The Isle: DevBlog #12: New Heights, New Depths

Published by 03 May, 2021 0 likes

FTessaro - Lead Programmer

It’s been another month of extensive work on Update 3. Much of it spent hammering out issues discovered throughout the stress test, which gave us an absolutely enormous amount of helpful information about the server and some hacks that were trying to mess with it.

There have also been a lot of minor changes to the codebase, primarily aimed at improving server side performance, there are however some client side optimizations as well, but some of those optimizations may not be implemented in the first release of the update, they’ll most likely be delivered in further patches or hotfixes.

As always, a lot of bug fixes and improvements to old and new mechanics, but also small additions, such as the swallowing animation that you may have seen during the stress test, the gore masks for Ptera, Deino, Carno and more. Some of which have been purposefully left for you to discover. Expect to see even more coming down the pipeline soon and with the addition of new members to the team we expect productivity to increase that much more. Not much more to say at this time, but rest assured we’re all hard at work and pushing forward. See you next time!

dmIV - Programmer

I started the month with some animation system changes to the deino. When turning in place while swimming it now plays a dedicated animation instead of just using the standard swimming animations. Swimming movement is pretty difficult to get done right, due to it having to be very smooth without any sudden snaps that we might get away with on land. Fortunately though it worked out without a hitch.

Issues kept popping up with our swimming system throughout development. We’ve been making changes to have it working right, but we just kept running into more difficult problems. So I ended up reworking it quite significantly and now we have a system that’s less error-prone and easier to work with. This ended up being quite challenging due to having to dig deep into engine code, but it ended up working well and got rid of our previous issues, so it was worth it. Even if we ended up releasing a build that allowed players to swim in the air. At least you got some insight into what we put QA through.

Amar0k - Programmer

Well it’s been a crazy month for me, some of you have seen I've finally moved into my new place and settled in… Before an incident where I accidentally flooded half of it, oddly fitting during the development of an aquatic update.

There has been an absolutely enormous amount of bug fixing going on as we got things ready for Update 3’s release. Besides that however, performance improvements to AI and productionising code so we can speed up development times and make sure we have a robust foundation to move forward with. I’ve had some fun with the Utahraptor AI and I'm pushing to get that out as soon as possible as I'm sure you’re all sick of the Dryosaurus AI by now. That pretty much wraps it up from me. I hope everyone has been having fun with the stress test and look forward to seeing more jump scares!

Tapwing - Concept Artist

This was one of the more straightforward creatures to work with. We liked the base design of the original Shant, so we started with that and tweaked body proportions to something that looked heavier yet balanced. With the redesign we also took the opportunity to add a couple features; the Shant’s notably square chin and the Edmontosaurini’s famous hoof-like forelegs.

Lastly was the spine. Fred had come up with a whole set of really nice options, but one of his in particular caught my eye for two reasons:

#1 was the slightly macabre look the spikes could have if you weren’t all that familiar with the Shant’s skeletal.

#2 was the 2nd silhouette it gave the animal - giving it a nice singular curve to it’s back that felt reminiscent of the original design while still letting the duo hump shape of the animal's actual back shine through.

Wedge - Sound Designer

With the majority of audio work needed for update 3 rounded out (aside from the occasional fix, improvement or tweak) my attention has been fully focused on re-making the ambient audio, in this month’s case, the swamp and jungle environments.

A huge amount of the process has involved trial and error approaches to create a more dynamic ambient environment, the final result of experimentation has led me to use a larger array of audio loops, which are less dense than the ones previously used. The volumes of these loops are carefully and methodically modulated over time to create peaks and troughs in the density of the ambient track. I divided these audio loops into categories - birds, insects and a distant bedding – the latter being used to create a sense of fullness without occupying too much of the dynamic headroom. This allows more dynamic range to play with, which can be filled with the audio produced from the actions of players, punctuating the ambience opposed to fighting with it. Although the end result gives a much more immersive and diverse audio experience, using a larger variety of audio loops, which do not have a definite audio volume point of reference, has made the mix process slightly more cumbersome. However, the swamp Biome is now complete and Jungle not far behind, after which I will be moving on to creating ambiences for Biomes that have not yet had their own audio in Evrima.

I have also designed a selection of one-shot audio files of fauna and generic dinosaur calls to be used in the night ambience. Combining these sounds with a restrained and evolving approach to ambient loops will give a much more suspenseful effect to the night ambience, laying the groundwork to build on when we tackle upcoming content such as Night Vision.

An important aspect that was stressed when implementing these calls, particularly the generic dinosaur calls, was ensuring they do not confuse people into thinking we have snuck in some new playables. Although the audio files created have the weight and power to be used as calls for large creatures, they are routed through real-time processing to put these sounds spatially into the distance so they blend with the ambience, providing atmosphere and immersion and not distractions.

Alongside these changes to the ambiences, I have also been looking at further improving the vocal attenuations, both for realism and so they work harmoniously with the ambience from larger distances, some of which can be heard in Update 3, the remaining majority of changes will be added alongside the new ambiences when all are complete.

KissenKitten - Producer

We’re back, back, back again and happy to finally release Update 3! It really beat us down trying to get the feeling just right. We spent the vast majority of April really trying to fine tune the Ptera and Deino gameplay into something that felt satisfying. While we are happy with where things ended up and it would appear many of you are as well, there are still one or two outstanding features we want to deliver on for those two animals. Like most of what we do these days, it’s going to require some new tech. So those things will be developed in the background alongside standard production.

Now that Update 3 is released we’re moving straight into Update 4. But before we dig deeper into that, there are going to be some shifts made to the roadmap that we hope you will like. The decisions we’ve made really focus on the systems that add replayability to the game, are foundational, fun and also, hotly requested. With some of the coming shifts we should be able to update faster while still focusing on delivering meaningful content that adds to the gameplay experience and isn’t just cosmetic. Be on the lookout for those changes soon. An announcement will accompany it’s release. Let us know what you think.

Lastly, stay tuned for further development of the Pachy. A hard-headed and irritable herbivore with trouble on the brain. Show it an immovable object and the Pachy will put it to the test. Don’t let it’s stature fool you, tangling with the wrong Pachy can have crippling consequences. Leaving you dazed, damaged or a wet pile of battered flesh. Approach with caution!

The animation team is hammering away at the Pachy’s animations and personality. With a fair amount completed and more to be checked off soon, in addition to some reactionary animations for it’s targets. WHAM! We’ve also got some more things blooming on the horizon by way of map changes, flora, fauna, human structures and humans themselves. We’re growing our team slowly but surely to add more quality and expedience to production. A few more key components and we’ll be right where we want to be. Be good, be kind.

Closing Remarks

That's a wrap for Update #3 & April folks. It's been an incredibly busy month as we hammered out issue after issue during the stress test, which we are incredibly thankful to our community for participating in. Through your gameplay we received an absolutely staggering amount of useful data that helps us push forward towards our ultimate goal of creating the game that we've all been dreaming of since our childhoods.

Before we go however, I'll leave a link to our trailer for Update #3. Prepare to soar through the skies as the nimble Pteranodon and delve the darkest depths as the terrifying Deinosuchus. Enjoy!