Implemented a starting dialogue, adding more resolution settings and graphics options
Improved general performance, especially on MacOS
Steam achievements now trigger ingame
Fixed the achievement "Gotta Light?"
Lore items should now be displayed correctly on higher resolutions
Catched a rogue bird on town square
Added a new "face" to the band
Fixed an issue with Leni and her TV in Chapter Four
Fixed a bug in the Finale
Improved Czech and Polish subtitles
Thank you all for your ongoing feedback and bug reports.
Lots of greetings from Team Trüberbrook!
Update #2 is live!
The second update for Trüberbrook is live:
Improvements on Chinese, Korean and Japanese localization
Improved video performance on some systems ("black screen intro video bug")
Fixed a bug that caused unlimited supplies of "Bolzenschuss" in the cellar
Fixed the strongman game
Fixed a rare inventory bug when starting a new game
Fixed several of minor bugs throughout the game
We are aware that there are some performance-related issues, especially on macOS, and are focussing on these issues right now, as well as on overall improvements. Thank you all for your feedback and bug reports. We read and note every tiny bit of it and work non-stop to improve the game.
Lots of greetings from Team Trüberbrook!
The Making of Truberbrook #3: Characters 3 - Technical Completion
In our last update our character artist Benny spoke about the creative development process of the Trüberbrook characters. After one of the characters is finished on paper, the drawings go to the technical team led by Technical Artist Hans Böhme.
How did you proceed after you received a character drawing?
After receiving Bennys character designs, we try to recognize and understand the the most striking features of the designs and then translate the 2d shapes to 3d ones as close as possible to the original drawings. We do this by sculpting a very detailed version of the 3d model which later gets simplified for the game. We then transfer the details of the high density mesh to the simplified 3d model by baking so called normal maps. Normal maps are textures that "fake" detail on more simple surfaces and makes them look almost as good as the original model but at the same time saving huge amounts of rendering time for the computer.
Next we texture the models, which means we are giving them colours and surface informations such as "How shiny is the surface of a model?" or "Is this surface made of metal or another substance?". We also rig the characters, which means we give them basic skeletons that define which area of a model deforms if a certain part of the skeleton moves. Lastly we animate the characters using those skeletons, which in my opinion is one of the most fun and fascinating parts, because here the characters start to come alive and look like living things. After importing all those different parts – the models, the textures and the animations – into our engine, we finally have a game-ready 3D-character to use in the game.
And what are difficulties or problems that can appear?
Sometimes things that work in a 2d drawing do not necessarily work as good on a 3d representation of that character. For example the proportions of certain body parts look really cool from a specific angle in the drawings but look kind of weird if you can examine the characters from many different angles in the 3d software. We then try to balance out those proportions or find other solutions to make the characters look good from all angles and still convey the same feeling of the character as the drawings do.
The first update for Trüberbrook is live! Thanks to all of you who keep us busy reporting bugs and giving us feedback. We really appreciate that! More updates incoming.
Added Steam Cloud Save
Fixed some Chinese Localization Errors
Fixed a bug which showed a wrong portrait for Greta in the Prologue
Fixed a bug which kept Hans asking for the cablecar key even after using the key
Fixed a Linux bug that made the Quit button useless
As a litte thank you for your support and feedback we just released the free DLC "Trüberbrook Travel Guide". Learn a little bit more about Trüberbrook and its citizens in a 24 pages booklet.
Lots of greetings from Team Trüberbrook!
A big "thank you" to all you adventurers out there!
Yesterday was a big day for all of us - and we are still pretty excited and happy about how many of you have played Trüberbrook already! Thanks for all your feedback and thanks to all of you who keep us busy reporting bugs! We are already working on it and will start fixing as soon as possible. We’ll keep you updated!
Lots of greetings from Team Trüberbrook!
3...2...1...and we’re live!
Exactly from this moment on you can buy Trüberbrook!
We are overjoyed to finally be able to show you the game we’ve been working on so hard for such a long time. We wish you lots of fun on your trip to Trüberbrook!
Also take a look on out brandnew Lauch Trailer in both English and German language:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKeNV7WH0tg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiPU20H1js0
The Making of Truberbrook #3: Characters 2 - Sketches & Drafts
In the last update we reported how the good people of Trüberbrook learned to speak. But of course that's not enough for a proper video game character. This update will focus on how they got their unique looks (including: face, body and of course their own style to dress).
So let's get Benjamin Denkert on board, who worked with Game Director Florian on the individual looks in long sessions, then finely handcrafted them with pencil and brought the characters of Trüberbrook to life.
Hey Benny, could you give us a little insight into your work life? What does a typical working day look like for you?
"I was responsible for the Character Designs in Trüberbrook as well as the development of their visual style; that means I generally spend my day drawing loads of rough sketches and silhouettes for new characters, creating finished illustrations and drinking rather inhuman amounts of tea. But I think that I also spent quite some time trying to sneak some of my mischievous ideas into Game Director Florian’s scripts. With mediocre success ... for better or worse."
Let’s talk about Trüberbrook! What was it like when you first heard about the story and the different characters? Did you already have people in your mind?
"When I first got invited to work for Trüberbrook I was immediately blown away by all the finished sets and models the team showed me. So there was no question in my mind about participating in that project. I prefer to work with my hands and traditional media so I felt so connected to the team and their vision.
When it comes to the Character style and designs, no, not at all. We all tried to keep an open mind to different approaches and experiments, so I spent the better part of the first month developing different styles that could be used in the game, from very cartoony to more realistic. The game has only one set camera perspective and no closeups, so I had to rely on other features then facial expressions to make the characters distinguished, for example shapes and silhouettes. As soon as we figured out what style we wanted to implement, we started working on the main character. If my memory serves me well, we ended up with about 30-40 heads with different art styles and looks, as well as 15 full body designs of Dr. Hans Tannhauser."
How does the process continue from the first idea to the finished figure?
"Well, in general, I began by annoying Florian as long as possible until he started to list all the features and traits he wished for a certain character to have. For example personality, role and positioning in the story, as well as the interaction with the protagonist. As soon as I was satisfied with the information, I gathered I started to scribble away – very loose and fast, not thinking about faces but shapes and silhouettes at first. Yes our characters have faces, haha but what you will see and interact with most of the time are their general shapes and gestures. When I had enough material that contains the right message, I would start to think about features, like little funny gimmicks or clothes and sketch them. After that, I usually created a selection of possible face and the next step was to combine all the sketches and experiments while trying to find a good base for the whole character. If I found something I was happy with, I would start illustrating the character concepts in multiple variations until we had a finished character that we all could agree on. In some cases I continued by filling sheets and sheets of paper with gestures and facial expressions or even turn around drawings of a character so I could pass all the material to Hans, our technical artist for the 3D modeling."
What happens to Benny's designs when he passes them over to the technical team will be revealed in a new update soon!
The Making of Truberbrook #3: Characters 2 - Sketches & Drafts
In the last update we reported how the good people of Trüberbrook learned to speak. But of course that's not enough for a proper video game character. This update will focus on how they got their unique looks (including: face, body and of course their own style to dress).
So let's get Benjamin Denkert on board, who worked with Game Director Florian on the individual looks in long sessions, then finely handcrafted them with pencil and brought the characters of Trüberbrook to life.
Hey Benny, could you give us a little insight into your work life? What does a typical working day look like for you?
"I was responsible for the Character Designs in Trüberbrook as well as the development of their visual style; that means I generally spend my day drawing loads of rough sketches and silhouettes for new characters, creating finished illustrations and drinking rather inhuman amounts of tea. But I think that I also spent quite some time trying to sneak some of my mischievous ideas into Game Director Florian’s scripts. With mediocre success ... for better or worse."
Let’s talk about Trüberbrook! What was it like when you first heard about the story and the different characters? Did you already have people in your mind?
"When I first got invited to work for Trüberbrook I was immediately blown away by all the finished sets and models the team showed me. So there was no question in my mind about participating in that project. I prefer to work with my hands and traditional media so I felt so connected to the team and their vision.
When it comes to the Character style and designs, no, not at all. We all tried to keep an open mind to different approaches and experiments, so I spent the better part of the first month developing different styles that could be used in the game, from very cartoony to more realistic. The game has only one set camera perspective and no closeups, so I had to rely on other features then facial expressions to make the characters distinguished, for example shapes and silhouettes. As soon as we figured out what style we wanted to implement, we started working on the main character. If my memory serves me well, we ended up with about 30-40 heads with different art styles and looks, as well as 15 full body designs of Dr. Hans Tannhauser."
How does the process continue from the first idea to the finished figure?
"Well, in general, I began by annoying Florian as long as possible until he started to list all the features and traits he wished for a certain character to have. For example personality, role and positioning in the story, as well as the interaction with the protagonist. As soon as I was satisfied with the information, I gathered I started to scribble away – very loose and fast, not thinking about faces but shapes and silhouettes at first. Yes our characters have faces, haha but what you will see and interact with most of the time are their general shapes and gestures. When I had enough material that contains the right message, I would start to think about features, like little funny gimmicks or clothes and sketch them. After that, I usually created a selection of possible face and the next step was to combine all the sketches and experiments while trying to find a good base for the whole character. If I found something I was happy with, I would start illustrating the character concepts in multiple variations until we had a finished character that we all could agree on. In some cases I continued by filling sheets and sheets of paper with gestures and facial expressions or even turn around drawings of a character so I could pass all the material to Hans, our technical artist for the 3D modeling."
What happens to Benny's designs when he passes them over to the technical team will be revealed in a new update soon!
Just like our sceneries, we wanted to make the sound of Trüberbrook as handmade as possible. We waited for autumn to record the birds singing, the whispering of the woods and much more outside in the local nature. We know that this might sound completely nuts, but these details are really important to us.
At this point once again a huge thank you to all Kickstarter Backers who supported us so generously at the end of 2017. Only this way we were able to create a handmade soundscape.
A little fun fact regarding the music of Trüberbrook: The soundtrack was created long, long time before the game was finished. After intensive meetings with the musical directors Sebastian Nagel and Albrecht Schrader, in which game director Florian spoiled the game completely (he reported in detail about the different locations, the unique, provincial and yet sometimes highly exciting atmosphere in our little village Trüberbrook and about all the surprising twists and turns), the two musicians created a soundtrack with a playing time of about 40 minutes.
It is an original composition to fit the mood of the game – sort of a tranquil “doom jazz”. Inspirations come from the works of Tom Waits, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Lanegan, Timber Timbre or Bohren & The Club of Gore.
But why do we tell you all this at all? We have two small snippets for you here. Just listen to it yourself:
The Making of Truberbrook #1: Hand-Crafted Scenery
Only a few days to go till Trüberbrook will be available for PC, Mac and Linux. And yeah, we can't be more happy about it! That's why we want to give you a short overview about all the work we did within the last three years of developing Trüberbrook. We hope you like it!
One of the most distinctive features of the game is the unique visual style. The sceneries are purely handmade. 'Handmade' as in: 'Manufactured using real hands!' And fingers!
Not the most efficient way of doing things, but certainly the most inefficient one. We're loving it, though! Look at what we do here, piece by piece, by the sweat of our brows. Every little detail is custom-made.
The models are digitized using a technique called photogrammetry and later retopologized. This way we get highly detailed polygon models that blend perfectly with our digital characters.
It is a lot of work, but also quite exciting! You may ask yourself, how can they reach this level of detail? Are there very tiny people involved? They can't accomplish all of this with mere human hands, right? Well yes, we can! The answer might be our abundance of professional hands. Twenty-four seven at our disposal in all shapes and colors, they get things done!
Every scene gets an individual treatment and is staged with actual physical lighting. This allows us to simulate different hours of the day or weather conditions. Even a change of seasons is possible just by redecorating the set with real tiny little snowflakes, no joke.
This way we achieve an exceptional and magical look that visually reflects the world of Trüberbrook.
