Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.4.2 “unstable” build
The list of modifications and fixes made in the 0.4.2 "unstable" alpha build are:
added a countdown timer to the local multiplayer character select screen to support canceling the session if other players did not submit to join the session (press the input mapped for ’duck/crawl’ to stop the countdown)
added geography filters for new servers in Frankfurt (EU), São Paulo (South America), Tokyo (Asia Pacific), Singapore (Asia Pacific), Seoul (Asia Pacific), and Mumbai (India)
modified geometry for 'gondola' for stage
modified Steam ID labels to use the selected character colour
modified the default online game mode to not despawn the characters of players that leave the server (neglected characters will idle but not decrement / increment score metrics if removed from the stage by other players)
modified the game camera to frame the last player on stage end
modified the input mapping screen to support the mapping of single inputs
modified the input reference screens with revised information
modified train tracks on ‘subway’ stage to render in front of the Steam ID labels
removed ‘Draw’ messaging on stage end for single player local games
removed background plane and Steam Avatars from Steam ID labels
removed debug input for immediately loading the next stage in the current sequence (in the current default game mode)
restored 8 player support for the current default local games mode (
restored menu setting to enable / disable Xinput support
restored the ‘containers’ and ‘chute’ stages for the current default local game mode
temporarily disabled invoking the input mapping screen from the in game menu
Please note there is no "stable" alpha build release with this post, the next stable release will be published when the 'buoy' and 'fans' stages have been restored to the default local game mode.
Online Support on Steam Early Access
Online gameplay in Gang Beasts is currently supported in the "unstable" alpha builds on Steam Early Access (support for online gameplay in the default Gang Beasts Early Access builds is scheduled for a later stage of development).
Information on switching to / from "stable" and “unstable” branches
To download the ‘unstable’ branch on Steam right-click on the ‘Gang Beasts’ game name on the Steam library page and select 'Properties' from the window that opens, from this window select the 'BETAS' tab and then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu (the menu labelled 'Select the beta you would like to opt into:’. To revert back to the last 'stable' branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same menu.
For reference switching between 'unstable' and 'stable' branches of the game forces the selected build to download to the Steam client (replacing the previously selected build).
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.4.1 “unstable” build
The list of modifications and fixes made in the 0.4.1 "unstable" alpha build are:
fixed Yogscast Charity DLC costumes
fixed an issue with characters not spawning randomly
fixed an issue with the placeholder loading screen not dismissing when joining a game as a spectator
modified the default game mode to 3 round wins (to win the stage)
modified the game architecture to improve stability
modified the placeholder loading screen to show the keyboard input reference if mouse inputs are used to start the game
modified the spectating system to spectate until the the current stage ends (spectating players join the game when the current stage ends)
modified the master server to prepare support for additional server geographies (in Asia Pacific, Europe, India, and South America)
Please note there is no "stable" alpha build release with this post (the next stable release will be published when more optimisations and fixes have been made to the 0.4.x builds).
Information on switching to / from "stable" and “unstable” branches
To download the ‘unstable’ branch on Steam right-click on the ‘Gang Beasts’ game name on the Steam library page and select 'Properties' from the window that opens, from this window select the 'BETAS' tab and then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu (the menu labelled 'Select the beta you would like to opt into:’. To revert back to the last 'stable' branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same menu.
For reference switching between 'unstable' and 'stable' branches of the game forces the selected build to download to the Steam client (replacing the previously selected build).
Information on the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build and the end of the online beta
For the last month we have been working with Coatsink to implement online support in the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build (published with this post). The information in this post summarise a number of the key differences between the 0.3.4 'unstable' and the 0.4.0 'unstable' builds.
The structure of the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build has been significantly modified from the previous 0.3.4 'unstable' alpha build to include placeholder information screens and other planned content and some content is temporarily disabled, specifically the debug spawning commands, the ‘waves’ game mode, and the 'buoy', ‘chute’, ’containers’, and ’fans’ stages (this content needs additional work before it is restored).
In the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build there are 4 online stages playable and 12 local stages, the online stages are:
grind
ring
trucks
subway
the local stages are:
billboards
blimp
elevators
girders
gondola
grind
incinerator
ring
subway
towers
trucks
wheel
The 'buoy', ‘chute’, ’containers’, and ’fans’ stages and the ‘waves’ game mode will be restored to ‘unstable’ builds in a coming build.
Downloading 'unstable' builds The instructions for updating from 0.3.1, 0.3.2, 0.3.3, and 0.3.4 builds to the 0.4.0. 'unstable' alpha build are:
right-click on the Gang Beasts game name on the Steam library page
select “Properties” from the window that opens
from the Properties window select the “BETAS” tab and then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu
To revert to the default Early Access branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same dropdown menu.
The rest of this post is a series of paragraphs with current information and summaries on what progress has been made to date on content for the game.
Default game mode The default game mode in the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha has modified win logic for the default game mode (winning scenarios is currently set to 3 wins to test stage cycling) to let player play in all rounds, the old game logic will be restored in a coming build.
0.3.4 and 0.3.1 The 0.3.4 ‘unstable’ alpha build has replaced the previous default 0.3.1 alpha build, please move from the ‘unstable’ to the default branches to continue playing with the debug spawning commands, the ‘waves’ game mode, and the ‘chute’, ’containers’, and ’fans’ stages until this content can be restored to the ‘unstable’ branch.
Online Beta The signup process for the online beta ended at the start of July, the online beta itself is scheduled to end and be removed from Steam on Friday 5 August 2016 at 23:59 GMT (as support for online game modes is now included in the 0.4.0 Steam Early Access ’unstable’ alpha build).
Private Servers Support for hosting private servers will be released when the 0.4.0 build and server implementation has been tested and made stable in August.
Couch mode Support for playing online with 1-4 local players (players on the same system) has been tested internally and will be added for testing in a coming build.
Linux Support Currently there is no Linux version of the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build, we plan to make a Linux build available in August.
Servers Currently the 0.4.0 'unstable' alpha supports servers in the following geographies:
US East (N.Virginia)
US West (N. California)
US West (Oregon)
EU (Ireland)
Asia Pacific (Sydney)
we will be working to add servers in the following geographies in August:
EU (Frankfurt)
South America (São Paulo)
Asia Pacific (Tokyo)
Asia Pacific (Singapore)
Asia Pacific (Seoul)
Xinput There is no setting to enable or disable Xinput support in the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha build currently (this will be restored in a patch release soon). For reference the 0.4.0 build shares preference settings with the 0.3.4 build and defaults to the current XInput setting used for the 0.3.4 build and some earlier builds (a temporary solution for enabling or disabling XInput support is to switch to the 0.3.4 build and use it to enable or disable XInput then revert to the 0.4.0 build).
Information on the end of the Gang Beasts Online Multiplayer Beta and the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ build
For the past two months we have been working with Coatsink to iterate on the networking scheme and game content for the Gang Beasts online beta, in parallel to this work we have been collaborating with SuperGenius to scope and implement the game mode and character customisation systems for the game.
The next stage is to merge the online support and stage optimisations from the online beta with the ‘unstable’ branch and then integrate the Character Customisation, Character Colour, and Game Mode systems.
The rest of this post is a series of paragraphs with current information and summaries on what progress has been made to date on content for the game.
Online Beta
The online beta has been in testing for approx. two months and has been played or pre-loaded by ~60,000 players from 133 countries to date, the work on the network refactor has been committed to the Gang Beasts master branch and we have moved to merging the online multiplayer beta with 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ beta (for release later this month).
0.4.0 ‘unstable’
We currently expect to finish the work to merge online multiplayer support into the 0.4.0 ‘unstable’ alpha in July (for reference the current 0.3.4 ‘unstable’ alpha build will replace the current 0.3.1 default build on Steam when the 0.4.0 is published).
Online Beta Keys
We have postponed removing the Gang Beasts online beta signup page at http://beef.city/beta until Monday 4 July 2016 at 11:59pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) to give owners of Gang Beasts on Early Access additional time to requests keys before the signup page is removed. For reference there is no selection process for participating in the online beta and participants are not expected to promote the game, stream, or record gameplay (for information and signup instructions for the online beta please see the post at http://beef.city/u_0-3-4 or the pinned thread at http://beef.city/key_info).
Key Issues
Key requests made before 1 July 2016 have been sent out, if you made a request for a key or keys before this date and have not been sent keys, please populate and submit the form at http://beef.city/key_issue with your information for support.
For reference the first batch of keys for the online beta expired recently and a second smaller batch with an incompatible release state were added to the distribute() system in error, these keys can be activated in the Steam client but the ‘Gang Beasts Online Beta’ title will not become available in the Steam Library. A number of the keys sent out on Friday evening and Saturday morning were from the second batch, if you received keys with the wrong release state please forward the email you received with the incorrect keys to support@boneloaf.co to get replacements.
Entitlement Issues
For online beta participants with the false ‘Failed. Entitlement’ issue, this issue has been patched in the 0.0.8 online beta build released last week.
Character System
Work on the character customisation and character colour systems is close to finished but we don’t currently expect to be able to include them in the 0.4.0 build but should have a version that is sufficiently stable for testing in the weeks after the 0.4.0 build is published.
Game and Gang modes
Work on the game modes system is also close to finished but can’t be fully implemented until the full Character Customisation system has been tested in game.
Stages
We have been working with Bruce Slater (a technical artist at Ruce) to build and optimise the stages for the full version of the game and expect to have some of this work in Early Access builds of the game soon.
Private Servers
Support for hosting private servers is planned but not supported in the online beta currently as we have to limit the number of server types at this stage of testing.
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.3.4 “unstable” build and participation information on the Gang Beasts Online Multiplayer Beta
Information on participating in the Gang Beasts Online Multiplayer Beta
The signup process for participating in the Gang Beasts online multiplayer beta is open.
To manage the distribution of Steam keys for the online beta we are using the distribute() build distribution service from Vlambeer, distribute() is designed for the distribution of keys to press (please ignore Press references when submitting key requests).
Please note that the initial online multiplayer beta only supports Windows operating systems and is currently limited to three stages ('grind', 'subway', and 'trucks'), the next batch of stages that are being optimised for inclusion in the online multiplayer are 'buoy', 'gymnasium', 'ring', and 'elevators'.
The process for submitting a key requests for the Gang Beasts online multiplayer beta through distribute() has five stages, the process is:
In the ‘Log in with your e-mail address:’ section (outlined with a red box in the screen capture immediately below this sentence) enter the email address you want the beta key(s) to be sent to
Check the email account you submitted for an email from noreply@dodistribute.com with the subject line “distribute() | Confirm your request” and follow the instructions for confirming the request.
To confirm the request paste the 16 character code from the last sentence of the email in to text field labelled ‘Code:’ (outlined with a red box in the screen capture immediately below this sentence) and left click on the ‘confirm request’ button or left click on the long URL on the second to last line of the email.
Please note the maximum number of keys that can be approved per request is four.
Confirming the request will open the main distribute() key request page, from this page specify the number of keys you want to request and select the ‘PC (Steam)’ setting (outlined with a red box in the screen capture below).
Ignore the 'Login with Twitch or Google (YouTube)' section unless you are a YouTube / Twitch content maker and want to associate your YouTube / Twitch account with your key submission.
In the ‘Or add your own publishing platform:’ section enter a your Steam username in ’Name:’ text field (outlined with a yellow box in the third screen capture at the end of this post) and left click the ‘request’ button to submit the request.
Please note that the online multiplayer beta keys will be sent out in batches, the first batches of keys will be sent out by email from next week with subsequent batches of keys being sent out more frequently as server capacity scales.
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.3.4 “unstable” build
Please note there is no "stable" alpha build released with this post
The list of modifications and fixes made in the 0.3.3 "unstable" alpha build are:
fixed a number of missing/corrupt navMeshes
fixed an issue that could prevent front and rear sliding states from triggering
fixed an issue that made characters stay in the ‘headbutt’ state when headbutting
fixed an issue relating to AI not identifying a navMesh agent
fixed an issue with spawned AI entering kill volumes
fixed an issue with the water system that rendered water with zero polygons on specific systems
modified enemy / object targeting hierarchies to prioritise objects in front of targeted characters
modified stamina to reduce at a slower rate when characters are moving
modified the climbing system to make climbing less difficult
modified the colour palette on the ‘trucks’ stage
modified the dropkick and diving states to use a minimal assistive targeting (to make targeting enemies / objects with dropkicks and diving less erratic)
Information on switching to / from "stable" and “unstable” branches
To download the ‘unstable’ branch on Steam right-click on the ‘Gang Beasts’ game name on the Steam library page and select 'Properties' from the window that opens, from this window select the 'BETAS' tab and then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu (the menu labelled 'Select the beta you would like to opt into:’. To revert back to the last 'stable' branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same menu.
For reference switching between 'unstable' and 'stable' branches of the game forces the selected build to download to the Steam client (replacing the previously selected build).
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.3.3 “unstable” build and information on the Gang Beasts Online Multiplayer Beta
Since the last Early Access build was published in January we have been working with Coatsink to prepare the infrastructure for a public beta of online multiplayer support for Gang Beasts and are now at a stage of development where we can make a selection of the most optimised stages available to play in an online multiplayer beta for play testing and stress testing.
The online multiplayer beta will be made available through Steam as a separate build from the current ‘stable’ and ‘unstable’ alpha builds, this is necessary to preserve access to the current ‘unstable’ and ‘stable’ alpha builds (while the stages not currently included in the online beta are optimised for online multiplayer) and to give the Early Access community a specific forum for posting online specific questions, bug reports and feedback to.
Information on the three stages that are playable in the initial online beta will be posted on Steam this month (as a Steam announcement) with specific instructions on the process for participating in the online beta and information on the next batch of stages that are currently being optimised for online multiplayer. The first batches of online beta keys will be sent out by email this month with subsequent batches of keys being sent out frequently as server capacity is scaled.
The online multiplayer beta will be merged with the ’unstable’ alpha branch at a later date (when the key work on stress testing and bug fixing the networking implementation has ended and server capacity is scaled to support the full Gang Beasts Early Access community).
Whilst testing and scaling the capacity of the online beta over the next 3-4 months we will continue to push new content, optimisations, and polish to the ‘unstable’ branch, starting with the 0.3.3 ‘unstable’ alpha build published with the post.
Please note there is no "stable" alpha build released with this post
The list of modifications and fixes made in the 0.3.3 "unstable" alpha build are:
added four AI character voice sets
added four character voice sets
added setting to the Input menu for enabling / disabling XInput on Windows systems (the game has to be restarted before the XInput setting is executed)
added additional VO to current voice sets
added additional wooden foot fall SFX on ‘wheel’ stage
added ambience to ‘towers’ stage
added B side music on ‘billboard’ stage
added box burning SFX on ‘incinerator’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for doors, railings, and pipes on ‘chutes’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for girders on ‘girders’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for metal structures and railings on ‘subway’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for metal structures on ‘billboard’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for metal structures on ‘gondola’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for metal structures on ‘wheel’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for railings and doors on ‘grind’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for railings and stairs on ’towers’ stage
added collision triggers and SFX for shutters, stairs, ducts, and railings on ‘incinerator’
added collision triggers and SFX for stairs, floors, and railings on ‘fans’ stage
added conveyor SFX on ‘incinerator’ stage
added grind mechanism SFX volume modifier when characters are in close proximity to grind wheels on ‘grind’ stage
added large fan mechanism SFX on ‘fans’ stage
added rope SFX on ‘ring’ stage
added script to nullify collision triggers on ropes on ‘ring’ stage
added small fan mechanism and evacuation SFX on ‘fans’ stage
added soft foot fall and metal foot fall SFX on ‘blimp’ stage
added subway train SFX on ‘subway’ stage
added wheel mechanism SFX on ‘wheel’ stage
added wooden foot fall and wood break SFX on ‘girders’ stage
fixed significant memory leak from the buoyancy simulation used on characters (and the buoy and ice fragments on the ‘buoy’ stage)
fixed an issue that could stop music from playing on the ‘buoy’ stage
fixed an issue that stopped menu items from being selectable with the cursor keys on the volume settings screen
fixed an issue where the character system could spam errors if a navmesh is not found
fixed an issue with volume settings not modifying the volume on the menu screens
modified / increased cable collision SFX levels on ‘gondola’ stage
modified / increased character concussion sound levels
modified / lowered floor board SFX levels on ‘wheel’ stage
* for reference enabling XInput support limits the number of concurrent XInput devices (Xbox 360 controllers and other XInput compatible controllers) to four, disabling XInput forces Xbox 360 controllers and other XInput devices to use Direct or Raw input (bypassing XInput’s four device limitation (making it possible to play with 5-8 concurrent Xbox 360 / XInput controllers), for reference disabling XInput prevents both Xbox 360 controller triggers from registering concurrently on Windows systems.
** for reference the key mappings are:
keys 1-8 spawn objects
keys 1-8 with the shift modifier key pressed spawns the default character body and binds control to the corresponding player number
key 9 with the shift modifier key pressed spawns the default character as an enemy AI
keys 1-8 with the control modifier key pressed spawns a larger character body and binds control to the corresponding player number
key 9 with the control modifier key pressed spawns the default character as an enemy AI
Information on switching to / from "stable" and “unstable” branches
To download 'unstable' alpha build of Gang Beasts right-click on the game name on the Steam library page and select 'Properties' from the dialogue window that opens, from this window select the 'BETAS' tab then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu (the menu labelled 'Select the beta you would like to opt into:' (to revert back to the last 'stable' branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same menu).
For reference switching between 'unstable' and 'stable' branches of the game can force the selected build to download to the Steam client.
Gang Beasts is an Early Access game that is currently in uninterrupted development, the 0.1.x and 0.2.x builds have bugs, partially implemented gameplay content and mechanics (please see the Steam Early Access FAQ for more information).
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.3.1 "stable" and 0.3.2 "unstable" alpha builds
The modifications and fixes made in the 0.3.1 "stable" build are:
added specific tests for removing characters forced into tunnels on the ‘subway’ stage
modified SSAO settings for each stage
modified specific post effects parameters on game menu (to limit the scope of post effects)
modified Colour grading for all scenes
modified character SFX volumes on the game menu
modified the minimum and maximum distance parameters for the game cameras in each scene
modified the Unity launch dialogue to not open on OS X by default
modified trigger volume detections
modified character system to remove characters that become unstable on the 'subway' stage
modified train colliders to reduce the potential for erratic physics on the ’subway' stage
fixed an issue that could stop character’s from exiting the grab state
fixed an issue that could stop character’s from exiting the slump / standing states (if the character enters a concussive state when slumped)
fixed an issue that stopped modifications to the graphics settings menu from writing / saving
fixed an issue that made the drop kick damage modifier not apply
fixed an issue with the AI spawning system in the ‘waves’ mode (which stopped AI enemies from spawning if the game mode is played multiple times)
removed the Xinput menu setting (as the menu setting for enabling / disabling Xinput support needs more testing to stop the disabling Xinput process from triggering an exception)
The modifications and fixes made in the 0.3.2 "unstable" build are:
added numerous punch SFX
added spatialisation to character falling SFX
modified / increased brake threshold for grab state
modified / lowered character jump height
modified / lowered head-butt damage
modified / lowered the length of character concussions
modified / replaced shaders that demonstrated conflicts with Unity 5.3 / Open GL 4.1
modified / replaced the A side and B side music on the “ring” stage
modified build number text to ignore image effects on menu
modified “incinerator” scene to remove / recycle objects that fall in to fire pit
modified character system to limit the number of wall jumps that can be executed in sequence
modified the climbing and targeting systems to make executing the rope climbing mechanic easier
modified the fire simulation on the “incinerator” stage to ignore collisions (to optimise game performance)
modified the lighting in specific scenes to work with the Unity 5.3 lighting system
fixed an issue with character idle states not triggering
fixed numerous Unity 5.3 stability issues with the fan implementation
fixed Unity 5.3 UI scaling issues
updated game project to Unity 5.3 (to use OpenGL 4.1 or Metal on systems with OpenGL 4.1 or Metal support)
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.3.0 alpha builds
It has taken significant resources to prototype and implement the character customisation system as significant game functionality needed to be rewritten to work with configurable character parts, the 0.3.0 alpha build released with this post, has a functioning character selection screen with a set of sample character costumes for testing (including the existing Kigurumi characters, and a selection from the new Wrestler / Luchador and other miscellaneous outfits).
The 0.3.0 alpha build replaces the 0.1.5a "stable" alpha build as the default build on Steam Early Access (the 0.1.5a build is available for download through the Steam "BETAS" tab as a legacy build for the Early Access community to compare the gameplay, performance, stability, and other game content of the last Unity 4.x build with the Unity 5.x builds).
The 0.3.0 alpha build also replaces the 0.2.6c “unstable” build until the logic for the prototype “break” and “race” game modes is rewritten to work with the character customisation system (the “break”, “race”, “king of the hill”, and “capture the flag” game modes will be exposed for testing in a coming “unstable” alpha build).
The 0.3.0 alpha build also has an improved camera system, a new particle effect system (for the fire on the ‘incinerator’ stage), new post processing and colour grading effects, the first versions of the significantly revised UI and menu systems, numerous modifications to stages (a rebuilt ‘incinerator’ stage, and modified ‘buoy’, ‘girders’, and ‘fans’ stages), and new running, standing headbutt, front slide, rear slide, and sitting character moves.
For reference the full character customisation screen is disabled in the 0.3.0 “stable” alpha build as the UI does not currently protect against conflicts between costume parts, a version of the full character customisation system (with support for saving customisations) will be exposed with other prototype game stages and content in the coming “unstable” builds.
The modifications and fixes made in this build are:
<*>added character selection / join game screen
<*>added a standing headbutt move (tap the button mapped for ‘duck’ to headbutt)
<*>added a running move (hold the button mapped to ‘jump’ to run)
<*>added a front sliding move (hold the button mapped to ‘duck’ when running to front slide)
<*>added a rear sliding move (hold the button mapped to ‘kick’ when running to rear slide)
<*>added a sitting move (hold the button mapped to ‘jump’ when stationary to sit)
<*>added a setting for enabling / disabling Xinput (to support more than four Xinput devices to be used concurrently) - this setting has been disabled as more testing is needed
<*>added preset Wrestling / Luchador clothing and mask selections (for testing)
<*>added preset miscellaneous clothing selections (for testing)
<*>added post processing and colour grading to game stages
<*>added rebuilt ‘incinerator’ stage
<*>added new menu music <*>added basic Steam API support
<*>added setting to enable / disable exiting the game with game controllers (if enabled press the ESCAPE key to exit to the game menu when in game)
<*>modified climbing implementation (to make characters feet contact with surfaces when climbing)
<*>modified fullscreen implementation (to test support for Nvidia Game Stream service)
<*>modified object and enemy targeting systems
<*>modified character system to more accurately identify kill volumes
<*>modified B side music for the ’chute’ and ’girders’ stages
<*>modified audio levels and triggers
<*>replaced previous fire particle effect with an improved fire particle effect
<*>replaced the previous game manger systems with rewritten game manager systems
<*>replaced the prototype game camera system with an improved game camera system
<*>replaced music for ‘incinerator’ stage
<*>replaced fade transition implement with a rewritten solution (to fix the transition failure issue)
<*>fixed character explosion issues in some contexts
<*>fixed music warping transitions
<*>removed status bars
<*>removed the rear and front railings from the ‘fans’ stage
<*>removed stairs from platform ends on ‘subway’ stage
<*>temporarily replaced previous water and buoyancy system with a placeholder system (while compatibility issues with the new water and buoyancy system are fixed)
<*>temporarily removed the ‘cat’ kigurumi due to an issue with skinned meshes
Patch notes for the Gang Beasts 0.2.6 “unstable” alpha build
The 0.2.6 build released with this post is a content release with three new stages (‘billboard’, ‘blimp’, and ‘girders’) and four modified stages (‘buoy’, ‘fans’, ‘ring’, and ’subway’), the build also includes expanded AI behaviours that give AI enemies lifting and throwing abilities.
The modifications and fixes made in this build are:
fixed an issue that could stop characters entering the climbing state when colliding with walls
added the ‘billboard’ stage
added the ‘blimp’ stage
added the ‘girders’ stage
modified the water shader on the ‘buoy’ stage
modified the geometry for the ‘vents’ stage (now called ‘fans’)
modified the geometry for the ‘ring’ stage
modified the geometry for the ’subway’ stage
modified climbing implementation to support climbing on grabbed surfaces (including other enemy and player characters)
modified climbing implementation to limit / minimise stabilise the accumulation of forces when multiple characters are climbing / lifting each other
modified grip limitations (grip will abruptly fail when hanging from the same surface / object for a protracted length of time)
modified the force characters have on the wave simulation in the ’buoys’ stage (to limit / minimise the frequency of sudden or erratic high waves)
modified the potential delay between AI enemy punches (to increase punch frequency)
modified spawn points on some stages to work better with the current game camera
modified XInput support to be disabled by default to support 5-8 players with Xbox 360 controllers and variants (XInput limits the number of concurrent Xbox 360 controllers to four, see the 'XInput Support' section of this post for more information)
added centripetal forces to subway trains on ‘subway’ stage (trains can pull characters and objects in close proximity towards them)
added throwing behaviour for AI enemies (specific throw actions need calibrating to be effective on complex stages)
added grabbing behaviour for AI enemies (enemies will attempt to grab surfaces, objects, and other characters when falling)
modified (rebuilt) AI enemy nav meshes for all stages (excluding the ‘break’ and ’race’ prototypes)
added throw triggers to stages to support the AI enemy throwing behaviour (excluding ‘blimp’, ‘break’, ’buoy’, and ’race’)
Stages
The new and modified stages are work in progress and will continue to be polished and improved in subsequent builds. There are now 16 default stages in the current ‘unstable’ build (‘billboard’, ’blimp’, ’buoy’, ’chute’, ’containers’, ’elevators’, ’fans’, ‘girders’, ’gondola’, ‘grind’, ’incinerator’, ’ring’, ’subway’, ‘towers’, ’trucks’, and ’wheel’), we are still working to remake the ‘incinerator’ stage (the colliders are finished but the scene has not been fully assembled in editor).
We currently plan to add the modified ‘incinerator’ stage and the prototype ‘gymnasium’ and ‘TV studio’ stages to the fork that the customisation system is being merged with but if we identify that this work will delay the release of the next build we plan to move these stages to the same project that the 0.2.6 build was built with (to minimise the length of time before the next build can be published).
For reference the only fencing, railings and similar structures that are breakable are in the 0.2.6 build are in the ‘elevators’ stage, we are working to make the similar structures in the ’billboard’, ’chute’, ’fans’, ‘grind’, ’incinerator’, ’subway’, ‘towers’, and ’wheel’ stages breakable.
Customisations
We are working with SuperGenius to merge the work on the character customisation system with the current project fork, it wasn’t practical to merge this work with the 0.2.6 fork as the modified game management system (that adds support for the coming “King of the Hill” and “Capture the Flag” game modes) was implemented in a separate fork.
When this work is complete we can publish a build with the character system (with a selection of old and new characters), and the other work from this fork (including support for deincrementing menu selections, a front slide move, modifications to the in-game player information, and the playable prototypes of the “King of the Hill” and “Capture the Flag” game modes).
XInput Support
Disabling XInput forces Xbox 360 XInput controllers and variants to use Direct or Raw input (bypassing the XInput four player limitation and restoring support for 5-8 concurrent Xbox 360 controllers), for reference disabling XInput prevents both Xbox 360 controller triggers from registering concurrently on Windows systems (we are working on implementing an option to support manually enabling / disabling XInput on Windows for a coming build).
Information on switching to / from "stable" and “unstable” branches
To download 'unstable' alpha build of Gang Beasts right-click on the game name on the Steam library page and select 'Properties' from the dialogue window that opens, from this window select the 'BETAS' tab then the 'unstable' option from the dropdown menu (the menu labelled 'Select the beta you would like to opt into:' (to revert back to the last 'stable' branch select 'NONE- Opt out of all beta programs' from the same menu).
For reference switching between 'unstable' and 'stable' branches of the game can force the selected build to download to the Steam client.
Gang Beasts is an Early Access game that is currently in uninterrupted development, the 0.1.x and 0.2.x builds have bugs, partially implemented gameplay content and mechanics (please see the Steam Early Access FAQ for more information).
Information on the next "unstable" alpha (build 0.2.6)
We are close to finishing the various modifications and prototype content for the 0.2.6 "unstable" build and expect to publish this work within the next two weeks, we currently expect this to be the last "unstable" build before we can make the Unity 5 port of the game the default version of Gang Beasts on Early Access (the 0.1.5a Unity 4 alpha build will be made available for download through the Steam client "BETAS" tab as a legacy build for making comparisons of gameplay, performance, stability and content with the Unity 5 builds).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8xwXkrNfEM
In the last two months we have continued to work on optimisations, new game modes, the character customisation system, character customisations, modifications to current stages, and prototypes for a number of new stages.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lJ833OuAlKw
Work on the character customisation system is at a stage that supports making functional examples of the UI and customisation process and the work on new characters, games modes, modified stages, and stage prototypes is now sufficient to give information on the specific functionality and content we expect to make available in the builds coming in September and October.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uSnqSTm7ecs
The information in this post will summarise the work that has been done on some of the new character customisations, the character customisation system, modified stages, and the new stage prototypes (“billboard”, “blimp”, and “girders”). Specific information about the current stages, new stage prototypes, and the planned escalations for specific stages will be posted as a series of individual threads in the Early Access forums closer to the release of the next build.
Character Customisations
For several months we have been working with SuperGenius Studios to implement the full character customisation system for the game and to make a series of new playable characters to populate and test the character system, the work on the first prototype of the customisation system is close to finished and we currently expect to make a version of this prototype available for testing in an “unstable” build later this month (see the YouTube links above for examples of a recent iteration of the character system).
The character system supports a number of slots for different accessories (hats, capes, hair, shirts, skirts etc.), the prototype version of the system has support for handling overlapping geometry, specifically when the geometry of a model or asset passes through the geometry of a second model asset the system indentifies and removes intersecting and occulded geometry where needed (for reference this functionality is not fully working in the linked video).
The current implementation of the system is functional but needs additional work and testing before it can be published in a build, we currently expect to make this functionality available in September. The full system will support the saving and sharing of preset customisations when finished.
Customisations
We have worked with SuperGenius on a number of new character sets, some sets have been made specifically to use to populate Beef City with pedestrians and AI enemies (for the Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Double Dragon influenced story mode), others have been made to give more scope for customisation (for testing the customisation system).
Game Modes
The logic for the Gang Beasts variations on “King of the Hill” and “Capture the Flag” game modes has been implemented but the specific map locations (KOTH) and flags (CTF) need to be added for each stage, we plan to make a playable prototypes of these game modes available in a coming build for testing and will make more information about the new game modes soon.
Modified Stages
We have finished work on the geometry for the modified versions of the “incinerator”, “subway” , “vents”, we are working to make these modified stages to the next build which barring significant issue should be published to Steam within the next two weeks.
Work on the modified "buoy" and "ring" stages is also close to finished.
More information on the rationale and mechanics of the modified stages will be posted in the Early Access forums when the modified stages are released in the next build.
Prototype Stages
We have prototyped a number of new stages for the game, three of these stages, “billboard”, “blimp”, “girder”, and "gymnasium" are at a stage where they can be play tested and will be included as prototypes in the next “unstable” build. The “billboard” stage prototype is a neglected roadside billboard with breakable panels and front and rear platforms (a modified version of this stage will have breakable railings, lighting, flooring, and a static ladder), the “blimp” stage is a floating dirigible passing through a series of high buildings, the “girders” stage is an aborted high-rise building development with breakable flooring and suspended girders, the "gymnasium" stage is one of a series of stages that are planned to approximate the mechanics and gameplay of the "sandbox" stage from the pre-alpha builds.
We will make information on the other stage that we are prototyping over the coming weeks. Information on the mechanics of the modified stages will be posted in the Early Access forums when the modified stages are released in the next build.
Unstable Builds
Since getting access to the Unity 5 beta in mid-September 2014 we have prioritised porting Gang Beasts to Unity 5 to exploit the significantly improved physics performance, and other graphics, lighting, audio, and engine improvements, it has been difficult and protracted process that has forced us to fully remake the procedural character animation system and modify the structures and parameters for the numerous stages that were playable in the previous 0.1.x Unity 4.5 builds.
The first prototype of the Unity 5 port of Gang Beasts was made available through Steam as a second optional “Beta” build in April, this was necessary to give access to iterations of the Unity 5 port without removing access to the older 0.1.5a "stable” alpha build (made with Unity 4.5 and PhysX 2.8.3), when the modified “incinerator”, “subway” , and “vents” stages are released in the next public alpha build (build 0.2.6) the “unstable” Unity 5 build will have content parity with the older “stable” Unity 4 build.
If no significant issues are identified with the public 0.2.6 build it will become the default version of Gang Beasts on Steam Early Accesss (replacing the 0.1.5a Unity 5 build) in September.
There are still a number of key optimisations that can be made to the Unity 5 builds but the 0.2.x Unity 5 builds are demonstrably more performant than the 0.1.x Unity 4 builds in most contexts. For information on the performance of PhysX 3.3 relative to PhysX 2.8.x see the High-performance Physics In Unity 5 post on the Unity Technology blog.
