Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
BlueEagle

UNLOVED turns into a real game

Recommended Posts

BlueEagle said:

That's why I've decided to have the game be arranged in random order, but the level pieces are still designed by hand.


Ah, so kind of like how Receiver does it then. (Oblige has some really unique room types it can make (I can only imagine what it's like now, it's been some time since I checked...but I remember a relatively recent version (around 6 months ago) having the old over-abundant ammo problem resurface, but I digress)

Share this post


Link to post

Found a bug by accident. If you press Shift while crouching, you'll stand up and will be unable to crouch and sprint anymore and speed will be the same, as in crouch mode.

The game will became more interesting with drawn levels, by the way. Drawn levels are much more balanced, less monotonous, more unpredictable, you can place interesting script sequences in drawn level. Overall drawn levels are superior than generated. But the best solution is to make both drawn levels and generator.

Good luck with the project.

Share this post


Link to post

Yep, I've also managed to break the movement speed although it didn't occur to me why that happened. In addition to that and not being able to pick up loot from the sink (mentioned by hipp0cat) there are some problems with enemy spawning. Sometimes you can see them appear (if they spawn nearby) and often they seem to get stuck on top of one another. So you might open a door and see like 3+ enemies standing in place.

By the way, I'd increase the pickup "radius" a bit. Currently your crosshair needs to be directly over an item. I'd say the 'pickup prompt' should also appear in an area around the item. Some of the smaller things like pistol clips are so tiny that you need to be really precise to grab them.

Share this post


Link to post

Thank you very much for the response so far :D

In this very early release there is almost no balancing done so far. Balancing is the aspect that takes the longest, so it is very important for me to start with this as soon as possible by getting a lot of feedback about it. The next version I'll upload very soon will have greatly improved balancing!

Thanks Touchdown for your feedback. I'm reading everything you guys post here or in the video comments, don't worry :)

I'll add bigger collision boxes for items that will make it easier to pick them up. Also something Hipp0cat mentions is that you can't jump on couches for example, which is because of the collision boxes. Right now I had to import around 30 models at once, so there was no time to fix up every collision of every item - also some models have to be changed, so I would have to fix collision boxes in the future again.

The problems you encounter with crouching are coming from a placeholder solution to a problem. Right now the camera does not work correctly in multiplayer when you do a "real" crouch. I removed the function and right now I'm using a fake-crouching that is awkward and kinda buggy, but at least it lets you crouch for now. Will be fixed in a future version.

The enemies clumping up that you notice are actually a confirmed bug from the current Unreal Engine version. Somehow the AI does sometimes not react to move commands - which is what you see.

Hopefully Epic can fix this until I upload the next version - if not then please be a bit patient for this to be fixed in the near future.

Currently I'm adding weapon mods to the game that you can find throughout the map. Also item spawns, enemy spawns and enemy AI have been changed to balance the game a lot more.

Share this post


Link to post

Thanks, I was able to tune in for the last hour when he played ;)

New version uploaded!
Download here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/okg4unlxqhmrm29/UNLOVEDalpha.rar?dl=0

New features / improvements:
- many, many balance improvements
- enemies can now "hunt you down" even if they have not seen you before - this increases tension and make enemy encounters much more frequent
- weapon mods - every weapon has 3 slots for improvements that increase stats of the weapon
- weapon pickups
- many new textures have been added and meshes have been improved
- you can die now - try to get to the golden room and back to the elevator in one piece :)

New video about the update:


http://youtu.be/xOunp9kpf1o

I noticed that it's easy to get lost, so my next big feature on my list is the map btw.

I'm very thankful for any comment or feedback!

Share this post


Link to post

1. It's starting to look really nice with textures. Additional lights also help. I don't think it needs to be ridiculously dark.

2. My PC is pretty outdated and the current version is almost unplayable for me. If there's something you can do as a quick fix for lower end machines in the future releases, that'd be nice.

3. You should redesign the Medkit to remove the cross. I believe the classic red cross belongs to, well, Red Cross and that symbol cannot be used.

4. The red screen upon hit lasts too long. It looks like you're about to die even when you're almost at full health.

5. I see you went with a more aggressive spawn. I think it's too much. Enemy counter goes up ridiculously fast and monsters literally swarm you most of the time (I guess the "hunt you down" part also has something to do with it). This has gotten too hard, especially with limited ammo capacity and less loot.

I did manage to get to the gold room and back to the elevator on my second attempt, even with low framerate. While it certainly was tense, considering I was down to almost no health and no ammo a number of times, it was still pretty nuts. The survival kind of overshadows other aspects such as exploration and suspense.

What also happens is that after a couple of minutes the enemy count is so high that when you open a new door, there might be a huge amount of monsters there just pouring out.

6. This aggressive spawn also amplifies some of the spawning problems. Enemies can literally appear right behind you which doesn't seem fair. Maybe you should prevent monsters from spawning in the same room that the player occupies?

Also, in the previous version there was an issue with monsters getting stuck in spawn points. This has gotten worse as now they can literally pile up on top of each other:



On a side note, there was an impressive tower of fat demons shooting fireballs at one point. Ran out of ammo trying to destroy it. :)

7. It seems like the number of monsters is capped at 100. In one instance it looked like monsters above that limit were spawning as soon as their comrades were falling.

8. I'm not sure about sprinting. In fact, I keep forgetting it's even there.

9. The textured keys are somewhat hard to notice. Maybe the item itself should glow as well.

10. About weapon mods. It's difficult to say if their balance is right without a REALLY excessive testing. I guess if you want them to be those small, random bonuses that you might come across, it's fine. Luck based item spawns should work well in a 'rougelike' environment like that.

____________________________

Also, I've got two general questions:

i) What are the names of monsters? Also, what types of attacks will they have in the final version?

ii) What is your vision for the "global" gameplay? In the original Unloved you were moving back and forth between your house and the alternate realities and your actions were affecting other places. There was a grand goal of collecting six keys to unlock the final location. Will there be any sort of 'campaign' like that in the full game? Any big goal? Just raiding different locations for loot/experience?

Share this post


Link to post

Thanks for the feedback (also on the video), don't worry I read all of it :)

I'll make notes of your suggestions and keep them in mind for the next release. I also think that the screen-red effect is a bit weird sometimes, maybe I'm doing the math wrong ;)

To your questions:
I) The monsters in the game are the Cutter Demon, Butcher Demon and Salem Servant. The Butcher will have a distance fireball attack (not exactly sure what, probably some pretty slow moving ball like from the Cacodemon) and obviously a vicious melee attack.
The Cutter Demon will also shoot fireballs and have a melee claw attack, he is comparable to the Imp of Doom.
The Salem Servant will have a pistol hitscan attack from afar with a chance to miss the player and no melee attack.

II) The overall gameplay and story will be pretty similar to the Doom mod actually. In the mapset, the player was confronted with some very minor text pieces and the house, which was basically everything you needed to create a story in your own head. In UNLOVED the game I'll do a pretty similar thing. You will have your house (probably not in the initial release, but it will come later) and also every character will have diary pages and other story items that may create a story in your head - but the game will never tell you what exactly is going on and why.
So there are two ways to experience the game - play with friends in multiplayer for loot and experience to raid basement levels and shoot monsters - or play single player and drown in atmosphere and try to find out all the puzzle pieces that surround the characters and try to assemble the story in your head. (think of this like challenges from Binding of Isaac or similar games)

Share this post


Link to post

Will areas from the original UNLOVED be returning in the remake? :)

EDIT: And don't be put off by BZ's harshness, though started raging a bit it's all in good fun. He later said he liked the mod, he was just annoyed by the sudden slaughter elements, and kind of confused that they appeared in what was supposed to be a spooky mod.

Share this post


Link to post

New version is out!
You can download and play it for free here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/okg4unlxqhmrm29/UNLOVEDalpha.rar?dl=0

New features include
- Minimap
- Enemies have a new ability called Demon Speed
- One new set of rooms
- Updated visuals throughout the whole game

I will polish the game a lot more over the next few weeks and me and my artist are currently working on the animations to get them in the game hopefully for the next update.

Also I would like to announce that the game will be launching on Steam with multiplayer support over the Steam network. To test this feature, I need a few "testers" that have the time and motivation to help me test the network and multiplayer over the Steam servers. This also means that you can get the game for free on Steam, which is also a pretty nice bonus I think :)

See my update & announcement video here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmJOww6HjcE

Jaxxoon R said:

Will areas from the original UNLOVED be returning in the remake? :)


Totally! The next set of rooms will be "heavily inspired" by locations from Unloved, so let's see how they turn out with the new visuals :)

Share this post


Link to post

A really nice update. Generally I'm happy with things you've added/changed.


1. Minimap, obviously, helps A LOT. I would probably keep on iterating on it visually because its elements are kind of small and sometimes it's hard to see the colors without sticking your nose to the monitor.

I see that the map updates after looking directly at the door. I think it should be enough to just have the door in your field of view.

2. New textures and stuff are awesome. Visually the game is shaping up nicely.

3. New monster sounds (idle, noticing the player) help a lot in reacting to monsters. But the problem of monsters spawning right next to the player persists and is kind of annoying.

4. I like the HUD. The weapon icons are nice but their highlighting should be tweaked. I think the best option is to mimic the ZDOOM alternative HUD: only show weapons that you currently possess and clearly highlight the one you have selected.

I understand that the yellow line below the health meter is stamina but what is the blue line above?

5. The balance is a lot better this time. It's no longer ridiculously hard. Though it's annoying that sometimes when you pick up a clip or something there's like 15 monsters spawning.

6. I don't have much to say about the Demon Speed feature. Maybe I need to play it a bit more.

7. The big thing: height variations. The new block with a basement really highlights it how flat the levels generally are. I think this should be one of the major tweaks for future updates.

My advice for you is to basically adapt the Romero DOOM design philosophy: contrasts. Mix small rooms / corridors with bigger areas. Low ceilings with high celings. Have rooms with enemies on 'balconies'. A room above another room from which you can drop down. More stairs. Avoid 90 degree walls.

The blocks should also be able to connect on different levels. Right now all the doors are on the same height. You should have situations where you go down the stairs, open a door and enter another block.

Generally I think you should sacrifice the 'realism' a bit. Normally every apartment would be similiar in terms of ceiling height and such but it makes for a rather stale gameplay area. Mix things up with rooms going up and down.

8. The original Unloved had a lot of variation within its levels. Living Room had the flesh/blood sections mixed with an underground graveyard and a village. I think the levels would benefit from having multiple themes.

So for instance the 'Apartment' levels should have "apartment sections + ??? sections + ??? sections", 'Hospital' should have 'hospital + ??? + ???". I mean, you can have 50 different 'apartment blocks' but it'll still be kind of tedious. The Halls Below for instance have an 'office' section but they also have an underground garden, a castle, the 'Cube' room, etc. Visually consistent but varied.

Share this post


Link to post

Looks sufficiently disgusting. :) By the way, that's the Cutter? I thought it was a Salem Servant. I recall that the Cutter was supposed to be the weakest.

Share this post


Link to post

Hello again!
New video and new download! This is the final public alpha version of the game. The Steam store website will be opened soon and after that, I will start testing the multiplayer version over the Steam servers.

In this updated alpha version, you can find all animations, ragdolls, muzzle flashes and hopefully all the bug fixes you were hoping for :D

https://www.dropbox.com/s/okg4unlxqhmrm29/UNLOVEDalpha.rar?dl=0

Latest video: http://youtu.be/hJ-IiljBRsY



I'm really happy about this version - please tell me what you think :)

Share this post


Link to post

I like the enemies, the fast movement is tricky and it makes them interesting to fight, I hope there will be more enemies with more such gimmicks in their sleeves. The shotgun looks like a satisfying weapon to shoot. I don't like how its reloading animation obscures player's view in the middle of the screen, the whole animation should be shifted much lower IMO.

Share this post


Link to post

Thanks for your feedback :D
Yeah the Shotgun animation was really tricky. I'll have to look into the position and maybe I'll dynamically shift the animation downwards slightly while reloading.

Share this post


Link to post

The problem with the shotgun reload animation is that the opening/closing is too fast. It doesn't look very convincing.

I'm not sure if that's intentional but the red key can spawn in the starting room.

Also, the game is waaay too dark. I can't see where I'm shooting.

Nice progress overally. Good to see there are no missing textures and animations anymore.

Share this post


Link to post

Now it looks so much better with new enemies. Locations still looks like the weakest part of the game, I hope it wouldn't be an issue after all.

Share this post


Link to post
Touchdown said:

The problem with the shotgun reload animation is that the opening/closing is too fast. It doesn't look very convincing.

I'm not sure if that's intentional but the red key can spawn in the starting room.

Also, the game is waaay too dark. I can't see where I'm shooting.

Nice progress overally. Good to see there are no missing textures and animations anymore.


Me and my artist are looking into the shotgun reload animation, thanks for bringing that up. I've fixed the red-key in starting room (that would be too easy I guess). The brightness will actually be adjustable in the released version, I will add a slider like in most horror games for brightness.

Thanks to everyone who helped me sort out problems and give me feedback about UNLOVED! The Steam store page has finally opened and if you want to follow the game on Steam, you can check it out here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/321270

Hopefully I can find you guys on the Steam discussion boards for the game, that would be awesome :D

I'll leave you with the teaser/trailer for now...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqi6VJa92HI

Share this post


Link to post

Neat, it's come so far in such a short amount of time. Just one question, will this be retaining the HUB-ish system from the original? Because that had a cool sense of exploration and discovery to it and it'd be a shame to see it go. I'm really looking forward to this, even if it might eventually lead to the inevitable Pewdiepie let's play.

hohohoho

Share this post


Link to post

Followed. On a side note, do you have sounds for the monsters yet? I can sound pretty horrific when I put my mind to it. :P I can betatest as well if you need a few outside opinions: look for EnclaveOfObsidian on Steam if you need me.

Share this post


Link to post

Don't take this too harshly, but I hope the map design improves a lot in development. By far the best parts of Unloved's mapping were the intricate otherworldly environments like dungeons, catacombs, flesh mazes, etc. So far the textures look nice but the maps look incredibly boring and rectilinear.

Share this post


Link to post

Wow, I hope there are some puzzles to solve and uber-creepy quests. People will definitely pay money for the end product if you keep up this pace of development.

Share this post


Link to post

I really like what you're doing here. When I first saw a review of this game I read "And now, he's "converting" the original Unloved into an Unreal 4 engine game! Good luck with that." and I was thinking the same thing. But this is really cool.

The design looks nice, it's got good atmosphere and enemies from what I see, and the Unreal 4 engine look really good with it. My only complaint is how you have to hold "E" to pick things up. A lot of people, including myself, would see this as a bad design choice as it's not fun to sit there and hold E to do anything. Even if it may be a few seconds long. I suggest making pick-ups instant or making some kind of animation, if you, can so it looks like the player is actually doing something.

One smaller complaint are the hands on the gun models. I'm not entirely sure why your character is wearing leather gloves from the beginning but honestly I can live with it. But it still feels off (unless there's some back story the makes it forgivable).

Share this post


Link to post

So, with today's release of the Clinic upgrade (new location, weapon and enemies) I think it's time to talk a bit about this game.

I've been playing it quite a lot and I have to say that I enjoy it very much. The combat in particular is very solid, especially for such a low-budget game made by pretty much one guy. The locations are clearly made by someone who's learning as he goes but the progress is evident and the new Clinic level is miles better than Apartments.

Generally, UNLOVED is not really a direct successor of the mapset. There's an influence of The Binding of Isaac and Payday, random levels, gathering upgrades and stuff, but with DOOM gameplay (kind of). You'll surely recognize the inspiration in the enemies. It might be repetetive to some but personally I like it. Destroying demons is satisfying though the gameplay takes some getting used to.

In terms of atmosphere, it's dark and oppressive, enemies are disturbing and it's very much in the spirit of the mapset. I miss the carefully crafted and designed levels though. There's no 'campaign' so you basically just jump into a level and take care of it for Trinkets (upgrades). You can easily play with up to 3 players if you're too scared to go in alone.

I'd recommend checking it out though it's not for everyone. If you do though, here're some tips:

* Start on Sliver of Mercy difficulty as you need to level up to tackle higher settings (even though they're immediately available)
* Don't forget to sprint
* Focus on big pickups - everything you do (opening doors, using/picking up stuff) increases the chance for enemy spawns
* Bonus objectives (under the minimap) give you Karma (money)
* Card Pieces grant you an extra Trinket upon completion of the level
* Enemies are finite but some spawns will pit you against an insane opposition (and you will trigger more anyway)
* Remember there's an alt fire for all weapons

Share this post


Link to post

Come on, nobody's interested in this? I can't be the only one who thinks this thing is decent. :)

Anyway, Blue has released another big update that added the third location: Basement. Generally there's been a lot of content added over the course of past months. For those of you who might be interested here're the essentials:

* In addition to Basement, there are new map pieces for Apartments and Clinic.
* There are currently 8 enemy types in the game (13 if you count the alternate versions).
* A new weapon is coming someday soon: Nailgun/Grenade Launcher.
* There are currently three game modes: Default, Arcade (instant pickups, more enemies) and Classic Horror (far less enemies and supplies).
* Trinkets (character upgrade artifacts) have three Ranks now. Rank 3s can only be aquired from Demon Chests that spawn on the highest difficulty.
* Totems - character upgrades that last until the end of the level - have been added. They're locked in Chests and require Silver Keys to unlock.
* Enemy infighting is in the game.


Some shots:



Share this post


Link to post

My interest went to zero as soon as I heard he was doing the stupid "modern indie pseudo-roguelike" thing.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×