Big news! Since our last transition from 2D to our latest look, big changes happened!
Introducing Shout of Survival v2.
YEP! We fully moved to 3d gameplay with camera rotations and everything. We did change lots of things in the game.
The levels are fully in 3D. We discarded all of our old levels. We will be recreating more levels on the course of development.
We added 3D Characters. That's good! However, this means we had to remove character customization since we are using 3D now. Don't worry, it will be coming back. We promise!
The sound direction is now more realistic. Remember the problems we faced with the sound direction? Well now you can actually rotate the camera, so the sound hearing is as useful as it should be. We still also use the shout wave as it eliminates the need of an interface element.
Here is a video showing the new gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va-PrndHVbA
This is a huge step in the development of the game. It should take it to the next level.
I hope you enjoyed the video.
Thanks!
Shouting System Explained
Hello everyone,
You might have noticed that we changed the look of our game to be more 3D-ish (more about that here).
This means that other things are bound to change as well. One of those changes are the way we are conveying the sound direction.
Here is how the old system used to work:
When a human shouts, you can literally just hear the sound direction and follow that. You will be able to tell how far or close the sound is, and you can also tell if it is coming from the right or left. This is really useful in avoiding monsters.
HOWEVER, there is a slight problem introduced by a constraint we put in the game mechanics...
The problem: how can you tell if the sound is coming from below or above the screen?
The problem is caused by: Limiting the ability to rotate the camera. At the moment, the camera does not rotate.
Solution: Introducing... UI Arrows!
As a human player, when the other human shouts for you, you see an arrow that points to a direction and a face indicating the type of the sound (it could be a portal or a monster for example).
This will give you a clear indicator of the sound direction as well as how far you are from the other human.
Note that, the closer the sound source, the bigger the icon.
Another useful feature is that... well... ironically... you don't need to hear anything anymore. You can play on mute. However those who rely on hearing will still have a better edge.
Here is a video for a full match using arrows. Watching the video with headphones is recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr12SUtOzrA
Ok, time to explain the newer system!
Instead of using UI, we thought, why not use something more natural. Something like... WAVES!
Again, we are just trying to solve the problem of not knowing if the sound is coming from above or below the player.
INTRODUCING SOUNDWAVES:
When a human shouts he produces a soundwave. This soundwave traverses until it reaches the other players like this:
You can notice that the wave came from the left side of the screen and slightly up. It is still functioning as the arrows without resorting to using UI Elements. It blends with the game well.
Here is a video for a full match using shout waves. Watching the video with headphones is recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSdlhhOlgQ
We are not really sure at the moment where to go from here. Which one should we stick with? And why in your opinion? This is where we need your feedback!
Let us know if you think there is even a better way!
The New Look of SOS: Shout of Survival
Hello everyone.
We are happy to announce this is a really BIG CHANGE in the game. Please have a look at the following images:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
We did multiple things here. So let me guide you through the improvements:
We changed the gameplay space from 2D to 3D. Meaning now we have elevation!
The old camera had an Orthographic projection. The new one is Perspective.
We started using real light instead of using dark images to simulate darkness.
This happened in the backend, but worth mentioning anyways. We did a lot of code refactoring. This will help us a lot in the future when we are adding more features.
The running changed. The feeling when running is much much better. Also, the footstep SFX changes depending on the surface you are walking on.
Here is a 13 seconds video showcasing the changes (Before and After):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0yoPvNBucA
Cheers!
Version 1.2.9.0a Patch Notes
Hello friends,
We've just released a new version with mutliple bug fixes and some improvments.
* Added subtule UI sounds
* Added (How to play) button in the main menu.
* Added (feedback) button in the main menu.
* Fixed a bug where there's no default button when you join a private match
* Fixed a bug where direction arrows get positioned in incorrectly.
* Fixed a typo (مبارات) to (مباريات) in Arabic language
* Fixed a bug in scrollable lists related to dragging or using scrollbar
* Fixed a navigation bug in Leaderboard button in Main menu
* Fixed a bug where "-" sign appears with "+" sign in results screen.
* Fixed a bug in displaying usernames in results screen.
More awesome stuff is on the way ;)
AAAATTTAAAACK!!
سلام يا أصدقاء
أطلقنا للتو نسخة جديدة من اللعبة تحتوي على العديد من الإصلاحات والتحسينات.
* إضافة أصوات لطيفة للواجهة
* إضافة زر كيفية اللعب في القائمة الرئيسة
* إضافة زر شاركنا رأيك في القائمة الرئيسة
* إصلاح مشكلة عدم تحديد زر افتراضي عند انضمامك إلى مباراة خاصة
* إصلاح مشكلة في اتجاه الاسهم في داخل اللعبة
* تصحيح خطأ إملائي في كلمة (مبارات) إلى (مباريات) في شاشة المباراة الخاصة
* إصلاح مشكلة في القوائم الطويلة تمنعك من استخدام التحريك بالفأرة
* إصلاح مشكلة في التنقل من زر سجل الأبطال في القائمة الرئيسة
* إصلاح مشكلة في شاشة النتائج حيث تظهر علامة السالب والموجب معا
* إصلاح مشكلة في عرض أسماء اللاعبين في شاشة النتيجة
انتظرونا في التحديثات القادمة للمزيد من الإضافات ;)
Changes since the demo
Hello everyone!
We are pleased to to announce a shortened list of the differences between the demo version we released on GameJolt and this Early Access version on Steam. We are still working on adding and improving things in our game. We look forward to do that with the help of your continuous feedback.
Here is the list:
New features:
Created 7 new levels.
Created 2 new levels themes.
Added character customization.
Fully redesigned the user interface.
Added Leaderboard.
Added Steam API Integration for Inviting friends.
Added Localization for both English and Arabic.
Added ambient music to gameplay only. The intensity of the music will change depending on the situation.
Added Rumble to gamepads.
Added voice chat inside the game and inside the waiting area.
Added a countdown for the game to start.
Added player status before the game starts. (Joining/Ready)
