Chornobyl Liquidators News

Artificial Intelligence is quite a hot topic these days – not only as a main theme for several movies, TV shows and games but also as a practical tool that helps in designing a realistic encounters, probable situations and behaviours that look as natural as possible. In our game, where the “realness” of the world matters, we make sure that everything that is happening around you will be as close to the reality as humanely possible. And that is why we are using some particular AI tools to make that happen.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Notice how the NPC move around predesigned points - they follow particular set of motions and animations to simulate the real-life world to the highest degree. We have prepared a wide selection of different animations, acts and actions that they choose from so they remain vividly distinct from each other.

In the first part of our discussion about the AI in our game we would like to start with the simpler half of our design choices. As you might have notice in contemporary games, many of them are designed to simulate life of whole communities. You can visit certain cities or villages and see people hard at work, children playing at the side of the road and few businessmen just minding their own business. It is AI that decides the activities of those people – it can be very simple, scripted even or it can grow to enormous size and react to player’s actions. Both of those options are present in games these days and they make for much more entertaining games because you can feel that you are inside this world and you are a part of it.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Here you can see the way our NPCs navigate particular areas remaining locked in their "patrol" routes. They have different actions to perform at different points making sure to remain as life-like as possible.

In Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator we will do something similar. As you have seen in the trailer there will be other people around fighting with the catastrophe that happened in Chernobyl and they will do their best to make sure that it is contained and liquidated. In order to achieve that feeling we are going to be using, among other tools, scripted AI community behaviours. Thanks to this particular technique we can achieve a lot of realistic behaviours that will be implemented in the game. Other liquidators on the field will be able to perform a set of activities designed by us – letting us create the very real image of working along other people. We are preparing a lot to make sure that it looks perfect – various set of animations, many different activities loops, paths and tasks that other entities in the game will follow is steadily growing. By pairing them all in different combinations we are going to make sure that the world of NPCs will stay diversed and complex.

But this is only one part of our Artificial Intelligence “training”. In the second part, very soon, we will let you know about more complicated side of things that excites us even more than what we have prepared for today – and believe us, we are excited today too. Thank you for reading and stay tuned!


Cheers!
Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator Team




https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113010/Chernobyl_Liquidators_Simulator/

[h2]In this devlog we would love to talk a little about consumables that will be available within the game.[/h2]

In the last development log we had the opportunity to address some of your concerns and clear any uncertainties that you might have had after watching our pre-alpha gameplay video. Of course that does not mean that we will not take a chance to answer questions again - quite contrary – we are happy to provide you with a space to maintain constructive dialogue between us and we will definitely create a similar devlog once we gather some more of your great question.

Previously we spent a lot of time talking about game design choices, artistic liberties, graphical inspirations and influences - we even discussed a microwave briefly! This time however we would like to turn to matters more directly related to the gameplay that you will have the opportunity to experience in our game. Similarly as before when we talked about tools that our Liquidators can use during their work (you can read about them right here) this time we would like to let you know a bit about some of the consumables that you will be able to acquire and use in the game.



As you might have already noticed when watching the latest video - our main character had the chance to consume different types of consumables throughout the trailer. Those were not just an eye-candy or carefully crafted idle animations done for the sake of the video – items that we use in the game have a real effect on our character and their well-being.



You will be able to use several types of items in the game that will help you out during hard and difficult times and will make some of the tasks needed to perform in the game a little bit less problematic. Some of the items that you will be able to use in the game will reduce the hunger that our main character will feel throughout his work. Other consumables will make them a little bit more resistant to the radiation so prevalent in the world of the game. You will be able to find items that will boost the speed of the character – including both their walking/running speed but also the quickness of doing particular tasks and endeavours. Items that will increase the overall strength of our character making it easier to use certain objects will also find a place in the game.



We have many ideas regarding the possible consumables that can appear in the world of the game so those mentioned above are not rounding up the list. We would like to make sure that you as a player will have many ways to approach difficult situations in the game and those consumable items might become essential in your work as a Liquidator.



You will be free to use them as you see fit but you will also have to deal with the consequences of their usage. Perhaps it is better to save it for another room you have to go in? Or maybe you simply prefer to not use any consumable items at all and see how far can you get without them? Many possibilities exist and we will be happy to see you check them all.


Cheers!
Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator Team




https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113010/Chernobyl_Liquidators_Simulator/

[h2]First of all - thank you very much for the overwhelmingly kind reception that our recent pre-alpha gameplay trailer has received. [/h2]

[h3]We never imagined that our work is going to be appreciated that much. Please rest assured that we are going to continue the development of the product with the same passion that we did so far and will do our best to deliver a gaming experience that is truly unique and of highest possible quality.[/h3]

That being said there have been some recurring feedback points brought up in the comments section here and in some other places that we’d like to address now - to alleviate some of the concerns of the community. Please know that we in fact read all the feedback that comes to our attention and will definitely be applying as much of it to our future work as possible. Now - without further ado let's get to the list we prepared:

1. The ‘infamous’ microwave - well in accordance to the research that we did, the microwave technology was in fact present on the USSR consumer market, with ovens being produced in Belarus among other places. One such notable example can be seen here (made by Elektronika brand):



Of course - the microwave prop that we have used for the demo is not the proper one. We are a relatively small team and not all models in the trailer build we’ve managed to do as they will be in the final game. However we’re putting a lot of effort to make the environments as authentic as they can be.
So tldr: the microwave is going to be replaced with the proper soviet model from the era that we’re gonna model to 100% accuracy.

Also the particular apartment where the kitchen shots takes place belongs to higher-tier CNPP engineer thus we assumed that he might have had such equipment in his household.

2. The cigars - we are of course aware that cigars were not a common commodity in 80s Soviet Union (even is such a relatively wealthy ‘model’ town that the Pripyat was).
However please note that our character picks up the cigars in a very specific spot - basically it’s a cabinet of a higher-tier party official and we’ve specifically put quite a lot of visual cues that indicate that (such as a full-frame Lenin painting on the back wall).



Thus we’ve deemed the presence of cigars in such a place justifiable and fitting.

3. The lighter - well, here we can ask for only one thing: understanding of our creative process. When one of our 3d artists first came up with the design we also thought about it as a tad too much. However after seeing it in the game all of us quickly fell in love with it and it became one of our favourite props. We even asked our team writer to create a special bit of story justifying the presence of this item in the hands of our hero. We shall reveal this story a bit soon in one of our weekly dev-logs.



That being said - we will also create a separate set of animations with player lighting up cigars, smokes and rolled cigarettes using the matches taken out of one of the lovely USSR boxes that we also love :). Appropriate assets to support this are being prepared as you are reading this :).

4. The scaling of the dosimeters - all I can say here is that the trailer comes from our pre-alpha version. We were simply unable to have all the pieces fall into the right places within it.
In our game the ionizing radiation will be provided to the player in mSv units and we will be working a lot to model it with as much accuracy as possible. So simply - please bear with us on that one.



5. The appearance of the burning reactor - we’re aware that we have not modeled this scene with exact accuracy of the looks of the destroyed block IV (for example in regard to the primary coolant pumps being scattered around).



Please however know that we are - among other things - artists at hearts. We love to get inspired by reality but then interpret it in a way that we find the most impactful and fitting our game. We’ve actually put tremendous effort into the design and construction of the reactor fire and we’re quite proud with how it ended up. Even if not 100% the same - we think that it will manage to convey the proper feelings to the players participating in the action (which is very much the ultimate goal of this project).

To put it short: please allow us some creative liberties here and there and we promise to only use them where we find it very, very justifiable.

6. Lonely exploration of the apartment complex - all we can say here at this point: our game - although not story-driven - will have some story in it.



So please rest assured that presence of the liquidator in such circumstances is justifiable (and we also find it fitting the gameplay that we are building).
We will provide more details regarding this aspect of our game as soon as possible.



OK - that’s all for now :)!
Thank you very much for interest in our game and all the positive (and negative) feedback that we got from you all!

Cheers!
Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator Team



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113010/Chernobyl_Liquidators_Simulator/

[h2]A new video appeared on our youtube.[/h2]
[h3]The video shows the game from the pre-alpha gameplay stage.[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Already at this stage, several characteristic rooms appeared.

We also managed to place a few social rooms and flats

We also wanted to reproduce the work of the roof cleaner very accurately.

The firefighters who were fighting the fire at that time also deserved our attention and were put into the game.

Do you like the new trailer for the game?

Wish you all the best!
CLS Team



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113010/Chernobyl_Liquidators_Simulator/

[h3]Information about the livestream during the premiere (1/10/20)[/h3]
🕑Time: 6:00pm CET
🎥Livestream: https://www.twitch.tv/livemotiongames and https://store.steampowered.com/app/914010/Train_Station_Renovation/
🎁Giveaway: https://discord.gg/CrfQyV9



[h3]Remember that you still have time to take part in the community challenge. Below are the thresholds for which we are still fighting.[/h3]



Thank you again for your support and we hope that you will also enjoy our next games.

Best regards
Train Station Renovation team



https://store.steampowered.com/app/914010/Train_Station_Renovation/