Hi hello, it's the FIRST of the month again, so here we are with another devlog!! The last one was all the way back in December since I'm posting these bi-monthly, so first up: Happy New Year!
Thanks for all the support and 2000 Wishlists!
There was a LOT of progress, so get ready for some eye candy and also some more info on a roadmap.
Levels, Environments and more Levels
As always, new environments have been my main focus, and there has been BIG progress! The first level has been expanded with more content, as well as polish (VFX, SFX, etc.) so that it's fully playable!
Along with that, I started working on implementing the reworked systems in all the other exiting levels.
And last but not least, I have been working on this new level:
More oomph
Polish is important. Making the game feel better and more polished has been the second big focus during these two months. I reworked the entirety of the Player Sound and VFX system, so now there are better sounds, camera bobbing, and a new collision system. Depending on your speed (and airtime), there are now different collision sounds and camera shakes, as well as UI indicators for your speed (and airtime) to gauge whether you will die from fall damage during your jump.
Speaking of fall damage, yes, there is fall damage now, along with a reworked/tweaked movement system that should feel better and includes a few new gameplay features that I'll keep secret so as not to spoil the next levels :)
Also, there is now a reverb system where different areas have varying strengths of reverb!
RevelOS
There were a few updates to revelOS (the computer operating system in MIK), since it's quite an important part of the game, especially lore-wise. There were tons of backend changes, along with new user types for different scenarios, as well as changes to existing applications. A user can now be a part of a "department" that has shared logs across all users. Logs can now have nested pages, meaning that when opening a specific log entry, it can have multiple pages.
There are also new applications for controlling various things throughout the world, like doors and the new turbines.
Level Loading
And last but certainly not least, I have fully implemented the new level loading system along with a reworked checkpoint system to make the game fully playable!
Backend & Code Debt
"...is the implied cost of future reworking because a solution prioritizes expedience over long-term design"
Lots of old systems have been reworked and changed. And, as I mentioned, there's a new checkpoint system, as well as a new Music and Ambience Manager.
Optimisation
We all love optimisation! For now, it seems like the game is hitting the performance goals, but there's still more to be done. While there is support for AMD's FSR3.1 upscaling, I do not want MIK to be another upscaling slop game that can't run on its own.
Roadmap
Considering that the game is in a playable state now, there will be a closed playtest, and shortly after, an open playtest in the near future! (Hopefully before the next devlog.)
The playtests will probably feature the first level of the game and should finally allow me to get some proper feedback.
Along with the first public playtest, I want to (finally) post a second trailer, as well as a Steam page overhaul, since it is quite old and outdated.
Beyond that, I hope that a demo will be available in the foreseeable future containing the first three levels.
Thanks for reading another devlog!