Gold Hunter News

Now I'm getting back to you with an announcement that many have been waiting for and now the time has finally come. The wait is over, well not quite yet, you still have to be patient, but today I can give you a date for the upcoming update.

As already mentioned in previous posts, the update will first be released on the experimental version, so everyone can already get access to the update. A few weeks later it will be released on the stable version so that the last bugs can be found.

The big change in this update is the change of the engine, from 4 to Unreal Engine 5.
In this update, the focus is on the basic functions, the multiplayer and the new map.
Further functions and items will be added bit by bit.

The next few months will be actively used to design the levels, fix bugs and implement the final functions.
The new map will only have the base for the time being. Other locations, points of interest and other details will be added in future updates.

And now the most important thing, the date for the update.

Update Release 0.6 Alpha Experimental: 3/29 2024 at 8pm.

You can view the current status in the roadmap for Unreal Engine 5 at any time.

Link to roadmap UE5: https://trello.com/b/k0nYI1tG/roadmap-ue5


If you would like to be part of the further development, I recommend the live stream on Twitch.
The streams take place regularly from Monday to Friday and the language is generally German.
However, you can also ask questions in English, which I will be happy to answer.

Link to Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/goldhuntermp


If you have any further questions or feedback, please write in the comments or join us on Discord.

Link to Discord: https://discord.gg/goldhunter

The year is almost over and I'll get back to you again.
I hope everyone got through the holidays well.

A long year is behind us and a lot has been achieved this year.
Even if you as a player cannot see the progress directly, as the last update was in the first quarter, a lot has been achieved.

The switch to Unreal Engine started in May and the switch has already been completed in just a few months. This is a great success and the changeover went largely without any problems.

The next livestream will take place again from January 1st, 2024, as there will simply be a break between Christmas and New Year.

All basic functions have already been integrated into the engine and we are in the final phase of extensive testing of all functions.

We are currently still working on troubleshooting, and some functions are also being changed and improved. Of course, all tests are also tested in multiplayer, so they require more time because these tests are significantly more extensive.

This will take some time, but we are making very good progress.
Once the final phase is complete, there will be a further announcement in the next few weeks. In this announcement we can finally give you a date for the update to Unreal Engine 5.

You can view the current status in the roadmap for Unreal Engine 5 at any time.

Link to roadmap UE5: https://trello.com/b/k0nYI1tG/roadmap-ue5


If you would like to be part of the further development, I recommend the live stream on Twitch.
The streams take place regularly from Monday to Friday and the language is generally German.
However, you can also ask questions in English, which I will be happy to answer.

Link to Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/goldhuntermp


If you have any further questions or feedback, please write in the comments or join us on Discord.

Link to Discord: https://discord.gg/goldhunter


Well, that should be it for today.
The whole team wishes everyone a happy new year in 2024.

Now it's time for another dev blog. Some time has passed since the last dev blog.

A few more functions and systems have been implemented since then.

These include the transfer of gold, a completely new camera system that requires significantly less power and much more.

You can view the current status at any time in the roadmap for Unreal Engine 5.

Link to the UE5 roadmap: https://trello.com/b/k0nYI1tG/roadmap-ue5


There you can also see that we only have a few open tasks.

We are currently working on the vehicle system, which is the last major feature in the game that still needs to be completed. Once the vehicle system is finished, we can start testing it.

Parallel to the tests, the level design of the new map will continue. This will save additional time.

This means that it won't be too long before we can release the first update on Unreal Engine 5.
This will then be available on the experimental version first.

This probably also means that this will be the last dev blog before the next update, which is a positive thing.

After successful testing on the experimental version, this version will be released on stable a few weeks later. After that, further functions and mechanics will be integrated in every update.

If you want to be part of the further development, I recommend the livestream on Twitch.
The streams take place regularly from Monday to Friday and are always in German.
However, you can also ask questions in English, which I will be happy to answer.

https://www.twitch.tv/goldhuntermp


So, that's it for today. If you have any further questions or feedback, please write in the comments or contact us on Discord.

https://discord.gg/goldhunter

I'll get back to you with the next dev blog. It's been 3 weeks since the last dev blog and a lot has happened since then. This dev blog is not about the functions and programming this time, but about level design.

The last few weeks the map has been worked on at full speed. And today I want to show you the progress. But before I show you any more details, I'll explain very briefly how this came about.

Since we have already switched to Unreal Engine 5, we also considered how this should be implemented with the map. Due to the switch to the new engine, the old map with the content could unfortunately not be taken over. There were 2 options to consider.

Either you would have taken the old map and filled it with new content, or you would have invested a little more time and created a new map. The decision fell on the new map and that's what today's dev blog is about.

Here are a few details and dates to give you a better idea.
The old map had about 16 square kilometers and up to 12 claims were planned. The largest claim was claim 7 and was about 100x100m in size.

Now the data for the new card. The new map will have approximately 68 square kilometers and 14 claims are already planned, but each claim is still divided into parcels. Each plot is 100x100m and there are already over 600 plots in total. Compared to the old map, it would be over 600 claims. I think you can see a clear difference.

The length of the roads that have already been laid is currently over 25 kilometers and the rivers are over 21 kilometers long. There will also be a port, a train station and many more places. This also includes an old gold mining town.

And another info, the whole map is using voxels, means it would be theoretically possible to dig everywhere and do terraforming.

An important part that plays a big role is the issue of performance.
And I can tell you, the performance is just great. On this large 68 square kilometer map, the performance is significantly better compared to a map of 500 x 500 meters in the same engine. Both cards have the same comparison value, relatively empty condition. The landing time on the new large map is less than 10 seconds.

This was also tested in the team, so here is some information. With a "Geforce 1660 Super" graphics card you can achieve an average FPS of 75 FPS on "High" graphics settings and this graphics card is one of the older models from 2019. This means that you can also play comfortably on older graphics cards.

I think pictures say more than any long text, so here are a few pictures.
All images are a preview of what is to come but is still subject to change. The map is a work in progress and not complete.

The image below shows the size of the card. Below the lake is about the size of the old map.



Here you can see the view of the city. The train station and the port will be on the other side of the river.





This picture shows the offshore area, which can also be used later. In this area alone there are over 200 pitches waiting for you.



There are very large rivers, even some with islands.



Of course, the desert area should not be missing, that's where the "desert mining" takes place.



Now the following pictures from different views and maybe you can see a spoiler for an upcoming feature.

















You can always check the current status in the Unreal Engine 5 Roadmap.

Link to UE5 Roadmap: https://trello.com/b/k0nYI1tG/roadmap-ue5

After a successful test on the experimental version, this version will appear on stable a few weeks later. After that, additional functions and mechanics will be integrated in each update.

If you want to be part of the further development, I recommend the live stream on Twitch. The streams take place regularly from Monday to Friday, the language is basically German. However, you can also ask questions in English, which I will be happy to answer.

https://www.twitch.tv/goldhuntermp

Well, that should have been it for today.
If you have any further questions or feedback, feel free to write in comments or with us on Discord.

https://discord.gg/goldhunter

Herewith I report to you with the next dev blog. A few weeks have passed and you probably want to know what has been accomplished during this time.

The switch to Unreal Engine 5 is progressing well, great progress is being made.
As you probably already know, we have arrived at phase 3, the last and decisive phase in the changeover.

Once this phase is complete, the update will be released on the Experimental Version.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you how long that will take. It's hard to estimate, so far I haven't encountered any major problems, so I'm making faster progress than I thought.

You can always check the current status in the Unreal Engine 5 Roadmap.

Link to UE5 Roadmap: https://trello.com/b/k0nYI1tG/roadmap-ue5


After a successful test on the experimental version, this version will appear on stable a few weeks later. After that, additional functions and mechanics will be integrated in each update.

The main thing that will interest you is the multiplayer, since it still causes some problems in the current version on Steam.

In the meantime I can tell you that the functions already implemented in Unreal Engine 5 work very well. Both single player and multiplayer. This is already a great success.

Many features have been worked on over the last few weeks, including the shop, shopping, the new inventory system and much more.

What you can also look forward to is the new map in the game. It will be bigger and therefore offer many more possibilities. But I don't want to reveal too much yet, let yourself be surprised.

I think screenshots say more than any long text, so here are a few screenshots.
All screenshots are a preview of what is to come, so ongoing.

Here you can see a picture of the shop. In this shop you can buy all the important items that you need for the gold search.



Of course you don't want to do everything on foot, so there is a large selection of different vehicles.



So that you don't run out of fuel on the way and you get stuck, you can do something good for your vehicle at the gas station.



Overview of the inventory system. You can now also remove and swap clothes.



There is also a new feature in the game that many of you have been asking for.
This will be the interaction in third-person mode.



The tablet is already in the works and will later offer various apps. Be it an online order, administration of the company, weather, gold price and much more.



There is also a clothing store to give you more choice.



And finally a picture of the upcoming town hall, where you can register and manage your company.



At this point, a big thank you goes out to our community mods, who always take the time to find bugs and report them directly. So I can fix the reported errors directly and we can then guarantee you a more pleasant gaming experience right from the start.

If you want to be part of the further development, I recommend the live stream on Twitch.
The streams take place regularly from Monday to Friday, the language is basically German.
However, you can also ask questions in English, which I will be happy to answer.

https://www.twitch.tv/goldhuntermp


Well, that should have been it for today.
If you have any further questions or feedback, feel free to write in comments or with us on Discord.

https://discord.gg/goldhunter