Steam News14 April 20224y ago

DOGMAN 1.2 is on it's way

Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. This update is somewhat out of the blue, but I think it's much overdue.

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Repeated intro

Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. This update is somewhat out of the blue, but I think it's much overdue. As I looked back at DOGMAN, and the lessons I learned from my first game, I couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment when I had a friend play, or I watched someone play Highway 22. Something about the map didn't feel right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Well here I am, over a year later, with a new set of eyes for this kind of thing. After I released Chester (my new game on steam, you should definitely check it out), I realized how much I learned about level design, and game development as a whole. I became good friends with one of Chester's players, and he gave me some outstanding feedback not only on that game, but on DOGMAN as well. So with this renewed spark of interest, I'm here letting you know that I've finished a remaster of Highway 22, and wow, did it need one. Let's take a look at what to expect in the coming weeks.

What changed

0 fixes3 additions3 changes2 removals

Maps
Gameplay
UI and audio

addedHello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. This update is somewhat out of the blue, but I think it's much overdue. As I looked back at DOGMAN, and the lessons I learned from my first game, I couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment when I had a friend play, or I watched someone play Highway 22. Something about the map didn't feel right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Well here I am, over a year later, with a new set of eyes for this kind of thing. After I released Chester (my new game on steam, you should definitely check it out), I realized how much I learned about level design, and game development as a whole. I became good friends with one of Chester's players, and he gave me some outstanding feedback not only on that game, but on DOGMAN as well. So with this renewed spark of interest, I'm here letting you know that I've finished a remaster of Highway 22, and wow, did it need one. Let's take a look at what to expect in the coming weeks.

changedFirst off, the original Highway 22 was simply way too big. I'm not sure why I thought a level that large and empty would be fun for you guys, but please know you have my apology. The first thing I did was reduce the map's size by a whopping 75%. Highway 22 is now a little bigger than Amberg Industrial Park. This allowed me to make a more intense experience, a richer environment, and less open and boring areas. I understand that many of you do in fact like the large maps, so I hope this change doesn't worry you too much. I assure you, Highway 22 plays better than it ever has, and as it was originally intended to.

changedNext up is the fog. The bright white fog didn't look visually bad, but it didn't quite capture the horror feeling I was looking for. The color has been adjusted to a dark grey and the fog is a little less dense. I don't want you to get lost and run in circles with no hope of ever finding the trail again, this is why I made this change :)

removedNext, dynamic Dogman spawns have been removed. This was a feature that was cool, but dumb at the same time. The original Highway 22 was too big, and having more dogmen spawn as the player explored, and heightening the danger for the player after they put in so much time exploring just seems like a bad decision in retrospect.

removedNext up is performance. Highway 22 ran awful. The reason behind this was the foliage I chose to use on that map. The swamp trees looked cool, and differentiated Highway 22 from the other maps, but they were very performance intensive, and at the end of the day, I need to prioritize performance more for you guys. As a side note, one of the negative feedbacks this game has received mentioned a Dogman being stuck in a tree on this map lol. All swamp trees have been removed from the game, and replaced with conifer trees. The grass has been reworked and culling distances adjusted. During my play test on ultra settings, my frames did not drop under 100 fps (I'm using a RTX 2080 and Ryzen 7 5800x)

addedNext, radio parts have been relocated, providing a fresh experience for anyone who wishes to play the map once more, and a bright blue glow has been added to help with locating them.

First off, the original Highway 22 was simply way too big. I'm not sure why I thought a level that large and empty would be fun for you guys, but please know you have my apology. The first thing I did was reduce the map's size by a whopping 75%. Highway 22 is now a little bigger than Amberg Industrial Park. This allowed me to make a more intense experience, a richer environment, and less open and boring areas. I understand that many of you do in fact like the large maps, so I hope this change doesn't worry you too much. I assure you, Highway 22 plays better than it ever has, and as it was originally intended to.

Next up is the fog. The bright white fog didn't look visually bad, but it didn't quite capture the horror feeling I was looking for. The color has been adjusted to a dark grey and the fog is a little less dense. I don't want you to get lost and run in circles with no hope of ever finding the trail again, this is why I made this change :)

Next, dynamic Dogman spawns have been removed. This was a feature that was cool, but dumb at the same time. The original Highway 22 was too big, and having more dogmen spawn as the player explored, and heightening the danger for the player after they put in so much time exploring just seems like a bad decision in retrospect.

Next up is performance. Highway 22 ran awful. The reason behind this was the foliage I chose to use on that map. The swamp trees looked cool, and differentiated Highway 22 from the other maps, but they were very performance intensive, and at the end of the day, I need to prioritize performance more for you guys. As a side note, one of the negative feedbacks this game has received mentioned a Dogman being stuck in a tree on this map lol. All swamp trees have been removed from the game, and replaced with conifer trees. The grass has been reworked and culling distances adjusted. During my play test on ultra settings, my frames did not drop under 100 fps (I'm using a RTX 2080 and Ryzen 7 5800x)

Next, radio parts have been relocated, providing a fresh experience for anyone who wishes to play the map once more, and a bright blue glow has been added to help with locating them.

Next, the level select screen has been redesigned to look a little cleaner. I can't seem to get this right lol. Feel free to give me feedback on this change, I would greatly appreciate it.

Last, a couple QOL changes should be mentioned. I've added a small crosshair in the middle of the HUD, and also brought in a few new models for Highway 22. The Highway 22 intro has received audio changes, along with foliage updates to correlate with the update Highway 22 will be receiving.

No concrete release date on this yet, but the goal is within the next 2 weeks. Thank you all, I look forward to hearing your feedback on this update.

Until next time, Daniel, Developer of DOGMAN.

Source

Steam News / 14 April 2022

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