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Pure Rock Crawling News

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Hi ! I hope you all had a great time while I was away ! Let's do some News ! I am back from my holidays on which I was gathering some assets for the game using photogrammetry. I had a great time but most importantly done some work !

So, first things first. I had a blast driving through USA, did a trip from LA to Moab and visited a few National Parks along the road. Then back to LA through SF, again visiting a few National Parks. Death Valley and Sequoia are by far my favorite, it was just so unreal to be there ! I got to say, the nature was just so incredible, definitely helped me recharge my batteries :)

During the trip I managed to visit Hell's Revenge trail in Moab, and also Moon Rocks near Reno. Visiting these locations let me get a sense of the scale and atmosphere and I must say, no video or photo could do this a justice, just so unimaginable for me :) Moreover, I was able to get a ride with a professional driver on Hell's Revenge, which was unforgettable ! All this experiences will definitely help me get more realism into the game !

As for the photogrammetry, it is turning out great ! There are few new things for me, like eg. shooting photos in the desert produce very harsh shadows that needs to be removed from the textures, and that's a mix of going through software and manual painting over. There is a ton of work ahead of me but the results so far are just plain awesome ! Here is a test pice that I put together:





I was also able to capture few textures, references of vegetation and inspirations. Everything to make this game look better and better ! Here is really nice rock detail:



Another key benefit of this trip was seeing everything in person, and oh my, the scale... I wasn't aware how big these kind of rock formations are ! Combining these experiences with photogrammetry assets will lead to environments that should be far more enjoyable and realistic. Here are a few photos from the trip:











As for the future of the game in general. I am having a lot of new ideas on how to change the game further and make it better. Sometimes this lead to stalls in development, because of having to redo or test something. These things often don't even get released but have to be done to develop things that does. I know, that some of you are frustrated about game taking too long to develop, or have questions about the direction its heading, but every time I delay an update it is just in a good will of delivering something interesting. Plan for now is to completely rethink the whole game and redo parts of it starting with a new map with all the new stuff that I've learned, finishing new car customization that I've been working on lately + many other smaller things. After that, new gameplay mechanics that won't rely on grinding.

Anyway, its good to be back ! Hope you will find this post interesting and clarifying few things ! Thank you for playing the game and being active on forum as it develops !



Stay tuned as there is a lot to come ! Take care !

UPDATE ! - the DRIVER



Hi ! Among many other things, this one was highly requested one. Finally Pure Rock Crawling gets a driver ! Also some news !

So, hit the road with the new driver character. As requested the driver reacts to the physics of the car. There are some bugs to be polished out like hands not being really tied to steering wheel but nothing major. Have fun and don't shake him to much :)



As for the news part of this update. I am going on a trip to USA to capture photogrammetry assets for the game - and also have a holiday. Tests that I have made with the landscapes/rocks in my home country were successful so I want to give it a try on a bigger scale ! Hopefully I will capture some parts of the real trails, keep in mind that I am rookie in photogrammetry ;)

I will be gone for one month, so next update will be delayed at least that.

Wish me luck and have fun during this time !!!

UPDATE 27.08.2019



Hi ! Quick update to patch few things. Mostly focusing on how the vehicle handles.
  • Increased friction of the rocks on the winter map, turned out that there was a problem related to how collisions are setup on the test maps' rocks. Now all good :)
  • I added experimental rescue function on the winter map, so when you hit rescue button vehicle will be re-spawned to location from 10 s ago.
  • There was a bug that caused you to earn only half of a credits on new challenges, fixed.
  • Vehicles' response to terrain is greatly improved, with the new solution for calculating engine load, cars now react properly when hitting obstacles and behave far more realistic while driving incline. All of that provides more fluid experience even when playing on keyboard.
  • I tweaked damping on the suspension so the ride is now much better and less bouncy.
  • Few improvements to how the tire flexes.
Have fun !

UPDATE 14.08.2019



Hi ! I hope you are all doing great ! This update finally brings some new stuff to the gameplay mechanics !

You can now test how I would like to shape the gameplay of this game in the future. Open world maps with challenges scattered all around. of course keep in mind that this test is more about the mechanics itself and not about trails, so be warned that these are pretty random right now.

Please report bugs and post suggestions in the thread about new gameplay mechanics in the forums.

To test the new stuff please head over to the Winter test map !



Few other updates updates:
  • improved tires collisions
  • fixed AA on compass UI
  • minor lighting changes on winter map
  • snow deformation optimization
As always, have fun !

UPDATE 19.07.2019



Hi ! Hope you are all having great summer ! Fixes, updates and future stuff, let's get to it !


Let's start with the highly requested one, engine sounds. I took some time to record my daily driver Fiesta, and a friends diesel Cherokee. I must say that sound recording is an art of its own. As an addition, there is sound for handbrake and gearbox now.

Next on the list is support for 2 separate input devices. I would call this more of an experimental feature but maybe helpful for people with wheels separate from pedals. If anybody happen to have Fanatec wheel, please let me know if this works with your setup now !

And a few minor updates:
  • fixed AA flickering in main menu and in certain situations
  • finish sound is now toned down
  • handbrake now stays engaged, second click is required to release
  • tires had a material that caused some issues with physics, now tire bounciness is simulated only through soft body


As for the future, a little teaser of the new photogrammetry assets that I have recently made:



Hope you like the changes ! Let me know in the comments. Take care !