SDK Update + Deadlines And Other Info
A new update has been released for the Extinction Editor (SDK) toolkit!
If you are making content such as skins or maps for Primal Carnage: Extinction, please update to the latest version of the SDK to use the most up to date shaders and newest features.
Interested in creating your own Primal content but don't know where to start? First, you'll need to download the Extinction Editor (SDK) from the Software section of your Steam library.
The unofficial SDK Creators Discord can help you get going.
If you're just starting out. "skin creation for dummies" may be useful...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMDvE8dKaBM
[h2]SDK HIGHLIGHTS[/h2]
The latest release takes the development kit up to around ~40GB in size, so make sure you have room prior to installing. There have been many changes to game content and features, here are some of the major updates...
[h3]Latest Master Shaders for Characters[/h3]
This version of the SDK includes the most recent master shader updates for characters, most notably support for colour shifting in dinosaurs and changes to how subsurface scattering is handled on skin.
Make sure when creating a new skin that your material instance is based off either the default skin for that class or the most recent skin for that class. Dinosaurs require additional masks to be specified now, to allow for the eye to be excluded from regular coloration in certain cases (e.g. eye glows).
[h3]THOU SHALT NOT TOUCH[/h3]
Material options under the category THOU SHALT NOT TOUCH or DO NOT TOUCH are exactly that - things you should NOT touch. These options are usually modified during gameplay for things like collar eye glows, being on fire, etc. You should never need to adjust these.
Parameters that influence dinosaur skin colour in the Colourizer menu are also located under this section. You can try manipulating these to see how they affect things, but NEVER save the changes, as they will break the skin when Colourizing. There are also a couple of work in progress features that have been added to the master dinosaur shader which are not quite ready for use, and may never be included in the game as they are experimental. Again, these are in the forbidden section, so you should never need to worry about them.
[h3]New Environment Assets & Materials[/h3]
There are a bunch of new and updated models in the Environment folders. Several assets have received material updates with higher resolution textures and parallax occlusion mapping. A handful of damage decals that feature this effect can be found in the DEC_Effects area, they create the illusion of depth when projected on surfaces. See the before and after below for an example, where additional cracks and stones are layered on top to make the ground feel more three dimensional...
This effect is rather expensive so don't use too many of these. Set your decal properties to project only on terrain so that heavy static meshes aren't receiving the effect.
"Fake" like shafts are another new effect now placed in several areas. These often use the same volumetric meshes that are under other light sources such as lamp posts. Unlike regular light cones, these have options for angle-based fading so that they softly blend out when viewed from certain angles in addition to distance-based opacity.
An example of this effect mesh being used is the Docks garage tunnel, where dynamic light shafts have been replaced by the new "fake" version for better performance (and to stop dinosaur eyes turning into laser beams when standing below the fan).
There are also additional shadow decals available, including the fan shadow in that tunnel, which is now a projected texture.
The water shaders are currently in the process of being tweaked, you may have noticed new normal mapping and foam effects on the Docks ocean. We may need to adjust things further as additional optimizations are put in place for PS4.
[h3]Map Optimizations & Content Reorganization[/h3]
Over 12 maps have had major optimization passes in preparation for being ported to PlayStation platforms, with more planned in future. Part of this process has involved changing or in some cases removing various assets, or transferring them to different folders.
Please check existing maps for examples of best practices when creating your own environments. For example - the large shipping containers on Docks now have different meshes for each colour instead of relying on a material swap on one model. This allows for the model to render at lower detail with simpler shading when far away, while still having individual variation between crates and high resolution up close. Try not to override materials of objects placed in the map if you can help it, since there is usually already a model that exists with the material pre-applied to it.
Foliage has also had major performance improvements that are mainly facilitated by the use of Level of Detail (LOD) models. Almost every plant now swaps from its interactive version that blows in the wind to a static LOD version at distance, and then to an even simpler LOD model when very far away. The lighting setup in the foliage shader now uses a simpler approximation of light scatter and does not support detail normal maps anymore (they were so small as to not be noticeable in most cases).
Almost all grass now uses a separate Grass Master Shader that is even more simplified than the master foliage shader, with grass models themselves having up to four LOD models to improve performance when used in large numbers. It is still one of the most costly things you can fill a map with though, so be sure to use the actual Foliage tool when placing grass to at least gain some additional performance benefits.
Although the maps should run smoother than before, please be aware that editing uncooked content in an SDK does require a much higher performance level than running the regular game. If you want to do mapmaking, ensure your system is up to the task by having at least 8 GB of graphics memory and a 3GHz+ CPU.
[h2]CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT PSA[/h2]
All user-created items that have been marked as officially accepted for Primal Carnage: Extinction through the game's Steam Workshop now have the possibility to appear on PlayStation platforms. Anything accepted up to 6th June 2022 will automatically be eligible for porting to console, as they are already a part of the game and property of Circle 5 Studios.
The only difference between Steam item sales and PlayStation item sales is the revenue split. Item sales that occur on PlayStation platforms do not award royalties to the community item creators, as the transaction is being made via PlayStation Network, not Steam.
Nothing will change with item sales made on the Steam platform. User-created items sold through the Primal Carnage: Extinction in-game store on Steam will continue to provide the standard 25% royalty fee when they are accepted for sale on the PC game. Creators will simply not receive any *additional* revenue if the item is also sold on PlayStation platforms.
If you wish to not have your items appear on PlayStation, there is a grace period for items that have not yet been accepted to the game which will last until 22nd June 2022.
Any and all items on the Primal Carnage: Extinction Steam Workshop that are accepted for the PC game from June 22nd 2022 may appear on PlayStation platforms as free or paid in-game DLC items with revenue share from Steam sales only. If you do not agree to these terms you must remove your content from Steam Workshop before 22nd June 2022 or it will automatically become eligible for porting to PlayStation upon acceptance to Primal Carnage: Extinction on Steam.
[h2]SUBMISSION DEADLINES FOR SEASONAL EVENTS[/h2]
We will be running themed events for Halloween and Winter as usual this year! If you want to take part by creating items based on those themes, please submit your content to Steam Workshop before the following dates to have a chance at being included...
[h3]HALLOWEEN THEMED ITEMS[/h3]
Deadline: July 29th 2022
[h3]WINTER THEMED ITEMS[/h3]
Deadline: August 26th 2022
There are tags for Halloween and Winter when uploading to Workshop which will help your entries stand out properly. If you don't see them, a moderator can apply the tags after the item(s) are uploaded. Putting the words "Summer" or "Winter" in your workshop item name can also be useful.
[h2]ART CONTEST IS LIVE[/h2]
You don't need an SDK or modelling skills to enter this!
If you're artistically minded, why not get involved in our latest art contest...?
We're looking for cool new designs for use on Primal Carnage merch, now that our official store is open.
For full contest details (including some sweet prizes!) look HERE.
Join us on Discord to get involved!
If you are making content such as skins or maps for Primal Carnage: Extinction, please update to the latest version of the SDK to use the most up to date shaders and newest features.
Interested in creating your own Primal content but don't know where to start? First, you'll need to download the Extinction Editor (SDK) from the Software section of your Steam library.
The unofficial SDK Creators Discord can help you get going.
If you're just starting out. "skin creation for dummies" may be useful...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMDvE8dKaBM
[h2]SDK HIGHLIGHTS[/h2]
The latest release takes the development kit up to around ~40GB in size, so make sure you have room prior to installing. There have been many changes to game content and features, here are some of the major updates...
[h3]Latest Master Shaders for Characters[/h3]
This version of the SDK includes the most recent master shader updates for characters, most notably support for colour shifting in dinosaurs and changes to how subsurface scattering is handled on skin.
Make sure when creating a new skin that your material instance is based off either the default skin for that class or the most recent skin for that class. Dinosaurs require additional masks to be specified now, to allow for the eye to be excluded from regular coloration in certain cases (e.g. eye glows).
[h3]THOU SHALT NOT TOUCH[/h3]
Material options under the category THOU SHALT NOT TOUCH or DO NOT TOUCH are exactly that - things you should NOT touch. These options are usually modified during gameplay for things like collar eye glows, being on fire, etc. You should never need to adjust these.
Parameters that influence dinosaur skin colour in the Colourizer menu are also located under this section. You can try manipulating these to see how they affect things, but NEVER save the changes, as they will break the skin when Colourizing. There are also a couple of work in progress features that have been added to the master dinosaur shader which are not quite ready for use, and may never be included in the game as they are experimental. Again, these are in the forbidden section, so you should never need to worry about them.
[h3]New Environment Assets & Materials[/h3]
There are a bunch of new and updated models in the Environment folders. Several assets have received material updates with higher resolution textures and parallax occlusion mapping. A handful of damage decals that feature this effect can be found in the DEC_Effects area, they create the illusion of depth when projected on surfaces. See the before and after below for an example, where additional cracks and stones are layered on top to make the ground feel more three dimensional...
This effect is rather expensive so don't use too many of these. Set your decal properties to project only on terrain so that heavy static meshes aren't receiving the effect.
"Fake" like shafts are another new effect now placed in several areas. These often use the same volumetric meshes that are under other light sources such as lamp posts. Unlike regular light cones, these have options for angle-based fading so that they softly blend out when viewed from certain angles in addition to distance-based opacity.
An example of this effect mesh being used is the Docks garage tunnel, where dynamic light shafts have been replaced by the new "fake" version for better performance (and to stop dinosaur eyes turning into laser beams when standing below the fan).
There are also additional shadow decals available, including the fan shadow in that tunnel, which is now a projected texture.
The water shaders are currently in the process of being tweaked, you may have noticed new normal mapping and foam effects on the Docks ocean. We may need to adjust things further as additional optimizations are put in place for PS4.
[h3]Map Optimizations & Content Reorganization[/h3]
Over 12 maps have had major optimization passes in preparation for being ported to PlayStation platforms, with more planned in future. Part of this process has involved changing or in some cases removing various assets, or transferring them to different folders.
Please check existing maps for examples of best practices when creating your own environments. For example - the large shipping containers on Docks now have different meshes for each colour instead of relying on a material swap on one model. This allows for the model to render at lower detail with simpler shading when far away, while still having individual variation between crates and high resolution up close. Try not to override materials of objects placed in the map if you can help it, since there is usually already a model that exists with the material pre-applied to it.
Foliage has also had major performance improvements that are mainly facilitated by the use of Level of Detail (LOD) models. Almost every plant now swaps from its interactive version that blows in the wind to a static LOD version at distance, and then to an even simpler LOD model when very far away. The lighting setup in the foliage shader now uses a simpler approximation of light scatter and does not support detail normal maps anymore (they were so small as to not be noticeable in most cases).
Almost all grass now uses a separate Grass Master Shader that is even more simplified than the master foliage shader, with grass models themselves having up to four LOD models to improve performance when used in large numbers. It is still one of the most costly things you can fill a map with though, so be sure to use the actual Foliage tool when placing grass to at least gain some additional performance benefits.
Although the maps should run smoother than before, please be aware that editing uncooked content in an SDK does require a much higher performance level than running the regular game. If you want to do mapmaking, ensure your system is up to the task by having at least 8 GB of graphics memory and a 3GHz+ CPU.
[h2]CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT PSA[/h2]
All user-created items that have been marked as officially accepted for Primal Carnage: Extinction through the game's Steam Workshop now have the possibility to appear on PlayStation platforms. Anything accepted up to 6th June 2022 will automatically be eligible for porting to console, as they are already a part of the game and property of Circle 5 Studios.
The only difference between Steam item sales and PlayStation item sales is the revenue split. Item sales that occur on PlayStation platforms do not award royalties to the community item creators, as the transaction is being made via PlayStation Network, not Steam.
Nothing will change with item sales made on the Steam platform. User-created items sold through the Primal Carnage: Extinction in-game store on Steam will continue to provide the standard 25% royalty fee when they are accepted for sale on the PC game. Creators will simply not receive any *additional* revenue if the item is also sold on PlayStation platforms.
If you wish to not have your items appear on PlayStation, there is a grace period for items that have not yet been accepted to the game which will last until 22nd June 2022.
Any and all items on the Primal Carnage: Extinction Steam Workshop that are accepted for the PC game from June 22nd 2022 may appear on PlayStation platforms as free or paid in-game DLC items with revenue share from Steam sales only. If you do not agree to these terms you must remove your content from Steam Workshop before 22nd June 2022 or it will automatically become eligible for porting to PlayStation upon acceptance to Primal Carnage: Extinction on Steam.
[h2]SUBMISSION DEADLINES FOR SEASONAL EVENTS[/h2]
We will be running themed events for Halloween and Winter as usual this year! If you want to take part by creating items based on those themes, please submit your content to Steam Workshop before the following dates to have a chance at being included...
[h3]HALLOWEEN THEMED ITEMS[/h3]
Deadline: July 29th 2022
[h3]WINTER THEMED ITEMS[/h3]
Deadline: August 26th 2022
There are tags for Halloween and Winter when uploading to Workshop which will help your entries stand out properly. If you don't see them, a moderator can apply the tags after the item(s) are uploaded. Putting the words "Summer" or "Winter" in your workshop item name can also be useful.
[h2]ART CONTEST IS LIVE[/h2]
You don't need an SDK or modelling skills to enter this!
If you're artistically minded, why not get involved in our latest art contest...?
We're looking for cool new designs for use on Primal Carnage merch, now that our official store is open.
For full contest details (including some sweet prizes!) look HERE.
Join us on Discord to get involved!
