Concept level based on photograph of sewer - view tweet
Twitter
I am going to be posting more smaller morsels of news and screenshots on Twitter, so if you’d like to get smaller development updates follow me @AlanEdwardes and @EstrangedGame.
These will propagate into the update news posts on Steam, but if you want to get more detail from behind the scenes and development updates as they happen then Twitter is the place.
Looking Forwards
The next year is going to be a big year for Estranged: Act II, with the first content update of 2018 arriving very soon. There will be more action, story and awesome environments to experience in the next few months – the fisherman’s voyage is not yet complete!
Upcoming changes to forest level
Thank You!
I touch on it every news post, but I want to thank every person reading this for being involved in the project – whether you’re waiting for the series to be complete, or you’re playing the content updates as they are released – thank you all.
Here's to 2018!
Alan
Mid December Update: New Level, Guard Detail
Hi all,
It has been longer than usual since the last Estranged update which landed around 20 days ago. This update includes over 50 additions, with the main ticket items being continuation of the next level, and a new enemy. (Linux and Windows 32 bit versions will follow within the next few hours).
New Level
As soon as I finished the last update I started work on the next level, mainly with the view to create an interesting place for an encounter. The ending credits have been moved to the current end of the game, and containing the level from this point will be my focus for the coming weeks and months.
Guard Detail
In my last post I explained how I was working on human AI for gunplay in Estranged – you can see the result of this in the final level in the game.
I intend to cover how I went about this in a separate development blog video, but this is the first pass of an intelligent human enemy in Estranged, and the introduction of a new company.
There are improvements to make for sure, and your feedback is going to be critical to figure out what to focus on in this area.
Graphical, Sound, Music Additions
There are more improvements in this update to list, so look out for the new graphical changes, musical additions and sounds. I would recommend playing from the 6th level onwards to preview some new musical additions.
Please let me know what you think! As of late, the best way is to submit in-game feedback, as you can attach a screenshot automatically.
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As 2017 ends, I am extremely happy with the progress made this year, and hope to deliver more content in the new year.
What drives me as a developer is seeing folks playing Estranged – if you have friends and family that might enjoy a free first-person shooter over the holiday season let them know about Estranged!
Thank you for playing!
Alan
End of November Update: Background AI Work
An update is now live! Here's a video showing the content in this update, and some behind the scenes AI work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri9ix9RaA7w
New Infected Behaviour
The infected AI can now punch physics objects towards the player, meaning it’s more difficult to block their path with barrels and other objects.
Work on Human AI
I have been working on human AI in the background. While this isn’t in the game yet, you can see what I have so far in the video. They are quite dumb for the first pass, but will get more intelligent with coming updates.
Footsteps and Bullet Impact Effects
To make the player feel more grounded in the world, I have improved the footsteps for the player on certain materials, and made it so most surfaces have bullet impact particle effects.
I am away next week so there won't be an update until the following week, but if you have any feedback, please let us know on the forums, or using the in-game feedback!
Alan
Puzzle Changes, Headshots, Weapon Recoil, Swedish Translations
Sewer Changes
The sewer puzzle has been overhauled to make it more interesting than the previous valve collection mechanic.
Puzzle Changes
The two collection puzzles in Estranged have been changed to provide several possible placements of the thing you need to collect, after a suggestion from a member of the community. This means that every playthrough of Estranged will be a little bit different from a puzzle standpoint.
I’d like to expand on this idea going forwards, making a few other elements dynamic too.
The mine level has had a visual refresh, along with some tweaks to improve playability.
Headshots
The infected AI can now be killed with a single headshot, and similarly hits to the arms and legs are worth less damage, and shots to the torso are worth more. The infected model now has a much more appropriate physics representation, so that when it is killed, it dies in a more realistic manner (the death animation has been removed).
Weapon Recoil
There is now a simple weapon recoil for the pistol. I’d like to improve this in the coming weeks, for now it just nudges the camera up and down when the weapon is fired.
AI Changes
I have overhauled the current AI to help me prepare for adding other AI later in development.
This does not greatly impact the infected AI, has allowed me to introduce a new AI friend into the last forest level.
The forest level has been changed at the end to allow AI to more easily traverse it, meaning the last sequence is a little more hair raising!
Swedish Translations
The game is now translated to Swedish, thanks to community contributor Felix. If you’d like to help translate Estranged to your language, head over to bitbucket.org/estranged.
Feedback Changes
The feedback system now permits submitting a screenshot along with the feedback text. This captures your current game screen and uploads it to the Estranged API so we can see what you were seeing at the time you wrote the feedback. This was another suggestion from the forums!
As ever, thank you for following the Estranged project! If you have any feedback, the best way is now the in-game feedback feature, but if you’d like a chat feel free to reach out to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com.
Alan
Volumetric Fog, New Object Highlight, Level Changes
Update: A second build was just pushed live which includes a fix for a crash some players were seeing in the 6th level.
Builds are now live on Steam for Windows 64 bit, Windows 32 bit and Linux, containing over 64 changes since the last update.
Volumetric Fog
The fog system in Estranged has been overhauled to make the transitions when progressing through the game less noticeable. Volumetric fog is now used in certain levels, which makes lights feel more grounded in the level and gives you a sense of the dampness of the atmosphere in the game.
Object Highlight Changes
The object highlight method has been changed, meaning that objects shimmer instead of having an outline. There is now an option in the Gameplay Options menu to disable this highlight altogether for those that want to figure things out without hints.
Changes to 8th Level
The 8th level has now been changed to make it more fun to play – previously you’d have to climb a set of precariously placed boards – this has been replaced with a physics-based elevator mechanic. I hope to keep improving this level going forwards.
Work on 9th Level
I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to work on this level, however there are now blockouts of the path in-game which are visible (but not accessible) from the 9th level.
If this doesn’t spoil the immersion for folks picking up the game, I will keep shipping the in-progress level portions until they are ready to be played, just so you all can be involved more in the process.
Background Work
As ever there is ongoing background work to support new enemies, new weapons and better support for checkpoints. There are now two new weapons, but they need more sound work and better integration, so they’ll stay out of the public build for now.
I have been working on figuring out how to integrate new characters into Estranged using the same skeleton as the infected character, which will lead to newer types of enemy in the coming months.
There are also a bunch of bug fixes in this release reported by the community on the forums.
Thank you for playing Estranged! If you have any feedback, please drop a comment or feel free to email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com.
Alan
Level Updates, Engine Upgrade, Interactivity and Performance Changes
An update is now live for Estranged: Act II bringing graphical and interactivity changes to most levels.
Engine Update
Estranged is now running on Unreal Engine 4.18, released 4 days ago at the time of writing. This brings stability and performance updates, and this release contains a change contributed by the Estranged team.
Interactivity Updates
The early level containing a lift now uses a button to start it, which makes the puzzle feel a lot more interactive (previously stepping into the lift made it move).
More work is going on in the background to make more interactive features, such as desks, fridges and toilets: https://s.alanedwardes.com/2017-10-16-Cvau1S.mp4
Performance Improvements
The office level was very glass-heavy, which caused a lot of overlapping transparency leading to frame rate drops. This area now performs better, though there is still work to do.
If you have any feedback, please let me know here or on the forums, or using the in-game feedback! There are a few issues with the office map as it is too bright, this will be fixed in a future update.
Alan
Estranged on Linux
An update is now live for all platforms, including Linux! This platform is now supported on Early Access for those on Linux that would like to play the game so far.
There are a few graphical issues with the build in a couple of the levels, but these will be ironed out in the coming weeks. This build has been tested on Ubuntu.
Please note that because it does take a lot longer to build the Linux version of Estranged, updates may be less frequent than Windows.
Lighting Changes
The main focus for this update was Linux, however the earlier levels have been tweaked to make them brighter and easier to navigate.
The final forest level has also received a graphical overhaul in preparation for upcoming content.
New Website
https://iamestranged.com/
The Estranged website has received an overhaul, putting more focus on news posts. There is also a new dump uploader page - if Estranged crashes for any reason, you can upload the memory dumps to help us figure out why.
As always - any feedback is appreciated! Thanks for playing Estranged.
Alan
New Office and Underground Areas
An update is now live on Steam containing over 90 changes since last week’s build! This includes level design and gameplay tweaks, and core changes to the way levels are loaded and unloaded.
I finished off integrating Lyall’s work on the office, which includes a completely revamped Arque foyer and brand new underground areas. I’d recommend everyone to experience this – if you’re only interested in the new parts, play from map 6 onwards.
Outdoor Lighting Tweaks
The outdoors of the office area is now far brighter, with lots of indirect and direct moonlight pouring in from the night sky.
Streaming Overhaul
To support the office changes, I overhauled the level streaming system for Act II. Previously, levels were streamed in and out based on whether you were inside a large, invisible box. This worked well when levels were quite sparse, however does not work when they’re close together.
This change means that walking through certain doorways, and performing certain actions makes levels load in, creating a smoother playing experience.
Physics Tweaks
The physics for held actors should now feel a lot less floaty. In addition, throwing items now adds some angular velocity to them, so they don’t spin vertically when tossed.
Explosive Barrels
Explosive barrels are now a gameplay mechanic in Act II! You’ll spot them in the new office content, and in future Act II levels.
Act II now features an initial loading screen with a bar reflecting the load progress - though you will only see this once when you start the game up.
Italian Translations
Estranged: Act II is now translated to Italian, with a big thanks to the community contributor Anna C. If you’d like to translate Estranged: Act II to your language, feel free to reach out to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com.
Thanks for playing, and let us know what you think!
Alan
Small Particle Effects and Damage Updates
An update was pushed live yesterday, bringing screen shakes on damage, and a few additional particle effects in levels.
This was my first particle effect in Unreal - (I didn't even go near them in Source for Act I) - but expect to see more in levels in the future!
Next update will be a content update - Lyall worked on overhauling the office area when he had a bit of time, and I'm finishing up integrating it into the content as we speak.
Stay tuned!
Alan
Damage Indicators, Movement Tweaks
An update is now live for Windows, with tweaks to the feel of the movement in the game, and tweaks to how damage and player death works.
Damage Indicators
There are now on-screen damage indicators to make it easier to see which direction you have been damaged from, and what exactly damaged you.
There are also some accompanying sounds – so in the case of melee damage you hear a thump, in the case of drowning you hear bubbles.
This system will improve with the coming updates, but right now makes it far more readable as to how you are being damaged in the game.
Movement Tweaks
The movement in Act II now more closely mimics the movement controls in Estranged: Act I. The main change was the deceleration rate - now when you let go of a directional button, the player doesn't stop moving immediately.
In addition, holding down space bar when swimming now makes the player swim up, and a longstanding bug where pressing a key whilst holding another would release the held key has been fixed.
The goal of this update is to improve the general feel of the game, and make everything in the world feel immersive. Next week will be a content update which Lyall has been working on in the lobby area, which expands the area and introduces some new story elements.
Thanks for playing! As always, please leave feedback in-game, on the forums, or email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. I’m always blown away by how insightful the feedback we get is – in fact the features in this update were primarily driven by player feedback.
If you have something you'd like to see, please get in touch!
