Episode 2 - Diceroll With A Vengeance is coming Q2 2024!
Greetings! We have some major news for Project Absentia.
Episode 2 is happening and is aiming for a release date for Quarter 2 of 2024. Abby returns as she finds her actions lead to more than she bargained for.
There's gonna be new weapons - the Popper and the Six-Pack Shotgun, new enemies - the Hell Faction's got powerful, crazy enemies like the teleporting cultists, the plasma-volleying, ground smashing Doogs, dynamite and molotov-throwing mobsters, plasma-ripping punk boars, and a giant sexy goat lady voiced by VoiceQuills. Oh, and someone is seeking vengeance on you as well and is going to the ends of this world to find you.
Also several quality of life bugfixes to the engine and game codebase to help future-proof Project Absentia. We're looking to see about possibly releasing that for Episode 1 down the line to hold people over.
We want to thank Uncle Had (no relation) for cooking up this kickass trailer.
Cheers, everyone!
Hotfix for E1v2 Beta 7
Fix VM abort with touchscreen-like controls option and slider widgets
Episode 1 v2 + Demo v2 Beta 7 out
Greetings! Project Absentia Episode 1 and the Demo have new beta branches out. If these work out well, it will be the last beta before Version 2 of Episode 1 is released.
Here's some fixed:
Update Griddle to 1.5.3
Make PA usable with stock GZDoom and VKDoom once again
Fix some minor quality of life features/tutorial stuff in E1M1
Minor fixes to E1M2
As for Episode 2, we're working on it - and making good progress. We're going to make a formal announcement soon to show what we're working on.
Thank you for your patience, and we hope you have fun with this version of Project Absentia.
Episode 1 and Demo Version 2 Beta Updated
A new update to the Beta branches of Project Absentia Episode 1 and the Demo has been released. Get a taste of what's to come with some quality of life fixes. It's a major architectural change for the game with lots of under the hood changes, map fixes, engine fixes, and more. These changes are to help facilitate modding.
One of the new features bespoke to Version 2 is the function to auto-duck most audio during one-liners. This is an optional feature and can be fine-tuned (the ducking is a multiplier) or disabled if it's not to your liking.
We got big announcements on the horizon. Stay tuned!
Version 2 Beta 4 branch is out!
A few bug fixes to Version 2 Beta 1 have been made. They're on a separate branch. Give it a try if you want the bleeding edge experience.
The branch is ep1-v2beta4. The other branch will continue to exist for those currently in progress.
Project Absentia Episode 1 Version 2 Testing Branch
Hello everyone!
Project Absentia Episode 2's on it's way, and shaping up very nicely.
We've been hard at work on tightening up both the engine and the game itself.
To tide people over, Project Absentia Episode 1 has a new beta branch that allows people to get a head start on the engine changes. Based on a bunch of feedback, we've reworked how keybinds/button binds, cutscenes, and other such quality of life and accessibility stuff is handled.
Due to major architecture changes to Project Absentia - both the game code and the engine - you'll have fresh settings on this branch. That said, we've worked with some testers (and general feedback) to make the defaults more accessible, and the menus easier to browse.
Let us know what you think. Test it out on the beta branch tab and select ep1-v2beta/EA Episode 1 Version 2.0 Beta branch, and have fun.
Major changes include:
Reworked engine, defaults, the whole nine yards. Project Absentia now requires Griddle. (Source code below).
Vulkan rendering is now default.though power users can enable it using the +vid_preferbackend 0 command and the command line.
Major internal refactoring of Project Absentia in preparation of episode 2
Cutscenes and heavy in-game dialogue are user skippable. Cutscenes can be skipped using any key other than escape or the start button, while in-game dialogue can be skipped by pressing the use key/button. This is done differently from the current version, as many of these features are in the engine proper, not relying on hacky event handlers, making them more reliable.
New default settings, many moved to the executable for other projects
Overhauled menus, complete with sound sliders showing percentages, and better layouts.
new pain sprites for many enemies, to make them more reactive to damage
rewritten one-liner system for better mod support
Bosses' scripts are now done in-level, and can be altered in the map editor on a per level basis.
Updated Abby's hairstyle to be nicer. She's gotta look nice.
Small changes to the HUD. It's still a WIP until Episode 2 comes out.
Allow automatic pickup of weapons to not swap to the new weapon automatically.This is a user toggle option under Gameplay Options, and isn't on by default.
Notice we're said map editor? Modding? Yup, we're working on that. It's definitely in the cards to offer Ultimate Doom Builder configurations and tutorials. Many people have requested modding tools/documentation. We'll do what we can, but it's gonna take time.
A lot of these refactors were made to allow better modding support and a more robust API to work with.
If you're interested in Griddle's workings and changes, check it out below.
