Post Apocalypse Courier Service - Delivery Simulator News

[p]Welcome back to another Post Masters Update. Now we had intended to share some details of our vehicle physics for the game, but we’ve been working on some other cool things in the last month that we wanted to share with you all instead. Winches are still in this blog though so let's show that off first!

Winches[/p][p]Stuck In the mud, in a ditch, in the river? The Winchester Deluxe 2000 has got you covered, so you can get back to your HQ and wait for this whole apocalypse thing to blow over.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Winches aren’t just for vehicles though…[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Exploding Boxes [/p][p]Couriers are reminded to ensure that their packages are correctly packed with the proper safety measures in place to ensure that fragile and explosive items are kept safe on their way to customers…[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Whilst packaging boxes, you'll need to consider their size, contents and the amount of padding used to keep the items secure and damage free. Explosive items in large boxes on their own can be a recipe for disaster![/p][p][/p][p]The Vehicle Management Computer [/p][p]We previously shared some details on vehicle customisation and modification, and we are now super excited to share a bit more information on how you couriers will be outfitting and modding vehicles to match the challenges of the PACS world! (or quite simply… making cool or weird vehicle combos!) 
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Using the Vehicle Management Computer, you can mix and match modules onto your chassis, allowing you to give yourself more space for packages, extra seats for your friends, removing modules for a lighter vehicle and many more scenarios![/p][p]We are very much looking forward to seeing all the functional and funky vehicles that you all create! Remember to share them with us![/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]More about Mud
In the previous post masters update, we showed off the mud shaders that show your wheel clogging up with mud as you drive through those mucky areas of the world. We’ve continued expanding on this to give couriers as much feedback for what is happening beneath those wheels.[/p][p] [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]You’ll see clumps of dirt and mud shooting out as your drive and your wheels will be swallowed up by the swampy surroundings![/p][p][/p][p]Next Update[/p][p]You'll just have to tune into the next update to find out! ;)[/p][p][/p][p]FAQ: [/p][p]If you have any questions you’d like answered, join our community Discord![/p][p]Here’s some answers to questions we’ve heard so far:[/p]

• [p]Will the game have both casual and more simulated controls?
  We’re aiming to provide couriers with options that allow them to choose between a casual control scheme with automatic gear shifting etc, as well as more simulated controls for those that prefer a more realistic driving experience.
  [/p]
• [p]Will we need to take care of the vehicle with things like flat tyres?
  Yes! Managing and maintaining your vehicle is a big part of the game, keeping on top of tyre, engine and battery condition and more!
  [/p]
• [p]Is the cargo going to be loose in the vehicles?
  Yep! We’re aiming to have the boxes and cargo you deliver to be physically simulated so they will move about with your vehicle and fall out if you aren’t careful on your journeys! [/p]

[p]In last month’s Post Masters Update, we discussed our plans for what the world will look like. This month, we’re showcasing some of the tools and techniques we’re using to make that happen![/p][h3]Road generation spline tools[/h3][p]As we’re building the world of PACS, we are always considering where the challenge will lie in the routes that players will take getting from A to B. Whether it's a loose gravel road, a rundown strip of tarmac or a road fully crumbling away into the cliffs below.[/p][p]To create these experiences, we needed a solution that allowed us to quickly place down roads that were capable of shaping the landscape around them and forming connections with each other. Tools like Errant Paths are allowing us to do this, creating roads for the civilised world that came before the apocalypse which we can then turn post-apocalyptic. [/p][p][/p][p]This also gives us more utility in the creation of the PACS world, allowing us to quickly change, adapt and edit roads, regenerating them with custom presets we’ve created, such as guardrails, signposts, or tarmac highways that are bursting at the seams with nature reclaiming its ground.[/p][p][/p][p]With these tools, we’re able to create a pre-apocalypse road network for the world of PACS and then edit these pathways and iterate over them, considering what would have happened after years of apocalypse and neglect. Where does the road crumble away? Where does the vegetation take over? What is left behind? How does this create a rich environment for players to enjoy? [/p][h3]Procedural Splines [/h3][p]Whilst the world of PACS is hand crafted with intent and careful design consideration. Procedural generation is a wildly useful tool that allows us to develop the world faster, add variation, and make the world as convincing as possible.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’ve developed procedural splines that we can use to quickly and efficiently layer elements into the world without the need to hand place individual assets. Meaning our designers get to spend more time working on the flow and user experience of a location, rather than worrying about placing in foliage or rocks.[/p][p]These tools give us the freedom and utility of procedural generation, while still keeping control of a hand crafted world![/p][h3]Shaders for wheels[/h3][p]Quite simply, muddy wheels! [/p][p]When you drive through mud, you want to know about it! Which is why, when you drive through mud in PACS, your wheels will get clogged up with mud![/p][p][/p][p]We’re also implementing tyre deformation shaders that react and deform to the landscape beneath them as you traverse![/p][p][/p][h3]Shaders to Immerse[/h3][p]You feel safe inside the cockpit of your trusty delivery vehicle, as dark clouds form overhead and the pitter patter of light rain slowly evolves into large pebbles ricocheting off the carapace that covers the pile of boxes huddled in the back. [/p][p][/p][p]You switch on your windscreen wipers…[/p][p]The use of some clever artistic shaders will help  give feedback on your actions and the changing world around you. When it rains you’ll see droplets bouncing off the windscreen and water running as your wiper blades move and clear a path to look through. [/p][p]Or as your vehicle is used and becomes more worn, overtime, rust appears on exposed metal parts, dirt builds in the cracks and corners, mud gathers on the undercarriage. Shaders will allow us to do all these and more, helping to ground the player in the world of PACS.[/p][p][/p][h3]Next Update[/h3][p]The next Post Masters Update will be taking a look at some vehicle physics and how we are crafting them into a challenging but engaging driving experience. Plus, winches! [/p][h3]FAQ[/h3][p]If you have any questions you’d like answered, join our community Discord![/p][p]Here’s some answers to questions we’ve heard so far:[/p]

• [p]Is the game coming to Consoles?
  At the moment, we are focusing on the Steam release, but we would absolutely love to bring the game onto consoles! [/p]
• [p]Will the game be in first or third person perspective?
  Whilst out of your vehicle, the game is in first person perspective, whilst driving, you have the option between first and third person. [/p]
• [p]How much vehicle customization will there be? As much as we can squeeze in! We’re giving vehicle customization as much freedom as possible whilst still serving the games core loop. You’ll be able to change wheels, engines, batteries, paint colours and more. We touch a little on this in a previous Post Masters Update![/p]

[p]In last month's Post Masters Update, we shared some details on the core concept of what to expect from your role as PACS couriers. This month, we’re excited to tease what that world will look like and how we aim to present it![/p][p][/p][h3]The PACS Concept [/h3][p]At its core, PACS is a post-apocalyptic game. This setting is our central pillar, and we want to faithfully present our vision of  this world to players visually across user interface, 3D art, shaders, visual effects and the rest. [/p][p]Set in a 1980’s cassette futurist world with an analogue/CRT aesthetic, civilization has advanced its technological capabilities beyond that which the world's climate can endure. Spoiler alert: this global environmental collapse, causes an apocalypse, destroying society (and delivery services) as we know it.. The world of PACS is gritty and difficult. Unkempt, overgrown, and left behind by humanity, the environment has been reclaimed by the elements and nature, making a post-apocalypse delivery service especially challenging to manage. [/p][p]As we develop the world and gameplay experiences, we’re always considering “Does this feel post-apocalyptic enough?” before we commit to any ideas. Sometimes it’s too post-apocalyptic, others not enough, so we have a balance to strike in how we bring this concept to life.[/p][p][/p][h3]Influences and Inspirations [/h3][p]We’ve had no shortage of visual and written references to help us understand how to build a gripping and immersive post-apocalyptic world. From classic films like Bladerunner through to non-fiction books such as The World Without Us, there is a lot for us to learn from. Then of course, we have plenty of games to draw inspiration from, helping us convey this post-apocalyptic world, and the many gameplay elements that couriers will carry out within it.[/p][p]Games like Spintires and the Mudrunner series have given us great reference for challenging the player in their traversal of a world with vehicles, while The Long Drive and more recently Pacific Drive for how players interact with those vehicles. Then Lethal Company or Content Warning give us brilliant examples of how to embrace the co-operative elements of gameplay and inject them into the core loop of the game.[/p][p]While all of these references and more have been studied and drawn from as we develop the tone and visual style of the game, PACS is its own game. Our challenge is making sure PACS is a unique overgrown world that still captures the urban decay of climate disaster, and facilitates the gameplay features and experience we intend for players. We’ll share more about that in a future Post Masters update![/p][p]One reference we cannot go without mentioning, is Simon Stållenhag’s collection of incredible artwork, more specifically The Labyrinth and The Electric State collections that give us amazing depictions of a discarded hyper-consumerist society. [/p][p][/p][h3]Depicting the Apocalypse [/h3][p]We want the world of PACS to feel real and be unique in its style, something players can look at and instantly recognize as our world. To achieve this we have been focusing heavily on atmosphere, colour, and silhouette, to define the game’s visual style as opposed to high resolution photo scanned textures or hyper realistic rendering.  Whilst Unreal Engine out of the box is stunning, it does tend to lend itself to a certain visual style which over the years has become somewhat of a trope. [/p][p]With PACS we aim to push away from that standard visual style and have been hard at work adapting UE5’s rendering pipeline and experimenting with rendering features, colour space settings, and shading to build a visual style for the game that is not only unique but positively oozing with character in a world that feels real to itself.[/p][p]Our focus is on how this style makes you feel, how it tugs at your nerves, dares you to risk that next corner, or the path you’ve not yet taken. A world full of depth and intrigue that truly invites immersive exploration.
[/p][carousel][/carousel][h3]The Courier Character [/h3][p]Developing a stand out character is never an easy feat. Almost all characters that stay with us and pull at our heartstrings years after have one key thing in common. Silhouette. Characters that even as just a blank silhouette you could pick out of a lineup every time from every angle. With that in mind we are delighted to show off an early iteration of our player character. [/p][p]We’ve tried to shoot for something that feels grounded in a post-apocalyptic world and also as a courier &  professional driver. We also didn’t want to be too realistic, this is a game about delivering packages in the post-apocalypse after all! [/p][p]We’re proud to present… you: someone with slight whimsical tones and a strong silhouette.[/p][carousel][/carousel][p]The kind of character that gets up to all sorts of mischief and cackles madly at dying in ways beyond our pre-apocalyptic human comprehension. Something expressive whilst still being masked, and that lends to a feeling that anyone or anything could be behind it.[/p][p]We hope you will all have a lot of fun with PACS, and fun is definitely something we’ve tried to embrace with the character. What do you think about your future courier character?[/p][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][h3]Interfacing With the World[/h3][p]As we developed the UI, we gravitated towards a style that fits naturally within the cassette futurist direction and should feel familiar to those who enjoy the post apocalyptic setting in games!   [/p][p]The idea that these chunky analogue devices and machines with iconic CRT green text and framing carry out functions that seem beyond their technical ability was always a fun concept for us. [/p][p]To make the interfaces feel authentic and consistent, we’ve tried to act within the constraints that old monochrome CRT displays had by avoiding using curved lines, instead preferring to use polygonal lines or more boxy designs. [/p][p]While we wanted to remain authentic to the iconic monochrome green, we felt like the occasional use of colour would be important for making elements stand out for positive and negative reinforcement in gameplay. For that reason, we tried to stick to a green, amber and red colour scheme whenever possible.[/p][p]Below is an early concept from pre-production, of what a business overview screen might look like following this visual style. [/p][p][/p][p]Another feature we wanted to have to sell the cassette futurist vibe was having diegetic UI (UI rendered on monitors and devices around the world instead of overlaid on screen). Cassette futurism is all about big, boxy machines, so we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to render our game’s UI on them! [/p][p][/p][h3]Next Update[/h3][p]The Next Post Masters update will be looking at some of the world building we’ve been doing and what kind of tools we’re using to create an immersive experience for all you couriers to explore and traverse.
[/p][p]FAQ[/p][p]If you have any questions you’d like answered, join our community Discord![/p][p]Here’s some answers to questions we’ve heard so far:[/p]

• [p]Will there be different sizes of vehicles?
  Yes! We’re aiming to have a nice variety of vehicle shapes and sizes![/p]
• [p]Will friends be able to ride as passengers in my vehicle?
  Yep! Don’t forget to call shotgun though![/p]
• [p]Will there be a survival system?
  Yes! The game will feature survival systems like hunger, thirst, radiation and more as the game is developed throughout early access. We’ll touch on this in a future blog.[/p]

Welcome couriers, to the first Post Masters Update! A regular development update log which we will be using to let all you budding delivery drivers in on some of the things we are building for PACS.

This first update, we’re using to tell you just what PACS is exactly, giving you some insight into what to expect from the core gameplay loop and what features we’re cooking up with it. As well a general progress update on where we are in the development cycle.

So without any further delay

- All the screenshots and GIFs below are taken from PACS in engine development - Shout out to Jesse Hooson for the aswesome concept art seen in the blog cover image! - https://www.artstation.com/jesse_hooson

[h2]What is PACS?[/h2]
Civilization has collapsed. Grab up to 3 friends, navigate treacherous environments, scavenge for vehicles and upgrades, and build a courier company that fulfills the apocalyptic miracle of a package delivered on time.

[h2]Gameplay Overview[/h2]

[h3]Manage Your Delivery Fleet [/h3]
Deliveries don’t happen without your trusty delivery vehicles. You’ll need to keep on top of repairs, scavenge or craft new parts, and find new upgrades and new vehicles from around the world; building your fleet to take on treacherous delivery routes.

Wheels, engines, batteries, body work, and more components will all be interactable and will need to be repaired and maintained, as well as upgraded to tackle your navigational challenges while traversing the world.

We have LOTS of ideas and plans for how players will interact with and manage their vehicles, with the aim of giving as much freedom for modification as possible. We’ll do a blog for this specifically at some point, but for now, here is a little gif of some early prototypes.



[h3]Exploring the perils of PACS[/h3]
Explore, scavenge, and survive an expanding landscape, venturing into a sprawling and dangerous post-apocalyptic world. Explore its abandoned locales, scavenge vital resources, and make crucial deliveries across a landscape hand crafted by our design team.

Survival of your vehicles is only part of the equation! Radiation, hunger and thirst, poisonous plants and creepy critters lurk in the darkest corners of a world plagued by climate disaster.

Throughout Early Access and beyond, we plan to expand the playable world, introducing multiple new biomes and regions, each with their own characteristics and challenges to face along delivery routes. More on this in another future blog too!



[h3]Delivering on time, with difficulty[/h3]
Delivering on time is key to becoming a successful Postie, but challenging road conditions, unpredictable weather, and post-apocalyptic hazards can turn your delivery rounds into white knuckle rides, testing even the most experienced drivers.



A wide variety of driving conditions and surfaces require various upgrades and vehicle parts to deal with them. Narrow cliff edge routes, falling rocks, radiation smog, violent storms, flooded towns, sketchy bridges… prepare yourself and your vehicles for these challenges and more as you make your delivery rounds.

We’re working on bringing together an enjoyable, well simulated driving experience that can be accessible for those of all interest levels. We will share more on our vehicle physics development in a future Post Masters Update.



[h2]Development Progress Update[/h2]
The game was in pre-production in the second half of 2024, experimenting, prototyping and putting together the vertical slice you see in the current trailers. We used this to pitch to publishers whilst we were also working on other client projects.

At the start of this year and with the help of our publishing partner, we moved into full production; now focusing entirely on PACS. In this time, we’ve been iterating and expanding on the gameplay loop and features seen in the current trailer, nailing down the designs for early access and beyond, as well as working on plenty of new features and artwork..

The game is still quite early in its full development cycle and we’ve got a good chunk of work to do before we feel confident that PACS is ready to put into everyone’s hands. Progress is being made every day and we are excited to share more! (With eventual playtesting and demos when the time is right!)



[h3]Next Update…[/h3]
Our next Post Masters Update will take a peek at the User Interface we are creating for the game, its visual style and design intentions, as well as the broader visual style choices for the game!

[h3]FAQs [/h3]
If you have any questions you’d like answered, join our community Discord! - https://discord.gg/rbcRAyu8CC

Here’s some answers to questions we’ve heard so far:

• Will there be any combat? PACS isn’t a combat oriented game, so we don’t intend to implement any big combative features to the game. The focus is really on the delivery business, challenging traversal and social experience gameplay loops. All PACS couriers get a standard issue baton to defend against any nasty creatures lurking in the dark corners though.
  
  
  
• Will there be wheel + Pedal Support? We do now have Wheel + Pedal Support in our plans for the game. It may not be straight away at Early Access, but we do intend to implement it for a variety of steering wheel controllers by the time we get around to 1.0.
  
  
  
• How can I playtest? While we don’t have any playtesting taking place right now, if you’d like to get involved and playtest the game with us, you can join our discord and be the first to know about potentially playtesting opportunities! - https://discord.gg/rbcRAyu8CC
  

[h2]To all our fellow couriers, [/h2]

Firstly, thank you all for wishlisting the game and being part of the courier community. We really cannot wait to see you all fulfilling your full courier potential and providing the apocalypse with its much needed delivery service.

If you haven’t already, give the game a Wishlist and a Follow!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3079190/

We are here to provide you all with a small update on the delivery progress of PACS and where abouts we are on our development route. So buckle up, seatbelts on, gas masks down.

[h2]Publishing Deal[/h2]
We are really pleased to say that we have signed a publishing deal and PACS is receiving the funding and support it deserves to help us bring it to life through to 1.0 and beyond! We can’t reveal who this publisher is just yet, but announcements will come along the way to delivery ;)

[h2]Development Progress[/h2]
PACS moved into full production at the start of this year, meaning we still have a little way to go yet on our development journey with a few key stops along the way, including playtests and demos!

As we get further into development, when we and the game are ready, we will start to share more insights and information about the game to keep the community in the loop and give everyone some things to get excited about.

We may be quieter until we get to that point, but rest assured, we are not fading into the post apocalyptic fog. We are here, working hard on the game and will share more when we can…for now, here is a little teaser…



[h2]Get Involved in the Community! [/h2]
In the meantime, join us in our community discord to get involved with community discussion, give feedback, suggestions and be the first to hear news about PACS! - https://discord.gg/rbcRAyu8CC