Rising World News

Hi folks! Finally the building update is available for the new version! It introduces almost 200 different materials and 27 different construction shapes.

Unlike the Java version, there is no longer a distinction between blocks and construction elements. Instead every block can now be freely rotated and resized, which gives a lot more freedom compared to the old version.



We've also created new building tools from scratch, introducing various new features. For example, the modular snapping is now very powerful and enables you to easily create rounded structures in no time. There is also a visual radial menu now which allows you to change various building settings without having to use console commands.

Compared to the Java version, you will now experience much smoother texture transitions between different materials and also significantly less flickering on overlapping elements.



Unfortunately the crafting part is not fully implemented yet, so we've set up a temporary material selection at the workbench. The same material selection also shows up if you use the "item" command: Typing "item block" into console brings up the texture selection. Alternatively you can also just type "item construction" to bring up a shape selection as well.

We appreciate any feedback regarding the new building tools. We've implemented them in a modular way, so we can modify them quite easily if necessary. If you find any issues with the building tools or if you have any suggestions about them, please don't hesitate to let us know!


Apart from the building part, this update also introduces a few other changes and additions. Rain now produces proper puddles on terrain, and we've also added reflections for puddles and smooth construction materials (like metal or marble). We've also improved lots of sounds, implemented the "misc" settings menu (giving you access to various game options), changed the way how grass is generated, and if you prefer using a high FOV or if you play on an ultra-wide screen, you can now enable "panini projection" to reduce screen distortions. Find the full changelog below!



It's now our intention to add multiplayer and blueprints. We've already implemented large parts of the multiplayer, so the next update will be available a lot faster. Stay tuned!


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• [New] Update to Unity 2021.1
  
• [New] Added 27 different construction elements (block shapes)
  
• [New] Added 198 different textures
  
• [New] New building tool for construction elements:
  • New modular snapping (automatic and manual mode)
    
  • Ability to place multiple elements in a row (1-3 directions)
    
  • Ability to change texture scale
    
  • Upper surface can be modified independently
    
  • Ability resize elements proportional
    
  • Ability to apply size of an existing world element to current element
    
  • New radial menu to change parameters without commands
• [New] Reduced z-fighting (flickering) of overlapping construction elements
  
• [New] Ability to paint construction elements
  
• [New] Grass can now grow in all directions (TBD)
  
• [New] Added "Miscellaneous" settings menu, giving access to various game settings
  
• [New] Added buttons to sort inventory or merge item stacks
  
• [New] Added screenspace reflections (still WIP)
  
• [New] Rain produces puddles on terrain and also gives it a "wet" look
  
• [New] Added settings to hide pivots or grid in building tools
  
• [New] Added new background scenes for main menu
  
• [New] Added optional fly mode speed control (shift+scroll), see misc settings
  
• [New] Added "panini projection" setting (to reduce distortion when using wide fov)
  
• [New] Command "item construction" now brings up a block shape selection menu
  
• [New] If no variation is defined for the "item" command (when spawning constructions), a texture selection menu shows up
  
• [Change] Added new fire and reload sounds for repeater
  
• [Change] Added inertia to equipped item
  
• [Change] Cannot pickup locked doors anymore
  
• [Change] Increase running speed of player
  
• [Change] Player lowers equipped items while sprinting
  
• [Bugfix] Walkie-Talkie and Megaphone no longer crash the game if recording device could not be initialized
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed missing texts when changing creative mode terrain tool shape
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed grid rendering on lowest grid sizes (0.0625 and 0.03125)
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed broken textures (red spots) on LOD terrain
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed sporadically occurring shadow artifacts on lit surfaces
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed console key showing up in input line when opening/closing the console
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed various other issues
  

• [New] Pivots for remaining construction elements (rounded block, corner elements etc) are now available
  
• [New] New block shape: Half cone
  
• [New] Fly mode no-clip setting is now accessible in the misc settings
  
• [New] Added frame limiter setting (see graphics settings)
  
• [New] Added "findbase" console command
  
• [Change] Manual positioning now stays active after changing the item (need feedback)
  
• [Change] Added additional preset slot to building radial menu
  
• [Change] Increased default duration of a day from 42 to 60 minutes
  
• [Change] Changed tiling for some wood textures
  
• [Change] It now takes 2 hits to destroy blocks in creative mode
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong rotation if modular snapping is active
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed texture issue on rounded block
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed texture on slope getting stretched on certain rotations
  
• [Bugfix] Editing surface offset of rounded block no longer breaks the mesh
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed missing tooltips and drag&drop items after returning to the main menu
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed rotation not working right after enabling the manual positioning mode
  
• [Bugfix] Changing block shape after splitting the stack no longer affects both stacks
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed inventory sometimes being cleared for no reason
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed reset button in settings not working correctly
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong door scale (thickness) after resizing it
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed wrong wind intensity on snow effect

Dear Community! We're pleased to announce that the first playable demo of the new version is finally available! It is available as a separate Beta branch on Steam - if you select it, you will still keep the current Java version and the new version will be downloaded into a separate subfolder. This first demo will serve as foundation for future update, and once it's a bit more fleshed out, it will replace the Java version (but of course you will still be able to play the Java version at any stage).

We've also prepared a new survey for the demo and would appreciate your feedback: https://forms.gle/7Tf95343NQtgSUou8



In order to get the demo, just rightclick on Rising World in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas -> select "New Version Preview" and wait until the download is ready. When launching the game, a dialog shows up: Select "New Version" to launch the new version of Rising World.

NOTE: Always launch the game from your library, do not launch it right from the "Downloads" section because this always launches the default Java version.



However, there are a few important things you need to know about this version:


This version is quite limited and it lacks several features and any serious gameplay content. It rather serves as "tech demo" and is meant to give you a very first impression of the new version. We've also disabled some features in this version - for instance, only a small part of the world is generated and many plants and forests are missing.

Here you find a rough overview of some of the features of the demo version: https://forum.rising-world.net/thread/11064/


We're using Unity new scriptable render pipeline, more specifically the HDRP which has a rather high base overhead - much higher compared to the Java version. In return we're able to achieve much better scalability, especially if the world consists of lot of buildings. This means it's extremely important that your machine meets at least the minimum requirements of the game (which are stated on the store page). However, if you experience performance issues, please let us know! There is definitely room for improvements


One important note about the view distance: Basically the new version is able to achieve much larger view distances compared to the Java version. On the one hand, chunks are now twice the size. On the other hand, values are treated a bit different in the new version; while a view distance of 20 chunks, for example, referred to 20x20 chunks around the player in the Java version, this value now refers to 20 chunks in each direction (effectively being 40x40 chunks now). In other words: A view distance of 50 in the new version would be equivalent of a view distance of 200 in the Java version


There are a few weather effects available which can be set via console command. Just like in the Java version, type "weather " into console (if you put a "1" at the end, the weather changes instantly). In addition to the weather effects of the Java version, there is now snowfall available (which covers the world in snow over time). The names for these effects are "snow" and "heavysnow"


There are unfortunately a few bugs in Unity which are out of our control. They were reported to Unity. For instance, it's currently not possible to change the resolution on Linux without restarting the game (Mac and Windows are not affected by this issue). There are a few other issues as well, but if you find any bugs, please don't hesitate to contact us


Unfortunately the multiplayer part isn't fully ready yet, but we already wrote the code with multiplayer in mind - so it's basically almost ready. It's our intention to release a working multiplayer shortly after the upcoming building update


Unfortunately the plugin API isn't ready either - this means it doesn't work in the demo yet. There is still some work to do, but we've set up a new section in our forum which contains more information about the new API: https://forum.rising-world.net/thread/11062/


Obviously the demo took a lot longer until it was ready - much longer than expected. We're so sorry about that, but we also appreciate your patience! Good news is that many core mechanics are now implemeted or almost ready (and this was the most time consuming part), so we should soon be able to get into a state where content can be added more quickly


We really hope you enjoy the demo! Even though it's still very limited and cannot be considered a full game, it should already give you a good idea of what Rising World will look like in the near future. We are looking forward to your feedback, please let us know what you think about the new version! As mentioned above, we've prepared a survey for that purpose: https://forms.gle/7Tf95343NQtgSUou8

Hey folks! We're currently focusing on getting the first playable demo of the new version ready as soon as possible. The first version will be rather a "walking simulator", but it will serve as foundation for future updates. And the demo will still give a good impression of the gameplay and the technical component (graphics, audio etc) of the new version.

The last weeks we've been further improving the terrain generation. The game now generates more realistic, but also much smoother landscapes (i.e. no more "bumpy" terrain). Biomes (including proper forests) and dungeons are still missing, but the world is already more varied than in the old version.





We've also been working on the new building part. Our goal is to keep the freedom of the old system, but improve it to a extent that building becomes a lot less painful. Apart from fixing some issues of the old building system, we've reworked the way how snapping works from scratch. You will be able to change the rotation pivot of an element, and you will also be able to snap the object to a pivot of another element. As a result, creating curved structures will be much easier.
Unfortunately the building part won't be ready for the first demo release, but it will be available in a separate update shortly after.



We also spent some time on a new auto-updater/launcher (for the non-Steam version) and on a Linux build. Unfortunately it looks like Linux/Vulkan support isn't Unitys greatest strength, which is a bit disappointing. We've discovered some bugs which are out of our control - most of the rendering stuff is "black boxed" in Unity and the source code of the engine isn't available. Only thing we can do in this case is to forward these bugs to Unity, however, if you experience any issues or crashes with the Linux version of the game, please don't hesitate to contact us.



As always, you find more information on our Trello roadmap

Hi folks! It's time for another status update! In the past few weeks we've been mainly working on objects - by this we mean furniture, doors, lamps etc. More specifically, we've been working on object handling, i.e. placement, sync between client and server, interaction etc.

It's our intention to rework most objects from scratch. For the time being, we've been focusing on doors: On the one hand, you will be able to place proper double doors. On the other hand, there will be more options to interact with doors - for instance, you will be able to lock doors. Apart from that, most objects (including doors) will be resizable.



You find more information about objects and doors on our Trello roadmap: https://trello.com/c/IaJZtotN/141-objects

We've also prepared a small video to show the current state of the game. Apart from the new doors, we've been working on new sounds and there are also a few other details (for instance, the player leaves footprints in the snow):

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Apart from that, we've been working on lighting. The game internally manages all lights and culls every light source that's either not visible or too far away. To save some performance, you can set up a max amount of lights the game should render simultaneously.

Here is a screenshot of lighting in a cave:



Last but not least we've also spent some time on our build pipeline for Mac and Linux. We've already implemented it for Windows a long time ago, but it's important for us to not only focus on Windows during development, since some parts of the game code are platform dependent (especially the C++ part). So far, everything works as expected though.

Stay tuned for the next status update. Hopefully we will be able to get a playable demo ready soon™