Devlog v9.0 (August)
1. NEW WEAPON SET + SKIN SETS The Arnus-Fjelsyn Arsenal (AFA) weapon set is a joint project by the Fjelsyn Republic and the Arnusian League, which was created right after the Fjelsynese-Klargian interstellar war. The weapons in this set will have different stats and work slightly differently from the Kystrel Arms weapons. It is not simply a re-skin of the Kystrel Arms set (the one currently in the game).
- Arnus Collection (AFA default skin set) - Named after Arnus III, a large terrestrial planet orbiting the star Lorvan II, house to the two most powerful human factions, Fjelsyn and Klargia.
- Tannhäuser Collection (AFA recolor skin set) Named after Ferynck Tannhäuser, a ship captain who accidentally discovered what is now called the Tannhäuser Gate.
- Nishimyia Collection (Kystrel Arms recolor skin set) Named after Roy Nishimiya, the physicist who created the synthetic material known as Roylium.
- Gabor Collection (Kystrel Arms remodel skin set) Named after Solrac Gabor, the genius scientist who invented the Gabor Function of Space-Time, a faster-than-light travel method. All these new weapons and skins will be available on full launch (May 13th, 2023). Each set includes 1 skin for each weapon, which means we will be releasing 6 new weapons (AFA set) and 16 new skins.
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2. NEW MAP We're working on a new map on Mars. It's a generator which powers the whole Scalabria Amusement Park, and it's located underground, under the park. This map will be released during Early Access.
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3. NEW MAP CONCEPTS (PROVISIONAL) Conceptualized 4 new maps, none of them located on Mars. These maps will feature new gameplay mechanics. We plan to release at least one of them on launch (May 13th, 2023).
- Kyptaria Spaceship port in Kyptaria, Fjelsyn
- Lumeria (year 6580) Lumerian orbital prison complex before the Riot of Lumeria
- Lumeria (year 6582) Lumerian orbital prison complex after the Riot of Lumeria
- Castella Stingray Inside the Castella Stingray, a Lusitanian Fleet Keyship (military ship)
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4. SPECTATOR We're working to implement a spectate feature so you can watch other people play. This will come in handy when we want to host events like the Scalabria Skirmish.
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5. SCALABRIA SKIRMISH The Scalabria Skirmish is the first U51:TW tournament. It will be a best-of-3 knockout format, meaning the first player to win 2 matches will go onto the next round. Prizes will be awarded. More info on this will come when the time is right.
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6. LEVEL PROGRESSION We've developed a level progression system with 100 levels and rewards for each of them. You will earn in-game content like avatars, weapon skins and other cosmetics. Taking into account how much real money you'd pay for the Roylium needed to get all these items, we estimate the total value of the items you get for leveling up to 100 to be over 175 USD. You also get 444.900 credits and 700 Roylium. These values are subject to change. You get all this for free, just by playing and leveling up. Available on launch.
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7. LOADOUT We're setting up the loadout system, where you'll be able to equip weapons however you see fit. This will only be out on launch.
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8. STORE We're setting up the store for you to get cosmetics and other items. This will only be out on launch.
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9. PLAYER PROFILE We're implementing the player profile and all its functionalities, which include your stats, currencies, level, and more.
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10. STEAM PAGE Updated the Steam page with gameplay GIFs and videos! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761770/
Kystrel Collection
Arnus Collection
Tannhäuser Collection
Nishimiya Collection
Gabor Collection
Generator (Work in progress)
Generator (Work in progress)
Generator (Work in progress)
Generator (Work in progress)
Generator (Work in progress)
Devlog v5.0 (February)
Visuals
Decal improvements for grenade explosions. Decals will now be applied correctly independently of surface orientation.
New weapon set: SMG under development
Improved player readability (enemies and allies), using a highlight effect. This highlight becomes stronger the farthest you are from a player, becoming almost invisible when you're close to a player.
Gameplay
Implemented SMG. It has a higher fire rate than the Assault Rifle, but deals less damage per shot and is more inaccurate. It's most effective at close range.
Developed a lean system for when you are behind cover.
Added recoil
Added accuracy multiplier (more innacurate over longer distances and when spray shooting, more accurate when aiming down sights)
Added damage detection per body area, in order to apply different damage
Created ragdoll system
Audio
Added hitmarker audio.
Implemented SMG audio.
Animations
The whole logic for first person and third person weapon animations is done, and we're now working on doing the actual animations (reloads, cooldowns, weapon switch, etc.)
The blueprint has also been optimized and cleaned up.
Steam - Update: over 250 wishlists and growing. Thanks so much if you've wishlisted the game. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761770/
Community talks
Bobby Mojsovski from MystiveDev joined our Discord and talked about his new game Mirror Forge and gave us great advice on game development, more precisely game marketing. The full conversation will be available soon!
↑New SMG, still unnamed↑
↑Character highlight for improved readability↑
↑Inaccuracy system↑
↑Talk with Mirror Forge developer Bobby Mojsovski↑
↑How the PDW-2 Makaira works↑
↑First Community Talk with Seyed Nasrollahi from UnifiQ Games↑
Devlog v4.0 (January)
Visuals
VFX for grenade explosions and projectile impacts on various surfaces (metal, dirt, etc). New weapon set under development (3D models).
Gameplay
Vertical slice is close to completion. Private testing will begin ASAP.
Animations
Created/improved multiple weapon animations: e.g. fire, reload, cooldown, idle, sprint, melee activation+attack.
Melee system is integrated with the PDW-2 Makaira (a.k.a. Chaos Pistol).
Steam
Update: Over 200 wishlists! Thank you very much!
Motion Comic
Motion comic to be released at the same time as the game (May 13th). It will give a general and brief overview about different, but related events in the U51 series.
Community talks
Seyed Nasrollahi from UnifiQ Games gave us some insights to Operation Outsmart and his experience building a studio and developing that game. We enjoyed the conversation and you did as well, judging from your feedback. Because of this, we will continue with the talks indefinitely. Next month we will talk with another dev.
Devlog v3.0 (December)
Roadmap
Created roadmap for the next few months, up to a year.
Weapons
Finished the grenade model and textures, and implemented grenade system in the engine (model, visual FX, audio FX, shockwave affecting surroundings and player camera). We're currently developing the VFX further.
Steam Page
We've reached over 120 wishlists on Steam, and the number keeps rising, so thank you for this! If you haven't wishlisted, here's the link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761770
Lisboa Games Week
On the 25th November we were present at Lisboa Games Week, and it was a blast! The feedback we had was very positive and makes us feel appreciated!
Maps
Developed more models for map codenamed l-03.
MoshBit awards
We've been nominated for MoshBit Awards 2021, in the "Most Awaited Portuguese Game" category!
Community talks
We will be talking with various developers on a regular basis in our Discord server, about their games and more!
Gameplay
We are trying to get a playable demo as soon as late January. We've been having some difficulties with networking, which we obviously plan to have solved by then. For this demo we will hand-pick testers to help us find issues with the main gameplay loop so we can later solve them and have the gameplay ready for a broader test by mid-April (obviously with the release being a month later, as announced already)
↑Grenade HQ model↑
↑LGW event↑
↑l-03 map↑
Devlog v2.0 (November)
Steam Page
Our Steam Page is now live! You can wishlist us on: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1761770
Visuals
Shadow improvements; Reworked water shader to add waves and foam.
Weapons
Worked on weapon reticles. Screenshots in weapons soon. Worked on weapon fire and reload animations
Maps
New map in the works, codename l-03.
Gameplay
Built the whole programming logic behind the reload system, including the ammo and the tie-in with the animations. We're working on having a full gameplay loop ready (full match from start to finish). We're still missing the ticket system, the pick up system, and a pesky little bug that freezes any movement when firing the weapon, for some reason. We suspect it's freezing the whole network for a fraction of a second when firing, and consequentially it freezes everything replicating over the network, which includes the player and level movements. We'll figure it out!
PlayStation Talents
We've been nominated for the PlayStation Talents contest in Portugal! The winners for each category will be announced in early 2022 You can check out all the games here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4S3ptR-hA
Lisboa Games Week
As stated earlier, we will be presenting our demo November 25th at Lisboa Games Week, at 1200 GMT.
Digital Valley Academy
DVA is a project TechFrame is working on, separate from the Gaming & Entertainment section (game dev section). On that regard, we'll double-down on Lisboa Games Week and we'll be doing workshops on - level design - , - 3D modelling and texturing - , and - audio implementation. There will be two 4-hour sessions for each, and we'll share the specific dates and times for each in the announcements channel, as well as how to register. Unfortunately, the sessions will happen in Portuguese, so take that into account before registering.
Devlog v1.0 (October)
Performance
We've managed to get a 15-20 FPS improvement without any noticeable visual impact. We achieved this by fine-tuning draw distances on transparency materials, and simplifying GPU operations for distant materials. We also optimized the ticking for most blueprints, to ensure no piece of code is being run unnecessarily.
Visuals
Improved materials and lighting.
Cosmetics
Finished a set of re-model skins for the currently existing weapon set, called the "Nishimiya Collection", named after Roy Nishimiya. Roy Nishimiya, from the planet Rosenbaum II, was the physicist who first patented Roylium, a synthetic material user for building (will show these soon)
Maps
Created a blockout for a new map, which we confirm will be available at release.
Demo
Created a very basic demo to participate in a contest. This demo is not yet available to the public because it's very incomplete and wouldn't provide the players a good experience. We expect to be able to release a closed alpha version by the end of 2021, for testing purposes.
Gameplay
Revamped the character animation system, in order to achieve smoother animations and correct camera issues.
User Interface
Built most of the core menus (profile creation, main menu, game creation/join, in-game HUD)
Networking
Implemented network replication of moving geometry, materials, map interaction, and animations.
Lisboa Games Week
We will be present at this year's Lisboa Games Week, 25th of November. We will be presenting Universe 51: Tannhäuser Wars, as well as workshops on level design, audio implementation for Unreal Engine 4, modelling and texturing, and programming.
↑Improved materials and lighting and increased frame rate↑
↑Assault Rifle↑