September Update and Patch 1 is Public (Patreon)

Patch 1 is now public! Download the latest version now from the Launcher available or direct download here.

Hello everyone,

We’re hard at work with getting Patch 2 out with new animations. Milestone 2 is also getting significant headway as we transition from 3D to 2D and we’re aiming for playable and polished content first and foremost, as well as creating a development environment that will take what we throw at it and be resilient.

Here’s a small visual of what components are currently being worked on. Art is no longer being changed for Patch 2. Animations is working purely on Patch 2 content. And the game has to see a few more improvements to Patch 2, and Milestone 2 is being worked on as well.

2D Art

We have new work to show for Milestone 2, the second wave of backgrounds are practically finished, and with that we have enough assets to create their subsequent segments. After finally deciding every room inside the Federation Ship's conforming, we are working simultaneously in the first Forest Area and Tribe Locations (As you may already have seen) and in some locations inside the Federation Ship (Like most corridors, hangars and Krys and Maeve's rooms). We hope we can make the most out of each background.

Here’s the new Razorclaw Tribe level that Kuja has created in engine with particles,

[Video] https://streamable.com/w1zyuf

[Video] https://streamable.com/o4b12v

Compound has also created the map itself for the Federation Ship as seen here as separate floors,

Kuja has created an early version of the map as a hologram as well to be used in-game in the control rooms!

Animations

Archie and the animation gang has been hard at work at finishing the animations required for the next patch of the tech build. In the future we’ll be using these animations in the 2D view, which is why so much effort is being put still in this line.

The front-side and back-side rigs for the female characters is being created and will finally complete the full directional rig.

Scene 2 is nearing completion and will be wrapped up with Scene 4.

[NSFW GIF] https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/597984982207561788/755829763918266558/15-2-2.gif

Music

Our composer “HigherSelf” is making some pretty cool original music for Lok:R, here you can listen to some previews attached below:

• desertdemotheme.mp3
• ShipthemeCutPreview.mp3

The desert theme will be used for the Sultari Empire’s primary exploration/discovery theme, and the other is a Federation Ship theme. We hope you like them, and we look forward to more of these being made in the near future for an awesome soundtrack.

Tech

Tons of headway has gone into Milestone 2 so far from a technical standpoint as well. I’ve overhauled our game controller to be state based. Meaning as you transition in-game between the game it’s keeping track of what ‘mode’ you’re in, in the background and is seamlessly loading/unloading data and objects needed. This also makes it straightforward to switch between states using a Controller of sorts, which is exactly what we did. There’s now a controller option in the editor to allow us to swap instantly between states (Main Menu, Loading, In-Game, Dialogue, Minigame, Combat, etc).

Additionally, the level management system also saw some changes. Managing the maze and tree of level files was becoming a nightmare and would only get worse as we add more and more levels. I needed a solution that would automatically handle levels for us and let the people in charge of designing, design. To keep track of level files, the data is now being stored as a map object. Literally. The map in the in-game menu contains the level data, and you can physically see where levels are located. I’m personally proud of this, as simple as it seems and sounds, this solves many many problems.

To manage the content inside the levels, I’ve made a Content Editor tool, which is used as a hub for every level and gives instant options for building levels, including exits/entrances, spawn points, lighting, art/particles, camera settings, and more. This is also integrated highly with the 2D engine tools and will ensure consistency across the game.

We’ve updated the Milestone 2 code line to Unity 2020 and with it, engine performance improvements, visual upgrades, new tools, and more. I’ve managed to get the game to run in-editor almost instantly this is a comparison of around ~9 seconds which was quickly becoming a hassle for anyone to work with. Compile times are also being improved upon and a small boost was able to be achieved by removing expensive reference requests to many files.

Returning to the main focus of patch 2, the final new changes from a technical standpoint coming to the Tech Build is the new interaction menu for the companions. This will make switching companions and commanding them much easier and give us the flexibility to create advanced interactions with companions (Walk along path, follow, stop, crouch, attack, defend, etc).

[Video] https://streamable.com/vdi0sj

Launcher Fixes!

As some of you have found out, the Linux and Mac updater builds were still not quite ready but as of right now all the links to the Launcher Updater have been fixed. Both platforms include a readme as well for any issues you may encounter.

Farewell!

Thank you for reading the update, we’ll be releasing the next patch as soon as its cooked up. We appreciate the patience and continue to work hard on our project! To clarify, the game is going back to 2D after the 3D experiments and we’re happy to be moving in a direction that everyone can get behind.