Hey guys, It's time for a brief progress update. AI Refactor I mentioned last time that this update will focus on a major under-the-hood overhaul of the AI and animation system in preparation for a new combat control sc
In this update2
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Full Ascent of Ashes update
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Repeated intro
Hey guys,
What changed
0 fixes7 additions1 change0 removals
Balance
Gameplay
UI and audio
Store
addedAI RefactorI mentioned last time that this update will focus on a major under-the-hood overhaul of the AI and animation system in preparation for a new combat control scheme. The AI portion of that refactor is now complete. It took a bit longer than originally expected, partly because it turned out there were more issues than anticipated, partly because of some personal health matters keeping me from dedicating as many hours as I would've liked over the last few weeks.
addedAI RefactorThe previous AI setup was a rather convoluted mess where AI agents would sometimes pull tasks from a behavior tree, sometimes other systems would push tasks directly on them and fight each other for control. Mental states acted as a magic second behavior tree that was completely hardcoded and could lock out other tasks through a complicated system of priority layers. Then we had incapacitation/unconsciousness on top of that adding yet another layer of complexity.
addedAI RefactorThe new system greatly simplifies control flow by unifying it all into the behavior tree. Mental states and player commands no longer get direct control over agent behavior, instead the agent internally evaluates its priorities to see what it should be doing. This resolves a lot of issues around task prioritization, like disallowing player-given commands while an agent is unconscious on the ground. It also moves many hardcoded structures into XML, making the whole arrangement significantly more modder-friendly.
addedAI RefactorThe immediate benefit in terms of gameplay is that it allows shift-queuing of tasks by the player and fixes a number of AI-related bugs. More importantly, it opens the way for a number of other improvements we'll be working on over the coming weeks, such as more advanced AI behaviors for animals and NPCs, stress-induced mental states resulting from low mood, and of course the new waypoint-based control scheme that will form the highlight of the update.
addedNew Outfits and ItemsIn addition to the refactor we're adding a few new backer-designed helmets and outfits, and one backer-designed hair style to the game. The helmets will appear as part of a new armor set in preparation for a larger expedition overhaul coming down the line.
addedNew Outfits and ItemsI'd like to take a moment to address a common complaint I've seen pop up repeatedly: people asking us why there's so much focus on backer outfits/UI/this or that feature and not [insert other thing here]. Realize that we're a two-man startup. I'm the only developer working full-time on this game, splitting my time between programming, game design and everything else that's needed to keep a business running. The only other permanent team member is our resident artist Ricky, working part-time on making concepts and models. Occasionally we bring in an extra contractor for specialty tasks. We're not some well-established AA studio backed by a small army of investors, with dozens of developers working in parallel to crank out new content every other week.
Ascent of Ashes changes
addedI mentioned last time that this update will focus on a major under-the-hood overhaul of the AI and animation system in preparation for a new combat control scheme. The AI portion of that refactor is now complete. It took a bit longer than originally expected, partly because it turned out there were more issues than anticipated, partly because of some personal health matters keeping me from dedicating as many hours as I would've liked over the last few weeks.
addedThe previous AI setup was a rather convoluted mess where AI agents would sometimes pull tasks from a behavior tree, sometimes other systems would push tasks directly on them and fight each other for control. Mental states acted as a magic second behavior tree that was completely hardcoded and could lock out other tasks through a complicated system of priority layers. Then we had incapacitation/unconsciousness on top of that adding yet another layer of complexity.
addedThe new system greatly simplifies control flow by unifying it all into the behavior tree. Mental states and player commands no longer get direct control over agent behavior, instead the agent internally evaluates its priorities to see what it should be doing. This resolves a lot of issues around task prioritization, like disallowing player-given commands while an agent is unconscious on the ground. It also moves many hardcoded structures into XML, making the whole arrangement significantly more modder-friendly.
addedThe immediate benefit in terms of gameplay is that it allows shift-queuing of tasks by the player and fixes a number of AI-related bugs. More importantly, it opens the way for a number of other improvements we'll be working on over the coming weeks, such as more advanced AI behaviors for animals and NPCs, stress-induced mental states resulting from low mood, and of course the new waypoint-based control scheme that will form the highlight of the update.
addedIn addition to the refactor we're adding a few new backer-designed helmets and outfits, and one backer-designed hair style to the game. The helmets will appear as part of a new armor set in preparation for a larger expedition overhaul coming down the line.
It's time for a brief progress update.
AI Refactor
I mentioned last time that this update will focus on a major under-the-hood overhaul of the AI and animation system in preparation for a new combat control scheme. The AI portion of that refactor is now complete. It took a bit longer than originally expected, partly because it turned out there were more issues than anticipated, partly because of some personal health matters keeping me from dedicating as many hours as I would've liked over the last few weeks.
The previous AI setup was a rather convoluted mess where AI agents would sometimes pull tasks from a behavior tree, sometimes other systems would push tasks directly on them and fight each other for control. Mental states acted as a magic second behavior tree that was completely hardcoded and could lock out other tasks through a complicated system of priority layers. Then we had incapacitation/unconsciousness on top of that adding yet another layer of complexity.
The new system greatly simplifies control flow by unifying it all into the behavior tree. Mental states and player commands no longer get direct control over agent behavior, instead the agent internally evaluates its priorities to see what it should be doing. This resolves a lot of issues around task prioritization, like disallowing player-given commands while an agent is unconscious on the ground. It also moves many hardcoded structures into XML, making the whole arrangement significantly more modder-friendly.
The immediate benefit in terms of gameplay is that it allows shift-queuing of tasks by the player and fixes a number of AI-related bugs. More importantly, it opens the way for a number of other improvements we'll be working on over the coming weeks, such as more advanced AI behaviors for animals and NPCs, stress-induced mental states resulting from low mood, and of course the new waypoint-based control scheme that will form the highlight of the update.
New Outfits and Items
In addition to the refactor we're adding a few new backer-designed helmets and outfits, and one backer-designed hair style to the game. The helmets will appear as part of a new armor set in preparation for a larger expedition overhaul coming down the line.
I'd like to take a moment to address a common complaint I've seen pop up repeatedly: people asking us why there's so much focus on backer outfits/UI/this or that feature and not [insert other thing here]. Realize that we're a two-man startup. I'm the only developer working full-time on this game, splitting my time between programming, game design and everything else that's needed to keep a business running. The only other permanent team member is our resident artist Ricky, working part-time on making concepts and models. Occasionally we bring in an extra contractor for specialty tasks. We're not some well-established AA studio backed by a small army of investors, with dozens of developers working in parallel to crank out new content every other week.
Typically I'll be focused on one gameplay feature at a time, while our artist creates new concepts or models (or works on backer designs when nothing else requires his immediate attention). Correspondingly, whatever PR material we release will revolve around that one singular feature. That doesn't mean we're deliberately neglecting other features or quality-of-life improvements, it just means we're a small team with limited bandwidth and have to address these things one at a time.
That’s it for today. Until next time, stay safe and keep surviving!
