A fine holiday greetings to you all, custodians!
I trust those stations are being kept clean, and that you're all well?
This year seems to have gone-by in a blur, so we thought we'd take a moment to let you all know what's been happening since this same time last year.
Between countless disruptions making any steady work a challenge, we've been making reasonable progress on our two main focuses: VCD in UE4 and the 'Other Project'
We also partnered with Makeship in July to create a limited edition janitor plushie, which was a successful foray into merch, and it was good to have something physical to give our community for a change, so when time allows we'd like to look into another.
A MASSIVE thank you again to everyone for their support! I hope they have found a place of honour to perform their duties in your home.
VCD in UE4
We've been continuing work on this one to some success.
But in all honesty, it's taking far longer than expected...
The main reason for this(beyond external disruptions), is that we're having to build the code-base from scratch and build it right. Something we didn't have to do with VCD before, because we already had many UDK projects previously made we could simply build upon.
There is as much to learn about UE4's internal workings and limitations as there is actual code to write.
Nonetheless, it is coming along well!
Here is a rough rundown of what has been achieved since last year:
- Saving & Loading has been added.
- Editor Tools for placing Splats & Objects has been added.
- Broom, MuckGyver and Welder tools have all been added!
- Significant improvements to object networking and optimizations.
- Bins, Buckets and other containers now work much better in network.
- All Third-Person Animations and tools so far have been added and work in network.
- More common sounds and object types have been added.
- Bloody Footsteps have been added.
- Buckets, Mops, Boots and Brooms all now get filthy.
- Bullet Holes and Welder damage marks have been added.
A lot of time has gone into the object networking. Because it's such a tricky system, squeezing out any improvement to its behaviour is a fine balance. Especially containers, they have seen significant improvements. It's finally at a point now where I think we can be happy with it, and you should notice significantly less desyncing.
The core philosophy going in to improving the networking for objects was(as it usually is):
"Make it look like nothing is happening."
To that end, we've gotten pretty close and made a much more fluid system that's a bit less aggressive and much smoother.
As well as all the improvements made to the game's systems, I managed to squeeze in our first new addition:
The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted that the MuckGyver another player is holding now reports what it's detecting. Not only that, it also beeps for all to hear, allowing a single janitor to act as a team's dedicated "sniffer".
And here are a collection of other images to show some of the progress thus far.
The welder cleaning up and making a mess of things.
Where would you be without teamwork?
A side-by-side comparison of server and client synchronization.
One thing that is definitely lacking at this point is more varied content.
So far, most of the time has been spent on the fundamentals of the game's systems such that we've not yet expanded beyond a single Splatter Station test level. It's also lacking a lot of FX, hence the rather dull welder.
Rest assured, that will soon be getting a face-lift, and we'll be working on the content side of things in greater detail soon. Some of which may need to be redone...
As ever, you can follow more regular updates on its progress here.
'Other Project'
And, no update would be complete without mentioning the 'mysterious' other project!
Sadly it is indeed still quite mysterious at this point, but for those who missed it, here's what to expect:
- It's not in the Viscera Cleanup Detail universe.
- It's first-person.
- It'll be a surprising departure.
- It feels very unique, while at the same time familiar enough to be pretty easy to get into.
- We're focusing heavily on art-design this time, as well as hand-painted art.
- Atmosphere and world design play a large role.
- It is heavily built on some pretty complex game design.
- Most of all, it runs on our own tech.
Much like VCD in UE4, this one is also taking quite a while, but still sees good progress.
To add to the note on game design, this project has been as much a learning experience as a labour of love. It's very dependent on creating an enjoyable and fluid experience that draws you into its world. And in order to achieve that, we've had to be extremely considered with every aspect of the game's design. That's one of the main reasons it's taking a long time to be ready. We've gotta nail this one right first time out of the gate, because you can't describe how it plays, you have to actually try it and see it in action to know.
If we do our job right, you'll be drawn in and enjoy its world and everything will just flow. If not, it'll be held back by areas that seem like a weak point in your experience.
It's fundamentally different from VCD, which has a much more lenient design and less moving parts.
Once it's ready for public release, then we can further sculpt it based on your valuable feedback!
But you'll need to have a good chunk of a known thing to work with first.
Good news is, once we do release it, it'll be mostly a complete and contained experience, barring feedback. That shouldn't be far off now, if the fates are kind.
Conclusion
Another year, another several steps toward you all actually getting your hands on something!
With any luck, we'll soon have something for you.
For now, I wish you all an amazing holiday! Good time to get cleaning those stations before they are converted into tourist attractions.
Enjoy your Christmas and New Year's everyone, and we shall keep you posted in the new year as we pick the mops up once more!