Rodina 1.5 has been patched to fix a number of chronic issues users have been seeing:
Fixed old saves not loading up furniture / robots
Fixed custom lights
Fixed interior air pressure when using interior editor
Fixed crash when approaching generated interiors
Fixed robot bodies in persistent storage
Robot bodies generated with seed values, rather than randomly at generation time
NOTICE: Due to some fixes with how robots are implemented, this update comes with an unfortunate side-effect for all players: all robots will change to new bodies on first load. I'm sorry about your robots' old bodies, but these new bodies are their true selves!
If you see any bugs, new or old, with this patch, please keep reporting so I can keep squashing!
ADDITIONALLY:
I'm working hard on Rodina 1.6, the Inventory and Player Systems update! News on that and other Rodina developments coming up next!
Rodina 1.5 Released!
Rodina 1.5 is released!
Thank you for all your help with the 1.5 Beta! This update is finally complete! 1.5 was a major engine upgrade to Rodina, and introduces object persistence across the whole game.
For the first time, Rodina's engine has a generalized way to store object properties. This opens the door to more complicated interactive stuff, like container inventories and complex game systems. In the meantime, we can now use it to save your progress as you clear the Xeno bases.
Our next update is going to be a doozy. I'm going to be adding an inventory system, lots of items and upgrades, a suit installation grid / player systems, and updated controls and an item selection wheel. I can't wait!
If you are interested in a postmortem of this update, I made a video talking about all the programming challenges and things that went right / wrong this time. Don't feel obligation to watch as it doesn't have any gameplay info or hints about the future, but feel free to check it out if you're interested in engine programming discussion!
[previewyoutube="ScXhlG4o3ZQ;full"]
As always, thank you so much for your support. More info on the next update coming soon!
Changelist:
**** RODINA 1.5.0 ****
* New Feature: Persistence of actors and interiors
* Improvement: Display an interior's Xeno count on targeting UI * Improvement: Debug pages (F11) * Improvement: Added fog to rooms for air pressure * Improvement: Adjust ship fire angle in first person mode to be centered * Improvement: Refactor of entity creation and destruction * Improvement: Move game systems to engine / air pressure and fire run in component system * Improvement: Encode / Decode replaces Save / Load * Improvement: Savegame format changed to EGON binary
Hey guys! After long last, I am revealing the beta for Rodina 1.5!
This build will be BROKEN and it will have bugs! That's why I need your help testing it! If you have the interest, please switch to the Beta branch, make a backup of your savegames, and let me know what goes wrong!
Steam Library -> right click Rodina -> Properties -> Betas tab -> Choose "beta" from dropdown
Please send your findings to brendan@elliptic-games.com
What's changed?
This update is a major, extensive refactoring of internal engine code, to allow for more complex game stuff in the next update. I need to change a LOT to make sure Rodina meets its potential going forward.
The major feature is persistence. Now, most changes you make to the game will be saved when you leave a location, and restored when you come back. Enemies should stay dead, and resources should stay picked-up. This should apply to everything in the game including the thousands of asteroids in the game.
Because of this feature, I had to completely rewrite the savegame system. Old saves will still work, but please back them up before testing!!!
Clearly, this is a big internal change. I've been reworking stuff for a long time so I KNOW we will find broken stuff. THANK YOU to anybody who has time interest in helping me test!
Also, I made a video to catch you all up on why this update took so long!
[previewyoutube="77iII8fPDjc;full"]
Things to look out for:
- missing entities / interiors - when you leave and come back, is everything still in place? - when you leave the whole planet / asteroid field and go far enough that the icons delete, and come back, is everything the same? - double entities? (can be tested by deleting entites in the console by clicking on them and typing DeleteSelected() - single entities would disappear but doubles would leave one in place) - save game bloat size - any other bugs!
There are some known issues in this build but because the changes are so deep and extensive, any help you guys could give will be so appreciated. Thank you!
Rodina 1.4.2: Planet Terrain Revamp!
I'm so excited to share with you version 1.4.2 of Rodina - the Planet Terrain Revamp!
This is a major update to the visuals of the Zorica System. All of the planets in the game now have their own terrain types and textures. This really takes the full-size planets in the game to the next level. Jarilo even has ice caps!
I also increased the terrain detail, both on land and in space. It makes the planets look even better (but if you have performance issues, turn down the Distant Terrain Detail or Terrain Detail options, or turn on Retro Mode!)
Thank you so much for your continued support on this amazing journey!
Next up, I am going to be redoing all of the ship art as well. Finally, after 7 long years, we will be saying goodbye to the programmer-art ships! I'll have more info soon!
**** RODINA 1.4.2 ****
* New Feature: Planet textures based on feature, altitude, normal, latitude, etc
* New Feature: Triplanar texturing
* Improvement: Terrain physics generated at low-level when in flying mode
* Improvement: Terrain physics generated between start and end points
* Improvement: Fix low lighting quality shader compilation
* Improvement: Polish ship impacts / fire likelihood
* Options: Updated Distant Terrain Detail options (turn down to reduce hitches)
* Bugfix: Fix terrain planet curvature culling
* Bugfix: Fire should only damage the base floor
* Bugfix: Remove Xeno patrol from the first planet
* Bugfix: Fix missile blaster palette
* Bugfix: Fix script error when a debris type cannot be found
* Bugfix: Fix saves failing silently when there's an invalid filename
* Bugfix: Fix null scene crash
1.4.1 Patch - Black Entrances Fixed
Hey folks - good news! The bane of my existence for the past few months - the Black Square bug that was obscuring the entrances to ships and bases (and turning the holoscreens black as well) has been fixed - hopefully once and for all!
VERY sorry to all customers affected by this one for so long. Bugs that you cannot reproduce on your machine are THE WORST!
Since I was patching 1.4.1, I also added a few more tiny fixes. I turned of MSAA completely, since it wasn't working and also was causing problems. I also extended the FOV option range at the request of a player (the new lower limit is 20).
Thanks for your extreme patience on the Black Square thing. I'm extremely happy to have it gone!
Next up - planet stuff!
Rodina 1.4.1: New Xenos! And Vote Results!
Rodina 1.4.1 is released!
This is a minor update with only one change - new Xeno art, by yours truly!
Some of you may know that I'm now doing all of the art for the game, which I'm really enjoying. Art isn't my expertise, but by doing it myself it's a lot easier to get something closer to my vision.
With that in mind, I've been meaning to redo the Xenos in a different style for a while now, and this was a good time to do it! The update was delayed a bit due to a long exhausting sickness (I'm fine now!), but I hope you like the final product!
Also: Community Vote Results!
Thanks to all for participating in this exciting vote! This time, both the binding Bossypants voters and the rest of the community agreed: Planetary Upgrade is the next priority!
Here are the totals:
RPG Features: 38 binding votes / 31 community votes
The Garden: 12 binding votes / 33 community votes
Planetary Upgrade: 62 binding votes / 89 community votes
Starting immediately, I will begin improving the planet renderer and generation! Hope to have something to show you soon.
Bug News
Finally: many of you have been complaining about black squares covering entrances, or holoscreens being all black. This problem has been frustrating us all for like 6 months. It's embarassing and I apologize to those affected.
The good news: I've finally reproduced it on my machine. This is the major first step towards getting it fixed, so hopefully I can make progress quickly now. Thank you all for your help over the past few months tracking this obnoxious bug down!
Thank you all so much for your support! I'm glad you all picked Planetary Upgrades - I haven't worked on the planets in a long time and I think I can really make the game look a lot better!
Talk to you again soon!
-Brendan
Rodina Community Vote!
It's been too long since we've had a community vote for Rodina!
As you know, we're barreling towards the Roadmap Goal of "Ship Boarding"! The latest update brought ship bases and FPS combat to the next level, but I think they still need at least one more updates worth of love before I move onto Ships themselves.
I have several goals for spicing up ground gameplay. Each are independent, so it's a great time to hear from the community!
==================
1. RPG Features + New Items
Rodina is partially inspired by old immersive sim games like Deus Ex and System Shock 2. I loved the Grid Inventory from those games, and want something similar to undergird Rodina's RPG and character progression features. This would also mean lots more items and upgrades for the player to discover and use!
New Features: Grid inventory, lots of installable upgrades for the player, new weapons / items, revamped controls w/ quick-selection wheel
2. The Garden
Rodina needs creatures! And plants. And the Xenos need a place to grow their food and livestock. This update would add several creatures and procedurally-growing plants to a new Garden interior set. Maybe someday they will escape and populate the planets?
Tech upgrade: Animation system! Right now Rodina's few animations are all hacked in. Creatures (and bosses, NPCs, ships, etc) will need a proper way to move!
3. Planetary Upgrade + Mining / Building
The planets haven't gotten any attention in a long time. I've been thinking they should get a visual upgrade - better textures, less popping, and rocks on the planets. Along with that, it might be fun to finally get some simple mining / building in the game, so players can create their own planetary outposts and cities.
Reminder: I'm obligated to make the poll results binding for customers who bought at the "Bossypants" tier on www.elliptic-games.com. However, I want to hear from all customers! If the total vote splits between 2 options, maybe I'll do both!
Thanks for reading - I can't wait to hear from you (post here or in the discussion forums)!!
Rodina 1.4: Combat Megaboost released!
Rodina is better than ever! This update is a massive reworking of interior generation, combat, and player movement. Things are starting to come together!
The dangerous new Xeno Trooper reflects your plasma shots with its Magnetic Shield.
The Xeno Interiors have seen a major overhaul - more enemies, turrets, exploding thermal gel, loot pickups, and more! It's even more fun to get around, as player movement is tighter and smoother!
This is a major update to the game. Combat feels WAY more fun now. If you haven't played in a while, now might be the time to pick the game up again!
Thank you all for your support! I couldn't make this game without you!
**** RODINA 1.4****
* New Feature: Explosions massively improved - physics, camera shake, occlusion
* New Feature: Xeno Trooper w/ Magnetic Shield gun
* New Feature: Functioning turrets
* New Feature: Projectiles refactored / can be reflected by collidees
* Improvement: Massive buildings / mines generator refresh. More fog types. More building types
* Improvement: Massive combat rebalance. Much more enemy variety. Easier Xenos
* Improvement: Charged Blaster shots massively improved - camera shake, explosion, splash damage
* Improvement: Rocket Blaster now needs ammo
* Improvement: Health / ammo resources appear as loot in buildings
* Improvement: Thermal Gel explodes when shot
* Improvement: Merge hallways with neighbor rooms
* Improvement: Fixed targeting for buildings / Vanguard Ruins
* Improvement: All Xenos in a room attack at once
* Improvement: Fix rotation accumulation for player / mouse (IE: Much smoother movement)
* Improvement: Change Main Story 11 message post-protocol removal
* Improvement: Increase character gravity
* Improvement: Increase ship friction
* Crashfix: Don't update profile file when dragging options slider around
* Crashfix: Solved problem with direct copying refcounted objects
* Crashfix: Fixed crash with GPU timing references
The Xeno Bases in Rodina have received a major visual upgrade!
This update includes 2 major technical additions. A room-based fog system adds visual depth to the interiors, and will allow me to visualize future gameplay elements like atmosphere, smoke, and poison gas.
The walls are also now being procedurally decorated with the Wave Function Collapse Algorithm. This gives the interiors a more complex look and will allow for much more room variation!
Next update is going to be pure gameplay - a new enemy, bigger bases, more resources, and more!
Thanks for your support!
**** RODINA 1.3.4****
* New Feature: Wall pattern generator using Wavefunction Collapse algorithm from sample
* New Feature: Rework rendering to be portal-based
* New Feature: Room-based fog
* Improvement: Apply planet atmosphere to all objects. Integrate planet atmosphere with fog
* Improvement: Extend Xeno Door auto-close distance
* Improvement: Allow particles to be registered from DataRender to work with old mods
* Options: Garbage Collection rate option for possible tweaking
* Crashfix: Fix crash when gravbike moves out of physics world
* Crashfix: Fix possible crash with bad exterior file
* Crashfix: Fix heap corruption of EGQueue
* Crashfix: Fix crash when registering tilesets
Rodina 1.3.4 Beta!
Hey folks! I'm sorry I haven't done a dev update yet for this update. I've been working on 2 tech upgrades to give a visual overhaul to the building interiors: room-based fog and procedural wall decoration patterns! This should only be affecting the Xeno Buildings right now.
I decided, since it was such a big job, to release this work all as its own update :D
I just released a Beta - if you'd like to help me test it out, please check it out! This contains some major tech changes so please let me know if you notice bugs, or bad performance :D
To try:
Steam Library -> right click Rodina -> Properties -> Betas tab -> choose "beta" or "dev" from dropdown
