Unnatural Investigations cover
Unnatural Investigations screenshot
Steam
Genre: Indie

Unnatural Investigations

Status Update
Status Update

Hi, continuing to keep transparent, progress is going quite well on the smaller project. Through it I've learned a great deal more about Unreal, all will transfer over to Unnatural Investigations. The goal remains the same, build out the smaller project, get that released, and then start a 50/50 split between both. The smaller project is less complex in terms of scale so it won't be hard managing both.

In terms of time frame there are no current dates set however with the smaller project about to launch it shouldn't be too long. Also, Unnatural Investigations will be in Unreal Engine 5.4 which has a great deal of new features that should make Unnatural Investigations that much funner.

Unnatural Investigations will have a much better ratio with combat and investigations. It will be in a semi-open world, not a crazy large world, but instead, a decent-sized one densely populated. There will be areas that are generally safe and those that are extremely dangerous. You will need to talk to NPCs to get missions(most of which are crime-related), go to the crime scene and find clues on what committed the crimes, and then solve the case by either locating something, destroying something, or taking out the thing that did it. More scenarios will be added.

I appreciate your patience and thank all who have bought a copy and those who have wishlisted it. Keep an eye out for more updates.

First Update of the year
Quick update on the current and future state of the game. I did receive some feedback, while not a lot it did align with what I was thinking. Currently, the game is more action and less horror, which in general isn't a bad thing. But it's a bit more than I originally planned, and that's the result of several factors. Not one factor is the cause, but a big one is the scope in terms of levels and bosses. Originally I was working with a few others, so the workload was managable, but as I mentioned I am now mostly solo. Now I had all the systems in place, really just needed to build the levels and the bosses, but that in itself is a large task. It's a task I could complete on my own, but it would take years. So what changed? Well, Unreal Engine was the big change. At first, it was a bring everything from Unity in terms of systems and gameplay over to Unreal for its better network integration. And that went relatively smoothly, and fast considering I had 0 experience in Unreal. The change came after I got the game up to and past what I had in Unity. During that time I was focused on that, and once that was done I began experimenting. What I found was I was able to do many things I couldn't do for whatever reason in Unity. And thus I began to ponder.....

Future State

Originally the Unnatural Investigations was meant to be Phasmaphobia with the ability to destroy the ghost(Demons in this case). I had a version of the game in Unity that was more like that, but I couldn't get some of the features I wanted, and the networking was giving me trouble so slowly it became something different.

So after my time in Unreal, and my side project I have started to look back at those systems I wanted and that had more of a horror feel.

I've temporarily removed the demo, didn't want people to get the wrong idea about the game because it's going to change. Here are some of the details.

Future



  • Still 4 player coop
  • Upgraded Host/Join options (Inviting Steam friends)
  • Less gunplay, more melee
  • One large open-ish world map (Not huge, maybe 4 or 5 times the current map size
  • More Investigations
  • Random missions (Missing persons, crime scenes, etc)
  • Equipment, flashlights, scanning tools
  • Fewer enemies, but smarter
  • Bosses are gone in the way they are now, instead you looking for indirect ways of stopping or banishing them (Think Traps, spells, special weapons)
  • New death mechanics
  • More Jump scares
  • More team engagement
  • World events while playing
  • Subplots and twist


Those are the things I am working on, still prototyping them, but I feel good about those. Now below are some systems and things I want but may not add.

Possible



  • Environmental Damage (More so for hidden ways or stuff)
  • Magic in terms of spells both offensive and defensive
  • Different classes
  • Abilities


Those are just a few, more will be added and some removed. With all that said I appreciate those who reached out or commented on the store page. I do apologize for the time it's taking and the changes to the core gameplay.

One last thing, I am working on a second project, started as strictly prototyping but has morphed into something I think will blow people's minds. It's smaller in scope than Unnatural Investigation but has opened the door to many new and cool system ideas for Unnatural Investigation. I will post more on here when the Steam page goes live, but if your looking for a 4 player coop game where your stuck in a research facility with a creature, and potentially one of you is infected then keep an eye out for it.

Thanks again.

Unnatural Investigations Path Forward
Hi, progress is moving along, slow but steady. At this stage, it's mostly finances that are slowing down progress. While I work on bosses and enemies, and wait for funds to have new models made or purchased I have been prototyping for other projects. This helps in building more skills in the Unreal engine but also creates new ideas for Unnatural Investigations. I am working on one prototype that may become a side project, but more to come on that later.

With the new ideas and experience I decided to take a look at the game, its systems, and what's good and what may be bad(not fun). This was a reflection of everything about this game, from its start to now. Some things were lost and others gained, but neither were good nor bad.

That being said, the underwhelming reception of the game opens up some new potential paths forward. As I mentioned before the game will be finished, no doubts there but what the final product looks like is not certain. Having little wishlist and even smaller sales in itself is a bummer but it does offer a path forward that successful games don't have.

That path is big changes to the gameplay system, systems that if they were attached to a successful game would hurt or divide the playerbase. Having a little to no player base means I can change anything with little worry of losing or alienating fans or potential players.

So what does all that mean, well simple I have some new ideas and I want anyone who is following this game to have some input. The demo is free so I encourage everyone who has wishlisted the game to download and play. Then I want your feedback on everything, but more specifically on two questions.

Do you want more action?
or
Do you want more horror?

What do I mean, well currently the game is about a 70/30 ratio with action being 70 and horror being 30. Originally it was flipped, but changed over development. So do you want more gunplay, killing lots of monsters or fewer monsters, less shooting, and a darker and potentially scarier experience? Either is a good path, but each path would change the core gameplay.

So if you read this please comment with your feedback and choice here or go to my discord -> https://discord.gg/NGMAAjvbYe and do the emoji poll.

Please note, that either way, the game will continue, but you may see major changes in some features. The demo will be updated as this happens so everyone can experience the game and know if it's for them or not.

Thanks again for reading this and supporting development.

Alpha Version 3.0 Ready
Hi all, decided to release the new version today. I've done a few months of internal testing, not as much as I would like but enough to get it out. I will be doing more testing (paid), but it's stable enough now for everyone to jump in. Do keep in mind this is still Alpha, so I expect bugs given everyone's computer builds, but worry not as I get any bugs they will be a priority. Now on to the fun part, what's new?

Updates



  • I've moved the game to the Unreal Engine, this choice was made based on the Unreal networking system, and an integrated AI system. This choice was made before Unity's rev-sharing news. Besides networking and AI, Unnatural Investigations will also get a graphics bump.
  • The gameplay loop has been modified, more of a streamlined approach. Here's the loop -> Collect crystals & relics, destroy runes, collect clues(Corpse,spirit,demonic growth), summon boss, kill boss
  • Crystals & Relics are collision pickups, just run over them to collect them. Collect 7 relics that light the summon platform fires and 10 crystals that are used during your interaction with Demonic growths.
  • Interact with corpse(now multiple) until you find the clue
  • Interact with the spirit, the first few times it will not give you the clue, then after that, you have a random chance it gives it to you. For example, you may interact with it 4 times and get a clue or it may take 7. Each time it will randomly teleport somewhere on the map.
  • Demonic growths require 10 crystals, once you have you need just interact with
  • Enemies - Each level will have default enemy types, for this version the two levels have Cultist, both melee and ranged. Killing them will sometimes drop a health kit, armor kit, or ammo.
  • Player changes - You have Armor now which blocks one complete attack per piece. Once gone, you will take health damage. You can still use your special which can be health or ammo and can be changed via the datalog window(default 'J'). You can change from first to third person (hold 'V').
  • Weapons - For now, everyone has a pistol, rifle, and shotgun. No need to modify ammo anymore as bosses are more dynamic, see the new video for Alpha 3.0 at the end to see a boss in action.


Random Events


Random events are something I am excited to share. Right now I have 5, but I plan on adding much more. They are optional, but I made the game around using them, especially if you want a challenge. Without spoiling them I will mention two, Zombies and Demons. These are two that make the game harder, zombies will start to randomly spawn and seek out the closest player. They are easy to kill but if you're not working as a team they can be a problem. They will continue to spawn up to around 128 of them. Demons are repurposed from the Demonic Awareness system, they start spawning one at a time up to 5. They get harder as they go, they are fast and crawl on the ground, and they don't make sounds so they can be very deadly. Besides those, there will be random events that benefit you the player, so not all are out to get you.

Player Death


This system has been overhauled. The original one placed the player in a prison-like space with monitors to view the battle until your teammates got your soul back. While that system worked it left players bored and during a boss battle near impossible.
The new system is much different. When you die 3 times you return as a harmless skeleton in the world. You then need to collect soul shards to regain your life. Once you grab enough you respawn and get 3 more lives as long as there is another player alive. If you play solo you get 6 lives then it's game over, no skeleton.

Note


This was a big change going from Unity to Unreal, some things did not carry over, and some did. The biggest hurdle was getting used to Unreal's editor and diving into C++.

I have tested this version on several different PCs and laptops and as you would expect, higher-end PCs will be able to run this game maxed out while lower-spec systems will need to reduce settings. I did add a basic options menu that allows you to tweak visual settings. The goal is to expand that system to include key bindings and audio. I am not there yet but it is a priority for me. Some spec examples, are my mid system with 3060 and low RAM and low CPU runs on medium, my old laptop with around a 1080 runs ok on low-medium, and my high-end PC with i9, 128 ram, and 3090 runs on Ultra. This is with only minor optimization, so expect improvements.

The Demo will be coming out soon, was planning on releasing at the same time, but I need to tweak a few settings on Steam first, so look out for that in the next few days. As I mentioned the demo will contain everything up to version 3.0 so you can get your friends to play and test, or if you don't own you can play and see where the games going.

Please provide feedback, good or bad but please at least provide some specifics, I can't fix or improve if I don't what the problem is. Also, this is still in Alpha so if something looks funky, bugs, or anything, I want the feedback and I will do whatever I can to iron out those issues.

Thanks all.

Update Alpha 3.0 and Demo coming soon
Update 3.0

Great news, working on polishing the new version of the game which should be ready pretty soon. It's a step back in terms of levels and bosses but introduces a new foundation for the game. Along with the new version, a demo will be available at the same time. The hope is people who own the game and want to have their friends play, people who want to try it out, and people who want to provide feedback can have a free opportunity to.

The Demo will contain everything this next update has, but will not get updated past that, except for any bugs. So without revealing everything now, below are some key things that will be in the next build.

*Two levels, medium size
*Three bosses
*New Random event system which provides more challenge and more replayability
*Special Game modifiers - level difficulty, more light, and more
*More action

There have been major changes to the game in terms of systems and gameplay loop. Ammo types, the Death Jail, and item interaction to name a few have been either changed or removed.

The goal/plan is with this new build being system complete, that levels, bosses, enemies, and random events will be the focus going forward after Alpha 3.0 releases. Shooting for 2 more levels, 2 more random events, another group of bosses and enemies per update, along with minor bugs and patches ongoing. After this update, progress should be quicker since I no longer need to focus all my effort on systems and testing those, instead creating new levels and enemies.

Bosses will take longer, probably more than anything else, and keep in mind there may need to be slight tweaks to existing Bosses during development, but nothing major.

Thanks again for everyone following development, please check out the new build once it's live.

Alpha Version 3 Update News
Alpha Version 3 Update News

As mentioned before progress has been slow and it will get a bit slower going forward. There are a few key points I want to address for those following the development.

Funding
This game has been and will continue to be personally funded. Several external factors have severely reduced the amount of funding available which has added to the slow development time. Due to the limited funding, I am unable to support a team so I have continued development solo. However, for context, I was only sub-contracting art, assets, and advertisement, meaning I am still capable of developing the game alone, just much slower.

Current State
I understand the current state is of a lower quality and I am aware of the networking issues. I want to address some of the reviews and give my opinion. Per an advisor, I was told it's best not to acknowledge negative reviews, as it would hurt sales and potential sales. However, I refuse to sit back and allow people to bash a game when it's not finished. Those who have bashed the game without any constructive feedback are the reason most games now are cookie-cutter, unfinished cash grabs because the small teams trying to bring new ideas are crushed out or unable to compete advertisement-wise with those large companies. If you want to help games like mine you would provide tangible feedback. If you leave a thumbs-down review then at least get some feedback and examples so I can improve. I want to make a game that people enjoy and want to play but I won't know if something is broken or doesn't work unless you tell me. I can't afford giant QA testing and I hoped early access would bring the feedback in, however, I was wrong.
I refuse to let my game die and fade out, so while I won't be able to move as fast as I like I will not give up. I will prove to those short-minded people that this game will be fun and 100% not a scam per Deadcharm who gave it a negative review. I will not apologize nor walk on ice for game sales. If you are a person like Deadcharm I don't want your business I would prefer you not play my games.

Personal Commitment
I will continue to work on the game alone, and it will be complete when it is ready. It will never be a AAA game, and there will be bugs during development and after, but I promise to continue to fix bugs and take in all feedback.

Plans
I am still working on AI, it has become the biggest challenge and the most complex problem I am solving for. The current AI is functional, but I want something more, something scalable and challenging. Networking is also a big concern and is proving to be the second biggest challenge. I plan on working on those until they function without delays and with improved stability.
Lack of funding will reduce the time, hence I will be working on several other smaller, single-player experiences while I work on this game. The hope is to bring in some funding via small simple but fun single-player games while I work out the current issues on this game. During this time I will reduce the price of the game and hope for any feedback, constructive feedback.

Ask
For those who like the idea and want to help, just tell people to wishlist it and/or provide feedback. Please be patient, play some Baldur's Gate 3 (A great game), and keep an eye on this game. And a big thanks to those who supported the game.

Alpha Version 3 Update
Progress is moving along, a bit slower than I wanted but still moving. The networking system is completely new and way more stable. Now I am working on the AI, which was the biggest bottleneck in the current version. That is what's taken the longest, but since it's a key part of the game it needs the extra attention.

While it's not ready to show, there are some updates I can talk about. The first update is you can now switch from first to third person, depending on what you prefer. Since the game is not PVP, giving the option doesn't affect gameplay negatively. Another change is more of a streamlining of the game systems. You no longer will need to worry about ammo types, vision types, or equipment. Finally, there are four classes, each with different weapon load-outs.

Those are just a few updates, more details will be provided when the update drops. No ETA on that drop. Still looking for feedback as always.

Thanks to all interested in the game and those who have the game.

Progress Report/Patch - 05/21/2023
Progress Report/Patch - 05/21/2023

The last four levels for this version of the game are ready and released in this patch. These are bare-bone levels and will get much more work later. They also only have the standard cultist, with the current boss's chances as the rest of the levels.

This will be the last update for a while, after much testing and some feedback it's clear the networking side of things will not cut it for the level of detail required to fully flesh out all the game systems, more importantly, the AI system.

The AI system has been bottlenecked by the networking system causing some minor and major performance impacts. To combat this a full network rewrite is needed, which will take time to complete.

While this delay will be substantial, it and push updates and final release dates much further I think it's for the best.

So what will change?

  • The main menus, join, host, and search functions will change
  • The enemy AI will change both code and visually with more actions and animations and more senses
  • Single-player mode - This mode will be a linear story focused mode detailing the events that led up to the current time when the multiplayer takes place
  • Death - What happens when you die in multiplayer will change adding new things to do when you die more than twice

So what stays the same?

  • Investigation Mode - Same flow, with minor enhancements
  • Same overall loop, figure out what the boss is, prepare, kill


Overall this will be a huge update, but with internal testing and feedback, it's well-needed and well-structured.

Thanks to everyone who has provided bug reports and continues to play the game.

Progress Report - 04/23/2023
Four levels have been created and will be ready to play soon. (Tropical Island, Train Tunnel, Space Station & Deserted Town)

These levels will be playable but not finished when the next patch comes out. They will use the cultist and already existing bosses first. After that patch is released, each level will get its own enemies and new bosses over the next few patches/updates.

No ETA on when the next patch will come out, but should not be long, 2 out of the 4 levels are ready.

Version 2.02 Patch Notes

Summary


Version 2.02 adds the Ice Cave level and two new bosses to encounter. With the new level also comes two new enemy types that complement the theme of the level. The Ice Cave level still requires more polish and does perform lower than other levels.

Updates


Enemy Spawn in effects



  • Each enemy minus the two ice level enemies has a special effect that plays when they load into the levels
  • Still tweaking so may change it later

Freeze Traps



  • Freeze traps should now only work twice on enemies to reduce permanent freeze
  • Traps will continue to get tweaks

New Bosses added



  • The Parasite & Gatekeeper were added, both will continue to get updates as all the rest will.

Player Hud Update



  • Added a small hud to the top right, this hud can be toggled via 'tab' or whatever its set to in the controls
  • This hud shows what special you have equipped, what head gear, any status effects, and what ammo you have equipped
  • This is the first version of it and may change over time

Bugs



  • Fixed after-death damageable bug when teammate died 4 times and was waiting for other teammates to kill wraith they would suffer damage and potentially die again.
  • Fixed escape UI bug causing the escape key to unpause controller but leave the window up (Still working on some windows)
  • Fixed bug where you could place special items when dead in the player death zone.
  • Fixed interactable outline death bug when the player dies a interactable object will no longer remain outlined when died

Notes



  • There were several small level changes and tweaks to help performance
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