(Small animated gif to showcase the general current state of the game)
Week 9
Hi and welcome to the ninth development blog for Unleash!
The new UI, previously mentioned multiple times, is finally nearing completion. Additionally, we are working on finally bringing leaderboards into the game visually.
New UI
We have implemented the bulk of the in-game UI, and are now in the process of testing it. It needs to be thoroughly tested over some duration of time to ensure that there are no breaking changes. The new UI is vastly different from the old UI in look and feel, even though the functionality has generally stayed the same. There are still a number of fixes and tweaks needed, before the new UI is ready for public release. However, having it implemented in the game means that it is testable, so this is a major step for the game.
(The pool menu UI for all monsters.)
With this new UI, we can easily show more monsters than we could previously. Additionally, the floating elements without backgrounds means that the background is partially visible behind the buttons.
(The pool menu UI for all structures.)
The structure pool menu is functionally and visually as close to the monster pool menu as possible, in order to have consistency in the UI look and feel. The red buttons are tinted due to me not being able to afford the structure at the time I took the screenshot.
(The game state UI showing your own resources, as well as the resources of your assailant and target.)
The state of the game - your own resources, life, spawned monster count and the countdown till next income - is now grouped together with the bulk of the UI in the bottom of the screen, and the amount of colors in it has been reduced.
(The new minimap UI.)
The minimap is so far still pretty much the same. It has been given a colored border. Eventually we will probably have some background texture for the minimap to make it more interesting.
Leaderboards
Leaderboards (ranking) is also a feature that has been underway for a while. Since the new UI is settling in, the time has come for implementing the visual representation of leaderboards. The first step for leaderboards will be limited to the Classic TD game mode. Each TD scenario has its own leaderboard, and we are thinking to show the leaderboards through their own menu point in the menus, as well as when a TD scenario game ends. The functionality for the leaderboards is more or less finalized, but the UI is still very much in progress.
(Work in progress for leaderboard UI.)
Closing Remarks
UI, UI and even more UI. We are working hard to finish up the implementation of new in-game UI and leaderboards UI. We have reached the point of being able to test the new UI internally, so a public release is not far away.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 28th of November at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Week 8 :: Dev Blog
(Small animated gif to showcase the general current state of the game)
Week 8
Hi and welcome to the eighth development blog for Unleash!
The past week has been focused on two main areas: new map design and new UI. While the new map design is already partly released - there is still more to come in this regard - the UI is still very much in progress and may still be some time away from a public release. Additionally, the Teleporter tower has received some much needed visual effects.
Map Design
As mentioned in the previous development blog for Week 7, we have been working on a new map design for a few weeks. Finally the first iteration of the new map design has been released today. It features the ‘arena’ or ‘stadium’ inspired look, mixed with a fantasy / sci-fi setting. The spawn gates, for example, can appear somewhat futuristic. The new map design boxes the playable lane in much more and shows more clearly the extents of the buildable lane.
(The new map design from end-to-end.)
New UI In Progress
The first iteration on the new UI design has been completed, and is now in the process of being implemented into the game. The new UI features are much more sleek, minimalistic and modern look, with simple buttons, rounded corners and floating elements. Additionally, most of the UI is shown at the bottom of the screen, so as to minimize the distance that your eyes need to travel to get an overview of the game state. We are hoping that the new UI will solve or at least alleviate some of the challenges associated with being a new Unleash player, which can for some be a daunting and overwhelming experience.
(Comparison of the new UI (top) and the old UI (bottom))
Teleporter VFX
The ‘Teleporter’ tower has been in the game for a while now, but it has been lacking a very clear indication of whether it is charged and ready to fire or still under cooldown. Additionally, it was using the same ‘lightning bolt’ effect that other towers use, only in a different color. Now, finally, it has been given its own dedicated trail effect when firing, as well as a visual effect that only shows when the tower is ready to teleport a monster.
(The teleporter tower with its VFX.)
New Grumperjumper Model
We are currently working on a new iteration for the ‘Grumperjumper’ monster, based on new concept art. Its functionality will stay the same, but the model will be more monstrous to look at. The concept art is done, and the monster is currently being modelled and animated in Maya.
(New ‘Grumperjumper’ concept art and 3D model - work in progress.)
Closing Remarks
New map design, new UI and many small additions, bug fixes and improvements - such as the addition of visual effects for the Teleporter tower, were implemented or worked on during this week.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 21st of November at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Unleash Game Update 17-11-2017
0.1.1411.96
Additions:
New lane/map "gate" with visual effects showing where monsters spawn and where the player's "life shield" is. Thus, removed the old "pipes" system.
New lane/map "separators" (before, between and after individual lanes) based on the idea of a tournament arena.
Teleporter tower has a visual effect playing when it is "charged" and ready to teleport a monster. Also a trail particle has replaced the previous 'lightning bolt' used.
Flak 88 has new Impact VFX.
Changes:
New Razorlegs Tier 4 model with special animations for climbing and descending structures, as it runs directly towards the goal.
Minor balancing tweaks for: Teleporter, Gloomglider, Barfblob, Razorlegs Tier 4, Snowripper and Magmaback.
With the new map design which no longer utilizes Tesselation, we can reduce the DirectX requirement to 9.0c (Shader Model 3.0).
Monsters have only 1 row they may spawn on, and that row is narrowed in by one cell. This is to make it look better with the new spawn gate.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed a bug with a missing material for Boombelly's death VFX.
Skyhook, Tesla Coil, Lightning Tower AA and Teleporter target creatures' center with their hook and lightning bolts, rather than at the base of creatures.
Skyhook's harpoon is hidden while hooking a creature.
Minor performance improvement for Crackleclouds.
Week 7 :: Dev Blog
(Small animated gif to showcase the general current state of the game)
Week 7
Hi and welcome to the seventh development blog for Unleash!
This week has mainly revolved around more polishing and basically making ready for the public Early Access release. To this end, we are working on the map design, resolving outstanding networking issues and doing small general tweaks and visual improvements.
Map Design
The new map design includes new “lane separators” - to visually separate the lanes of individual players. This replaces the “mountain range” that we have previously had, with ‘tournament stands’ inspired by sports and gladiator- stadiums. Eventually we will investigate whether we can GPU simulate a crowd of people on the stands, accompanied by the sounds of a cheering or booing crowd, depending on the player’s performance. We will also want a system to support variance in the stands, as currently it is the same model and textures being tiled.
(Shows the new separators - inspired by stadium ‘stands’. Also teases the new gate with a pulsating, animated emission color. This is still a work in progress.)
Additionally, the new map design includes new spawn and lifeshield ‘gates’ - where monsters emerge from and enter into. The new ‘gates’ are meant to look like a sci-fi inspired teleportation gate. Currently, it is missing a particle system-based VFX resembling a type of ‘force field wall’ between the gate pillars, but that will be implemented in some form before releasing this update. The assailant’s player color is shown in the spawn gate, so the gate’s color indicates which player spawns against you. The life shield’s color is your own player color.
(The new gates with pulsating, animated emission color. We are still using the old pipes, although to a less extent. This may change though. This is still a work in progress.)
The final advantage gained from this new map design is that we can reduce the DirectX requirement to version 9.0c - Shader Model 3.0. The old map design’s separators - the ‘mountain range’ - was generated at runtime through GPU tessellation, which required at least DirectX 11 - Shader Model 4.0. Thus, any players who may have previously seen the map as a great big red smudge, should now see the correct rendering - assuming they have a graphics card that isn’t very old.
Networking Stability
We are using a third party software to power our deterministic, lockstep-based networking model. Through close collaboration with them and many iterations we have been working to improve the stability of the network and avoid as many fallouts as possible. A part of this has been focused on updating our implementation in the game to the newest provided version of the library, which has been done this week. Thus, our internal tests indicate that the networking stability of the game is reaching a satisfactory level.
Targeting
Certain towers utilize a ‘lightning bolt’ VFX or similar for their targeting / shooting. Previously, they would generally hit at the base of monsters. Now instead they will target the center of monsters, which visually makes more sense and looks more correct. This is especially visible in the case of certain flying monsters versus Skyhook towers. The center of the monster’s collider is now used as the targeting point, instead of the base of the model.
(Monsters are targeted at the center of their model, rather than at the base of it as previously.)
Closing Remarks
Polishing and map design were the main points for this week. Some networking issues were resolved, lots of bugs were fixed and the new map design should make for a more aesthetically pleasing map, in addition to reducing the DirectX requirement to play the game.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 14th of November at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session, although it has been a few weeks since last, we plan to stream again - starting with this next session.
If you haven’t already, get your free Unleash beta Steam key through our website. The free open beta will run for a limited time period, so use the chance to try it out now for free with your friends!
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Week 6 :: Dev Blog
(Small animated gif to showcase the general current state of the game)
Week 6
Hi and welcome to the sixth development blog for Unleash!
This week has been focused on bug fixing and improving the stability of the game. The two main areas for bug fixing were networking, as we are in the process of updating our networking libraries, and the AI desynchronization issue that we have been aware of for a few weeks, but only now have had the time and opportunity to look into seriously. While bug fixing may not be particularly “sexy” to write or read about, it is of paramount importance for games so that the game runs with as few technical issues as possible. We are however also working on new graphical content, including a new fully upgraded Razorlegs model, new level design and leaderboards.
AI Desynchronization - No More!
Desynchronization issues in a deterministic game are generally horrible to debug and correct. There are so many things that can go wrong; the slightest floating point error or minor logical fallacy may result in completely desynchronized game states, which obviously breaks the gaming experience, when you and your mate both believe yourself to be the winner. We have known about a desynchronization issue with our AIs for a while, but we didn’t know why or where specifically the issue came from. Today we finally found the issue and luckily it was extremely simple to fix; it turned out to be a particular AI type (Mr. Think) accidentally using the local (human) player’s state, rather than its own. Since local players may have vastly different states (e.g. creature and structure state), this obviously lead to desynchronization. Now that the issue should be resolved, it is safe to play multiple humans vs bots again in Unleash!
Machine Learning AI
We have been working and investigating AIs based on machine learning for some weeks now. The prospects are phenomenal: Truly learning AIs that improve over time as more games are played, constantly learning from each other and real players how to play Unleash and win. However, the road ahead is still long before we see them actually playing any public games. The topic of machine learning AIs is huge and famous implementations include Google’s image recognition and autonomous vehicles, but we don’t know of any “real” (commercially viable) games that actually utilize machine learning, even though we think the prospects in this regard are absolutely fantastic. Hopefully, Unleash can start a new trend with totally awesome, always challenging and evolving AI in games.
Leaderboards
We are working on leaderboards currently, using Steamworks functionality to achieve it. The idea is that each Tower Defense scenario will have its own leaderboard, and Line Tower Wars will of course also have one. Leaderboards will keep top 64 or possibly more globally, but we also want to show both your own rank and those immediately around your rank, in addition to your a leaderboard with just your Steam friends. Leaderboards are a part of an attempt at facilitating more competitive gameplay. While the implementation is fairly close to being ready, we don’t have any UI in place to show it yet. Thus, for now this is just a pre-teaser.
Level Design
Our level design has been a bit of a pain point for us, for a while now. We feel like our levels are too simplistic and ‘bare’, rendering them a bit boring to look at. Therefore we have been discussing and prototyping solutions for level design. We have a few concerns in this regard: Levels should first and foremost be pleasing to look at, without taking away too much attention. The game is already quite colorful through our monsters, towers and visual effects. The level should not steal that attention away. Additionally, the level need to be low-budget on performance, so that they don’t cost too much precious processing power. Finally, it is our hope that we can release a ‘map editor’ eventually, enabling our players to design and create their own custom levels. These requirements obviously pose some interesting challenges that we are attempting to solve through prototyping.
(Screenshot of a work-in-progress for a possible new design of the lane separators)
New Razorlegs Tier 4 Model
We are working on a new version of the final evolution of the Razorlegs monster, which visually better reflects its function: Running directly towards the end of the lane at a relatively high speed. To that end, the idea is that it should have very long and spiky legs that can reach the ground, even as it moves above towers and walls. Additionally, we are experimenting with different ways for the animations to behave while the monster is above a structure.
(Current work-in-progress of new Razorlegs Tier 4 animated model)
Closing Remarks
This week saw a large amount of bug fixing and stability improvements, including a solution to the identified AI desynchronization. Additionally, we are working on new features such as leaderboards, smarter AIs and new levels, which may take several weeks before being ready for release.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 7th of November at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
If you haven’t already, get your free Unleash beta Steam key through our website. The free open beta will run for a limited time period, so use the chance to try it out now for free with your friends!
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Unleash Game Update 03-11-2017
0.1.311.92
Additions:
New wall type "Reinforced Wall", which is much more durable than Concrete Wall, but also much more expensive (x10).
New special Decal shader that allows for a dissolve effect based on random numbers at initialization. Great for ice and water!
New monster "Gemjuggler", which can be used as a gold booster for your opponents - use with tactical considerations.
New tower "Teleporter", which teleports monsters to the target enemy's lane (line wars) or to the top of your lane (tower defense/sandbox).
New Easy TD Scenario "Avalanche of Ice" featuring the Snowripper together with Wardworms, Fatquacks and Guardhorns.
New Easy TD Scenario "Flying Freaks" featuring only flying monsters.
New Easy TD Scenario "Speed is of the Essence" featuring only Razorlegs.
New Challenging TD Scenario "Earth and Wind" featuring several different monsters, varying in ground and air.
Spacebar (default mapping) can now be used to center the camera on the current selection.
Changes:
Bumblebeasts have completely new animated models.
Bumblebeasts turn to face their wooden wall target before attacking. Also, no more VFX on attacking - only animation plays.
Decals won't disappear immediately upon hitting the global maximum for decals, instead they are faded out more quickly than normally.
Tweaked the material (appearance) of several monsters: Magmabacks, Boombellys, Barfblobs, Gloomgliders, Maggots, Guardhorns, Munchmonsters, Razorlegs and Rifteyes.
A number of tooltip corrections/improvements
Skyhooks have increased health and shield.
"Humble Beginnings" TD scenario has 1 more wave with a fully upgraded maggot, the Bogbait.
Moved the "Tutorial" button from the main menu of the game to the "Play Now" and "Create" menus.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed bug where Razorlegs T4 would be moved upwards by a Sky Hook.
Status efffects (such as freeze/slow creature) can now override lower-tiered effects. This means that an upgraded Freezer can override the slow effect from a non-upgraded Freezer.
Fixed a rare exception occuring when applying a status effect to e.g. a dead monster.
Heal over time (Fatquack) and Shield over time (Wardworm) can now both be applied to same monster, without overriding each other.
Fixed a bug with Gobblesmashers and Munchmonsters, where Gobblesmashers would break after being transported by a Munchmonster.
Fixed a status effect bug that would crash the game.
Clicking options on options screen no longer bugs.
Fixed tooltip and button state for walls when not upgradable.
Removed an accidental extra "end pipe" from the lane base area.
Fixed a bug where replying in chat would show the player's ID rather than name.
Sky Hook tower hides its 'hook line' when disabled.
Bumblebeasts and Gobblesmashers reset their attack target upon moving to the next lane.
Mr. Think AI will no longer run any evaluations when it has no gold.
Fixed a bug in Mr. Think AI that lead to desynchronized game state in multiplayer.
Fixed a bug in Mr. Think AI which resulted in a wrong wave size calculation.
Week 5 :: Dev Blog
(The new Bumblebeast models and the new Reinforced walls can be seen in this animated gif)
Week 5
Hi and welcome to the fifth development blog for Unleash!
Four new scenarios were added to the TD game mode this week, three that are categorized as easy and one that is challenging. Additionally, there are new animated models for the Bumblebeast monster. A lot of monsters have seen their appearance slightly refined this week too. Status effects can now override less effectful effects of the same type, which increases their usefulness. Finally, a new "Reinforced" wall, a new "Gemjuggler" monster and a new "Teleporter" tower have been added to the game this week.
New TD Scenarios
The four new scenarios added this week brings the total up to 7 playable TD scenarios. So far, the focus has mostly been on easy scenarios so that new players can get more easily started with the game. We plan on expanding the TD scenario selection further in the coming weeks, and as mentioned previously, the goal is to release the TD Scenario Editor so that players can create and share TD scenarios for Unleash. TDs can be played in single- or multiplayer.
(The TD Scenario selection has been expanded with new playable scenarios)
New Bumblebeast Models
New models for the Bumblebeast monster have been implemented, including completely new animations and textures. Their functionality and balancing has stayed the same, but we have attempted to design the models so that they better facilitate their actual behaviour. Additionally, they are much more distinguishable from especially Gobblesmashers, which they previously shared some similarity with. Each tier has its own unique model, which should aid with recognizing which tier the monster belongs to.
(New Bumblebeast 3D models, here rendered with a white outline)
Status Effect Overriding
"Status effect" in Unleash is the common term we use for buffs and debuffs. Examples of status effects currently in the game include the slow creature effect caused by the Freezer tower, or the disable tower effect caused by Crackleclouds. Previously status effects would not override in any case, only extend the time. This meant that a creature affected by a Freezer would not be additionally slowed by being affected by a Heavy Freezer (upgraded), only the duration of the effect was extended. With this new update, the Heavy Freezer would override the less-effective Freezer’s effect, rather than extending it.
(An example of status effect overriding: Stronger Freezers can override the effect caused by weaker Freezers)
New "Reinforced" Walls
A new type of wall was added to the game, a more expensive, much more durable Reinforced Wall. The main point of adding it is as a counter to Gobblesmasher attacks, since they can be very devastating to the base, the defender can now use Reinforced walls as the first layer of defense against Gobblesmashers. This makes it considerably easier and less frustrating to defend against the attacking monsters, without rendering the monsters useless. They can still be used in combination with other monsters or if the defender does not have the walls.
(The new Reinforced Walls are an effective counter strategy against Gobblesmashers)
New "Gemjuggler" Monster
The Gemjuggler is a very special monster that should only be used when understood correctly. It is a monster with a slight income penalty, similar to attacking monsters such as Gobblesmashers and Hellmasks. However, its bounty increases the longer it lives, capping at 100% of its cost. This makes it a monster which actually aids your opponent directly, rather than yourself. The reasoning is that due to the tactical nature of Line Wars in Unleash, sometimes it is beneficial to boost your immediate opponent, so that he or she in turn can pressure the next player. The Gemjuggler is an answer to that need. Use with caution!
(The Gemjuggler is a very special monster which should be used with extra consideration)
New "Teleporter" Tower
A new tower was implemented this week as well. Although its visual representation is lacking in some regards - it is missing proper VFX and tiered models - the functionality was so fun that we couldn’t wait to implement it into the game! The tower teleports incoming monsters either to the target enemy’s lane (line wars) or to the player’s own lane (tower defense and sandbox). Thereby, monsters can be ‘postponed’ or even avoided entirely, although at the cost of not getting the bounty for killing the monster. We can't wait to see which strategies emerge with this new tower!
(In Sandbox and Tower Defense game modes, the Teleporter tower sends monsters back to the top of the lane)
Closing Remarks
This week saw a substantial amount of new content added to the game, including a new wall, new monster, new tower, new TD scenarios and much more. Remember that you can see the full list of changes in our changelog.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 31st of October at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
If you haven’t already, get your free Unleash beta Steam key through our website. The free open beta will run for a limited time period, so use the chance to try it out now for free with your friends!
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Week 4 :: Unleash Development Blog
Week 4
Hi and welcome to the fourth development blog for Unleash!
This week has been almost entirely focused on stability, bug fixes and performance. We have discovered a few technical issues that were resolved, we have been playtesting to ensure the stability of the next update and we have dabbled in a few balancing tweaks. Additionally, the huge task of localization has been started.
New Game Modes Finally! They are here. I have been teasing them at least for the past two weeks, but now they are released and available to the players. Players can now choose between ‘Line Tower Wars’, ‘Classic TD’ and ‘Sandbox’, as widely described in the previous development blog posts. For now the Classic TD only has two easy scenarios and one brutal scenario available, although we will be expanding upon this soon. Beating both the easy ones can help increase your experience playing Unleash and teach you a thing or two. The brutal scenario is very difficult to overcome - we are not able to beat it ourselves currently, so there’s a challenge!
Localization Localizing a game can be a daunting task. There can be quite a lot of text, and it can be scattered across the project, making it cumbersome to collect it all in a centralized place. Nevertheless, it must be done. Therefore we have started the task of preparing for localization of Unleash. Luckily for us, Unleash is not a text-heavy game, since there are no lengthy dialogues or story monologues in-game. Mainly the UI, tooltips and monster and tower descriptions needs to respond to localization, so the task is confined to that.
Gameplay Instruction Video We have released our first gameplay instruction video, voiced by yours truly. It is available on Youtube and provides an alternate way to learn the basics of the game. You can find the video through our Youtube channel.
Closing Remarks While this week has not seen a number of new developments for Unleash, it did finally see the latest game version release. We have been testing a release candidate version for almost three weeks, but discovering multiple technical issues, bugs and shortcomings meant that we had to keep iterating - fixing things and then playtesting some more. That’s why we have withheld the game release with new graphics and a new monster. Now it’s finally here, and released! So go play some Unleash!
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 24th of October at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream each session.
If you haven’t already, get your free Unleash beta Steam key through our website. The free open beta will run for a limited time period, so use the chance to try it out now for free with your friends!
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Unleash Game Update 20-10-2017
Today Unleash was updated to the latest release candidate version. The changelog features almost three weeks of work, showing the changes since the last released version. Read our development blog for more detailed information about the latest changes.
0.1.1810.80
New Game mode - Classic TD
New Game mode - Sandbox
Three first scenarios for Classic TD
Optimizations to a number of algorithms, e.g. splines.
0.1.1010.72 Additions:
New monster "Rifteye" which acts as a portal for other monsters.
Added a post-processing stack, including a "bloom" effect to the game, which makes colors stand out better.
New "Moon Rock" lane with a new, darker look.
Changes:
Tweaked Flak 88 stats. Reversed physical and fire damage for it.
Crackleclouds and Hellmasks with updated VFX.
Updated VFX for Flamethrowers and Frost Cannons.
Mortar Impact hit updated VFX.
Old maps "Artic", "Desert" and "Marsh" no longer available due to being updated to match the new look.
Lights have been tweaked to give a darker, more immersive look.
Lightning Bolts (used by Tesla Coils, Lightning Towers and Crackleclouds) now look different due to using a "Splining" algorithm
Camera angle, zoom and field of view have been tweaked
0.1.2809.71 Additions:
New anti-air tower with splash damage "Flak 88"
Diagonal walls connect using sandbags.
Changes:
Main menu image changed to include a 'BETA' stamp, to make it clear that the current build is in beta.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed a versioning issue that meant that 32-bit and 64-bit players could not play together.
0.1.2609.66 Bug Fixes:
Fixed a number of bugs related to sound playback in the menu and a misbehaving plugin.
Changes:
Removed the ability to bulk sell via holding [X] and double-clicking. Other bulk actions are unchanged.
Music plays a bit more often in game.
As always, for more about the game, visit our website.
And remember... Monsters never come alone.
Week 3 :: Unleash Development Blog
Week 3
Hi and welcome to the third development blog for Unleash!
The game is slowly gearing up for the Steam Early Access release. The general focus this week has been on improving the graphics of the game, as well as testing and improving the stability of our upcoming game modes, which I have been teasing the past few weeks. Additionally, a new monster will join the fold in the next game update.
New Monster: Rifteye The new monster, Rifteye, will be included in the next game update. It is a monster that we have been wanting to introduce for a while. Basically, it acts as a portal for other monsters. While alive, spawned monsters can appear at the location of the Rifteye, rather than at the normal spawn area. This enables you to spawn monsters inside your enemy’s base, potentially to devastating effect. However, there are some limitations:
The Rifteye represents a ‘harder difficulty monster’, like our Munchmonster. It is only worth anything when used correctly in conjunction with other monsters, and as such is regarded as a ‘harder to use’ monster that may interest pro players, while newbies should probably steer clear until they understand how to use it.
(The new Rifteye monster is shown here as a 3D model rendering with applied outline)
Graphics Update Continued Last week we tweaked the lighting settings and applied more image effects. This week, we have been going through the particle system VFX associated with individual monsters and towers. The list of entities having their graphics updated is too long to mention them all, but a common improvement was to increase emission and to set up shader-based ‘pulsating’ effects for the emission map of some monsters, such as the Snowripper and Magmaback.
(A short .gif to showcase the new graphical updates/improvements)
Additionally, we have changed the skybox, tweaked the light and reflection settings and finally we have discussed and tested different camera zoom levels. The dilemma is that the graphics of the game are more visible and impactful at closer camera zoom, but the tradeoff is a loss of overview gameplay-wise. Through many discussions and numerous tests, we have arrived at a new zoom level which is closer to the world (less zoomed out), but still at a point where we feel the tactical overview is maintained.
Splined Lightning Bolts We have rewritten our lightning bolts to base them on ‘splines’, which we think makes them look much more interesting and ‘alive’. The splining algorithm utilizes ‘Catmull-Rom’ and is therefore very fast, while giving us the smooth, soft curves that we desire. The effect is minimized for connected Tesla Coil towers, but very visible for Lightning AA Towers and for Crackleclouds to some extent. The bolts are still colored differently, although we still have some tweaking to do on the colors.
(Short .gif to show the new splined lightning bolt effects)
Game Modes Release I’ve been teasing the release of two new game modes; the Sandbox and Classic Tower Defense modes for a little while now. This past week we have been testing, bug fixing and improving the stability of the new game modes. We are planning to include both in the next game update, which will probably be released at the start of next week. The Classic Tower Defense mode is a singleplayer towers-only experience. You build up your base, while the monsters come in waves. The Sandbox mode is a completely open, unlimited experimentation box for you to test things out and play around in. For an elaborated explanation of the game modes, read last week’s development blog post.
(Shows the create menu after selecting ‘Classic Tower Defense’. Right now there are two scenarios to play, we will add more and eventually - you can add your own!)
Closing Remarks We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 17th of October at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream each session.
If you haven’t already, get your free Unleash beta Steam key through our website. The free open beta will run for a limited time period, so use the chance to try it out now for free with your friends!
