Development update - July 28, 2022
Added 2022-07-28 03:28:40 +0000 UTCTo summarize, more work was put into new boss entity sub-type for potential campaign mode as well as into rewriting message service to be able to handle more online players.
I did rewrite message service into other programming language - in order to optimize its' performance and thus allow more online users at the same time. This service is used for direct message notifications, cooperative level editor data transfer, global match announcement, match browser, match start & assign tasks to server instances, match detail updating, match join request delivery, handles chat messages for multiplayer matches, global lobby chats, in-match channel creation/invitation/subscriptions. In a way, it is similar to PB2's multiplayer servers but can do much more. It does not handle multiplayer data delivery, as instead, players are expected to connect to different kinds of servers that manage whole in-game worlds instead. This service is also expected to apply censorship rules and filtering at later stage.
Another thing is work on boss variant of new entity - it feels like experience with this new enemy can be rich enough as it has 5 actions now (walk, shoot, beam attack, spam shoot attack, stomp, spawn entities of same kind). I haven't yet tested it in real combat but functionally, visually and sound-wise it is getting ready. Still doing spawn action for it. I'm considering it to have at least 2 stages, perhaps. It does feel like boss-like entities aren't fastest to make, but so is any else new entity like vehicle or drone. Level of details is higher than in game like SD2D (1-3 days per new entity), even though I did spent some time in past to optimize new entity creation process for PB2.5/3 (1-3 months). I think most of the time is spent on physically correct navigation in the world, but, then again, it probably should benefit towards more interesting gameplay. But, I kind of feel like bosses aren't that kind of a concept that would benefit from PB2.5/3 physics much. This one entity that I've made will probably work as a boss when it will be met first but later - there could be much more of these - either in official campaign or players could use it in custom maps. Maybe eventually I will even make this boss entity customizable to the point where his actions list could be altered in custom maps, maybe even he could call in-level triggers that would result into even newer attacks. There is also still no sync logic for this boss as well as whole new entity type.
Server
- Rewritten message service;
- Implemented permission delegation for players to be able to download Creations that are referenced in a map/module they are trying to play, assuming map owner has permission to download that Creation. This is done to make non-skin Creations to be obtainable. Can't tell if it will be used for sure yet;
- Implemented access limitations for open-source Creations whenever they are moved to private folders (folders with special permissions);
- Fixed message service issues caused by blocking that can be caused by either message size or command execution complexity flood;
Level Editor
- Fixed issue that was causing caret to be sent to the end of code snippet during Ctrl + S combination;
- Fixed issue because of which Preview button would cause code snippet to be fully selected;
- Fixed numerous issues related to cooperative map editing (connection losses, disabled connection warnings during playtesting);
- Added synchronization of schematic position of player and cursor during cooperative map editing whenever one of level designers is playtesting map;
- Fixed issue causing dashed lines to appear over-detailed when zooming-in;
- Implemented permission delegation for downloaded Creations when cooperative map editing initiator has access to certain Creations;
- Added possibility to cancel cooperative level editing during first synchronization;
- Fixed bug preventing further cooperative level editing initiation once previous one was canceled;
- JPEG decorations support (previously there was only PNG support);
- It is now possible to pick Creations from file browser windows that are related to other users (to make it easier to pick some kind of open source Creation that is meant to be widely available);
- Fixed issue causing poor performance during dragging of skin objects;
UI
- Updated fonts in notification windows;
Gameplay
- New sub-type of new entity, which is a boss version. Done sprites and basic physical walking animation;
- Fixed issues with new boss entity walking on holey ground;
- Fixed issue preventing boss entity from shooting through its' parts;
- Added possibility for new entity (new boss is a subtype of this entity type) to aim at head and legs in case if player is hiding;
- Added 2 regular projectile attack phases for new boss entity;
- Fixed boss entity shaking issues caused by rapid height change;
- Added wider beam attack phase for boss entity;
- Added jump and crush phase for boss entity;
- Completely reworked physical walking animation for boss entity;
- Fixed bug that would result into lack of response fire whenever new entity was attacked by explosion rather than projectile;
- That same new entity no longer receives damage from own explosions;
- Fixed bug that has caused darkening from explosions to be calculated improperly whenever color of entity changes;
- Fixed bug that have caused inconsistent beam opacity for entities that can spawn beams attacks;
- Started implementing new phase for that same boss entity where it would spawn new other entities that are related to its' entity type, with pretty animations;
- Fixed bug that caused heavy railgun trail to not decay for a long time because of earlier done optimizations;
Sounds
- Had conversations with few more people, ended up looking on Fiverr. As a result - we have new Proxy, helmetless Proxy and Silk voice lines redone in PB2 now. I have few more unused lines that could be used during kicking/punching. Same voice lines will remain in PB2.5/3 if these voice actors will be available when I will be ready to request more lines for characters (assuming Silk will have lines in either official part of campaign or community-made in-between-possibly-optional levels of campaign) (28 for Proxy, 17 for Silk);
- Made sound effects for a rather unusual drone (3);
- Boss #1 activation, death, loop, step, 2 new attack sounds (6);
- Edited sound that is played when playtesting or previewing map since original version of it seemed to have tendency to pall after a while (1);
Comments
> Yes, but I'm still thinking whether they should be one-time enemies or somewhat more of a common enemies after being met for the first time. I just hope their development won't take too much time. I quite like the idea of facing like 1 or 2 bosses at certain points in the game but having most unique enemy encounters being mini-bosses that get introduced as you progress in the campaign. If you decide to go with that idea I'll definitely be interesting in what you come up with.
Patty
2022-07-29 01:35:16 +0000 UTC> I'm guessing this pretty much confirms the existence of bosses in the campaign? I'm pretty excited about this as this means there will be a wide variety of choices when creating our custom boss entities. Yes, but I'm still thinking whether they should be one-time enemies or somewhat more of a common enemies after being met for the first time. I just hope their development won't take too much time. > What I'm curious about the most is how customizable it would be. Looking at the PB2's editor and knowing how many features you are probably making or have already made makes me think customization will be at another level for the Boss entities or just entities in general. It is easier than ever for me to add possibility to make their actions list be alterable with scripting, for example. Then, it is already possible to override appearance of limbs with decorations. If needed - I could also add some tweaks to Level Editor when creating this entity. > How would this work with normal enemies? Security soldiers, Usurpation, etc. So far these have some options, but probably not as much. There currently is just one AI difficulty and it can only use self-boost if one is present for character. Then, with Level Editor's scripting probably a lot can be done with them. > Could I technically give them a stomping ability? Players get too close to the enemy they would do a slightly slower crouch with some effects that stun/ragdoll the player for example. Currently it is not implemented for regular characters no matter how big their scale is. Big characters can kick though and I think it would be possible to add with scripting eventually (currently, AI characters never kick anything, only punch in very rare cases). > And how easy would it be to make custom abilities outside of stomping? For example, if a player leaves the line of sight from the enemy they could use a massive laser that penetrates the wall and follows the player for a short amount of time. Currently, there is no wall penetrating beams. These could be implemented though at some point. They could be possible as part of regular gun. It probably would be possible to alter AI combat logic with scripting completely (switch gun, aim at player, start attacking, stop attacking, check line of sight, wait etc). > and implement like a cooldown for it so obviously, it would not be spammed too hard, etc. Would this be something that could be possible in creating our custom entities? It seems like it would be possible to some extent. > How do you feel about the game's progress currently? I feel like making bosses is a slow task. This is something players been asking for a long time though, thus I figured I'd need to make few just for certain cases in campaign. Then I think it can be cooler to have non-trivial mini-boss enemies instead since they won't be as rare. Overall progress is probably half-done-ish. And as usually, it would be much more if I was to just skip the campaign, which could be also very damaging to game's popularity after release. > Obviously, I'm not asking for a percentage because I bet you get that question a lot from the community. but I'm curious as to what you think of the game right now. Do you think you're making good progress overall? Do you feel like you have slowed down in places you wanted to speed up? Not really slowed down, progress goes at same speed. I'm not making anything that could not be used in some other way (ex. bosses could become mini-bosses/regular enemies). > From the outside perspective, I feel like progress has increased drastically since Patreon was opened. But that could just be because I was unable to figure out what you were working on back when you used Twitter to talk about PB2.5/3. What do you think? I feel like it is just how it feels like when I have more space to describe each change. Previously, I did not bothered writing down every single thing I've done, later forgetting to mention them in tweets. Though, there was a time when I could not work for few months on PB2.5/3 before I started Patreon page. > I also completely forgot to reply to your question last month about what I think about the fan-made voices in PB2 currently. While I won't go into detail on all of the characters ive listed the ones that stood out the most from the rest. Anybody, I didn't list probably sounds fine for me or has some minor things I don't think I need to mention. > Reakhohsha Operative = Sounds a lot weaker than they look. I got the impression they were some bulky/Dangerous type enemy. But their voices sound a lot weaker than they look. I remember back when this character was being added I did had conversation with artist as well as few more PB2 players. I think we agreed on having that character sound that way, but surely, alternative sounds could work too. > Crossfire Sentinel = I feel like they lean more into the ghost-type units in the game. They express themselves a lot more than preferred in their voice. It's acceptable but noticeable for somebody like me. Would love to have them be more silent and serious. and not express too much when getting hurt. We had similar long conversation about this character, what you say could work too. In a way it also must be important to have distinct voice lines since player who fights them should know when they are getting hurt or dying. > Crossfire Headhunter = They use Proxy Voicelines which I don't quite like as it doesn't fit the impression I have of this character. And with what I said above with how they seem quite similar to ghost units Voice lines for this character simply aren't made yet. I currently didn't ask anyone to voice act for her, just figured it is not that easy to do and it needs having long conversation with players in order to achieve something. Frequently players seem to not like results of voice acting they've voted for, for example. I felt like I don't have time to manage voice line for fan art characters while I'm not even sure they will be used in campaign. And even if they will be - it would make much more sense to rely on less voice actors by the time next game is released (some of them could stop doing voice acting). > Federation Soldier = Are federation Soldiers meant to be Russian? If so it would be nice to have something like a Russian version of CS conversation. Otherwise, I don't mind their current voice. I think their artist CakeSpider wanted them to sound like HECU soldiers from Half-Life 1. They aren't ready too, but CS sounds kind of fit them in a way. > Vulture = This is one of those cases where the voice does not fit the character. Their Voice is pretty good. Would fit a normal soldier working alongside other soldiers. But the model just doesn't fit the voice. This one was also accepted after many versions and stages of editing. We ended up picking this one because by that time, nobody was against the result. > Civilians/Workers = Male don't quite fit into the universe in how they react to the world around them. Female have decent voice acting and I have no problems there. Equipped versions of these characters don't sound like Guerrillas or Soldiers at all. These definitely need a rework of some sorts. I didn't put more work into these but I'm open to voice actors re-acting for them. > Silk - I don't like their voice at all. Does not fit the PB universe in its current state. Proxy for example shouts help in a way that fits. Silk while bleeding on the ground says "not good" in the most monotone way. the Injured sound doesn't sound correct either for somebody who took a bullet or a railgun to the face a second ago. Overall my least favorite so far. I can agree here too. > You mentioned new voices for Silk in PB2? did you use the wrong word since I checked if any updates were provided for PB2 but saw nothing? And I can't remember if Silk sounded like this beforehand since I usually don't mess around with their character. All female characters had Proxy sounds. Which were based of another game before. Now, Proxy has same lines but new voice actor. Silk too, unless we will eventually redo her lines. I did search of Fiverr for voice actress, I can try differnt one if someone would send me suggestions. > Proxy is getting a rework? I think they sound fine considering their character but maybe you have some bigger plans for the character because they will be getting 28 optional levels. Proxy's lines already are reworked in live version, I just did no announce. It is kind of good if some players can't notice the change ^^ I do plan to have dialogues of some sort in next game so that is needed. Figured I would let players get used to new Proxy earlier. > Speaking of levels have any idea of how many levels you want in the game yet? I like PB2's campaign simply for how long it is. around 50 Levels which is plenty. > Do you plan on adding even more for the Campaign in 2.5/3? Maybe split them up in chapters or so. I do enjoy a long campaign especially if the gameplay and level design is good and tell a story within them. I think I'd like to make a bit less levels (less than 42) but make them more meaningful, rich in event & visuals, non-linear. Then put some cliffhangers between most of them which could be filled by approved community-made story levels. So for example if someone really wanted to make an arc about completely new characters and merge it into campaign - then after some corrections and checks we could approve them and let them be a part of campaign experience players would get. It could result into randomization of campaign experience. Then, I think it is a cool concept where players could specify how many hours they'd like campaign to last before they start it - result would be different for younger and some of older players. > That's why Zombotron stuck with me since level design and exploration was key feature. But not sure if PB fits into the same aspect in terms of gameplay. I kind of didn't like how in PB:FttP it was all about extremely linear gameplay. I tried to change it in PB2 and do want to move even further towards levels that are interesting to explore. It is partially a reason why I have a big focus on Level Editor now - because the very first Level Editor (OLE, using which PB2 campaign was made) simply wasn't capable of almost anything PB2 players have nowadays. > Either way that's all I got for you this time Eric! Keep up the great work once again and I'll hopefully see your response soon enough. Thank you! ~
UnrealCrash
2022-07-28 23:47:31 +0000 UTCHey Eric! So this is what you have been working on. I remember seeing the screenshots last month and got curious as to what you were doing. I assumed that they were some sort of custom entities people could make which seems to have been true. I'm guessing this pretty much confirms the existence of bosses in the campaign? I'm pretty excited about this as this means there will be a wide variety of choices when creating our custom boss entities. What I'm curious about the most is how customizable it would be. Looking at the PB2's editor and knowing how many features you are probably making or have already made makes me think customization will be at another level for the Boss entities or just entities in general. How would this work with normal enemies? Security soldiers, Usurpation, etc. Could I technically give them a stomping ability? Players get too close to the enemy they would do a slightly slower crouch with some effects that stun/ragdoll the player for example. And how easy would it be to make custom abilities outside of stomping? For example, if a player leaves the line of sight from the enemy they could use a massive laser that penetrates the wall and follows the player for a short amount of time. and implement like a cooldown for it so obviously, it would not be spammed too hard, etc. Would this be something that could be possible in creating our custom entities? How do you feel about the game's progress currently? Obviously, I'm not asking for a percentage because I bet you get that question a lot from the community. but I'm curious as to what you think of the game right now. Do you think you're making good progress overall? Do you feel like you have slowed down in places you wanted to speed up? From the outside perspective, I feel like progress has increased drastically since Patreon was opened. But that could just be because I was unable to figure out what you were working on back when you used Twitter to talk about PB2.5/3 What do you think? I also completely forgot to reply to your question last month about what I think about the fan-made voices in PB2 currently. While I won't go into detail on all of the characters ive listed the ones that stood out the most from the rest. Anybody, I didn't list probably sounds fine for me or has some minor things I don't think I need to mention. Reakhohsha Operative = Sounds a lot weaker than they look. I got the impression they were some bulky/Dangerous type enemy. But their voices sound a lot weaker than they look. Crossfire Sentinel = I feel like they lean more into the ghost-type units in the game. They express themselves a lot more than preferred in their voice. It's acceptable but noticeable for somebody like me. Would love to have them be more silent and serious. and not express too much when getting hurt. Crossfire Headhunter = They use Proxy Voicelines which I don't quite like as it doesn't fit the impression I have of this character. And with what I said above with how they seem quite similar to ghost units Federation Soldier = Are federation Soldiers meant to be Russian? If so it would be nice to have something like a Russian version of CS conversation. Otherwise, I don't mind their current voice. Vulture = This is one of those cases where the voice does not fit the character. Their Voice is pretty good. Would fit a normal soldier working alongside other soldiers. But the model just doesn't fit the voice. Civilians/Workers = Male don't quite fit into the universe in how they react to the world around them. Female have decent voice acting and I have no problems there. Equipped versions of these characters don't sound like Guerrillas or Soldiers at all. Silk - I don't like their voice at all. Does not fit the PB universe in its current state. Proxy for example shouts help in a way that fits. Silk while bleeding on the ground says "not good" in the most monotone way. the Injured sound doesn't sound correct either for somebody who took a bullet or a railgun to the face a second ago. Overall my least favorite so far. You mentioned new voices for Silk in PB2? did you use the wrong word since I checked if any updates were provided for PB2 but saw nothing? And I can't remember if Silk sounded like this beforehand since I usually don't mess around with their character. Proxy is getting a rework? I think they sound fine considering their character but maybe you have some bigger plans for the character because they will be getting 28 optional levels. Speaking of levels have any idea of how many levels you want in the game yet? I like PB2's campaign simply for how long it is. around 50 Levels which is plenty. Do you plan on adding even more for the Campaign in 2.5/3? Maybe split them up in chapters or so. I do enjoy a long campaign especially if the gameplay and level design is good and tell a story within them. That's why Zombotron stuck with me since level design and exploration was key feature. But not sure if PB fits into the same aspect in terms of gameplay. Either way that's all I got for you this time Eric! Keep up the great work once again and I'll hopefully see your response soon enough. See you next month!
Patty
2022-07-28 12:20:36 +0000 UTC
