Hi again! Here is a big-ass, incoherent update for anyone interested. I have threatened recently to share some updates about progress on the sequel thing, and even though it is extremely too early I am going to post some screenshots anyway ːsteamthumbsupː
I have a few things to mention after all the images if you are interested, concerning the game's direction and rendering. So without further ado:
Changes to Weaponry
I have decided to go for a more custom and unique look, mostly because every game nowadays has the same weapons and look, and I was recently playing Doom Eternal again and really admired the awesome guns. The plan is to completely overhaul the look of the guns, but to keep their base functionality. I can't promise that you'll like how they turned out though lol. First to change is the M16, which has now been substituted with the RDF standard issue Puncture Rifle: I still need to redo the rest, but I'll share them as they're done.
First Level Preview
Just to add some context, these following images are from the planned first level, which is on a ridiculous high end luxury train that has been hijacked by the Anak clones before it could go on it's first maiden voyage. Please bear in mind that nothing is actually finished and there are still a metric ton of assets that need to go everywhere, hell the train layout is only halfway done so far. These are just the basics so far, as there are more assets and mechanics coming to fill out the level. Also the outside of the train is missing for now. If the train's scale seems stupid, it's because it is. CARNAL is stupid, but in a good way.
Rendering
You may have noticed if you've followed the past few updates that the game has been shifted to modern rendering instead of the early 2000's style. This has been done for a lot of reasons, but the biggest being that I work alone, I don't have a social media presence and I don't have a publisher.
If CARNAL 2 is to exist and succeed, I feel the game will need to look the part and actually be attractive to a modern audience. I'm not selling out though, the game is still a boomer inspired by the early 2000's, it just looks nicer, hopefully. I hope you guys can understand, and I'm sorry if this is dissapointing and not the look you had in mind. One level in CARNAL 2 will have more polygons than the entirety of CARNAL, which is scary lol.
I have mentioned a few times before how CARNAL is very inspired by Redneck Rampage, and that is especially true in terms of the art style. I wanted to capture that mid to late 90's pre-rendered look and artstyle that is present in RR but make it real time. Here is the rendering style for reference: Here is what the game will look like if you missed it previously:
I hope this is clear, it's a look with smoothness, gloss and sheen, saturated colours and proudly CGI. When you think about it, it's really the most retro look you can get, as even Duke 3D used CG for it's offline rendering. Whether or not I succeed in getting it like that is something to look at when it's done and out lol.
Graphics
This is turning into an above average performing game, but I think older PC's might have a tougher time keeping to 60 FPS. I am doing what I can to optimize performance while I go. The game is using the most up to date version of Unity's HDRP, so you can expect some of these rendering features:
True PBR materials
Option between nice particles and performant ones
Volumetric Light and Fog
Volumetric Clouds
Subsurface Scattering on skin, fabric and foliage
Screen Space Reflections
Screen Space Global Illumination
Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR 1.0
Choice between TAA, SMAA and FXAA anti-aliasing
Ray-Tracing? DirectX 12? idk lol
Gameplay
This has remained as previously discussed in the ideas forum thing and in the updates. The game is somewhat slower, but more methodical with an emphasis on placing you in the world. More immersive and coherent. The camera has been physicalized with the idea to embrace actual scale and improve the sense of surrounding. If that all sounded like bullshit, trust me, it's real :D It actually feels like you are controlling someone with weight and momentum now, more F.E.A.R than Quake if you will.
Mechanics
Doors. They open automatically when in range and enemies can open them as well. Nothing too fancy but it does change the overall flow. As in CARNAL, you will be able to use vending machines, containers, toilets and more. Guns will now fire actual projectiles that travel over time. AI won't always stand still when attacking, but move around and sidestep. Nothing major, just a bit more variety. Also secrets that will unlock reading material and models for the proposed model viewer thing ːsteamthumbsupː
Setting
CARNAL took place in 1996, CARNAL 2 is in 1999. The game will no longer take place on the "Other Side", but instead in the actual world. The idea is that the Anak forces are now finding ways to bring the other side and it's spirit's/demons to the physical realm. How though is still unclear. Probably tearing the fabric of time itself lol.
There will be a handful of civillains for you to rescue on each level, with the idea that most of them are babes that need help. I have been improving my modeling skills considerably to help in this specific department ;)
In the hope of reducing development time, there will be minimal cutscenes with voice over, but I am going to still give it a whirl. But in terms of VO, I am planning to have a TON for the player and the enemies. I want this game to feel alive, and the atmosphere needs to be right.
Levels
So far I have figured out at least seven levels. You've seen the first train level, but the rest will be completely different. I'm gonna say it straight, the game is not going to have as many levels as CARNAL, but they will be longer and more packed. Also I want to have one or two seperate game modes to go along with the campaign.
Conclusion
If YHWH deems it permissable and spares me in the time going forward, I think the game will be done in a reasonable time. I want to aim for the end of the year, but I can't promise anything. I am juggling work, CARNAL updates and working on this thing. Also gym, because I'll lose it if I don't haha. The next update might not be in a while, gotta make a lot of 3D shit. Thanks for reading this far if you did, hope it was entertaining and informative. As always feedback is encouraged ːsteamthumbsupː https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu3ypuKq8WE&list=LL&index=14
Patch 1.8.5 - Anti-Nausea V2
Changelog:
Resizable crosshair
Added a slider in the Settings menu where you can scale the crosshair between 5 to 50 pixels in size. Sorry for the delay, no reason other than a busy two weeks, but it seems to finally work as intended. This patch might make the crosshair super small when you open the game, but after setting it to your preferred size it will save and apply its value going forward.
On another note, I have been resuming work on that sequel thingy and I hope to share some of the progress I've been making when it looks more presentable. Kind of figured out what the levels are going to be and what each level's quirks will be. Thinking of having each level contain it's own personalized enemies/threat, instead of having them appear over the span of the game, maybe adding to the uniqueness of each level, with the only recurring enemies being the Anak mercenary clones that are causing the problems. Either way if I can get an update out soonish I might be able to make more sense of the ideas for anyone interested, get some ideas from you guys as well.
Enjoy your week and please shout if something is busted ːsteamthumbsupː https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTf9gEYMZj8
Patch 1.8.4 - Anti-Nausea
Changelog:
Added an option to disable weapon animations while moving
Made crosshair stay the same relative size regardless of resolution/FOV
This is a quick update based on a suggestion by nightlights to help alleviate the possibility of players becoming nauseas from general gameplay, I know what it's like and it sucks lol. While this quick update should hopefully help, it's not the whole fix it's supposed to be. I'm going to try to add a setting soon where you can hopefully change the size of the crosshair yourself, but whether or not I'll get it working remains to be seen, as we've been suffering a two week streak of nationwide power outages, and they're threatening to do it again starting today.
Related to this is another bee I have in my bonnet; which is perhaps updating and adding some last touches to the game before completely finalizing it somewhere this year. What these updates are I'm not entirely sure yet, I mean there's a few stuff from the discussions and reviews that I can add to the list. These won't be huge changes, rather quality of life and quality in general. Thinking it might be time to wrap a bow on CARNAL somewhere in the near future and leave it be.
Hope all is going well wherever you are. I recently switched systems so please do let me know if something is wrong or broken in this update ːsteamthumbsupː
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkhfL0pnMPQ
CARNAL Year 1 Anniversary
As I'm writing this update it's the 9th of April 2022. It's been a full year since release. Damn.
TLDR Thanks guys for giving this little game the time of day, even if you are someone who didn't really like it. The game might not be serious and the concept might be silly, but I have always been serious about doing what I can to make CARNAL a fun and quality distraction from daily life. You dudes are the coolest and know that I truly appreciate you guys for even giving it a shot in the first place ːsteamthumbsupː
Looking back
I learned a lot during this past year of releasing and updating a game. It's been an interesting experience, one that I honestly have had to process pretty much on my own. You see, game development isn't really a thing in South Africa. There have been a handful of games that came from here, but it's still widely regarded as an "overseas" thing, and it's not part of our Afrikaans/Boer culture.
I had no one here that I could talk to or ask advice. Most of my friends didn't play 90's shooters and did not share a multifaceted/worldly cultural input. So believe it or not, you guys actually played a huge part in the updating and fixing of the game, and helped direct a lot of the improvements that CARNAL now has. Don't want to single out anyone, you guys know who you are, the discussions are filled with your wisdom :)
Some anecdotal things I learned:
Making a functional game isn't too difficult...
But making good design decisions is
You cannot please everyone. Seems obvious, but mercies like me learn it a bit later in life
90's shooters are a universally shared comfort zone, which transcends nations and cultures
Having a full game cost $1 is an admirable ideal, but it doesn't translate well into the real world. It seems to negatively affect perceptions of a game's quality.
Not having marketing or someone to help with that does have a huge impact. Again seems obvious lol
People like to save their progress, and like choosing when to do so. Even if it's not really needed.
People in general don't like camera movements or headbobbing.
AI intelligence and the perception of it is very a subjective thing. For some it can be good, for others bad.
Whether or not movement in a game is well designed depends on the person
Speaking of subjective: LEVEL DESIGN. Some will love it, others will hate it
People are VERY sensitive to sound.
There is quite a sizeable amount of players that like to change their keybindings.
Mouse acceleration is hated across the board
There are a few people who play with inverted mouse controls
Very few PC players actually use a controller for FPS games
Speaking of controllers, the harderst thing was implementing full controller support
The amount of ultra-wide monitor users is slowly increasing over time
Things you hope players will appreciate is often the last thing they notice or think about
Appropriate music helps the game experience
Don't make actual jokes. You know, like about real life stuff. People don't take kindly to that sort of thing anymore these days
Don't make promises you can't keep. Players don't forget
Most people are reasonable and want to see things be the best they can be
You guys are pretty okay :D
There have been a ton of challenges making this game, and even more mistakes made by yours truly. But at the end of the day I think it was worth it, and I'm glad my friends encouraged me to put CARNAL on Steam. I only hope it was a fun and nostalgia inducing experience for you guys, and that your memories of playing the game were sweet. Not bitter, cause that would suck. Thanks a billion my guys, know you have my gratitude and that I really like you all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ZHlp6atUQ
Looking forward
In keeping with tradition I'll be brutally honest with you guys. I have made some progress, but it wasn't without some challenges. There's no easy way to say it: I am having doubts about this sequel idea.
Simply put I don't know if anything I make will be good enough or whether it will do well. I have been watching CARNAL's numbers/analytics for past few months and it seems that it will remain an obscure game, and the thought of investing in a sequel is becoming scarier with time. There are so many old-school style shooters available now, and it's frankly become an over saturated genre, kind of like how it was in the 90's.
With so many players on the field and a lot them having the backing of publishers and social media, the possibility of a new CARNAL standing a chance or being successful seems more and more unrealistic. I am just not sure that having a decent "boomer shooter" is enough anymore.
Currently I am not ready to scrap the idea yet, but I do want you guys to understand my concerns. I am not a money or business minded individual, I don't care about those things, but even I am starting to wonder about the financial viability of this endeavour. I guess I'm just afraid that I'll be spending all this time, money and effort on a game that will quickly fade into obscurity like it's predecessor. I really don't want to dissapoint anyone, at least that's not the idea. Perhaps I'm making it too much of a big deal for myself, who knows.
So in the midst of this slow building panic, I have been trying a few things to make this sequel concept more "attractive". Maybe I wasted my time, but I'll share some of it anyways. For these tests I veered away from the old-school aesthetics a bit.
These were captured using Unity HDRP, using all it's modern rendering techniques. They walk, talk and shoot at you.
Seems left field all of a sudden I realize, but I'd rather be open with you guys than keep it to myself, even if it's not very enthusiastic stuff. I'm going to take a break from this game stuff a bit, clear my stupid head and all that. Point is I think that for the sequel to get somewhere, I will have to adapt and the game will need to evolve, maybe even move away from the first person perspective. I don't know.
On a high note
Again I hope this experience with the game and everything relating to Steam has been a positive one. I never thought I'd make and release a game, so thanks for playing! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and as always don't be a stranger ːsteamthumbsupː https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvTfn22KPM
Quick Update
Hey dudes Just a quick update on progress as a whole. I am still working on the new thing in my free time, and haven't really had any real issues so far. I don't have "big" stuff to share at the moment, but here is a screenshot of the new replacement for the Riot Shield, it's an electric weapon that serves as both the infinite ammo pistol and a melee-ish weapon: It shoot's electric bolt or spark thingy's that don't use any ammo but fires slow, and if you get close to an enemy you can zap them as if it were a taser, halting their movement and fighting capabilities. If you keep zapping them eventually smoke will come out of their ears and they'll drop shortly afterwards. Ridiculous and cartoony but it oddly fits for meːsteamthumbsupː I'm also exploring improving the quality of pretty much everything. I am learning a ton of new things, and it seems like a waste to not use it. I still look at all the suggestions you guys post and I thank you for that!
That being said, real life work is picking up momentum again, and with that my free time is rapidly decreasing. This means that updates will come even less frequent and that making stuff for the possible sequel will take even longer, even with my above average development speed. If you have been here a while, you know I am relatively quick to respond on anything that goes on with this game and Steam in general, and I'll still occasionally check in to make sure everything is still working. If I don't respond as quick anymore, know it's because work and life has gotten a bit in the way. If I don't respond within a week that probably means that South Africa has finally gone down the shitter, or even more severe; God has decided to come take me home :D
Either way if health and Heavenly blessing persist, development of this possible game and the upkeep of CARNAL will continue as it always has ːsteamthumbsupː Stay safe friends! Life's meant to be enjoyed to the fullest, savor every day and moment you have! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbZ6aaaYTbE
Patch 1.8.3 - Minor Adjustments
Changelog:
Improved the console screen
Changed the console keybind
Added two new cheats and changed one
Sorry for the quick update again, though this is the last one for a while hopefully. I added two extra cheats and changed the level end cheat to be less juvenile. No one complained ironically, I just had to improve some things. The font is changed to reflect the rest of the game, but not the actual typing part. I wanted you to be able to actually still read the stuff you type, as the game font doesn't have lowercase letters, this is really to reduce confusion and frustration. And your movement and actions stop when using the console now.
The console can now be opened with Shift+Tilde, instead of just the Tilde button on its own. I did this because I foresaw a future where some guy complains that he uses the Tilde key as part of some fucked up custom keybind setup.
Here are the finalized cheats:
god 1 - god mode
god 0 - god mode off
noclip 1 - noclip mode
noclip 0 - noclip off
isuckatvideogames - skip/end level
dancedancerevolution - make all active anak soldiers dance
nuke - remove all active enemies from existence
Hope you guys have fun with them. I'll admit I found flying around the levels kinda relaxing, made me look at the game in a different way, which is weird considering the game is apparently shit lol. If it isn't already very apparent, i am not very professional when it comes to this whole "developer" nonsense, and i probably won't change my attitude either.
Hope you dudes have a cool week and if you partake in the pagan feast day known as Valentine's day, hope you achieve whatever it is you want to achieve ;) I was looking through some of my old local video game magazines from the early 2000's, and remembered how different and cool the ads were back then.
Here's some for you to look at. This is from NAG Magazine's February 2004 edition:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axu4H_K0oC8
Patch 1.8.2 - Console Commands
Changelog:
Added a console command line for input of developer tools/cheats
If you press the tilde key (` or ~) which is the one above Tab and left of 1 on your keyboard you can enter a couple of cheats.
The mouse cursor will appear and you will need to click inside the text field to start typing commands. When you are done typing press Enter to confirm. Press tilde again to hide the console. These cheats will reset whenever a level is started or you go back to the main menu, so you will need to type them every time you enter a level.
This might be obvious but do keep in mind that these cheats will essentially disrupt normal gameplay in some significant ways. It will sequence break events, break the AI, cause water effects to stop working, etc. This is really only if you want to mess around, which if you are playing CARNAL you already are. Also this will allow you to see parts of levels you never were supposed to see, and will put my shitty development skills on display for all to laugh at. Awesome.
The list of cheats are as follows:
god 1 - Enable god mode
god 0 - Disable god mode
noclip 1 - Enable noclip mode
noclip 0 - Disable noclip mode
giveall - Give all weapons, items and max ammo
givelife - Give extra life
ilovesuckingdick - Skip or end the level
That's that more or less. I tried to quickly test it to see if all works, and it seems to not bug out. If anythings wrong just pretend that it's a beta feature or something lol.
Hey again! Circumstances have led me to be at home for a while so I am managing to get a few stuff done. Here is a small update on the guns I've gotten into the thing and some extra stuff. Also this is still obviously early days so nothing is exactly polished, but you already knew that seeing that it's coming from me :D The next update might be a while, as it's just going to be building levels, enemies, cutscenes, general systems, music, etc. Also just a reminder to you cool guys that I am not a professional anything, and I'm still learning as I go, so please don't expect amazing things. But heart and soul, that you can bet on ːsteamthumbsupː Not sure how to format this for quick and easy reading but here goes:
Here is how they look in-game so far, with an exaggerated PC-master race FOV mind you, so depending on how you play they may appear closer or further from the camera:
The M202's secondary fires a nuke after a countdown with a passive aggressive female computer voice telling you the numbers, much like Shadow Warrior. The plasma gun's secondary is the Raygun from CARNAL, and it shoots through walls. The blunderbuss is a devastating super weapon. The dart gun fires small explosive bolts that you can trigger with secondary fire. The shredder shreds. The Riot Shield is not on here for the sole reason of it being still a work in progress. It works, displays correctly and does in fact stop bullets with punctured glass decals and you can hit dudes with it. The problem is it's a bit overpowered, unless you take shot from the side or the back. Also it's a bit jank and it clips through geometry if you get too close. I'm still thinking about something different in its place, who knows :\
AI
So far the AI have been added to quite a bit since the last update. They now have a dedicated camp setting, where they will do their best Warzone impression and shoot you from one spot. Also in anticipation of having actual small cinematics/cutscenes with professional voice talent, the AI can as a result also emote during gameplay. Nothing major or Oscar-worthy but they will grimace, yell or just glare at you. Their eyes will even follow you, which is something a lot of AAA game don't even do cause it messes with performance or some horseshit.
Speaking of performance, I need to mention this possible sequel might be slightly heavier cause of level destruction, particles and physics. I only hope that I can optimize it well, which is one of CARNAL's few accomplishments in my eyes.
On a final note, the AI will have slightly randomized appearances, gear and skins, so everything shown here is early stuff. Anyways here is some final images of the Anak soldiers emoting from being shot by a very patriotic M16:
Thanks for reading if you did! As always if you want to ask something or there is problems with CARNAL on Steam let me know ːsteamthumbsupː
I have been listening to this all day, maybe it's something you will like as well ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbkYwisx_uc&list=RDkbkYwisx_uc&start_radio=1
CARNAL 2: Update #1
Greetings friends
I wanted to share some stuff I've been working on this past week in relation to the possible sequel. To summarize; the basic grunt AI are dangerous and more mobile than ever, and I've gotten three weapons into the game that are unique and pretty good at removing threats lol, I'll post some early/prototype gore and damage system screenshots below. The amount of MORE in this prototype build is a bit hard to document for easy reading, but I'll try best I can. I might do these updates every now and then, God willing I live long enough to finish this thing ːsteamthumbsupː
I read every suggestion you guys gave, and I thank you all for participating, it really helped. Based on the feedback, I decided to settle on 2003 and halfway between realistic and stylized. Right between early and mid 2000's. I'm gonna do my best to get it to feel like it belongs to that era. With time you'll see it unfold hopefully.
Guns/Weapons
Here are some screenshots of three guns I made this week, which are all currently fully functional with unique attributes. I want to get this out of the way: there will be no reloading weapons. I'm sorry if this sucks, I know a lot of people love this in games, it just felt weird the more I tested it with that system in place, guess this game will be more old-school than intended. That being said here are the new guns:
MAC 10 Inspired by Max Payne and Soldier of Fortune, this will probably be the second weapon in your line-up. It is a silent weapon that doesn't alert enemies. Currently it tears ass, and wanted to know if you guys would be okay with an overheating system like in Return to Castle Wolfenstein just to balance its sigma-status?
Striker Resident Evil 4 fans might recognize this one. Semi-automatic riot control shotgun for maximum insult to injury. Apparently it's not that great a gun IRL but I'll let that slide because it was manufactured in my backyard of South Africa.
M16/The Patriot Ever since DNF's 1997 and 2001 trailers I wanted to see that M16 with the US flag on it again, but alas it seems lost to the Danish offices of 3D Realms and the dungeons under Randy Pitchford's house. I decided that if CARNAL 2 happens, this gun will feature as a badass tribute.
So far they feel a bit too powerful, but I don't want them to feel weak and useless. They do feel nice to use though, spent a really long time tuning each one. Guess we'll see how things turn out. Also they look better in Unity, but Maya gives me better camera angles.
Here is the promised prototype gore system, which is not final don't worry:
Feature Creep
Stuff that are currently working:
AI
AI that do AI things, e.g. patrols, idles, chats?
AI with working eyes, eyebrows and mouth joints. This will mostly be used for cutscenes, maybe?
AI that are easier to see/improved visibility.
AI that repositions during combat, kind of like F.E.A.R. goons. Okay maybe not THAT smart.
AI with 12 separate hit points, e.g. torso, legs, head, etc.
AI that can be dropped with a single headshot.
AI with randomized appearances, e.g. headgear, faces, hair, clothes, etc
AI with a three-tier gore system. No GHOUL engine here unfortunately, too CPU taxing with Unity. That or I'm just not smart enough to make it optimized. Still very gory.
AI with early-2000's ragdolls GUNS
Three guns
Unique animations for each
Unique muzzle flashes and shell ejections for each
Unique attributes for each
Animations for swapping between them
Bullet decals on AI where player hit them
Improved and better looking hit particles. Looks cool to me at least. PLAYER
Slower walk speed, but you can run now
Crouch for a faux-stealth system
Better camera animations for movement
That's that for now. Let me know what you guys think. Enjoy the weekend ma bru's Here's some 2004 for ya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNPi24qYvJQ
CARNAL 2 Suggestions
Recap
Hey guys!
I have managed to get my graphics card setup up and running again, and with that I'm trying to get the ball rolling on a possible concept for a sequel. While CARNAL will still be improved and updated, being the more important focus for me on Steam, I am curious if anyone is interested in an expanded and more advanced sequel. This is probably not the best way or place to do this but what the heck ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have opened a post in the discussion threads if anyone is interested in sharing ideas, concepts and just stuff you'd like to see in an early 2000's style game, and you can use those ideas and suggestions in your own projects as well. Here is a link to that thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1586290/discussions/0/3191363272397898695/ Feel free to use that or if you want you can answer here. Some of you guys have already given very good advice for which I am grateful ːsteamthumbsupː
Suggestions
Of these following images, which graphical style do you think would fit with a hypothetical CARNAL 2? Please note that these are quick scenes for demonstration purposes.
Realistic vs Stylized Character Rendering Realistic Stylized Realistic Stylized
Early vs Mid 2000's Rendering Early Mid
Roundup
This is mostly an exercise in ideas, as I want to start experimenting with stuff that could lead to a sequel of sorts, but I really want to know what you guys are interested in seeing. That being said nothing is set in stone, and who knows what tomorrow brings. Thanks for checking this out if you did! Again the discussion thread is here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1586290/discussions/0/3191363272397898695/
