Release 3.2.0 - The "Christmas" attempt

The latest version of the game is now released! Given how long its taken to release, there's only a few changes, but there's also the start of a major change.

NPC Models

The most significant change is NPCs. The models have been updated to better, more detailed ones. This is only the first stage in updating the enemies as well. Canid enemies will use the same models as the NPCs with specific skins while wolves are getting their own, bigger and badder models. 

We've concentrated on the NPCs to start with as they have a lot of animations shared with the canids, but don't have any of the more complex sex animations. The sex stuff needs to work for different sizes of model, so it makes less sense to go ahead with those until everything is ready to switch over.

So the NPCs are the testing while the more complex stuff is done. Thats not to say there's no extra content for them. There's a couple in Pineridge around the Inn that can be talked to for some extra content with a demo x-ray implementation...

The main advantage of the new models, other than just looking better, is that these ones are built with RootMotion in mind. The brief explanation of why this matters, is because the old models had the root bone as the hips. So if you move the hips, every other bone moves around it. So if you try to alter the characters hip height, everything changes in line with it. With the root bone separated, it means the rest of the bones should be free to move on their own. Probably. In game terms, with set character sizes, we know what height a certain hole might be at so the interacting character can adjust their hip height to match instead of stabbing them in the spine.

Sneak/Run Modes & Takedowns

This is  a new implementation of an old mechanic. Now you can toggle into Sneak mode using TAB to be quieter. Crouching automatically Sneaks you as well. This means enemies have a harder time spotting you, even if you are out in the open, and you make reduced movement noise. Doing an Analyse in this mode also shows valid cover. If you get behind an enemy, it will prompt for takedowns. These are now triggered with LMB and RMB and don't need the clunky slider to choose. It'll be straight into the animation. The downside is that you cannot attack while in Sneak. If you try to sprint you automatically switch to Run mode. Sound is normal and enemies can see you as normal. You can also attack as standard. It means Sneak makes you harder to see and locate, but also makes you vulnerable.

Dynamic Music

Dynamic Music is a quick addition at the end of development. It kind of works but needs more tweaking. The music is split into 4 tracks: Rhythm, Instrument, Bass and Drum. When you are in sneak mode it only plays rhythm for a muted sound. Normal movement is rhythm and instruments, hopefully giving a calmer feel. When an enemy alerts to you all tracks come in making it sound more frantic and fast paced. The triggers are a bit dodgy and sometimes don't work correctly, and the music choices need to be better to emphasise the differences between music modes. It's a work in progress.

Bugfixes

Finally the following issues were fixed:

• Could not talk to female NPCs
• Attacking caused errors
• Swimming volume was too high in one of the lakes in Forest E
• Wolf and competitor names were not unique when generated
• All regular enemies were called "Shart"
• Found a major bug in enemy ai detection

Ironically, trying to implement the music system showed me the ai detection issues which were hiding pretty well, so I'm justified in the late addition!

Next Update Plans

There's a few plans for the next update. Now we have the new canid models, rather than pushing them out to enemies immediately, I want to get the sex system improved, with the changes I mentioned before. This would cut down on animation time significantly. After that, getting the enemy models updated. I'd like to add Xbox controller support, and we'd like to get in a Quick Takedown for combat mode, so you can punch, block or if you get the drop on them, knock them down and out for a few seconds.

The update is now available to install.