We’ve been hard at work trying to root out and squash some really nasty networking issues, and this work will carry over into January. We tried hard to get a build out before the holidays, but we didn’t want to rush anything out to testers that we weren’t happy with.
The good news is our first beta build of 2017 returns bot play to the game, allowing you to add bots to local and online matches. Bots are so merciless, we haven’t even allowed them to use their secondary weapons yet! They’re best used in free-for-all deathmatch, as they still need some driving lessons for team deathmatch mode.
Our next beta build will include requested revisions to our Ghost Town map (it’s a bit smaller, now has more areas of interest, and is now a nighttime map), and we’re adding a new (work in progress) map to the mix for testing.
The team is still rolling out improvements and features as per our roadmap. Next major features are our vehicle loadout configurator and Base Assault Mode. If you have a feature suggestion or comment about the game, feel free to post in the forum or our Discord server.
Happy Holidays!
The team at Phantom Compass is taking a well-earned break over the next week or so. This scheduled downtime will give us some valuable recharge time. Wishing you and yours a happy and peaceful holiday season!
Developer Diary 12
Radar Love
In beta v.054 we made a major change to the way our “pip” (radar) system works. For the past year, all vehicle pips had been visible to all players, all the time. This gave players a very high degree of battlefield awareness, as well as an exact indication of each enemy’s health level. The unintended consequence of this was seen repeatedly in multiplayer matches where the players with the lowest health were piled on by all the other players. Not ideal.Our new system regulates how and when pips are seen, and who can see them. Pip and player name visibility is controlled by distance, by line of sight (a combination of vehicle-to-vehicle and camera-to-vehicle LOS). Vehicle damage indicators are shown when you damage a vehicle, and for 5 seconds afterwards. In team games, your team pips are always visible, all the time.
This changes game play for the better:
Adds surprise moments when enemies are suddenly discovered. Ambush and be ambushed.
Creates spontaneous battle areas in a map (rather than predictably chasing the weakest player).
Allows us to create modules (equipment used in car customization) that relate to pip visibility, such as a stealth module (hide pip), or enhanced sensor module (increase pip visibility).
Control Remapping
With our latest beta (v0.54) we finally allow keyboard, controller and mouse remapping under the Options menu. Future improvements include cloud save of settings, and accessing the Options menu from live game play Pause menu. Note that from time to time, future beta releases may reset some or all of your custom settings. Once the game launches, this shouldn’t happen anymore.
Quick Chat
Broadcast short phrases to all players or just your team using F1 - F4 on keyboard by default, or D-Pad on the controller.
All Maps All Modes
We continue to polish and improve our game maps. We have removed healing stations from Crossroads and Hot Dam, which now puts the burden on players designing their loadouts or coordinating with team members to heal.
Every map now allows Free For All and Team Deathmatch modes.
Move Over Ninjas, Here Comes S-Force!
Our Neon Ninja faction (under the Dark Jaw team) is nearly ready for release. Hot on the heels of the Ninjas, we’re putting the final art touches on S-Force, our newest vehicle faction under the SAIGE team. While the Neon Ninjas are all about speed, stealth and agility, the vehicles of S-Force are all about raw military power--they may not be the fastest, but they’ll soak up and dish out lots of damage.
It’s possible we will release these new factions into a future beta build but we haven’t decided when or how. Stay tuned for details!
For info on our ongoing beta testing, visit this forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/458680/discussions/0/361798516961301182/
For our feature roadmap, check out our Trello board https://trello.com/b/e3TRbuBv/auto-age-standoff-features-roadmap
Chat with us on our Discord server https://discord.gg/2s3nz2A
Developer Diary 11
Major Beta Update
Beta update 0.49 brings with it two big additions to the game, including the first draft of our vehicle damage visualization (debris, smoke, flame) and camera shake. These updates improve the game feel, making collisions and explosions seem bigger, and giving players a visual cue to how damaged vehicles are. In the next update we’ll be ensuring all vehicles are using this system, right now it’s just the L, M and H-Type on the SAIGE team.
All the game menus are using a unified look and feel, and every menu has at least basic functionality. We continue to replace temporary elements and add more detailed functionality. The most noticeable improvement is to our multiplayer menu flow, from Join/Host to the game lobby.
For info on our ongoing beta testing, visit this forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/458680/discussions/0/361798516961301182/
Public Feature Roadmap
We’re maintaining a public feature roadmap that shows at a glance what’s in the game now, what’s coming in the short term, the longer term, and what we are planning for the future. Hop on over to our Trello page for a look at what we’re working on right now!
https://trello.com/b/e3TRbuBv/auto-age-standoff-features-roadmap
30+ New Screenshots Added To Store Page
We’ve replaced all the previous game screenshots (now a few months old) with new editions, showing all three of our maps and modes in action. Compared to our earlier screenshots and videos, the game has come a long way in its presentation. We will continue to polish.
Developer Diary 10
Discord Server
Our Discord chat server is up and running. The devs often idle in this channel, as do our beta testers. Drop in and ask a question or find someone to play with!
Thanks to Our Testers!
Our beta test group continues to grow. Thanks to everyone who has joined us for multiplayer matches. We appreciate your feedback and we love watching you learn to play (and in some cases beat the devs!). To learn more about our beta, check out this forum thread.
Networking & Steam Integration
Networking has been optimized since our last developer update, reducing traffic by about two thirds. Disconnects are now less frequent, depending on your connection. Further improvements are in testing that will further reduce disconnects, particularly between players in distant geographic locations.
Other improvements include:
We reduced the number of “clicks” it takes to get from JOIN GAME to actually playing with other players.
We now allow you to invite Steam friends into your current game lobby.
We reduced “zombie” servers from showing up in the temporary server browser. All servers listed should be for active servers, not disconnected ones.
Maps & Modes
Our current lineup of test maps, now in beta testing, is...
Crossroads: best for 2 - 4 players and Free-For-All Deathmatch.
Company Town: best for 4 - 8 players and Team Deathmatch
Deathmatch 02 (working title): best for 4 - 8 players and Free-For-All Deathmatch.
Base Assault mode is still simmering in the background, waiting for some systems to get rebuilt / replaced. As always, additional modes are still under consideration, including Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Sumo and Race.
Friendly fire is now OFF by default (will be a server option), and now prevents you from killing yourself with your own weapons.
Vehicle Configuration
Our Configurator (vehicle customizer) is being rebuilt, along with the system that all vehicle weapons and equipment relate to. The new system will allow us to more easily make new weapons and status effects.
Recent configuration improvements include:
Sentry turrets now a stock option on L-Type vehicles, have been balanced better (are easier to kill).
Paired fixed weapons now coordinate fire on the same target.
T-Type (tower) vehicles now have much better handling (still low top speed).
We are also narrowing down on a systems design for build points that will restrict the number and type of equipment modules to be accessed.
Menus
All of our menus are being redone. Some of this new material is visible in the game, but most is not wired up yet. When complete, all the game menus should have a unified look and feel, with no glaring placeholder graphics. Menus will be in line with what you’d expect from a multiplayer combat game.
Currently our main menu has been stripped way down, and only allows you to JOIN or HOST. Local games are hidden temporarily, as is our Tutorial story.
Controls
Camera is now smarter, clips less into map geometry.
E-brake now interrupts throttle, helping with tighter turns.
Steering is less twitchy at high speeds.
The Ninjas Are Coming!
As promised in a previous developer diary, we are adding a new faction to Auto Age: Standoff.
The new faction--currently in internal testing--has three new vehicles, and our goal is to go to beta testing with these as soon as possible. We intend on pairing these vehicles with a new weapon type--lasers! This new weapon is in development.
Here’s a look at our Neon Ninja faction, which is currently planned to be available to both SAIGE and Dark Jaw teams for testing.
Below: Neon Ninja L-Type
Below: Neon Ninja M-Type
Full Release Pushed to 2017
We’re moving our release date from fall 2016 to a date to be determined in 2017. We have been testing the game with our audience and with industry folks for the past year. We all agree that the game needs more content and more polish.
At this time, we are taking the “we’ll release it when it’s ready” approach. It’s in our best interest to finish these improvements as soon as possible, but we don’t want to rush the product.
Stay tuned to our Steam group for updates and join us for ongoing testing as we continue to make “Auto Age: Standoff” even better!
Developer Diary 09
Better Menus, Better Matching
We’re redoing all of our in-game menu systems for a vastly improved user experience. This dovetails with better Steam integration, which we are working on at the same time. The end result will be cleaner, more uniform, more functional menu systems with hooks into your Steam friends lists. This will allow you and your Steam friends to connect more easily in the same network games.
Menus are pretty time-consuming and complicated to work on, involving graphic design, information architecture and programming. For those of you interested in our development process, here’s a look at the wireframes we’re starting with…
And here’s what we’re aiming for (below). Much of the legwork here started by our pal, long-suffering designer Ryan Hewson. Poor Ryan. We tend to shove his original masterpieces through the harsh meat-grinder of utilitarianism. Sorry mate, we luv u!
Network Optimization
For non-techies: you can look forward to less frequent disconnects. Disconnects have been pretty common as of a few weeks ago, as we changed the way network games operate.
For semi-techies: we have been working with Unity network relay servers (to handle NAT punchthrough issues), which has added a little more lag and weight to network connections. Since our previous network code was completely unoptimized, we are now doing a first pass on optimization to reduce lag and mitigate disconnections between hosts and clients.
Latest Beta Footage, Map Improvements
As mentioned in our last update and a recent forum thread, we’re verrrry slowwwwly adding beta testers. Hope to get more of you in game soon.
https://youtu.be/D41K-FmzkqA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTpNbvSm6w
We’re pretty much done our Crossroads (was ‘Deathmatch 01’) map at this point, and are making big art improvements to ‘Deathmatch 02.’
Here are some previs paintovers for DM02 (below). Many of the pieces you see here have already been modelled and are in testing.
Until Next Time!
Keep your hands on the wheel and your finger on the trigger!
Developer Diary 08
Latest Game Play
We’re working on a new video for our Store page; the game has come a long way since our original teasers in April.
In the meantime, here are a couple recent playtest sessions among the developers -- deathmatch on Crossroads (improved polish on this small map) and ‘Deathmatch 02’ (work in progress, title TBD).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs3Ur6AFGzw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41NUfRovvdo
Beta Test Pool Widens!
We’re starting to widen our beta test group! If you’re interested in joining this (currently very small) group, please post in this thread, and we’ll choose participants from time to time according to top secret, highly-classified supercomputer algorithms. MAYBE A TESTER IS YOU!!
Still working on the new Neon Ninja Faction, here’s the latest draft models (light, heavy and medium chassis)--
Developer Diary 07
Teams, Factions, and Ninjas, OH MY!
There are two teams in Auto Age: Standoff -- SaiGe and Dark Jaw. Each team currently has one faction: Val Vega’s Defenders (fighting for the SaiGe team) and the Jawlings (fighting for the Dark Jaw team).
We will be adding factions over time. The first additional faction is the Neon Ninjas, a group of stylish freelance fighters available to both teams. As a player, you will be able to choose from any vehicle from any faction on your side.
The Neon Ninjas have high-tech vehicles and will probably come with at least one new weapon (a laser or beam weapon).
Our lead artist Daniel Tozer has been working on concepts for this new faction. Here’s how they’re shaping up:
Car Configuration
In our ongoing audience testing we keep hearing that we need to add more car customization options. No argument here--we’re working on it!
Most of these customization options will be practical--weapons and modifiers--but some will be purely cosmetic, such as boost trails, decals and rims.
Our configuration system is based on the idea that a vehicle chassis (body) has a certain number of slots into which certain modules (e.g. weapons, gadgets, cosmetics) can be added.
We are looking at several options for limiting how vehicles are customized, such as a “build point” system--matches would be governed by build points. It’s also possible certain vehicle chassis types will impose limits on what can be equipped. Modules can also be restricted by team, so it’s possible for each team to have unique weapons or modifiers.
The goal here is to give players a reason to pick one vehicle over another, to make each feel distinct and useful.
Over the past couple of weeks we added a Turbo Boost module! This allows the player to “dash” forward, and combines really nicely with our Jump Boost module (jump, then dash).
Here’s a test drive of the Turbo Boost feature!
The Latest On Modes & Maps
We continue to refine our maps and play modes. Deathmatch is the easiest mode to develop, and we currently have two maps in testing, as well as free for all and team play options. We are taking a really close look at our Base Assault mode and trying to find ways to maximize vehicle-to-vehicle combat. There’s one Base Assault map in testing.
As we’ve mentioned in earlier updates, we need to be careful about how many modes and maps are available at launch, or we could risk fragmenting our player base. We’ll keep refining as we move forward, and testing out experimental modes such as racing, sumo, and king of the hill.
Here’s a clip compilation of recent deathmatch testing--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYQgNNKMiYw
We’ve done a bunch of network improvements lately as well: players can now join a match in progress, and we’re using Unity’s matchmaking / relay service under the hood. Steam is still fully integrated.
The Road Ahead
Our goal is to launch the game that you want to play. We’ve been audience-testing consistently since the Game Developers Conference in March, and are also getting ongoing feedback from consultants and friends in the industry. We have been making changes for the better since the game appeared on the Steam store, and there will be more to come as we listen, refine, add and polish.
Our beta testing is still limited to friends and family. As soon as we’re ready to broaden the testing pool, we will keep you posted.
Thanks everyone for tuning in!
Developer Diary 06
This weekend we added a bucketload of new screenshots to our Steam store page. These show our Base Assault (was MOBA) mode and Deathmatch modes in action, each on a unique map. Hop on over to the store page for a look!
Although we’re currently focused day-to-day on polishing and refining the play experience for each of these modes and maps, we continue to tinker on new modes in our so-called spare time. Lead programmer Jos Yule has been cooking up a Race mode which allows local and online players/teams to compete. He’s currently playing around with a procedurally-generated road system which would make every race a unique challenge.
Below: 2-player (online) race testing. Top screen is the game world view, bottom screen is the generated road view.
Meanwhile, programmer Eric McQuiggan has set up an Oculus DK2-compatible VR camera that can be activated during game play (out-of-game menus not currently supported). This experimental VR view will be part of our launch, barring any weird complications from Oculus (owned by Facebook).
The VR experience is super exciting--allowing you to view from dashcam, chase cam and free cam vantages--but we still have a lot of work to do in reducing motion sickness. We have not yet tested the game with any other VR headsets, mostly because they are difficult and expensive to obtain.
Below: VR chase cam view. We’re testing the HUD situated a lot closer to the vehicle than non-VR.
In nostalgia news, one of our fans sent in a picture of the 1979 “Big Trak” toy made by Milton Bradley. If you’re an old fart like some of us, this retro vehicle will look familiar. Never mind the fact that we unintentionally designed our SaiGe Base Station in the same vein!
As we continue with intensive testing, bugs and other breakage creeps in from time to time. Our AI systems went super derpy recently, so we’re looking into that.
And then there’s trippy stuff like this.
Got questions about our play modes, or the VR version? Notice that we post Mac screenshots from time to time? You ask, we answer!
Until next time…
Developer Diary 05
This past week we’ve been testing and polishing. Each day we conduct online multiplayer reviews, and we’re now working with two outside firms for QA and product strategy. In combination with all the feedback we’ve collected from you--the players--since GDC 2016, our third party firms are helping to give us some perspective on the game we have in our hands today.
Online Multiplayer
We’re thrilled with the online multiplayer experience. The goal has always been to achieve performance on par with any other online action game, and so far we have not only achieved that goal, but doubled our expected session capacity from 4 human players to 8.
Below is a 5-minute clip of online deathmatch play. If you have any questions about what you’re seeing here, let us know in the comments for this dev diary update.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI9DdmEvF5o
We are currently spending our testing time in a free for all deathmatch map, which we’ve shown in previous updates. It’s a bit small for 8-player games (just means the action is more intense) but we have a couple of other candidates for larger scale combat.
We continue to prove out some our MOBA-style play, keeping an eye here on what’s working and what isn’t. As with our last original game (a pinball RPG), we need to be careful about combining two genres (car combat and MOBA). There’s definitely a ton of fun to be had in MOBA mode, and we’re looking at ways to beef up our AI-controlled vehicles to improve the experience.
While we’re focused on Deathmatch and MOBA-style modes right now, we’re always working on additional modes on the side. We’ve tried Sumo, Race, and now our lead programmer has created a procedural road generator. We’re not sure yet what to use it for, but endless roads are on the horizon!
Configurator
Vehicles in the game are customized using our Configurator, a tool that lets you see the gear as it goes on. Here’s a preview of the tool’s current incarnation--
Brand New Heavy
We’ve rolled out a redesigned Dark Jaw H-Type (heavy) vehicle. The previous version was too blocky to see the weapons very well, or anyone in close quarters. The new one solves that problem, and fits in better with the Dark Jaw designs. Catch it in action here.
https://youtu.be/0H7cpg8fkHQ
We’re experimenting with the wheelbase right now, below are the two options we’re playing with.
Also looking at some tweaks to the SaiGe H-Type to get it a little higher off the ground. Below are both teams’ heavies for comparison.
And speaking of the SaiGe H-Type, a friend of ours sent us a classic Hot Wheels pic -- see any resemblance?
Odds & Ends
We continue to use data visualization to assist product design, below is a chart showing usage of each of the game’s current maps. Map list very much subject to change as we continue refining.
We’re working on a new 60-second trailer with new animated footage, new game footage, a snippet of our new theme song and a cool MOVIE GUY narrator. Hope to have that out by the end of this month!
Lots more to talk about as we continue this wild road trip!
Ask us anything!
Developer Diary 04
This week leads up to a major internal milestone, where we’ve completed core functionality. Moving ahead we’ll be testing constantly (not just for bugs, but for balance and overall QA) and rolling in some additional features one at a time.
Here’s a 30-second skirmish from our last multiplayer test. 8 players continues to test well, so it’s still looking very good for this to become official (was 4-player support).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9rNKCHzDCw
We’re using data collected during playtesting to inform level design. Using data visualization, we can see at a glance where vehicles are getting destroyed most often, where they are moving the fastest, and then make changes to smooth out rough areas.
Below: dots show vehicle deaths over time in one of our duel maps. Blue dots are early deaths, red dots are later deaths.
Below: speedmap, where red arrows show faster speeds, yellow show slower speeds in our tutorial map.
Additional updates--
tutorial in final stages
missiles rebalancing continues; light vehicles have a better chance of outrunning heavy missiles
overall weapon rebalancing continues
audio optimization and multiplayer audio support contiunues
We are releasing very small batches of Steam beta keys to close friends and family. A third party QA company will soon begin Windows compatibility and network testing.
We will continue to share developments as they arise!
Our new system regulates how and when pips are seen, and who can see them. Pip and player name visibility is controlled by distance, by line of sight (a combination of vehicle-to-vehicle and camera-to-vehicle LOS). Vehicle damage indicators are shown when you damage a vehicle, and for 5 seconds afterwards. In team games, your team pips are always visible, all the time.
