Paint the Town Red News

Build 0.8.6.2 is out now and is the first version utilising FMOD Studio for music. We'll eventually transition all audio to using this system. This has allowed us to add support for more file formats like MP3 and Flac in Custom Music packs and should improve loading times for levels using custom music.

We're also testing the sound occlusion system we've been developing for Beneath in this version by making the music in the Biker Bar and Disco scenarios be 3D positional audio that will occlude based on where you are. This system will be used for more sounds in the future, but for now you should notice the music becoming muffled when it has more of the level to traverse to reach you even if your direct distance to it is short. You might notice this in the Disco boss room or Biker Bar basement.

We've also fixed a number of physics issues with weapons and ragdolled enemies from the last few builds that caused some collisions to be missed and ragdolls to have false positive collisions on other enemies and the environment with high velocities.

If you notice any new bugs in this version please let us know on the community Discord server and we'll try and get them fixed as soon as possible.



Version 0.8.6.2

• Changed all music to new fmod audio system
  
• Custom Music packs now also support MP3 and FLAC files
  
• Created a sound occlusion system to occlude sounds. Currently testing on music in Biker Bar and Disco Scenarios
  
• Improved loading time of levels using Custom Music packs
  
• Level Editor: Fixed Logic connection nodes not showing correctly after deselecting props
  
• Added smoothing collision to stairs in Biker Bar
  
• Fixed weapons going through walls and floor sometimes
  
• Fixed enemies getting hit by fast moving ragdoll enemies that don't actually hit them
  
• Fixed some modifiers still working in Workshop levels and when testing Level Editor levels
  
• Fixed bugs related to body parts exploding on colliding with environment at low velocities
  
• Fixed Boxer attack range
  
• Fixed weapons not using interpolation when knocked around
  
• Fixed blood from steak not applying to dynamic objects properly
  

Version 0.8.6.1

• Fixed lots of enemies targeting a single enemy on Pirate Cove in 0.8.6
  

Build 0.8.6 is out now and includes a variety of fixes as well as performance improvements, the ability to play the Pirate Cove at day or night in Standard or Challenge modes and multiplayer and other minor improvements detailed below.

With this build we've updated the engine version which allows for some of the improvements, but also could have some unforeseen issues. If you notice any new bugs in this version please let us know on the community Discord server and we'll try and get them fixed as soon as possible. It's also a great place to post suggestions and discuss the game with other players.

We'll likely have one or more small updates over the next couple of weeks to implement and test changes being implemented for Beneath so we can ensure they are all already working well for when Beneath is added.



Version 0.8.6

• Significantly improved weapon collision detection on enemies
  
• Added some more colour variation in the waves on the ocean water
  
• Added separate Scenario options for Day/Night Pirate Cove
  
• Pirate Cove Night playable in Multiplayer
  
• Decreased time before first frame draws when you open the game
  
• Made Splash screen skippable quicker
  
• Reduced chance that weapons pass through voxels to damage inner voxels
  
• Added decals for more liquid water particles
  
• Weapons will now stay in 'Thrown' state longer allowing them to damage enemies after rising and falling
  
• Reduced size of bathroom combat trigger in Disco
  
• Level Editor: Logic Zones can now be duplicated
  
• Level Editor: Fixed bug with decimal numbers not working in some input fields
  
• Fixed bug with weapon hold positions during animations on some weapons
  
• Fixed friend icons not showing in Arena
  
• Fixed some bottles swinging very fast after breaking
  
• Fixed bug constraining the mouse cursor to wrong area after resolution change
  
• Fixed thrown weapons going through ground and walls sometimes
  
• Fixed cigarette lighting not being based on smoking animation
  
• Fixed modifiers working on user created levels
  
• Fixed one handed enemies trying to pickup shields
  
• Fixed enemies not jumping between platforms
  
• Fixed Smite location for knocked out enemies
  
• Fixed Leaderboard displaying in menu when Sandbox selected
  
• Fixed a bug where severed body parts would disappear or appear at wrong position
  
• Fixed a bug where severed limbs could kill an enemy if falling through world
  
• Fixed a bug where some severed body parts would duplicate
  

Version 0.8.5.1

• Level Editor: Added additional float sanitize step to try and prevent integer rounding on property fields
  
• Fixed bug with friends not working in Level Editor/Workshop levels
  
• Fixed players weapon attack animations snapping position after attacking
  
• Fixed enemies attacking during reacting to arm cut, face clutching or shield stagger
  
• Fixed enemies breaking out of arm cut reaction if it triggers their combat state
  
• Fixed decimal numbers not working in Level Editor for some regions with workaround to engine bug
  

Build 0.8.5 is now available. This build was focused on rewriting much of the multiplayer code to greatly reduce bandwidth and packet counts to improve reliability, and on reworking enemy movement synchronisation to greatly improve the gameplay experience for client players.

If you have previously tried the multiplayer and had issues, please try again now and see if there is an improvement for you. The quality of the experience will still depend on your ping to the host and the quality of the hosts internet connection and PC, but the requirements are much lower than before.

In addition to these multiplayer fixes and improvements there are a number of improvements and fixes. Some cosmetic improvements like how weapons break and impact enemies and how the camera snaps when you're hit improve the feeling of combat. Other changes improve loading times like there being less time to load into the main menu or the caching of pathfinding data for Workshop levels after their first load. There are also some subtle gameplay improvements like how enemies won't change targets and turn to hit you if you attack one while they're mid-swing.

These list below doesn't cover all the changes in this build as there have been many minor things changed during development of Beneath that have not been captured.



Version 0.8.5

• Multiplayer: Improved overall networking performance, bandwidth usage and feel for clients
  
• Multiplayer: Static weapons now have collision for clients in Workshop levels
  
• Multiplayer: Added a death pose for players
  
• Multiplayer: Removed forced start timer in lobby
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed LOD not updating for enemies correctly for clients
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed packet order issue with initial player relation for enemies
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed issue with added Bouncers in Disco
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed enemies looking at player on clients when in pre-combat animations where they shouldn't
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed Logic Zones not triggering props and lights on client
  
• Multiplayer: Fixed Arena errors when ending a wave with a player dead
  
• Level Editor: Fixed default values not working on some props (e.g. Logic Timers)
  
• Workshop levels will now cache pathfinding data after the first load so subsequent reloads of the level will be faster
  
• Enemies no longer change direction to hit you mid-swing if you attack them while they're attacking someone else
  
• Increased distance enemies will stand from targets when attacking
  
• Level loading process changed to be faster
  
• Post processing effects now work in a layered system allowing for effects to better blend
  
• Reduced texture and audio memory usage
  
• Increased player camera snap on hits (we'll provide an intensity option in a later build)
  
• Menu loads in background now during splash screen
  
• Changed shader on Arena cloth to add subsurface scattering
  
• Made Arena Challenge 3 selectable from in-game level select menu
  
• Made 'Hard Hitter' modifier always KO enemies
  
• Added a Speedrun.dll to allow programs like LiveSplit to easily read relevant data from a DLL memory offset (we'll provide more explicit details on variables and memory offset addresses soon)
  
• Fixed Workshop levels capturing characters in reflection cubemaps
  
• Fixed enemies standing up when killed if they were in an animation like the fetal position
  
• Fixed enemies snapping to standing pose from pre-combat animation on knockdown
  
• Fixed animation bug with dancing characters in Workshop levels
  
• Fixed bug with initial player not getting set to correct position for Arena waves
  
• Fixed bug with enemies on Arena waves from 2 on not playing walking animation on entrance
  
• Fixed bug where some menu button actions could run multiple times
  
• Fixed rare bug preventing Arena wave transition
  
• Fixed stairs on Disco being difficult to walk up
  
• Fixed a bug locking UI options after backing out of selecting a player created level in the Multiplayer menu
  
• Fixed Esc key not closing player created level list in Multiplayer menu properly
  
• Fixed faucets and taps going crazy after getting knocked off
  
• Fixed bug causing some Modifiers to not be selectable
  
• Fixed bug preventing all weapons from being removed with No Weapons modifier
  
• Fixed katana and dagger being held backwards by enemies
  
• Fixed some clipping issues in Pirate Cove building
  
• Fixed Sandbox UI having the go to exit message
  

If you encounter any significant new issues please let us know on the community Discord server and we'll try and get them fixed as soon as possible.

We're currently working on an update that will be released in mid December that is focused on significantly improving the multiplayer performance and client experience, fixing major bugs and many other quality of life improvements. We'll detail some of the changes to expect below.



In very exciting news we have brought on a fantastic addition to the team: Jeff van Dyck. Jeff is a two-time BAFTA award winning Composer and Audio Director that we had the pleasure of working with around 10 years ago at Creative Assembly and will now be working with on the creation of music for Paint the Town Red. Jeff has been creating music and sounds for games since the original Need for Speed and FIFA titles and is well known for the audio direction and award winning soundtracks of the Total War game series.

At a minimum we were planning on having original music for Beneath, but now we'll be working with Jeff to create a complete soundtrack for Paint the Town Red including replacing much or all of the existing Scenario and Arena music with new original tracks. All existing music will still be available in the game for use in Workshop levels however.

We've been big fans of Jeff for a very long time and have no doubt his music will elevate not only Beneath, but Paint the Town Red as a whole. In addition to composing original music for the game, Jeff will also be assisting on sound effects going forward.



After some recent design improvements we have made based on our play-testing and with not having brought on a composer earlier in the process, we have a few factors affecting the release of Beneath.

We're currently adding new environmental weapons to bring the flow of combat more in line with the Scenarios and we're adjusting level length and enemy variety to get the urgency and difficulty of the game feeling right.

It will all be wrapped up early in 2019, but we might make the first areas of Beneath, including the first Boss, available earlier in a separate beta build for testing and feedback sooner. Keep an eye on the Paint the Town Red Discord server over the coming weeks for any information on that.



For this update we've brought forward some of the improvements and polish work we planned on doing early next year. We'll have a full changelist when the build is released, but below are some of the main changes we've already completed or are working on currently.

Multiplayer Packet and Backwidth Reduction

Depending on the hardware and bandwidth limitations of the host and client players, currently there can be issues with the number of packets being sent and received causing increasingly large de-syncs between players. We've reduced the number of packets being sent on average by a factor of 10. This should eliminate this as an issue.

The up and down steam bandwidth was already quite low, but due to the reduction in packets there are fewer bytes wasted on packet headers which reduces the bandwidth being transferred by around 5x.

This change will improve the consistency and reliability of the online multiplayer experience.

Improvements to Client Multiplayer Feel

The primary issue currently when playing the coop multiplayer as a client (i.e. a player that joins a Host's multiplayer game) is that the overall game experience does not feel close enough to playing singleplayer or as the game host. There are a number of causes for this and it usually relates to a delay in feedback on your interactions with enemies. We're shifting more authoritative control over elements of the game to the client when it makes sense to and will favour game feel over exact synchronisation of non-gameplay critical elements like effects and ragdolls.

This is also an important prerequisite step for the Beneath multiplayer.

Caching of Pathfinding Data for Workshop Levels

There are some truly massive levels that have been created using the Level Editor and with great size comes great load times.

By far the biggest contributor to load times on large levels is the generation of the navmesh for pathfinding. In this update when you load a Workshop level for the first time it will generate a navmesh cache file. This will then be used on subsequent loads instead of calculating the navmesh again.

On some of the largest levels the navmesh generation could take over 30 seconds and when loading these with the cache file, the navmesh generation should now take under 1/10th of a second.

We're also exploring the viability of creating and including the cache file when Workshop levels are uploaded so when you download a new level the first load will be just as fast as the following ones.

Speedrunning Support

We've put some time into developing the best way to support the Speedrunning community going forward. There is already a small speedrunning community for the game as it is now, but we believe with the release of Beneath and updates to the Challenge mode of the Scenarios, there will be a lot more opportunities for great speedruns.

To best support this community we now write out a ton of data useful for speedrunning into a separate DLL. This gives the data a consistent memory location as offsets from the DLL's loaded address. With tools like LiveSplit you will now easily be able to have an Auto Splitter that can do things like pause the timer during loads, immediately split on various conditions, etc. With how we're writing the data, the memory addresses should not need to be changed when Paint the Town Red updates.

We'll provide an example LiveSplit Auto Splitter file and information on the variables and memory addresses with this release and as we add to it in the future.


There are many more changes coming in this build and similar quality of life improvements will come to subsequent builds as we work to improve all unfinished elements of the game for release.

As we approach the completion of the Beneath mode it's getting harder to find things we want to show and talk about. Maintaining mystery so you can discover how to progress through the game while playing it is very important. Unfortunately since the time spent developing it has been very (very) long, it has meant we haven't been providing a lot of updates on progress and information about it. In this post we'll cover some of the elements of Beneath you'll encounter quite often, give some information on the back story and setting of Beneath and talk about our plans for release.





As you make your way through earlier areas of Beneath, you'll sometimes come across gated rooms that will seal you in once you enter them. They will not release you until you either succeed or fail the task they set out. If you complete a room you'll gain a significant amount of Gold, Energy and a selection of some of the more powerful weapons, but you'll risk taking damage or dying.

There are a few different types of Challenge Rooms, such as the one that requires you to kill all the enemies in the room without taking any damage.





For the most part the story of Beneath and of Paint the Town Red overall will be told implicitly through environmental details. When you start playing Beneath it is many years since the conflict you're in began. Your goal is to defeat the Elder Gods that rule the dimensions beneath the surface. A lesser one of these gods that came to the surface has already been killed before you begin. The heart an Elder God shatters into powerful shards when they are killed.



The humans use a shard to mutate the soldiers that get sent Beneath to give them powers. These are the characters you will play as and each 'run' you will be able to choose from a a selection of classes each with different powers. There are also many monsters that found shards and used them to become powerful beings known as Shard Lords. Defeating these elite enemies will allow you to amass these Shards of a Fallen God to spend on permanent upgrades that will increase your ability to progress through Beneath. These upgrades are separate from the other permanent upgrades you'll acquire using the Energy gained by defeating regular enemies.





As we've talked about previously, with the exception of some later areas there will be a shop in each level. These shops will sell weapons in exchange for Gold. Sometimes they might also contain a special item. Some shops will also contain a creature selling permanent upgrades in exchange for Energy. These permanent upgrade shops will also be available in the transition zones between areas.

Shops are shielded so that monsters cannot enter, giving you a temporary reprieve. Don't spend too long browsing though, as that will give you less time to avoid the Pursuer.



Pursuers are immortal entities created to cleanse the world beneath of invaders from above. After the surface war humans sent large forces underground, a front-line that slowly progressed towards the nearest Elder God. The creation of the Pursuers stopped this effort as they sucked the life from all human forces. In the earlier levels of Beneath you'll see the remains of this assault. Now only a single human (or up to 4 in co-op) can remain undetected beneath for a short length of time.

If you spend too long in one level you'll be warned the Pursuer has arrived. They are not corporeal, will move through walls and cannot be killed. If one arrives it is time to find an exit, especially if you're one of the slower classes.



We have all features in and working for Beneath, just some have placeholder art and sound effects. All levels of the mode are complete, as well as all weapons, enemies, upgrades and powers. 2 of the 4 bosses in the game still need to be finished as well as various UI elements, sound effects and music. We're also working on tweaking balance and progression. Recognizing we're in Early Access, some of this doesn't need to be 100% complete for an initial release of the mode. Once Beneath is fully completable with no major missing elements we'll release it. Within a month after that update we should have added the co-op multiplayer and finished anything that was incomplete.

There are obviously many improvements still to make to other areas of the game, especially bug fixes and multiplayer and performance improvements, and these will be coming after Beneath is released. There will be more Arena challenges featuring enemies and weapons from Beneath and another main Scenario. That will take us to 1.0 at which point the game will leave Early Access. We will continue to add more to the game after 1.0 with more Scenarios and content for the Level Editor planned.

Thank you all very much for your patience in waiting for Beneath. We haven't been able to reduce the scope at all as that would have diminished the mode to where all the time and effort we've put into it would have been wasted, so it has taken a long time to get done. We'll post an update once we've finished enough of what's left to be able to give a firm release date for the update.