Warchasm remastered now live!
After what feels like forever the new enhanced version of Warchasm is now available. As a solo developer these things of course take time but finally we are live and I can announce whats changed.
[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
The action is now a lot more fluid with better control over how and when enemies and environmental hazards spawn. There's no longer a default 2 second gap between enemy waves with many of the attacking waves happening in combination or overlapping each other.
The reward system is more forgiving making it easier to progress and unlock each of the 6 planets.
Easy and normal settings have been adjusted to make play easier though hard is still an absolute beast to get through.
Other quality of life updates include...
- The MS20 Quad Missile launcher and Repro Mortar both unlock at the end of the Canyon level.
- The 2 specials are also available at the same time with one resting over each shoulder (press grip to swap weapons).
- Specials and shields now replenish more quickly.
- Mortar ammo is now a drop from certain enemies.
- Increased ammo from bullet drops.
- Improved UI allows faster access to the action
- Localization in English, Spanish (European) and Simplified Chinese.
[h2]Aesthetics[/h2]
Along with the model optimisations detailed below the game has undergone a massive graphics overhaul.
almost every texture in game has been repainted in several passes, over the base color was baked diffuse and specular lighting. Then fine details and shadows we hand painted crating a more coherent art style. Then another pass adds areas of darkness and bloom before Finally a bake from the ambient occlusion pass was multiplied over the top to add weight add realism to the assett.
[h2]Support[/h2]
The control system in Warchasm has been remapped with better haptics.
There is now support for Windows Mixed Reality Devices.
Mixed reality support via LIV (see below for more info on this).
Bhaptics support is being implemented this week and should be available shortly.
[h2]Performance[/h2]
A lot of the games functionality has been refactored in to a more elegant package and the games reliance on dynamic lighting has been reduced creating a more fluid and performant experience.
The games models have been better optimised in terms of both geometry and textures lowering poly count and memory consumption as well as reducing shader complexity.
Many assets have been combined to reduce drawcalls.
[h2]LIV mixed reality support[/h2]
For the content creators and streamers out there. Although the LIV SDK was actually implemented at a basic leve last year, the system has now been updated and the game overhauled to better accomodate LIV functionality. This includes.
- Better optimised assets and code for a lower CPU GPU overheads.
- Glows now apear as expected.
- Overly dark compositor images have been fixed so LIV should better match the HMD view.
- Intro assets added to start of stage so the level is no longer seen building itself.
[h2]So whats next?[/h2]
To be honest I do not know. When I first released Warchasm it was something of a work in progress. I didn't want to put it into early access as I didn't know if I would have the time or money to do any further work on it and didn't want it to be yet another "abandoned App". Then the Pandemic hit and we were all stuck indoors for the most part so I figured I'd continue working. There's now a Quest version available via app lab and the two versions are now in sync in terms of assets and functionality so any updates to one should be reflected in the other fairly quickly. That said, Warchasm has cost considerably more to make than it has made which is just the nature of things in this industry and a risk you take in developing a title for a niche industry in this day and age.
That said, there are a few updates planned that I hope to see through to fruition but no guarantees!
Future updates
BHaptics Support
This is definitely happening and should be ready in the next couple of weeks.
Think first Shoot Last
New frozen and subaquatic levels are on their way with a large part of the modelling being done already. The new stages will include more original music as well as new enemies and obstacles. That said, these slower paced "thinkers" levels are still some way off.
Hunter update
Those of you that have made it through to the end of the game should know what a MegaBoss looks like. The hunter update will add the ability to force the cart along different routes using the tilt functionality. This will of course change what players encounter in game and somewhere, hidden amongst the levels will be 2 new Mega Bosses.
Off the rails
Let you imagination go to work on that one.
[h2]And Finally[/h2]
I would like to take a moment to thank those of you that have supported Warchasm through Steam or through Stream and hope that one day , in the not too distant future, it will actually make some money and allow me to keep on making games!
Ultimately it has always been a dream of mine to make a video game, and to have released not just a game but a VR title has been absolutely amazing. It has allowed my to bring together everything I do creatively from art and animation to composing and production and pump all of that in to one awesome project and for that I am astoundingly grateful.
So thanks again for the support and hopefully I'll be back writing another of these posts in the not too distant future.
I hope you enjoy the update and best regards,
Dave the Dev