Night Dive Twitch Streams

[675aed631617fSynaesthesia]

No worries, no offense was taken! I just wanted to clear up what's going on behind the scenes so you guys were aware of why the streams are a bit non-existent at the moment.

Something to note too is that Tom is actually no longer with us - this is why we've mentioned that we're hiring. He got an offer to work for Epic Games and took it - that's a dream for a lot of artists and everyone is really proud of him for making it there.

[675aed631632csgupta]

Yup - I think it's harder to showcase certain stuff as well.  Daniel's blockout was an easy regular stream; some of the design stuff they're doing now they might not want to show off quite yet.

Good on Tom - I'll miss him at Nightdive as he did some crazy good work, but I wish him the best!

[675aed631647aicemann]

Second that. Another where the passion for the work shone through quite strong. I'm sure he'll go on to do some good work at Epic.

[675aed631655flastonearound]

Yikes.. Epic Games huh? Why does that seem like bad thing?

[675aed631662cSynaesthesia]

Why would that be a bad thing?

[675aed6316725lastonearound]

I am not sure, it just seems like it is.

Future of Epic Games doesn't look all that bright, but I am probably wrong. The reason why it seems that way is mostly do to all the outright hatred they get.

[675aed6316836icemann]

Personally I don't hate Epic at all. They made Epic Pinball and they made Unreal (the FPS) which is one of my favorite games of all time. The Unreal Editors quite good (as Night Dive would tell you) also. I don't like the Epic Games store, but thats as far as my dislike goes. I know that many are PISSED off about all the games getting made exclusive for 12 months on there.

[675aed63169adGawain]

Yeah, I agree about the store and exclusives. I hate it when Microsoft for example does that with their games.
There are already too many stores. I had to install uplay just for watch dogs. Haven't used it again after finishing that.

Epic is doing better than they ever have. In games, retail and technology.
Their revenue share policy in Epic store is good for the industry.

[675aed6316cf6JDoran]

I hate the way Epic almost abandoned the Unreal series when Gears of War (a game I've never found interesting) became so popular. Yes, there's the presumably still upcoming modern reboot of Unreal Tournament, which can be downloaded for free, but it's updated only sporadically, and IIRC it's not been updated for nearly two years, so maybe Epic consider it to be largely abandoned now, I don't know.

On the PC, Unreal Tournament (the 1999 original game), and Unreal Tournament 2004 are brilliant (UT99 is still my go to PC game for when I'm board, it's combination of such enjoyable game modes, excellent bots (for playing offline), maps and mutators, including the near infinite amount of fan-made material for the game, makes it infinitely replayable).

I didn't like Unreal Tournament 2003, I found Unreal Tournament 3 to be so-so, and the original XBox game Unreal Championship was just a lesser version of Unreal Tournament 2003. But Unreal Championship's sequel, Unreal Championship 2, is extremely good, though unfortunately it's exclusive to the original XBox, which is a real pity as it really deserved to host fan made mods and levels, so I think it should have been ported to the PC.

[675aed6316e49icemann]

Agreed. If Epic had kept on the Unreal games (eg Unreal 3), I'd have played them. I've never been a fan of Gears of War too.

[675aed6316f56lastonearound]

I kinda liked Gears of War until they signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft Xbox. They are pulling the same shit all over again, only with PC this time. I suppose it is one of the reasons why I find it hard to trust them. Any publishers and/or developers who pulls this kind of shit, shouldn't be allowed to exist.

[675aed63171f7icemann]

You'd have REALLY hated Nintendo during the 80s - 90s as they had an even worse deal in place. Any developers who wanted to have games on the original NES were only allowed to put their games there and nowhere else full stop. No 1 year exclusivity. Forever.

[675aed6317969sgupta]

03/25/2019 Dev Stream w/ Stephen & Daniel (Jonathan Peros about halfway through.)

* If there's one stream to watch to get an idea of current progress, this is it.

* They're back from GDC and going through the Alpha (the version shown at GDC) to make some notes.

* They want to get Medical 100% polished and looking/playing great before moving onto the other levels (which of course are greyboxed and have had some work, but not to the degree Medical is getting regarding all the new art assets, etc.). 

* Q: Does that include Cyberspace?  A: They do have some prototypes for Cyberspace, but that's something that's going to need its own playtesting/iterating/etc.

* Still a few bugs like door buttons sticking to walls, etc.

* I actually think this playthrough looks better in some ways than the GDC video.  Probably not actually an improved Alpha, but the slower pace makes you appreciate it more.

* Stephen wants the flavor animations for things like the pipe and implants as a one-time thing.  He says they may cut them down to make them a bit shorter, but they'd still like to put them in.  Possibly cancelable as well.

* They want to put back the energizing animation from Energy Stations.

* Med-Beds may have a one-time animation, but it's shorter after.  Also they may not let you use one if enemies are active nearby.

* SERV-BOTS don't yet have all their sounds.

* Bodies are not yet lootable.

* E-Mails have yet to be implemented.

* UI is work in progress.  (I'm digging it so far.)

* Chris is going to be working on damage states.  Damage states (sparks, etc.) are NOT in yet, and that should make things much more visceral.  Same with reactions to being hit, both for enemies and your character, etc.

* Cameras also will blow up into chunks that hit the floor, which isn't in yet.  I'd imagine the same for CPU nodes and anything destructible.

* Skulls are taken from their Nightdive logo. =oP 

* They need to figure out ladder animations (rungs or sides) that preserve the freedom to jump between ladders, etc.  Modern Wolfenstein games are cited as good things to reference for this.

* They want space less static with more animation (shooting stars, etc.) and also have it rotating again like it did in Unity.

* They didn't have time to put the RESIST signage in, although Robb Waters did do it.

* Some areas may get modified that don't make sense/look wonky.  He'd also like to have areas of the station that look destroyed/blown to hell.

* Puzzles still need worked on by Matt.

* Radiation damage is in.

* Force bridges start from the middle at the moment; they need to fix that.

* AI isn't following through doors of different sections for some reason.

* They talk a bit about changing how space looks outside a bit.  Perhaps some sort of video could work better instead. 

* Some parts of the level are too dark and will need more lighting.

* There are a few areas with geometry problems, etc. they need to fix.

* There will be passive ambient sounds that change, but they didn't have time to implement in the demo.

* A few "sex doll" placeholder bodies are still there.  They're also the only lootable corpses.  Read into that whatever you will. 

* They welcome feedback on the music used - they have three "samples" in the Alpha segment they showed.

* Elevator music isn't in yet.

* Q: Where are the bathrooms?  A: Not in yet, but there will be some, as well as living quarters that look more like living quarters.

* Bathroom mirrors may not reflect your character as that's very expensive and time-consuming to do just for that; however they might find a creative way around it (lots of blood on the mirrors or something like SOMA where it only shows something if you interact).

* Q: Is there anything from Josh Powers still in the game?  A: No, as it doesn't fit with the art style now unfortunately.  Robert Simon work could still be revisited.  Cody Williams is similar to Josh - the work just doesn't fit the new style.  (But he praised the work of the others all the same).

* Sparq beam will be chargeable and have spark and overpowered effects.

* Effect of being hit not in yet.  Maybe not blood, but like a digital distortion effect.  (Unity had this I believe.) 

* Swag should come shortly after game launch - at least, that's the plan.

* Repair bot figure they wanted to do is a logistical nightmare because it's too fragile.  They don't want to send people broken toys, so they will be doing something different, and likely cooler/better.
 
* Rebecca Lansing's voice is newish from the Unity demo; all the other voiceovers are carryovers from the original.  The game is brutal, but the original voices are so antithetical to that, Stephen sort of loves them.  He's thought about cleaning them up and using them or rerecording them verbatim, but they don't sound 100% sure yet.

* Jonathan Peros has logistical concerns about the original voices and overlap. 

* Jonathan's also going to be testing some new environmental sounds in a separate branch - things like sound that bounces around the environment like the old EAX (which he wasn't familiar with; probably too young =oP).

[675aed6317a73icemann]

My summaries coming up too. I'm about halfway through the stream.

[675aed6317b5aSynaesthesia]

Fun fact, re: Josh Powers, he actually works with us at Quixel. Real stand-up guy.

[675aed6318752icemann]

Stephen - 26.03.19

* Stephen playing through the alpha. Daniel present as well. Looking for anything that needs fixing, be implemented etc etc. First hour and 15 is that. The remainder is Stephen and Daniel answering questions.
* Current focus is to get the medical level up to 100% done, as a benchmark for the others. That 100% does not include cyberspace (cyberspace is still being worked out).
* Some early feedback at GDC was that the quick item font text was hard to read on laptops.
* Stephen asks whether people liked how when a new implant was found, that the hacker would pick it up, inspect it for a second and then it's UI change would appear on screen.    - I like it. Keep it in. Prey kinda does something like that, with the inspection of new weapons.
* You hear Rebecca Lansing's first email to the hacker. I don't like the changed dialog, as now Rebecca doesn't know of the hacker when she calls in. More just happy to finally reach anyone on the station. In the original she knew exactly who the hacker was, and why they were there.
* Just seeing some actual gameplay going on, with combat etc happening is great.
* Get to see use of the inventory. Some funny trivia Stephen mentions. The current skull model in the game is that used in the Night Dive logo animation.  - They should leave that in.
* Stephen and Daniel discuss the current AI of the mutants, and of how much more work is needed on it.
* Doors un-usable until security level is lower - In
* New corpse models (for the crew) lookin good. Much improved. If I were to nitpick however, I'd say that they all look like the same person. Much more variance needed.
* 0:23:00 - Stephen asks about peoples opinions on music. Do people want music only at times, ambient, only during combat, all the time?     - All the time.
* Talk about the current star field visible outside windows to space, and how it should be less static     - Completely agree
*0:31:00 - Get to see the current radiation effect on the player.     - I am not a fan. Needs something better.
* A whole heap of small errors in the level (medical) found. Mutants standing still and not moving toward the player, missing textures, half implemented puzzles etc.
* Cyborg conversion chambers currently can't be switched over to being a resurrection station. On the todo list.      - I'd call this a major feature to focus on.
* Radiation canisters can't be destroyed currently
* 0:47:00 - Stephen had no idea why there is numbers displayed in the CPU core rooms. Lol.
* 0:56:00 - John joins the stream
* 0:58:00 - Stephen asks why the second large door in the level went (as in the massive door). Daniel responds that the door didn't make sense. So in agreement with John, they felt it should go. So was removed. Stephen responds that it should be in cause it helps differentiate the 2 areas from each other.      - Completely agree with Stephen there. Put it back in.
* 1:01:00 - Debate over whether to keep V-Mails in the game.    - Come on. Stop taking out stuff. The V-Mails were awesome in the original.
* 1:40:00 - Debate on whether or not to keep the original voice logs. Stephen absolutely loves the originals and thinks they give a nice antithesis to the dark style of this remake.     - I'm divided on this one.

[675aed6318909fox]

Elevator Remix- System Shock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KzrhD9vjiE

[675aed63189f4Gawain]

At last they did something right.

[675aed6318b2bJosiahJack]

I guess Hacker is somewhat tonedeaf or just not a good whistler. 

[675aed6318d94sgupta]

04/08/19 Dev Stream w/ Daniel

* Dev work mostly dealing with Level 2 (Research)

* Starts off showing GDC areas which have had additional work.

* They've gotten a LOT of positive feedback during and since GDC, both from companies as well as individuals.  PC Gamer said "Wowzers!" when they saw their demo.

* He's got station rotation working so the outside view of Saturn moves.

* Sunlight now beams through the windows as well.

* Stars now twinkle as well.

* Lots of other little changes.  Level 1 is close to done; they're pretty happy with it; things will change still over time.

* Now they're working on Research. 

* He keeps the BSP of the original for the minimap.  Then they break it up into chunks so different people can work on different areas.  This is one of the more complicated levels.

* He's working on signage (ie. BETA signs, etc.), geometry and level layout, and that kind of thing.

* Right now death just fades to black and confused one of their visual developers who died in-game and didn't know why he couldn't see anything suddenly.  =oP  Daniel wants something more interesting later on, so that's just placeholder.

* Q: Will it have a short CG cutscene on death like the original?  A: It's possible, but Daniel had other ideas to keep the first-person perspective.

* He closed System Shock EE to save a few resources.  Some of these EE builds actually take quite a few more resources than you'd expect.

* They're using a slightly older build of Unreal.  They don't update right away any more because in the past, it delayed work.  But they may upgrade to a newer version eventually once it's been out in the wild longer.

* They're still working on core gameplay like getting weapons in, all gameplay loops, etc. while concurrently also working on these levels. 

* Q: Will mantling be in the game?  A: Initial impression is no, but he doesn't want to say definitely.

[675aed6318ec4icemann]

Why not have mantling? That's been in every System Shock game.

And as for updating Unreal. As I've had to be working in that this semester, I can tell you that updating projects in that is a pain in the ass. You often run into update errors, lose some of your placed objects in levels, lose key bindings etc etc. I don't like Unreal. Unity I far prefer, as there is less bugs (in the engine itself).

[675aed631906fJDoran]

I'm not a fan of CGI in games. I prefer cut-scenes to be done in the game engine, as to me CGI, when it's better or at least significantly different to the in-game engine, draws you out of the game. That's just me, though, and perhaps I'm biased against CGI because I went down the N64 route in the N64/PSX days, where CGI was almost unknown in games on the N64, because of the strict limits of cartridge space, so N64 games almost always used the game engine to show the cut-scenes*. The Playstation had many games with separately produced CGI that was stored on the PSX's then huge amount of CD-Rom space.

I do agree though that first person cut-scenes are more atmospheric than third person cut-scenes. Plus if 'you' are never shown in game, so you don't see your character's physical appearance, then it's easier to imagine that it's you who is in the game. Others might think differently.




* Offhand, the only two N64 games I can recall with CGI cut-scenes are Resident Evil 2, and Wheel of Fortune. I *think* one of the Gex platform games also had CGI, but I might be wrong.

[675aed63191f5ZylonBane]

Pssst.... all computer graphics are CGI. You mean pre-rendered cutscenes.

[675aed63192edicemann]

I though RE 2 on the n64 had none due to the major size restrictions of cartridges compared to cds. The ps1 version is wayyyyyyyyyyy better.