Incursion Red River News

Hey everyone, the Next Fest is about to finish, and we want to take the time and thank everyone who played our demo the last 7 days and provided feedback!

To wrap the Next Fest up, we're hosting an AMA! When?

February 12, 2024:

• 10 AM - CST
  
• 1 PM - BRT
  
• 5 PM - CET
  

It will last approximately an hour. This is a perfect opportunity to get your questions answered directly by our director!

These are the summarized patch notes for all updates we have done in the last five days since the launch of the Steam Next Fest. Thank you all for providing feedback and reporting bugs!

Additions

• added small tutorials
  
• added a tooltip for the provided loadout option
  
• added motion blur setting option
  

Adjustments

• improved network bandwidth and rubberbanding as well as fixed backwards sprinting for clients
  
• improved inventory management -> easier item placement & quick loot/equip/drop
  
• improved GCPS usage, closes now when pressing 4 again or escape and switches to the previous weapon
  
• removed bullet suppression effect from friendly players
  

Fixes

• fixed items disappearing in inventory
  
• fixed crash when loading into hideout
  
• fixed mission objective not updating
  
• fixed being stuck in loading screen
  
• fixed input mapping binding in the menu not working
  
• fixed ai spawning
  
• fixed losing items when extracting
  

We have a big announcement for you today, as we’re coming up close to the 1-year mark of the last public demo release. We have rebranded our game from PROJECT QUARANTINE, which has always been only a project title, to Incursion Red River. With that, we have changed our setting from Northern America to modern Vietnam. It’s been a real journey from then and we wouldn’t be here without you all directly supporting us.

[h2]First, let's look at the road behind us:[/h2]

Some of you here may remember when the game looked like this. Our first feature-packed build and concept of what could be a great game. Elements of the UI lasted till this day and – well to be honest, everything else was either scrapped or rebuilt from the ground up.



Fun fact for those that may not have been around during the game’s infancy, the build was downloadable through Google Drive!



[h2]Flash Forward:[/h2]

We then published the updated build on Steam in March of 2023 (this screenshot is from September) and got incredible feedback over the last year on behalf of the entire community. The public demo was then worked on for a few weeks.



After initial feedback and public testing, we realized some early systems required a complete do-over in order for the game to be successful long term. Had these systems been ignored, we all would have been left with a potentially fun game, only to be ruined by year-old bugs. Particularly co-op, inventory, and AI. This is not what we wanted, and it's no secret that these reworks caused a slowdown in actual content additions, and required financial support to keep the project alive.

[h2]Why Incursion Red River?[/h2]

After the last update in March 2023 we internally decided to move away from the demo, take all the great feedback, and basically build a new game from the ground up based in Vietnam. Vietnam itself is a great setting for video games, with it’s dense jungle environment paired with urban environments. As we still wanted our game to take place in the modern era, we additionally wrote a complete new lore for our game, which we will unfold through the game and upcoming trailers. Now you may ask, but why Red River? The Red River Delta is an existent region in Vietnam, that offers a lot of different environments for us to explore. Here is a first glimpse of what you can expect:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Steam Next Fest[/h2]

Additionally we have some great news for you guys, we will participate in the Steam Next Fest from 5th-12th of February. So make sure to check the demo out! We await your feedback here and on our discord server!

Best,

Incursion Red River Team!

Welcome to another dev blog. While we have made great progress on every part of the game, we want to dedicate this blog entirely to our new mission system, which finally adds a new layer of progression to the game.

[h2] Mission system [/h2]
We’ve added two types of objectives to PROJECT QUARANTINE. The first type is a CONTRACT. These primary objectives will unfold the campaign and will result in larger rewards. CONTRACTS are map-bound, and only one can be tracked at a time. In coop, the party leader’s CONTRACT will be the only active CONTRACT. Progress and rewards are forwarded to all players on completion or failure. The second type is a CHALLENGE. These secondary tasks are individually tracked, and each player can have different CHALLENGES active at a time. Up to three challenges can be tracked per player, and the rewards are not shared. CHALLENGES result in smaller rewards but help maximise potential rewards per raid as they allow you to do more each run. They are persistent, allowing the player to complete them over several raids. The initial release includes the “Secure and Place” CONTRACT and three different challenge types.



Both mission types can be sorted in the UI based on title, location, and Faction. Objectives can be tracked (set active) and untracked for raids. Faction relations are also tracked in the Job Board and determine which items the vendor offers. Rarer items come with higher relation. Relations will increase when CONTRACTS/CHALLENGES are completed and decrease when CONTRACTS fail. Lastly, an overall success rate for the last contracts is tracked and will define which upcoming contracts are offered.



All missions can be tracked directly from the job board and managed. Only one CONTRACT and three CHALLENGES can be tracked at once.

[h2] GCPS [/h2]

One of our highlights for this update is the Global Combat Positioning System. From a technical standpoint, it brings the UI aspect into the game and serves as a vital tool during raids. It also helps keep the hud as minimally invasive as possible by providing all the typical FPS widgets off-screen when not needed.
The GCPS shows a top-down view of the map you're playing. The map will have key objectives and extractions labelled, as well as a live view of teammate locations. On the borders of the screen will be tracked CONTRACTS, and CHALLENGES.
As the technicalities of the game deepen, so will the GCPS. We aim to keep this tool essential to gameplay.



[h2] pre-game options [/h2]

We have also introduced a global world manager. This means that all playable maps are synced in time. There are two times to choose from at any given point. Said times are opposite from each other and will affect the look of the map drastically.



With the exception of dawn and dusk, each time can be considered a day raid or a night raid. For those who are curious about the time cycle, each second in real life is equivalent to 6 seconds in a game.
We’ve also added a default loadout option to the Patreon build. Simply select “provided” for your default loadout.



[h3] optimizations et. al [/h3]
While this year’s scope will have much more emphasis on bringing new content to the game, we aren't leaving optimizations and back-end developments behind. Our foundation is scalable, and so must be the tools that support them. We continue to optimize our graphics as the QUARRY map develops, and will continue to strike a good balance in immersion and performance. We also want to target a broad range of graphical settings to maximize system compatibility. Networking optimizations have also been implemented. As in almost every update since their introduction, AI was also optimized both in terms of performance and behaviour for QUARRY.



[h3] Conclusion [/h3]

To wrap things up, we kicked off 2024 with new missions, challenges, and major playability expansions. QUARRY is truly setting precedence for our setting, and we can’t wait to unfold the game as the year progresses. We wanted to thank our Patreon supporters for giving us feedback on this patch, and for making PROJECT QUARANTINE closer and closer to a reality. If you’d like to join our Patreons and try this update, you can support us here for access.

We hope you enjoy this update, and we’ll be back with more soon!
Team - PROJECT QUARANTINE

Welcome to another dev blog. We’re going to cover some of the latest Patreon updates, and give a sneak peek at what is to come.

[h2] Vendor [/h2]
We brought back the vendor after giving it a complete rework and visual overhaul. Items are all tagged meaning the players have the ability to sort, filter, and directly search for items they want to purchase. Limited stock for each item is a mechanic we decided to implement for version 1.0 of the vendor and will be tweaked as the economy becomes balanced. On the right hand side, we’ve added a visual cart showing all items similar to online sites. Visuals are still a work in progress, so please consider this a version 1 of the vendor. Some other QOL features with the vendor include visual indicators for purchases that exceed available funds, and a static price for all items in the meantime. Keep a lookout for the vendor as eventually a black market will open up allowing for the purchase of extremely rare items as the game’s content evolves!



[h2] Quarry Pt. 2 [/h2]
The first part of Quarry was released to our Patrons and we have to say its’ a major upgrade to the public demo map. We’re pushing our environments to the limit while still adhering to our target minimum specs in terms of hardware. Now, part 2 of quarry is well underway and includes the heart of the map: the quarry itself. Large amounts of verticality in a smaller space will force players to take risks when crossing as they will be seen from all angles in case enemies approach. Surrounding areas will also be close quarters combat focused with more of an industrial, and less of a natural local environment.



[h2] Weapon Revisions [/h2]
We replaced the old AKM with a more modern and practical AK-74M. The new weapon was modeled and animated fully in-house and sets the standard for all weapons to come. Since its initial release to Patrons, it has been reworked and its animations were upgraded to fit our vision. Furthermore our arsenal has been expanded with a new pistol: The Sig Sauer P320. The P320 will have many attachments designed for more personal or quiet encounters.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2] QoL improvements [/h2]
Many Quality of Life improvements added here are more behind the scenes edits but show in gameplay. Performance has drastically improved on the Quarry map since its initial push (and even more so from when we play-tested it internally). We’ve also tweaked AI visibility in regards to foliage. This is something we didn't have to consider on the previous demo map due to none of the objects being see-through. (For those that thought of the vehicle windows, we’re working on that!)

[h3] Improved Hit Feedback [/h3]

Based on the feedback we gathered from our Patreon supporters in regards to the 'Hit feedback', we recognized the need for enhancements. As a result, we redesigned the damage effect in an effort to make it less frustrating, while still engaging and immersive. We switched from a standard vignette to a more grainy and flinch-like effect. On top of visuals, we’ve added another vocal audio queue of the player being hit. We feel that this combination not only corrects the issues our supporters were having, but also enhances combat immersion as a whole. As always we want to hear your feedback on this and we will continue to tweak as needed! We are also aware that currently there is no way to heal, and therefore no way to remove the effect when the player’s hp is low. We’re currently working on a fix for this. For now, the implementation of healing will be simple but the mechanic is required and we acknowledge that. Over time, we will be expanding the system to include different types of damage and healing.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3] Weapon Handling and movement speed[/h3]
Weapon sway has been dramatically improved. Weapons now feel heavier, and more realistic compared to before. If you pay close attention when you play, you’ll notice the spring action of the weapons when they reset to their neutral state. This implementation worked extremely well with making the gun re-seat into a comfortable position, which we feel is the cherry on top in regards to realism for weapon handling.
We’ve also tweaked our movement speed to better reflect realism.



[h3] Added Foliage Interaction [/h3]
This was a direct request from one of our patrons and we couldn’t agree more that it was a great idea. Quarry’s foliage is one of the many things that bring it to life. Therefore, being able to see the foliage be pushed aside when traversing the dense tropics was huge for immersion. Thank you for the request, and we hope you like the implementation!



[h2] What’s next? [/h2]
To reiterate, we plan on adding a basic healing system to complete the cycle of taking damage, and regenerating health. We are also going to be releasing the new sections of quarry as soon as they are ready.

For the new stuff we haven't talked about yet we have awesome news for those that have been asking for more content. We’re going to be lifting the shroud on our mission system and some of our gameplay loop!
The game has 2 major mission categories: Contracts and Challenges. Contracts can be seen as primary objectives and have different difficulty levels. If playing as a team, the team leader decides the primary objective for the entire group. Challenges are “side missions” that can be selected individually and can be completed across several raids, independent of any contract. There will be 8 Contract types, split up into 4 tiers. As always, we would rather show than tell, so stay tuned for more info on this.