I’m making this post to inform you all on what’s been happening since the long silence I had from almost anything social media related.
First of all, I am going to apologise for the absence of any update on the development of Vincemus or the addition of any new content patch to Vincemus.
Throughout the time spent away from social media I’ve been programming away designing new modular systems that not only integrate into Vincemus but into other new projects & game designs. I also didn’t want it half baked either, So I took my time developing and creating tools to help development of such systems.
This has led to the next release for Vincemus to be A LOT slower then usual, but on the other hand this should not only make development faster for generic core systems. It should also make the backend for Vincemus require a lot less manual labor and time can be spent creating content rather then spending a whole day setting up save & load profiles for individual aircraft or new keys.
Most components in the public version of Vincemus require me to manually code extra parts for any changes or additions, slowly adding on top of an already pretty big pile of code. So for future planning I’ve decided to remake a lot of the backend code to not only be a lot more automated but to also be able to integrate different modules with my newer projects if we want to share any components between already made games.
During this period for Vincemus I’ve removed close to 40,000 lines of code and replaced most of Vincemus with a modified version of a “generic” system I’ve developed for a newer game project and have also included some new additions.
New stuff coming to Vincemus
New Input System
- The previous version used “Unity’s new Input System” but this turns out to still have issues using listening to anything that isn’t a mouse. So I’ve ultimately decided to scrap the entire thing and rebuild it using a modified version of a new design thats going to be used in a new project.
New Health System
- The previous health system was also scrapped entirely for a new modular design, using a layout idea that was planned for another game. I’ll be honest I put it in vincemus not only to give it modular health but to test how viable this new class layout will be as our new Core Health system for future projects that are coming. - This allows us to damage/destroy individual components connected to the object. - It can also couple or unlink components in runtime & can work with or without any physics coupled to the object using this new system.
New Upgrade System
- I have replaced the previous upgrade system in Vincemus to use a new modular design that has the ability to work of tech trees and levels individually separated from each other but connected through any requirements or upgrade groups/tiers. - I felt that the current upgrade system was rather basic and didnt allow player to spec their aircraft to their individual play style, So with this new system, you can buy components that each have their own stats that effect the aircraft, weapons or payload in some way. Leaving much more customisation to the player.
Generic Classes System
- I’ve included a new code layout which I call the CoreGeneric system, This causes all object to inherit specific classes & creates off chute classes that’s based on the type of object the component is connected to. - For example - Vehicles in Vincemus are now all sharing the same base class, but when the object type is marked as an aircraft. The vehicle then populates itself and prepares to take assume of the roll of being an aircraft. - This allows us to customise vehicles based on Type/Class/Group of vehicle. anything more specific outside of the generic parameters connects itself onto the generic system and after initialisation it spawns an already working system without the need for any duplicate code or changes to the coreComponents.
Universal AI/Player Control System
- This is used to replace the current AI in Vincemus to sync Inputs controls for vehicles under the Generic system, and allows the player to& AI to sue the same vehicle and actions. - Previously the AI used their own “AI model” for each type of object it controls and was forked off the UnityStandardAssets, but this created a lot of problem when trying to modify/Add and debug AI patterns as each type of AI Input was different.
Revamped HUD
- The HUD for Vincemus has been updated to be a lot more minimalistic as before looks very clunky and took up a lot of screen space, This new version takes up less space & uses a new AutoHide feature. - When a part of the hud hasn’t been after a while, it will hide itself. This can be changed to always show details, or hide everything.
Revamped MainMenu
- The MainMenu for Vicemus has had a total overhaul in the way it operates and can now listen a lot more accurately listen to player Inputs. - The previous Menu layout had trouble when we started to add more vehicles into the game so I’ve changed the layout mainly to a support more future aircraft without the UI annoying the player by taking longer to navigate the menu.
New Save/Load System
- I’ve removed the old Save/Load system to incorporate a new version designed to lower the tedious process of manually entering values to save for different properties. The previous used to use 20,000 lines, but this new design only takes up 150, 50 for saving/loading & the rest for searching for specific variables or names for saved data. - I’ll make it also to be able to set backup save files that automatically saves loaded variables when you start the game for the time in the day. This will be for any cases where progress was wiped for unknown reasons, or if you are migrating computers and Steam Cloud failed to sync data. This backup may have missing progress, but it’s better than loosing everything.
New Mission & Game Manager
- The previous versions used to be joined together but the new versions of the Mission & Game manager are now separated and can work independently of each other, this also includes missions. - Allowing for more customisation to how InGame progression works - It also gives us the ability to have multiple missions running on screen at once & give the ability for dynamic spawns based on difficulty & allows the player to complete a mission without following a static route, missions on complete can activate the same mission, allowing for the ability of with which missions the player wants to complete to finish the scene.
There’s whole bunch of other changes that’s been made but those are the major ones I’ve been working on since the previous release
Quick Summary of some smaller yet interesting changes
- Reduce polyCount in commonly spawned vehicles - Player aircraft performance has changed due to the generic class system. - Aircraft are now lot more modular, if your left engine takes damage it will output less thrust vs your right engine. - Same with lift & drag from wings they are now all individually effects based off the new health + generic class system - UI Reticles got a slight improvement in code performance - Audio got a RNG multiplier for pitch and spawn times so each repeating sounds a tad different. - Gunner & Co-Pilot models now a thing - They also use IK handles and their body now follows the target they tracks and hands also follow the handles on their turrets
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Despite not being that active. I have read all your feedback and suggestions throughout the development while making these new systems. And many of the changes and additions in this overhaul are a result of your valuable input. I am truly thankful for your continued support and involvement in shaping Vincemus and the future of our game development journey.
So What's Next? After releasing this overhaul for Vincemus and with it comes the removal of the Early Access tag for Vincemus.
I’ll be truly honest here. After some time discussing with people from the virtual convict discord in private. I have decided that if the game doesn’t garner a much needed boost sales. I plan on halting any future development for Vincemus. Other than providing support for any bugs. I believe that Vincemus has run its course and I wanted to make it feel like a more fledge out game so it can stretch its wings out before I move to the next project.
Thank you so much for your support
Though this overhaul is a significant push and not yet released publically. I want to let everyone know I am committed to enhancing our gaming experience in Vincemus and all future projects to come closer to what we envision for gaming. I want our games to be worth your time and money.
Please feel free to let me know what you think of these new additions to Vincemus or if there’s anything you would like to comment about please don’t be afraid to reply, or post on the steam forums and if you want you can message me directly on Discord through our server
I wish you all an awesome one!
Zer0
Dev Update
Hello everyone,
Taking a rest from the computer.
I am writing to inform you that I will be going away for 3 weeks. During this time, development of the next patch will be slowed down. I’ll still be reachable through discord & steam, but you may expect a delayed response.
I understand the importance of making Vincemus a fully released game. Rest assured, I will do my best to catch up on outstanding work upon my return.
Thank you for your understanding for my absence. I am looking forward to coming back. Please If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me through Discord or on the steam forums.
Update on the next Vincemus Update
For the next patch I've decided to rework the input system as the current one has yet to fill the new requirements we have for Vincemus. I've also decided to do overhauls to the backend and create tools to reduce the time required to make new aircraft. While this will make development of the next patch a bit longer it is in the hope that it will give the following benefits - Make future content easier to make. - Increase runtime performance. - Better input customisation & control schemes - Better compatibility with Controllers & Joysticks
I will also be doing some changes to the main menu, in game UI for a cleaner and more readable UI.
Wishing you all the best in my absence.
In the mean time you can take a look at some screenshots for our next game I hope you like it :D (more detailes in the discord)
Sincerely, Zer0
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/375gJsq
Patch 1.0.2e | Rebinding fix
Patch 1.0.2e | Rebinding fix
Summary:
Hello, been bit since another patch. I’m still working on the next patch but a bug for controller has been reported and as it stops the game from being playable. I’m pushing out a fix for that which also includes some small changes and fixes as well.
Details Below __ New - New descriptions for locked content so people don’t get stuck with how to unlock anything - Overhaul on the backend for rebinding keys. - This is in the hopes it adds extra compatibility for different type of controllers. Rather than looking for a controller and listening, it now looks to see if anything plugged in and if there’s vector2’s and axis’s outputs that’s not the currently used mouse.
Changes - Trains health has been reduced by 50% - AI Me262 LOD has been increased to make it visible at further distances
Bug Fixes - TBD payloads not equipping the correct payload preset - Measurements resting per mission - Fixed a bug where the controller key bind panel wasn’t displaying
Patch 1.0.2a A hot fix for the hotfix
A hot fix for the hotfix, I’m very sorry for this, Due to my impulse with pushing a patch before it was fully tested, Some bugs have still gone through. This is to fix those problems
Details Below __
New - The missile knows where it is at all times - New Achievement available - Kill 1000 aircraft with no allies present - More AI aircraft added into the Custom aircraft spawning pool - Me262 - Me262 HG - A6M5 - A6M5b - Spitfire MK3 - B-25 - Pacific Mission 1 AI aircraft moved closer to the allied ships
Bug Fixes - Author Time achievements not unlocking - B17 upgrades have incorrect ID - CR42 Aircraft ID was incorrect and unlocking a future DLC aircraft - Europe Mission 2 wasn’t recording best time - Typo on Pacific Mission 7 Fixed
Patch 1.0.1a - A maybe working hotfix
Patch 1.0.1a Maybe Working Hotfix
Summary:
Putting out a hot fix to for the problems everyone is having with Times and unlocking achievements.
I’ve also reduced the amount of all bullets fired from AI by 50% while upping tracer fire. it should look the same visually, but DPS of AI will be reduced & objects in the scene will be less by 50% so while AI are in combat it should reduce the amount of processing needed.
Patch V1.0.1a Summary - Changes - Reduced AI fire-rate, while increasing tracers per rack to increase performance - Reworked LODs a tad on ships - AI AOA increased but their Gimbaling is reduced. This allows more pre-firing but reduced the room for error with the AI guns - Bomb lifetime & prediction range increased - BugFixes - Fixed best timers not being saved after missions - Some missions couldn’t be passed if not completed correctly, I’ve made it more lenient (Basically kill everything) - Graphics kept getting set on max when a mission was started - Apparently Water wasn’t set in the
I hope you have a good one, Cheers Zer0
More details Below \/ __
Changes - A6M5 - Reduced base thrust by 20% - Base handling at high speeds is reduced. after 250knts handling reduces from 100% to 20% at 500knts - Increased base Pitch Rate by 25% - Angular drag increased by 100% - Aircraft main wing lift increased by 50% - Cost changed to 35 000 - AI Fire-Rate reduced by 50%, Tracers per belt increased by 33% on average - IJN Cruiser name changed to CB - AI AOA increased by 100%, AI weapon gimbaling reduced by 50% - Increased Bomb Lifetime from 30 to 60 seconds - Bomb Prediction time changed from flat 20 seconds to -10 of bomb life - Me262HG max top speed reduced by 10% - Larger Tracers for Type 5 30mm cannons - Increased 460mm Cannons Fire-rate from .5 to 2 rounds a minute & increase variable time fuse accuracy - Pacific mission 10, Ships have been spread out over a larger area to reduce amount of LOD0s loaded at once - Reduced A26 Thrust by 30%
Bug Fixes - TBD Prop not centred correctly - TBD had Torp attached to incorrect spot - Pacific Mission 6 unable to pass if all aircraft are destroyed - USS DD, LOD was missing causing immense lag - AI Kamikaze aircraft had bomb SFX not attacked to audio group - Fixed AI ground & emplacements was half in the ground - In game Graphics dropdown kept setting Max graphics despite other setting select in menu - Yamato LOD’s simplified to reduce CPU usage - Pacific timers not working - Pacific mission 8 Transport ships removed, they will now spawn in after 120 seconds - Africa Mission 5, Stolen tanks were marked as allies, this has been fixed - A26 payloads are equipping the incorrect payloads - Pacific Mission 2 wasn’t able to progress - Altitude for Metric was displaying altitude in knots - AI aircraft couldn’t detect water - Pacific Mission rewards are incorrect to what is shown - Hud Colours kept reverting back to White while in mission - Pacific Mission 8 AI waypoints fixed - Pacific Mission 8 Author time was the incorrect time
Patch 1.0 Pacific Expansion
Summary:
Hello everyone, after rather a long wait V1.0a is out finally!
This patch took bit more then usually mainly due to the amount of technical changes to the games underlying code for extra performance. I had to modify close to 90% of the models in some way to reduce the amount of Tris that needed rendering. The AI had some overhauls and the game scripts in general as well.
I hope you have a good one, Cheers Zer0 5 new missions
4 new aircraft - A6M5 - A26 - TBD - J7W1
12 new player weapons 3 new bombs, 3 rockets & 1 Torpedo
Lots of changes - WEP can be used till 25% of your max hp instead of 50% - Turret AI on player aircraft have faster reaction times when changing modes - Max speed warning is now at 30% overspeed rather at 20% - Revamped recoil - Revamped Aircraft AI - Increased Performance - Changes to AI, ammo belts. - More tracers - Compression Method has changed. - This will make game size larger and reduce performance a tad but it means you won’t have to download much later in future patches
Lots of bug fixes - The graphical glitches in terrain and water is gone - Cluster bombletes wouldn’t disappear after detonation so after a while you’ll get over 10000 left over in a mission - Flak rounds no longer go underground of water - AI wouldn’t be removed if falling off the world - Player Turret AI would get stuck in Idle - “E-Mission 4” if completed to quickly the trains would get tuck in tunnels making it impossible to complete - Tanks should no longer spawn in the air
For more information its down below \/
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New
Weapons - 7.7mm Type 97 - 20mm Type 99 1 - 20mm Type 99 1-4 - 20mm Type 99 1-4b - 20mm Type 99 2-1 - 20mm Type 99 2-4 - 20mm Type 99 2-5 - 14mm Type 99 Shi - 13.2mm Type 3 Browning - 30mm Type 5 - 30mm Type 5 B - 20mm Type 5 20 - 460mm WP-VT “BeeHive” Payloads - 60kg Type 2 No.6 Model 5 (Impact HE) - 250kg Type 99 No.25 (Impact HE) - 200kg Type 99 No.25 Mk 29 (Airbust WP) - 66kg Type 3 No.6 Mk 27 (WP airburst rocket) - 315kg Type 3 No.25 Mk 4 Mod 1 (AP Rocket) - 1000kg torpedo
New Flyable Aircraft - A6M5 - Weapons - 2x7.7mm Type 97 - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x20mm Type 99 1 - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x20mm Type 99 1-4 - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x20mm Type 99 1-4b - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x20mm Type 99 2-1 - 1x7.7mm Type 97 + 1x13.2mm Type 3 Browning + 2x20mm Type 99 2-4 - 3x13.2mm Type 3 Browning + 2x20mm Type 99 2-4 - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x20mm Type 99 2-5 - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x14mm Type 99 Shi - 2x7.7mm Type 97 + 2x30mm Type 2 - 75mm T13E1 - Payloads - 2x60kg Type 2 No.6 Model 5 (Impact HE) - 1x250kg Type 99 No.25 (Impact HE) - 1x200 Type 99 No.25 Mk 29 (Airbust WP) - 2x66kg Type 3 No.6 Mk 27 (WP airburst rocket) - 1x315kg Type 3 No.25 Mk 4 Mod 1 (AP Rocket)
Other new Stuff - Intractable ScrollBar for aircraft upgrades, weapons & payloads - Rebind option for Turret Mode - New gunsights for aircraft - Me262 - Me262 HG - P51 - Spitfire MkV - P51D - P38G Changes - B-17: - Increased health & armour Upgrade multiplier from 1.4 to 1.5 per level - Increased Handling & power by 50% - Reduced 88 AI Flak damage from 120 to 110 per component - Aircraft models will now only rotate when Model area is clicked and held - Walter Renamed to Grank - WEP damage threshold increased by 100% - This means you can use WEP till 25% of your max hp - Trains had a damage change. - If you destroy the head it will destroy all carriages - Train Head health increased by 10x - Max speed limit raised to 30% from 20% - Turret AI have increased reaction time. - Re-organised Aircraft list - Rather based off performance its now based off price - Controller bindings are always displayed even if you don’t have a controller equipped - Underlined Titles in the Credits panel - T17 cannon - Damage Increased from 140 to 270. This is due to the bullet being a 30mm bullet necked down. - Moved from MG’s to Cannon’s - Reworked Recoil so it’s more reliable and smooth. - Reduced HP of ships by 50% - Changes to AI aircraft - Increased inverted manurers to help reduce crashing & increase dogfight capability. - Reduced angle of climb from 60 degrees to 40degrees. The AI are still able to achieve 60degree turns but limited to 1 second bursts - Reduced amount of times the AI checks for the ground to reduce CPU usage - Crashes on certain aircraft now deals AOE damage Bug Fixes - Graphics Game button wouldn’t update when graphics was changed - Payloads would respawn on an offset once too far away from the origin point. This has been fixed - Fixed a bug that caused AI to not destroy if they fall through the floor - Lag Spikes when spawning enemies has been fixed - I’ve made spawning on a different thread and only one object spawns perfume overtime to reduce the load per frame - Flying tanks on spawn has been fixed - Fixed Cluster bomblets remaining alive after explosion. Cause significant lag overtime - Fixed mission “The Hunt” description. - Water/Terrain Graphic glitch fixed - The game encryption caused problems with the Terrain streaming in Vincemus - Flak rounds no longer go through the ground and water. - Water maps no longer have a white square in the middle - Train colliders now remove after 10 seconds. - The infinite duration caused the next train spawning in to get stuck. - Custom missions had problems with spawning AI. - Player guns didn’t play audio when there’s a lot of nearby shooting & explosions. - Player audio pro has been increased - Revised B17 20mm rear turret. The previous cannon had its rear sticking out of the plane. - Fixed a bug with AI turrets where it would constantly by in idle after a while from pressing Turret mode
Game optimisations - AI - Aircraft AI Controller Script - Taking 1.5% CPU per plane - Reduced CPU usage to 0.9% per plane - Reduced Altitude check on Aircraft AI to 10 frames a second. This increases performance at a cost of less reaction speed near terrain - Increased Negative Gs allowed for aircraft from 40% of Positive G’s to 80% - Decreased max pitch rate for AI aircraft - In the hopes they don’t lock up by diving - AA L, AA M, Flak 88, AT - Reduced from 55K-150K Tris to 3K-7k tris- - All Naval Ships - Reduced Ship detail & Tris by an average of 30% - Reduced rended ship shadows reduced by 90% - All Naval ships now have LODs show when far away not all parts of the ship needs to be rendered & Silluette versions will render in at further distances. - Vickers tank Changed to a Crusader tank - Tris reduced to 3k - Reduced Pz4G Tris from 10K to 4K - Reduce Gladiator from 300K Tris to 30K - B17 Tris reduced from 200K to 15k - Player - Me262 HG - 300K Tris - Reduced to 80K - Me262 - 280k tris - Reduced to 160K tris
Rendering - Reduced Death Explosion Model tris by 99% - Building models - tris have been reduced AVG 40% & most building objects now have LODS for culling - The Ocean renderer was taking 10% of the total CPU - Reduced to 6% of Total CPU - Detail Resolution & Streaming reduced by 50% - Reduced amount of mesh on objects requiring shadowing & cast shadows by 80% - Scripts - Compass UI markers - taking 3% of Total CPU - Reduced to 0.9% Total CPU - Reduced frame tick to 1 frame a second - HUD UI AI tags - Taking 2% of total CPU - Reduced to 0.8% of Total CPU - Reduced frame tick by 50% - Bullet Script Performance - taking 7% of CPU for 2000 rounds - Reduced to 2.6% for 2000 rounds - TurretAI Script - 1% of total CPU at 100 aircraft - Reduced to 0.6% of CPU - Simplified tracking calculations - In-game menu was playing animations while hidden taking 10% of CPU - This has been fixed and will only take CPU when pause menu is opening - Reduced LOD Bias from 20 to 6 - Performance increase when objects are far by 10% - Reduced tris to render by 50%
Overall CPU performance increase of an estimated value of at least 20%
Patch V0.14.1 QOL additions
Patch 0.14.1 - QOL Additions
New update to add some extra stuff
New - Steam Cloud Saving - Gunner AI mode | Press Z to activate after 4 seconds it’ll come online, press again to disable - Turret mode has been added for aircraft that have a turret - B17 - SwordFish New loading screen animation to make it more suited to aviation
Changes - Default Controller scheme has been changed to mimic something similar to other aircraft games - Cockpit camera will move with some offset based on where you look to give a better feel of movement - Engine Audio for the Me262 & Me262 HG has been revamped to sound more like jets - AI ground anti-air fire rates and accuracy has been randomise to make incoming rounds look less consistent from multiple sources - Payload panel layout has been updated and missile stats are now included
Bug Fixes - Planes when targeting the player will dive into the ground, I’ve done some changes to the AI to reduce this from happening - Mission 9 Africa spawning enemy interceptors inside each other - Europe Mission - Night patrol when completed will skip some progression - Survival missions wasn’t able to start - P38g didn’t unlock when purchased - Fixed a problem with the Controller throttle being unable to decrease - Fixed Controller free look toggle where it would stay on
Patch 0.14.0e - hotfix
Sorry for another update, it was reported there was a Shader error that caused the game to crash when playing a mission
Changes - Unity engine updated - Reflections on the Spitfire MK5 has been updated - Recalculated normals on the Yak9
Bug Fixes - Database weapons list was overflowing - KeyHistogram PPS2 Shader error is fixed(WindowsOS) - 20mm Hispano & 12.7mm M2 browning was marked to be 7.7mm Brownings
Patch V0.14.0d
Small update to fix up some problems.
New - Markers on the Aircraft panel to show what's equipped & unlocked - Updated Database to include new aircraft
Changes - Updated image aspect for Africa Mission 1 - Increased audio priority on player calibers 30mm and above - Rewards for Tutorial has been reduced to 1500 from 2000 - Rewards for Mission 1 Africa has been reduced to 3000 from 4000 - Normal recalculations on some aircraft have been made for better reflections and shadowing
Bug Fixes - Custom UI panel layout was broken & wasn’t working correctly - Mission 7 Map generation was corrupt - When buying VG33 it unlocked an aircraft that is hidden
Patch 0.14.0c - hotfix
Patch 0.14.0c - hotfix
Changes - Recalculated normals for existing player aircraft - Updated Mission 1 & 2 panel image
Bug Fixes - Mission 4 Africa wasn’t able to be played - Me262 HG & P51d inverted ailerons fixed - Me262 HG price wasn’t being displayed after unlocking it - B17 elevators were inverted - KPH & MPH measurements failed to update while in missions
