UnrealCrash
patreon
Development update - March 2, 2023
🕑 Added 2023-03-02 20:48:42 +0000 UTCGameplay
- Added shadows under background trees;
- Fixed eventual rain particles disappearance bug;
- Made background walls stop background rain;
- Fixed bug causing grappling hook length change sound to remain played if rope was cut;
- Removed grappling hook break sound on world restart;
- Fixed issue causing swords to sometimes appear at zero coordinates;
- Implemented climbing prevention logic whenever player tries to jump on top of a wall and he is clearly capable of reaching it with his legs;
- Reworked charge sound for one of previously shown new guns (T);
- Implemented internal system to control environmental sounds such as fire, friction, rain, lava etc. These volume and pitch depends on how much sound sources/volume there are on screen. Meaning rain will become more quiet indoors and amount of lava sound will scale with how much lava there is on screen.
- Made player friction to play sound effect;
- Added self-boost recovery whenever player holds on ledge;
- Fixed bug causing rain particle amount scale with how far camera was in Level Editor;
- Added seen lava volume calculation and sound playback;
- Made lava break grappling hooks;
- Made it impossible to initiate and cancel multiple grappling hooks to boost indefinitely (players have up to 3 quick charges that recover slowly);
- Fixed bug that caused some hand holders to be not removed together with a wall they were part of;
- Fixed bug preventing rain from being stopped when player leaves match/map to menu;
- Prevented lava & water splashes outside of screen in order to optimize large pools of lava;
- Added rate-limiting for out of ammo sound of energy-based ammo styles;
- Implemented weapon and grenade drop settings on per-character basis. It is possible to make guns disappear together with character (perhaps like in PB:FttP grubs?) or make them drop whenever character can be no longer revived (PB2 campaign);
- Fixed bug preventing previously working overheat logic to work in 2 new guns (D and F);
- Disabled weapon overheat cooldown in lava and zero gravity areas;
- Fixed bug causing new gun (D) to play out of ammo sound all the time;
- Reworked game loop so game will have more up-to-date input;
- Fixed bug causing bleeding particles to spawn at zero coordinates whenever player loses limbs while burning in lava;
- Fixed audio bugs related to game loop rework.
Level Editor
- Fixed crash when entering blueprint mode;
- Fixed crash due to lack of ground surface;
- Added trigger live demo support right in Level Editor;
- Fixed sound playback issues not being properly reported in Level Editor;
- Added sound stop button to triggers (useful when testing looped sound playback);
- Added support to play custom looped sounds with different modes (ex: flood, normal, gameplay, gameplay speech, UI, atmospherics, music). Different mode volumes can be controlled by player and they do react differently to game speed and time warp areas;
- Fixed bug causing improper bracket counting in level code.
Sounds
- Made loop sound of players sliding;
- Made loop rain sound;
- Reworked magazine injection sound of one of new never shown gun (D);
- Reworked double-jump sound;
- Made sound of impossibility for shoot for some energy-based weapons.
Multiplayer
- Implemented sync of lack of ammo sound of some energy-based weapons across different network settings;
- Implemented universal method to play sounds locally (no ammo sound, sniper rifle clicks);
- Crash fixes for cases when walls are being destroyed on server;
- Implemented send rate limiter for large amounts of data coming from server to newly connected clients (perhaps it could be useful if server does not have unlimited network speed, otherwise it could damage experience of already connected players);
- Fixed bug causing offscreen culling logic to prevent loop sound positions from updating for clients;
- Fixed bug causing sniper rifle's full reload sound to be not played occasionally;
- Implemented visibility of guns of downed players if they have setting that makes them keep guns even if they are unconscious but can be revived;
- Fixed bug causing held guns to disappear for a single frame whenever character goes from alive to dead;
- Fixed bug causing downed players to sometimes play friction sound (turns out client thought downed player was actually alive and he was actively trying to get up on client's game);
- Finally fixed a serious bug causing network issues (connection disappearing for few seconds) whenever client tries to drag ragdolls nearby other complex stuff - it is solved now;
- Added reporting of unreliable packets (only if they happen to be in a range of relivable packets) so range arrival report syntax can be used more effectively (since range reporting logic was never kicking in due to reliable messages being usually in-between unreliable messages). It will make clients send even less data to server;
- Implemented a lot of extra optimizations but most of them turned out to cause more time spent on packet analysis which turned out to be worse than having slightly larger packets, especially since previously mentioned serious bug was not related to packet size;
- Added option to disable speculative collisions (guns with walls, grenades with walls, players with walls) as it can save some performance on client-side;
- Fixed bug causing some timed loop sounds (for example jetpack) to be played at previous position during single frame on client-side;
- Implemented automatic internal sound effect alias name generation so it could be used in multiplayer snapshots and will be unlikely to intersect with wrong sounds across different versions of a game - these will be used to decrease snapshot sizes;
- Enabled player nickname analysis and catching in network snapshots.
Interfaces
- Match browser table column on top of join buttons no longer plays mouse-over, mouse-out and click sounds;
- Fixed bug causing leaderboard to appear in top-left corner rather than centered for a 1 frame occasionally;
- Fixed quite hard to track bug that caused top-left player HUD background to disappear for absolutely no reason on some devices whenever Escape menu is shown.
Comments
Mokaal
So far so good, keep it up!
UnrealCrash
^^
UnrealCrash
Glad you like it ^.^
UnrealCrash
Will maybe try to make sword activation sound. Knocked-down characters do some form of crawling with arms as long as they have defibrillators/swords/fists equipped. Other than that - they do same crawling with legs, though it is not something too effective. Game probably won't force characters to unequip weapons as this could be what players want to use when being downed.
UnrealCrash
At very least decoration placement is more visual and has more position/origin position/rotation/scale options now. I could implement more quality of life updates to Level Editor later though (such as offset specification with not just numbers). Magazine capacity for different weapons is not final, but so far it felt reasonable to have it like this considering how many players can be eliminated with a single magazine. Especially when two pistols are equipped.
GoldenKnife
man, i'm really loving the progress a lot!
O
Awesome work. Wondering if you can add SFX when you switch from fists to swords, would smooth transition over. Also if knocked-down character can use their arms to push themselves back upright, unequipping their weapon to do so. Looking forward to next month's post.
mhan
wow its so weird seeing two of the projects that I am looking forward too having the people making them talk to each other
AnarchE
Love the new weapon sounds. Even the rain effects. No longer do I have to use complex decor placement? And the duel pistols is chiefs kiss. Tbh I thought they'd have 15 rounds instead of 12.
UnrealCrash
> Woah Eric. I'm quite happy with this month's post. The game is looking amazing! > First of all, I have to say I'm loving the graphics and particle system within the game. You have done an amazing job with them so far. > Keep doing what you are doing in that section since you are definitely doing great! Thank you ^^ > Loving the sniper rifle sounds. Perfect fit for the weapon itself. Including the beep effect. You nailed it so far. > I have been talking about sounds for quite a bit in the last few posts but I really do believe sounds are an essential thing within a game. bad sound design can ruin gameplay while good sound design can really enhance it. > That is why I talk a lot about it so that PB2.5/3 can get as good sounds as possible. Overall this is just 1 person's opinion so make sure to ask the community about what they think to help guide yourself. It is really fair as for sound suggestions - I do stuff on my own without really much experience and I don't feel like I'm doing a best job with sound effects either, even though it take a lot of time to make even something like this. > I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to weapon penetration so I won't speak too much about it. But it would be nice to have the option to set certain walls to allow bullet penetration or not. This could help with preventing and potential cheesing with walls that are too thin for other reasons. And allow for PVP map balance to be done properly without having to consider what weapons they can add depending on the type of wall they used for the map itself. There are penetrateable and impenetrateable walls right now. I will probably make penetrateable walls have same friction applied to traveling bullets though - maybe otherwise it can become too confusing for players. Thick walls don't stop sniper rifle shots but they stop rifle shots with ease, then in the end sniper rifle shots aren't even strong enough to deal serious damage. We will see, so far even not having impenetrateable walls seems balanced. > Maybe add a level system for each weapon to decide the strength of the bullet itself? Like a pistol would be considered a level 1 penetration level so any walls that are considered higher than that won't allow any penetration from a gun of that caliber? So far it is tightly connected to projectile damage. But there is projectile damage scaler that is applied to targets (and brightness of projectile) only, few guns like raygun and rayrifle have these. Meaning "ray" projectiles travel less distance in walls but do high damage. > Or maybe leave it to the type of weapon being shoot. Like weapons that shoot lasers would probably stop the moment they hit a hard surface. 0 penetration power but incredible damage strength if that makes sense. Lasers reflect off of walls. Railguns do the same too (they actually always reflect unlike in PB2, mostly because AI will have no issues doing reflecting shots). > Loving the gore effects and combat in the video. As I said above you nailed it and it definitely feels right. Keep doing what you are doing there. > Loving the Dual wielding pistol! While watching that part have you considered weapon customization? I think it can be important to keep all guns same in ranked PvP modes - it can be critical to distinguish them fast enough. Skins are custimizable though. Custom maps can replace guns with decorations in new ways. > I assume we will be able to upgrade our weapons in the shop or loadout within the campaign levels and anywhere else you allow it. I'd like to implement shop that could be used in custom maps too. Well, in PvP COOP-like game modes too. > Weapon customization could be quite nice for a game like this. Like if I put a silencer on my gun enemy AI would not notice that I killed their teammate nearby. And for players maybe make the gunshot silent and hard to pin down. Making it hard for players to figure out where the shot came from and maybe not even hear it at all unless they are within a certain distance. Hmm. I guess this could be achieved with new game modes for custom maps. Decorations should allow something like silencers. > Definitely consider adding the option to have automatic climbing on or off. Some people might prefer being able to press the climb button themselves to avoid accidentally climbing when they don't want to. I can feel that thus I added climbing prevention when player can get on top of a wall with regular jump. Plus it depends whether player holds left/right/up keys so it seems kind of fine so far. I will change it if it will be needed. Basically trying self-boost at stryde-sniper is a reason why I added it - character was sticking to ledges whenever you want to do a self-boost from the bottom of map to platforms in the middle. > One last thing here Eric. Maybe consider adding Fog of war as an option for the game? If you don't know what fog of war is here is a link that explains it. https://www.giantbomb.com/fog-of-war/3015-14/ Hmm, maybe you mean something like line-of-sight which kind of exists in Star Defenders 2D now? PB2.5/3 definitely has it, there is just not visuals yet for that (network snapshot synchronization is able to properly cut railgun trails and anything else that happens offscreen so even cheats would not be able to show what's behind walls). > I think PB2.5/3 Would benefit quite well from this feature. Not only would this allow PVP to be a lot better as players can just be solely focusing on shooting through penetrable walls to kill but knowledge won't be provided for free unless you risk your head and check what's on the other side. It makes sense, I'm really considering it as fun for some of game modes at least. Plazma Burst 2.5/3 could have multiple gameplay rulesets, kind of like game engine on its' own. > This would also benefit PVE/COOP to surprise the player with new threats they can already see before they get there. Removing the need to teleport them in or have them show up other ways. > This would definitely change up the gameplay drastically if added so maybe leave it as an optional feature for players who make their own levels and you can consider if you want it in your campaign or not if you choose to add it. Yes, that too. > Overall eric that's all I got for this month! Once again. Particle effects Gameplay and damage are looking amazing. You are doing great in this department of development. The lava texture doesn't look quite natural or fitting for the style PB currently has going but that may just be me. Maybe add burning effects on characters who fall into lava and visible damage to their suit itself. Corpses that fall in maybe have certain body parts turn into roasted skeletons? Up to you just an idea. Can you suggest how lava could look like? It is 2nd time I've been told this but I don't think I understand what can be wrong about lava appearance. So far fire/lava does simple darkening and then limb loss happens with a black "blood". > See you next month! Thank you for pointing things out! ~
UnrealCrash
:O I did not realize that until now ^ I like the damage system you've made there, quite more advanced than what I'll do for PB series ~
DukeofLeet
Definitely one of the better posts you've made on here. Still hoping to see a test bed demo sometime this year.
Patty
That's quite amazing to see. Love People Playground! Glad you are a part of the PB Community!
Patty
Woah Eric. I'm quite happy with this month's post. The game is looking amazing! First of all, I have to say I'm loving the graphics and particle system within the game. You have done an amazing job with them so far. Keep doing what you are doing in that section since you are definitely doing great! Loving the sniper rifle sounds. Perfect fit for the weapon itself. Including the beep effect. You nailed it so far. I have been talking about sounds for quite a bit in the last few posts but I really do believe sounds are an essential thing within a game. bad sound design can ruin gameplay while good sound design can really enhance it. That is why I talk a lot about it so that PB2.5/3 can get as good sounds as possible. Overall this is just 1 person's opinion so make sure to ask the community about what they think to help guide yourself. I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to weapon penetration so I won't speak too much about it. But it would be nice to have the option to set certain walls to allow bullet penetration or not. This could help with preventing and potential cheesing with walls that are too thin for other reasons. And allow for PVP map balance to be done properly without having to consider what weapons they can add depending on the type of wall they used for the map itself. Maybe add a level system for each weapon to decide the strength of the bullet itself? Like a pistol would be considered a level 1 penetration level so any walls that are considered higher than that won't allow any penetration from a gun of that caliber? Or maybe leave it to the type of weapon being shoot. Like weapons that shoot lasers would probably stop the moment they hit a hard surface. 0 penetration power but incredible damage strength if that makes sense. Loving the gore effects and combat in the video. As I said above you nailed it and it definitely feels right. Keep doing what you are doing there. Loving the Dual wielding pistol! While watching that part have you considered weapon customization? I assume we will be able to upgrade our weapons in the shop or loadout within the campaign levels and anywhere else you allow it. Weapon customization could be quite nice for a game like this. Like if I put a silencer on my gun enemy AI would not notice that I killed their teammate nearby. And for players maybe make the gunshot silent and hard to pin down. Making it hard for players to figure out where the shot came from and maybe not even hear it at all unless they are within a certain distance. Definitely consider adding the option to have automatic climbing on or off. Some people might prefer being able to press the climb button themselves to avoid accidentally climbing when they don't want to. One last thing here Eric. Maybe consider adding Fog of war as an option for the game? If you don't know what fog of war is here is a link that explains it. https://www.giantbomb.com/fog-of-war/3015-14/ I think PB2.5/3 Would benefit quite well from this feature. Not only would this allow PVP to be a lot better as players can just be solely focusing on shooting through penetrable walls to kill but knowledge won't be provided for free unless you risk your head and check what's on the other side. This would also benefit PVE/COOP to surprise the player with new threats they can already see before they get there. Removing the need to teleport them in or have them show up other ways. This would definitely change up the gameplay drastically if added so maybe leave it as an optional feature for players who make their own levels and you can consider if you want it in your campaign or not if you choose to add it. Overall eric that's all I got for this month! Once again. Particle effects Gameplay and damage are looking amazing. You are doing great in this department of development. The lava texture doesn't look quite natural or fitting for the style PB currently has going but that may just be me. Maybe add burning effects on characters who fall into lava and visible damage to their suit itself. Corpses that fall in maybe have certain body parts turn into roasted skeletons? Up to you just an idea. See you next month!
zooi
yes i made the ragdoll game!! always been a big fan of plazma burst and it's probably unsurprising that it's a major source of inspiration
dingodang .
OK, I have to mention it. Is this the programmer responsible for the hit game people playground commenting on a patreon post linked to my favorite flash Era game?
zooi
so cool
