Cleared Hot News

Last week I posted about adding the Apache helicopter, but there was a problem.

It wasn't an Apache.

It was a Cobra.

In a game about helicopters, I added the wrong helicopter. Lol.



[h3]Why It Happened[/h3]
The simple answer is, I used the wrong 3d model. My policy is to use 3rd party assets when they fit the style of the game, modify them when needed, and then create our own for the rest. If we're doing this right, everything should look consistent.

I was working on a lot of different tasks for this new mission, and I didn't give the actual Apache model the attention it needed.

The Apache Cobra wreaking havoc

[h3]How I'm Fixing It[/h3]
We will be creating our own Apache model for the game, and I will update you when that is done. On an unrelated note, the game will now feature the Cobra as well. ;)

It feels a bit scary showing more of our process, but I think it helps build trust. I'd like you to come along for the ride with us as we build the game. We're depending on your feedback to help us get there.

On that note- thanks for being such a supportive community. Those of you who pointed out that it was actually a Cobra model, thanks for doing that in a clear way.

I'll be posting more frequent devlogs about the things we're actually working on at that time. This should work better for us, since we're posting about things we're currently thinking about, and it should be better for you, because you get to see a more transparent update on the game.

So let's try it, starting... now.



[h3]New Teaser Video[/h3]
Including the Apache is part of a larger effort to create a new teaser video. The video will show some new levels, and one of them will start with the Apache. I won't explain too much because I don't want to spoil that part of the story.

[h3]Free Camera Tool[/h3]
Ariel and I worked on updating a tool to take screenshots in the game. This tool allows you to pause the game and move the camera around, change field of view, and take high-res screenshots.



We can run the game in slow motion from this viewpoint, which is pretty fun.





[h3]Trigger System[/h3]
Ariel added a trigger system to the game, to control actions within a scene, similar to the system used in Starcraft map making, or even in the command & conquer editor.

Ariel's gamedev wisdom appears in moments like this, where he's able to pick the right level of complexity for the task. The trigger system lets us make actions happen within a scene, without writing custom code for each scene, and it's all done within the Unity hierarchy.

This is huge because it's quick to add things, and you can create new high-level behavior while staying in the Unity editor.

We're using the trigger system to build a cinematic shot for the upcoming teaser video, and to use for new missions.

Here's a quick example, using the trigger system to launch NPCs:

A trigger configuration to eject any passengers and... fling them.

This trigger set up allows us to eject all the passengers to what we call "hand-holds", basically a spot they can hang from on the helicopter. Then it takes over control of the helicopter and sends control input to it, to simulate a hard strafe.

This will be helpful for us to test certain physics interactions with consistent input, as well as making fun gifs...

Thankfully there is no fall damage... yet.

[h3]What's Next[/h3]
This week we're working on a new level + mission that will be featured early in the game, which includes an entirely new area. We'll be shooting more video for the teaser, and updating the screenshots on the steam page.

We're also exploring how to expand what is destructible in the game, in a way that is efficient for us to develop, and keeps the performance high.



Thanks again for your support, and thanks for being patient. This game wouldn't be the same without you. I'll be working to keep you updated.

-Colin

Welcome back, faithful wishlisters. I have news for you, Cleared Hot now has twice as many helicopters to choose from :)





After playing the game with only the littlebird for a couple years now, it is really cool to experience it with a new helicopter.

As compared to the Little Bird, the Apache is:

• More powerful (heavier main cannon, more advanced missiles)
  
• More armor / can take more damage
  
• Accelerates more slowly
  
• Can only carry 1 passenger (co-pilot seat)
  
• Bigger range
  
• Flies at a slightly higher altitude (but this can be controlled)
  

[h2]New Cannon: 30mm Gun[/h2]

This thing packs a punch. It feels a lot chunkier when shooting it, and it will kill any ground troops in one shot, including any nearby splash damage. It's also effective against lightly armored vehicles.



[h2]New Missile: AGM-114 Hellfire[/h2]
This is the base missile on the Apache, and does more damage than the standard Hydra missiles on the Littlebird. The missiles start out at a slower speed, but accelerate as they fly. This was actually non-trivial to add for a few reasons.



Spawning a missile at a slow speed could result in the player running into his own missiles :) This was fixed by processing collisions on the missile more manually- allowing us to check what it hits and selectively ignore whatever is shooting it.

Getting the missiles to hit directly where they were aimed didn't come "out of the box". Most everything in the game is physics based, so flying fast and shooting a missile would result in a different missile path than firing it when not moving.

This is a gameplay decision- but for now, I wanted the missiles to hit the spot they were aimed when you fired them. It also is possible that for higher damage missiles, maybe they should be a bit harder to aim. You might have to consider which side of the helo they're firing from, and your speed.



[h2]New Environment: Classified [/h2]

These gifs are recorded on a work-in-progress level that I will write more about soon. It involves a more combat mission that happens in the beginning of the career mode.

[h2]Thank You![/h2]

As always, thanks for your support, it really does help. We have a lot more coming, new vehicle features, a vehicle passenger rework, lots of NPC updates. Stay tuned.

Happy New Year ! I'd like to thank you all again for your support. Two years ago I announced Cleared Hot, and the reception has been incredible. I still feel so lucky to be working on this game.

There has been a lot happening in the last few months. I think we're getting close to a beta build that we can start sending out for feedback. Not quite there yet, but closer. Let's get right into it.

Passenger System

One of my favorite parts of the game is being able to carry soldiers around in the helicopter. I loved doing this in Battlefield, and RS2 Vietnam. There's something about flying into enemy territory and dropping off soldiers as you dodge enemy fire. Maybe its because the stakes are higher, or the teamwork, or both.

The Passenger System in Cleared Hot needed to be updated after my last NPC system update. It actually came back together pretty quickly.





The other key part of this is that the NPCs can shoot from the helicopter.



And yes, the guy riding shotgun is shooting across the pilot! I think for the time being the pilot doesn't have any way to register damage, so you're safe. :)



The cool thing about this is, it's only a small tweak to how the NPCs typically find and shoot enemies. So they maintain all their same properties while flying in the helicopter: they just look and shoot at whoever they can see.

It feels pretty good- they tend to spot enemies that you didn't see, and they actually get a lot of kills. This makes me REALLY want to add a blackhawk with a door-gunner.



No new feature is without it's quirks :) Right now the NPCs run full-tilt towards the helo when it lands, and they don't check if it's full until they arrive. The result is, they run into the side of the helicopter at full speed.



Another update we can include eventually is a better way to sort out which seat they run towards. Right now they all query the helo at the same time, and then all run towards the same seat. They get distrubed evenly once they arrive, but it would be cooler if they could understand that the guy infront of them is going to get the closest seat first, and adjust their target.

I want to explore having a "squad" in missions that you can also upgrade and equip separately from the helicopter. The gameplay is so fun that I think it's worth trying some new directions.



I'd also like to announce a new member of the team: Ariel Coppes. He's working on the development side along with me. He joined the team towards the end of 2023 and has been making my life infinitely better since. After working solo on the code for so long it's incredible to have some backup.



Ariel has 14 years experience making games and we have similar development and teamwork values. He's been team lead and lead engineer on some larger teams, and has a lot of experience improving the tools and workflow of those games. Even being a small team he's already implemented some tools that make our development faster. Check out Ariel's work and blog here: https://arielcoppes.dev/

When you start your own project, you gain a lot of learning opportunities, since you get to work on everything, but you also lose the ability to learn from a team. As the team grows I'm stoked to be able to learn from others more often.



Thanks again for your support. Things are gaining momentum, I can't wait to share more updates with you soon.

I want to hear from you! Any questions or ideas? Email me: [email protected]

Hello faithful wishlisters, friends, gamers!

After getting our Texas Desert map to where I liked it, I started to work with Eron, our 3D artist, on exploring some other biomes. We put together some ideas and references and decided on an environment for the next level: The Arctic !




We collected a ton of references of environments, vehicles and characters we could use. The movie Inception has some great snow scenes to reference, including some interesting vehicles and such. There were also a couple scenes from the various Bond movies in the arctic.




Building the home base seemed to be the best way to get our bearings here. This is where you'll select missions, upgrades, etc.




Next up was building the semi-procedural terrain. We decided that an arctic ocean coastline would be the major feature of this map, and that the rest should be relatively flat snow covered terrain.





It really helps to fly around the terrain, it gives you a sense of how the terrain will be visible during gameplay.


After sorting the terrain, Eron got started on cranking out vehicles. We wanted to have some distinct units on this map, the enemies here will be more powerful than the ones encountered on the West Texas level.

Just a few of the planned vehicles

We're also planning to have aquatic vehicles in this... boats, ships, and subs!



These are all works in progress, I'm looking forward to sharing more once we start building missions in the artic!


As always, thank you again for your support. Making a game is challenging, but your comments and emails motivate us.

Make sure you're subscribed to the email list if you're not already: https://clearedhotgame.com/email-list/ This is where I will send out the beta build when it's ready.

Thanks and see you again next time!

I've always been a gameplay-first guy. I've button mashed my way through many a cutscene. My development of Cleared Hot has followed the same principle: Gameplay first. Find out what's fun, fill in the blanks later.

However, I reached a point where I needed a more specific visual style. What should the enemies look like? Where are these battles taking place?

I want the game to be reminiscent and nostalgic for people like me who grew up playing the Strike series, Battlefield, etc, but offer something new. I didn't want to make another "war in the middle east" game, for so many reasons. But I didn't want to lose that nostalgia.

Then one day I was talking to a friend and we had an idea. It has been 30 years since Desert Strike came out. What would the pilot from that game look like 30 years later?



We started imagining him as a grizzled, dusty old pilot, living in West Texas. Retired, but getting pulled back in to his old life.

Suddenly we both felt inspired. This felt like the right combination of grit, dry humor, and 90s action movie tropes. The main character's situation in life could mirror some parts of ours: we're revisiting our Desert Strike memories 30 years later. A bit older, a bit grayer (in my case) but maybe we still got it...

As far as how he gets pulled back in to the action, and what the specifics are, I won't spoil that yet.


As part of this theme, we created a new level, basing it on rural Texas / Arizona. Thankfully this coincided with hiring a 3D artist, which was a huge milestone. I've been using pre-made 3D assets for the game up until this point, just in interest of faster development. But now I had an idea of the theme I really wanted.

Luckily, I took part in a game jam with some friends a few months back and met Eron. After the jam we talked a bit and he decided to join the team. We have very complementary skillsets and he's helping me a ton on all kinds of visual aspects of the game.


This level is still a work in progress, but we have a functional level we are building new missions for.



We also built a new homebase, pictured earlier, which is where you'll upgrade your helicopter and choose missions. It's a safe area that will change as the game progresses.



What's a new level without some new vehicles?

[h3]Unmarked Sprinter Van[/h3]
This beast-of-utlity serves to drop off enemies around the map. They roll up, screech to a stop, and 5+ enemy NPCs get out.


[h3]Quad Bike / ATV [/h3]
Fast and nimble, but has low health.



It comes with 2 NPCs onboard: a driver and a gunner.

This is the first vehicle to feature NPCs using their own logic + decision making while onboard. The gunner runs through their standard behavior tree and decides if and when to fire their weapon.

This is the first step to having NPCs that can decide to enter vehicles and control them on their own. Imagiine seeing a bunch of NPCs run to get into a parked tank...



You can actually shoot the NPCs off the vehicle as it's driving. You have no idea how happy I was to get this working.




Thanks again for all of your support! There's a lot more content coming soon. This re-theme was a ton of work and will allow us to really get the feel we're going for. I can't wait to share more about the direction of the missions and story.

Don't forget to join the email list for additional info and beta releases https://clearedhotgame.com/email-list/