BattleJuice Alchemist News

We're thrilled to announce that BattleJuice Alchemist is set to take stage at Gamescom 2023!

Thanks to the partnership with ESDigital Games, attendees will have the incredible opportunity to dive into the world of BattleJuice Alchemist at hall 10.2 - stand E040.

Not only that, you can also meet the development team in person at the on-site booth or at the business hall 4.1 - stand D020. Don't miss your chance to be part of this epic gaming experience! We look forward to seeing you at Gamescom!

Hey folks!

A quick organizational announcement first: I'll be writing this devlog every three instead of every two weeks from now on. This allows me to hopefully go into more depth on the one hand and on the other hand get more work done on the game itself. And it perfectly aligns with a post Gamescom devlog in three weeks! I will be there the whole time showing BattleJuice Alchemist. I'll post details on socials, so please stop by and say hi if you can!

Today, I want to share some insights on verticality in our game. While you can zoom into a third-person perspective, the main navigation occurs in a top-down view. This perspective has posed interesting challenges, but we've been hard at work finding creative solutions to make our world truly come alive. One of our main goals was to incorporate vertical diversity, despite the limitations of the top-down view.



We knew that having mountains would add a sense of grandeur to the game world. However, our world is procedural, making it hard to have predefined giant mountainsides. Besides, most games with such mountains usually don't allow players to interact with them. But in our game, vertically diverse landscapes can be crossed, even though they presented issues with the physics of certain game mechanics, such as when explosive flasks bounce off the mountains. In the end, we decided to keep this feature as it helps players feel more connected to the environment.



Another aspect we've been working on is buildings, especially those with multiple stories. When you enter a building, the upper floors need to be hidden from view, but they should be visible when you climb the stairs. We came up with a simple height check system to achieve this effect, ensuring that your interactions with buildings feel natural and seamless.



The game's isometric perspective led us to face some challenges with building designs. We wanted to avoid obstructing the view of your character. So, we carefully crafted the buildings, cutting out certain parts to ensure they don't block your view.



In the end, we did not want to rely on the hole-cutting shader all the time. So we designed buildings that have holes in them by nature, like ruins. This gave us a more open, inviting feel, as seen in the blacksmith's shop.



One of the most exciting features of BattleJuice Alchemist is the ability for players to create their own portable base - the alchemy tower. However, navigating these unique structures using mouse-clicking and WASD controls required ongoing improvements. It's not perfect yet, but we are getting there. And I just love the view from up there, so the work is definitely worth it.



As we continue to refine BattleJuice Alchemist, I want to express my gratitude for your support and feedback. We're committed to making this RPG a unique journey, and a small part of it is not chickening out on verticality ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Alain

Hey folks!

Those of you following this devlog may have heard that I was playing with the idea to move our cinematics into Unreal Engine. Now I did it and would like to discuss it with you!

If you played the playtest version of the game, you may be familiar with our pop-up book intro cinematic.



It was animated and rendered in 3dsMax. I'm still a big fan of Max and will continue making the animations and all 3D models with it, but I decided to move from pre-rendering videos in Max to render the cinematics in realtime in Unreal. Let me tell you why:

1. Rendering in-engine means people with high resolution screens can see the cinematics in high resolution, as it is not a rendered video file and e.g. limited to 1920x1080.

2. With only the first cinematic, the game was 600 MB in size, 150 MB of which were the one video file alone. Now, rendering in-engine, the game is only 500 MB, so the cinematic is only 50 MB of size and I expect the following ones only to even be less than 20 MB, because we will re-use the pop-up book models and animations.

3. We become more flexible in our workflow and don't have to wait for long renderings.

Before I tell you a bit about our workflow, here comes the first comparison:



As you can see, the difference is not crazy big. This is actually intended, because we quite liked the cinematics as they were visually. But when watching on fullscreen, you can see that the visual style of the new version fits the look of the game itself a lot more than the old version. One reason for this is that I am able to simply re-use the post-processing shaders that I wrote for the game itself when rendering the cinematics.



In this second comparison you can see that we use the new assets that were changed as the game evolved. Also, we took out the pop-up titles. I myself and others from our team were big fans of them, but they simply posed a problem regarding localization, which is why we removed them in favor of traditional subtitles for now.



In this last comparison you see that we e.g. switched out the raven that was crudely painted by me years ago with ravens how they actually look ingame, now that they are implemented. The reason here is mainly consistency. Also, we increased the level of detail a bit by adding a background to the scene.

I'd love to hear what you think. Maybe you don't like some of the visual changes or don't agree with the advantages I see in rendering in realtime? Let me know!

Alain

Today is THE DAY, fellow Sentinels!

REMEDIUM: Sentinels has officially released, and we couldn't be more excited. Get ready to immerse yourself in an extraordinary experience filled with new features and improvements that have been implemented since the game's Early Access phase.

Prepare for an expanded world of possibilities as we introduce a range of exciting updates. We now boast an impressive roster of 8 playable Sentinels, each with their unique abilities and playstyles. Traverse meticulously crafted locations, soaking in the atmospheric environments that will captivate your senses. Arm yourself with a diverse arsenal of weapons and upgrades to take on the hordes of adversaries that await. These additions were not available during the initial release, making the game even more engaging and dynamic.

But that's not all! We have gone above and beyond to enhance the player experience. Significant improvements have been made to the HUD and interface, ensuring smooth navigation and seamless interaction. Prepare to showcase your skills and compete with players globally through the introduction of world leaderboards. We are committed to making the leaderboards even more engaging and exciting for you! Additionally, we have expanded the list of achievements, satisfying the insatiable quest for glory of achievement hunters. And rest assured, we have plans to continue adding new achievements in the future.



To further enhance gameplay, we have implemented quality of life improvements. Discover new interactive objects that grant additional scores when standing nearby, providing strategic advantages in the heat of battle. For example, in the "Mines" level, now you have to push the minecart to earn points. To make it happen, the Sentinel needs to be next to it while fending off hordes of enemies (they haven't gone anywhere)! Furthermore, we have introduced additional elemental versions of weapons, each with its unique effects, bringing more diversity and dynamism to combat encounters.

Today's release of REMEDIUM: Sentinels marks an exciting milestone in our journey. We are determined to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, and we can't wait for you to join us. Embark on an unforgettable adventure of survival and discovery, and let the world of REMEDIUM: Sentinels captivate you.

Get ready to push your limits, showcase your skills, and become a true Sentinel. Today is the day we've been waiting for!

Stay strong and PUSH THE PLAY BUTTON!

As the release date of fast-paced roguelite auto-shooter REMEDIUM: Sentinels approaches, the developers from Sobaka Studio shared some exciting updates that have been implemented since the game's Early Access phase. They have been hard at work, and thrilled to announce the incredible additions and improvements that await players in the full release on July 18th:

"First, let us highlight the significant content expansions that have taken place thus far. Brace yourself for the sheer variety available: we now boast a whopping 8 playable Sentinels, each with their unique abilities and playstyles. Traverse through 6 meticulously crafted locations, immersing yourself in the atmospheric environments we've created. And prepare for a vast arsenal of weapons and upgrades that will aid you in your battles against the hordes of adversaries. All of this was not present during the initial release. Delve deeper, and you'll discover a wealth of new content, including a plethora of enemies, bosses, and maps that have been introduced since the game's initial Early Access launch.



But that's not all! Our dedication to enhancing the player experience extended beyond the content itself. We've made substantial improvements to the HUD and interface, ensuring seamless navigation and interaction. Additionally, the introduction of world leaderboards will enable you to showcase your skills and compete with players globally. Achievement hunters will be thrilled to know that we've added more achievements to satisfy their insatiable quest for glory.

We didn't stop there. We've incorporated quality of life improvements that enhance your overall gameplay experience. Discover new objects that grant additional scores when standing nearby, providing strategic advantages in the heat of battle. Moreover, we've introduced additional elemental versions of weapons, each with its unique effects, allowing for more diverse and dynamic combat encounters.



Looking ahead to the release on July 18th, our team is determined to deliver even more! We have exciting plans to introduce additional achievements, ensuring that your journey remains challenging and rewarding. Furthermore, we're committed to making each game mode distinct and unique, offering exclusive gameplay mechanics for victory and progression. This dedication to variety and innovation will significantly increase the game's replayability, making every playthrough feel fresh and captivating.

Finally, let us remind you that the release is only a mere 5 days away, scheduled for July 18th! Don't miss out on the opportunity to experience REMEDIUM: Sentinels in its full glory. Mark it in your calendar, add it to your wishlist, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey of survival and discovery!"

Stay strong and PUSH THE WISHLIST BUTTON!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244480/REMEDIUM_Sentinels/