Development update - June 24, 2022
Added 2022-06-24 04:49:03 +0000 UTCMost effort has gone towards making new entity. With level of details game has - it does take more time than making of some new entity for Star Defenders 2D would.
Screenshots include 2D mode, movable sound preset properties, glass, and settings using which glass material is made in Level Editor. Glass material does have dust particles on break - it is still something to change.
New entity does not have 3D model and probably doesn't need one. These seem to also take a lot of time to make properly so perhaps I should only do them for entities that take enough space on screen... Unless this new entity will have a boss version... It feels like it might need one.
Other than that it is sound effects and optimizations that are required due to nature of this new entity, since some kinds of it do have their own shields as well as trails.
What do you think this new entity is like?
Voice acting
Had conversation with potential voice actors (UPD: They were too busy, I've contacted others that already have their voices added in PB2 update).
Level Editor
- Added optional skipping of preloading for sounds that are never used in map;
- Access granted/denied sounds of panel board switches can be altered now using built-in and custom sounds;
- Reworked parameters panel to group properties with more logic whenever multiple different objects are selected;
- Fixed bug causing movables with destruction callback triggers to be called multiple times if movable had attachments;
- Made it possible to assign textures and custom opacity to inner surface of debris, which makes creation of glass possible;
- Made it possible to specify arbitrary width/height for walls, at least as long as they are not using mosaic fill surface type;
- Fixed bug causing destroyed walls to play start sound whenever some level logic tells them to move somewhere;
- Fixed bug causing code snippet code to be overridden with code from unrelated code snippet whenever Preview button is being pressed during code writing;
- Some basic code hinting whenever code in code snippet is being written and Ctrl + Space is being pressed;
- More of new gun class properties can be altered with code snippets now.
Gameplay
- Fixed bug causing wall debris to have holes and improper positions of debris;
- New entity type, which is the enemy and is kind of very similar to Cubes from Star Defenders 2D, but is more unique and advanced in some ways too;
- Some animations for this new entity, numerous bug fixes, particle effects, attacks, freezing logic etc.;
- Increased damage dealt to held entities/characters;
- Updated explosions logic to work properly with new entity;
- Shields can be attached to almost anything and not just grenades now;
- Fixed bug causing moving shields to ignore collisions with bullets occasionally;
- Optimized trail generation logic, along with fixing new bugs caused by that;
- Fixed bug causing rubber sound to be heard at the wrong position far from vehicle;
- Redone decal generation, hopefully optimizing its' performance even more;
- Reworked debris push logic by moving players whenever debris have low mass;
- Shields appearance optimizations, bugfixes related to that;
- Fixed bug related to bounding box of entities not including all parts of entity, which caused vehicle to pass projectiles through when one of vehicles was destroyed;
- Fixed bug related to some entities becoming unstable when game is in slow-motion;
- Fixed bug that was causing guns to fall through the floor if entity that held it did fell into the ground at high speed.
Interface
- Fixed "Confirm" pop-up window to properly react to Tab and Shft+Tab combinations.
Sound
- Redone sound of breaking glass (barrels and glass walls);
- Made sound effects for new entity (14 sound effects in total, minus 2 that aren't good enough but I'll keep them in sound library for now);
- Made alternate sound effects for shields (4 in total, but these really are just a versions of regular Quarium shield grenade shields);
- Metal break sound effects (4 in total, will be used for wheel breaking, drones breaking, anything else that is metal pretty much, with slightly different pitch perhaps).
Star Defenders 2D
There were few changes like temperature property for all entities with burning/freezing effects, damage numbers, steering wheels for flying bases and rendering engine rework just so it runs at higher frame rate.
As usually, all updates are here:
https://github.com/Eric-Gurt/StarDefenders2D/commits/main
Comments
It likely would be a feature in game as well, probably hidden behind settings. I haven't seen background walls with it - that would likely need more changes to how they appear since there won't be perspective.
UnrealCrash
2022-06-26 09:27:54 +0000 UTCI'm still looking for more voice actors - you can send me other people's voice demos.
UnrealCrash
2022-06-26 09:26:02 +0000 UTCI really enjoy these updates! It's good to know that the game is slowly progressing and I am excited to see what the new entity could be! I also love the touch that you can toggle view between 2D and 2.5D for the level editor.
Nyove
2022-06-26 03:34:23 +0000 UTCnot a canadian why not a latina instead
feline pulverizer
2022-06-26 02:03:58 +0000 UTC> based on what I understood the entity is some form of character right? New enemy type or such? Something like vehicle, crate, barrel, but moving on its' own. > Will the voice acting for the Hero and Civil Security and such remain the same? It actually depends on voice actors surviving this war in Ukraine and them remaining open to voice acting. Chances are high it feels like. > It added to the experience on my side and I would prefer hearing these voice actors recapture that feeling without expressing way too much emotion in their lines. This is fair. I do notice some voice actors being unable to keep emotionless expression from early versions of games. I'll try to enforce this during voice acting. Do you think new characters that were added from PB2's fanart updates sound nice? > For example, the voice of GirlDM could work but my problem would be that for the second clip that you used an example she expresses a little too much emotion for a character in a gory warzone slaughtering usurpation and security for their goals To be fair that is Avre character and it kind of a troll character as it is. I don't have plans of adding her to campaign. Most likely she could appear in multiplayer and custom maps and that is it. Maybe letting people be able to express themselves is important for multiplayer modes. > One thing I also noticed is that it looks like fanmade content will become official content in 2.5. Being integrated into the actual game. > If I could leave some personal opinions on the matter I hope the voice actors can capture the soldier-like feeling that the voiced characters in PB2 have. Well, yes and no. PB3's campaign does not include fan-made characters. Maybe few of them can be integrated just for the sake of it, but I have no idea how Avre could be integrated. It just doesn't feel good to have plenty of female characters while all of them sounding in a same way. > The reason I like the voicing on the Hero and Civil Security is that in the Marine ( Talking about the Hero but this sounds better.) case he doesn't speak much and only says what is needed without expressing himself in some dramatic way. Like a simple target acquired or for example "terminated" It really is his personality. > As for Civil Security, I think if they sounded like human soldiers but maybe communicate more with each other in their actions? > If AI becomes more advanced maybe have them say their actions to their squad as they do them. Like throwing a grenade and another one nearby would say copy and even back up from the explosive to not be harmed from a grenade from his team? It makes sense. I haven't made all that because I haven't asked for their VA re-recording. It probably is best to ask for that when all lines including casual ones are known - because it seems to be an issue where voice actors would sound way too different on the next day or after few hours, especially since these aren't the professional voice actors really. > Will there also be improvements to the text bubbles for characters in 2.5? Haven't added these yet. They probably should not overlap. > Another game that I played a few years back was Zombotron and the character's text bubbles would appear above the head of the character and would be easily read by anyone needed. Oh you mean campaign. Yes I had some ideas on how to rework interface for that, maybe even adding reply options. > Since they also didn't have a voice and because of the immersion, a player like me could easily put a voice for them using my imagination. > Added to the experience when I played that game. > I think improved text bubbles above the character head would help players keep up with what is said by what character but those who prefer a text experience rather than a voiced experience may find this feature helpful if you add the option to turn voices off. I do look forward to all lines being voice acted. I expect this to be a lot of work though. But still, same I wanted to do in PB2 but that time I just couldn't find voice actors really. > Overall Eric. I'm quite excited to see where the game is heading! > I was able to speak to some indie game developers in my country a few weeks back and told them a little about your work and the Custom Campaign I have in the workings. > Overall they sounded quite interested in what I had to say about your game and even in my ideas. > This makes me quite excited and motivated to put even more work into the editor once I get my hands on 2.5. > And now you know you got some indie developers interested in seeing your work just like me! :O Yes, few AAA/indie game developers do follow me, some of their kids did played PB2 too. Though I was never invited to AAA game companies so I guess I still haven't done much. > I am certainly doing my part in the marketing section of PB! Gotta make as many people see the amazing work you are doing as a hobby on your own out there! Thank you! Though game being marketed to game developers and players usually gives a very different result. > My biggest worry right now is that the voice actors don't sound too emotional or express themselves way more than needed. If it will be bad I will remove all lines just like I already did with PB2. It won't add to atmosphere though but, this time, I think I can at least ask voice actors for the help game needs. Cheers ~
UnrealCrash
2022-06-25 01:51:52 +0000 UTCYes. This V-Tuber didn't seem like a too big or inappropriate person from what I seen about her. If anything - she seemed like honest and open about how she does V-Tubing so everyone could try doing the same. She can do plenty of voices which I find suitable for needs. Not even sure if she accepts donations - couldn't find any donation services in her social media. I did also ask about her as a voice for Proxy, Silk and Avre in few PB2-related Discord server and players seem to be ok with her. It does seem worrying?
UnrealCrash
2022-06-25 01:25:03 +0000 UTCYou asked a VTuber for voice acting?
DukeofLeet
2022-06-24 12:17:31 +0000 UTCHey, eric! Caught me by surprise there I woke up 1 - 2 hours ago and was about to do some work online. based on what I understood the entity is some form of character right? New enemy type or such? Or is it related to the entities like Boxes and explosive barrels? Don't quite remember. Either way, I'm curious to see what it may be. I do have some ideas. As for voice acting, I think it would be great for the game but I have a few Worries regarded to voice acting that I hope you would take note of when you get to that stage. Will the voice acting for the Hero and Civil Security and such remain the same? I quite like the old voices they had this serious tone to them without sounding too emotional or expressing themselves too much. like actual soldiers. It added to the experience on my side and I would prefer hearing these voice actors recapture that feeling without expressing way too much emotion in their lines. For example, the voice of GirlDM could work but my problem would be that for the second clip that you used an example she expresses a little too much emotion for a character in a gory warzone slaughtering usurpation and security for their goals One thing I also noticed is that it looks like fanmade content will become official content in 2.5. Being integrated into the actual game. I don't mind this as I do use some of the unofficial updated content in my campaign. At least the ones I feel fit into the current PB2 Lore. This is just my guess since you mentioned Silk and Avre when talking about voice acting. If I could leave some personal opinions on the matter I hope the voice actors can capture the soldier-like feeling that the voiced characters in PB2 have. The reason I like the voicing on the Hero and Civil Security is that in the Marine ( Talking about the Hero but this sounds better.) case he doesn't speak much and only says what is needed without expressing himself in some dramatic way. Like a simple target acquired or for example "terminated" As for Civil Security, I think if they sounded like human soldiers but maybe communicate more with each other in their actions? If AI becomes more advanced maybe have them say their actions to their squad as they do them. Like throwing a grenade and another one nearby would say copy and even back up from the explosive to not be harmed from a grenade from his team? Not sure how complicated that would be but just an idea! I won't stay too long on the voice acting topic but since I like to immerse myself in the world of the game I play I find it important that story elements and the characters don't pull me out of that experience with out-of-place voice lines or funny jokes in mid gunfights and such. Will there also be improvements to the text bubbles for characters in 2.5? Another game that I played a few years back was Zombotron and the character's text bubbles would appear above the head of the character and would be easily read by anyone needed. Since they also didn't have a voice and because of the immersion, a player like me could easily put a voice for them using my imagination. Added to the experience when I played that game. I think improved text bubbles above the character head would help players keep up with what is said by what character but those who prefer a text experience rather than a voiced experience may find this feature helpful if you add the option to turn voices off. Overall Eric. I'm quite excited to see where the game is heading! I was able to speak to some indie game developers in my country a few weeks back and told them a little about your work and the Custom Campaign I have in the workings. Overall they sounded quite interested in what I had to say about your game and even in my ideas. This makes me quite excited and motivated to put even more work into the editor once I get my hands on 2.5. And now you know you got some indie developers interested in seeing your work just like me! I am certainly doing my part in the marketing section of PB! Gotta make as many people see the amazing work you are doing as a hobby on your own out there! My biggest worry right now is that the voice actors don't sound too emotional or express themselves way more than needed. Obviously, a character can express themselves with a joke or two when the timing is right but maybe not at a level where it pulls away from the experience. I'll save my other questions for another day. I had a lot more to talk about with the 2 topics for this post than I expected. Can't wait to see your response. See you next month!
Patty
2022-06-24 06:35:19 +0000 UTCThat's sounds fair enough. I assume no strong accents would be a plus too. I would throw myself into the pool as I have a "pretty decent" microphone and would love to try to voice for a game as well but I am nowhere near any existing voice.
SupremeVoid
2022-06-24 06:03:42 +0000 UTCWe usually just need voice actors with female voices and somewhat good equipment to be able to record lines online. It seems to be easier to find male voices. You can see this by voices which new PB2 characters have. We basically have no female voice actors as of now. There was one candidate back when we did last fanart update, but microphone quality wasn't really good. As for Proxy - we probably need someone who can sound similar to what players are used to. Any kind of editing - I can do.
UnrealCrash
2022-06-24 05:56:50 +0000 UTCVery nice update! What are your requirements for a voice actor for PB 2.5/3?
SupremeVoid
2022-06-24 05:42:26 +0000 UTC:)
UnrealCrash
2022-06-24 04:53:06 +0000 UTCFirst!!!
marzether
2022-06-24 04:49:44 +0000 UTC
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