I'm super excited to release DOGMAN 1.2 to you guys tonight! I've made tons of changes, tons of fixes, and I can finally say that I am proud of the game. Enough talk, lets have a look at what's new!
HIGHWAY 22 MAP REMASTER
Oh boy, did this need to happen. Highway 22 was by far the worst map in the game. The concept was experimental, and the idea was cool, but the execution was awful. This was due to me not knowing how to program what I wanted to achieve, and also not having a clear view of player expectations. Every time someone played Highway 22, I felt embarrassed, and not very proud of my work. That all changes tonight. Highway 22 is now a new creation, and a fun experience. Let's look at what's changed!
First off, the white fog is gone. It was too bright, looked ugly, and didn't add to the gameplay in anyway. I'd argue that it actually eased the tension the map should have built. The fog was also a little too thick for my liking, so now the fog has been thinned, darkened, and the view distance has been slightly increased.
Next, the map size has been reduced by 75%. The old highway 22 was way too big. As I watched you guys play highway 22, I realized how boring it was. Everything looked the same, radio parts were few and far between, there was 0 sense of direction, and player interest dropped fast. By reducing the map size, and consolidating areas of interest, I feel that the map now finally offers an interesting, and enjoyable experience.
Next, the foliage on Highway 22 has been overhauled. The old swamp tree assets were cool, but the collision was awful. I had multiple reports of Dogmen getting stuck in trees, floating to the top of them (lol I would have loved to have seen that), and players glitching through the map. The old trees have been replaced with the conifer model from Hopkins State Park. Not only does this fix the collision issues, it also improves the maps performance, and visual quality. Some assets from the old swamp are still present however. Bundles of mossy logs and roots are still present on the map, but collision is turned off. Excessive foliage has also been removed, improving performance.
Next up, I've made some small changes to models around the map. Specifically the bridges and docks. I updated them with a much cooler looking one, and it also fixes collision issues as well.
Next, 75% of dynamic Dogman spawns have been removed. I like the idea, but there were too many triggers that spawned more Dogmen. The more Dogmen there were, the higher the chance of the player dying. It's not cool to spend 30 minutes looking for radio parts, and then dying because the level is punishing you for progressing. I did leave one dynamic spawn in the map however. I think it suits the event that the player will trigger.
Next, radio parts will now have a blue glow. This change was made to help players locate them easier, and not become discouraged if they are struggling to find them. A suspenseful sound will also play if the player enters a radio part's radius. (More on this change later.)
Lastly, I've made visual and audio QOL changes to the Highway 22 intro level. I hope you guys enjoy the new Highway 22, it was a blast remaking it, and I'm looking forward to seeing your guys' experiences.
GRAPHICS MENU OVERHAUL
The graphics menu has now gotten 3 overhauls. The last two were trash. The first iteration didn't even save player settings, the second one did, but had a visual glitch that caused the menu to display ultra settings constantly. I finally, after a lot of time and thinking, created my very own, and very complex system. This system actually works, and will save your settings and display them properly. The background of the graphics menu has also been update to be a moving image.
LEVEL SELECTION SCREEN UPDATE
So the level selection screen has been the ugliest part of the game for a while. I couldn't seem to get it right, and even the prototype I showed a couple weeks back was bad. The final solution has arrived however. The new level selection screen features a background video for each map in the game, a description of the map, and extra details. Once a player has beat a level, they will earn a yellow badge with the level name, and it will display on the level selection screen.
Once the player has beat all 4 levels in the game, the main menu will display a "GAME COMPLETED" message.
HOW TO PLAY GUIDE RETURNS
The how to play guide has returned to the game. It is no longer a link to a steam guide, but rather built directly into the game. It features updated information, and multiple pages.
QOL CHANGES
Don't skip this part! There's good stuff in here! First off, the flashlight has been updated to be brighter, and also display a light shaft.
This was a big request, and was way trickier to implement than I thought it would be.
- The player death animation has been updated. The camera will now lock, and follow the player's death animation. This added much more immersion and a much bigger shock.
- Body found sound on Hopkins has been changed, and the camera shake amount has been reduced.
- Heartbeat sound effect has been updated and replaced with a better one.
- When a player approaches an objective on any map, a suspenseful sound will play and get louder as they get closer to the objective. This is especially useful on large maps.
- All Trail Cams, 3 of the 5 Missing Hikers, all Confidential Documents, and all Radio parts have been relocated to refresh gameplay.
- Dead body models have been updated to a model more inductive of a Dogman attack. Blood and gore warning.
- The handheld map has been removed from Blue Ridge Campgrounds. It looked bad, and there is no longer a need for it with the new audio clue system.
- The Wendigo model and sound effects have been changed in Blue Ridge Campgrounds.
- A level intro for Blue Ridge Campgrounds has been added.
FINAL MESSAGE
This is planned to be the final update for DOGMAN. I know I've said this many times, but I finally feel at peace with the game. Of course if any bugs are discovered I will put out fixes ASAP, but content updates conclude with DOGMAN 1.2 I am deeply grateful for everyone of you who decided to buy my first game, and give me correction, insight, ideas, inspiration, and practice. It was all of you who pushed me to become a better developer, try new things, and learn more about programming. With the successful release of my newest game Chester, I've seen that game development can be a legitimate source of income for me, and I would not be where I am without every one of you. I've made a few friends from game development as well. Tomoboy2436 was the first person to show a genuine faith in what I was doing. He singlehandedly saved DOGMAN from becoming a half finished project rotting on my hard drive. We owe him all a big thanks. Luli has helped me tremendously with feedback, and outstanding gameplay ideas for both Chester, and DOGMAN. He also is the one who convinced me to create and release DOGMAN 1.2 The both of you have my deepest thanks, and I hope to continue our great friendships. Update 1.2 is dedicated to you both.
Good luck to everyone as you enter the forest, who knows if you'll return alive. Thank you everyone once again, you are all appreciated.
Respectfully, Daniel, Developer of DOGMAN.
DOGMAN 1.2 is on it's way
Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. This update is somewhat out of the blue, but I think it's much overdue. As I looked back at DOGMAN, and the lessons I learned from my first game, I couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment when I had a friend play, or I watched someone play Highway 22. Something about the map didn't feel right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Well here I am, over a year later, with a new set of eyes for this kind of thing. After I released Chester (my new game on steam, you should definitely check it out), I realized how much I learned about level design, and game development as a whole. I became good friends with one of Chester's players, and he gave me some outstanding feedback not only on that game, but on DOGMAN as well. So with this renewed spark of interest, I'm here letting you know that I've finished a remaster of Highway 22, and wow, did it need one. Let's take a look at what to expect in the coming weeks.
First off, the original Highway 22 was simply way too big. I'm not sure why I thought a level that large and empty would be fun for you guys, but please know you have my apology. The first thing I did was reduce the map's size by a whopping 75%. Highway 22 is now a little bigger than Amberg Industrial Park. This allowed me to make a more intense experience, a richer environment, and less open and boring areas. I understand that many of you do in fact like the large maps, so I hope this change doesn't worry you too much. I assure you, Highway 22 plays better than it ever has, and as it was originally intended to.
Next up is the fog. The bright white fog didn't look visually bad, but it didn't quite capture the horror feeling I was looking for. The color has been adjusted to a dark grey and the fog is a little less dense. I don't want you to get lost and run in circles with no hope of ever finding the trail again, this is why I made this change :)
Next, dynamic Dogman spawns have been removed. This was a feature that was cool, but dumb at the same time. The original Highway 22 was too big, and having more dogmen spawn as the player explored, and heightening the danger for the player after they put in so much time exploring just seems like a bad decision in retrospect.
Next up is performance. Highway 22 ran awful. The reason behind this was the foliage I chose to use on that map. The swamp trees looked cool, and differentiated Highway 22 from the other maps, but they were very performance intensive, and at the end of the day, I need to prioritize performance more for you guys. As a side note, one of the negative feedbacks this game has received mentioned a Dogman being stuck in a tree on this map lol. All swamp trees have been removed from the game, and replaced with conifer trees. The grass has been reworked and culling distances adjusted. During my play test on ultra settings, my frames did not drop under 100 fps (I'm using a RTX 2080 and Ryzen 7 5800x)
Next, radio parts have been relocated, providing a fresh experience for anyone who wishes to play the map once more, and a bright blue glow has been added to help with locating them.
Next, the level select screen has been redesigned to look a little cleaner. I can't seem to get this right lol. Feel free to give me feedback on this change, I would greatly appreciate it.
Last, a couple QOL changes should be mentioned. I've added a small crosshair in the middle of the HUD, and also brought in a few new models for Highway 22. The Highway 22 intro has received audio changes, along with foliage updates to correlate with the update Highway 22 will be receiving.
No concrete release date on this yet, but the goal is within the next 2 weeks. Thank you all, I look forward to hearing your feedback on this update.
Until next time, Daniel, Developer of DOGMAN.
DOGMAN Update 1.1.0 Amberg Industrial Park Remaster
Hello Everyone. DOGMAN 1.1.0 has released, and with it comes the remastered Amberg Industrial Park. Lets take a look at what changes have come with update 1.1.0 below.
First, a little information on the development of this game. I started this game as a personal project that was never intended to release to public, but ultimately I made the decision to do so. One of the hard parts about that is finding the time to put the work into the game while also balancing personal life. Since DOGMAN launched, I've had some big changes and adjustments in my life. My schedule is far different than it used to be. This is the reason for update 1.1.0's delay. And for that, you have my apologies. I want to spend more time on this project to tidy up the glaring issues with it, and leave it in a good playable state before I'm entirely done with it, but we'll see how the future goes. Anyways, onto the patch notes.
Amberg Industrial park is in my opinion the scariest level DOGMAN has to offer. But it gets pretty boring after you get over the initial fear. In this update I made some much needed changes to Amberg Industrial. First, the map size has been reduced by a whole 1/3. No need to run around a massive map looking for a needle in a haystack. Second, you're no longer searching for bodies, but rather confidential documents on the subject of the Dogman. There are a total of 3 documents in the park, and each document will be highlighted with a glowing blue light to make the search easier, and to speed up gameplay (Feedback on this change is much appreciated.) The layout of the park is a little different now as well. Spot lights and search towers have been added, along with a large radio tower next to your police cruiser. Use this tower as a landmark to find your way back. Flashlight batteries are no longer a pick up in Amberg Industrial. To replenish your battery levels, just head back to your cruiser to get more. This is an endless supply, so you'll have more freedom to explore with the lights on rather than in the dark.
Amberg Industrial, along with Hopkins State Park have received level intros, to help give players a little bit of back story to their missions.
All Changes Made In DOGMAN 1.1.0:
- Objectives in Hopkins State Park, Amberg Industrial Park, and Blue Ridge Campground will be highlighted in a glowing blue light for easier sighting.
- Hopkins State Park has received it's own level intro cinematic.
- The Amberg Industrial DOGMAN has had some changes made to it's collision. This is in hopes of alleviating the "stuck Dogman" bug.
- Amberg Industrial Park has been remastered. - Map size has been reduced by 1/3 - Batteries are no longer a pick up found on forklifts, but instead are replenished at the police cruiser. - Certain oil drums can be knocked over if the player gets too close. - Changes have been made to the Dogman's collision. - Bodies have been removed, and replaced with 3 confidential documents.
I have Highway 22 in my sights right now, so a remaster and much needed collision bug fix day could be happening. Nothing is certain though. Thank you so much for playing DOGMAN. All feedback is appreciated, along with your patience.
Happy hunting. - Daniel, Developer of DOGMAN
DOGMAN Update 1.0.9 Blue Ridge Campground Remaster
Hello all! Tonight DOGMAN 1.0.9 releases and with it, the remastered Blue Ridge Campground! Lets take a look at all the changes that have come with update 1.0.9 below.
First off, as the title says, the Blue Ridge Campground has gotten a total remaster. Some of you may have taken comfort in the old version, since it was quite bright out, and you could see the dogmen roaming from far off. Well that's over with. The new Blue Ridge Campground is a dark, cold, and ominous dead forest, with frequent cabins and ranger towers scattered around the icy environment.
Your goal in this new Campground, is the track down and find 5 trail cameras left behind by a previous officer. While this task may seem a little more difficult than tracking down missing campers like before, I've made sure you're equipped with a map to keep on-hand, letting you know where you should be looking. The number of dogmen have not been changed, but may be due to community feedback. Another threat may be uncovered in the campground however. The Blue Ridge Campground was built on Native American land, and restless spirits do not appreciate a prying visitor. Mind your own business, respect the dead, and you won't have anything to worry about.
Next, I've seen a few times a game breaking bug with my "How To Play" in game menu. If a player stays on the same slide for too long, the buttons become unresponsive and will lock the player in the current slide until they restart the game. I researched my code to try to find the culprit, but was unable to find it. To bypass this issue, I've remade the how to play guide on steam, and the in game "How To Play" button will act as a direct internet link to that guide.
List of changes made in DOGMAN 1.0.9:
- The Blue Ridge Campground has received a total remaster.
- How To Play button system has been overhauled due to a game breaking bug.
- Dogmen on the Blue Ridge Campground are more aggressive, and will angrily strike a cabin you're hiding in.
- Updated tree, foliage, snow, and cabin models have been added to the Blue Ridge Campground.
- A candle light flame particle has been added to all lanterns on the Blue Ridge Campground, and will be added to Hopkins State Park next update.
- A bug from 1.0.8 caused players to be unable to walk out of doors without running or jumping. This has been fixed in both Hopkins State Park and Blue Ridge Campground.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: While I like to make sure that my updates are bug free to the best of my ability, 1.0.9 is releasing with a collision bug, due to this update being overdue. If the dogman chases a player into a cabin, and the player is against a wall, the dogman can kill the player through the wall due to a collision/navmesh bug. I am working hard on this issue, but I didn't want to delay the entire update for a small issue such as this. I hope to have a solution out in time for update 1.1.0
Thank you so much for playing DOGMAN! I am a one man dev team on this project, so I appreciate all of your feedback, criticisms, praises, and recommendations. I am a bit sad to announce this, but DOGMAN will only be receiving one more content update. This update will be focused on remastering Amberg Industrial Park, to be more player friendly, and to add more gameplay variety in the map. DOGMAN has been a blast of a first game for me, and I'm thankful for all that I've learned from this experience.
Until next time - Daniel, developer of DOGMAN
DOGMAN 1.0.8 Hopkins State Park Remaster
Hello everyone. DOGMAN 1.0.8 has been released and brings with it a much needed remaster of Hopkins State Park. Lets dive right in and see what's new.
First off, let me give you some back story on Hopkins State Park. When I decided to create DOGMAN, Hopkins was where I learned everything. I learned how to sculpt landscapes, assign textures to that landscape, adjust materials, create simple AIs, create foliage, and it was my first time ever designing a map. While I look back fondly on those memories and the skills I learned back then, I realized that it was by far the most outdated map in the game. First off the map ran not so great for lots of people. This is due to a whopping 4.2 million foliage actors being loaded into the map. While you wouldn't be rendering all 4.2 million actors at once, it still caused poor performance, and long loading times. This number has been greatly reduced to 230 thousand. Loading times have been improved and performance has also been improved. Normal maps have been added to all ground textures, meaning that these textures will cast shadows, greatly improving their looks. The grass texture has also been changed to a more realistic forest floor.
The pathways in Hopkins State Park have been updated as well. While they have not been entirely changed, many more paths have been added and other have been re-directed. Along with the performance update comes a visual update. Most noticeably, the heavy dark fog has been entirely removed from the park. You will now be able to see much further into the forest and see a starry night sky. Also, the old pine tree models have been removed and replaced with conifer trees. Many places in the park now are named and have a small sign near them displaying theirname. An additional dogman has been added to Hopkins State Park as well, making a total of two. This number may be adjusted based on player feedback. Next, I am extremely excited to announce a fix for the collision issues with the game's cabins. This fix brings with it another improvement to the game as well. First and most importantly, players will not teleport through the cabin if they collide with furniture anymore. Blocking volumes have also been added to reinforce this fix.
Second, the cabin model has been completely overhauled and three different variants have been created, making cabin exploration more interesting. These updated cabins have first been added to Hopkins State Park, and will be coming to each map in time. Please be patient with this change, I promise it will come. I am also very pleased to announce that ranger towers now have an accessible interior in which you can find flashlight batteries as well.
A negative bit of feedback I was left has been sitting in the back of my mind and growing like a weed. "The unremarkable gameplay is complemented by an absolutely empty area, lonely houses in which there is nothing but trees growing through them". This was the driving force behind the remaster of Hopkins State Park. I would like to thank this commenter, and announce that I will be remastering both the Blueridge Campground, and Amberg Industrial Park. No more boring areas, and no more unremarkable gameplay.
Finally, four of the five bodies hidden in Hopkins State Park have been relocated to allow for a fresh playthrough of the map. Thank you so much for playing DOGMAN, I hope you enjoy this update, and the ones to come. Until next time, farewell. - Daniel, developer of DOGMAN
All changes made in update 1.0.8:
- Hopkins State Park Remaster
- New Cabins/3 variants
- Ranger Tower Interiors
- Changed end credits music
- Changed end credits screen
- Changed State Park Dogman's collision box to help with any issues getting stuck
- Total number of grass foliage actors reduced from 4 Million to 230 Thousand
- New Police Car Model
- Updated loading image and level select image for Hopkins State Park
- Menu background video has been changed
- Player jump height has been reduced
- In-Game park maps have been updated
- Fixed an issue that caused the player's HUD to overlap the loading screen on Hopkins State Park
