Update 11-2-25

What's up guys, it's been a few months since the last time I posted an update on here, so I figured I'd take some time on this fine Sunday to share how development is going.

Keep in mind this is not a finished product and is in active development

Combat & AI Behavior

ADDED

• Friendly AI teammates that follow the player, engage enemies, and provide cover

• Escort and defend mission logic where friendly units protect pilots or intel

• AI ambush and wave spawning systems tied to objectives

• AI voice-line manager with callouts, chatter, and responses

• AI suppressive fire and burst-fire behavior

• Weighted enemy spawn logic and adjustable spawn distances

• Patrol bands that wander, relocate near players, and auto-respawn after wipes

• AI optimization tiers (Near/Mid/Far/Off) that scale updates based on distance

• AI despawn safety if they get stuck or can’t move

FIXED

• AI rotation lag and pathing issues when following players

• AI incorrectly detecting or ignoring enemies and cover

• AI bullets not damaging targets

• AI continuing to shoot hidden or dead targets

• Duplicate AI spawning on helicopters or objectives

• AI idle jitter, animation desyncs, and “floating” on uneven terrain

• Client/server replication for AI firing, reloading, and behavior sync

• Perception and reaction delays during combat

Objectives & Mission Systems

ADDED

• Full objective chain system

• New mission types:

  • Downed Pilot (SAR) – includes triage, escort, defend, and evacuation stages

  • Intel Recovery – retrieve intel, defend, and call helicopter extraction

  • Secure Bridge, Hold the Line, Riverbed, and Burn House defend-style objectives

  • Artillery Objective – fire and defend static gun positions

• Director-based mission controller that manages spawns, timers, and LZs

• Moving encounter “bubble” for escort stages that updates spawn locations ahead of the player

• Extraction helicopter logic with approach, landing, dust FX, and departure

• LZ (Landing Zone) markers with smoke and overlap triggers

• Post-mission summary screen showing completed objectives and XP earned

• Weighted random objective selection for replay variety

• Mission playlist planning system that automatically queues next objectives

FIXED

• Objective completion radius, overlap triggers, and progression timing

• Replication issues causing desynced objectives between host and clients

• Incorrect wave spawns, flare FX, or defend zones not appearing

• Player interactions failing when multiple players tried to use the same objective

• Compass markers and UI indicators not updating properly

CHANGED

• Improved objective transitions

• Adjusted AI wave distances for level scale and balance

Vehicles & Mounted Weapons

ADDED

• Mountable.50 Cal machine gun with rotation controls, camera switch, firing FX, tracers, and overheat effects

• Full mount/dismount interaction flow with replicated logic for all players

• 50 cal overheating system with smoke, cooldown visuals, and sounds

• Player-controlled patrol boat with multiple seats (driver, gunners, passengers)

• Boat wake system with dynamic V-shaped water ripples and speed-based scaling

• Engine audio component with smooth throttle response and layered idle/mid/high loops

FIXED

• Camera rotation, firing desync, and input loss after mounting

• Clients unable to dismount or still able to fire after leaving the gun

• Audio replication for mounted weapons and vehicles

• Incorrect recoil or rotation clamping on mounted turrets

• Wake artifacts and direction snapping in boat water FX

Visuals, Audio & FX

ADDED

• Bullet impact FX with dust, sparks, and debris

• Helicopter dust FX that react to ground distance

• Downed-state visual indicators (blood, vignette, heartbeat)

• Rain, wetness on clothing, and ambient weather layers

• Engine, gunfire, and environmental attenuation systems with realistic distance fade

• Reverb zones and ambience rings for jungle soundscapes

FIXED

• Sound attenuation, timing, and concurrency mismatches

• Helicopter FX not visible to clients

• Visual clipping or looping issues on smoke and dust particles

• Incorrect light bloom, glow, and post-process exposure

• Audio desync between host and clients during extractions or flyovers

• Over-bright main menu material and bloom artifacts

Weapons & Combat Mechanics

ADDED

• RPGs react to water and now trigger water explosion FX

• Ammo refill crates with limited uses and cooldowns.

FIXED

• Bullet collision detection and damage replication

• Negative ammo count bug

• Reload desync and magazine updates across network

• Incorrect weapon holding animations (e.g., M60 hand placement)

• Explosion FX scale, attenuation, and hit rotation alignment

CHANGED

• Simplified recoil for more natural look in first and third person

• Reworked weapon replication for minimal bandwidth usage

• Added cooldown smoothing and predictable overheating curve

Player Mechanics & Camera

ADDED

• Idle head and torso rotation for more lifelike third-person stance

• Downed state, revive UI, and medpack interaction

FIXED

• Sprinting, aiming, and prone transitions

• First-person camera misalignment and FOV issues

• Aiming offsets after mounting/dismounting

• Camera manager desyncs when clients accessed mounted guns

• Input lock issues after cutscenes or transitions

CHANGED

• Rebalanced recoil, sensitivity, and camera smoothing

• Refined fade transitions for cinematic events

UI, Lobby & Menus

ADDED

• In-game Settings Menu (graphics, performance, and audio sliders)

• Class and weapon selection system with replication in lobby

• Updated loading screen system

• Startup video intro and main menu scene with rain and ambient FX

• Post-game scoreboard and XP tally

• Compass and distance indicators with smoothed fade edges

• Improved on-screen interact widgets and radial progress rings

FIXED

• Compass rotation errors and rounding issues

• Loading screen overlays blocking input or not disappearing

• Lobby to game transitions not updating controller state

• Audio and visual elements failing to load in main menu

• Weapon choice not persisting across sessions

CHANGED

• Rebuilt main menu visuals (cloudy, rainy aesthetic)

• Simplified UI replication flow and fade transitions

Performance & Optimization

ADDED

• Full AI optimization system with distance-based updates and despawn logic

• Spawn jitter system to prevent CPU hitches when spawning large groups

• Deferred spawn initialization to reduce load spikes

• Tiered tick rate throttling for AI pathing and movement

FIXED

• Memory pressure from heavy foliage and overlapping sound volumes

• Helicopter replication and dust particle spam

• Long-standing GPU bottlenecks from shadow and Nanite passes

CHANGED

• Adjusted grass density and culling volumes for better framerate

• Dropped Lumen detail and GI quality for more stable performance

• Optimized shader compilation and PSO caching for packaged builds

Cinematics & Tools

FIXED

• Timing and sync issues for intros and extractions

• Camera fades and player input conflicts during cinematic transitions

• Audio desyncs on intro and extraction flyovers

Overall I'm pretty happy with where we're at. I have spent an ungodly amount of time optimizing certain aspects of the game after every single packaged build after running insights to identify bottlenecks and it's taking longer than I expected. BUT optimization is really important to me so I'm really doing my best to make sure it runs well. I have hit benchmark fps on multiple builds but there are always little problem that poke their head out.

There is a lot of tightening up I want to do and major systems I need to implement still (primarily progression, experience unlocks etc), but the core gameplay loop feels really good. I've tested and played it unbelievable amounts of hours online and it's been a pretty fun experience, although every time we test, I discover a new thing I need to work on. I feel like that's probably how this will go lol.

As a small team (literally myself, my older brother, and my younger brother who creates 3D assets), we've come a long way and I'm really proud of the project in its current state. I can't wait until the day I get to actually play with you guys on here!

One day at a time :)

Don't forget, I post in the discord weekly with updates if you're really interested in what I'm doing or have questions or ideas you want to share. I love chatting with ya'll and it's always cool to hear other perspectives. Hit the discord link that's attached to our page and say what's up!

Either way, I'll keep you guys in the loop!