Back from Holidays

So I’m back from a couple weeks of holidays where I pretty much didn’t set foot in my office or in front of my PC. I really like doing these breaks, as my office is both where I work and play games, and I spend a lot of time locked away in here! It’s good to have a complete mental break and just do something different. Instead of creating alien worlds, I really got into making under-water ones, so before getting to it, here’s a 90L aquarium (the first I’ve owned) which I’ve just planted out:

2017

2017 marks almost 1 year spent developing EXO ONE, which is slightly terrifying! What on earth have I been doing, then? How has the game progressed from then until now, and what have I done since AVCON in July? I often ask this of myself in fits of despair, before reminding myself I am only one person, who can barely code…!

EXO ONE in Jan/Feb

Slightly slow and floaty back then. I’m not sure how this existed long enough for me to get a video of it! Remember, this was recorded mostly for my own records, or to be shared with plugin developers to highlight bugs etc. So it looks very rough, it’s recorded in the Unity editor, features the use of cheat/debug keys, etc. I wouldn’t suggest watching these all the way through! They’re unlisted as well, and I don’t really want them being featured anywhere, so please don’t share them or embed/etc.

April

trueSky (volumetric clouds/sky lighting plugin) is now integrated and this was an early version where I’m trying to highlight some issues, so this is mostly for seeing how the graphics have evolved.

I would say that from Jan/Feb through April/May a lot of time was spent getting used to using plugins like trueSky and Map Magic, as well as increasing my C# coding skills.

Here’s my EXO ONE AVCON application video (a South Australian comic/games event). At this stage you can see I’ve made some pretty quick progress, and spent quite a bit of time on the art style, as well as adding the glide mode and a 3rd Person Camera plugin. In some ways I look at this and feel like the game hasn’t progressed in 8 months(!), which in some ways is actually the case, but in reality, a lot of other stuff went in that is somewhat invisible, and includes a bunch of the following:

• tweaking camera plugin code to suit
• rewriting physics code so it runs properly on all machines
• writing the EXO ONE story, and rewriting it, and rewriting it
• getting voice actor tests, voicing the entire story myself (for testing)
• creating a tutorial level
• trying a range of gameplay variations/abilities
• going in circles a little bit on the goal/objective system
• taking forever to decide on the game’s name
• updating terrain numerous times for FPS, view distance, plugin updates

June > September

July was the month I released the game announcement, contacted a bunch of press, created the exo-one-game.com website, press release and teaser trailer, which required a fair bit of work:

Afterward, I…

• Added Master Audio plugin, rewrote some audio code, re-did how I handled sound per-scene
• Lots of code optimizing and rewriting (again, I’ve only learnt to code this year, really)
• Created multiple biomes for the starting planet so it varies as you traverse it
• First pass on trying to figure out how ‘going in any direction’ could work with the objective monoliths

This is more or less how EXO ONE looks today.

September > Now

Since September I’ve been working on, and slightly going in circles on a few different ways of doing objective/goal/HUD stuff to communicate what the player’s objective is, what’s happening, etc.

The tutorial level got a big upgrade as well, and of course since then I’m wondering whether to throw the player ‘right into the game’ instead of having a specific level, which isn’t really revisited, and requires custom content and code etc. This is just one example of the kinda stuff that gets made and then thrown out!

I’ve also been experimenting further with gameplay by adding/removing stuff like gliding up or “pulling up” (not just gliding/falling slowly), energy/powerup systems, lightning strikes and stuff like that. You can see the lightning stuff below, plus a WIP HUD/objective marker system.

Testing and Sharing Builds

After a run of a couple months where the game couldn’t be built due to the correct checkbox not being checked (long story), I have started sharing some pre-alpha builds with a few people, and plan to expand this by probably one person for each build I release. I’m doing this so that I don’t quickly expose too many people to the game, therefore removing them from a pool of people who have never played before. I think this is pretty valuable as new players have less preconceptions. So if you think you should have a build by now, don’t worry, you’re still on the list, I’ll get to you eventually.

Improvements for 2017

There are certainly a couple of things I’ve noticed I am particularly bad at. The worst habit I probably have is becoming somewhat obsessed with the visuals, so much so that I’ll carry on tweaking what should have been a completed planet, when I should be doing other things. This was partly my fault, but also partly because of changes I was making to try and extend draw distance, speed up framerate, and from changes to trueSky and the way it would light the scene. With such limited resources I was probably spending a lot of time trying to reach an impossible goal of a) looks amazing, b) has infinite draw distance c) has plenty of objects/plants/grass d) runs fast.

So as I create the next planets, I’m going to try and be very careful to lean toward “good enough” and not 100% perfect.

What’s next?

Once I’ve settled on a goal/objective system, I’ll be FINALLY (and embarrassingly) moving onto new planets, which I seriously hoped would have happened 5 months ago!

When most of the new planets are done, I’ll be integrating my self-voiced-terror-bad-narrative and making sure that it all makes sense to players as well.

Some of my biggest hurdles and challenges coming up will likely be:

• Making a good story when I’m not a writer
• Handling an infinite sized world, which sorta involves resetting game objects to world zero seamlessly
• Creating enough unique content in terms of different planets, terrain/landscapes
• Keeping the game interesting past the first few planets
• The handful of cutscene-ish type things that go with the story
• Water and Gas Giant planets
• And lots more :P

When will it be out?

This is a tough one! Development has already taken twice as long as anticipated, but at the same time, the gameplay and story are relatively simple. I hope once the goals stuff is nailed I’ll be on a content creation super highway of planet creation, which will hopefully only take a few months. Perhaps a few more months for story/cutscene integration and further tweaking that, and then a couple months for testing prior to launch. So 8 months? Give or take 8 months? :P

I will keep you updated.

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Thought I’d share a quick development update (the first one, actually) for EXO ONE and let you know what I’ve been spending my time on. Things have been moving somewhat slowly, with a lot of ‘background work’ happening that’s not clearly visible on the surface, ie no new planets or anything fun like that! Background work also includes me just doing a lot of learning as well, C# in particular.

Here’s what I’ve been doing + events I forgot to write about:

Greenlit!

EXO ONE managed to reach the top 20 on Steam Greenlight, which is a nice little achievement. It isn’t hard to get on Steam these days, however, so this was just a small stepping stone to getting the game in front of gamers. The real challenge is rising above the throng of games being released on Steam on a daily basis. I wrote about it here.

Story

The story has undergone a number of revisions, and I’d say it’s currently at a 2nd/3rd draft stage. I haven’t talked a lot about the story yet, as it wasn’t really locked in, but essentially EXO ONE will tell much of its story via a narrated voice-over. There isn’t a super complex plot or anything crazy, but I think it really fits. Since the game will be short, I’m not really going to talk much about it either, as I’m wary of ruining it before you play. I can say we begin with receiving an alien transmission, which contains plans for a spherical exoplanetary probe, and instructions on how to open a wormhole.

So I’ve self-voiced a lot of it, just to get a feel for what it’s like to play and listen, which has been quite revealing so far in terms of pacing and how much is enough. Anyone who is on the alpha testing list will most likely get to hear it in all its glory! Don’t worry, I’ll be getting a professional to do the final version, and have done a number of tests with some people already, searching for a voice that fits the bill.

Intro/Tutorial Level

The intro sequence and tutorial level are ready for testing, and if you recall the spherical interior area from AVCON, I’ve expanded that now to include another, larger ‘outer loop’. I may need to continue the tutorial further through the game as I did at AVCON, or perhaps extend it in this interior level to get people more used to using the controls, as it is super short. Testing will probably tell.

EXO Speed and Optimizing

A constant challenge I face for EXO ONE is maintaining frame rate with a decent draw distance, while procedurally generating terrain that is smooth enough to glide over nicely. The farther we can see, the more terrain needs to generate while we play, slowing the game. Blending this procedurally generated terrain with any kind of mid/background is quite difficult (for me anyway) as it is always different. I’ll be interested to hear early feedback on people’s frame rates to gauge how much time I need to spend further optimizing this. I’ll also be further investigating ways to draw a mid/background or integrate it into the skybox. HorizonON appears like a possible solution, but isn’t made for endlessly generated terrain.

I’ve also found that as I’ve developed the game, I’ve gradually increased the speed of EXO ONE to a point where I feel the max speed is particularly exhilarating, but again, this only exacerbates problems with generating terrain fast enough.

My best ally right now is lots of fog and low clouds, but that presents its own problems too with seeing objects of interest. It is really a delicate balancing act!

Systemzzz

One of the biggest things I’ve been working on (while I also get to grips with C# coding), is both cleaning up the prototype code I started with and adding systems that let us easily switch between levels and play level-specific narration at set times and places. This is all kinda boring so I won’t say much, it’s basically just me learning how to code better and cleaner.

Camera Improvements

I’ve done a little work on the camera so now there’s no longer any low-speed jerkiness, and I’ve added a “look down when dropping down” in gravity mode and “look up when on the ground” so there’s less camera moving required by players. I still face a frustrating issue with colliding with objects, so the first alpha will feature a camera that clips through non-terrain geometry like a boss.

Audio

I’m using the Master Audio plugin for Unity now, which is fully integrated and working well. Some people may remember the audio cut out bug at AVCON, that’s gone now :) So I now have a fully featured audio system that can handle playlists, audio ducking and a bunch of other stuff that would have taken me forever.

There are also some new sounds for rolling across the ground, flying and impacts, which all further increase immersion and the sense of actually being on the ground.

Plugins and Problems

As a solo developer, still learning code, and using Unity with a number of plugins, it has been a very mixed experience in terms of getting support from some plugin developers. Some devs almost instantly get back to me on problems, sometimes with fixes attached and ready to go. Others won’t reply to emails for weeks or ever, leaving me in a really awkward position, especially with my current skill set.

I have mixed feelings on the whole asset store in general, and specifically with regard to the price of plugins and the level of support required. On the one hand, it is brilliant to be able to gain in some cases man-years worth of work already done for you for a really low price. On the other hand, when you offer these low prices, you get a glut of low skill developers (hi!) coming on board and then generating a support nightmare, meaning you can literally bury yourself under the weight of support. The other problem I have with this is that while you may have bought a plugin for $25, that developer’s hourly rate may be double that, so if they end up spending just half an hour writing you an email with a fix, they’ve kind of halved their income whilst reducing time for future updates.

The hardest thing about non-responder or slow responders,  is you’ve got few alternatives or workarounds. You can write the nth “please halp” email, but there’s really no way to reach someone who doesn’t want to be reached. You can switch to a competitor, but you may end up in the same boat, while having to rewrite whatever code integration you’ve done. In many cases there are no replacements or alternatives. Then, of course, you’ve also lost whatever you’ve paid for said plugin (usually only $20-50 but sometimes up to $200) because there are no refunds.

Ok at this rate I should have named my post “my problems with the asset store”! Really I couldn’t make EXO ONE on my own without it, so I can’t complain too much.

Hovering Maybe

I quickly added a little hovering feature the other day, which I’ve left in for now. I thought it could perhaps eventually become a way to cross non-rollable terrain, but mostly it just feels nice to do, which is almost the entire point of the game with EXO ONE. Essentially now when you’re gliding, if you’re near the ground, you’ll get an opposing upward force. It’s not so great that you’ll never hit the ground, though. It can help with a little extra leap off hills too (possibly too much right now):

What Next?

I’m working on an issue with one of my plugins that stops me from building the game (boom!), so once that is fixed I’ll be sending out an alpha version to testers which contains the intro, tutorial level and first planet. I’m very keen to get people’s feedback on the narration side of it, plus their thoughts on the length of the first planet, general impressions, etc!

Thanks for following along, and feel free to say hello in the comments, contact form or my Twitter @JayWeston.

Just a quick post to share a couple of animated gifs I showed on Twitter recently.

First one below shows most of the gameplay and movement methods available in EXO ONE:
1. Rolling, then 2. “Jumping”, immediately followed by 3. Gliding, then 4. High Gravity mode, followed by more rolling before we go back to Low Gravity to roll up and fly off the hill top into the sky. Then we move back into glide mode where, if we hit clouds, we ‘catch thermals’ that lift us up even higher.

The second one is a recently added ‘skipping’ on water while in glider mode:

This was fairly easy to get going on flat water, and I quite like it, but whether this will translate and work on a wavy ocean I’m not sure. I’ll certainly be trying it out!

For more stuff like this, you can follow me on Twitter and subscribe to the EXO ONE newsletter.

I’m proud to present EXO ONE, a surreal, exoplanetary exploration game. Teaser below:

EXO ONE is on Steam Greenlight now, so please vote and leave a comment. It will be available on Itch.io’s First Access program to buy (500 only to start with) soon after AVCON (Australia’s Video Game/Anime Festival) on July 15th. If you’re in Adelaide, South Australia, you can come and be among the first to play the game at the Indie Games Room at AVCON.

Here’s the full press release:

EXO ONE – Reveal Teaser

A surreal, exoplanetary exploration game in development for PC.

Adelaide, South Australia – July 12, 2016 – Exbleative is proud to announce EXO ONE, a surreal, exoplanetary exploration game currently in development for PC. A teaser video is available using entirely in-engine footage and displays a mix of gameplay and atmospheric shots.

In EXO ONE, the focus is shifted away from traditional sci-fi and space game tropes, such as space combat. Instead, it encourages a relaxed state of flow by using a gravity-based movement system to traverse and explore high sci-fi planets.

Pilot a spherical, gravity powered probe through awe-inspiring, enigmatic alien worlds. Watch cloud formations float across barren, lightning wracked fields. Drop beneath the waves of an ocean world. Ride the peaks of mountain tops and slide down alien dunes.

Upon reaching the first planet, players will encounter a surreal alien presence almost defying explanation. Accompanying the gameplay are highly atmospheric visuals, otherworldly audio and a hypnotic, electric guitar and synth-laden soundtrack.

EXO ONE is and continues to be inspired by the many discoveries of the Kepler spacecraft, and the mysteries of what may lay out in interstellar space for future explorers.

Features:
– An array of unique, open worlds to explore, from traditional terrestrial planets to water worlds to gas giants
– Pilot a probe featuring multiple movement modes. Rolling, sliding, gliding/flying, with control over gravity and anti-gravity.
– Use these movement modes to build momentum, slide down dunes and catapult off hilltops.
– Glide through clouds and catch thermals that lift you high into alien atmospheres.
– Drop beneath the waves of boiling oceans under the glow of distant suns.
– Wind down and travel at your own pace. There are no challenges, wars or enemies.
– Listen to the sounds of the planets and contemplate the alien presence that occupies them.
– A minimalist yet mysterious narrative that allows players to form their own conclusions of the story.

EXO ONE is being developed for PC, with other platforms TBD. The release date is tentatively slated for mid-2017. It will be shown for the first time in Adelaide, Australia at the AVCON anime and video game festival on the 15th of July, at the end of this week.

Watch the teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAiOrl4y5w8

EXO ONE on Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=718608076

Presskit(): http://www.exbleative.com/press/sheet.php?p=exo_one

EXO ONE Website: http://www.exo-one-game.com

EXO ONE
Surreal, Exoplanetary Exploration.
Coming Soon.

Exbleative (http://www.exbleative.com) is Jay Weston, who has worked on titles including Powerslide, Dirt Track Racing, Zombie Outbreak Simulator, Class 3 Outbreak and Unknown Orbit.