How We Can Make Our Love and Literacy Program Better

35 years ago our parents began a dream vacation together. The opportunity to cruise the Hawaiian islands with other romance novelists was a dream come true for my mother. According to my dad she was bouncing off the walls weeks before the trip, and had her head buried in her notebook the first couple days of the cruise. As we all know things didn’t go as planned.

Tough decisions were made that day, and they had to be made fast. As the world crumbled around them, our parents and the surviving crew decided to keep cruising, and try to ignore what was happening outside the ship. That lasted for a while, but reality eventually started to beat out romance. My mom said that civility and the midnight buffet were among the first casualties. They put off the inevitable for almost 6 months, but then the fuel ran out and so did the dream.

They were a resilient lot however, and soon their talents as wordsmiths was put to use. Fate and circumstance had left them the greatest collection of living authors in the world. Their love of language was apparent to the survivors on the island, and soon they had made agreements with many different factions. Slowly, they courted the various Kānaka groups until a lasting bond through literature was formed, and at night they would go up the hill and teach the Thrivers reading and romance.

With my mom at the helm, the “Love, Life, and Literacy” program was born to our very excited parents. They raised it to be the most comprehensive post-apocalypse college of arts and letters available (as far we know). Their love affair with words turned their fantasy to reality, and they passed it on to us. It is our job to keep the school and relationships on the island fresh and exciting. For the most part, I think we’ve done a good job. Nonetheless, there have been a few indiscretions that I feel need to be addressed honestly and out in the open.

There has always been talk of expanding the curriculum to cover topics other than literature and the human condition. Science and math have always been the most popular suggestions, but recently history has been batted around, (because of the “doomed to repeat it” trope I suppose).
To all those who are pushing for expanded classes I have only one thing to say, NO!

Pursuing science and math is what got us here. Love didn’t poison the land and water. Romance didn’t cause the collapse of civilization. Billions of lives weren’t lost because of an excess of tenderness. It was an overzealous need to understand the world before we truly understood ourselves that was almost our downfall. When my mother first began this journey you couldn’t even trade a well-crafted romance novel for a salted fish. You can get a good meal in some places for a mediocre poem now. That is the kind of progress that we need to focus on.

Speaking of focus it has come to my attention that many of you have been selling books personally, and not in conjunction with our store. I know that the practice has been going on for a long time and I generally turn a blind eye. Two recent events make that practice impossible now. First, according to our inventory fantasy and thriller novels are outselling romance by almost 3:1. That is unacceptable. Catering to the Kānaka’s baser instincts with tales of violence and explosions instead of cultivating more mature emotions goes against everything we are working for. No more selling tales of swords and sorcerers on the side. Don’t make me go medieval on you! Second, and most disturbing it has come to my attention that someone who shall remain nameless has been passing off two classics as his own. Plagiarism is a vile practice and the next time I ask a student who wrote “Treasure Island” I better hear Robert Louis Stevenson.

Lastly, we come to what might be the most troubling issue facing us. It is important that the education we provide is of a quality that we can be proud of, and that means standards. From the very beginning my mother’s seminal work, “Aloha! Mark Aloha! Love” has been the cornerstone of our curriculum. According to our syllabus it is the novel that our capstone class, “Understanding Love” is based on. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Alexis Green was trying to use her mother’s novel, “Love Lahaina Style” to teach the class. With its run-on sentences and sloppy metaphors it’s no wonder that it’s left some students tired and confused. LLS is a perfectly reasonable starter book for our remedial classes, but falls flat when compared to the symphony of seduction that is “Aloha! Mark”. Let’s respect the high bar we’ve set for ourselves and the education we provide. We owe it to our parents and our students.

Reality Machine Recipes: Hikeway tactical backpack

Hikeway Tactical Backpack
Average Customer rating: 3.5/5
Description:
6 x 14 x 18 inches. 1.5 kg in weight. Capacity 30L. Assembles in minutes. Power fabric makes it easy to wirelessly charge electrical devices. Snap hubs make attaching Hikeway solar panels a breeze. Water resistant, anti-wrinkle, anti-scratch with multi-buckle design for customizable fit. Anti-theft zippers with large secondary pouches. Insulated main compartment keeps drinks cool.
3 areas of thick padding for comfort, breathability and maximum back support while traveling. Dark colors and low profile provides night cover and smaller silhouette. This backpack is perfect for weekend trips, short night excursions, or for a sleek look when heading to the office or school.

Recent User Reviews

5/5 Definitely Worth the Time and Effort.

By Thatwalkingguy on August 11, 2048
“First RM recipe I’ve tried and couldn’t be more pleased! Easy and quick to put together as advertised. Zippers and buckles all work well and seem to be constructed well. One of the most comfortable backpacks I own. Insulated pouch kept my Manimal cold after 2 hours of hiking. Haven’t tried attaching solar panels but the fabric itself was sufficient to keep my phone charged. Being a tactical pack it’s not for long trips but is perfect for a day or two alone in the wilderness. I would definitely try out other Hikeway recipes!”

2 /5 No Substitutes?
By craftgal on July 14, 2048
“Tried to substitute materials like I have done MANY times before with other projects but wasn’t allowed to. WTF!! I just wanted to make the body out of glass so I could see inside. With the see-through craze going on now I can’t imagine why this isn’t allowed. I should be able to have a glass backpack if I want. LAME!!!!!!”

3 /5 Hikeway Doesn’t Know What Words Mean
By HarryG on August 3, 2048
“Tried out this recipe for a specific trip with the guys. It was very easy to put together and felt comfortable on my back. Chose this model for its size and claims of water resistance. We were taking a 3 day canoeing trip so weight and water were definitely going to be an issue. Packed my usual camping gear and included an old tablet filled with all the great buddy canoeing movies I could think of. First night was fine. Nobody could stop talking about the movie from the previous night. One of my buddies was arguing with me about why I’d show a certain movie because he doesn’t understand theme trips. While I was trying to explain to him that nobody was going to have to squeal on this trip if I had anything to say about it, the canoe flipped and into the river I went, pack and all.

I got out of the river ok but it took a while to find my backpack. It was trapped against a rock and had the river pushing against it for almost an hour before we found it. We made camp to let me dry off and I discovered the inner pouch was full of water. The tablet was ruined so we had to spend the rest of the trip talking or listening to the sounds of the woods at night instead of watching my theme movies.

Water resistant means that something is resistant to water to me. Whether it be a light rain, a spilled bottle of water, or a river pumping thousands of gallons a minute this bag should have kept the water out. I would suggest the official description make note of exactly how much water is too much so others aren’t duped like I was.”

5/5 Everything Promised and More
By Megand on August 2, 2048
“Good product easy to put together. Very Comfortable. No problems, exactly what I’ve come to expect from Hikeway.”

4 /5 Good Product
By tritun on July 2, 2048
“Good recipe. Easy to make and lightweight. Wish it came in different colors. Would build again.”

3 /5 Keep the Sponsored “Suggestions” To Yourselves!
By harshner on July 21, 2048

“I find it hilarious that there is a blatant ad in the product description. The rules clearly state that descriptions should be concise, and void of advertisements. Unless you’re in charge of multiple devices or trying to power something big there is no need for you to buy one of Hikeway’s overpriced solar panels. Even if you did need more power, I don’t know why you’d use ancient solar technology instead of paying a few dollars more for a kinetic charger. It’s like this bag is marketed to cavemen or something instead of people who know anything about the technology of the past 10 years. If you’re going to try to slip an ad in, please make it for something a modern person would actually want.”

4 /5 Good Product Terrible Support
By user8 on August 17, 2048
“Was raised by my grandfather and learned a lot from him. He’d take me hiking all the time up by his cabin. His favorite spot was a few days hike to a little lake called Cloud Lake nestled in the mountains. I learned about life, love, and about what it takes to be a responsible adult coming down that trail. He never expected to be raising another kid during his retirement and I never expected to be in the situation I was.

He never complained once and I never felt like I wasn’t wanted or cared for. It could have gone really bad, but it didn’t thanks to him. When he passed and I learned that his last wishes were to have his ashes spread over the shores of Cloud Lake I didn’t hesitate. The truth is I owed him much more than carrying him one last time to the place we loved, but it was a start.

As others have said the pack was really easy to put together and was very comfortable. I have zero issues with this backpack itself. The only thing that would have protected his urn from the fall I took is a metal case. I’m not upset that when I opened the bag I found his ashes all over. I did the best I could and spread what I could gather up inside the bag but I evidently didn’t get all of it.

A few days later I found the copy of The Count of Monte Cristo he had given me in the bag. I didn’t think much of it and put it back on the shelf, but that was just the beginning. The next day the bag was on my bed and the book was inside again. I live alone and this was starting to freak me out. I put the book on the shelf again and threw the bag in my trunk. The next morning the backpack was sitting on my passenger seat.

I knew what had happened. Some of grandpa is still in the bag and he wants me to bring him to the lake. The problem is the bag looks clean to me. I called Hikeway multiple times now but they just put me on hold or in one case, hung up and laughed. This is not a laughing matter to me. I have a beautifully made bag that is haunted now and I can’t get anyone from the company to give me a solution. If you’re looking for a company that stands behind their products no matter what, look someplace else!”

2 /5 Bad Attitudes and False Allegations!
By dadface on July 3, 2048
“I’m not sure what anti-theft zippers are but my toddler seems to be able to use them and he’s not a master thief! I’m surprised that these kind of allegations would make it through your marketing department. This is NOT how you treat a customer!”

5/5 Good Project For the Whole Family
BY craftB on July 11, 2048
“Easy to build, great product perfect for day trips with the kids.”

4 /5 No Complaints
By anonymous on July 23, 2048
“Light weight and durable as advertised.”

5/5 Perfect for Day Trips
By Happycamper on August 7, 2048
“Power fabric works great and can power my wife and I’s devices. Good for easy to moderate hiking. One of the best recipes I’ve tried.”

2 /5 You Need To be an Engineer To Use This Thing!
By gertyF on August 28, 2048
“Takes too much time to build, I’m not an idoit!!!!!

3 /5 Too Small
By longweekend on July 19, 2048
“Not big enough for a serious hiker.”

2 /5 Black but Not Cool!
By DaddyOh on July 11, 2048
“My stepdaughter is going through a black period right now. Her hair’s black. Her lips and nails are black. Her clothes are black, even her shoes. The music coming out of her room sounds like a combination of a cat wailing and a funeral dirge. When I asked her what was going on she said that she was sick of being my cookie cutter perfect daughter and wanted to be able to express herself and be unique. All of her friends act and dress the same.

They make me drop them off a few blocks before every destination so they won’t have to be seen with me. I’m trying, I really am. I just don’t understand why someone would look at the rosy hue of a young girl’s cheek and say, “You know what would look good there? A silver skull piercing.” I’m baffled as to why that piercing would be so expensive.

She refuses to use the school bag I got her last year and with the amount I’m paying for little silver skulls and all things dark, I was looking to save a little money. When I saw this Hikeway bag I thought I had the perfect solution. I could print out the pieces and build it myself so it would be cheap. It was black just like everything she loves. It had an insulated pouch to keep drinks cold because suburban suffering is thirsty work. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

She screamed that I didn’t understand her, that the bag was anything but cool because of something about the buckles, and that I’m always trying to buy her love. If you are going to have something that looks cool but actually isn’t there should be some sort of warning. It’s hard enough being a parent without keeping track of what makes a bag cool or not. It’s Hikeway’s job to let consumers know things like this and they dropped the ball big time.”

5/5 Would buy Again
By Daughteroh on July 12, 2048
“A++ Would buy again. Leave me alone, you’re not even my real dad.”

Gateway Technology Gets Travel Approval Worldwide

The United States joined 181 other countries today in signing the contentious Gateway Travel Accord. Sponsored by the United States and China, negotiations started last year to make the near instantaneous transport system legal for personal travel worldwide. Despite heavy opposition from a number of trade unions, security experts, and environmentalists, the new agreement will take effect in November.

Veilcorp officials were present at the UN for the vote despite security concerns and calls for the company to distance itself from the event. Opposition leaders say they are not surprised that the company has had such close interactions with delegates during the vote, and that it is another example of Veilcorp’s “Pay to play tactics and flagrant disregard for the law.”

For the past year Gateway technology has been used for commercial purposes domestically, leading to loud opposition from trade organizations and environmentalists. While the system has greatly reduced the cost of shipping goods, opponents point to the large number of unemployed workers that have been replaced and security concerns.

“We have effectively invited terrorists to our dinner tables,” warns a security expert who wished to remain anonymous.

“In 1918 a flu epidemic swept across the world. Over 500 million individuals fell sick and ultimately 100 million died. That represented 5% of the world’s population dead. It had such a profound effect that life expectancy dropped 12 years that year. All because of some sneezing on trains and unwashed hands. Imagine what damage could be done if a dedicated group of bad actors decided to tailor a virus that had a week long incubation period. Now imagine that they had the ability to send infected individuals to every corner of the Earth at the exact same time, virtually instantaneously. It is mind boggling that this agreement was ratified.”

Veilcorp spokeswoman Lisa Hunt says that is gross exaggeration, and claims that such statements are, “Concern theater.” She says,

“Veilcorp has worked with a number of governments to vet travelers in the United States and worldwide for years. This agreement actually makes travel more secure because we can now share information freely, and better track goods traveling through the veil. The human race has had many breakthroughs since 1918. We now know the importance of washing your hands and proper nutrition. To suggest that gateway travel is now suddenly more dangerous than it has been in the previous epidemic-free years is ridiculous. We suggest that these so called security experts wipe their nose and quit crying wolf.”

In addition to the security concerns, others point to the increase in displaced workers since the unveiling of gateway technology, and lingering doubts about its environmental impact. An International Transportation Coalition (ITC) statement reads in part: “Gateway technology has been studied for about 7 years, 3 years less than we require the most benign of drugs to be approved. It is ludicrous to say that this technology is less complicated, or safer than cold medicine. This technology might one day be ready, but rushing the process for political reasons is both irresponsible and dangerous. We would like to remind the public that just 16-years-ago a containment breach at a Veilcorp facility destroyed acres of crops in Iowa and led to the mass evacuation of thousands. Imagine the loss of life that would have occurred if the breach had happened in an area that wasn’t as ready for an emergency. This accord is a recipe for disaster.”

Hunt counters,

“I’m glad to see that the International Brotherhood of Buggy Drivers, and the Hang Glider Guild are now qualified to comment on environmental science. The truth of the matter is that Veilcorp has had a flawless safety record for the past 15 years. We have been cleared of all wrong doing over the incident in Iowa, and there have been no lasting environmental or medical effects. We understand that change can be scary but these people need to move on. Their constant cries make them sound like overfed birds scared to leave the nest, and squawking at anything that gets too close. We suggest that they spread their wings and take a technological leap with us. The world is migrating on with, or without them.”

When asked about his controversial vote in favor of the deal, U.S. Secretary of State Patrick Swalwell said,

“Today’s agreement will be remembered as the day that we became a true worldwide community. Instead of watching a film about the Pyramids our children can take field trips there. Doctors and medical supplies can reach the victims of natural disasters within moments instead of days. It has never been easier to experience other cultures and learn the lessons they have to teach. I think we’ll see in the near future just how close this will bring the human race together. Today we all became neighbors.”

Expansion of the Preservation Zone Gets Legislative Greenlight

An initiative to expand the borders of the West Maui Forest reserve was passed today. The plan will see a new preservation zone which extends into parts of Lahaina. Backers say the expansion is needed to ensure that natural areas remain protected from overuse and invasive species. They point out how important those areas are to keeping a thriving tourist industry. Others are concerned that the expansion may unduly burden hundreds who now find themselves living within the protected area.

Backed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the legislation follows on the heels of low population zone (lpz) rules adopted by Maui after the construction of the Thorcon plant back in 2029. The DLNR says that a number of high profile construction projects, Including numerous Veilcorp facilities, have exposed the islands to a flood of invasive species requiring tough new regulations and the increase in government protected lands.

Officials point to the rampant little fire ant infestation that has gripped the island in the past year. Unlike the native tropical fire ant, the little fire ant has become a major problem. Despite being miniscule in size, the invasive species can deliver a painful sting when disturbed that can produce welts that last for weeks. They promote pests such as scale insects, white flies, and aphids, by killing natural predators and parasites. The ants have already wreaked havoc on local agriculture and numerous attacks on pets have been reported. Many are concerned about the local sea turtles and their nesting grounds. On the Galapagos Islands the ants are known to eat tortoise hatchlings and attack the eyes of adult tortoises, leading to blindness.

DLNR spokeswoman Anita Keawe says,

“We’re really trying to avoid some of the issues that Kauai is currently facing with the Coqui frogs. They have transformed the “Garden Isle” over the last few years. We tried taking a more hands-off approach there and I think everyone can see what happened. After a number of unsuccessful eradication campaigns and without any predators, the frogs have eaten almost all the natural pollinators. Many native flowers and plants are in danger and last year’s guava crop was almost nonexistent. The expansion of the preservation zone will not only offer protection to huge swathes of land on Maui, but comes with other strict rules and regulations. Veilcorp in particular, will have to follow stringent new quarantine rules and isolate any incoming freight until it has been properly inspected.”

However, not everyone agrees that expanding the borders is the way to handle the ant incursion. Many residents who find themselves within the borders of newly protected areas will be prohibited from building additions to their homes, or even beginning large-scale remodeling work in some cases without special permits.

Still others see even bigger problems with the new plan. Chris Treadwell of Creek Propulsions claims that the expansion helps the big players on the island and is designed to stifle small business and innovators.

“I have no doubt that the State’s heart was in the right place with this planned expansion, but the big winners here are Veilcorp and Thorcon. Their facilities are already complete and they have used the political wind to make sure that no other competitors can get a foothold in the area. We’ve been exploring geothermal power options in Hawaii since 2028. This expansion will create a glut of new rules and regulations that make exploring test sites almost impossible. I think it’s pretty well established that the ants became a problem after Veilcorp began construction. I’m not saying in anyway that the spread of the ants was deliberate; I’m just pointing out that the company isn’t really shouldering any of the responsibility to solve the problem. Instead, of giving them a bill or halting their operations, the government has passed a law ensuring that they can operate in Lahaina without the worry of other companies moving in. Maui has just agreed to let the fox guard the hen house, and I think we should all be concerned about that.”

Officials counter that the plan is designed to help protect the tourist industry. They point out that almost 80% of every dollar generated on the island is directly or indirectly from tourism. While certain activities like ATV tours will now come with new government rules, there are no plans to ban them. “This really is about making sure our beaches stay pristine and ensuring that Maui remains a beautiful destination,” says Keawe

“Hawaii Maui Makena Big Beach” by dronepicr is licensed under CC BY 2.0

DEV

July Development Update and New Content

Aloha Thrivers! We’re excited to share our progress and the latest updates in the game. We worked on vendors, a new beach area, an overhaul of the foliage and the neighborhood around the Comm Tower, storm effects and lots more.

Your feedback is very important to us so keep it coming!  If you’re interested in helping out head over to our discord let us know! We love hearing your ideas and talking about what’s coming up next.

Here’s a look at the biggest improvements and news about the latest features you’ll find in the game.

New Beach Area

We built out a beautiful new beach area for players to explore.

With abandoned research buildings on the beach

And the jungle.

There are even ruins of an old neighborhood, perfect for exploring or taking shelter from mutants and the elements.

Foliage Update

We’ve made some big improvements to the foliage including more realistic-looking meadows bordering the jungle.

Player’s will find new types of plants and trees to harvest across the map

And we even added coconuts.

Vendor Stalls

We continue to build out a survivor marketplace inside the game’s starting area, The Thorcon Power Plant. Our goal is to have a thriving safe zone where players can get everything they need to help them make it outside the walls of the building. Here’s a look at a clothing stall we’ve been working on from the original drawing to a final paint-over.

Storm Effects

With all the beauty work we’ve done we decided it was time to grunge a few things up.

Beaches will now show the effects of storms

With more debris washed up on shore and an occasional reminder of those who didn’t win the struggle to survive.

Respawn Bed Update

Our Thorcon overhaul moved up a level into the spawning area this month. We’re giving our restoration beds a facelift taking into consideration what a player could find combing the ruins for parts.

Here’s a before and after showing the difference between a new respawn bed and the lightly used jury-rigged version.

You can learn more about the game and get all the latest updates by going to our Discord server or checking out our Steam page.

DEV

Weather Upgrades and Improvements

There’s only a couple of weeks of rebuilding and updating work to be done before we’re ready to hand out keys again. We know that many of you are eager to explore the wilds of Lahaina and we appreciate your patience while we make some of our foundational systems better. Mahalo to our testers who help us every week discover what’s not working and point out what needs fixing. Your feedback and ideas are hugely important to us! Larry, we fixed that dying while reloading bug you found during last week’s play session

You can learn more about the game and get all the latest updates by going to our Discord server or checking out our Steam page.

We’ve recently completed a massive weather update in the game. While this change allows us to make beautiful multi-layered 3D clouds and super realistic weather, it also provides huge performance improvements and lets us optimize weather patterns and times of the day. Check out some of these gorgeous pictures of Lahaina in 2120.
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DEV

Building Broken Neighborhoods

We just started a new sprint, and in addition to adding a few more features to our drones and automated systems, the team is focusing on designing a construction system and making a trailer for the game.

A number of weapon upgrades and fixes were completed this week. We added unequip and throw sounds to the item/weapon classes and fixed a bug that prevented weapon equipping sounds to play. We also fixed an issue with first-person animations getting stuck when swapping weapons.

We made a few torch improvements too. A bug where the torch wouldn’t play an unequip animation was fixed and we addressed a problem with torch fire VFX not being properly attached to the torch mesh while moving. While it looked cool and probably simulated the visual effects of severe dehydration accurately, we like our fire to obey the laws of physics.

In preparation for our game trailer, we’re finishing up what we’re calling “roadside attractions” to our automated road-building system. The paths most traveled in the game now have a collection of signs, boxes, streetlights, and debris to remind players of the vibrant Lahaina that once was. We improved the weather system as well and gave the sky that deep blue that Maui is famous for. Below you can see the culmination of this work in one of the neighborhoods that we plan to feature in our trailer.

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If you’re interested in a daily update of our development, check out our Daily Update Twitter feed and see what’s happening every day of the week.

DEV

Thunder, Lightning, and Elevators

With sprint 36 coming to an end, everyone is fixing bugs as they appear and wrapping up new systems. We’ve fixed an issue causing environmental decals to be drawn on players. It made great camouflage in some cases but looked too weird to keep. We addressed an issue where players could get stuck on the inventory screen when “looting all” on some instanced containers, and worked out a problem with the crossbow blocking interactions while equipped. It came to our attention that players weren’t able to drink from rivers at certain angles and distances. Instead of coming up with a story about how the streams of tomorrow are only accessible at right angles, we just went ahead and fixed it so even sloppy drinkers can make use of the water.

We’ve made a number of audio updates as well. The team added UI and sound to drag/drop functionality, new audio for starvation, dehydration, and player death. We implemented thunder audio, created a new lightning bolt actor, and fixed a problem with some weapons not clanging or banging properly. The elevator inside the Comm Tower got a little love too. We’ve updated how the elevator works and added a number of audio updates to make your up and down experience more realistic.

We’ve made some great improvements with our procedural building system making huge performance gains. We’ll have a more in-depth look at the technical aspects of those improvements soon, but for now, you can see how great our shacks are looking morning, noon, and dusk in these shots below.
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If you want to stay on top of our development process on a daily basis, check out our Daily Update Twitter feed and see what’s happening every day of the week.

DEV

Building a Safe Zone

A new sprint started this week and we’ll be focusing on finishing up a few systems that didn’t quite get finished from the previous sprint, more drone improvements, audio support across the map, building out five more world tiles, quests, and a number of AI updates.

The team fixed a handful of drone bugs and made some upgrades to the flying cameras that travel around the island filming anything of interest. We fixed a bug where the drone would get stuck flying backward while trying to fly a long distance towards players. We appreciated how impressive it was to go all that way in reverse but it looked silly. We fixed an issue where the drone would drift away from the refueling station before it was fully charged, and a problem with it crashing when a target was being scanned and died. We worked out a problem with it rotating in the wrong direction and smoothed out the camera so it’s less jittery when changing targets.

We’ve turned the lightning back on so players can enjoy a good light show in the sky again. We’ve also made some lighting improvements to torches, added some new animations, and updated its stats as a weapon, for all of you angry mob enthusiasts. In addition, the team fixed some issues with arrows not being attached to skeletal meshes properly or disappearing when hitting a surface too close to a player that fired it.

This week we added some fencing around the perimeter of the social hub of the game, the Thorcon Power plant. The fence marks the border of the safe zone inside where players can take a break to do some crafting without interruption, or just take respite from the struggles of survival. Below you can see a couple of shots of what the first pass of the fence looks like from the plant entrance.
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If you enjoy staying on top of our development process and would like to see what we’ve done on a daily basis versus a bi-weekly one, check out our new Daily Update Twitter feed and see what’s happening every day of the week.

DEV

Building Better Group AI

As the week winds down we’re completing work on a few items from the game’s fictional companies. Soon the map will be littered with branded items that remind players of the thriving Lahaina that existed before The Great Fracture. Players will be able to slaughter their thirst by discovering old cans of Manimal. They’ll marvel at the shelf life of SSHAM, Lahaina’s favorite processed meat product, and dig for loot in abandoned Alohagistics packages that didn’t “Get There Eventually.” We also looked at a number of new speargun options ranging from the top-of-the-line future designs to ones that would make MacGyver proud, and a few that were more fun than practical.

With some new weapons on the horizon we made some improvements to mutant AI, focusing on groups. We’ve already made a lot of improvements to Big Bob this week, and are wrapping up more generic leader AI work now. Leaders now generate an array of locations around an enemy that others can move to. They fill the ranks of their groups with new members when need be, and dead or disabled members are now automatically removed from any temporary AI group they may belong to. In the past, mutants would keep a place at the table so to speak for their lost. It was touching, but ultimately not good for game play. We also made a few improvements to the AI threat generation system.

We continue to adjust lighting and add detail to the social hub of the game, the Thorcon power plant. The team is making a number of performance improvements currently to help out your cooling fans, and let you enjoy all the detail we’ve put into the massive structure. We continue to build out the map around the games hero buildings, ensuring that there is plenty to do and discover as you journey between destinations. We looked at a few new concept drawings that should be a lot of fun to explore.

With all the recent foliage and weather improvements we turned our attention on making some audio advancements. We want the jungle and forgotten places to sound as good as they look and will be making a large audio pass in the near future. Below you can see the culmination of the lighting and environmental work we’ve completed so far.
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Don’t forget that you have less than a week to enter our XFX AMD Radeon RX 570 RS 8GB giveaway. The contest ends February 13th. There are multiple ways to enter including joining the Fractured Veil discord server, and reserving your player name.