Abyss Crew
[Encyclopedia] America
He had often wondered if those who took part in such a bold undertaking truly realized that since the beginnings of the History of Mankind in the Sumerian plains, there had been no greater or nobler enterprise.
Indeed, what greater endeavour than to liberate men from the chains of the monarchs!
Thirteen colonies in a brave New World would become the vanguard of liberty and equality for all of the Lord’s children.
Thirteen colonies would unite to create one great Federation.
Read the rest
[Devlog #1] Moving the Sub
We wanted the submarine to behave realistically, particularly in the way it moves through the abyss. That’s why we imagined a submarine with five engines: two at the rear to propel forward or backward and three at the front to steer and stabilize it. A good example for this system is the two-seater canoe: if both people paddle on the same side, the canoe turns in one direction, but when they paddle on both sides, the canoe advances in a straight line. Synchronizing the front and rear engines allows the submarine to move while steering. It also gives the pilot more possibilities for dynamic maneuvers.
One of the first movement panel
However, during playtests, many people were having trouble understanding this mechanic. Operating the submarine was made much more difficult by a user interface that was not intuitive enough. The handling was also complicated: few people managed to coordinate and head in the direction they wanted, and then maintain that heading. It became obvious that this system wasn’t adequate for the player.
Therefore, we changed the submarine handling by reducing engines to forward/aft only, and a rudder to change direction. The user interface was simplified and made closer to what can be seen in a real ship. The controls suddenly became more appreciated despite the inertia: indeed, in reality, a submarine launched at full speed doesn’t stop in an instant, and it takes a while to slow down and stop. It’s the same in Abyss Crew.
Nevertheless, complications emerged, in particular when getting stuck in a corner of the map and unable to get going, as the submarine can’t turn back on itself. It was necessary to set aside realism to facilitate the handling of the ship: a rotation on itself, even when not moving forward, has been implemented*
The corresponding panel
Today, the final version of the mechanics for the pilot has been put in place: with the W and S keys, the player can move the submarine forward and backward, with three levels of speeds, taking into account the effect of inertia. A and D are used to rotate the ship, even when stopped, to avoid obstacles and enemies.
Current -and final- panel
* An Abyss Crew fan reported that azimuth thrusters allow to move sideways, so it's not unrealistic :)
[Update] Version 0.93h is out!
Version 0.93h is out! You can download it in the #releases section of our Discord server for the Kickstarter contributors.
This is a major update with brand new interfaces for the Pilot, the Sonar and the Gunner, a brand new tutorial and a new super cool chat system!
Major changes:
-gameplay added a chat/info system
-gameplay redesign sonar actions
-graphics new pilot interface
-graphics new sonar interface
-graphics new gunner interface
-level design Create a tutorial
-bug avoid putting : in the player name
-graphics X/C to change help screen : display directly on each panel
-bug put : after player name in the lobby
-level design add crystal when boss is destroyed
-graphics add light for alarms
-graphics set any UI impossible command in red
-graphics change engineer color in yellow
-graphics make rotating grid (north/south/east/west) for all views
-graphics redo gunner grid, and make it disappear when unzooming
-graphics design front weapon graphics
-gameplay engineer should be unable to unzoom
-gameplay improve tutorial messages
-gameplay add torpedo target distance (not only direction)
-gameplay make new aiming system for gunner
-gameplay set processor=crystal, energy and scrap reserve for engineer
-gameplay 3 rear modules : flare, decoy, bait
-gameplay replace front weapon effect by stun ?
-gameplay find an action for the space bar for the sonar player
-gameplay hook not enough visible
-gameplay improve submarine displacement by pilot
-gameplay replace front weapon by hook (which grabs crystals/scrap)
-gameplay replace dash by emergency mode (acceleration and rotation greatly improved)
-gameplay energy is lost if engineer fills a full jauge
-gameplay energy module upgrade: reserve should be higher (instead of slower decrease)
-bug when go back as pilot as normal, comes back at -1/2
-bug torpedo count is wrong on gunner screen
Captain Pol, out —
Kickstarter campaign started!
Kickstarter campaign for Abyss Crew has started!
It is running from 23d of February to 18th of March.
By backing now you could have access to the alpha, to give feedback and share your ideas about the game. The game also comes with a discount compared to the future retail price.
And for us, it will allow to fund high quality assets made by young professionals for the game.
Any pledge is warmly welcomed, whatever the price :)
I am counting on you!
Pol Grasland-Mongrain
Abyss Crew Project Leader
Direct link to the campaign: kck.st/2ETQ8kA