I just wanted to drop something here to quell any ideas that CAT & MOUSE is abandoned, to give some insight into me as a Dev, and to talk about the first major update.
ProzackPH7's Background
(you can probably just skim this bit)
Hi, I am ProzackPH7, creator of CAT & MOUSE and PH7 Studios. I am a completely solo developer and I have never, never in my life, made any game whatsoever (those few of you who played the Early Access version of the game can probably tell). This is the very first game I have ever actually attempted at creating and stupidly decided to make it entirely multiplayer (Im a bad boy). I am completely self taught in C++, aided massively by google and the Epic forums, I do all the art, sound fx, UI, Steam updates, trailers, discord, twitter, marketing, everything myself. I have no background professionally as a game designer, I have never taken a C++ class, I haven't even considered taking a course on game design. Regardless of how woefully ill-prepared I was, I was confident that I could learn how to make games and be a billionaire by dinner (told you I was a bad boy).
I started creating CAT & MOUSE because I wanted to make a simple game that I could push out quickly, play with friends and build a community who would be excited to be a part of the development process. Many tasks I thought would be easy were far from easy, one in particular that I had thought would be the most fun is marketing, but this turned out to be my biggest hurdle. I am not a boastful person who likes to sell things to people, so when I had to encourage people I have never met to buy my game I became incredibly uncomfortable and nervous, only managing to reach a handful of Twitch Streamers (who were awesome btw), but it was 100% the most difficult thing I have ever done. To compound on this, having limited feedback from players due to my failure at marketing puts me in a position of not knowing what people actually enjoy or dislike about the game, creating a sort of internal feedback loop of questioning whether or not I am making the game better or worse. So, I will focus much more effort into marketing through as many networking schemes I can employ and I encourage those who enjoy CAT & MOUSE or have criticisms to speak your mind on how to improve the game.
It has been an uphill struggle but I am committed to making CAT & MOUSE what I had envisioned it to become, sometimes even happily struggling. I love making this game even when I hate it, because I know CAT & MOUSE is a game that, surprisingly, no one else has ever made before and that I truly have fun making and playing. I super appreciate everyone who has purchased, those who have been waiting patiently for this update, who have left positive reviews and those of you who have engaged on Steam and on Discord, it encourages and motivates me to continue on this long journey to complete CAT & MOUSE.
So yeah, thats me, just some guy making a game that he thinks is pretty cool and hopefully others will enjoy playing with friends.
Now, to the actual important stuff:
***SKIP HERE IF YOU DONT WANNA READ ME TALK ABOUT MYSELF***
The update is mostly finished, I dont have a date as of yet but my goal is currently by the end of the year. I know that is a long time but I dont want to push out an update that is buggy or lack luster. The AI & ART update is a massive update and I have had to rework almost everything, so my hope is that the wait will be worth it.
I have been working very hard on making the AI act as closely to players as I can, specifically the Mice. Because they have the ability to climb and dash, not to mention they are able to go places Cats cannot, this has proven to be fairly difficult to program... but I have done it. It takes a lot of time populating the maps with all of the nodes and areas for the AI to use to properly move around so this is the current WIP for Mice. The Cat's AI is far simpler, only needing to chase and jump and attack, so this is basically just a stripped down version of the Mouse AI. I have fully integrated the AI into survival mode and just need to create a special condition for the points game mode. This will need further optimization but at the moment you should be able to play with or against 8 to 16 AI without any noticeable slow down, some slower PCs will notice some frame drops if they are hosting and using AI.
I have been working on a ton of new art for the Cat player model, including new animations and have added the ability for the Cat to meow (this is entirely aesthetic and Mice can also squeak). There will be 2 new levels with this update with a possible 3rd depending on time, complete with new textures, particle FX, sound FX and decals. Some updates to the original levels have been made and more physics objects have been added for players to play with. Unfortunately one change I wanted to make that most likely isnt coming is dynamic lighting. I wanted to allow players to set the time of day however they wanted, but so far I'm not convinced this will be possible without some form of Raytraced lighting or a completely custom lighting system, if anyone is curious as to why I can explain more in the comments. I will, however, be releasing every map with a day and night mode for people who just gotta play at night. I have also adjusted some settings and removed some decals so Mice players can see better in dark areas and Cat players can more easily see Mice when they are exposed. Thats really all I want to touch on with the Art; I want to keep most of the Art additions/changes under wraps until it is complete and I release the update. (I have a couple little surprise art and mechanical additions that I think are pretty neat)
All of these additions also include new UI Art, additional gameplay mechanics, a music skip and show song keybind, and new server, video, audio, and gameplay options like Field of View, camera sensitivity, First person mode toggle for Cats, two different Cat attack configurations, Mouse third person climbing, and more.
Lastly, there will be a huge marketing push following the next update along with (as always) a massive discount. If anyone streams, posts Youtube videos, or posts short clips on TikTok and you want to show off CAT & MOUSE, please let me know and I will play with or provide some kind of aid to help. I want CAT & MOUSE to grow and I need all the help I can get marketing this thing.
I really hope you all enjoy what I have been toiling away at for the past year, sorry its been taking so long.
If you have any suggestions or ideas or just want to say mean things to me, check out the Discord or the "Suggestions or Issues" discussion on Steam.
Thanks for playing my stupid game!
-ProzackPH7
AI and Art Update Information
TUESDAY!
Hi everyone, wanted to give you an update on the current progress of the next major change/addition to CAT & MOUSE:
The AI and Art Update
AI
I have completed the first step in AI, creating the AI behavior trees and pathing/Navmesh. This was a massive undertaking and I can now populate levels with the new systems, however, there is one major hurdle still left for the AI and that is incorporating them into the main gameplay systems. I originally created CAT & MOUSE to be a multiplayer only game and as such had no need to handle both AI and Player controllers. I am currently re-writing (for like the 3rd time since EA) the main Game mode to account for AI controlled pawns. This requires more host options (and UI) and the ability to replace AI with players as they join or replace players with AI as they leave.
Navigation Mesh and Navigation Links displayed (ignore the horrid lighting pls)
ART
The Art portion of the next update is also being updated, however this has also been much larger of an undertaking, but I have finally found a style that will work for both the Cats and the Mice while also allowing for dynamic lighting. CAT & MOUSE used baked lighting, meaning maps only had one time of day, baked in shadows, and required a ton of accurate light maps, but this is no longer how I want things done, I want to leverage the dynamic lighting as much as I can but I want to keep areas where Mice hide as dark as possible for Cats, this way Mice players have the advantage when hiding - this has been the single most difficult part of this change. Because of this change some maps will be noticeably different from the originals, but I will have the original maps available as legacy maps you can choose from.
Also, with this update you will notice more variations in maps, not only will there be more than houses and an alley way, but even different Eras. Cats and Mice have always been a thing since Cats were domesticated thousands of years ago; So, I plan on having far more varied locations and Eras with this next update including Medieval, pre/Post Industrial, and Ancient Eras.
Also also, Cats and Mice will be getting new models and animations. I have played with different concepts of handling things like IK and physics driven animation and I have found a solution that will make both playable characters feel really nice.
Finally with the Art portion of this update, you will notice more actual detail in the environment, grass, more varied vegetation, more clutter and stylized textures for objects. Blank walls and floors are a thing of the past, I will post a bigger teaser when I have a full level finalized with all visual upgrades.
I do not want to give a time frame just yeeeet for the next update, but I will announce the update as soon as I have the majority of the changes added.
Other additions such as game modes, achievements and workshop integration will come later this year.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for game modes or maps, or just want to say mean things to me, check out the Discord or the suggestions or issues discussions.
Thanks for playing my stupid game!
-ProzackPH7
Suggestions and Bugs
WEDNESDAY!
Just a small announcement that I have created Official Suggestion and Bug reporting discussion threads in the community discussions. Please feel free to post your ideas or issues there or if you prefer on the discord.
And thats it, I will let everyone know when the next update is coming as soon as I have that information to share! Thanks!
-ProzackPH7
Big Sale and update delay
*Reposted for visibility in library, game discounts arent shown in most players' library*
FRIDAY!
Just wanted to let everyone know that the next update will be pushed out a few weeks. I REALLY dont want to do this, but the AI and Art update is taking way longer than expected and I dont want to push an update just to make the game unplayable. I am still figuring out how to properly set deadlines since I always seem to think it will take less time than it actually will, so like everything else about this game, its a learning experience.
There is still a massive discount for the next 2 weeks but no update. I will announce the next update as soon as I have the large hurdles completed and there will be another huge discount with that update as well.
Again, sorry for the lame news, but I am excited to show everyone everything I have been working on.
Thanks for playing my stupid game.
-ProzackPH7
Big Sale and update delay
FRIDAY! Just wanted to let everyone know that the next update will be pushed out a few weeks. I REALLY dont want to do this, but the AI and Art update is taking way longer than expected and I dont want to push an update just to make the game unplayable. I am still figuring out how to properly set deadlines since I always seem to think it will take less time than it actually will, so like everything else about this game, its a learning experience.
There is still a massive discount for the next 2 weeks but no update. I will announce the next update as soon as I have the large hurdles completed and there will be another huge discount with that update as well.
Again, sorry for the lame news, but I am excited to show everyone everything I have been working on.
Thanks for playing my stupid game.
-ProzackPH7
New Content Incoming
FRIDAY!
I wanted to reach out and let everyone know what I have been up to and what is upcoming for CAT & MOUSE. Most of these changes surround the feel of the game and update the workflow I use to create content to decrease time I spend waiting and increase time creating. This is much longer than my usual update, so be warned, its a lot of woooords.
I have been hard at work making new player models for the Cat and Mouse along with new animations. Cats will be given an overhaul on their animations to better telegraph where their attacks are going along with changing the root of the animation and adding Inverse Kinematics. These changes will be slight but will increase the believability of playing as a Cat instead of sliding/ flying around like some weird genie. With these animation changes I will be adding abilities such as wall running/jumping to Cats while removing their buggy infinite attack/fly bug (This will be an option to enable in advanced server settings). Mice will have all new animations as well as an improved climbing mechanic (you wont feel so slippery on walls and will be able to freely look around while climbing) and two new abilities: the ability to hide under small physics objects to use as protection and the ability to teleport from one mouse hole to another (this way you can't be blocked off by multiple Cats from leaving an area). Also, with these new animations comes a sprint ability; Cats and Mice will both have a crouch, walk and sprint speed, giving players more fine control over what they are doing. Mice will have almost instantaneous acceleration while Cats will have some build up time, meaning sprinting from a Cat that just spotted you wont feel futile.
One of the harder changes I am working on is creating a new workflow for maps. Old maps were created with multiple assets (each with very specific UV's for baked lighting) like a bunch of Lego and then had to bake gigabytes of baked lighting maps; This approach cost way too much time on each asset, took forever for my single PC to bake lighting, and increased the amount of GPU RAM needed. This also meant that I had to be way too specific about where and how I placed items, if the walls weren't perfectly lined up I would get light leaking through (which is why on some maps there are weird glowing parts to walls or would get stripes along the boarder of two walls).
My new approach essentially removes all baked lighting, all bounced lighting, and optimizes the entire game. Instead of creating a house with blank walls so light can bounce and fill rooms I will be placing dynamic lights and paint in shadowed areas (Mouse holes, under beds, stuff like that). Instead of creating a section of wall at a time I can now create entire buildings as one asset and simply light it, meaning I can now have a dynamic time of day, make changes to maps in minutes rather than hours or days, and kickstart the ability to download and play workshop maps. CAT & MOUSE relies heavily on contrast so Mice players can hide in plain sight or behind a wall, but it also makes it difficult for Cat players to see anything at all. These changes will increase the contrast so when Mice are in the open Cat players will be able to spot them more easily but when they are hidden (say in a wall) it will be like they just walked into a void, making hiding feel safer.
CAT & MOUSE has always been a 'Play with friends' game, but I feel like requiring players to each own the game limits who you can play with, so I plan to expand this to include the ability to play locally with multiple controllers (Couch co-op), solo against AI and eventually allow Couch co-op multiplayer (multiple players on one PC can play online against multiple players on another PC, think original HALO). I have very simple AI currently and I was concerned about Mice not being able to climb properly, but I have decided to tackle this to make CAT & MOUSE playable for solo players.
The last thing I want to talk about are game modes. I have had many players suggest some kind of 'score' game mode where Cats get points for killing and mice get points for surviving. This will be one of many new game modes I plan to release this year but it will require all the other items mentioned before to be done first. I have no doubt CAT & MOUSE would benefit from more game modes, I simply need time to create them and balance them so players can't easily exploit them. Currently I am working on a slight change to the Survival game mode because if you hide as a Mouse with cheese at the 1 min mark you can just sit still until the game is over, meaning 1 minute of time is just two or more players waiting for the match to end- The cure to this is at the end of the timer, Mice must make it to a randomly selected mouse hole to win, making the last dash for the exit the real goal.
Not all items will be with the next patch but I will attempt to have as much as I possibly can in the next update. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions by reaching out through Discord.
Thanks for playing my stupid game.
-ProzackPH7
Here is a little peak
PLAY WITH FRIENDS DISCOUNT & BACK TO WORK
WEDNESDAY?
Hello everyone, hope you're all having a great start to the year, I have started a Sale for the next couple weeks to go along with me kickstarting the next round of updates. I am back hard at work and will have a new update next month. I am reworking some of the workflow steps so I will be able to release content faster and smoother. Also, some time after the updates I plan on releasing a workshop so players can create maps and possibly more (IE game modes, new models, etc). This is difficult to put a time frame on but when the workshop is released I will do my best to create documentation and release the source assets. CAT & MOUSE is still being molded and polished so any criticisms or ideas are more than welcome!
Please check out the Discord and Trello page for upcoming changes or to submit issues or ideas.
Thanks for playing my stupid game, and tell your friends about CAT & MOUSE!
PLAY WITH FRIENDS & WINTER SALE
FRIDAY!
Hello everyone, hope you're all having a great Holiday/Winter! I just wanted to let everyone know that CAT & MOUSE is still being worked on and content will be added; I am currently working on some technical updates and essentially re-organizing the code/layout of assets, this way future updates will be easier to iterate over. I plan on a large update sometime at the end of Feb 2023 or early March 2023.
Please check out the Discord and Trello page for upcoming changes or to submit issues or ideas.
Thanks for playing my stupid game, and tell your friends about CAT & MOUSE!
PLAY WITH FRIENDS & HALLOWEEN SALE
MONDAY!
Hello everyone, hope you're all having a great start to Autumn, I personally love this time of year. I love it SO MUCH, that I decided to have an insane 80% discount on CAT & MOUSE so you can play with your friends while you start to hunker inside. CAT & MOUSE has always been a game you should play with friends and I always want people to have the opportunity to do so. Have fun and let me know if you encounter any issues or bugs!
Side note, I will be working on a small update of the art and mechanics including animations, pfx, sfx, additional HUD elements to reduce confusion, and more coming sometime in the coming weeks.
Please check out the Discord and Trello page for upcoming changes or to submit issues or ideas.
Thanks for playing my stupid game, and tell your friends about CAT & MOUSE!
Hotfix/Small update 1.0.6
Just a small update with some minor tweaks and additions
Fixed Cat listen ability not working for Host
And thats about it. Please let me know if there are any issues!
