Dev-Com
Hello, world!
I'm happy to present the last big patch before the release of 0.2.0, even though this is not yet the big 0.2.0 it is still the second biggest patch we ever released to Penkura.
In this patch, we will present three new buildings, a new disassembly system, graphical improvements, rebalance of items, changes to missions, improvement to tutorials, a drastically improved map system, new voice acting done to nearly 98% of all Sara Voice lines, improved items physics-based collision, and dozens of small changes to improve the quality of the project.
But before we go into the patch, we did our best for players to not need to reset their saves, but we aren't 100% certain that all the mission logs and dialog triggers will be reactivated properly. In case of any problems with the game (mission progress, dialogs not triggering, events not happening) always feel free to contact us via, in-game building Bug Report or here on Steam, I will do my best to fix the issues as fast as possible.
Let us begin with the three new buildings.
The first two buildings we want to present are the Small and Large Depot, we had a few requests made by players, asking us for a location where they can store large amounts of items that they could build for example near the ore extractors or growbeds.
Those two buildings aren't directly connected to the C.A.T so items stored there won't be taken by the RTS system. They are treated as a typical container which means in the future bots will be able to be programmed to use them to store items or take items out to the nearest M.M.C to help with the production. Depots can be named, which will help players to organize their items.
The third building we want to present is the Manufacturing Platform. This key structure contains two very important machines.
First is the Industrial M.M.C with a massive 1500 IP depository, allowing players to build many more items, and second is the Disassembly Unit, which will allow players to take items apart to their basic components.
Thanks to this addition we will slowly start to implement "world-building" items, that won't have much use for the player BUT will be able to be disassembled for useful components. Not only this will make the world feel much more detailed, but it will also balance the early and mid-game.
The new disassembly system will allow players to take any non-organic item and deconstruct it into basic components.
Any organic material will be destroyed, but the system is smart enough to take out any non-organic component out of organic components if there is such a possibility (for example metal container will turn to metal bars but liquid inside the metal container if organic will be destroyed).
Now let's move to changes made to missions, lore, and immersion.
First of all, we want to report on the massive amount of work that went into creating a new voice for Sara, not only it is much more organic (as it was created based on a real voice) but our new system allows us to add much more voices to the game than ever before. For the moment all the changes are around 98% of Saras' voice lines. In the future, we want to add many more voices (for example to some of the messages that players can find in the game world).
We also improved the beginning of the game by adding a tiny intro which will ease the player into the world, and over 58 tiny changes that will make it easier for the player to immerse himself, those changes are, additional voice lines, additional sounds effects triggered by certain events, changes to buildings state to better present their condition and more.
Another major change is to the fog system, we always wanted to add a volumetric fog system to bring even more depth to the entire effect, unfortunately, volumetric fog is very heavy (performance-wise) and that was the main reason we didn't implement it.
Finally, after some work, we created shader-based fog (a mix of materials + post-processing and 3D trickery) which gives nearly the same effect that volumetric fog would add (all the depth changes, color alteration, size+distance+light based density) with 1/4 of the performance cost. We have to admit that we are very proud of this improvement.
Speaking of improved look, we wanted to showcase our improved map system, even though the map is now able to show boulders, rocks, cliffs, and similar objects, the performance requirement of the map dropped by a whopping 64% (on our testing machine). We were also able to present caves a little bit better and in the future, exist on the map.
Lastly, before we go to the detailed patch notes, we want to inform that we improved the physics-based collision of all the pickable items in the game. We did receive reports that there are occasions where tiny objects (for example TRX Ammo box) fall through the ground. That was quite a complex problem to deal with, as we are talking about overall Engine-based collision, its physics system, collision triggers, and more. Fortunately, we were able to boost certain systems within the engine allowing us to drastically narrow down the collision detection.
In our testing environment, we tested 1000 tiny pickable objects falling from 10 meters down to the ground, in the old system 91 items fell through the ground, in our new system 0.
Lastly, we want to report that we plan to release a few small patches before the big 0.2.0, which will contain changes to our bug report system, and object creation/spawn. More on that in the upcoming patch.
Oh before I forget, as we were asked about this by a few of our amazing players, from now on, you can write your name on the doors of the Small Habitat Unit. ːsteamthumbsupː
And as always, for more information regarding the latest technical support, patches, and updates please join our Discord Community.
LINK ----> https://discord.gg/2ukYHQm
Till the next Dev-Com over and out.
Penkura Main Branch Adjustment
⊞ Bugs/Errors ⊞
◈ When (MOD) Backpack Object Segregation System was activated when saving the game, on load, it would not be taken into account when calculating overburden, thus leading to players having an overburden effect if their IP was above the default number (before MOD installation).
◈ On load, buildings that were in production weren't properly added to the CCC queue indicator.
◈ Holographic connectors in RTS mode didn't properly reset, after switching between the holographic projections of unconstructed buildings.
◈ Fixed light bleeding through the walls visual error in T-1 Storage.
◈ Possible fix for equipable items disappearing.
◈ Holstered items didn't show back up after holstering the map.
◈ On load, bots didn't properly shut down and were floating disabled in the air.
⊞ Improvements / changes / additions ⊞
◈ Added 3 new buildings to the game.
- Small Depot
- Large Depot
- Manufacturing Platform
◈ Added new reload sounds for:
- Pener-07
- IMP
- Molecular Reconstruction Tool
◈ Added new Unloaded gun trigger sound effect.
◈ Massive improvements to the collision system of all items affected by physics, items should now NOT fall through landscapes or other objects.
◈ Added a new game function "Object Disassembly".
◈ Most of the in-game items will now show their full name on hover rather than a shortcut.
◈ Minor and Major bleeding, Lesser and Extensive Poisoning, Minor and Major Regeneration, and overdose now all provide a text indication of their activity.
◈ Improved visibility of important Holo Signs.
◈ Added Computer UI to Small Habitation Module.
◈ Added a new type of fog system.
◈ Added acceleration system to the player character, from now on, the player won't start movement at 100% but would need 1 second to get from 0 to 100% of its movement speed.
◈ M.M.C interface errors, will now be more visible.
◈ Improved fog coloring (night and day).
◈ Added Industrial M.M.C
◈ Improved Map system.
◈ Players are now able to see rocks, boulders, and cliffs on the map.
◈ Improved cave indicators in the map system.
◈ Improved border indicators on the map system.
◈ Added world direction indicator in the map system.
◈ Improved performance of the map system.
◈ Improved map interface.
◈ Improved stats, buffs, and debuffs calculations. (minor performance boost).
◈ Added new goals to the mission "Into The Void".
◈ Added a new item to the game, Neuro Stimulant.
◈ Improved UI of all P.D.S.
◈ Added interactable/destructable vines.
◈ Implemented the new voice of Sara.
◈ Improved ambient in Underground Research Base.
◈ Added additional Ambient sound effects.
◈ Added additional tutorials to the Underground Research Base to improve the game flow.
◈ Improved tutorial on Punch/Bash and added destructible objects to interact with.
◈ From now on, the player is able to set the owner of the Small Habitation Module.
◈ Player max oxygen lowered from 30 minutes to 20.
◈ Basic M.M.C Depository lowered from 650 back to 500.
◈ Added new icon to the RTS mode, (Show Buildings List). The player will now have access to the list of all buildings he already constructed, clicking on any button on the list will focus the camera on the building and automatically activate its interaction window.
◈ Improved Gemini Tram to increase visibility.
◈ Small improvement to Saras' Avatar.
◈ Improved tutorial on hitting/punching.
◈ Added tutorial on Object Disassembly.
◈ Some items are no longer possible to be created in basic M.M.C, and are moved to Industrial M.M.C.
- (MOD) High Compression Oxygen Tank
- (MOD) Legs Supporting Micro Springs
- (MOD) Backpack Object Segregation System
- (MOD) Improved Filter Cleansing
- Pener-07
- Molecular Reconstruction Tool
- IMP
- Fuel to Molecular Reconstruction Tool
- Polan Crystal (Refined)
- Xavoc Crystal (Refined)
- TRX Ammo
- Crystalized Construction Component
- Portable Geological Extractor
Changed files in this update