- Tally screen server loop and crash.
- Client crash while trying to share a bunker.
- AI Balancing/Grace period added.
- Damage multiplier bug for players on server.
- Server would allow connections during final stage of cataclysm.
- Melee combat network improvements.
- Bunkers can no longer be placed in certain buildings.
- Adjusted GPS Zero point.
Additions:
- You can now knock on bunkers to let the occupant know someone is outside.
- Servers will now speed through the remaining cataclysm time if all players are safe in their bunkers.
- Added alternate forward facing mouse look for those who prefer it under the keyboard and mouse controls.
Hotfix is live!
Fixes:
- No cursor on HUD.
- HUD crash.
- Network disconnects after score tally..
- MasterServer/Host registration.
- Score tally crash.
- Special items can now be dropped.
- Hit marker sounds after dying.
- Game stages cannot be flipflopped by staving off time.
- If all players die during a critical cataclysm, the day will now immediately end.
Additions:
- Bunker door sounds.
- Game stage warning sounds.
- Monster aggression.
- Positional Footstep sounds.
Update inbound!
Hey all!
As we close in on the October 27th Noct update, I figured I would take time to outline some of the major changes that have made it into this version, and some of the details behind them.
- Noct Visuals optimized: We are always trying to improve frame rates within Noct on lower systems. Being a Unity 3D engine game displayed in 2D, we discovered significant ways to improve the graphics of Noct through a rebuild without compromising on the visual style.
- Network Code improvements: We found that even with the game mechanic revamp, we could still improve on the amount of network error handling. This has been drastically optimized in the new build.
- Completely new AI System developed: With the old AI system becoming dated and insufficient to our needs, we wanted something where enemies directly reacted to your tactics during combat. The AI System has now been overhauled from the ground up, and its potential is quite promising!
- Cataclysm/Doomsday: We made the decision to make all of Noct's gameplay take place within short Cataclysmic Events.
This allows for more structured gameplay whereupon emerging from your bunker, you must frantically explore Noct's creepy environment, scavenge what you can and return to the safety of your bunker before the world around you returns to total darkness and chaos.
- Searchable objects for loot: Players will now be required to search objects within Noct to receive loot. Loot does not respawn.
- Bunkers: Players will now collect and place a bunker entrance within the game world to serve as their shelter between Cataclysmic events. Progression can only occur via your bunker, and is lost upon death. Bunkers will be eligible for upgrades in future updates.
Players can seek shelter in other players unlocked bunkers, be it by invite or by force.
- New combat mechanics: Noct is no longer a one hit death game. At least not at it's core. We have updated the game mechanics to place players in close quarter combat situations where melee and gunplay must be equally utilized to ensure survival. This makes combat more enjoyable overall between each Cataclysm.
- Points system: We have introduced a new points system which will serve to compliment future progression. At the end of each Cataclysmic event you will now be supplied with a score tally of your progress, which will continue to carry over to the next day. This will later be linked to achievements, as well as a global steam leaderboard.
- Health System: With the removal of one hit kills. We have now made health the core survival stat. Health can be maintained and increased by scavenging different food supplies and medical kits from objects within the game world.
Post your questions if you want, I'll try my best to answer them in a timely fashion!
-c3sk
Bi-weekly Noct Developer chat tomorrow!
We will be conducting our first of many Bi-weekly Dev chat Q&A's tomorrow between 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST
First I would like to thank everyone for their continued and awesome support through this rough development period. I'm happy to announce that Mark and I are now back full time on development, with Wordclock returning to produce more awesome audio for us.
Noct has taken it in the teeth quite a bit here, and rightfully so. Development is messy, and I won't bore you with the gritty details of it all or a life story. I'm just going to cut right to the good news. Noct is going to be releasing a single huge update, and the new version of the game is #*&$ing rad. Not only that, but it will hit here October 27th, just in time for Halloween. Final release will depend on how things go, but we suspect Q4 2016 if everything goes smoothly.
What has changed?
In short... Everything.
In more detail? See below:
Game performance:
We spent a lot of time overhauling the game's foundation under Unity 4. Unhappy with the performance of the past and current Noct builds, we made the decision to rebuild and streamline the visuals of Noct in order to gain huge performance leaps on much lower end systems. I am happy to report that because of our efforts, we have not only met our performance goals, we exceeded them. Noct will basically run on a potato now, without significant sacrifice to Noct's visuals. That's right. Bust out those low end laptop video cards (or lack thereof) and enjoy your high frame rates.
Core Game Mechanics:
As previously mentioned, we have thrown out the anti-fun "walking simulator" model, and have shifted focus more to wasteland level type frantic gameplay. As such we are refining Noct's core game mechanics from the ground up to construct a superior and more enjoyable gameplay experience, all while keeping all the cool aspects of Noct's creepy atmosphere.
Now when players enter the game (SP or MP) they will be presented with an end of the world timer. This timer basically represents a gameplay round of about 15 or so minutes until the world ends. Players will have this small window of time in which they set out to ensure their survival for the next day/round. This begins with the construction of a fallout shelter/bunker. Once your bunker has been secured, players can now venture out into the wasteland to scavenge and explore for supplies and other items of interest which they can bring back to their bunker to further their progression. As the end of the world timer counts down, The Noct wasteland becomes increasingly hostile, different monsters and bosses begin to emerge, from which special items, upgrades, and other tokens can be harvested/collected for advancing your overall progression. Upon completion of the game, players will be able to pick a reward/achievement based on their overall score, which will carry over to their future playthroughs of Noct's progression system, kinda like leveling up through replays.
A few things worth mentioning about the new gameplay mechanics:
1. Bunkers can be invaded by enemy players if left open.
2. Lower tier monsters do not one hit kill the player anymore.
3. If you are killed, you lose all non reward/achievement based progression.
4. Larger boss monsters are now rare, and will possess their own unique fighting/puzzle AI mechanics, defeating them will be ridiculously challenging and fun, and will yield excellent rewards. Players can expect to see at least one boss per round/end of the world. Items collected from these are required for long term progression.
5. Tokens and other special items can still be collected via game world exploration if players prefer to flight from combat situations instead of fighting.
6. PVP is completely optional. Working together is greatly rewarded.
Obviously there will be a lot of questions now. I'm going to try my best to answer them all over the weekend. Mark and I will also be doing weekly live chats here to keep everyone constantly updated on this massive patch and our progress over the next 9 weeks of development. I'll have more details of each mechanic weekly.
Thanks again for sticking it out with us all!
-c3sk
New Patch & Playtest on May 5th
Hey everyone!
Apologies for the lack of coherent updates. I've been juggling Noct and work now for quite some time which has slowed down things a lot. Currently it's just me working on things in the evenings after work, but I am still working on Noct and am determined to continue development regardless of how long it will take, or the hurdles I currently face. Enough about all that though.
What is the current state of Noct?
Noct released too early into Early Access. At it's present state, it is missing a lot of the core functionality and ingredients I would like to see present in the game. Noct is also currently in a transitional phase of development right now where a lot of things are being reworked and redesigned. As such, I feel that the game has reverted back to alpha in order to improve the game as a whole and move forward. Unfortunately this extends development time to do it right. As a direct result of this, the current game suffers attrition and poor reviews. This is what is required to make the game better in the long run, and there isn't any other way to slice it. As such, I continue to encourage players to wait until the game is finished unless they really want to get involved this early. At the same time, it is my job to provide a good game for you guys to play, so if slamming it/refunding helps you out, then I fully encourage that also.
I'll still be here working on it regardless.
Development Horizon
Today I will be updating the entire Early Access road map to reflect the current development/game plan. This will include an outline of spring & summer development schedules, and where I hope to have Noct by the end of it.
Next week on Thursday, May 5th I will be launching a new patch which will add/remove the following:
- Drastically improve frame rate and performance on lower end GPU's.
- Higher contrasting graphics to increase visual fidelity and sharpness.
- Story Line/Tutorial as it is now will be completely removed until core mechanics/gameplay have been revised.
- Enemy Monster fixes.
- Monsters are going back to hard mode.
- Weapon & Damage balancing.
During this time, there will also be a dedicated play test of the new patch. I'll be hosting a dedicated server to support this test that evening, look to the scheduled events for more info.
As always, thank you for your continued support on Noct, and feel free to comment. Happy to answer any questions you may have!
-c3sk
Dedicated servers pre-patch.
Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years!
In preparation for the content patch I will be shutting down the public dedicated servers, as the focus will be more on player hosted community servers now. One dedicated server will remain open and be running as a testing ground on Thursdays for dev experiments.
Expect to see an event posting soon detailing the patch launch, and a dev server event to kick things off!
-c3sk
Monster Play/Content progress update!
Happy Holidays all!
We've been busy working on the content patch for some time now, and I wanted to take a moment to provide everyone with a visual update before Christmas rolls around this week.
These two GIF's linked below display the direction we are taking with the new Monster Play system allowing you to put your efforts into eating your fellow survivors online in various forms to further your points/reward unlocks. Much like Noct's survivalist minimalistic thermal view... while playing as a monster, you will get to experience the game world from a different visual style.
As stated on the forums, this new update will also introduce survivor/monster point systems and progression/rewards for both collectable stats. We're working as quickly as we can to get this out to you guys and will continue to work through the Holidays, sit tight! As always, I greatly appreciate your patience, and thank you so much for sticking with us through Noct Early Access! :)
Patch 0.18.0B is now Live, you can find the patch notes and discussion HERE.
Streaming Event:
The Noct Halloween Stream will kickoff at 9:00PM EST HERE.
First up we will have Captain Skepy @ 9:00PM EST
Followed up by Hitch @ 10:00PM EST
Both streamers will be giving away a limited amount of Noct keys in their channel! So if you want a key to Noct, now is your chance! :)
NOCT SOUNDTRACK!
The NOCT OST is now available on Steam and can be acquired as DLC HERE.
Shifting to Early Access
Hey all!
After our successful closed beta run with you all and careful review of the feedback received, we have decided to shift Noct into Early Access to further our development of nopes. This will allow us to continue our community-led drive to expand the content and narrative aspects of Noct. We want to make the game that you the community, and us, the developers want to play! :)
I've detailed our Early Access battle-plan for Noct here on the front page, which sets us on a course to fully release in January of 2016.
Feel free to shoot us any questions you have here! Mark and I will be more than happy to answer them!
