UnrealCrash
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Development update - April 1, 2023
🕑 Added 2023-04-01 17:15:00 +0000 UTCBeen working on new features and more bugfixes for PB2.5/3. Was more busy through month so I decided to skip the April 1st PB2 update, for the first time.
I have also picked few songs to be potentially used in PB3 campaign levels and every time I wonder, whether I will be really able to even contact their authors. Somehow it was possible to this day, yet it seems usually impossible to contact almost any popular youtuber/streamer in order to ask them to play my game (I have given a try to this idea by suggesting Star Defenders 2D game. Maybe idea is just bad or they'd do sponsored streams for much higher reward).
Besides that I've done the following:
- Made a mini-game JelloTetrix (frontpaged on Newgrounds ~ https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/877736 );
- Was helping Lin with updates she wanted to introduce to PB2 game and servers;
- Some Star Defenders 2D updates.
Sounds
- Made 2 reloading sounds for new sniper rifle;
- Made 2 reloading sounds for Noir Lime's minigun;
- Made a sound to be played when player clicks the match join button;
- Made a sound that is played when player has no ammo left and can't reload (for example in ammo regenerating magazine kind of weapons);
- Fixed bug causing OICW rifle to play no ammo sound in-between bursts;
- Made a sword activation sound that is played during sword activation animation;
- Added 2 reloading sounds for new slot 8 gun;
- Made weapon/grenade despawn sound;
- Added high pitch sound that is played when guns are fired with less than ~5 shots left;
- Made potentially used powerup firing sound (if game will end up having powerups).
Multiplayer
- Fixed confusing bug that was making everything to disappear randomly at the moment player eliminates some character with shotgun at a close range (was caused by server host character's death as it affected connected players);
- Fixed bug causing players to suddenly look at zero coordinates whenever replay was finished;
- Fixed bug causing disconnection message to appear whenever player leaves match on their own (servers are able to specify disconnection action in case if user loses connection or server crashes via modules);
- Fixed crashes of global messaging service related to global messaging service restart (for example due to update) and recovery of previously known match information;
- Fixed issue causing connected clients to send join requests indefinitely to servers they are connected to whenever global messaging service restarts;
- Fixed incorrect online player counting in a match whenever global messaging service restarts;
- Fixed deathmatch respawn module bug related to replay being started when old ragdoll is being resurrected and killed again.
Gameplay
- Made it impossible to climb upside down as it was seen in previous monthly report's video at 0:20. Now player can climb up only if their legs are below torso or if there is a floor under them;
- Fixed bug causing sounds to be randomly too loud due to sound classification being ignored if sound happens to override previous less important sound due to lack of free sound channels (for physics, particle and bullet shell sounds can be replaced with ambient sounds as well as weapon reloading sounds which have higher priority);
- Fixed bug related to improper caching of character animations;
- Made sword activation animation which can be instantly cancelled;
- Added "nope-ing out" boost that can be activated by swinging crosshair continuously from left to right quickly enough. I'm pretty sure it was called differently in PB2 though. New implementation is not vulnerable to scripting/cheating and is time limited. Same trick was not possible in PB3 because while arms were pushed relatively to chest - chest was not pushed in opposite direction in PB2;
- Changed magazine type for new minigun;
- Reworked new slot 8 gun visually and added magazine support;
- Improved grappling hook stability whenever character is being pulled over corners;
- Implemented private sounds support which can not be heard by anyone else (such as gun_sniper clicks, low ammo and no ammo weapon sounds are played like this);
- Did some tests as for powerup sound and visual effects (if game will end up having powerups);
- Moved gun_sniper clicks, low ammo and no ammo weapon sounds to gameplay sounds category (so their volume is aligned with how loud game is rather than how loud interface sounds are);
- Added volume cap on how loud wall hits can be;
- Fixed laser weapon particle flood as a result of powerup usage.
Interfaces
- Added performance graphs that can measure game's logic time, render time, framerate, ingoing/outgoing data per connection (host can see how much data each connection sends/receives);
- Added system clock to the game;
- Fixed bug causing improper in-game cursor position occasionally;
- Reworked sliders to look visually more appealing.
Level Editor
- Moved notifications area so it won't cover left panel of Level Editor;
- Made fullscreen mode for code editor;
- Fixed bug causing code editor to not work unless fullscreen mode is enabled.
Comments
UnrealCrash
Must be it ^ YouTube/twitch people kind of exist in YouTube/twitch realm.
Recluse
Honestly, the best way to get contact with any youtubers or streamers, is just a post a demo game and have it blow up a little and they will instantly start clambering to you bro.
UnrealCrash
Perhaps April is about surprising :> Though I ran out of time a bit this time. Glad you still liked ^^
Mokaal
Nice!
OhKxin
Great job! Keep up the amazing work!
eso matic
I thought, this is going to be another April Joke from you. To my suprise, all I saw is GODLIKE Effort. Thank you Eric for showing us Gratitude and Love to our community. Keep Going and Stay Strong KING! 💪
UnrealCrash
> First of all, from what you showed in the beginning will this mean that it will be possible to script your custom stuff into your levels using the menu you showed? If that is the case that will definitely be a really useful tool for level creators and even open up a whole new box of creative ideas for those who decide to learn it! Yes! It can be used to create trigger actions which less coding-oriented level designers could use with ease too. > Performance graphs will be useful during gameplay. Giving players the ability to see such things is always helpful in trying to figure out what's causing issues on the user end of things. True, maybe I could show network graphs later too, but it is less pretty to run 2 game instances at the same time together with screen recording. Unless I'll setup local area network match of some sorts. > Would be especially helpful if you implement other useful server information to help players narrow down issues while playing online. Just something to consider! Game points out all different kinds of warning messages in logs, for example if user was disconnected due to malfunctioned snapshots, too high data rate etc. There are also settings for all that, which can't be edited anywhere yet, but since they are server-side settings they will likely be controllable with level/module logic. > One thing I noticed was the minigun holding animation seems a bit off. I'm assuming that it's probably still WIP but the way the weapon was held didnt quite look right compared to the gun shown after. It was suggested to hold minigun/heavy weapons lower than regular rifles/pistols. So this is kind of what it is. It does make it harder to aim in my opinion - not 100% sure I will keep it yet. > Reload animations are simple and quick. I'm quite a fan so I hope you keep it that way. Would be nice to see some more hand movements on more complex weapons. Like if you empty an entire magazine from a weapon not only do you swap the mag but you even pull back the chamber as well. Sniper rifles could have a bolt being pulled back after each shot. Good for balance in a way should you add a sniper that causes a lot of damage. I think some weapons will have longer reloading animations, most PB2 guns will have quick ones, unless it is a spammable weapon. > As for the clicking sound, I think it works for any weapon type that shoots bullets. You also could implement different sounds depending on the weapon type. So far it seems like it really matches any weapon. I tried it with probably most weapons that exist in the game right now (no PB2 fanart update weapons are there yet). > I don't really think it works for Underbarrel grenade shoots and such. Usually does only come with 1 - 2 shoots before reloading so I think it's better to not have that feature unless you intend to implement a bigger mag count for such weapons. Hmm, I liked how it sounds for OICW underbarrel grenades actually. > The flashbang grenade is not a bad idea but could be better. It really was made thinking of some of custom maps. I have doubts it will be used in approved maps as in my opinion flashbangs can be rather annoying experience when playing against someone who learns all the throws on specific map. > I think it should still produce a bright flash upon detonation and maybe have AI enemies pull one of their hands in front of their helmets to simulate them being blinded? Maybe even have them fire randomly depending on if they saw the player or try to move away to get away from danger? Characters kind of put their hands in front of their faces at 1:49, maybe better animation should be used instead though. > As for players I think maybe instead of blinding their entire screen make use of the fog of war idea I mentioned last month and reduce their field of vision to remove the flow of information from the player. I kind of think it could be possible to do with level logic later, assuming line-of-sight visibility test will have that black filter. > And for others maybe show some flash symbol on the players affected by the grenade so others can see that they are under the effect. That is my approach to it. Hmm there are 2 kinds of symbols over heads in video - blindness and deafness. Flash grenades basically will make players deaf and unstable if they explode behind them or players will be lucky to look away from them. > I wish I could provide more support overall. Giving you my opinions on your features and providing my support through Patreon I think is already helpful enough but would not mind helping in other ways :D It is helpful ^^ Thank you! ~
UnrealCrash
^^
Patty
Hey Eric! Loving the video posts! Find them informative and it shows us a lot more of what you have been doing or how the game is looking each time. Hope you continue to do them in future monthly posts! I wanna start by pointing out some things I noticed in the video. First of all, from what you showed in the beginning will this mean that it will be possible to script your custom stuff into your levels using the menu you showed? If that is the case that will definitely be a really useful tool for level creators and even open up a whole new box of creative ideas for those who decide to learn it! Performance graphs will be useful during gameplay. Giving players the ability to see such things is always helpful in trying to figure out what's causing issues on the user end of things. Would be especially helpful if you implement other useful server information to help players narrow down issues while playing online. Just something to consider! One thing I noticed was the minigun holding animation seems a bit off. I'm assuming that it's probably still WIP but the way the weapon was held didnt quite look right compared to the gun shown after. Then again the weapon itself is not exactly designed properly to position it better for any character holding the weapon. Just something I think would be worthwhile to mention. Reload animations are simple and quick. I'm quite a fan so I hope you keep it that way. Would be nice to see some more hand movements on more complex weapons. Like if you empty an entire magazine from a weapon not only do you swap the mag but you even pull back the chamber as well. Sniper rifles could have a bolt being pulled back after each shot. Good for balance in a way should you add a sniper that causes a lot of damage. The second weapon shown in the video sounds and looks pretty good! The way the character holds the weapon alongside the burst fire rate and the weapon sounds fit the weapon overall. As for the clicking sound, I think it works for any weapon type that shoots bullets. You also could implement different sounds depending on the weapon type. I don't really think it works for Underbarrel grenade shoots and such. Usually does only come with 1 - 2 shoots before reloading so I think it's better to not have that feature unless you intend to implement a bigger mag count for such weapons. The sword-climbing ability is really cool Eric! Probably one of my favorite features seen yet I can't wait to see what more you do with that and what other interactions you may implement! The flashbang grenade is not a bad idea but could be better. I think it should still produce a bright flash upon detonation and maybe have AI enemies pull one of their hands in front of their helmets to simulate them being blinded? Maybe even have them fire randomly depending on if they saw the player or try to move away to get away from danger? As for players I think maybe instead of blinding their entire screen make use of the fog of war idea I mentioned last month and reduce their field of vision to remove the flow of information from the player. And for others maybe show some flash symbol on the players affected by the grenade so others can see that they are under the effect. That is my approach to it. Overall eric I'm loving the entire dynamic interactions such as being able to hold the grenade as you throw it and using your sword to hold onto walls while using a pistol. Please do keep adding such clever interactions can't wait to see what more you do with all of this! Also, I'm glad more and more people are supporting you here on Patreon. Amazing to see that such a great project is getting more and more support each month. I wish I could provide more support overall. Giving you my opinions on your features and providing my support through Patreon I think is already helpful enough but would not mind helping in other ways :D See you next month Eric. Forgot to respond to your lava response last month but I have been thinking about it! I'll send you a message on Patreon to expand upon it sometime later. Keep up the great work as usual and see you next month.
AnarchE
I'm reading great things right now, I'm very excited about what comes next. I'm glad I'm able to support you on this journey making a great masterpiece.
