Your Libra Pre-Alpha Milestone is Here, Pilots!
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Hi - I’m Noel from 8 Circuit Studios, and I’m looking forward to introducing you to the Project Genesis Pre-Alpha Libra milestone.
In this milestone, we have focused on introducing significant amounts of new content for you to enjoy, while also refining and improving existing features and systems in-game. With more tools, equipment, abilities, and systems at your disposal, your options for dominating your opponents in-game have never been better.
You’ve asked for optics to be added to the FPS arsenal and we agree that it’s about time we got some in your hands! Our first round of optics has been implemented in Libra, and you’ll now find an array of new iron sights, red dot sights, thermal scopes, and long-range sniper scopes on the majority of your favorite FPS weapons.
As with most of our content updates, optics are still very much a work in progress. However, the underlying systems are implemented to give you a chance to see how the optical options feel. While there’s still significant amounts of playbalance iteration, your feedback will help prioritize which features to focus on.
With the addition of the newly-added optics, a variety of magnification options has been allocated across the various optic designs, broadening your ability to strategize your approach in-game and further tailor your favorite playstyle. Whether you want to get up close and personal with your enemies, prefer to take high-precision shots from elevated positions in the distance, or mix it up somewhere in between, you now have multiple options in FPS weaponry for whatever playstyle you bring to the battlefield.
If you’re excited about the new FPS optics coming into the game, just wait until you see the first two of our brand-new weapon models in-game! Behind the scenes, we have been hard at work building out custom FPS weapon models exclusive to Project Genesis and the first two we’re getting into your hands are the Trio SMG and the Bozar .50 LMG.
We can’t wait to see you get in-game and destroy your opponents while wielding these toys of destruction outfitted with a new look & feel, and we are excited to continue to add even more new weapon models in the upcoming milestones so you can climb the leaderboards in style.
Also, in addition to the new FPS optics and models, we’ve added aim down sights (ADS) separate sensitivity options that are now available for you in Settings so you can fine tune your hip fire to ADS sensitivity values to make you even more lethal in combat.
So many of you have provided feedback related to our previous spawning system and have identified valid concerns with the ability for players to spawn camp opponents in Avatar form. In Libra, we are introducing the first of many upcoming refinements to the spawn system overall with the implementation of dynamic spawns for FPS environments.
The new dynamic spawning system uses a weighting system to grade all SpawnPoints based on factors including, distance from enemies & friendlies, line of sight to enemies, previous deaths nearby, and many others.
After factoring in all relevant data, the new spawning system chooses the highest rated spawn point and inserts the respawning Avatar in a manner that allows for more competitive integrity. When you respawn, you will now be able to get your bearings, choose a course of action, and jump into the fray.
Speed is king in so many ways, and your ability to chase down your opponents or rush behind cover to avoid incoming damage is critical. With that in mind, we have added Tactical Sprint to Avatar movement and Tactical Boost to Battle craft.
When layered on top of the Avatar sprint and Battle craft boost functions, these additions provide a temporary burst of extra speed so you can close the distance on an enemy dodging your output damage or rush away to safety when your health pool is critical.
Countermeasures for battle craft dogfights are one of the most requested features that we’ve received over the past milestones, and in Libra, we have added the first two countermeasures to enter the game.
These two counter measures are proof-of-concept to help us see if the pacing of battle craft combat is improved with these as active abilities. With your input, especially so if you’ve been inducted into the Test Pilot program, we’ll be able to ascertain how effective or useful these type of countermeasures are or if we need to expand the design in a different direction.
With the Flairs Ability and the Reflect Projectiles Ability, you will now be able to choose the ability that suits your playstyle the best and have additional protection from incoming attacks. Combined with the newly-implemented Battle craft Tactical Boost, your survivability potential in space combat is at an all-time high.
In their current state, these maps are considered “whitebox” maps - this simply means that although the map layout designs have gone through multiple iterations, they haven’t been outfitted with the textures and props you’re accustomed to seeing in the existing Project Genesis maps. This type of level “sketch” allows us to focus feedback on flow, sightlines, and other major moment-to-moment experiences within a map, and then leave the option to drastically reconfigure the level based on pertinent feedback.
However, we were too excited about seeing what you can do with these new combat spaces to leave them out so we’re giving you these experimental maps to do battle in! This is the perfect chance to try out the new FPS optics and weapon models in environments that are larger in scale than any of the current FPS spaces. Unlock access to these new environments by reaching level 10 in-game and use the newly-implemented filter option to explore the latest maps.
Target identification and target acquisition are critical components of competitive FPS gameplay, and we have made significant adjustments to many areas within the FPS environments to increase your visibility in combat.
With the implementation of Phase 1: Material Performance Pass as the first of several additional iterations, we have reduced the detail within the FPS combat spaces to increase visibility and optics performance. Favoring detail, color, and texturing in key spaces within the environment and reducing them in generalized areas ensures that you are more easily able to locate your opponents and focus the majority of your energy on your target acquisition and gun skills.
We know sound is a critical component for information, tactical strategy, and combat, and in Libra, we’ve made sweeping changes to the audio in-game. Occlusion, attenuation, movement, weapons, throwables, objectives, and match state have been updated to provide you the most relevant and high-priority information needed for you to be victorious in-game.
You’ll now notice in-game that actions being performed close to you are much louder than those in the distance, but you’ll still be able to hear far sounds at a reduced volume so you can stay informed about the greater battlespace.
In addition to a wide array of new sound effects in-game, dynamic new musical cues and transitions have been added to both immerse you in the heat of the action while also keeping you up-to-date on the status of the match or game.
Dominion is a game mode that you have expressed a love for in Project Genesis, but you’ve also provided valuable feedback to us for how to improve the gameplay in this mode. We’ve listened to your input, and in Libra, we’ve made significant changes to several aspects of Dominion.
In addition to refining and improving the in-game messaging regarding point capture and updating information within your HUD, we’ve also adjusted several key components of this game mode.
In response to your feedback regarding the average length of Dominion matches and expressing your desire for them to be longer, we’ve increased the total number of points needed to win from 1,000 to 2,000, doubling the average length of a match. We’ve also added team influence advantage when capturing points, allowing you to more rapidly capture any given point if more than one team member is present on the point during capture.
In addition to the features and improvements mentioned previously, we’ve also implemented a new backend system, allowing for countless options to reward you further in-game, further balanced FPS weapons and Battle craft movement, improved messaging in your HUD, added Battle craft ADS target locking, and much more.
We are grateful for your continued support of Project Genesis and the valuable contributions that each of you have made to the development of the game, and we can’t wait to see what you think of the new additions in this milestone update. See you in the lobby, Pilots!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/700240/Project_Genesis/
INTRODUCTION
Hi - I’m Noel from 8 Circuit Studios, and I’m looking forward to introducing you to the Project Genesis Pre-Alpha Libra milestone.
In this milestone, we have focused on introducing significant amounts of new content for you to enjoy, while also refining and improving existing features and systems in-game. With more tools, equipment, abilities, and systems at your disposal, your options for dominating your opponents in-game have never been better.
NEW FPS OPTICS
You’ve asked for optics to be added to the FPS arsenal and we agree that it’s about time we got some in your hands! Our first round of optics has been implemented in Libra, and you’ll now find an array of new iron sights, red dot sights, thermal scopes, and long-range sniper scopes on the majority of your favorite FPS weapons.
As with most of our content updates, optics are still very much a work in progress. However, the underlying systems are implemented to give you a chance to see how the optical options feel. While there’s still significant amounts of playbalance iteration, your feedback will help prioritize which features to focus on.
With the addition of the newly-added optics, a variety of magnification options has been allocated across the various optic designs, broadening your ability to strategize your approach in-game and further tailor your favorite playstyle. Whether you want to get up close and personal with your enemies, prefer to take high-precision shots from elevated positions in the distance, or mix it up somewhere in between, you now have multiple options in FPS weaponry for whatever playstyle you bring to the battlefield.
NEW FPS WEAPON MODELS
If you’re excited about the new FPS optics coming into the game, just wait until you see the first two of our brand-new weapon models in-game! Behind the scenes, we have been hard at work building out custom FPS weapon models exclusive to Project Genesis and the first two we’re getting into your hands are the Trio SMG and the Bozar .50 LMG.
We can’t wait to see you get in-game and destroy your opponents while wielding these toys of destruction outfitted with a new look & feel, and we are excited to continue to add even more new weapon models in the upcoming milestones so you can climb the leaderboards in style.
Also, in addition to the new FPS optics and models, we’ve added aim down sights (ADS) separate sensitivity options that are now available for you in Settings so you can fine tune your hip fire to ADS sensitivity values to make you even more lethal in combat.
NEW DYNAMIC FPS SPAWNING SYSTEM
So many of you have provided feedback related to our previous spawning system and have identified valid concerns with the ability for players to spawn camp opponents in Avatar form. In Libra, we are introducing the first of many upcoming refinements to the spawn system overall with the implementation of dynamic spawns for FPS environments.
The new dynamic spawning system uses a weighting system to grade all SpawnPoints based on factors including, distance from enemies & friendlies, line of sight to enemies, previous deaths nearby, and many others.
After factoring in all relevant data, the new spawning system chooses the highest rated spawn point and inserts the respawning Avatar in a manner that allows for more competitive integrity. When you respawn, you will now be able to get your bearings, choose a course of action, and jump into the fray.
AVATAR TACTICAL SPRINT & BATTLECRAFT TACTICAL BOOST
Speed is king in so many ways, and your ability to chase down your opponents or rush behind cover to avoid incoming damage is critical. With that in mind, we have added Tactical Sprint to Avatar movement and Tactical Boost to Battle craft.
When layered on top of the Avatar sprint and Battle craft boost functions, these additions provide a temporary burst of extra speed so you can close the distance on an enemy dodging your output damage or rush away to safety when your health pool is critical.
BATTLE CRAFT COUNTERMEASURES
Countermeasures for battle craft dogfights are one of the most requested features that we’ve received over the past milestones, and in Libra, we have added the first two countermeasures to enter the game.
These two counter measures are proof-of-concept to help us see if the pacing of battle craft combat is improved with these as active abilities. With your input, especially so if you’ve been inducted into the Test Pilot program, we’ll be able to ascertain how effective or useful these type of countermeasures are or if we need to expand the design in a different direction.
With the Flairs Ability and the Reflect Projectiles Ability, you will now be able to choose the ability that suits your playstyle the best and have additional protection from incoming attacks. Combined with the newly-implemented Battle craft Tactical Boost, your survivability potential in space combat is at an all-time high.
EXPERIMENTAL WHITEBOX MAPS
In their current state, these maps are considered “whitebox” maps - this simply means that although the map layout designs have gone through multiple iterations, they haven’t been outfitted with the textures and props you’re accustomed to seeing in the existing Project Genesis maps. This type of level “sketch” allows us to focus feedback on flow, sightlines, and other major moment-to-moment experiences within a map, and then leave the option to drastically reconfigure the level based on pertinent feedback.
However, we were too excited about seeing what you can do with these new combat spaces to leave them out so we’re giving you these experimental maps to do battle in! This is the perfect chance to try out the new FPS optics and weapon models in environments that are larger in scale than any of the current FPS spaces. Unlock access to these new environments by reaching level 10 in-game and use the newly-implemented filter option to explore the latest maps.
FPS ENVIRONMENT VISIBILITY UPDATES
Target identification and target acquisition are critical components of competitive FPS gameplay, and we have made significant adjustments to many areas within the FPS environments to increase your visibility in combat.
With the implementation of Phase 1: Material Performance Pass as the first of several additional iterations, we have reduced the detail within the FPS combat spaces to increase visibility and optics performance. Favoring detail, color, and texturing in key spaces within the environment and reducing them in generalized areas ensures that you are more easily able to locate your opponents and focus the majority of your energy on your target acquisition and gun skills.
MAJOR AUDIO UPDATES
We know sound is a critical component for information, tactical strategy, and combat, and in Libra, we’ve made sweeping changes to the audio in-game. Occlusion, attenuation, movement, weapons, throwables, objectives, and match state have been updated to provide you the most relevant and high-priority information needed for you to be victorious in-game.
You’ll now notice in-game that actions being performed close to you are much louder than those in the distance, but you’ll still be able to hear far sounds at a reduced volume so you can stay informed about the greater battlespace.
In addition to a wide array of new sound effects in-game, dynamic new musical cues and transitions have been added to both immerse you in the heat of the action while also keeping you up-to-date on the status of the match or game.
DOMINION GAME MODE UPDATES
Dominion is a game mode that you have expressed a love for in Project Genesis, but you’ve also provided valuable feedback to us for how to improve the gameplay in this mode. We’ve listened to your input, and in Libra, we’ve made significant changes to several aspects of Dominion.
In addition to refining and improving the in-game messaging regarding point capture and updating information within your HUD, we’ve also adjusted several key components of this game mode.
In response to your feedback regarding the average length of Dominion matches and expressing your desire for them to be longer, we’ve increased the total number of points needed to win from 1,000 to 2,000, doubling the average length of a match. We’ve also added team influence advantage when capturing points, allowing you to more rapidly capture any given point if more than one team member is present on the point during capture.
IN CONCLUSION
In addition to the features and improvements mentioned previously, we’ve also implemented a new backend system, allowing for countless options to reward you further in-game, further balanced FPS weapons and Battle craft movement, improved messaging in your HUD, added Battle craft ADS target locking, and much more.
We are grateful for your continued support of Project Genesis and the valuable contributions that each of you have made to the development of the game, and we can’t wait to see what you think of the new additions in this milestone update. See you in the lobby, Pilots!
FIXES
- Turned off Framerate Smoothing/FPS cap
- Disabled large Steam FX to reduce overdraw
- Fixed a crash that could occur when exiting the Game where MapMarkerComponents would be destroyed after the World had been torn down.
- Changed how some properties are Replicated on the VitalSystemsComponent to resolve an issue where AI do not get the Event for recharging their Health or Shield.
- Fixed an issue where Ship Lateral Movement would not cancel out when both Inputs for Left and Right were held at the same time
- Turned off shadow casting on background scene meshes
- Replaced AtmosphericFog with SkyAtmosphere component, all maps
- Fixed projectile collision on structures
- Mouse smoothing disabled by default
- Incendiary Grenade: Removed bounce, now detonates on collision at any axis
- Smoke Grenade: Fix to stop detonating in mid-air
- Fixed an issue where a replicated variable on the VitalSystemsComponent was being optimized out causing Shields to not regenerate when necessary
- Material optimizations for low quality setting, disabled superficial meshes for low quality setting
- Fixed a bug where changing of targets will stop the shield or healthbar from updating
- Major rework to the way Spread is handled in Blueprint to apply Multipliers based on Movement Type and Fire Rate over time to reduce inconsistencies in the final Spread value across Server and Client. Spread is now calculated in a predictable way, avoiding transient values that can be wildly inconsistent. This should hopefully help address the bug where Spread gets stuck in a tightened group after a period.
- Fixed an obscure issue where FPS Weapons would calculate out their NetSyncRandomSeed value to the point where it overflows to its maximum (undefined behavior) due to the nature of the sync mechanism. Modified the calculation to avoid this outcome.
- SecHoming health/shield update correctly when switching targets
- Fixed an issue where Health and Shields would fire their Replicated functions when their value hadn't changed, causing multiple subsequent events to fire inappropriately
- Fixed an issue where the Replicated function for Shields was not firing the `OnShieldsDepleted` event on Clients
- Patched hole in Onslaught FPS
- Removed empty match start notification showing behind initial spawn screen
- Setup functionality on the FPS Weapons for allowing a custom PutDownTime to be passed into a Weapon being switched out from context of the Weapon being switched in
- Modified the Melee Weapon to utilize the above functionality to change how quickly it gets pulled up for a more fast paced feel. Adjusted its BringUp and PutDown timings as well to better dial in a faster result.
- Moved the `MajorPlayerAchievements` notification layer to the KillFeed Widget so that they persist after the death of the controlled pawn
- Added in functionality to allow FPS Weapons to decide if they want to interrupt Sprint or not. Enabled by default. Set the Melee Weapon to not interrupt Sprint via the above functionality.
- Added GTL to firing range and training maps
- Fix for crash caused by missing ThirdPersonWeapon class on FPS Weapons
- Reworked the way that Placeables for Ships via FieldUpgrades manage their firing mechanism. Previously the Placeable would be Switched to as a Weapon and then naturally go through its firing sequence. Now they are manually setup and fired without being switched to. This is in effect designed to fix an issue where while firing another Ship Weapon, it would cause the Placeable to not be set down but also being put on Cooldown. This new method has the added benefit of decoupling Placeable usage from Primary/Secondary Weapon firing.
- Potential fix for crash caused when switching weapons and the weapon could not locate the PutDown function
- Turned off FPS weathering
- Modified the FPS Weapons to cause ADS Spread to kick in once ADS In has completed instead of as soon as ADS input is provided
https://store.steampowered.com/app/700240/Project_Genesis/