

FIXED

Compass rotation errors and rounding issues
Loading screen overlays blocking input or not disappearing
Lobby to game transitions not updating controller state
Audio and visual elements failing to load in main menu
Weapon choice not persisting across sessions

CHANGED

Rebuilt main menu visuals (cloudy, rainy aesthetic)
Simplified UI replication flow and fade transitions

Performance & Optimization

ADDED

Full AI optimization system with distance-based updates and despawn logic
Spawn jitter system to prevent CPU hitches when spawning large groups
Deferred spawn initialization to reduce load spikes
Tiered tick rate throttling for AI pathing and movement

FIXED

Memory pressure from heavy foliage and overlapping sound volumes
Helicopter replication and dust particle spam
Long-standing GPU bottlenecks from shadow and Nanite passes

CHANGED

Adjusted grass density and culling volumes for better framerate
Dropped Lumen detail and GI quality for more stable performance
Optimized shader compilation and PSO caching for packaged builds

Cinematics & Tools

FIXED

Timing and sync issues for intros and extractions
Camera fades and player input conflicts during cinematic transitions
Audio desyncs on intro and extraction flyovers

Overall I'm pretty happy with where we're at. I have spent an ungodly amount of time optimizing certain aspects of the game after every single packaged build after running insights to identify bottlenecks and it's taking longer than I expected. BUT optimization is really important to me so I'm really doing my best to make sure it runs well. I have hit benchmark fps on multiple builds but there are always little problem that poke their head out.

There is a lot of tightening up I want to do and major systems I need to implement still (primarily progression, experience unlocks etc), but the core gameplay loop feels really good. I've tested and played it unbelievable amounts of hours online and it's been a pretty fun experience, although every time we test, I discover a new thing I need to work on. I feel like that's probably how this will go lol.

As a small team (literally myself, my older brother, and my younger brother who creates 3D assets), we've come a long way and I'm really proud of the project in its current state. I can't wait until the day I get to actually play with you guys on here!

One day at a time :)

Don't forget, I post in the discord weekly with updates if you're really interested in what I'm doing or have questions or ideas you want to share. I love chatting with ya'll and it's always cool to hear other perspectives. Hit the discord link that's attached to our page and say what's up!

Either way, I'll keep you guys in the loop!