Finally, I have a new build to show off. I originally built this on Sunday and uploaded to GameJolt, but when trying to take some screenshots, I found a few bugs that required a patch.

Bug fixes

  • I converted the colliders for line-of-sight checks to use Capsule Colliders instead of Mesh Colliders. The Museum level had almost 30 MeshColliders for this, which really screwed up performance. The other levels were okay, but Capsules covered roughly the same area as the extruded box I was using. I really should have properly tested that sooner.
  • I also fixed a long-standing bug in the line-of-sight code that caused the spammers to spot the player as soon as they came within 5 metres – regardless of how bright the player’s surroundings are.
  • I removed the directional light from the Museum level. The component I was using to calculate its effect on NPCs and the player was ignoring the colliders on the upper levels of the museum, which resulted in the player being “in the moonlight” while indoors, in a windowless room. There’s only one part that’s outdoors in that level, and there’s other lights there anyway, so I didn’t even need it!
  • There was a note in the Inner City level which wasn’t assigned – this caused the game to freeze up when the player tried to read it. Game breaker!
  • The player’s compass in the Inner City level didn’t rotate properly. I had assigned it to the UI layer in an attempt to stop it from clipping through walls, but the camera that handles UI doesn’t rotate. I may add this back in the next build – I think the idea is sound, I just didn’t do it properly

New mechanics
As if I didn’t have scope creep already, I went and added more:

  • Bushes. Yes, you can hide in bushes now. They rustle if you move into them too quickly, so no running and diving into them!
  • Light switches. I should really have added this sooner, but I didn’t think of it until I started testing it last weekend. It meant changing the lighting from baked to real-time, but that does mean I can get shadows from NPCs, so it’s good.
  • Firewall controls now include a sound effect and light to make it clearer that they’ve been used.

Known issues

  • The SQLer doesn’t quite aim where the player’s looking. I am considering adding a secondary fire mechanism that would allow the player to aim down the sights.
  • Occlusion culling might be inaccurate in one or two levels. This results in buildings “disappearing” while you’re looking at them. I think I fixed this in the original build on Sunday, but this is present just in case.
  • The museum map doesn’t include the new garden on the upper floor.

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