NightSpawn News

Dev Bites - Issue Two

Welcome to our second issue of dev bites! While our last update focused heavily on improving performance and updating the appearance of the police station, this next upcoming update aims to improve elements of the User Experience (UX) as well as the inclusion of various new features thanks to an update to our game engine.

Overview

• User Experience and Quality of Life Updates
  
• Grunt vampire visual update
  
• Unreal Engine 5.3 update
  
• Performance Features
  
• Sound Updates
  
• Anti-Aliasing & DLSS 3.5
  
• Lighting Improvements
  

This upcoming update contains a significant User Interface (UI) overhaul aiming to improve the overall user experience with changes to management of the players interaction within the game world.



We are currently testing the updated inventory and journal system. These UI systems have been replaced with a much slicker digital tablet which players can use to access their items and information gathered.



The journal specifically will be receiving some improvements including general reorganization to help players access the information they need faster.




The vampire grunts have also had a visual pass, with male and female versions of the vamps. We have given them more of a terrifying look with more expression and presence in the world.



We are also concepting different behavior for them to give them more of a threatening feeling. We will see what the outcome is in the next update.


[h2]Performance Features[/h2]
With this latest update comes the opportunity to incorporate additional performance improvements. Top of our list is the inclusion of Nanite Landscapes, a rendering technique which we were unable to implement until now. The landscape (the ground outside) can be fairly expensive to render. We use nanite to minimize the GPU cost of rendering assets in the game, so being able to apply this technique to the landscape is expected to help with GPU rendering times.

In a similar vein, we have improved the performance of our corpse models whilst also improving their appearance close up. The old bodies were a little low quality when searching them, so we felt it appropriate to improve their overall appearance. The new bodies have more Levels Of Details (LODs) which help to reduce the cost of rendering bodies at distance. Additionally, the new bodies have improved materials which are also faster to render without sacrificing visual quality.


[h2]Sound Updates[/h2]
One aspect of the engine upgrade which has required some additional attention is the sound system. The under-the-hood audio system has been reworked to be compatible with the latest engine version.

Thankfully, after a few days of wrangling the system, these issues have now been resolved. The game's audio is now mostly identical to how it was in the last patch with some additional improvements along the way. For example, some of the sounds The Noble would make could be fairly confusing if he was on a floor above or below the player. Now, his sounds travel differently so that players can better understand The Noble’s location.

More sounds are now binaural. These sounds replicate sound as a real person hears them, making them sounds more immersive and easier to track.

Furthermore, we are currently experimenting with several new sounds. New heavier footstep sounds for The Noble are being trialed which are more befitting a gentleman of his size, as well as new screaming sound effects for the other adversaries.


We can now allow players to change their anti-aliasing method. Players are now welcome to mix and match their anti-aliasing settings with other settings to find a healthy balance of visual quality and performance. Please check your game options to find the setting best for you.

The latest engine upgrade also gives us access to the latest version of DLSS. DLSS 3.5 offers NVIDIA card users additional performance gains. Notably, DLSS was only available for 30-series and 40-series GPUs, but is now available on older cards too.


We have had some success in reducing some of the visual rendering artifacts happening on screen. For players able to run the game with ray-tracing enabled, new shadow ray-tracing helps provide a significantly clearer image in darker areas.

We have also taken measures to reduce the blotchy effects that the Lumen lighting system can cause in some circumstances.


We were pleased to see that optimisation had improved from the last patch. However, we are still hearing many reports of performance related issues which we are keen to address quickly. We will be continuing to improve performance as much as we can in the coming weeks.

We’re also excited to start implementing our plans for challenges and difficulty sliders. These changes are going to let players have a great deal of customizability of their games.


We just wanted to let everybody know that the Blood Eater team is going to be taking a short break over the holiday period from the 23rd December to the 2nd January. Rest assured, development will be continuing with full steam ahead from the start of the New Year.


We are currently testing the latest build internally. There is a chance we may have a new patch ready before the end of the week. Keep your eyes peeled for an update this Friday or shortly after the winter break depending on our progress. We’ll keep you up to date as the week goes on.

Today’s update shines the spotlight on the Sheriff's Department. Following a thorough makeover, the station is now oozing with new details, dark corners and hidden paths.

This patch additionally addresses a variety of performance related issues. The game has been updated with optimisations for both the CPU and GPU, as well as reducing the overall size of the game.

Take a look at the new hiding place animations. All hiding places are fully animated when entering and exiting.


• Fixed Lumen Global Illumination method always being turned on, even if Global Illumination is turned off in the settings
• Global Illumination method now defaults to off and can be turned on to Lumen if desired.
• Game size reduced from approximately 21GB to 12GB
• Texture optimisations.
• Various lighting optimisations.
• Various CPU related optimisations.


• All rooms in the building have been remade to make them feel more worked in.
• Evidence room has been expanded to have an extra step to complete before using the keypad.
• The Upstairs office now has quick access to downstairs.
• Small storage/archive room can no longer be accessed via the door, an alternate route must be found.
• The centre corridor through the armoury and evidence, now uses electrical doors that require a player to push a button to open as well as requiring power to the ground floor.
• A lot more PC locations have been added to both floors
• Spawn crate numbers have been increased and moved around.

[h2]Added[/h2]
• Added new hiding animations for car trunks and under desks
• Added new loading tips
• Added new icon showing where a player was captured

[h2]Updated[/h2]
• Characters can no longer be blocked by first aid cabinet doors
• Updated desk visuals. All desks can now be hidden under.
• Increased focus area on shotgun traps
• Increased number of desktop computers in the Sheriff’s Department.
Players now drop their items when captured, allowing another player to collect any items needed to revive their teammates.
• Players now drop their items on disconnect from the game
• Character’s animation pose improved while in hiding places
• All mirror, salt and UV light trap placement locations are available, instead of being random. Mirror spawns are now random though.
• Added new vehicles, barricades and blockages to the outside areas of Section 2. This aims to make outdoor hiding places slightly more favourable as there are new obstructions to block line of sight.

• XP is now also earnt for failing a game attempt but no shards will be given and only half the XP will be earnt.
• Tarot cards are no longer added to the account upon picking them up, you will be required to complete at least one section of a map.
• The location of the warped key has moved from the desk to stop wall glitching

[h2]Fixed[/h2]
• Fixed UI scaling issues with 4:3 resolutions.
• Fixed issues with PC power in Sampaio Residence.
• Fixed the escape plans UI not updating if bringing an item from Section 1 into Section 2 that can be used to complete an objective.
• Fixed garage roller doors, generators and church elevator SFX not being controlled by audio volume settings.
• Tentative fix for rare occasions where The Noble is invisible to players.
• Fixed breathing sound while hiding persisting after player leaves the hiding place.
• Fixed pressing ‘V’ to paste lobby codes not working.
• Fixed rare issue where player’s camera could become much closer to the ground.
• Fixed player’s camera being too tall after exiting a hiding place.
• Fixed missing footstep sounds for Noble.
• Fixed a number of other underlying bugs.

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
• Various translation issues.
• Controller support issues interacting with settings
• Text occasionally cut off in Escape Plans UI
• Some rooms on the second floor are still the old visuals (These final rooms will be complete through then next minor updates to the game)

Dev Bites - Issue One

Welcome to our first issue of dev bites, where we will keep you posted on the development process and what is coming in the next major update and future updates from BloodEater Games.

Overview

• Performance pass
  
  • CPU optimisations
    
  • GPU optimisations
    
• Police Department visual pass
  
  • Before and after
    
• Character animation industry veteran
  
• Launch sale ends
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h2]GPU Optimisations[/h2]
Players who have been experiencing game performance issues are typically bound on the GPU. We have already taken several steps in an attempt to improve GPU performance.

Firstly, we’ve tightened up control of several light-casting objects, meaning that the lights (and of course, shadows) will not be processed unless actually visible to the player.

One of the most significant changes affects our use of the Lumen lighting system. Previously, all players, regardless of their system capabilities, would be forced to use Lumen for Global Illumination (GI). This is an expensive lighting method only really meant for systems able to handle it. There were options to change the GI method, but an issue meant that Lumen would always be turned on. This issue has now been fixed and the default GI method is now no longer set to use Lumen. Players are welcome to turn these lighting features on, but we no longer expect all players to have them turned on by default.

An ongoing task we are working on is improving the efficiency of our assets, especially textures. The texture resolution of many assets is higher than it needed to be. This can affect GPU performance as well as bloating the overall size of the game. We are yet to see the effect this will have on performance but anticipate an improvement once the process is finished.

Some assets are being replaced entirely, in favor of both better looking and more efficient assets. For example, the floor of the Sheriff’s Department is significantly better optimized while also more detailed.


[h2]CPU Optimisations[/h2]
We are in the process of running many tests to find various optimisations within the game code, which will hopefully lead to generally improved performance for anyone bound on their game-thread. From what we have seen, hosts often suffer from slightly higher CPU performance costs, meaning any game thread improvements will likely benefit hosting players the most.

Many of these improvements involve ensuring that gameplay elements activate only when they are needed, instead of continually running.

One of the more significant changes affecting game-thread render times is the logic responsible for highlighting nearby objects. Finding and sorting through all the gameplay objects in a local area can be an expensive process, so this method has been changed completely so as to reduce the number of calculations required.



Now the base layout and area of the police/sheriff department has been tested by the public, it is now time to start to add the detail to coincide with our performance pass.



The game was released with bare minimum models in the first area to test the waters for layout. Typically adding more to a location can drop performance and increase draws from the CPU to the GPU, but with a good instancing method, texture crunching and being conservative with what items cast shadows, we are able to add hundreds more assets to a scene while also improving performance.



One of the reasons the police department is now getting an update is because of our focus developing the second stage of the Alaska map that took priority when coming out of the first stages of our playtest. Now we are officially in early access, we can now give the first section the polish that is deserved and required.



The new update will bring a better use of dead space. Before this was just an open area with an object in the middle with no real feeling of the area that was once used as a workspace. Now with the evidence of firefights with the Sanguivore, reading publications scattered around and fallen ceiling panels, the sense that something has gone down is evident.



We have also started to introduce more complex objects that players will need to navigate through and pass to evade the threat of the Sanguivore, with updated visuals to the existing ones that required the players to crouch through.



Each room will be given its own look in relation to the type of work that went on in the area. New waiting areas have been added and workstations are now furnished with photos of family members and the stationery required to complete day to day jobs.




We’re keen to fill in the blanks when it comes to animation - and our animators have been hard at work creating several important missing assets. As of today, we now have a full suite of new animations for all hiding places (including desks).

Additionally, we’re pleased to welcome a new animator joining the team with experience from AAA studios who will begin tackling several missing player interaction animations.


Optimisation and visual improvements are still a work in progress on all fronts but progress so far has been good. We intend to have an update out at the start of next week including the changes mentioned above as well as several other general gameplay fixes and features.


We also just wanted to let everyone know that the launch sale is about to finish in less than 24 hours! For anyone interested in snagging the game at a 20% off from Steam, please head over the store page.

Thank you to everyone who supported us during our Early Access launch weekend. The team has had a great time watching streamers from across the world run the gauntlet. For everyone interested in getting closer to the community, remember to join our discord at bloodeater.games/discord

The very first Early Access patch has arrived. This patch is a regular update, containing a number of quality of life improvements and fixes that didn’t quite make it into the original build.

Several UI elements have been updated, including loading screens, new notifications for downed teammates as well as slicker visual effects for noise events much more inline with the overall aesthetic.

Additionally, with the help of some great community feedback, we’ve squashed plenty of pesky bugs. Notably, spectors will have an easier time with several lighting fixes.

Finally, there have also been a few changes that affect gameplay, such as the inclusion of circuit breakers in Section 2 instead of fuses and the removal of doors consuming equipment items (see notes below as this will be updated again in the near future).


[h2]Added[/h2]
• Added new loading screen with gameplay tips
• Added a new notification UI element that displays on all players screens when a teammate is downed or captured.
• Added new damage screen effects that get more intense as you lose more health.


[h2]Updated[/h2]
• Updated noise visuals to a less cartoon looking UI
• End screen stats now show players' Steam names instead of “Player 1”, “Player 2” and so on.
• Player now faces outwards after exiting hiding places.
• Replaced fuses with circuit breakers for Section 2. Players can no longer use fuses from Section 1 (new models being added in the next update).
• Hiding UI now done with Shift+Alt+Backspace to avoid being used accidentally.
• Electricity warnings on Bravos doors removed.
• Game character now matches the character assigned in the game lobby
• Doors no longer consume items (other than keys and lockpicks). This change is for consistency with other interactions in the game, but will be updated for balance in the future.


[h2]Fixed[/h2]
• Fixed Scouts hanging on windows being able to see players who are hiding.
• Fixed screaming noises sometimes happening just before the intro cutscene
• Fixed Scouts being able to see the player while downed
• Fixed using battery in car also updating other objectives.
• Fixed the loud noise effect not showing during the cutscene when the character interacts with the CB radio.
• Fixed fuses (now circuit breakers) not updating escape plans involving the Section 2 generator.
• Fixed floating fire above barricade on Section 2 when pallets are broken
• Fixed no escape plan objective appearing when interacting with church lift
• Fixed left and right bindings being back to front on the input section of game settings.
• Fixed male characters using the female character scream.
• Fixed players getting stuck behind scaffolding at the church
• Partial fix for lights not activating when spectating other players


[h2]Known Issues[/h2]
• Various translation issues.
• Controller support issues interacting with settings
• Unable to paste lobby codes with ‘V’ (although clicking on-screen button does work)
• Text occasionally cut off in Escape Plans UI

Connect with the talented team that brought the game to life! Forthright Entertainment will be live during the stream to address your burning questions, provide valuable insights, and offer an exclusive playthrough of the current available stages of the first map set in Alaska for the early access release of "Twenty Below." Don't miss this opportunity to engage directly with the creators and get an inside look at the captivating world they've crafted and maybe get some information on upcoming content.