Attempted to fix default FOV bug, it should be 90 now
Attempted to fix resolution reset bug, it should remember your choice
Sorry for any inconvenience these bugs may have caused. I think it's fixed now, not sure exactly what went wrong or how I "fixed" it. Again, apologies, I'm a massive moron. You could say as dumb as five morons put together. A Maroon 5 even.
Hope your year is looking good ːsteamthumbsupː
Ultra Cop
Hey friends!
Been another while since I last posted. I promised an update of sorts, and figured now might be a good time to do so. I am releasing a new game very soon, like either the end of October or beginning of November (if all goes well).
Yes it's called Ultra Cop lol. It's a Y2K style game set in the not too distant future where you control an advanced police officer equipped with a Mech, Riot car and destructive guns. It's a first/third person shooter, it's violent and very 1999. The idea was to make a game that feels like it could have been a launch title for the Dreamcast. It's a shorter experience than CARNAL and it follows the old-school style of semi-open maps that you can tackle in any way you want. It's also got 4 different soundtracks to choose from in-game. If this looks like you're sort of speed, please feel free to check it out!
Roadmap
Ultra Cop is the first of three planned, smaller scale games. The second game is a stealth-horror game in the vein of Thief with an authentic PSX style. I grew up playing Thief and Splinter Cell, always wanted to try making my own spin on it. Working title is Saturn's Gaze. The third one is still in the works, but most likely will involve vehicular combat in the style of Twisted Metal with an authentic PS2 style (if I can get it working properly). The plan is to release these three, then if everything works out, update CARNAL with a complete overhaul. A CARNAL Reborn, if you will lol. This update will probably have a selection screen where you can choose between the original and revamped version.
So the release roadmap is basically in this order:
Ultra Cop (2024)
Saturn's Gaze (2025)
Third unamed Car-Combat game (2025)
CARNAL Reborn (2025? 2026?)
The plan is to release smaller scale retro games, with unique styles and gameplay. Then bigger games, like CARNAL Reborn and PAGAN. If God keeps this little flame burning, then I will follow this course.
If this is not the sort of thing you're interested in I completely understand. I do plan on doing the bigger games, but they're gonna be a bit further out time-wise. I won't ever abandon the boomer-shooter crowd!
Why Are You Doing This? WHERE'S PAGAN?
Well friends, I'll be honest, I also don't quite know yet. This has been an exceptionally challenging year so far, and a few things got pushed to the side. PAGAN being one of them. There's a reason I was so quiet this year.
At the risk of oversharing and boring you to death, here is a summary: I had a few breakdowns that messed me up real bad. Had really dangerous mental states for weeks at a time, and at one point I even had to quit my job. Many aspects of my life were taking a hit, and game development was one these things. I had similar experiences throughout my life, but it reached a peak this year for some reason.
Never actively sought help, but things got so severe that I finally gave in and went to a mental health clinic to maybe help figure out what's going on. Turns out I have been living with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. After getting therapy and resources, I had to take a step back, reassess my life, and make necessary changes to make things easier and managable so that I don't get burnt out and fall into a pit of depression and chronic anxiety.
This meant reducing work-loads and managing stress levels. Game development needed to follow suite, otherwise I'd never get anything done ever again. This is why there are three smaller games planned out instead of a big one. I'm pacing myself, trying new things and expanding my skill set, while hopefully at the same time reinvigorating my passion for game development.
The way I make games hasn't changed. If you liked CARNAL, you'll likely enjoy the new ones as well!
Conclusion
I can fully understand if this update did not impress. This is not how I wanted things to go since releasing CARNAL. I prefer being completely honest with you guys, instead of faking it and acting like everything is going well, when it obviously isn't, anyone can see something was amiss. I was living under the illusion that I was normal and trying to keep up with everyone and society as a whole, even if it never felt natural to do so, slowly killing my creativity and productivity. Maybe things will start to make sense after my explanation, the reason everything was so flaky and unpredictable over the years. It's because I'm a retard lol. Even though things didn't work out as planned, I don't intend on giving up on this game dev endeavor. If anyone can get some good times out of the things I make, then that's all that matters in the end.
Thanks for reading this far if you did, hope things are going well with you guys!
Been another while since I last posted. I promised an update of sorts, and figured now might be a good time to do so. I am releasing a new game very soon, like either the end of October or beginning of November (if all goes well).
Yes it's called Ultra Cop lol. It's a Y2K style game set in the not too distant future where you control an advanced police officer equipped with a Mech, Riot car and destructive guns. It's a first/third person shooter, it's violent and very 1999. The idea was to make a game that feels like it could have been a launch title for the Dreamcast. It's a shorter experience than CARNAL and it follows the old-school style of semi-open maps that you can tackle in any way you want. It's also got 4 different soundtracks to choose from in-game. If this looks like you're sort of speed, please feel free to check it out!
Roadmap
Ultra Cop is the first of three planned, smaller scale games. The second game is a stealth-horror game in the vein of Thief with an authentic PSX style. I grew up playing Thief and Splinter Cell, always wanted to try making my own spin on it. Working title is Saturn's Gaze. The third one is still in the works, but most likely will involve vehicular combat in the style of Twisted Metal with an authentic PS2 style (if I can get it working properly). The plan is to release these three, then if everything works out, update CARNAL with a complete overhaul. A CARNAL Reborn, if you will lol. This update will probably have a selection screen where you can choose between the original and revamped version.
So the release roadmap is basically in this order:
Ultra Cop (2024)
Saturn's Gaze (2025)
Third unamed Car-Combat game (2025)
CARNAL Reborn (2025? 2026?)
The plan is to release smaller scale retro games, with unique styles and gameplay. Then bigger games, like CARNAL Reborn and PAGAN. If God keeps this little flame burning, then I will follow this course.
If this is not the sort of thing you're interested in I completely understand. I do plan on doing the bigger games, but they're gonna be a bit further out time-wise. I won't ever abandon the boomer-shooter crowd!
Why Are You Doing This? WHERE'S PAGAN?
Well friends, I'll be honest, I also don't quite know yet. This has been an exceptionally challenging year so far, and a few things got pushed to the side. PAGAN being one of them. There's a reason I was so quiet this year.
At the risk of oversharing and boring you to death, here is a summary: I had a few breakdowns that messed me up real bad. Had really dangerous mental states for weeks at a time, and at one point I even had to quit my job. Many aspects of my life were taking a hit, and game development was one these things. I had similar experiences throughout my life, but it reached a peak this year for some reason.
Never actively sought help, but things got so severe that I finally gave in and went to a mental health clinic to maybe help figure out what's going on. Turns out I have been living with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. After getting therapy and resources, I had to take a step back, reassess my life, and make necessary changes to make things easier and managable so that I don't get burnt out and fall into a pit of depression and chronic anxiety.
This meant reducing work-loads and managing stress levels. Game development needed to follow suite, otherwise I'd never get anything done ever again. This is why there are three smaller games planned out instead of a big one. I'm pacing myself, trying new things and expanding my skill set, while hopefully at the same time reinvigorating my passion for game development.
The way I make games hasn't changed. If you liked CARNAL, you'll likely enjoy the new ones as well!
Conclusion
I can fully understand if this update did not impress. This is not how I wanted things to go since releasing CARNAL. I prefer being completely honest with you guys, instead of faking it and acting like everything is going well, when it obviously isn't, anyone can see something was amiss. I was living under the illusion that I was normal and trying to keep up with everyone and society as a whole, even if it never felt natural to do so, slowly killing my creativity and productivity. Maybe things will start to make sense after my explanation, the reason everything was so flaky and unpredictable over the years. It's because I'm a retard lol. Even though things didn't work out as planned, I don't intend on giving up on this game dev endeavor. If anyone can get some good times out of the things I make, then that's all that matters in the end.
Thanks for reading this far if you did, hope things are going well with you guys!
It has been quite some time since I posted anything, hope you are all doing well. This announcement is not related to anything I do, rather it's about a huge step in the ongoing battle for games preservation.
This is a call to European Union citizens. I don't have a huge audience, but if some of my EU homies could help out, we'd all very much appreciate it!
Here is a link to the Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ
I am not an expert, so please feel free to watch or read the above posted links!
What's This About?
If you haven't heard about it, Stop Killing Games is an initiative started by legendary YouTuber, Accursed Farms (Ross Scott), of Freeman's Mind and Game Dungeon fame. It's gotten pretty big, and we may have an actual chance to make a huge difference that will literally improve people's consumer rights world-wide!
He started this worldwide endeavour when it was announced that The Crew (made by Ubisoft) was going to have it's servers disconnected, leaving the game unplayable. Essentially 12 million players lost access to their game when the servers shut down, rendering the application useless and leaving said millions with useless plastic discs only fit for use as a coaster.
Unfortunately this is the destiny of many hundreds of games, especially live-service type games that require an always online connection to the developers/publishers. In fact dozens of games that were sold to gamers over the last 20 plus years have already been yeeted off into the void, never to be played or experienced again. Hell, there are single player games that require internet connections to operate!
Why Is This Important?
This is a huge customer rights violation, and because no laws exist to stop this from happening, more companies are moving towards this distribution model every day. They know there is nothing you as a customer can do, and they are completely taking advantage of it.
Companies can revoke access to a game you paid for, barring you from ever playing or experiencing it ever again, and you currently have no legal means of stopping that from happening.
This is also a sign of things to come in other areas of life, as this will set a precedent for what other companies can do in the future, outside of gaming.
Imagine buying a car that requires you to have a subscription to access certain normal features cars have had since the 90's. You don't have to, car manufacturers are already on that wave length: Hyundai Will Lock Some In-Car Features Behind a Paywall
Many developers have already come out against this initiative, expectedly. What I did not expect was the amount of gamers who also spoke against this movement, for God-knows what reason. Maybe they like the taste of someone's boot on their faces, I don't know. They probably also still wear masks, alone, in their cars.
Imagine not being able to play Duke 3D, Quake, Blood or any of the greats ever again. I first realized this was an issue with the two The Division games, two of my favourite games on PS4. Someday Ubisoft will also shut down those servers, destroying all that amazing work and art developers laboured over. All I'll have left is some screenshots and videos on my PS4 hard drive. This is wrong on every fundamental level, and is destruction of history and property.
That is the future that many in high positions want for us.
If we can stop this crap from continuing in gaming, we can pretty much stop similar things from happening in other sectors of the business world. Stop the infection at the source.
You have the sovereign right to keep and access that for which you have paid money for.
Extremely Important Information
To be clear, this is not an initiative to force publishers to keep servers online, rather it is to leave games in a playable state after server shutdown. Games need to be playable offline after publisher support ends, nothing less, nothing more. Kind of like how you can still play Unreal Tournament 1999 even though its official servers are long gone. Funny how this wasn't a problem 25 years ago ;)
Also this is not retroactive, meaning that games already sold won't be affected, they are dead forever. The initiative won't necessarily fix the problem, rather it is to get the EU parlaiment to address the issue and offer solutions. This isn't a law, but a call to action.
What Can I Do?
If you are an EU citizen, you can go to the website linked above, and follow the instructions, it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes of your time. If you are someone like me outside of the EU, you can spread awareness and reach out to anyone you may know in the EU.
While there are other options available for those in other nations, this one is the strongest. Tell as many people about this as you can, as the EU is the last hope for this movement.
I'm aware of the irony of asking this on Steam, a DRM heavy platform.
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity here friends, let's use itːsteamthumbsupː
I have some updates coming soon. Hope you guys are well! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-fyNgHdmLI
Patch 1.9.3
Changelog:
Added more invisible walls around levels to keep players from getting stuck out of bounds
Reduced the Fish Monster enemies health even more, it used to have 500hp now it only has 250hp.
Reverted some collision settings with regards to how the player could jump on enemies, might still be weird at times, much liek the game itself.
Yeah Have a good day lads! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCsGRCf8T9Y
PAGAN UPDATE
Hey friends!
It's been a while! Just wanted to share some progress news. PAGAN has been going through some major changes, and some things needed to be put on hold. Don't worry though, the game is still coming along, just not the way it used to. Doing this whole change wasn't easy, in fact it was extremely demoralizing.
Current Situation
The version I have been sharing with you guys through the updates earlier this year has been "cancelled", and I'll soon be showing the final version in the not too distant future. I'll go into the details below for those interested.
But like I said, not to worry as the version I'm currently finishing is actually the final one. I've already bought a Steam page for it, and when the game is nearing "completion" I'll post a link to it's page.
Here is a final build of the "open-world" version of PAGAN available to download: https://mercysoft.itch.io/pagan
I'm sharing it mostly as a curiosity, and maybe it can inspire others in their endeavors as well. It's obviously VERY unfinished, but it mostly works.
New Version
PAGAN will be a much more straight forward game than what I had originally planned. There are a couple reasons for that. Video of progress so far, still a lot more to do and put in (sounds, weapons, voices, etc):
Screenshots from the 1st level:
This will be more of a direct sequel to CARNAL than anything else. It's better in almost every way, more sophisticated with better systems, animations and quality of life improvements. I'm giving the High Definition Render Pipeline another chance, a newer version at least. It looks light years better than the URP iteration. I am taking what I made for the earlier version and reusing them in a smarter, more tighly designed way, so nothing is going to waste.
What stays the same:
The player still controls Cyrus.
It's still the 1950's.
You still have a slow-motion ability.
You can kick doors, windows, objects and AI.
You can shoot dudes apart with 6 different destructable parts.
Only difference is it'll take place in various unique locations, with unique enemies and horror atmospheres.
Instead of "open-world", it'll be level-based like a regular boomer shooter.
Why the Change brother?
I'll be super honest bro's, I wasn't happy with how things were panning out. The longer I worked on it, the more I felt like I wasn't doing the concept/idea the justice it deserved. Not to sound dramatic, but I felt an idea like what PAGAN originally was demanded higher quality everything. Here are some reasons for the change:
The Universal Render Pipeline is lacking in basic features.
The rendering quality offered by URP was at odds with the lighting and volumetric effects .
In order to be engrossed by the environment, it needs to look convincing enough, and it wasn't.
The map is not rich enough detail/model complexity.
Open-world design is not a built-in feature of Unity, causing me to create tons of systems to make it work.
I was underestimating just how much knowledge and effort is required to make it work.
I felt that the game was not going to end up being what I initially imagined. Until I gain better tools, knowledge and experience, this version of PAGAN will be put on hold indefinitely.
Basically, if I had continued with this version it would have turned out as an embarrassing shitshow, and you guys deserve better.
Conclusion
Like I said, don't worry. This isn't like all the previous prototypes, this one will be finished. I'm a few months out from being ready to release, but it's coming along nicely with no issues. It runs well, plays good and is functionally better than CARNAL. I have a Steam page for it, and when it's close to release time, I'll let you guys know (if you're still interested after all these arduous months).
My communication skills are very rusty, so if you need any more info please feel free to ask!
This is a small update to "fix" an issue with the menu screen being broken with regards to aspect ratio/resolution changes. This is possibly only an issue that comes up if you are using an ultrawide monitor, where if you change from the default game resolution to your native resolution, and then back again, the menu screen will dissapear.
I tried replicating it inside Unity with specific resolutions, and I still cannot for the life of me figure out why the engine straight up deletes the entire menu when this happens. Like Unity completely yeets it from existence and throws an error temper tantrum. My guess is it's happening engine-side and I have no access to it, almost like a black box of sorts. Anyways thanks to Draconomous III for pointing this out, as I had no idea this was even happening.
If this is something that happens to you as well, I have added a safeguard in the code to stop it, as well as a keybind that will reset the game's settings and possibly fix that from breaking the menu. This is also handy to just reset all settings to default. Simply hold down this combination of keys to reset your settings in the main meny: Left Shift + Left Control + Left Alt + D
I apologize if this comes up for anyone in the past, present or future!
CARNAL: 2nd Year
Hey friends!
I would feel remiss if I didn't at least acknowledge CARNAL's second year since release. Thanks for giving this obscure and silly game the time of day in the first place. As many of you already know, this was not a professionally developed game XD That being said, I know from feedback that many of you had fun with it, and that's all that matters! I truly appreciate all of the interactions we've had over these past two years, and please know that the game improved because of your input and advice!
I wish you guys all the best, and may you always have a steady supply of toilet burgers ːsteamthumbsupː
PS. Still working on PAGAN during freetime! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mLT1HcfBiE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGtcLZkU9c
PAGAN Update #4: Carnival & Weather SFX
Hey guys
Quick update to show how things are progressing. The past month has been spent on a Carnival area and smaller details in gameplay.
Here is a video to summarize:
This one took way longer than I initially thought it would, mostly because of real-world electrical issues and the need for an ASSLOAD of unique assets that are only for the Carnival area. I had an enjoyable-ish time making it though, so no harm no foul. When I eventually get to designing the missions for each area, I'll need to make even more assets, so this is nowhere near finished, but it should give an idea. Here are some screenshots:
I'll be real dudes, sometimes I wonder if this whole thing is even worth it. A constant fear is the idea of spending all this time and energy on the project and then no one likes it or something.
I do personally believe the combat is very enjoyable, but whether or not that rings true for everyone remains to be seen. I'm doing my best to not have oversized areas like I had in CARNAL, as while it can give a nice sense of scale, it's not everyone's cup of tea. The mission areas will be much more compact and focused this time around, so hopefully theres Quality as well as Quantity. Who knows, hopefully it strikes a cord with players.
Till next time friends, stay safe ːsteamthumbsupː
Publishing Partnership
Hey guys
This is an update simply to announce that I have been given the opportunity to partner with a boutique indie publisher, Tendokore. They're based in Poland, and they have published games on both Steam and consoles.
Here is a link to their socials: https://www.tendokore.com/ https://twitter.com/tendokore
Everything will be the same as it always has been, the difference being that Tendokore will handle all publishing aspects as well as marketing going forward. I believe this will give CARNAL a much better chance at exposure, and the wonderful people at Tendokore are highly experienced regarding business knowhow that I simply don't have :) This will also improve the chances for CARNAL to finally have profile features such as badges and Steam store stuff. The store page will reflect these changes over the next few days.
If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask them! Cheers
