Gradient Flow News

[h2]Survival mode[/h2][p]Survival mode is here, and with it, a procedural map generator. Survival mode is easy, you start with a minute of time on your timer and must finish the generated map before your timer runs out. Successfully doing so gives you another minute on top of what you had left. Maps get longer after each success. This game mode feature an alternative with wider maps and adjusted bonus time. The two survival mode have their own leaderboard. [/p][p][/p][h2]New skid visual[/h2][p]There is now a new effect for skidding, instead of the smoke, you now have a clean trail on all surfaces.
The width of this new effect is directly proportional to the lateral force on the wheel which is also the main factor for sparking (acceleration boost while drifting).
This means that you can now precisely asses what you need to do in order to optimize your sparking.[/p][p]Here is a chart:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New music[/h2][p]Gradient Flow now features a complete original soundtrack released under CC0 you can find it here: Gradient Flow Volume 1[/p][p][/p][h3]List of changes:[/h3]

• [p]Survival Narrow and Survival Wide[/p]
• [p]All user content is now stored in the local database, this will enable the use of steam cloud (soon)[/p]
• [p]A procedural level generator, you can access it in the level editor[/p]
• [p]A new skid effect, you can now clearly see your drift angle[/p]
• [p]A no respawn timer will now appear, if you respawn during a run, showing you the time you would be getting if you didn't respawn, this time will also appear on the finish screen [/p]
• [p]You can now disable your personal best ghost[/p]
• [p]You can now disable the input visualizer[/p]
• [p]A mini leaderboard is now visible by default in the gameplay UI, you can disable it in the options[/p]
• [p]A new key bind to completely hide the gameplay UI[/p]
• [p]The leaderboard of the highlight map while browsing will now be displayed on the left[/p]
• [p]When reaching the finish line or the end of a Survival run you will now see the related leaderboard in the end screen[/p]
• [p]There is now info about the current map you are playing in the top right of the gameplay UI[/p]
• [p]The Ui as been made less transparent across the board[/p]
• [p]You can no longer publish a map without a start and a finish line (preexisting map that don't have these will be removed)[/p]
• [p]Fixed the crash caused by a map without a start line[/p]
• [p]We are now using individual compressed files for the game assets, this should make future updates and small patches a lot lighter (sorry for the large patch size again) [/p]
• [p]A new free skin[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]I think the next step may be a new set of track pieces, the current set is very limiting in some ways. I have a lot of ideas to make a better, more useful, set. But this represent a very high and complicated amount of work, the main reason is Gradient Flow custom physics engine, each track piece must be described with mathematical equation (the actual triangles of the mesh are never used).
Another option for the next update: scriptable game modes! I already made good progress in that direction, this would allow to create all kind of game mode without requiring engine rebuild and even allow community game modes. The main use would be for online server rooms, paired with the procedural level generator, we could make all sort of things!
I think the official campaign will come after the new set of track pieces, so I might give priority to that.
And Survival is sort of in beta right now, if you think it could be made better, don't hesitate to reach out to me! This also goes for the new soundtrack, I can still edit each tracks if you have suggestions to do so.

As always, feel free to tell me what you think in the discord!
[/p]

[p]The flag skin is a free skin that is available for everyone, after selecting the skin you can choose between 267 different flags.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Added a new wheel and a new spark skin in the shop; check it out![/p]
• [p]Added a new free skin, the flag skin[/p]
• [p]Added a short text to explain trigger spawning in the help panel in the editor[/p]
• [p]Updated Unreal to version 5.6.1 (sorry for the large update size)[/p]
• [p]Changed default render engine to DX12 (let me know if you encounter any issue regarding this)[/p]
• [p]Fixed mouse lag introduced in the last update[/p]
• [p]Fixed all mouse related performance issues[/p]
• [p]Added support for a lot more languages for players name, map names and online chat[/p]
• [p]You can now visualize spark skins in the shop and customization screen by hovering a spark skin[/p]
• [p]You can now rotate the wheel in the shop and customization screen by either moving your mouse over the wheel or using the camera look analog input (right stick by default) on controller[/p]
• [p]Various small fixes[/p]

[p]Here is what the new 15 credits skin looks like:[/p][p][/p][p]I'm currently putting the official campaign on hold to work on a track generator. My goal with that is to implement a new game mode; Survival. In Survival you start with a certain amount of time on a decreasing timer. Every time you manage to finish a randomly generated map, an amount of time is added to your timer. The tracks get longer and longer; your goal is to finish the most maps you can before your timer runs out. The track generator will be available in the editor, the seed and track segment count will be displayed in every track you play in survival, so if you find a track you like, you will be able to recreate it in the editor and upload it for others to play. Since Survival won't have individual leaderboards, I'm thinking that pausing will actually pause gameplay in that mode. I'll see if I can get it working for next week!
As always, feel free to tell me what you think in the discord![/p]

[h2]Tutorial[/h2]

• [p]You can now choose between tutorial and browse when playing solo[/p]
• [p]Added 5 introduction maps with explanations for new players[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Other changes[/h2]

• [p]Bunch of bug fixes for the editor[/p]
• [p]New low-level mouse handling to support high polling rate[/p]
• [p]Added 1 new environment; swamp[/p]
• [p]Added 2 new themed asset categories; future and fractal[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Next to come[/h2][p]I'll get started on the official campaign, it will feature 15 new maps divided into 3 difficulties.[/p][p]I'll also work on adding more free customization options.[/p][p]Feel free to suggest additional features or fixes in the discord![/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]It's been a week since launch; thank you for all the support, feedback and enthusiasm.[/p][p]Rest assured, this is only the beginning, my vision for the Gradient Flow is far greater.[/p][p]Here is the roadmap for what's to come:[/p][p][/p][h2]Short-term:[/h2][p]The game currently has almost nothing to guide new players. To address this, I'm implementing an easily expandable tutorial system. It will feature custom tracks that will first teach all the controls, then go into detail on the different driving mechanics.[/p][p]I will also start working on a new official campaign, it will feature achievements based on the medals obtained. A global leaderboard based on performance would be nice too.[/p][h2]Medium-term:[/h2][p]The short-term changes should add a fair amount of content for new players, but we could still do better. I have a couple of ideas in that direction but I need to see if I can make it work before talking about them. If you have any ideas for fun activities, in the context of solo play, feel free to reach out to us on our discord![/p][p]Also, the current camera system is nice while driving, but is pretty useless in the air. I want to fix that with a camera system that will allow you to control the camera behavior, the goal is to have user-defined camera presets that you can then switch between in-game.[/p][p]Online multiplayer in its current state is very limited, I want to do a lot there, but the player base is not really at a point where it makes sense to focus on it. To give you an idea on what to expect once we get there, I want to work on a way for users to make their own multiplayer game modes through some form of scripting.[/p][h2]Long-term:[/h2][p]The long-term vision is to move toward a seasonal structure. This would give players a great reason to come back to check the new season, I have a bunch of ideas for future seasons. Each season would likely feature;[/p]

• [p]New game mechanics[/p]
• [p]A new official campaign featuring those mechanics[/p]
• [p]New assets for map creation[/p]
• [p]Additional player skins[/p][p][/p]

[p]That's it for now! Thanks again for being part of this journey so early on. If you have feedback or questions feel free to reach out on our discord for anything, I'm more than happy to give tips and tricks, be it for driving or for making maps![/p]