Stellar Overload
Not below, but beyond.
We reached the last step of our presentation about the new logical system in Stellar Overload.
Here we see the functioning of a timer, as well as a revolutionary method to convey logical values without the help of cables!
https://youtu.be/QhplWdlxJHQ
We will not go into the details here because it is not the purpose of this presentation. But we reassure you right now, the use of all this is not complicated.
And here is it, we finally explored this new version of our logic system, which will be available very soon. Thank you all for the interest that you show about it, and we are looking forward to seeing what you will do with all these new blocks!
No more memory lapse!
For now, we introduce a single block. But we already know that this simple block will give headaches to the more adventurous of you. So, watch carefully the video below:
https://youtu.be/v3Dm4y2TbxY
As in the previous presentation, please look carefully at the bottom right tooltip, which allows us to know the value carried by a cable.
Here is a simple example: the memory allows keeping the door open after we walked in front of the sensor. But just imagine the possibilities allowed by that such a block!
In the next and final part of this presentation, we will make together a step more toward automation of complex systems.
256 values!
https://youtu.be/XZPff2P0sgI
When you change the value of a potentiometer or activate an infrared detector, it changes the value transmitted by the cables. Look carefully at the values displayed in the bottom right tooltip, which allows us to know the value carried by a cable.
At the end of the video, we see all the logic gates that allow to manipulate these values. They are divided into two categories.
Logic gates of the first category are put on the top line in the video. They return either 0 or 255, but not an intermediate value.
Logic gates of the second category are put on the bottom line. They return a number between 0 and 255.
It begins to become interesting, isn’t it? Wait to see the next episode!
Controllers and Controlled
This first part is very short. We will just introduce the basic mechanics of the system:
https://youtu.be/UA2nyGw9A5U
Here we can see that we have different types of controllers buttons in this case) and different types of controlled devices (a door and a laser here). We also see that the controlled devices need energy otherwise they do not work.
That's all for today. Next time we will start serious things.
Hardware's upgrade
Subject: Request for upgrade.
Context: Mission of pacification “M3rx-03”.
Information: Our sensors seem to be inefficient as showed by the amount of accidental collisions we are suffering.
Observation: The progression of our mission might be slowed down by these malfunctions.
Speculation: This planet’s atmosphere might be responsible.
Request: Upgrade or replace the Units presents on the designated planet to enhance efficiency.
Secondary Information: Extermination of species designated as “Squirrels” well underway. Threat soon to be terminated.
___________________________________________________________
Message From: “???” to “Unit 1MP3R@T0R-01”
Subject: Re: Request for upgrade.
Unit 1MP3R@T0R-01.
Your request has been granted.
Know that we are well aware that several months have passed since you made your request, this sensor problem has been harder to resolve than anticipated.
We understand that this issue might have had an impact on your mission timeline, your quotas have been diminished in consequence.
Each of your units will be upgraded in the days to come.
___________________________________________________________
https://youtu.be/RNloNjzNEhE
Construction contest: Escape Room!
Between two doors, build at least one electrical riddle and be creative for your room to be the hardest possible to escape!
For this challenge, you can team up from 1 to 3 players.
You'll find the rules and some advices here: https://www.stellar-overload.com/fr/concours/escape-room/reglement.htm .
Note: If you test your universe and you’ve already resolved your enigmas, do not share this universe because otherwise it will be shared already finished. Only share à custom universe that have not been played at all.
Note again:
- The contest is directly linked to the Steam Workshop.
- You can only be on the podium once.
Chose the best images of your creations, you can put up to 5 images. The first uploaded will illustrate your participation.
Votes are limited up to 3 per person.
The winning team as well as the devs' favourite will win a prize: they'll be ingame!
See you on the 31st May for the voting phase, and on the 6th June for the results!
Favorite of the week #6!
This week is Wonder B's choice.
When I joined the Stellar Overload project, one of the things I liked most was watching all these blocky animals frolicking in the wild.
So it's no coincidence that I chose this very beautiful reindeer created by Onidosor. I'd really like to see it running in the snowy forests of Istara.
Thank you Onidosor for this creation.
Click here to find this item!
After Beat EP2: Music on Merx
The leitmotiv of Merx:
Again? Yes, indeed, I used a leitmotiv also for the planets sometimes. But here it is even more simple and basic than for our character, it is not really a melody, but just 3 successive notes, making it much more malleable, adaptable to the various situations encountered on the planet.
This small figure can be heard for the first time in the village (at 0.15 precisely):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZK4UqnVqPQ&feature=youtu.be&t=15s
Then we will hear it everywhere on the planet, for example here at Li King Pei’s house, very quickly at the beginning of the theme, and then played by a Japanese flute (at 0.29):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwBp3N6SEc&feature=youtu.be&t=29s
Merx is the starting planet. With Reymantha, we call it la-la land. Everything is beautiful, calm, and very (nearly too much) naive. I obviously wanted people to feel it, almost humorously, with very soft, relaxing, and cute music at the same time. That’s why it’s mostly played by a flute, or a piccolo, the most aerial and light instruments, as here in the grasslands of Merx (at 0.34 precisely):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4lwbLNlZac&feature=youtu.be&t=34s
A small anecdote, this theme, by its lightness, its naiveté, and its aerial side supposed to represent the song of the birds, is a small reference to a studio Ghibli film that I like very much: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, more precisely the theme representing the joie de vivre of the main character at the beginning of the film (from the beginning of the music):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNfbVEXItRk&feature=youtu.be
By creating this small 3-notes pattern, which will be modified in a large number of musics, I thus introduce a musical peculiarity to Merx, which, if it can’t be felt from the beginning (because there are no points of comparison in the adventure), will take its full meaning medium-term and long-term, without (at least I hope) becoming a too annoying melody.
Instrumentation:
This notion of leitmotiv is not only felt in this small figure but also in the instruments chosen to represent this planet. I choose a set of precise instruments for each planet, and even if I authorize myself a few exceptions, I try to remain faithful to this, for more coherence.
The basic instruments I chose for Merx are: flute, piccolo, folk guitar, harp, violins, soft synths. An example with a good part of these instruments in this excerpt (starting from 4.20):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4lwbLNlZac&feature=youtu.be&t=4m20s
Flutes, harps, or violins are often used in video games, the folk guitar is much less. It's a touch that I liked, because with percussion and synths, it allowed me to have a slightly "weird bossa nova" style. Here I am inspired by the soft guitar musics of Ian Snyder in The Floor is Jelly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWt-t0YwXmY&feature=youtu.be
But the whole principle of what I try to do on the planets is in the hourly evolution of the music. The basic idea, as most often, comes from a problem related to gameplay: the planets are cubic, so one can almost instantaneously go from day to night. This is the basis of my reflection: how can we go from day to night, or from morning to dusk, without shocking the ear? Elements of response are in the video that follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpSTxgIgmuY
What is heard in this video is that the orchestration and even the melodies evolve over time, becoming more and more electronic and abstract when the night comes, and conversely more and more organic and real by day. The process consists in the creation of several musics, of strictly equal lengths, and similar harmonies.
The hourly cycle of the game will then pass these musics from one state to another, in a fluid way, and it will function if the player stays on the same side of the planet or if he decides to change abruptly. In the next example, I will make the music pass from day to night and then to dusk, which is normally totally illogical, but entirely possible with the structure of our game:
https://soundcloud.com/cubicaldrift/day-to-night-to-dusk
It is almost the same principle that is applied to the environmental sounds, and that is more easily understood via the sound interface that we use in our game (Wwise):
Here we see that following the advance of the time of day, different atmospheres can blend into each other.
There you have the basic things I used to create the music of Merx. There are still a lot of things to talk about, especially in caves or underwater, but I cannot explain everything. In the next episode, we will concentrate on the small details, anecdotes, allusions or references, hidden here and there in the music of Stellar Overload.
I hope you enjoyed this episode, see you soon!
Favorite of the week #5!
This week is Angetsu's choice.
Good morrow fair wanderer!
I am sure that after a long day spent roaming the burning plateaus of Novo Ares and scaling the dizzying mountains of Istara, you long for the calm and comfort of a welcoming house on the paradisiac plains of Merx, and maybe treat yourself with a nice cup of joe and some Tex-Merx.
Well, search no further! Courtesy of the esteemed [big]Cyberjasse[/big], I have the immense honour to present you the abode that you’ve always longed for (even though you didn’t even know it existed):
This stylish one-bedroom residence is not only ideally situated, it comes with a myriad of accommodations!
Let’s take a quick spin, shall we?
On the ground floor, you will find a state-of-the-art kitchen, complete with adjoining living room, but also a cozy salon and a stunning bathroom.
Your new bedroom is on the top floor. But that’s not all the wonders of that marvelous floor! Oh no good Sir/Madam! There’s a sleek séjour too!
But wait until you’ve taken the gorgeous outdoors in!
Gaze at that sizable pool, with a magnificent view of Istara! And what about the garden, overlooking Novo Ares?
I think it’s safe to say that you want this lair to rest your tired feet don’tcha? I can see it in your glittering eyes.
Why, it can be yours today! For the frighteningly low, low, price of [small]your soul[/small], you will be become its proud new owner!
Do not hesitate! You can get the prints right here!
The full price will be cashed upon completion of the construction!
Cheerio!
Would you like even more logic?
This message has nothing to do with differential equations. However, I offer a glimpse of the latest developments in the logic systems of your favorite game:
https://youtu.be/GSK9ShZ2juQ