Chernobylite Complete Edition News

[h3]Hello Stalkers! [/h3]
Christmas is coming soon! For many of you, it's a time of rest, meeting your family (even virtual), and of course - gifts!

Before we go for a well-deserved rest ourselves, we still have a few things to do. More specifically, it is about introducing a lot of corrections and novelties to Chernobylite to make this Christmas more enjoyable for you.

We will also take this opportunity to show you what the work of a game tester in our company is all about. We hope that it will be not only interesting, but also informative - after all, everyone who wants to take the first step in the gaming industry usually starts this way (but not necessarily).

[h3]Little UI cleanup[/h3]
First, we decided to do a little cleanup with the UI. For this purpose, we removed the weapon statistics in the recycler and fixed them not working in the storage. We also got rid of a bug where the gas mask was still visible in Igor's hand after removing the gas mask (e.g. after being moved to the storage).

This isn’t new yet, but we have already started working on updating the note system. We’re testing many solutions that are not only pleasant to the eyes but also useful. This includes the ability to resize notes and keep background effects while viewing notes. There is a bit of it so we will discuss it for a while but we think it will be worth waiting for the final result.

[h3]Without a detailed map, don't move[/h3]
A little mention of something big. While making some adjustments to the game, we also looked at probably one of the most essential elements of the game - maps. As you can see, the Moscow Eye map will be greatly enriched with additional elements, making it clearer and more convenient to use. It includes adding a few missing buildings, water sources, fences, and a clearer outline of the level boundaries.



Similar changes await for Pripyat Port….



...and Kopachi.



[h3]Views of the power plant at night[/h3]
This point looks like a gaggle to feast your eyes a bit. However, this is actually one of the effects of our in-game fix work.

We fixed a minor problem that was bothering us a bit. Namely, we have reduced the "strength" of the lights on the building, so that they should not shine through the trees.



Additionally, we reduced their brightness a bit, so they blend in better with the background. We also added missing lights on the chimneys.



[h3]Quick overview[/h3]
And how about minor and major improvements and news that you suggested to us? Among them there are:

• removed unnecessary fill after removing sharpen option in advanced video settings
  
• fixed the pop-up that sometimes went out of frame
  
• added the ability to select/deselect a marker on the map with LMB
  
• moved the shader viewmode to F6 key
  
• added hero breathing status while sprinting
  
• updated stats for items used by companions
  
• fixed the button icons on the map widget
  

And perhaps the most important change: added quick save and quick load under F5 / F8 keys.

F5 will now save the game in the quick save slot, while F8 will load the game directly from that slot. The quick save slot is also available in the load game menu.

[h3] Searching for the bugs [/h3]
Every week we provide you with a solid dose of information about what stage Chernobylite is at. Most of the reports are descriptions of bugs that have been caught in the game. Of course, a lot of your credit for that is. However, we cannot forget about our silent heroes as well.

Meet Sebastian Rojek, our game tester. It is he who spends every day catching and reporting every, even the smallest, error in the game. But since we have such a huge help from your side (meaning our players), he also tries to find the ones you’re reporting. All this so that we can provide you with a product free of defects (hopefully).



It is said that the tester's work is repetitive and can be tedious. However, as Sebastian says, he is lucky that he didn’t fall into a routine during this project. To some extent, thanks to you as well. - We are working on Early Access, which slightly increases the dynamics and the way we run the project. Of course, we have a work schedule that we stick to, but at the same time we have to respond to feedback and errors reported by the gaming community - he says. - My day looks completely different a few days after the megapatch was released, when we focus on community feedback, and completely different a few days before, where we are still struggling with defects in completely new aspects of the game.

What is the tester's working day like? The first thing to do is download the latest version of the game with the latest fixes. Sebastian admits that there were days when he could afford to fence the whole project to see if previously reported bugs were fixed, and then he focused on specific mechanics or other aspects of the game that needed improvement.

- Currently, the project is so large that the work must be divided and organized. We devote part of the day to player reports because it is a valuable source of knowledge about the bugs and problems they encounter. Later, depending on the situation, either I make sure that our colleagues from other departments' corrections have had the desired effect, or we check if any of the patches have broken other elements of the game, or we perform functional tests of new or changed game mechanics.



It's time to deal with one of the biggest myths in the industry: a tester's job is not just about playing games and flipping a lot of money! Sebastian admits that such an image often appears in the minds of people outside the industry, and also, unfortunately, in some people already working in gamedev. - My work is largely based on previously prepared test documentation, collected information about the progress of work from individual departments, prepared checklists and a lot of organizational work so that the time later used for testing brings the best possible results - he says.

Speaking of bug reporting, each report should contain both a general description of the problem and the most accurate information about the steps leading to it, where it occurs, attach a screenshot or a video file with a record of the error. - Sometimes these are simple things that require looking at a given place, sometimes they are much more difficult cases, the reproduction of which requires a very specific positioning or reproducing even several dozen steps. It would probably be more difficult, but we have the right tools to make our work easier. Yes, we have cheats - admits Sebastian without any shame.



Do the testers, like the rest of the team, face difficulties in their work? According to Sebastian, in this case it is better to talk about challenges than difficulties. And he adds that in testing work, you are a bit at the center of everything that happens in the project. - Some departments cooperate with each other only to a limited extent. The tester works with everyone. It checks functionality, sound, graphics, optimization, compliance with design, etc. - says Sebastian. - You have to be careful with work and organize it well, because chaos can sneak in very easily. It may sound funny, but you have to "test" different approaches and learn from "mistakes" - he adds.

Reported defect priorities are reflected from two reference points. The first is to influence the project as a product that needs to be completed and released, the second is Early Access and the people who buy and play Chernobylite all the time. - We have to keep both of these things in mind. The defect, which may be small in the scale of the project, can completely spoil the gameplay experience of people downloading the new patch from Steam - emphasizes Sebastian.

Coming back to the issue of cooperation between the tester and the team, it is worth paying attention to one more thing: there is a belief that developers treat testers as a necessary evil. Because they catch bugs that need to be patched, and this only extends the game production process. Sebastian recalls having dealt with such situations over the years. - In my experience of working on games, there have been a lot of people who could throw meat at the tester, and "you just spoil, you would do something useful" isn’t the worst that can be heard - he admits. At the same time, he points out that the defects found by testers are the result of a mistake made, for example, by a programmer or designer, and they are often sensitive to their work being "picked on".



According to Sebastian, the cooperation depends largely on the tester himself. - It can build an atmosphere of cooperation and a common goal or conflict and criticism of someone else's work. You have to be in the back of your head all the time that you talk to people who spend many hours on their contribution to the project, so it's best not to be guided by emotions, and only consider arguments and dry facts - he says.

Of course - as he points out - the tester should have his own opinion and be able to assess many things himself. At the same time, it should also be able to shift the weight of the conversation towards solving the problem and extinguishing a potential conflict, not its flare-up. - You have to be able to conduct a dialogue in which the end result is a better shape of the project. I think people who can't handle it will only get frustrated in this profession or the industry in general, because it works both ways - says Sebastian.

- For me, working at Chernobylite is very fun in this respect, because we are a small team, so these relationships are in many cases direct and intense. We managed to develop a good workflow quite quickly and it has a good impact on the project. A lot of us are enthusiasts and sometimes you have the impression that they approach more interesting reported defects with curiosity than anger - he emphasizes.


fot. PatHecke

Are there any unusual situations in this job, as in any other? Naturally. In fact, it is required that such happen. And it's even better if game tester causes it himself. Sebastian admits that imagination is important in this work. - Sometimes you need a flash of genius and sometimes you have to do really stupid things. I can still remember the look of Arthur Fojcik who asked me why I was shooting dead bodies shortly after I reported a bug where shooting soldiers' bodies in Chernobylite was generating extra loot.

[h3]"It's not a bug, it's a feature"[/h3]

Sebastian brings up one more anecdote that gives shivers down his back: - I used to think that a new event was added to the game that made the level pools full of blood. When I tried to find out what the event was it turned out to be a water display problem. Maybe that was the problem, maybe it was fixed and gone. For me, this will forever remain one of the darkest events in Chernobylite.



We ourselves regret that this "bug" has been fixed. :(

[h3]That's it for today![/h3]
Take care, Stalkers!

[h3]Hello Stalkers![/h3]
We come to you with another portion of the news about what is squeaking in the grass! But not only...

We noticed that in the previous report you liked the story of Joanna from the Exclusion Zone very much. So we're continuing our little series of behind-the-scenes stories, bringing you tons of unpublished photos from your zone along the way. We hope you will like it this time as well.

Enjoy reading!

[h3]We won the CEEGA award! [/h3]
At the beginning we need to show off: Chernobylite was nominated for the CEEGA 2020 awards in the Technology and Visual Art categories And it was revealed just this week that we’ve won in the Technology category!



We don’t know exactly what particular aspects of the game draw the jury’s attention, but we’re definitely happy about it. Congratulations to the other nominees and winners! More awards are ahead of us (hopefully) :)

[h3]Armor, hair and woods[/h3]
And now something for the eyes. In the pictures below you will see the step-by-step process of applying textures to a super heavy soldier.



Below - a comparison of Tatiana's hair before and after changing the hair material. As you can see, before the changes, Tatiana's hair was more… straw. Light corrections made the hair structure and appearance more natural and closer to reality.

Oh, and don't pay attention to what's going on behind Tatiana in the background. We don't know ourselves. :D



Here in the form of a little curiosity - how we work with the vegetation in the world of Chernobylite. As you can see, we try to reproduce the real trees and shrubs as much as possible, not only in terms of appearance and variety. You can see in the photo that we take care to maintain the proportions of the height of trees and shrubs compared to an adult person.



[h3]The atmosphere inside Chernobyl[/h3]
Once again, we want to unveil a little behind the scenes of work on Chernobylite. Because you liked the story of our graphic model Joasia, we asked Michał Mierzejewski, our 3D artist and photogrammetry specialist, to tell you what it is like to take pictures of the environment.

Michał has been to Chernobyl more than ten times. The first trip took place in 2015 - back then Michał was in the team behind the Chernobyl VR Project. - The first trip happened in November. It probably lasted around five days, but we didn't visit too much. I spent the most time in School no. 3 doing scans. We were in a group of six people, travelling in our own car, and we could be in the zone from dawn till dusk. The school, which we lit up with our lamps (we had our own generator), looked amazing. Then the "tourist" traffic was completely different - he recalls.



Michał is a bit interested in urban exploration (exploration of the usually invisible or inaccessible parts of human civilization) and he has a lot of fun taking pictures of such places. The Zone once was his Holy Grail - At first, this place was overwhelming with the number of stimuli, frames in the context of photography. Everything was interesting and the neck hurt from constantly looking around - he says.



The biggest breakthrough was the 5th or 6th trip when he got to know this place better and could slow down for a moment. Thanks to this, he was able to closely experience places he only looked at from a distance so far. - Maybe I didn’t see the whole Zone, but I’ve tried more than once, so it's hard to say what I liked the most. Our trips are always organized in small groups, sometimes 2-3 people, which additionally helps, because you are not accompanied by 20 tourists. I explored all the iconic places as well as the less known ones. But I was most impressed by the silence near Caffe Pripyat. It was overwhelming, you could literally hear the grass growing. Nowhere else have I "heard" such silence - says Michał.

The best thing about this job is that the team visited places that are usually very difficult to access. The photo below was taken from the side of the power plant, which is not normally available for “tourists”.



And another photo from the zone, this time after dark.



There are also unforgettable, even historical moments. - We got permission once to fly over the Power Plant, moments before the Ark covered the old sarcophagus. A walk around the entire site was also something extraordinary - recalls Michał.

So the important question is how to transfer a place that you actually saw with your own eyes to the game. The easiest way to answer it is that: during a photo session, thousands of photos of an object or room are taken. Imagine taking a few thousand photos of only one chair! Michał says directly and with disarming frankness: - My job is not exciting. I can spend hours in a given place and take photos. Of course, I also visit interesting places and that’s pretty cool. Thanks to this, my work isn’t limited to just sitting in the office and that’s good because those trips are always an adventure in a way.



He found out himself that trips can be an adventure in themselves many times. He had some scary experience in the hospital, wandering around with a small team in the underground corridors. - We were there completely alone. We’ve reached a cellar where irradiated clothes were thrown into (some of them gathered from the fireman that were dispatched to the Power Plant shortly after the explosion). Suddenly, madness happened - dosimeters and their alarms screamed... It was really something - recalls Michał.



This, of course, doesn’t mean that everything has to be smooth and successful - exploring the underground is sometimes dangerous. While exploring one of the buildings in search of a good cellar to scan, Michał had a small… accident. - I saw a spot where I could move down through the metal staircase. I moved slowly: 1... 2... 3... 4… 5 steps. Suddenly it felt the next stair was bending like it was made of rubber. In a split second, I grabbed the railing. It crumbled and the rest of it was left in my hands. I don’t know how, but I’ve managed to turn and started to run back. Every step bent, crumbled, and in the end, all of them fell into a black hole where I wanted to go.

Another extremely important element of the journey is meeting people. As Michał says, visiting the same abandoned buildings 100 times does not make such an impression then. - Suddenly people and their stories come to the fore. For example, that guy Ivan talked about the boar he kept in his shed. But there are also guides, all that atmosphere and animals - all those stray dogs, cats, a car-sized moose you encountered, or a fox that thinks it's a dog.



- The kindness of these people, their openness is indescribable. During one of our trips, we recorded one babushka and when she started to tell her story, the memories came back and she cried. It really moved us - adds Michał.



The end of the tour always means a lot of control. After all, you come back from the area irradiated to a greater or lesser extent. When leaving the zone, you must pass the dosimetry control twice through special gates. Even then, it's hard not to run into problems. - Once some guy in front was passing through the gate and it just “screamed”.

The guards stopped him, of course. They told him to clean his shoes with special doormats, as they were the source of the problem. He wiped them, walked through the gate... and it yelled again. So he didn’t have much choice and had to leave these shoes. From that point he had to walk just in his socks - describes Michał.

[h3]It's all for today![/h3]
Take care, stalkers!

[h3]Hello Stalkers![/h3]
So we made it! We've reached our destination! Here is a round 50 report before your eyes!

We filled 49 previous reports with our sweat, blood and the tears (of joy) we shed during our struggle over Chernobylite. All this to provide you with the most polished game that we hope will give you a lot of fun.

As you may have also noticed, we’ve recently jumped into December. It means we're getting closer to the end. But that doesn't mean we've slowed down. In addition to fixing the bugs you report, we are working hard on the most crucial elements of our game (THE HEIST!), And we are also preparing Chernobylite for the raid on consoles of the current (yet) generation and the one that has just arrived. So there will be more things to come before the premiere.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2905347823303760277

That's it for the introduction. We invite you to read the 50th report, in which we also included some behind-the-scenes curiosities. ;)
[h3]Shield of Black Stalker[/h3]
For starters, traditionally about the major and minor changes and fixes we're working on to make playing Chernobylite fun, not a chore. Errors can be really diverse, and these sometimes never cease to surprise us.



Of these smaller fixes, it's worth mentioning that we’ve taken care of the disabling of save and load options in the pause menu (if the player didn't have any "daily saves"). We have also turned on the pause menu during the dialogue - thanks to this, when you have to leave the game unexpectedly for some time, you don’t have to worry about missing an important thread in the plot.

In addition, we’ve fixed investigation boards order when hints or notes were collected in a random order, removed the adrenaline tutorial once slow-motion option ended, made the active weapon hidden if it was moved to storage.

From the bigger things, we can say that we are working on some essential animations and effects in the game. Below, one example: the effect of destroying a black stalker shield.

In our editor:



In-game:


[h3]In the center of the Zone[/h3]
Here we want to show you the backstage of Chernobylite development. However, it will be something completely different from what you have seen recently. So get ready, because we have a little surprise for you that comes with it.



As you know, we went to the Exclusion Zone many times because of the project with our luggage stuffed with photographic and video equipment. It was the perfect opportunity to take a lot of photos and videos, which were later used to create the world of Chernobylite. The trips to Chernobyl also allowed us to create assets that serve as narrative elements. Including the most important ones, related to one of the key characters in the game.

Tatyana Amalieva is a very mysterious and ambiguous character that the player gets to know at the very beginning of the game. Igor Khymynuk's fiancée, who worked with him at the Chernobyl power plant, disappears on April 26, 1986, the day of the disaster. 30 years later, Igor travels back to the Zone to look for her.



To portray Tatiana, we needed a suitable place, some props (including clothes), and most importantly - a model. And so our graphic designer Joanna became Tatyana. It’s her character that you see at the very beginning of the game's intro. And she will be happy to tell you what it was like in the Exclusion Zone and about working as a model!

The first trip to the photo session took place in November 2017. The team spent a day in Sławutycz and two days in the Exclusion Zone. - It was a very intense time. Wake up early in the morning, pack costumes, equipment and travel by train to Chernobyl. I was very excited because I had never had the opportunity to pose in such a specific place before. It was a big challenge - says Joanna.



As she claims, from her first trip she remembers mostly the peace and silence, the unique atmosphere and mystery of this place. - The centre of Pripyat made the biggest impression on me. The Ghost Town, which had a population of around 50,000 inhabitants before the catastrophe. And now nature has taken over the power in this place.

The first location where photos were taken was the Duga radar. Unfortunately, the conditions were difficult and the weather was not favourable. - I was only wearing a summer dress. I've never felt so cold before - Joanna admits. Subsequent sessions and recordings took place, among others, in the centre of Pripyat, the Amusement Park, the City Hospital No. 126 in Pripyat, the Pripyat Café, and the Kindergarten in Kopachi. During these few years, the team managed to see a large part of the Exclusion Zone.



The trips were also an opportunity to bring a lot of anecdotes from there. In one of them, the heroine was Joanna, or rather Tatyana, played by her. - Two years ago, during the session at the Polesie Hotel, we heard the voices of coming tourists. We made a little joke. I was wearing Tatyana's ghost costume, I was holding a doll in my hand, I was throwing my hair over my face. I slowly started walking towards them. When they noticed me, their reaction was indescribable! You never know what is hiding in an abandoned city. ;)





- We travelled to Chernobyl every year, I was there 4 times. We’ve also planned a trip for this year, but… you know. 2020. The pandemic thwarted our plans. I hope that we will be able to return there in the future - she adds.

It's time to answer the question of what 3D scanning of a character looks like from the inside. This happened in the company using photogrammetry. - It's a very interesting experience to be surrounded by 114 cameras. The most difficult aspect is to keep the chosen pose for some time - says Joanna admits. And she adds: - I stopped in time as a 3D model! It is an amazing feeling and a souvenir for the future.



Did you like Joanna’s / Tatiana’s behind the scenes story? We have MUCH more like this coming, so let us know if you’d like to read about it!
[h3]That’s all for today[/h3]
Take care, stalkers!

[h3]Hello Stalkers![/h3]
Before we get to the heart of the agenda, we'd like to announce something important. Our game is voting for the Steam Awards! As Chernobylite was released in Early Access in October 2019 (over a year ago. Where did that time go...) we are starting a nomination for the award in the "Labor of Love" category. We bow down and ask you: if you've had fun playing our game so far - vote for Chernobylite!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2905347189776333118

And remember that by voting you earn a special Steam badge! If you want to have the highest tier of this badge, you have to write or update a review for one of the nominated games. Of course, we would love if you'd do this for Chernobylite


The game has changed much since we've started Early Access, so if you wrote us a review 6, even 12 months ago, Chernobylite is a totally better game now. So hop in, play, see for yourselves and tell us what you think about the current state of the development!

Ok, no more grovelling! Here come our weekly specs!
[h3]Performance improvements and other smaller bugs[/h3]
We will start the report with significant changes that may not be noticeable to the human eye, but are actually crucial to the smooth running of the game.

The problem that we want to solve is that the game lagged after showing a dozen saved games (or more) with all these elements at once. We are trying to work out a solution that will fix it - we have a few ideas on how to do it so we’re testing them right now. We decided to do a little reorganization of the new load game menu by reviewing the user interface, screenshots next to each save and metadata. Such as current level, current quest, save timestamp, playtime duration, etc.

By jcden77

In addition, we are working on other improvements, which, although they are minor, have a huge impact on the gameplay and on how much you’re enjoying the game. This includes improving interaction with very small objects - this is not the pixel hunt level of old point'n'click adventure games yet, but we would like to avoid it anyway.

Also fixing the sound of footsteps that did not work well in some places, and the marker placed by our comrades who were in the wrong places or a bug that made the traps react to dead bodies. In addition, there are also some grammatical errors in the dialogues that we and you picked up.

The list of these minor bugs is much larger, so expect the bigger list when the update (Hotfix) will arrive on Steam.

By svid.vp
[h3]Chernohost[/h3]
Our favourite little devil, a.k.a. Chernohost, also didn’t escape our attention. And there is always room for improvement. ALWAYS, believe us. For example, sometimes this enemy happened to be invisible, like Bilbo Baggins after putting the One Ring on his finger. It’s hard to fight a group of Chernohosts, so imagine being attacked by… nothing. Or at least nothing visible.

Another bug was keeping Chernohost glued to us all the time. Literally! To say that it looked weird is not enough... Apart from that, we are increasing and widening these creatures’ view range and - most importantly - we are giving them the opportunity to aggro their comrades. In the group, Chernohosts are the strongest, so if one will see & attack you. And the rest will probably do the same.


[h3]Audio and visuals[/h3]

Time for a visual-auditory experience. We are currently working on the sounds made by falling bullet scales. We want the sounds to reproduce the fall of the scales not only to the ground, but also to other surfaces, such as heavy metal, glass, crystal, deep water and shallow puddles. Again, this is important to us because we want to make the game as real as possible.

Though we couldn’t show you that today, as we can’t publish any videos in Steam News, we will prepare some behind the scenes in the next month. You’ll probably be quite surprised how we can produce such sounds ^^

Among the more important visual fixes, we are working on the extremely annoying scene where you meet Tarakan in Pripyat Port. Why “annoying”? Because it doesn't work the way it should! Due to this, the quest cannot be finished - it has as many as four endings, which already mixes the whole thing up.

As for the other things, on the screenshot below you can see that we are testing various solutions in the Farm that can help us solve the problem of bad display of objects from a greater distance.



We are also working on different versions of new game objects (in this case: trees). No textures at the moment.



And finally, a package of assets from almost all sides. Enjoy!


[h3]That’s all for today[/h3]
Take care, stalkers!

The Steam Awards are here again! We are taking part in the voting too, as a game released in Early Access in October 2019, so you can find us in one category: Labor of Love. If you had fun playing our game - please vote on Chernobylite!

And if you played months ago, check out how much the game has changed:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2935744583752568383
However we are not "there" yet, meaning we still have some work to get done, we're not long before the awaited premiere. We have over a year of work behind us and finally reaching the point where we will be able to say "okay, guys, we have it!". Of course, still many things will change for the better, there is still some content to be implemented (like "The Heist").



But on the other hand, we can clearly see how much the game has improved since the pre-alpha state. And that's not an easy thing to say when you work on something day after day after day! We are proud of what we have achieved, we are proud that we will be able to bring Chernobylite to both current and next-gen consoles, we are proud that you like the ideas that we invented and the changes that we made.



So guys, if you want to show us your support - please write us a review and vote on Chernobylite during this year's Steam Awards!

xoxo,
Cherno team