subROV News

Hello subROVers - SOLARIS is here!


[h3]What's New[/h3]

SOLARIS is a tool used in last month's Falkor cruise to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS) in corals. ROS are byproducts of biological processes involving oxygen; they are toxic and, in most cases, organisms seek to neutralize them. Their ability to do so is affected by stress, so measuring the ROS a coral emits and comparing it to a baseline gives scientists a way to know how stressed it is. SOLARIS takes these measurements right next to the coral without further stressing it, and when you think how much a coral is disturbed by being brought to a lab on the surface, its advantages become very apparent.

Here's a dive where you can see the real SOLARIS in action (May 4th). Sometimes they talk about the game, like at 00h55m30s and 02h04m22s (long dives!)

https://www.youtube.com/live/l4kI1OaECuc?feature=share&t=3325

SOLARIS appears in the Tokelau Dive, which we've revised with a new flow and objectives. We've also fixed bugs, made a few changes to the ROV's light based on feedback, and improved the internal organization of the save file (the naming convention for dives is more robust now).

IMPORTANT - there's no in-game tutorial for SOLARIS yet, though we've updated the manual with all the relevant information.

ALSO IMPORTANT - Updating to this version should reset the Tokelau dive's objectives and nothing else. We've tested this against profiles from several versions past, but if you see anything strange after the update, please let us know.

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

We'll keep 0.7.35 in beta until the end of the week, and then we'll roll it out for everyone. Starting tomorrow, we'll go back to the Hoel, which will be an all-new dive with the biggest wreck we've done yet.

Happy subROVving! 😁

[h3]Full Log[/h3]

New Features/Improvements:

• Dives: Added the SOLARIS tool to the game. Added a milk crate to the Experiments Platform to hold it.
  
• Dives: Revised the Tokelau dive to use SOLARIS.
  
• (feedback) Dives: Increased ROV light angle / reduced ROV white light intensity and increased distance to give a better gradation.
  
• Internal: Improved handling of custom fog.
  
• Internal: Revised save system and profile.
  

Bug Fixes:

• Dives: Sonar dot persists when the parent object is removed.
  
• Dives: Buoy objective marker doesn't disappear after pinging if it had been scanned previously.
  
• Dives: Scanning objects prevents their map icon from appearing.
  

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]

Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]

If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps a lot!

Hello subROVers!

We've finally completed the dives revision!



[h3]What's New[/h3]
This revision puts most(*) dives in line with the improvements already present in the certification dive 03. As a recap,

• We've increased the amount of already existing objects overall, and added many new ones in the form of small stones and particularly trash (cans, masks, etc).
  
• We've improved the distribution of objects over the terrain (e.g. not placing them on the outer rim of the map).
  
• We've improved the transitions between sand and rock (the little patches of sand on top of rocks specifically), and have better control on the textures' distribution.
  
• Sea cucumbers are now placed independently from the general pool of bottom dwellers. You won't notice this as a change, but it increases both the number of cukes and other dwellers.
  

(*)We haven't revised the certification dives 02 and 04 just yet. In 02 we might limit the ability to get to the seafloor since it's not part of the dive's objectives; 04 could become a general tutorial for tools taking place in a dock or test pool, so we're holding off changing it for now.

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

We had planned to focus on the Hoel wreck dive right away, but we are going to make a detour to add a cutting-edge tool to the game -SOLARIS!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2975342773
FULL GALLERY
We got in touch with scientists onboard Falkor(too) a few weeks ago when they were working with SOLARIS on the field; they sent us the CAD model of the instrument, and to make the most of the situation we started work on a game-ready 3D model right away. Now that the model is finished and the dives are revised, we'll work on the handling and gameplay of the tool. Once this is done, we'll release 0.7.35, have it in beta for a few days, and then we'll roll out all the changes since 0.7.31 to everyone. After that, we'll go full-on with the Hoel.

In all, this update is a big step forward in our ongoing effort to make the dives more interesting and livelier. We hope you'll like the results -Happy subROVving! 😁

[h3]Full Log[/h3]

New Features/Improvements:

• Dives: Revised object distribution, object density (all except for cert02 and 04).
  
• Dives: Revised every dive's terrain (tessellation, smoothing, global texture).
  
• Dives: Added small stones and over 50 types of trash items.
  
• Dives: Increased seafloor creatures' icon time and added map icon.
  
• Other/Internal: Revised static objects' configuration & other performance tweaks.
  

Bug Fixes:

• Dives: some coral's SONAR icons are displayed too off-center depending on the slope.
  

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]
Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]
If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please consider leaving us a review. Steam is a deep ocean, and reviews really help us stay afloat.


[h3]PS[/h3]
We would appreciate it a lot if you let us know how do the dives feel now, and if you encounter any "anomalies" whilst diving, particularly misplaced objects.

Hello subROVers!

In this build we're adding a new creature to the game, a Bigfin Squid. Bigfin Squid are pretty famous among deep-sea creatures because of their alien-like appearance and their "mysterious nature", as the number of sightings to date is very low -the Magnapinna Archive lists 24 videos.

We started working on the bigfin at the beginning of the month using NOAA's footage for reference. Just a few days in, there was a fantastic sighting from Schmidt ocean, so we've incorporated it into the model -this is state-of-the-squid 😋

(sighting starts at 9: 33 :50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSUMHQPaHY&t=34429s
Even with these references, there's details that are not easy to see, such as the location of the tentacles, so we've consulted with several experts to make sure the model was anatomically correct. We've also given the squid several behaviors: it reacts to the presence of the ROV in different ways, changing color, turning around (sometimes) if the ROV has the lights on, and letting the ROV get close only if it approaches slowly (Hover engaged). If the ROV gets too close for comfort, the squid will retreat to a safe distance; it won't ink, though, which is something we consulted about -it does have a small ink sac, but doesn't use it.

(this is a capture from the central screen in the game)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYyKuYRTd78
The bigfin shows up in the deepest dives -Tokelau, Humbold, and DDT-, relatively close to the seafloor (some 15-20 m, considering it needs clearance for the long arms and tentacles).

Please note that presently it is VERY difficult to spot, if you dive with the express intention of finding it. If you want to try, use the sonar as you dive near the seafloor; relevant creatures, such as the bigfin, will display an ? icon on the map, and in the external camera view, their icon stays active for much longer than any regular finds.

This said, we'd still advise you to not go expressly on a magnapinna hunt until the next update (we were intially going to upload only one build, but we wanted to share this progress with you!). We are now revising every dive to bring them in line with certification03, adding (among other things) many more spots where creatures show up, which will increase the chances of finding the squid. This should take about 2 weeks -hopefully less as the work is straightforward, but we know how these things go 😂

Happy subROVving! 😁

PS. We'd like to thank our friends from the Livestream Oceanic Discord for their help, suggestions, and reference material. Which by the way, if you like this kind of thing, you should visit it ASAP -we'd dare say it's the hub if you want to be up to date with livestreams, plus everyone is really welcoming and nice!

Hello subROVers!

This update revises the setup of all benthic (seafloor) creatures, fixing size inaccuracies and adjusting their setups (spawning points, speed, etc). We've also added a new creature, a Bassogigas gillii cusk eel, custom made using footage from from NOAA, which you can find in the certification 03 dive site.

(the link below takes you to the spot where the cusk eel shows up)
https://youtu.be/134QxuUBybE?t=19861

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2954979082

On top of that, we've made an optimization to the way in which waves are calculated and you might see a gain in performance, though we're still evaluating it.

Moving forward, we're working on another benthic creature, a Bigfin Squid (magnapinna), which is spectacular, alien-like, and a rare sight, and we're also updating the dives to follow the improvements made to 03. This should be the content of the following update, after which we'll focus on the new dive with the Hoel wreck.

Happy subROVving! 😁

Hello subROVers! We've updated the game to v0.7.31. Along with the planned improvements, this update fixes an important bug we discovered just a few days ago -we'll discuss it first and then we'll go over the update itself.



[h3]The Bug[/h3]
The bug we fixed was making all moving seafloor creatures show up in wrong places. In practice, it was as if the game had no bottom dwellers at all: no sea cucumbers, chimaeras, grenadiers, etc.

A Grenadier, one of the "missing" creatures

There are several reasons why we didn't spot this earlier, mainly that the issue only happened in a game build, and when we tested builds, we were not specifically searching for these creatures. Since they are scarce, their absence didn't raise any suspicions; it was only after we made a change to make them easier to spot and track that we realized they were not showing up at all.

This is not to say nobody noticed: We were reading the comments in reviews that the seafloor was barren figuratively, as "there's the odd creature, but not enough", when they were literal reports. In hindsight, this also explains why there are no players' screenshots or feedback on these creatures to date.

Now that the bug is fixed, you should start coming across these creatures from time to time. They are still scarce, but scarce as intended, and we are already working to increase their number, density, and variety.

We feel very sorry for not spotting this issue earlier, and are heartbroken that the game has been missing these important creatures for so long. We are also immensely grateful for the positive reviews in spite of it -this makes us hopeful for the future of the game 😀

[h3]Certification 03[/h3]



If you follow the certification dives, 03 is when you first reach the seafloor. This should be a special moment that fills you with excitement, but we had made the certification dives barren to remove distractions during the tutorials, resulting in you arriving to an almost empty, featureless world.

In the spirit of giving you a warm welcome to the seafloor, we've reworked certification 03, which is now at the forefront of all dives in several aspects:

• The terrain is completely new and anything but flat.
  
• We've applied new techniques to bring more variety and detail to the terrains, both geometry and texture-wise. In particular, we've improved the transitions between sand and rock (the little patches of sand on top of rocks specifically), and have better control on the textures' distribution.
  
  
  
  
• We've also improved the distribution of objects over the terrain (e.g. not placing them on the outer rim of the map).
  
• We've increased the amount of already existing objects overall, and added many new ones in the form of small stones and particularly trash (cans, masks, etc). This is not something we've been necessarily happy to do, but we'd like to present the seafloor as it is, not as we'd like it to be.
  
  
  
  
• Sea cucumbers are now placed independently from the general pool of bottom dwellers. Because of the aforementioned bug you won't notice this as a change, but it increases both the number of cukes and other dwellers.
  

Most of these changes currently apply only to certification 03; the other dives are pending a revision to bring them in line with 03 (see below).

We hope that new players will get a better first impression of the game after these changes -if you've already completed the dive, you can revisit it from the Dive Log in your Profile (you really should!)

[h3]Bottom - Dweller Tracking in the map[/h3]
We've made a couple changes to make roaming seafloor creatures easier to spot and track:

• When the sonar highlights one of these creatures, the "biology" icon stays active for 30 s instead of the usual 10. You will see all icons disappearing except for one that moves -that's the creature.
  
• When the sonar highlights one of these creatures, an icon will appear on the map, same as with the water column creatures, and will stay for as long as they are reasonably near (about 50 m). That way, if you lose sight of a creature, you can zoom in on the map and track its location there.
  
  

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

• We'll most likely use cert03's location for all the other certification dives.
  
• We'll revise all the dives to incorporate the improvements made to 03, particularly in what refers to objects and creatures' distribution (more of them, better distributed).
  
• We've noticed that some dives (cert03, tokelau) are taking a toll on the frame rate when you're exploring the seafloor, and we'll take a look at it.
  
• We'd like to add several new creatures to the water column and the seafloor.
  
• We'll keep working on the Hoel wreck, which most likely will be the next new dive.
  

The plan is to release several betas and an official update when all the items above, except the Hoel, are completed, to then move full-time on to the Hoel itself.

In-engine WIP

[h3]Full Log[/h3]

New Features/Improvements:

• Dives: Reworked Certification 03 - terrain, object distribution, object density.
  
• Dives: Partial revision of every dive's terrain (tessellation, smoothing, global texture).
  
• Dives: Added small stones and over 50 types of trash items (in cert 03 only at the moment).
  
• Dives: Increased seafloor creatures' icon time and added map icon.
  
• Dives: ROV close light made white and brighter.
  
• Other/Internal: Refactored sound config (simplified audio state management and external/ROV camera positioning).
  

Bug Fixes:

• Dives: seafloor creatures are not spawning in the intended locations (only in builds). This affects the following creatures, which in practice are new to players: sea cucumber, filetail catshark, blobfish, chimaera, angler fish, abyssal grenadier, and faceless cusk eel.
  

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]
Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]
If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please consider leaving us a review. Steam is a deep ocean, and reviews really help us stay afloat!

[h3]Acknowledgments[/h3]
We've like to say, once more, thank you to TheNorseman, who tested the betas, and to everyone who's sent us feedback.

Happy subROVing! 😀

[h3]PS[/h3]
Again, sorry about the bug! If you now find one of the sea floor creatures, please post a screenshot!