Umurangi Generation News

Due to the surface being in constant chaos and uncertainty many of the worlds elite were able to secure themself comfort from the ongoing crisis above.
A new area, Tauranga Underground City has been added, which opens up the following 3 stages for photography.

・Gamers Palace:
　Forget your worries in a top of the line Gaming Bar and VR Arcade.
・UN Hangar:
　Uncover the truth the UN doesn’t want you to know.
・The Depths:
　A tent city where the air is thick with the smell of grease and toxic sludge.

DLC Trailer:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

・Selfie Lens
　Swap to the selfie lens and take a photo with you in it.

・Roller Blades
　Move quickly through levels with Roller Blades.

・Spray Can
　Tag anything that is Property of the UN. Create interesting opportunities for new and creative shots.

・Rad Pads
　Get down really low on your belly and take photos.

・Aperture Priority
　Take photos using aperture priority and change the way lenses operate.

・ISO
　Use your ISO slider to increase Grain in exchange for a brighter shot.

We'll let you know when the release window has been set, so we ask for your patience just a little longer!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/

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Hello everyone, we have been working hard to bring some more requested features to Umurangi Generation while also working towards new content for players to enjoy. Without any further waffle let's break it down.

Keyboard Remapping
Keys can now be remapped. This will let players who have unconventional keyboards play
Your keybinding is saved to a tiny txt file located next to your save data. This way you can share your binding with other players.



Achievements
We’ve put together a list of achievements. Some are achieved from playing the game and others require some specific circumstances. This should give returning players something to do while soaking in the atmosphere.



Trading Cards
As some of you may have noticed we have added Trading Cards which would have already dropped. These trading cards were something we wanted players to strive to collect, so we worked to make most of the art diverse and eye catching. A big thank you to Alugz_P and RubyFairRow for their guest art.


Improved controller support
For certain lenses looking around while having them zoomed in was a bit too sensitive. We have worked to make looking through the camera less sensitive so that players using a controller can be precise.



Listen to the soundtrack on Spotify
We’ve added the Umurangi Generation Soundtrack to Spotify check it out here
https://open.spotify.com/album/02iIjzyhAlM7b5MlnuUdtb



American Flags on Karangahake
American flags were often only an objective you could get from a very specific angle. We’ve added some small flags in cups and attached them to the train so that players can take this objective in some new and creative ways.

Lower graphics settings optimisations
We are constantly working to make the enjoyment of the game as smooth for everyone. With console releases later this year we’ve been looking at ways of making lower spec machines run the game. One of the biggest changes you will notice with lower spec quality settings is that performance intensive effects will be disabled. This might alter the look of some scenes a little bit but you should still be able to take great photos.



Top: Low Spec
Bottom: High Spec

DLC Preview
We are heads down working on the first Umurangi Generation DLC content pack. Here are some previews of the levels we have been working on. Be aware there are some spoilers in these images for the base game.



For daily updates be sure to follow @UmurangiGame on Twitter.

Kia Ora everyone. As we move into a new week we are delighted to announce some new comfort options for players in the game.



You asked for it! Today we are rolling out controller support for Player Control and Menus. We chose to prioritise this as unlike other keyboards the 3 main controllers are universal in their design. This means that players from different countries can all enjoy the same experience using their respective controllers. The control scheme is as follows




Controllers Supported
Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4

Read more here:
https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/[email protected]/manual/SupportedDevices.html


A small amount of players were soft locked from playing after some files containing their settings were corrupted. We implemented a check which looks for any errors in these files. If there are any issues the following will appear as well as a button for players to open the relevant folder and manually delete the file. If you have an issue with either file a small icon will display in the bottom right which will let you know what is wrong.





For Helicopter Brains and players who use the inverted Y axis for looking around we have added this into the menu. Works with both Mouse and Controller.


For motion sick players we have added in the ability to enable and disable motion blur. This may help alleviate some sickness by enabling or disabling. This may also help mask some VSync issues some players were having.


[h2]Otumoetai 3 Targets[/h2]
There was an issue where players were able to shoot the 3 targets through the outside barricades of the Kill House area of Otumoetai. This has been patched.

[h2]Sound effects glitches[/h2]
Hovering Effect Persistence outside of levels and some other rogue sound effects have been patched.

[h2]Subway ‘Glasses & Trilby’ and ‘Boombox & Spray Can’ bug.[/h2]
On the Subway level Glasses & Trilby and Boombox & Spray Can were triggered regardless of distance (they are close objectives).

[h2]3 Ferns and Bench from Near to Any[/h2]
3 Ferns and Bench have been changed from Near to Any. This should give players more creativity to take this shot in different ways.

[h2]Close by increased range[/h2]
From within 3 units to 3.5 units.
Most players during streams were only a step out of range. So this change should help players feel like they are close enough without having to take a second shot.






[h2]Remap Keyboard Controls[/h2]
We want to implement this right the first time, this is going to require more work to make sure it is polished up to match the standard of other customization options in the game. This will also require the creation of more Graphics of keys to map to the games UI for button prompts such as “E” or “F”.




[h2]Achievements[/h2]
We have begun looking into making a list of fun achievements for players to get. These achievements will essentially act like a universal list of Photo Bounties (Take a photo of a Pyramid). But instead of earning Bonus Equipment you can earn Wallpapers, Emoticons and Badges for your steam profile.

[h2]Trading Cards[/h2]
We have begun working with some guest artists to create some beautiful trading cards for Players to collect during their long photo shoots. We have been given the all clear from Valve to start adding these to the game. This will be in the next patch when they are ready.

[h2]Clipping through walls using stairs on The Strand[/h2]
We are aware of this bug and are looking into it. As it is something which is outside of the normal bounds of play (players must really try squishing in) it is not a huge priority now. However we will look into a fix.

Hi Everyone. We are super thrilled at the positive reception from players have had this week experiencing Umurangi Generation. The shots taken by players are incredible. We have have received feedback on some small tweaks that players have suggested this week. We want to walk slowly but surely through the implementation of these tweaks as we don’t want to upset the balance of players current experience.

These tweaks are now live. Please view this post for a list of tweaks made.

Photo Bounty Clarity
We’ve reworked 2 later bounties to have an easier understood goal.
Lights and Bricks to Work Lights and Blocks.
Pallette to Pallet.

Stairs
We made it easier for the player to walk up stairs now.

Sarcastic “Property of The UN”
We’ve added a new spot you can shoot Sarcastic Property of the UN from.


On screen camera controls
A small amount of players were unaware of the large amount of control they had over shooting photos. Most eventually figured it out, but this is not intentional. We’ve added some graphics to the camera menu which should clue players in on what they have when taking photos. These queues are for rotating, zooming and focusing.


Performance Boost Walled City
We reworked a couple of things to do with how Walled City handles Lighting. It should look pretty close to the same but should now run much smoother than the chaotic frame rate from before. We have worked on making these changes to every other level so they inherit the same performance boost.

Description Text
The photo bounties are now explained as “Take a photo of:”. This should help with players understanding that each bounty is a single photo not multiple photos of the same subject.


While we don’t want to change stuff too much at this point there are a few tweaks we’ve been working on for ease of access and increasing player enjoyment. These features will not be included in this hotfix but hopefully you can see how far away they are. This is mostly because we want to make sure that these features are included right the first time. Translation and QA testing are required for these features to make sure there are no conflicts with existing code.

Invert Y Axis
Players who are too conditioned to inverted Y axis will find hope that this game will have the Y axis comfort option soon. We are working to make sure that players of all different languages can enjoy this feature when it goes live.

Remap Controls
Re-mapping controls is something we are often against when making games because it means players are not experiencing the intended kinesthetic experience. Using the scroll for example, as a way of making the player feel as if they have a camera in hand is the intended way. However, players from other country keyboard are not the same as QWERTY and therefore we will be offering remapping in the future.

Controller Support
Controller support is on its way being implemented. There was a prototype version of controller detection in the games demo but this was removed as it was unpolished. This feature will be added in future.

Colour Blind Mode
Colour Blind players on the level Contact were experiencing difficulty distinguishing between Green and Red chem lights. While most just shot in the dark about which was which this is something we will be adding in soon.

Motion Blur Toggle for outside camera
We will be looking into motion blur outside the camera.

Steam Trading Cards and Achievements
Noted and will be added in future. Perhaps we could create cards based on community images. Trading cards require a threshold to be passed on steam before you can add them. So we will keep our ears to the ground.

Over the years many games have implemented a photo mode, had photographic elements or photography mini-games. But this was all in service of something else, not the actual act of taking photos itself. Umurangi Generation is the first real photography game where you are given a list of shots to take and it is up to you how you want to do that. Umurangi Generation may be the first of its kind. It is a photography game where you aren’t on tracks, you get to spend as much time as you like lining up that perfect shot and you aren’t limited by how you take a photo. This game lets you be as creative as you like.

Set to the backdrop of Aotearoa during a crisis event, you are a courier for the Tauranga Express. Your job is to deliver a parcel to each location you visit, but along the way complete photo bounties. Photo bounties are loose descriptions of shots you will need to take. Taking a photo of, for example “7 Birds” can be completed anyway you like as long as the description is met.

Alongside these objectives are bonus objectives you can complete in each level to unlock your full creative potential. These objectives are things such as recreating a postcard, taking a group photo of all of your friends or finding hidden film canisters. These are not required for passing a level but will greatly increase your potential in creating that perfect shot.

Players who are fresh to photography or seasoned vets will be able to pick this game up and start taking photos with a learning curve that translates to the real life art of photography. You have full control over your camera.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation/

The first Free form open ended photography game:
Umurangi Generation is not on the Rails or a photography component of a larger game. It is a fully featured photography game focusing entirely on the art of photography itself.

A photography game for beginners and pros:
Whether you are a seasoned photographer or a rookie looking to learn how to take photos. Umurangi Generation will ease players into taking photos using industry standard language and concepts. Pros should feel right at home with how lenses and editing works.

Full creative control:
Express yourself by creating beautiful shots using a wide variety of lenses, equipment and diverse editing suite of tools to give your photos a unique feel.


System Requirements:
Windows 10.

Demo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation/

Press Kit:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sQ4g3QH2uRQamAwD8NUnVCLSx55zbMri

Contact Information:
Naphtali Faulkner
ORIGAME DIGITAL
[email protected]
@UmurangiGame