with this update for the month of October you will receive the last regular monthly development update for The Unbeatable Path. Since I have almost completed the game and am now moving more into polishing and marketing, I will be posting smaller update news from now on as the appropriate milestones are reached. I'm proud to have reached this point of development and I'm looking forward to the last stage before the release. Now to the actual October update: The penultimate map "Outer Sanctum" has been completely finished and the last level "Inner Sanctum" has also been almost completed. When this one is done, the remaining voiceovers will be implemented, the whole game will be optimized and the final trailer will be created. From this point on I will start with the marketing campaign.
Project Progress
"Outer Sanctum" completed: the puzzle of the level was extensively tested and optimized based on this outcome. Some 3D models were also reworked, more particle effects were created, jumpscares were implemented and the transition to the final map was implemented as well.
"Inner Sanctum" almost finished: in this level the player goes on his last way over narrow paths and through the gates of hell to the grand finale. The level design has almost been completed but the various end sequences are still missing and will be implemented during November.
"Inner Sanctum" 3D models, effects and materials created: since the player is in the deep interior of hell in this map, accordingly a lot of new 3D models, particle effects as well as many materials were created and optimized to reflect this environment immersively.
Eye Candy
Here is a sneak peek of the final level "Inner Sanctum". All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the final game.
A Screenshot of the narrow path to the gates of hell:
The judge does not let everyone move on:
Development Update September 2022
Hello horror friends,
next month is just around the corner, which means for us: time for the development update of The Unbeatable Path for the month of September. This month I've been going full throttle again and almost finished the penultimate map "Outer Sanctum". Some 3D models, effects, sounds and the level design were finished. In addition, I have already planned a playtest for the level and the next recording session for our voice actress, which will take place soon. All in all it was a very productive month again.
Project Progress
"Outer Sanctum" almost finished: The level is relatively wide and reflects the harsh landscape of hell well. In this map, the player has to climb a mountain and solve the final puzzle to enter the last level "Inner Sanctum". The level is 80% completed and in the next step, we will do a QA test and implement some missing cutscenes.
3D models created: For the new level, some new 3D models for the environment and the puzzle were created. You can get a small glimpse of them below.
Animations created: For "Outer Sanctum", of course, some animations were needed again. These have already been partially created. All missing animations are planned for recording with a mocap session next week.
Recording session prepared: There were still some scenes and monologues to be written and prepared for our voice actress that were still missing. This task is now finished so we can start with the next big recording session soon.
Eye Candy
As always, you can get an update on the development process here. All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the finished game.
A Screenshot of the new Map "Outer Sanctum":
Some objects needed for the new puzzle:.
An insight into the new puzzle:
Development Update August 2022
Hello puzzle friends,
it's time again for the next development update for The Unbeatable Path for the month of August. Before we start, here's an important announcement: The final Early Access release date has now been set to February 2023. More about this in the detailed project progress overview. Now to the actual monthly update: We were able to finish the new Keyart and based on it we also reworked the whole Steam page. The store page now reflects the current state of the game except for the trailer. We also finished the map "River of Styx" and worked on the missing cutscenes.
Project Progress
Postponing the release date to February 2023: The game is currently 80% complete and I could meet the original deadline of October this year, but still want to take more time to polish the game further to achieve the best possible quality I can as a single developer. Also, I still have a 3 month period scheduled to create a trailer and boost marketing in that time frame. Hence the delay to 2023.
"River Of Styx "finished: The map including the level cutscenes is now finished. Some effects like fog, smoke, fire and other particles were added. Some 3D objects were reworked and all collisions were adjusted and tested.
Steam presence reworked: The entire Steam store page including the keyart, logo, descriptions, screenshots and game scenes have been completely reworked. The Steam page and graphics now reflect the current state of development of the game, except for the trailer.
Story Cutscenes: Currently some story cutscenes of Mia are still missing for the already finished levels "Staring Woods", "Endless Manor" and "River Of Styx". For these, 3D objects, animations and the level design are currently being created. This task is expected to be completed next month.
Eye Candy
Here is a graphic of the new store presence and a glimpse of the new cutscenes. All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the finished game.
Here is the new keyart including the new logo:
Screenshot of the level from one of the new cutscenes:.
3D asset from the cutscene:
Development Update July 2022
Hello puzzle friends,
July is coming to an end, which means for us: Time for a new development update of The Unbeatable Path. Our focus this month was mainly on creating the new level "River Of Styx". For this, we produced some assets, implemented the next puzzle, and almost finished the level design. In addition, a playtest was conducted with external testers, and work was started on the revision of the Steam graphics.
Project progress
"River Of Styx" almost finished: the level design for this map is almost complete. The layout has been completed, all assets have been created and placed and the game mechanics have been implemented. Next, particle effects will be added and object collisions will be reworked.
New map puzzle completed: the assets have been completed and the game mechanics of the new puzzle have been implemented, tested, and optimized. In the new puzzle, you have to use star constellations to set a mechanism in motion to cross the river Styx.
Playtest with external testers: The playtest went well and showed no major bugs. Nevertheless, some weaknesses in the game mechanics & puzzles were found. These will now be fixed in the coming month.
Steam graphics revamp: we are currently revamping the entire Steam presence and the game's logo. This task will be completed soon, so we are looking forward to presenting you the results next month.
Eye Candy
Here you can already get some impressions of the progress of the new map. All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the finished game.
A small overview of the new map "River Of Styx":.
Part of a puzzle of the level.
The path to the bank of the river Styx:
Development Update June 2022
Hello puzzle friends,
Welcome to the June development update of The Unbeatable Path. This month we were able to complete the newest map "Endless Manor". We also implemented a new skybox and together with it we optimized and improved the lighting conditions of all maps. Also, the code was optimized for several systems. On the one hand, the level streaming system was reworked and on the other hand, the save/load system was optimized.
Project progress
"Endless Manor" completed: the performance problems that had shown up in our last gameplay tests have been completely fixed and the gameplay now plays as ideally as intended due to the new map layout, among other things. After all gameplay and performance tests were positive, we can now start with the next map "Ocean Of Pain".
Skybox reworked: the quality of the skybox did not meet our qualitative expectations and was therefore completely reworked. The new skybox now reflects the hell setting much better and prompted us to make further improvements to the other maps.
Level tweaks: to better show off the skybox, we massively removed the visibility limit on some maps, reworked the fog, and optimized the lighting for a better, more immersive gameplay experience that matches the setting. This resulted in a completely new look for open levels, as best seen in the screenshot of the map "The Awakening".
Levelstreaming system reworked: to get the most out of lighting the maps, the levelstreaming system has been reworked so that we load & unload lightmaps during gameplay to ensure optimal lighting along with the best performance.
Save/Load system optimized: the Save & Load system has been optimized so that there is now much less code for the entire system. This in turn leads to optimized save & load speed and less problem-prone code.
Eye candy
Here are some visual impressions of the improved systems and the new map. All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the finished game.
New screenshot of the finished map "Endless Manor":
New Skybox in "Tower Of Choices":.
Example of the improved lighting conditions in combination with the skybox in "The Awakening":
Development Update May 2022
Hello puzzle friends,
and welcome to another development update from The Unbeatable Path. In May we were able to complete 90% of the next map called "Endless Manor". This level takes place in an old manor house and holds some surprises for the player. More assets were created for this map and we also found the time for a playtest. Based on this, we had to make some fundamental adjustments to the map, as some gameplay & performance problems had become apparent. We will finish the new level in June.
Project Progress
New map "Endless Manor" 90% complete: In Endless Manor, the player enters an old manor house that is haunted by some restless souls. The many corridors hold some surprises for the player and are designed to change dynamically depending on how the player is moving. The sound design, along with the other infernal assets and creatures, still creates an oppressive and terrifying feeling in this somewhat lighter environment.
Quality assurance & gameplay tests: The new map was extensively tested for potential bugs, gameplay issues, and performance. It turned out that the new map was a bit too small and a new gameplay mechanic had a strong impact on performance. Based on these tests, the map layout was completely reworked and improved. The performance problems have also been completely fixed.
3D Modeling & Animation: Besides some new assets created for this map, new animations found their way into the game as well. One of them is an animation of a ritual that the player has to perform in order to advance in the level.
Lighting revised: Since you can play through the whole game in one flow and without loading screens, there were problems with the lighting calculation in some places. These have now been fixed by moving all the lighting for each level out into more sub-levels and we only load the lighting of those sub-levels when it is needed.
Eye Candy
Now for the fun part: here you can find some screenshots of our new map "Endless Manor". All assets are still in progress and can therefore still change in the finished game.
