And I'm here to address most of the changes. This update has been the most fun and the most challenging to make due to the AI issue I've came across and having to rebuild everything from practically zero.
The main course of this update has been started with the camera. It was fixed, rigid and you couldn't really see much beyond the spectrum, which made playing the game rather difficult.
With a simple click of the Left Control, you can easily switch between locked and unlock camera.
Enemy Range:
Like discussed previously the enemy range have been upgraded to a raycast one, that shows exactly where the enemy can see, rather than a static circle.
This allows players to plan their moves more accurately in the new stealth mechanism which has been implanted.
Stealth:
This was a major issue for me when I start making the game due to its natrue of the genre. You were instantly detected if an enemy spots you, with no chance of retaliation. This was unfair and unnecessary hard which while made a challenge, was too hard of a punishment to screw up the whole level.
Thus the new stealth system has been implanted to combat the issue. The enemies now have 6 states which reflect upon the changes:
Idle - Follows his given path, and lurks
Suspicious - Has detected something, however will not go to investigate
Curious - Suspicious, but goes to check what was that about (goes to the last registered position)
Aggro - He has found an intruder and is actively hunting him
Seeking - Lost the player, however is going to the last position where he was seen.
Alerted - If the player has been spotted, enemies will have bigger view distance and speed both idle and while chasing.
This has been more detailed explained with formulas in the full change log, which can be found above.
Also this update brings one new enemy,
E_04 aka Tesla Coil
Which as the name suggests, uses electricity as its power. It is very slow, but, it pack a huge punch to the enemy and can even trap the enemy to a deadly trap. It halves the movement speed of the player, while drawing energy and health slowly, and calls for backup.
This can pretty much trap the player into a certain death if not careful ;)
XP, Upgrades, Leveling:
For this update I've brought back the XP point system that has been removed way back in 0.3. The reason to this is to bring more gameplay variation to the game, and help the players along the way as harder levels come.
Each level gives you one point to spend in the tree, and branch out. For now there are 12 upgrades, of which one is a gadget, but this will further expand when the game is fully released.
New Levels:
There are 2 new levels in the game, and 3rd one in the way (new berserker mode map):
U-235 is a nuclear satellite that features all new walls and some new floor tiles, along with a lot of new objects. It also features the infamous E_04, which should be fun to see how it plays out.
Testing Grounds:
Similar design to the U-235, and its only goal is to test the enemies behavior and gadgets. There you have infinite energy and spawn enemies when crossing a border.
This map will receive another update that will add more controls to shifting the maps design for better use.
Cryo (Berserker Mode): This map is still under construction but will be featured in a soon update.
Traps:
Traps have also gotten an update, regarding their timers and indicators to bring more visual fidelity to the game, along with new models.
UI Changes:
There have been general changes to the UI to help the player more rather then distracting them. Along this, a new Loading screen has been added
New models
There are a lot of new models and animations which should bring a more sharper look, and all the enemies received a special redesign so they are more easily distinguished.
Oh and points are also upgraded:
And a lot more, the full changes can be read at:
https://www.intercido.com/pages/the_stealth_vault_0.8.html
Once again thank you all for participing in the Early Access with your bug reports and suggestios
0.8 - The Stealth Vault [13.07.2017]
Edit_1: Due to the nature of the new enemy and a sloppy upgrade from Rival Theory all my AI was baddly imported meaning I lost a month of AI work.
I've been strugling to fix it and have to delay the game update a bit. Sorry for the inconvenience, hopefully no more delays will come.
Cheers, VT48
As the new INTERCIDO page is finally done I have started already on the new update, bringing cool new features to the table, and in this post I want to highlight the roadmap, and what is currently done within the update.
Player Camera
The first issue that a lot was mentioned was the "clunky" camera which you couldn't see much as it was locked to the player, hence, I made a new system to counter that, and help with the navigation as well.
Not only was the "free" camera added, it also packed a button to revert it anytime in game to help with movement and general visibility.
Enemy Range
The second big thing that has been addressed was the enemy range, which sadly was static and you couldn't really know what was the range of the enemy. I've already had this planned 2-3 months ago however I have never figured a way that would not cost much and do it properly and precise.
Until now. After almost 4 days only focusing on it, all the ranges in the game have been modified to help the player at most, to see where is the end range of all the enemy and traps (cameras and turrets).
New enemy range (Changes colors as well, along with the pulse)
Stealth
The third big issue was the gameplay and the games stealth. This game has been unforgiving too much as, not only the enemies had 360 range, they also detected you as soon as you got in range, and attacked you with no mercy.
This has been changed drastically by adding bunch of timers and logic into the enemies by making them a bit more "human-like" at least in the detection department.
So the enemy has been given 6 new states:
Idle - Follows his given path, and lurks
Suspicious - Has detected something, however will not go to investigate
Curious - Suspicious, but goes to check what was that about (goes to the last registered position)
Argo - He has found an intruder and is activly hunting him
Seeking - Lost the player, however is going to the last position where he was seen.
Alerted - If the player has been spotted, enemies will have bigger view distance and speed both idle and while chasing.
Enemy Checking if player is too long in the range
The next thing that has been added to the enemies is execution. Yes. You can now kill enemies. However only from the back, with a special gadget. Which bring the new element, hiding the bodies.
Killing the enemy with a help of a decoy
Disposing of the enemy
After you have successfully killed an enemy if you do not hide or dump the body, and an enemy locates it, he will trigger the alarm, making the game a lot harder. While carrying the body your speed will be slowed by an x amount, however completing the mission without disturbing enemies will grant you a huge XP bonus.
Traps
The main thing that has been added with the traps is mostly gameplay wise of giving the player a bit of heads up to prevent range when suddenly a laser comes up. 3 states:
New Levels
Now this is probably the sole reason of making big updates, they have to contain some cool new map. And this update should pack 2 new maps, with an new randomization system, and a new "Rage" map that will be randomized.
For the old maps they will be REMADE in a gameplay sense, rather than much of the layout (although layout could change), to make up for the new enemy and range system.
Currently one map is in build called the U-253 (Guess what that is :P) and will feature all new walls and a triangle floor tile :D
XP and Leveling
The XP system in the plan and will feature cool upgrades for your drone, properly unlike at the start of the game which gave you an insane edge after some time.
The XP system will work differently unlike the last one, as in upgrade points, rather than point money, and upgrading them in a branch rather then only power upgrades.
New Intercido page is live! & Small bugfix
New INTERCIDO page is live!
www.intercido.com
Edit: We are having some technical difficulties with the web page, please be patient!
After almost 4 weeks the page is complete, and features a new design. This finally allows me to continue to work for The Seeker which should get at least 1 map by the end of the month, including some gameplay changes, with added more randomness and an new enemy which should be fun to play with.
Along with the page update, I have been fixing some bugs so today as well, the 0.68 version of the game will be avaliable, fixing the notorious jump decoy bug, and the ability to climb walls with the door glitch.
Thanks again for support the game! Cheers
<0.68 Headline Repair 3> Change Log:
Fixed various bugs and issues on Cretomilde including:
- - Clipping issues at the rocks and at the crash site
- - Fixed "blue reflection" on the water
Fixed being able to walk on walls with the door glitch
Fixed decoy making the player go up, hence removed "throwing" decoys in the process
During the games updates, @the_brood has given great insight into the game, and it's bugs, giving a lot of feedback on improvement of the gameplay and the game itself.
So it would be only honorable that for that action, to give a ultimate skin in his name, which will be posted in a day or two.
Thanks again for your contribution!
0.6 The Headline Update
Finally. The day has arrived.
After so many months of rethinking, numerous ideas, testing, bugfixing and whatnot the update is here.
Is it perfect? No it isn't. I actually expect bunch of bugs as I never got a proper chance to test fully the new features, the maps especially. Regarding the UI everything should be working fine but as well I am aware that there can be bugs as well.
To highlight many of the changes I've written yet again, a nice change log. Enjoy and thank you all for the support you've given me over the time. It is really a blast making the game for you all, and if any of you have suggestions or just a simple question feel free to ask me on steam or mail!
Expect the next update to include new achievements, bug fixes and some cool new stuff like gadgets, and in a bit longer run new maps and finally a proper story.
For now the first 3 maps are available at the start to prevent non-progress due to the new maps.
Also the maps that have been prior to the update are not combined with the story just yet so they are mostly the same expect a few balance fixes and issues.
Update SDK for Unity 5.5:
The new SDK for making skins can be downloaded via dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2sor3qqwnjcrxt/Steam_Workshop_SDK.zip?dl=0
The Headline Update Change Log:
New Map Metahawk
New Map Cretomilde
- First lunuar map (Located on a moon!)
- This map is missing 1 fun sequence which will be added into the game in the next update
- - In this sequence you will be controling a mech, which is still not done with the controls at the moment.
UI - Redesigned the whole UI which brings more fidelity
- Added Inventory managment for gadgets
- Added new Death Screen
- Added new Completed Screen
- Added Weapon/Gadget Unlock
- Added Dialog Boxes
- Reworked the Workshop Menu
- New Tasks look
- New Map preview
- New Main Menu
- New and updated gadget icons
- Drone Status (Health, Energy)
- Removed Point indicator
- And more
Enemies now track player more consistently and better
Enemies have lower range, especially the E_02
Added a new gadget EMP - Shock
- This gadget allowes opening the shaft doors in order to get to safety.
- All shafts are now closed, and need to be opened
- Cost 5 energy
Added a "death-timer" to the cameras
- Cameras are not constantly enabled, they are similar to lasers with having "death-timers" which make them disabled for x amount of seconds, then enabled again.
Added AutoRengen for players' energy to maximum of 10%(5% regenerates fast, other 5% regenerates 4 times slower)
Added gadgets boxes for unlocking gadgets
Added a new hacking system to disable the alarm
Added bunch of new animations
Added a new alarm sound (Less noisey however more dinstinct)
Added an enemy chase sound, and when triggering traps/alarms
Added a small story to the game (Nothing much but it's a start)
Added a new SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion) effects
Added a lot of new models (Some of them are reworked)
Added new textures and shaders to the models
Added new mehanic for Energy Stations
Added new fonts for the game
Added Workshop Options
- Rotation of the camera to see the skin in 360*
- All details listed in the workshop for the current skin
- Added workshop controls
- Reworked the workshop tools to be compatiable with 5.5 Unity
Added new sounds for:
- Ending the game
- Dying
- Energy Stations
- Disabling the alarm
- Hovering
- Shaft opening
- And others.
Added Player Lerp - Lerping speed when disabled (Moving from a stop feels more natural)
Removed number hacking system for alarm
Fixed various bugs regarding clipping - Thanks "the_brood"!
Fixed flashlight not returning to normal texture in workshop
Fixed movement and enemy path issues
Fixed the Workshop toolkit to support 5.5 Unity
And a lot more which I forgot
[27.03.2017] 0.6 - The Headline Update [Postponed for 4 more days]
Edit_3:
With a broken heart I have to announce that the update will be postopned 5 more days at least. The size of the new map and the optimization issues it has with and the new UI system is a nightmare. I've been working for almost 8 hours and I still haven't reached not a near optimization limit that I would like to be.
It's a big issue and I know, its 9 more days than I said it would take, however releasing the game in this state, with a update big is this would be a mess, which is the last thing I want for this game on a event big as this.
Once again sorry, I'm really doing my best, but I'm a one man army and this game is a large scale work that needs nurturing, which takes more time than I imagined.
Thank you for understanding. Gabriel (VIsualTech48)
Edit_2:
More issues arise with the new saving system, even with my 6hours per day working on the game isn't enough, so I'll have to postpone the update 2 more days in hopes to finally finish it.
Thank you for understanding
Edit_1:
The update is postponed 3 days to address some core bugs that have been detected. Thank you for understanding
It's a long time since I have updated The Seeker, and as we can see I skipped 0.3 versions of the updates. The decision is made by the sole reason of me wanting to make the game a far better experience than it was previously. This time the limelight is on the UI which had some major issues with readability and the inventory was a mess. Not to mention the grim experience of ending the game and the "death" screen. Full changelog will be presented around 23nd of March
Why the wait?
I've taken this huge time to research on ways to improve the overall "feel" of the game and especially on the UI to help players keep track of their vitals and energy, making sure that it doesn't cost any unnecessary space on the screen which can be seen in the 2 comparison images:
What I've covered in this giant update regarding the UI are
Inventory
Main Menu
Drone Stats (health and energy and selected gadget)
Death Screen
Success Screen
Workshop
Gadget Unlock
Dialog Boxes
Alarm_Unlock
And other small UI Tweaks
Inventory:
Main Menu:
Drone Stats:
Death Screen:
Success Screen:
Workshop Update:
In the workshop you are now able to get all the information about the item, as well as *ROTATE* the camera in 360*
Gadget Unlock:
Dialog Boxes:
Alarm Unlock
The Story
Now the second huge thing I've almost finished is "The Story", which has been requested by a lot of people. It's still being made and the reason why this updates needs more time, brining
finally the story elements that will explain the place of "The Seeker" in this universe among its history.
The Story mode, and a great suggestion by steam user CRETOMILDE has brought our first "moon-map"!, called CRETOMILDE;
With an addition of the new and first map of the game called Metahawk which is also a tribute to T. Jung for the suggestions he made.
Cretomilde:
Metahawk:
Thank you all for reading!
Bridger Update - 0.28 [WIP]
The Bugs...
Hello everyone! Its been a long 3 weeks for me developing and I must say, I'm sorry it took me extra 4 days, and I'm sorry as well that this update, is 0.28, meaning some of the things is delayed until I manage the bugs.
The new enemy is extremely bugged in the new map, and the new map does not respond well to the enemy as well so it'll take another week+ sadly for the second map.
However, 1 new map is completely done, with a small puzzle, and an a bit interesting level design.
What this update offers is most of the things from the list of the Bridger Update [0.3] but since only one map will be released this week, and the second, that will feature the new enemy is delayed, this update will stand 0.28.
Once again thank you for participating in The Seeker development, it means a lot, and hope you enjoy this update.
Change log:
New Map Claren
Disabled enemies now have timer shown on them
Each time the enemy is disabled, the timer is show on top of the enemy, to make players plan out their strategy even more
New HighPoly models
New SSR Effect
New visual representation when Alarm is triggered
New texutres and animations to the Energy Regenerator
Lasers are now constant - no more time changing (They are not randomly turned on and off, rather have a fixed interval at each start of level)
Buffed Friendly Turret on Berserker Mode
Decreased generator power consumption at the Berserker Mode
Added Turret Range indicator when placing Turrets in Berserker Mode
Added a small "puzzle"
Shift+R Key to rotate backwards (request)
Fixed enemy paths, bugging out
Fixed GI issues with backfacing
Fixed Camera being able to detect when players disable an enemy
Removed Energy Generating
And a lot more
Bridger Update 0.3
So after gathering a lot of information from a great user, called T. Jung, in which for his contribution will get his own level!
So thanks T. Jung for helping and making the game even better.
Now regarding the Bridger Update:
What is new in the upcoming Bridger Update?
ETA of Update: 20.10.2016
2 New maps: Clerance and "Unnamed" until T. picks up a name
Added a main story (The reason why Seeker exists in the first place, and his purpose in the game)
New enemy Drone "Raven"
High agility and speed
Can detect you even if stealth
Low damage, but slows you for 30%
In order to avoid him you have to plan your strategy, find a way to disable him before he detects you
Can be reprogrammed to capture an enemy drone and fight for your side (requires a hard mini game, or finding a special terminal)
Or it can be fully disabled, but requires a lot of work to do such.
New task that reveals more parts of the story, and makes sense of the gameplay
New high-poly models
New SSR Effect
New visual representation of when the Alarm System is triggered
New texutres and animations to the Energy Regenerator
Lasers have now a constant time changing (They are not randomly turned on and off, rather have a fixed interval at each start of level)
Buffed Friendly Turret speed at the Berserker Mode
Decreased generator power consumption at the Berserker Mode
Added Turret Range indicator when placing Turrets in Berserker Mode
Added puzzles to the game, with lasers, boxes and a lot of other cool stuff
Door Buster Ability
At the start of the 2 new levels, there will be optional quests or paths to proceed towards the level
You can find "Abilities" in their facilities (Door Buster, for instance can be found in the Tech Room, and be used to brake a few doors or walls in order to pass or enter a usually non-accessible rooms
Turrets, walls and anything place-able, can be rotated in opposite directions with using the Shift+R Key (request)
Enemy paths are now slowly visible, for easier and more tactical gameplay
Fixed enemy patrols being bugged out
Fixed enemy range not displaying correctly
Fixed enemy being able to detect sometimes even when stealth
Fixed GI issues with the lightning
Fixed Camera being able to detect when players disable an enemy
Fixed Hacking issues while being not stealthed
Completely Removed energy regeneration
More hacking options (Hacking minigame)
And a lot more!
Once again I would like to thank anyone who is participating in the Early Access by buying the game, or even helping me out fixing crucial bugs. All help will be rewarded, just like T. Jung got his level tribute, so thanks again everyone.
See you soon!
Claren
Berserker Update - 0.2
What Update 0.2 offers:
Be aware the new mode is not fully tested, due to its randomness, and being very fresh out of the box. It might be also not very balanced, on either sides, so I'm expecting feedback to fix/buff/nerf if needed
Cheers, and thank you!
New map: The Forum
New mode Berserker!
- Mode where you transport supplies
- You can set deadly turrets, and protective walls
- Plan your attack! You can expore the map before you start
- Fight the Energy! Find all the Energy Towers and bring power to the turrets!
Enhanced the tutorial
More precise Teleportation location
Points are reworked (From now on they will be for buying special skins, unlocked through the campaign)
Removed Drone Shop
Removed Energy Rengen - Not removed completely, however devided by 8.5whing brings 0.1 energy per sec)
Added Selector Gadget (On start of higher levels, you can choose one of the gadgets which will aid you along with the decoy)
Added Energy Depots - Small batteries wherey ou can recharge you Energy
Added a bunch of new Visual Effects into the game
Added new Color Grading Effect
Added 2 cursors - Selector and in game cursor
Dying enemies now explode properly and their parts, decay over time
Fixed being detectable while in stealth on some random occasions
Fixed collider and collision issues with "The Wall" after it broke
Fixed Enemy particles not working on some instances
Fixed Enemy Turret issues (Seeing through walls at some times)
Fixed Turret Rotation - Now more precise, and faster
Fixed bullet bounce
Fixed some achivements not working on random instances
Improved Players physics - Players should fall less if not ever through the floor
Improved Lightning with new particle system
Fixed random crashes
And a lot lot more
Upcoming Major Update 0.2
The Big Update
Today I'll be discussing mayor changes to the games structure, in the upcoming 0.2 update.
The first and the biggest change will be an additional mode to the game, where the mission will be a bit more complex in a way that it doesn't just involve hacking the data, but protecting the supplies.
Berserker mode:
In this Berserker mode, the main focus will by you starting and exploring the map, where no cameras no lasers will be. This will allow players to scan the area and prepare for the defense when the transferring begins.
Now in order for defenses to work, you need to fuel up the Defense generator that keeps the turrets and doors online. Losing power means, your turrets will be disabled, thus making for the enemies a lot easier to pass.
The second line of defense are the classified wall which have health and are not effected by the power.
And the third line of defense is YOU. Yes, you'll can take energy from the generator itself and set devastating weapons, like the laser beam, or a
You can currently set in the map:
- Your own turret (100% damage 0.4 fire rate per second) - The most deadliest turret of all time. Placing this badass at the right spot and you can be secure most of the time at a zone.
After the mode is on, your goal is simple. Keep the generator alive, and send the supplies to space.
Energy Regeneration:
Energy regeneration will be reduced drastically. The reason behind this, is that users are too powerful for a game that should punish non-stealth, and rambo mode. This game is about you using the best of your ability to go stealthy, and use it very wisely.
There will however be Energy Stations where you can recharge your energy, for at least 50% or more.
Upgrades:
I've totally changed the way upgrades work. There will be most likely no point system anymore, and upgrades will not work as they do, by buying them in the upgrade menu.
What does this create?
Tactical and gameplay decisions. A user has spoken that creating this will make the gameplay a lot more fun, as you have to find the upgrade you choose, and watch over the energy while you do it.
Yes it does create a lot harder missions, however levels and upgrades will have meaning and a players decision on the approach for the level.
Also energy consumption will now have to be very careful of how players use it, to limit the rambo mode.
When can we expect this update
If all goes as planned, till the end of this week. There could be a small delay of a day or two, however it should be done by the 19th of this month!
More news soon!
