We started off Sprint 24 by discussing our third loot drop scenario in the game. The first involves players scrambling to a designated area after a flare goes off, to grab a crate of goodies before anyone else. The second finds a group holding a building or area against multiple waves of attackers for a set period of time. When the timer runs out, the group is rewarded with a hidden cache of weapons, survival items, and food. Our latest opportunity for players to grab a pile of loot, involves safeguarding an item’s transport from one location to another, while encountering a number of obstacles. Once the item makes the journey safe and sound, in the allotted time, the players will be awarded a prize. We briefly discussed adding some non-traditional impediments to the journey, like poorly written directions, or children who demand to stop to use the bathroom every five minutes, but decided to stick with the usual group of bloodthirsty creatures and bandits in the end.
Our AI works continues in three specific areas: waves of combatants in loot drops, birds, and monsters. Not only are we making our monsters smarter, but we’re making them work better in a group. Currently, our creatures don’t have much of a game plan other than ripping your face off. That’s a pretty simple plan, which is usually best, but our goal is to have monsters with a little more method to their madness. We want our mutants to work well together, and at least cover all the entrances to a building that they know players are hiding in.
Progress on party mechanics continues, and we talked about some things we’d like to include down the road. We added some new items to help heal injured players, and worked on the player healing player system as well. Soon you won’t have to leave slow, injured team members behind unless they’re really annoying. Speaking of friends, we’re updating the Friends system ingame to make it easier to find your buddies while running around Lahaina.
The team did some crafting work as well. We moved forward with a design for a wash bench, and are refining the icons for items being repaired, rebuilt, or recycled. We talked through the best way to split and stack items in your inventory, and did some work on weapon attachments. The HUD got a few tweaks and updates, and we talked through some additional things we’d like to add in the future.
We discussed plans for a new armory, Lahaina’s premiere place for everything sharp and shooty. We talked through what the place should look like, and where it would be located on the map. The team started a performance pass on the Veil Station, improving lighting, textures, and material changes inside. Terry set up some mirrors and is working on source control changes, while the art team makes audio improvements to various parts of the map, ensuring that the post-fracture world sounds as good as it looks.
Lastly, improvements to the environment and weather continue as we build out the map. We’re making overall performance improvements to the wilds, adjusting lighting (especially at night), fixing the fog, and making changes to the rain. Below you can see just how good the beach looks, while taking your morning stroll with your favorite machete or shark-toothed weapon.
We’ll be back later in the week with more updates
