Hi everyone,
Wanted to give you a quick reminder that our game has recently been updated to version 0.2.5.2 (Dinofauna Update).
This update, not only brings the campaign update series to a close, but also brings a bunch of content to the game, from 20 additional dinosaurs to a new gameplay mode such as the free roam mode, while also providing some major improvements to the overall UI and other gameplay elements. All in all, this is probably one of the biggest update we have released so far, and we wanted to make sure you don’t miss out.
Now on to this devlog.
Usually when a devlog is near an update’s release, we posted the devlog first before the update, so that the devlog could further elaborate on the upcoming update. However, with V.0.2.5.2 being a huge milestone, there are multiple things we would like to discuss with this devlog not just in relation to V.0.2.5.2 but also the current state of the game and where we are taking this game forward, so this is going to be a lengthy post.
To start this off, we wanted to elaborate a little bit about the new free roam mode.
At its core, the free roam mode is a mode where players could roam the world without any worry of missions or objectives with the primary goal being the dinosaur’s survival. This is an endless mode made for players who prefer a more serene and survival leaning experience compared to the main campaign, where the survival focus is heavily influenced with RPG elements. This mode also enabled players to play as every dinosaur in the game, with the exception of juvenile and sub-adult variants.
The free roam also comes with an exhibition mode in the form of its character selection scene, which gives players detailed information for every dinosaur in the game.
Upon working on the free roam, we have decided to integrate the exhibition mode with the free roam mode instead of having it as a standalone mode. Aside from saving memory space, the integration of exhibition with the free roam mode also made the flow of the game much smoother as players would be able to obtain information about a particular dinosaur and immediately experience it in the free roam mode to see how the dinosaur fares up with other dinosaurs.
Aside from giving information for each dinosaur in relation to the game world, we wanted the exhibition to be somewhat informative in relation to the real world. Because of this we’ve decided to add a source of reference for the information given for every dinosaur.
It must be noted that the information given mainly came from books and information from the web that we think are relevant as opposed to recent studies or scientific papers, as the purpose of this is only to share some light and interesting information to give players a chance to speculate further on the information rather than giving a heavily science based fact.
The next topic we would like to discuss is the omission of the Adventure mode.
For some of you who have followed us since the Version 0.1.0.2 (Rhino Update), the game has included an adventure mode, which is a linear based experience focusing on missions and objectives. This mode was originally built for us to test our new (now current) models and animations. Seeing how massive the campaign world is, the adventure mode gave us a chance to iterate much quicker and more focused, hence enabling us to give massive overhauls such as Version 0.1.1.0 (Super Model Update) back in December of 2018 and the recent Version 0.2.5.2 possible at a relatively shorter period of time than originally anticipated.
However, upon further development, having a mode that focuses on a linear based experience became more unlikely for us to develop properly as our focus has slowly shifted towards making a survival based experience in an open world setting, which has significant elements that are somewhat contradictory if they were to be integrated to a linear setting and would require us to create an essentially new approach towards the overall design.
Because of this, we have decided to omit the adventure mode and replace it with the free roam mode, which is an endless mode focusing on survival in an open world setting.
The last thing we would like to discuss is the current state of the game and where we’re taking it forward.
With all modes finally in the game, we are now ready to enter the polishing stage of development. In this stage of development we will not be focusing on adding major features but to improve those that are already in the game. This includes game balancing, major bug fixes, optimization, and basically everything required to flesh out this game.
Aside from polishing, we will also overhaul our tutorial scene. With all gameplay elements included and a finalized HUD, we can finally overhaul our extremely outdated tutorial so that it can justifiably represent gameplay elements included in the game, so that players could experience everything that this game has to offer.
With the free roam mode being added and the exhibition being integrated to it, the game now has every mode that was planned for its final release.
That’s currently it for this devlog, and more updates coming soon.