Weekly Dev Update: 2016 November 11th - Creatures, Warps, and a new Trailer (coming)!

We’re in the propose of preparing an updated trailer for Boundless given that the current trailer is over a year old now. This will give us the opportunity to bring more polish to the presentation and assets within the game. Our aim is to make sure that the game represents a playable version of the new trailer.

We have the following features in the dev build but were have not been able to get them out to the public this week:

  • New torch VFX.
  • HUD - status text above: players, creatures and machines.
  • New Slingbow models with material progression to match the other equipment.
  • Warp Conduit mesh + VFX
  • Warp can now be maximum of 10 x 10
  • Totem Location Polish + VFX
  • Refactored Inventory API including overhauled Smart Stacking

The good news is that when we update the game, there will be plenty more new elements to checkout.

We have started to work on integrating the new Grapple Hook so it should be in the game before end of this year. We have also got the Hunter, Cuttletrunk+VFX and Basher+VFX in the game for early internal animation testing.


Code
The warps have had a major update. They now support up to 10x10 warps and are built with a newly textured warp conduit block that pulses when it ready to be opened. They then can be broken to reveal the actual warp.

We’ve been spending time scripting various scenes and adding new commands for editing worlds to help author more complex features in game.

New tier 4 and 5 Wildstock models have been added with coloration and decals and the explosion was added to the hopper. We’ve also been working on adding more effect hooks for attaching effects to various objects.

We’ve been working on adding the glyphs into the GUI as well as refining the HUD and reticule. The inventory rework progress working on trading and plinths.

In the back end we have been optimizing memory usage to help fit two worlds into ram for PlayStation 4. The WorldBuilder is being updated to use the same database API that the server is using.

Design
This week Rob has been looking at the gamepad controls, and we will be aiming to update them soon. He has also been working with Marc on polishing the HUD graphics including the glyphs, and mocking up more parts of the GUI.

Luke has been polishing up and testing the skill tree, and has posted some details of it here.

Ollie has been supporting Rob and Luke with their work, as well as working with the coders on the details of some of the implementation work they have been doing.

Art
The art team have been mostly busy supporting the features listed above.

We’ve also continued development on the creature modelling and tech:

  • Here’s a sculpt of the Roadrunner Tier 2.

  • The Spitter Tier 5 final mesh showing colour tinting.

  • And the Wildstock Tier 4 tinting.


:face_with_thermometer::thermometer:

(Ok ok - latest ever Weekly Dev Update - but been sick.)

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Sweet, I can’t wait for some new stuff to test out :stuck_out_tongue:

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To get a new trailer sounds good. Hope you got back up healthy again :slight_smile:

don’t need if this has been talked about: can we tame and ride wild animals? that’d be neet

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I am scared of tier 5 spitters already… will they be able to shoot down the walls of my home? :scream:

Are the tier 2 and 3 spitter and wildstock in the game? And if so where can I find them?

Not yet… they’ll hopefully be in the next update! I think the only ones so far are the tier 3, but they’re lacking the AI overhaul

Looking forward to that trailer. I doubt it will have a release date but it will at least allow me to show people that this game is still a thing/alive since theres been ZERO news on i t from any gaming website or media since Sept 2015, so unless people have been coming to this site looking for it, for all they know this game is dead, vaporware or cancelled. So yeah that trailer would be nice. Though PS4 will finally have ark Survival next month which just like this is pretty much just “Minecraft with graphics that arent ugly” so lets hope it doesnt make people forget all about this since Im sure this wont be released til This time next year (btw I hope its being optimized for PS4 Pro too)

Hey! This warp gate hasn’t a reflection on the water! :point_up_2::scream:

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Good catch! But I reckon that rendering a warp gate twice could have some heavy implications performance-wise. Or perhaps it is just a bug.

It’s a vampire portal.

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