Dev Log #58: Environments Preview

[Styg]

Hi guys,

Just want to let you know that development is going more or less according to plan. After finishing the Rig and the stuff in the old world, we've moved back to the Black Sea and are now polishing up some of the areas and wrapping up quests and the like. You can see some of the interesting areas in the video below as you relax to the excellent atmospheric music of Josh Culler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbUtbJogXc4
 
We've also started working on the savage natives and their areas, so expect to see some of that in the next dev log.

That's all - just a short update to let you guys know that the development is going more or less according to plan and that you guys should stay tuned for more dev logs in the coming months.

Let us know how you liked the areas showcased in the video.

Cheers.

[harperfan7]

Hmm, giant grasshoppers (can't call em cave hoppers, can we) and siphoner tadpoles?

[Fenix]

I like the music that start on 4s mimute, but not before honestly.
Art looks in a way I want to sink my teeth into it... 

[TheAverageGortsby]

Ah, now I see why you changed the behavior of insulated padding on leather armors 

[Bruno]

The landscapes look very well. Thumbs up.

The music started on a great vibe, but my personal opinion is that from the start and until about 2:50, the disharmony and many different notes at the same time was very rough on the ears. I get that it is supposed to be a bit unsettling/creepy, but I think that track is too much man. Could benefit from some cleanup. No offense, just trying to help.

[ciox]

Ah, now I see why you changed the behavior of insulated padding on leather armors 

So you get freeze immunity now, that's nice, I always thought cold resist gear was underpowered.
Insulated Vest should probably have the same effect, I've never made one of those until now.

[Turbodevil]

I like how dungeons and transition areas look like, the reef + cthulhu sculptures are nicely blended into underrail cyberpunk + cave theme.

The music sounded great, perfect balance between ambience and noticable melody/tunes. Better than most background music I heard because it was usually too ambient/bland for my taste. This also make it unsettling which fits exploring those dungeons perfectly, but can be tiresome, so I will probably turn the music down/up depending on my current mood.

Overall, I just can't wait for the expansion.

[Trashos]

Looks great, love the music.

Yeah, insulated armors needed some love.

The thing I am worried about is the difficulty progression/balance of a full playthrough (main game+expansion) with the expansion. Mid game expansions unbalance games too much for my liking, unless devs go to great lengths to rebalance them.

[epeli]

Looking and sounding nice, I see(hear) you've worked on ambient sounds as well. The subtle animations from cobwebs swaying in wind to water drips really make the scenes look alive, though I'm sure no one would complain if that level of polish was left for post-release patches. (Hurry up and release Expedition!)

L******* ruins (can I call them that?) look as nice as before and the docks area looks great. The swamp looks good and those overgrown parts in the ruins makes me think it's probably somewhere near them. Ah, can't wait to see how the areas play out and how level design works from gameplay perspective, with all the water, jetskis and all the new small things. (Hurry up and release Expedition!)

Honestly the gameplay teaser was more interesting, but that's because it showed bits of gameplay from new items to some cool situations. I know you're trying to keep the spoilers to minimum so there isn't much to show on that front. Can't wait to play this to fully appreciate everything you have shown us, and especially everything you haven't shown. (Hurry up and release Expedition!)

The music started on a great vibe, but my personal opinion is that from the start and until about 2:50, the disharmony and many different notes at the same time was very rough on the ears.

I get what you mean, the music of Oculus feels the same way to me. But isn't this one much calmer? Less dissonance, less loudness, less reverb/echo. Reminds me of Sunless Sea's music, actually. There aren't too many sounds to create creepy underground sea ambient, I guess.

The thing I am worried about is the difficulty progression/balance of a full playthrough (main game+expansion) with the expansion. Mid game expansions unbalance games too much for my liking, unless devs go to great lengths to rebalance them.

As far as I know the idea is to tweak the late game and endgame parts that come after the expansion's content to keep them balanced. The large free-form midgame part, which Expedtion expands, stays mostly the same.

[Trashos]

As far as I know the idea is to tweak the late game and endgame parts that come after the expansion's content to keep them balanced. The large free-form midgame part, which Expedtion expands, stays mostly the same.

Still, I can see the whole Core City, the Protectorate/Free Drones questlines, and the Institute of Tchort becoming much easier if I can level up further before I tackle them. Unless their difficulty is changed just for the people who own the expansion.

Personally, I think that the best way to do such a thing is rework the leveling up progression all the way through *just for the people who have the expansion*, so that everyone ends up at the same level entering DC, expansion or not. The example I have in mind is New Vegas' JSawyer mod (which is more less what it did, although it added 5 levelups to the vanilla progression). But it takes a lot of determination to do that successfully.

[Altos]

Wow. Just wow.

This looks and sounds incredible. I can't remember if Mac is still the only one in the art department, but if so, he has seriously outdone himself! It's crazy to look back on the old alpha / Early Access version of Underrail and compare it to what it is today. It's almost unbelievable that it's even the same game!

I'm just in total awe. And the new graphics for the cameras look awesome!

Regarding the music, I thought it was great. I personally didn't find it bothersome at all. It all sounded just right.

Keep up the great work, guys. I'm so proud of how far you've come!

[Yonaiker]

At this rate Mid 2019 is the release date, calling it.

Regarding the landscapes, looks like a trip back to Bioshock Rapture City, it only needs the Rivet Gun to make it perfect.

[epeli]

Still, I can see the whole Core City, the Protectorate/Free Drones questlines, and the Institute of Tchort becoming much easier if I can level up further before I tackle them. Unless their difficulty is changed just for the people who own the expansion.

Yes, that's mostly the idea. The expansion becomes available at some point in Core City. Main storyline stuff after that point will be tweaked for the expansion owners to keep it relevant at their level. Mid-game content that's already accessible over a wide level range (including the drones/protectorate questlines) will stay as it is.

[TheAverageGortsby]

Still, I can see the whole Core City, the Protectorate/Free Drones questlines, and the Institute of Tchort becoming much easier if I can level up further before I tackle them. Unless their difficulty is changed just for the people who own the expansion.

If you really want, you can easily hit level 20 before you start any of the plot quests or important&difficult content in the mid-game (Core City, Foundry, Rail Crossing). You can already outlevel the content trivially, there's no point worrying if you'll *still* be able to outlevel it trivially.  If you're worried about outlevelling content, play Oddity.  It's still possible, but much harder, to outlevel all the game content with Oddity, and that's what it was made for.

[Trashos]

Right, I do play Oddity. I am on my 2nd full playthrough (Oddity/Hard). Entered Camp Hathor at level 10, Rail Crossing and Foundry at levels 11-12, did some exploring, and now I am starting Core City at level 14 (almost 15). By no means am I a master of the game yet, but I expect I will enter Institute of Tchort at level 19-20, and DC at ~22 (hopefully 23). It works out very nicely currently. That's why I am worried about the expansion.

Yes, that's mostly the idea. The expansion becomes available at some point in Core City. Main storyline stuff after that point will be tweaked for the expansion owners to keep it relevant at their level. Mid-game content that's already accessible over a wide level range (including the drones/protectorate questlines) will stay as it is.

Actually, the way you put it makes sense. If the expansion content is harder than Rail Crossing/Foundry, the progression may work with minimum casualties. Although it will probably be best if the expansion is harder than Core City (ie, expected to be done after getting the house).