So, little bit more than a quick hotfix (even though that's the primary purpose of this update) but the project has been migrated over to Unreal Engine 5! This is exciting because it (1) improves the development experience and workflow (Epic has made a lot of improvements all over the place on the dev side), (2) grants the ability to utilize the improved UE systems... i.e. chaos destruction, etc., (3) performance of the game seems to have improved generally, and (4) visually the game looks better to me (definitely can't explain why, but things just look better despite UE5 not utilizing DX12). Nonetheless, this was an important development milestone and I'm glad it is done.
As usual (but especially at this point), please let me know if you encounter any bugs or anything unusual. I suspect the transition probably broke a few things that I haven't been able to identify, so I'm totally dependent on everyone to help me with this! You can utilize the community discord (https://discord.gg/HWG9bxRfBm) or leave a comment/discussion thread in steam (I try to remain active on these). Thank you all for your continued support and until next time... cheers!
Changelog:
Fixed a bug causing the aircraft to fly to a location of 0, 0, 0
Fixed a bug causing the mouse input to be locked after entering the pause menu
Fixed a bug preventing the stats to populate appropriately in Firefight mode
Moved the project to Unreal Engine 5
Reworked the wave mode system, to be more clean and efficient (be sure to comment if you run into any issues here)
In wave mode, changed the map "Convoy" to "Compound." This now uses the "firefight" map and infantry are used instead of the MRAP vehicle (this will be added back later).
Wave mode now uses the new infantry units, which are much more dynamic and useful. Zombies will now attack infantry, so game over is now dictated by who is still alive
Made minor changes to various UI elements
Update Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #6
Quick update on what's happening behind the scenes. Currently working on:
Three new scenarios to be added to the Firefight mode. These include Troops in Contact (break the complex attack before friendly units are killed), Air interdiction (find and destroy all enemy equipment/vehicles/personnel), and Close Air Support (JTAC will request CAS fire mission to engage specific targets)
New map for firefight scenarios and wave mode to be played on. This map is based upon the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan.
Rebuild of the Aircraft (player entity) to allow implementation of the other gunship variants. Additionally, the player will have full control over how the gunship flys - including the pitch, roll, yaw, and speed. No more waiting for the aircraft to make its turn to get your guns back on target, you will have full control over this. I'll give more information on this real soon...
Optimizing of the Infantry AI and expanding their capabilities.
Building out the Vehicle AI (previous implementation was simply a placeholder).
Still a lot to work through, but things are coming along. I may be alone in this, but I've been very satisfied with the visual improvements that have occurred the past few weeks, which have really been dialing in the realistic look of the game. I also was skeptical about adding impact sounds to the game due to the sake of realism, but I believe it really improved the immersion and satisfaction of the combat (be sure to comment if you disagree!).
Please let me know if you come across any issues or bugs and I'll knock those out. I've reimplemented some changes that previously had been released but were reverted because of unforeseen game breaking issues. Let me know if you experiences anything like this and I'll correct it ASAP.
I definitely appreciate everyone's support and feedback I've received over the past few months. Just looking back to the state of the game at early access release, the game has improved so much and I owe that to you all! Thank you all!
-Sklor
Changelog:
Fixed a bug preventing the UI and menus to scale appropriately with the resolution
Re-reverted a change to the UI scaling to support 4k resolutions. This should work now with the new input changes (anyone running 4k, be sure to let me know how this works for you)
Made improvements and increased the size of the the firefight map
Reworked the input method for the camera. Removed the "activate camera" function and consolidated the mouse and gamepad inputs
Fixed a small UI bug in wave mode, causing the UI to overlap other UI elements
Reworked the spawn system in wave mode, allowing complete randomization of zombie spawns
Updated the location of the helo in the "Downed Helo" map in Wave mode
Reworked all impact effects to look more realistic
Added rifle sounds for in-game effects
Updated vehicle damage model and effects. Removed AI in vehicles for now until improvements are made
Fixed a bug related to the 40mm projectiles that prevented them from being effective
Update Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #5
Changelog:
Added the ability to customize specified variables in the Firefight Rescue scenario
Fixed a bug causing the impact audio for the AGM-114 Hellfire to be further delayed than the others
Removed the radio transmissions related to the AI in the training mode (these will be replaced in one of the upcoming updates)
Update Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #4
Quick update today to revert some changes that caused game-breaking issues for 4k users as well as add in the new audio feature of impacts (you can remove this via the audio options if you prefer the more realistic gameplay). Also gave some love to the 105mm:
Improved Accuracy
Improved the impact effect to give a better impression of its shrapnel effect
Added logic to auto kill/dismember any infantry who are within a certain distance of the impact
Unfortunately, because of these other issues that came up I haven't been able to finish the interface to update the game variables in Firefight, but that will be coming in the next day or two. Only a few pieces left to get that one out. In addition to that, I'm currently working on implementing new radio chatter for multiple crew positions (finally, get some new voices in there) along with a new Firefight scenario.
As usual, be sure to report any bugs or issues that you run into (hopefully I didn't create anymore with this update). Appreciate all the support!
Changelog:
Made improvements to the 105mm (Adjusted impact effect, set automatic dismemberment/kill for infantry at close range, increased accuracy of 105mm)
Made adjustments to zombie spawn points on Downed Helo wave mode
Add ground level sound effects for each projectile
Firefight Rescue: When extracting, it is showing a failure if not all friendly forces survived.
Reverted a change to the UI scaling to support 4k resolutions. Created other issues that made it unplayable and I'm still working on finding a fix for that.
Fixed an issue with the "fullscreen mode" selection in the options menu not updated to what was currently active
Update Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #3
Another quick update to add a few more features and improve on some of the content released last week. Big shout out to everyone providing quality feedback which has allowed the game to improve; your efforts make to polishing process a lot easier and more effective.
Am looking to be pushing another update this next week including a new scenario in the firefight mode, along with additional radio chatter from other aircraft crew positions.
As always, appreciate all the support - Project Gunship has an amazing player base and together we’ll continue to achieve its potential. Thanks!
Changelog:
Added additional idle animations to infantry (crouched and standing idle), that give them a bit more awareness of what is around them.
Added the ability for UH-60 Blackhawks to engage enemy targets, along with implementing an AI allowing the helo to fly, land, takeoff, etc. (This will be utilized much more in the future. You get only a glimpse of it in the firefight mode)
Added additional radio chatter in the firefight mode for mission success and failure.
Improved the scaling of the UI to support larger monitor sizes.
Adjusted the rotor wash effect for the helos to look more realistic.
Slightly improved friendly infantry’s accuracy
Made a change to correct a bug where friendly units could not extract at the helo in the firefight mode.
Update Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #2
Quick release of more of the content I've had planned for 1.0.0.5. This update comes with a new game mode called, "Firefight" which has two playable scenarios at the moment (much to be added to this in the future). The goal of this mode is to essentially provide a quick play for specific mission types (Troops in contact, point air defense, air interdiction, etc.) that have a level of dynamic gameplay to them. At the moment, you do not have control over the mission variables, but this will be implemented. The two scenarios that are available are:
Continuous Firefight: This mode endlessly spawns friendly and enemy infantry who fight over a small village. No specific objectives here, just gives you an opportunity to watch them fight and intervene as you see fit.
Rescue (Blackhawk Down): This mode simulates an AC-130 providing point air defense for a UH-60 Blackhawk that has been downed and is being overrun by enemy forces. The player must defend and keep alive, the Blackhawk crew long enough for friendly forces to arrive and escort them to extraction.
I'll continue to tweak and improve these scenarios, as well as add new ones with more variety in the future. Structurally, I am not considering these "realistic scenarios" as those will be more story driven and framed around historical missions flown by each AC-130 variant. This structure (as everything else) is still greatly a work in progress and may (likely) change in the future.
If you have any ideas for improvements or new dynamic scenarios, be sure to comment or jump in our discord and let me know. As always, I appreciate everyone's support and will continue to work hard to make Project Gunship special.
Thanks!
Changelog:
Added new mode "Firefight" that has two simple, but dynamic scenarios: (1) Continuous firefight and (2) Rescue - Blackhawk down.
Updated Infantry with new models and animations.
Updated and added new building structures. These do not have destructibles enabled as I am making preparations to move to UE5 and utilize the new destruction engine.
Added new trees that can be knocked over and burned.
Fixed a bug involving Vsync; should now work properly.
Build 1.0.0.5 Hotfix #1
Changelog:
Fixed the "Invert mouse" from not applying when in game
Fixed a small audio bug for the GAU-12 25mm (start and end audio was low volume, compared to the loop)
Update Build 1.0.0.5 (Partial)
After now completing our first full 13-week development cycle, I've come to realize a few things. (1) Game dev is extremely hard appropriately forecast timelines and I suck at it, (2) iteration and rebuilding is the best way to discover new improvements, (3) life is extremely unpredictable and rarely do we find ourselves skidding by without any interruption, (4) I need to step up my communication and manage expectations better (especially my own), and (5) although it’s hard to admit but I think I need help... (more on this later)
Unfortunately, today is not the day to release scenarios (I know, I’m sorry!!!). There definitely were many variables that came into play to cause this reality, but I’m hopeful this won’t be the case in the upcoming future (fingers crossed). TLDR; game development is hard and every little piece can turn into a massive Pandora's box (although I’ve several years developing in UE, I’m still a noob and am constantly learning/improving) and cancer sucks (not me, but a close family member).
Now, as far as scenarios go, I didn’t feel it would be wise to release the scenarios that I had as they were a bit too hastily thrown together to meet the deadline, which is why they aren’t included yet. Although I’d like to give you a absolute release date on these, I’m not quite sure how much time it’ll take to get them to the place they need to be. I’m hopeful it’ll be in the next week or two.
Despite all that, the path forward is still clear for me. I’ve made some good progress on a number of new systems that will soon be implemented. One of which is new skeletal meshes and animations for the infantry, to give a lot deeper variety in their interactions with the world they live.
Along with that, new AI logic is being developed to improve how they act and react to what is going on around them.
And finally, vehicles have also been modelled and are actively being developed (substantially more difficult to get right, I have found). Still have a long way to go here, but at least a basic implementation is in place to test the current hitbox system.
As I had mentioned before, it is time to begin expanding the team to share the load. I may have some strengths, but I definitely have weaknesses and it is obviously would be better to find someone who can fill those gaps for me. I'm hopeful this will not only improve the quality of content release, but allow us to release it quicker.
I could continue to add to this wall of text, but will cut it short here. As always, I greatly appreciate your support and will continue to tirelessly work to provide the best experience possible in Project Gunship. Thanks!
-Sklor
Change log:
Rebuilt the friendly AI in wave mode to better track and engage hostile targets.
Added new zombie meshes and animations.
Added new landscape materials
Increased the camera shake for firing weapons across the board.
Updated the menus with a more clean font
Added music to the wave mode menu and changed the end game music
Added a 4k resolution to the selection
Added controller support
Added audio options
Updated how inputs are taken in the controls option menu
Added the ability to invert the camera pitch
Reworked the presentation of the options menu
Added the ability to change the camera speed in-game
Added the ability to adjust the central point of the aircraft’s orbit
Added a car, pickup truck, and AAA ZU-23 to the training mode that can be spawned and tested (vehicles need substantial improvements to the AI logic and testing of the damage models. More updates to come on these)
Build 1.0.0.4 Hotfix #2
Hotfix to resolve an issue with UE4, causing the game to run slower than normal. Be sure to comment or reach out to me if you have any specific issues. Thanks!
Build 1.0.0.4 Hotfix #1
Quick hotfix to solve a long standing bug (navigation issue, that results in the aircraft dropping to 0 speed) and a change to help optimize the GPU usage.
