This is a small patch targeting some issues found with 1.0.1.41 upon release (mostly with dedicated server).
Bug Fixes
Fixed - Hedge Maze had some hedges with too big colliders that made some areas difficult to walk through normally
Fixed - Server would not always update Steam Servers with the proper current map name
Fixed - Newly introduced a bug where player disconnects were not logged to chat.
Fixed/Improved - The game should get into an invalid Round state less frequently, and will now try to detect if Rounds are in an invalid state. If this is detected, it will try to correct this automatically.
Improvements
Clearer network logging, removed some data that was pointless
Server Administration Panel got some usability improvements, especially focused on Dedicated Server setup.
1.0.1.41 Patch Notes (20 September 2017)
Overview
As stated in the Devblog related to this patch, this patch is mostly focused on performance optimizations. Please read that post if you want a complete breakdown on what was done, why it was done, and what kind of gains were achieved on my standard test system.
Optimizations
Hedge Maze & Haunted House now heavily utilize LOD & distance culling objects
Hedge Maze & Haunted House now has baked AO in addition to optional SSAO
Hedge Maze & Haunted House Lighting performance optimization especially related to static lights
Hedge Maze birds are now basically free from a performance perspective
Haunted House networked objects are now automatically spawned - on first load of level you should no longer have a several second period of low fps while objects are spawned and physics calculated for hundreds of objects
Haunted House now has more aggressive occlusion culling
Loading levels should happen much faster now and application should far less often look like it has crashed when loading assets.
Player Spawning now uses a single network call instead of a call chain that resulted in unexpected server behavior if user disconnected before chain was complete.
Bug Fixes
On immediate disconnect from server on loading screen players should no longer get stuck "loading" - actually doing nothing
Players missing the jump from barrels outside the Haunted House kitchen, into the sliding windows should no longer get stuck in the wall
Players can no longer use the teleporter on Hedge Maze from below
Some server player management optimization that should prevent dead connections from persisting and filling up the connection queue, preventing new players from connecting (this actually caused part of point 1)
Improvements
Engine upgraded to 2017.1
Higher quality water on all levels with water
Added back button to loading screen in the (now) unlikely event players get stuck there
Added more space on Server Tiles for the Server Name
There was a lot of feedback like "game runs like crap" but not a lot of helpful information (like computer specs, settings used, etc..) given to me outside of a couple of people. Using that helpful feedback and some deep investigation into Unity Performance Profiler I did almost exclusively optimization work for the last couple weeks.
In general, the CPU was being stressed more than necessary on both Haunted House and Hedge Maze due to separate distinct reasons on either map. This caused for most people, lower than expected framerates for the graphical quality I am able to create by myself for Hide and Seek. For people with AMD FX processors (technically, these are below min spec) this resulted in basically an unplayable experience.
My primary test machine is an i7-4770k with, at first a R9 Fury X, now a 1080ti. All Llama Software videos have been recorded with this machine. My secondary was an i5 2500 with an R9 280x. In development the CPU bottleneck was not extremely obvious and always resulted in a very playable experience.
I understand this is not a representative sample of all players nor machines, which is why leaving specific feedback about settings used and computer specs will greatly improve my ability to troubleshoot these types of issues.
Numbers
Here are the performance numbers I recorded on the currently live version, versus the new patch. When I say CPU FPS I mean this is how many frames per second the CPU can render. This is tested @ 720p ultra so we get the most intensive shadow calculations required as well as keeping the video load quite low.
On 1.0.0.5 the 4770k CPU FPS in an empty server is as follows:
Hedge Maze
Max: around 110
Worst Case: around 50
Typical: around 70
Haunted House
Max: around 200FPS
Worst Case: around 40
Typical (inside): around 90
Typical (outside): around 60
On this patch 1.0.1.41 the 4770k CPU FPS is as follows:
Hedge Maze
Max: around 250
Worst Case: around 80
Typical: around 120
Haunted House
Max: around 250
Worst Case: around 50
Typical (inside): around 150
Typical (outside): around 100
The Haunted House has dozens of realtime lights grouped together in a relatively small area, and it is possible to position yourself such that most of those lights may potentially be affecting part of an object that is visible to you. This is the cause of the worst case scenario, and why inside it is much easier to maintain high FPS vs outside looking at the house from far away, but still within shadow rendering distance.
If you are getting lower than expected FPS on the Haunted House, try lowering your shadow distance to 20-30 as lights outside of this range will not cast shadows, and are much cheaper to render.
The realtime toggleable lights were a deliberate design choice, how good of a design (or at least how well it was implemented) is up for debate, but I've definitely learned from this and will take it into consideration in all future levels.
Loading Times
This one really caught me by surprise. In the Unity Editor the levels always loaded quite fast, and I guess I always tested on SSDs because this was never an issue for me.
After hearing the concerns of everyone I put Hide and Seek on my really old mechanical hard drive as a worst case scenario testing and I also experienced this pain of the application appearing to crash, but HDD utilization 100% for several minutes.
As part of the 1.0.1.41 patch I've greatly improved the loading performance as well. This comes at a small cost of first launching the application it will take a little longer to come up. There's more I can do here but I didn't want to delay making this available because the 1.0.0.5 experience is really not acceptable.
Stuck on Loading Screen
I think this was actually introduced in 1.0.0.5 when I was trying to avoid people loading into the game then immediately being kicked out. There is some timing issue with kicking you back to the main menu. This is now resolved in 1.0.1.41, and if you do somehow still get stuck there, there is a way to go back manually.
The root cause of this happening in most cases is some network issue. Long story short, I need to do some deeper investigation into the cause and potentially raise it as an issue to the Unity team. A workaround is in place now and I will be monitoring if it is a continued issue.
Dedicated Servers
I've actually been upgrading the Llama Software hosted dedicated server pretty regularly with some fixes and enhancements so these are now available to everyone instead of just me. :)
Up Next
I think 1.0.1.41 addresses all of the immediately resolvable issues, so we'll see how that goes.
In the meantime my goals are:
Addressing any issues that come up with 1.0.1.41
Adding motion blur as promised. As part of this, I will be upgrading the entire Post Processing stack.
Halloween Map
(longer term) Skills - I will continue to mention these since I am excited about them and I think everyone who is playing will really enjoy them.
(longer term) Space Station - As stated before, creating new levels is very time consuming so this will also be a recurring "it's being worked on" item.
1.0.0.5 Patch Notes (04 September 2017)
1.0.0.5 is now live.
Bug fixes
Haunted House - Piano's collider now properly blocks uncrouching and thus you should not get pushed into the wall when hiding by it
Haunted House - Outside patrolling spider is now walking instead of gliding
Haunted House - Fix Z-Index fighting
Hedge Maze - Players can no longer teleport through the floor from the underground area
Loading Screen - Password prompt now automatically gains focus
Players who leave after being tagged will no longer be chosen to be seeker causing a false start round
When you are disconnected from the server on the loading screen you will now return to the main menu
Servers retain their ping color (green/orange/red) after players select a different server instead of defaulting to green.
When kicking or banning players the Steam Session is properly ended so server will now properly report the number of connected players after taking administrative action.
Players should get stuck in the falling animation far less frequently (hopefully never)
Enhancements
Beta - Dedicated Servers I've only done limited testing but it appears to be working correctly.
To host a Dedicated Server:
Login with a dummy steam account - a valid steam session is still required at this time.
Launch Hide and Seek
Click Host Game
Select the "Server Only (beta dedicated server)" checkbox.
Configure server & click Host Game
How to Host a Server Guide is also updated with details.
You will see the Server Administration panel (the same panel you see when you are a Host and press ~) that allows you to kick/ban/unban & send messages
The GPU requirements for this are minimal.
Other Enhancements
Smoother position interpolation so in general there should be much less stuttering movement
Notification shown to player who tries to go into base and is not allowed (and teleported back out)
Double clicking a server on the server list will connect you to that server
Players can no longer attempt to join a full server - when 8/8 listed you will receive an error message
When players connect and disconnect a message is now logged to chat.
FPS Cap slider on Graphics Menu - this will default to 60. Range from 30 to 200.
Devblog 1 - September 2017
Intro
As promised in my Introduction & Post-Release entry, I want to keep everyone updated on what I plan to be working on so it's clear the direction Hide and Seek will be going.
I'm going to try monthly entries like this and see how it goes. If it's too infrequent I'll consider shortening the time. That does not mean there will only be monthly patches/updates, just that I will only be posting about the direction and explicitly calling out what I will be working on.
Updates since last entry
If you followed the development pre-release, the only real goal since the 27th was to release in August, which was achieved (barely :p).
Work Items
Bug Fixes In September my primary goal is to fix bugs from the feedback received post launch. On the first day there was so much testing happening from everyone it really was great and an eye-opener on different perspectives and as a result many bugs and usability issues were raised. Some of these have already been resolved in the 1.0.0.4 patch. There are still some more so I'll be working on those as well
New Features Dedicated Server hosting - This is something I really think will improve the overall experience for all players. This should result in there always being some servers up instead of relying on someone to take the initiative to host a server locally. When I upgraded Unity engine version to 5.6 the dedicated server functionality was broken so I'm going to try to find out what happened here and what is necessary to fix it.
Framerate Cap - I've wanted to do this for a while since the game typically will use 100% of your GPU, and artificially capping FPS is a good way to reduce this load.
Motion Blur - This is something I always turn off, but some people like it. Also when running at lower FPS it can smooth out the experience so I want to add this as well.
Halloween Level - I think it would be really cool to have a Halloween themed version of the Hedge Maze for an event so I'm going to start on this and hopefully can complete it in time to release it for a Halloween patch
Longer Term Skills - As some reviews have pointed out, the Seeker's only advantage is faster movement. In order to add some more depth to the gameplay I'm working on adding usable skills to both the Hiders and Seeker. I started working on this a while ago but it's definitely not far enough along to share any other details other than both sides will have skills that should make it more interesting. I don't have a timeline since nothing has been balanced or tested with anyone else
Space Station Level - Probably I won't be working on this in September, but wanted to mention that it is "in progress" and I think will be another fun level that's totally different from the Haunted House and Hedge Maze levels.
Here's a really early development screenshot from Feburary
1.0.0.4 Patch Notes (01 September 2017)
This build is now live. Please make sure you close the game and get the update before trying to join or host a new server.
Bug Fixes
Unblock the Host Game Button so it's not so tricky to click.
This also applies to all other menus that were affected by the same issue
Players should get stuck in a perpetual falling/jumping animation less frequently, there is still some more work to be done to completely eliminate this issue
Fixed issue on Host that made Chat difficult to use
Kicking/banning players should now correctly work even when said player is in an invalid connection state
Vastly improved tagging hit detection
Tagging people on higher elevations, lower elevations, and crouched players should be significantly more responsive
Pressing the X on password popup now correctly returns you to the Main Menu
Fixed improper text on first run for Host Game level selector
Fixed a small portion of misaligned ceiling on Haunted House
Servers should now correctly report the number of players actively connected
Haunted House has less grass sticking through the floor
Haunted House decorative leaves no longer prevent footsteps from playing
General Improvements
Messaging Round events and status changes are now clearly communicated to players via the messaging system (top center of screen, where Tag/Escape events appear).
This was something that was desperately needed, especially for new players. In most rounds first time players were very confused on what was happening and what they should be doing.
How to Play Instructions Similarly to the Messaging area. New players were not clear on their objective, what was happening, and why things were happening the way they were. On launch you will now be greeted with a How to Play window with the basics.
This will be displayed until you uncheck the "Show on startup" checkbox.
Prompt players to Host their own Server When no servers are found it seems players get dismayed and quit. Now there is an easy option from the Join Game server list inviting players to Host their own server when none are found.
Show current build This can be found at the bottom right of the Main Menu screen. Also when connecting to a server that is running a different build than you, Hide and Seek will inform you of the mismatch, if you need to update or the server does.
Introduction & Post-Release
Introduction
Hello. I am Chris. At this moment I am 26, this is my first "real" game, and I made this entirely on my own. Obviously I didn't create every 3d model myself, there are free assets and some purchased as well. And, I understand this is not a perfect game. There are many areas, graphically (this is probably what you will notice first :p), performance, breath of content, and coding-related that I want to be much better. However I also want to release this game :). I have been working on this game since June of 2015, and I want to put it out in front of people to get feedback.
I do have a full time job as a software developer at a large international company. This has been...more than a hobby, it's been what I spend almost all of my time outside of work doing.
Q3 Release
Hide and Seek is planned to release in Q3 2017. The initial launch is actually significantly larger scope, looks nicer (hard to believe, huh? :p), and smoother network interpolation than my original plan.
There are many issues I know of coming into release and it is actually really hard to put it in front of everyone knowing these issues. However I also know if I try to make a perfect game it will never release.
So what is happening in Q3 2017?
2 Levels: Haunted House & Hedge Maze
Single game mode: Standard hide and seek rules
General Round Management
Basic Stat Tracking (backend)
Dedicated Client/Host (server) interaction
Hats!
Immediately following the initial release I will be closely monitoring the community hub for issues reported & you can also email a bug report at: support@llama.software
On top of this, if you followed the development progress after Hide and Seek was Greenlit, you may recall a teaser image of a Space Station level. This is still in progress, and while I can't give an exact timeline on release date, I'm really excited about it and am committed to releasing this and some other (not started) levels as well.
Longer Term Release(s)
In addition to the Space Station level, I have some ideas for other levels and would actually really love some input from the community on levels you would like to see in Hide and Seek. I feel like adding more levels really adds a lot of value and replayability to the game so this is a big focus and priority for me.
Additionally, I realize standard Hide and Seek rules may not be enticing for long gameplay periods for everyone so I am currently also looking at having different game modes available (including offline play). These other modes have not been started even as of release so these are still quite a ways away.
Patches/Updates
First, critical bugfixes will be my top priority so everyone can enjoy the game.
Dedicated servers are a huge deal for me. There were some technical issues really close to release that prevented their availability on day 1 release. I am working really hard right now to resolve these issues so 24/7 dedicated servers can be running.
If you followed the development post-Greenlight, you will be familiar with the weekly updates I have been posting over on http://hideandseek.llama.software/ . You can still expect the same level of transparency on what I am working on as before, but I think monthly posts will be more reasonable so I have a little more time to get new ideas flushed out, and really have some more substantial updates at a time for you to see.
Release vs Early Access
I never wanted to release Hide and Seek as an Early Access game. I feel like there are a ton of "Early Access" games that get kind of stuck there. Some because they are trying to experiment, some because they have a perpetual "we must add features" state, and various other reasons. The initial release of Hide and Seek I think is a pretty complete game with sufficient features to call it as such.
That being said, I have much larger plans for the game. I anticipate releasing many updates, changes, and improvements, some of which may be radical, like you may have seen in early access games. I am also really hoping for a lot of constructive feedback in general, and for features and levels.
Hide and Seek will not become P2P or P2W. I plan for all DLC to be cosmetic/non-game-impacting, and I do not intend to block people out from playing on levels because they didn't purchase a "Season Pass" or "Map pack XYZ".
That's it for now. I really hope you enjoy playing my game and I will keep you updated.
