Hey all,
3089 takes a huge step towards a stable release in this update! Graphics got a huge boost by adding some new effects & fixing many long-standing glitches. The multiplayer "super-robot merge" mode is now implemented: join up with your co-op buddy to fight together! Also, the spawn location system was completely overhauled so things will be placed where you expect them & far less (hopefully zero) things being placed in bad places (like robots in rocks).
First, lets quickly go over the graphical updates. A new "toon" effect was added (which can be turned off) while really accentuates & improves the polygonal look. Now things look much closer to what I envisioned them to look like. Screenshots don't really do it justice -- you really have to play it to experience it. Lots of graphical glitches have also been fixed, like shadows not appearing through water & rain not being rendered in front of clouds. A new tree top model was created, which actually uses fewer polygons, but looks more natural. The following screenshot shows the new "toon" effect:
Multiplayer "merge" mode is finally in. One player requests to be the gunner, while the other requests to be the driver. The gunner can't move, but can use any offensive weapons. The driver does the moving & can use a grappling hook. Both players combine "Guns" and "Defense" skills & the gunner's accuracy isn't penalized by movement. You won't be able to fly ships or use stealth while merged, though.
Spawn points have greatly been improved. I used a special debugging mode to visualize where everything is being placed & I noticed too many spawn points were being placed in rocks, underground or in other bad places. So, I threw out most of the old code that determined where things went & replaced it with a much cleaner version. Now, more spawn points are where you expect them, and hopefully there will be no more instances of robots in trees, rocks or underground! This also has many great side-effects, like "Time Ripping" items & quest targets being spawned in places you can actually get to. Trees & rocks should overlap much less (again, hopefully never) with buildings, too.
There are lots of other important improvements in this update, so head over to the version history to read the rest: 3089game.wordpress.com
What is next? Well, I need to make a new trailer with the new visuals! Game wise, I want to make building things easier (by adding some type of snap-to-grid system, maybe?) & hopefully get to some other suggestions made in the forums! Someone suggested "turret hacking", like is Deus Ex, which sounds very cool! ;-)
OK, back to work!
- Phr00t
