The Era of the Minerva Milestone is Here, Pilots!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hi - I’m Noel from 8 Circuit Studios, and I’m looking forward to introducing you to the Project Genesis Pre-Alpha Minerva milestone.
In this milestone, we have focused on a massive audio update with sweeping changes across the board, unit allocated Ephemera to reward your actions in game more significantly, improved controller support with focus on better movement and the first iteration of aim assist, Battle craft weapon improvements with new target lead identifiers, & much more.
In the Libra milestone previously released, a ton of audio improvements were added in-game, but in Minera, we’re ramping up the auditory landscape even more.
A full audio pass on weapons and SFX has been introduced in Minerva, and expect to notice a huge array of new and improved sounds during gunfights and environmental interactions. Additionally, countless new voiceover audio has been recorded and hooked up in-game to not only provide a more immersive experience while you’re playing, but further provide more detailed event-based audio to give you critical information during matches.
One audio feature we’re extremely excited to be implementing in Minerva are footstep variations based on surfaces you are moving across while in Avatar form in the FPS environments. When in-game as an Avatar, you’ll now hear footstep audio specific to the surface material you and other Avatars around you are on, and footsteps will change in sound to accurately reflect the current surface.
This new addition not only introduces a more immersive audio experience in-game, in both PVP environments as well as the various environmental biome themes, but it also means that it adds another layer of complexity to tactics & strategy in multiplayer game modes. Hear loud, metallic footsteps around a corner? If you’ve honed your map & level knowledge you now have sound-based positional cues to inform your next engagement. Adopting a tactical flank strategy to surprise the enemy? You might need to plan your route more tactically to mask your maneuver.
We’re excited for you to experience these improvements & additions and can’t wait to hear what you think of them.
For those of you new to pre-alpha Project Genesis, in the recent past we introduced a Prestige system in-game with the purpose of providing incentives for players wanting to level their accounts and alongside the Prestige system we also introduced Ephemera wings to reward dedication to the grind.
When it was first introduced, this progression incentive model awarded Prestige after a player had leveled their account to 100 and continued to increase the Prestige level each additional 100 levels. Prestige levels 1-6 also rewarded players with progressive Ephemera wings that increased in visual flair each level. These wings, in addition to displaying in various menu and loadout screens, also displayed in enemy death cams when a Prestiged player secured a kill on an opponent, ensuring that the defeated player knew the victorious player’s dedication to the grind.
In the Minerva milestone, Ephemera wings have been shifted from account level allocation to unit allocation. This means that individual progression paths for earning wings are now available for each Avatar and Battle craft, allowing for both a customized approach to progression achievement and multiple progression paths.
Whether you are a player that prefers to utilize a singular or small pool of Avatars and Battle craft and simply want to grind those units for Ephemera, or you are a completionist that loves to level up every possible option in-game, the rewards for your in-game time and effort have been vastly increased.
Additionally, you now will see real-time major notifications both mid-match and during the After Action report to provide instant feedback on your progress towards your flair.
We've been putting a lot of effort into improving our controller support, and with the help of a ton of amazing community members that joined our Controller Strike Squad, we've been able to get high-skilled, experienced controller mains behind-the-scenes to provide testing, feedback, & suggestions for how to make the controller support feel as good as possible.
We're still hard at work iterating on the controller support, and while we have a ways to go to make it as good as it can be, we've been able to make a lot of good progress in the areas of aim assist, input re-mapping capabilities, sensitivity settings, and movement.
For those of you that main the sticks, we're doing our best to get you up and running as quickly as possible and rest assured, we're committed to making your experience in Project Genesis an awesome one!
In the Libra pre-alpha milestone update, we put the first 2 unique FPS weapon models into your hands in the form of the Trio SMG and the Bozar .50 LMG, and in Minerva, we're introducing our 3rd unique FPS weapon: the Bishop 12 pistol.
This secondary sidearm weapon features a total ammo capacity of 36, with 9 rounds available for use before reloading. The lightweight nature of the Bishop 12 allows for high mobility in FPS combat arenas, while the damage and accuracy range is extensive, allowing you to effectively engage on targets both near and far.
With a fairly quick fire rate and reload speed, the Bishop 12 is a versatile secondary weapon for a variety of playstyles, making it equally viable for both rushing and tactical playstyles. We can't wait to see you sport this new pistol model in-game.
Ensuring that Battle craft combat in Project Genesis gives you the fast-paced, intense gunfights that exist in the FPS environments has been an ongoing high-priority goal for our dev team, and in Minerva, we’ve worked hard to significantly improve space combat mechanics to get closer to achieving that goal.
One specific aspect of Battle craft combat engagements that the community has provided significant amounts of feedback to us has focused on a desire for increased VFX during dogfights. With the speed of the Battle craft movement geared towards a “knife fight in space” experience, players have expressed frustration with the feeling that sometimes they are unable to determine where their projectiles are visually as well as feeling as though they occasionally have difficulty figuring out where to aim to land shots on target.
In Minerva, we have ramped up the visual effects when doing damage to opponents in space combat, and we’ve also introduced a brand-new target lead indicator with the goal of not only providing visual feedback to you for your output damage, but also to empower your aim with increased target acquisition information.
With these newly-implemented tools in your hands, we’re excited to see the effects this will have in-game during high-intensity dogfights.
We've been hard at work planning new game modes to include in Project Genesis as we continue development, and we've made great progress on unique concepts that we are refining and iterating on, but we're excited to announce that one of the most requested game modes is now included in Minerva!
That's right...Team Deathmatch is now available for play!
Available for both Battle craft & Avatar combat, the new Team Deathmatch game mode currently utilizes maps and environments that will be familiar to veteran Pilots, and with the removal of objectives within these spaces you'll be free to focus solely on gunning down your opponents and leading your team to victory.
So hop in-game and let's see just how high of a bar you can set for the most kills in the new Team Deathmatch game mode.
In addition to the features mentioned above, countless bug fixes are included in Minerva, largely due to our amazing Test Pilots that have contributed hundreds of hours of testing and feedback, which we are immensely grateful for and we are thrilled to improve your experience in-game.
Speaking of in-game, you’ll definitely want to boot up and explore, because we may just have introduced a few other exciting new experimental additions that we’ll just leave for you to find!
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 Minerva milestone.
In this milestone, we have focused on a massive audio update with sweeping changes across the board, unit allocated Ephemera to reward your actions in game more significantly, improved controller support with focus on better movement and the first iteration of aim assist, Battle craft weapon improvements with new target lead identifiers, & much more.
MASSIVE AUDIO UPDATE
In the Libra milestone previously released, a ton of audio improvements were added in-game, but in Minera, we’re ramping up the auditory landscape even more.
A full audio pass on weapons and SFX has been introduced in Minerva, and expect to notice a huge array of new and improved sounds during gunfights and environmental interactions. Additionally, countless new voiceover audio has been recorded and hooked up in-game to not only provide a more immersive experience while you’re playing, but further provide more detailed event-based audio to give you critical information during matches.
One audio feature we’re extremely excited to be implementing in Minerva are footstep variations based on surfaces you are moving across while in Avatar form in the FPS environments. When in-game as an Avatar, you’ll now hear footstep audio specific to the surface material you and other Avatars around you are on, and footsteps will change in sound to accurately reflect the current surface.
This new addition not only introduces a more immersive audio experience in-game, in both PVP environments as well as the various environmental biome themes, but it also means that it adds another layer of complexity to tactics & strategy in multiplayer game modes. Hear loud, metallic footsteps around a corner? If you’ve honed your map & level knowledge you now have sound-based positional cues to inform your next engagement. Adopting a tactical flank strategy to surprise the enemy? You might need to plan your route more tactically to mask your maneuver.
We’re excited for you to experience these improvements & additions and can’t wait to hear what you think of them.
UNIT ALLOCATED EPHEMERA
For those of you new to pre-alpha Project Genesis, in the recent past we introduced a Prestige system in-game with the purpose of providing incentives for players wanting to level their accounts and alongside the Prestige system we also introduced Ephemera wings to reward dedication to the grind.
When it was first introduced, this progression incentive model awarded Prestige after a player had leveled their account to 100 and continued to increase the Prestige level each additional 100 levels. Prestige levels 1-6 also rewarded players with progressive Ephemera wings that increased in visual flair each level. These wings, in addition to displaying in various menu and loadout screens, also displayed in enemy death cams when a Prestiged player secured a kill on an opponent, ensuring that the defeated player knew the victorious player’s dedication to the grind.
In the Minerva milestone, Ephemera wings have been shifted from account level allocation to unit allocation. This means that individual progression paths for earning wings are now available for each Avatar and Battle craft, allowing for both a customized approach to progression achievement and multiple progression paths.
Whether you are a player that prefers to utilize a singular or small pool of Avatars and Battle craft and simply want to grind those units for Ephemera, or you are a completionist that loves to level up every possible option in-game, the rewards for your in-game time and effort have been vastly increased.
Additionally, you now will see real-time major notifications both mid-match and during the After Action report to provide instant feedback on your progress towards your flair.
IMPROVED CONTROLLER SUPPORT
We've been putting a lot of effort into improving our controller support, and with the help of a ton of amazing community members that joined our Controller Strike Squad, we've been able to get high-skilled, experienced controller mains behind-the-scenes to provide testing, feedback, & suggestions for how to make the controller support feel as good as possible.
We're still hard at work iterating on the controller support, and while we have a ways to go to make it as good as it can be, we've been able to make a lot of good progress in the areas of aim assist, input re-mapping capabilities, sensitivity settings, and movement.
For those of you that main the sticks, we're doing our best to get you up and running as quickly as possible and rest assured, we're committed to making your experience in Project Genesis an awesome one!
NEW FPS WEAPON MODEL
In the Libra pre-alpha milestone update, we put the first 2 unique FPS weapon models into your hands in the form of the Trio SMG and the Bozar .50 LMG, and in Minerva, we're introducing our 3rd unique FPS weapon: the Bishop 12 pistol.
This secondary sidearm weapon features a total ammo capacity of 36, with 9 rounds available for use before reloading. The lightweight nature of the Bishop 12 allows for high mobility in FPS combat arenas, while the damage and accuracy range is extensive, allowing you to effectively engage on targets both near and far.
With a fairly quick fire rate and reload speed, the Bishop 12 is a versatile secondary weapon for a variety of playstyles, making it equally viable for both rushing and tactical playstyles. We can't wait to see you sport this new pistol model in-game.
BATTLE CRAFT WEAPON REVISIONS
Ensuring that Battle craft combat in Project Genesis gives you the fast-paced, intense gunfights that exist in the FPS environments has been an ongoing high-priority goal for our dev team, and in Minerva, we’ve worked hard to significantly improve space combat mechanics to get closer to achieving that goal.
One specific aspect of Battle craft combat engagements that the community has provided significant amounts of feedback to us has focused on a desire for increased VFX during dogfights. With the speed of the Battle craft movement geared towards a “knife fight in space” experience, players have expressed frustration with the feeling that sometimes they are unable to determine where their projectiles are visually as well as feeling as though they occasionally have difficulty figuring out where to aim to land shots on target.
In Minerva, we have ramped up the visual effects when doing damage to opponents in space combat, and we’ve also introduced a brand-new target lead indicator with the goal of not only providing visual feedback to you for your output damage, but also to empower your aim with increased target acquisition information.
With these newly-implemented tools in your hands, we’re excited to see the effects this will have in-game during high-intensity dogfights.
TEAM DEATHMATCH GAME MODE
We've been hard at work planning new game modes to include in Project Genesis as we continue development, and we've made great progress on unique concepts that we are refining and iterating on, but we're excited to announce that one of the most requested game modes is now included in Minerva!
That's right...Team Deathmatch is now available for play!
Available for both Battle craft & Avatar combat, the new Team Deathmatch game mode currently utilizes maps and environments that will be familiar to veteran Pilots, and with the removal of objectives within these spaces you'll be free to focus solely on gunning down your opponents and leading your team to victory.
So hop in-game and let's see just how high of a bar you can set for the most kills in the new Team Deathmatch game mode.
CONCLUSION
In addition to the features mentioned above, countless bug fixes are included in Minerva, largely due to our amazing Test Pilots that have contributed hundreds of hours of testing and feedback, which we are immensely grateful for and we are thrilled to improve your experience in-game.
Speaking of in-game, you’ll definitely want to boot up and explore, because we may just have introduced a few other exciting new experimental additions that we’ll just leave for you to find!
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!
GENERAL/FIXES
- Audio: Updated FMOD Engine 2.02.10
- Audio: Main Thruster and Boost SFX for Light Ships (ADU, Spectre, Wraith)
- Audio: Breach Available & Unavailable SFX
- Audio: Invalid Placement SFX (native)
- Audio: Kingsguard new fire sfx; tweaking Autotac & Trio; footstep tweaking; canister explosion tweak
- Audio: Trio 3P Update; Autotac7 Low Ammo Adjustment
- Audio: ARs, LMG, DMR, Shotguns Rebalancing, Mixing, New Sounds Assigned Notifies Bus to SFX VCA
- Audio: Remixing 1P&3P Weapons; Headshot-Kill Confirm/Hitmarker
- Audio: R1; GTL; Hollywood - New Firing SFX, Rebalancing
- Audio: FPS rework
- Audio: Snapshots - Big, Small & Medium Room + Gun Tails
- Audio: 3P Firing Distance / Volume Remixing
- Audio: Bullet Whiz
- Audio: Material Impacts
- Audio: 3P Weapons Player Awareness - AR01; AR03, AR04, AR05, DMR01, DMR02
- Audio: Scoreboard Open/Close SFX
- Audio: New R1 Fire, Crouching SFX, New Grenade and Sticky Throw SFX
- Audio: Snapshot Tweaks; Kill Confirmed & Headshot SFX
- Audio: E1M1 Hollywood Firing
- Audio: Kill Confirmed
- Audio: Material Impact SFX
- Audio: Throwables Pickup SFX
- Audio: Healing Drone FPS & Ship - Deploy & Healing SFX
- Audio: Bomb Tick - Playing Faster SFX when time < 5 sec
- Audio: Ship Lockon Volume Tweak
- Audio: Ladder Footsteps
- Audio: Var Menu UI SFX
- Audio: Added Fan SFX To Dom Outpost
- Audio: Counter Measure SFX
- Audio Missile Lock and Incoming SFX
- Updated Weapon Racks (FPS training, FPS training DOM, Firing Range) to reflect current FPS weapons
- Fixed Optic Mismatch on 3P Weapons
- Fix for an issue where Sliding can be performed indefinitely
- Turned on AI Avatar Capsule Shadows
- ModeX Walk Speed in alignment to the other shotguns
- Replaced Ion/Gatling Projectiles with meshes and adjusted them
- Adjusted the swarm missiles, now they fire just one set of missiles instead of a burst, damage has been increased drastically, cooldown set to 3s, FX adjusted to look beefier
- Ship Weapon balance for Ion Repeater, Gatling, Rail Gun classes
- Made some significant bandwidth optimizations and CPU usage optimizations to Weapons, Ships and Projectiles. Enabled Push Model replication for the majority of replicated properties on the FPS and Ship Weapons, Ships themselves and Projectiles. Optimized the network bandwidth usage of ReplicatedMovement for Projectiles, after profiling them they were top spot of taking bandwidth, they are now well optimized out of being the biggest hog of bandwidth in certain circumstances.
- Introduced a new Component called `PGDamageable` which is used as an identifying component for FPS and Ship Weapons as to whether the Actor they are Hitting can actually take damage or not. This is designed as a major optimization to RPC calls up to the Server from the Client, previously we send any Hit to the Server regardless of whether or not it can be damaged, this leaves room for this optimization in that most of the time we will likely be hitting Actors that cannot even respond to taking damage. Added the `PGDamageable` component to all Actors and Blueprints that currently require damage handling capabilities to ensure they continue to react as they did before to FPS and Ship Weapon damage.
- Firing Range Perf Pass, Updated Capital Ship
- Fixed an issue where all grenade types had wildly inconsistent throw times, causing some to not be able to play appropriate FX
- Adjusted the Net Relevancy distance thresholds by double to improve Player visuals from a network perspective
- Setup an aggressive NetRelevancy optimization for Projectiles where by they will check for Occlusion from a NetConnection if within a certain percentage of the NetRelevancy Distance.Exposed properties to Blueprint such as `bUseNetOcclusion` which controls whether or not to use this new method.
`InnerNetOcclusionDistanceSquaredFactor` - This handles describing the percentage of NetRelevancyDistanceSquared that the Actor has to be within in order to calculate Occlusion for NetRelevancy. `MaxNetOcclusionHits` - How many occlusion hits must occur for it to be considered occluded for NetRelevancy. - Setup functionality that exposes events to Gameplay Abilities to notify them of when an attempted Activation had failed because the ability was still on Cooldown or it has no Uses left.
Added `ActivationFailedCooldownSound` and `ActivationFailedUsesSound` properties to Field Upgrades which trigger on the respective events that were exposed and explained above. This is to help with Player messaging so they understand that their Field Upgrade is not usable at that time without having to physically look at the UI element. - Removed RPC from all places where it was implemented for 100% appearance. Now we will be able to see when VitalSystemsComponent Hit/death events not trigger.
- Set the `bDied` replicated property on the VitalSystemsComponent to always notify the Client when it changes instead of the default behavior where it's only notified if its value is different. Hopefully this helps rectify an issue where AI Ships simply disappear.
- Tweaked certain ships that were not balanced appropriately according to the patterns followed by the other ships, adjusted their shields back to 100, adjusted regen, lowered heavy ship healths to 400, tweaked speeds
- Removed unnecessary properties being sent through some high frequency RPCs
- AI: Objective interactions without crowding and sinking into floors
https://store.steampowered.com/app/700240/Project_Genesis/
