June Patch Notes

Welcome Sky Captains to the start of an incredible summer!

Odisi Games has been working diligently to get Sky Link ready for release, and there are some incredible improvements this month to share; so let's get to it!

To start out, our smallest map has been shown a lot of love this month. Center Arena is a cave system that is enclosed, and it was just a bit too small with the updated flight mode we implemented earlier this year. Originally it was made for a skirmish mode and then later became part of our Team Death Match rotation. We decide to expand the map, introducing 2 bases on the sides and creating more spaces for flanking. Now you can be much more strategic with your allies whenever you encounter this map! Another small change I feel really good about, the discord button in the game now works to connect you to the Sky Link discord!

[SKIRMISH]

We have been working with the enemy AI systems and have been experimenting with all the drones in skirmish. This has made skirmish a much more dangerous place, and much more like playing against real players in a death match. The Skirmish mode puts you into a map with a number of enemies and you can now watch how they react with each drones' special abilities. Really changed the mode this month!

[TEAM DEATH MATCH]

We are rethinking a few systems for a more personalized experience in Team Death Match. The maps are being synchronized to size more appropriately for the battles we want to see. Spawn points are being moved to prevent spawn camping. Health pack positions are moved this month in Fjords as well. Also fixed this month is the issue where players were sometimes initialized as spectators at the beginning of a match.

[SOCIAL]

The party system is looking better than ever, and several of the issues with its' original implementation have been corrected too. You can no longer accept invites while already queued up for a match. The invite button is now disabled when you have no one online to invite. The issue with names showing up in parties has been corrected as well in June. In testing the party system has been reliable and it's really great to be able to join your friends for a match. The ready button has been corrected for the party leader, where it used to require two clicks you can now ready in just one. Some changes are still pending as well; the ability to add friends from players in your matches is still on the road map so keep your eyes peeled!

[VFX]

In Visual Effects, our legacy system is being completely reworked using the newer Niagara system available in Unreal 5. And the effects have been stunning! We're seeing better explosions with less frames dropped, and able to really do a lot more with the new system.

A few of the drones have a barrier, and the effects for these barriers have been recreated this month. There's a small disc that's shot out and this disc creates the barrier. Definitely looks cool and it works a lot better with the first person view as well!

[SFX]

Sound really causes immersion, and Odisi has been working through the new Unreal 5's experimental HDR system. So far, it's incredible. The sniper shots ring out across the map, the gattling gun has a roll to the constant release of shells. There's a feeling in the air when you can hear the EMP from the cyclops as the lightning arcs across your ship.

Updates in June for Sound Effects include new Invisibility sounds, and a Stealth ability sound so you have instant confirmation when your skill goes into effect.

[PLAYTESTS]

During our Friday event we do beta testing; checking balance in game while learning to master the finer mechanics of flight. Sky Link: Freefire is difficult to master, though truly easy to pick up and just play.

Last Friday’s playtest was shared on Youtube live, and can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/live/RzjfD5FKu9o

We get together every Friday at 1 PM PST and Saturdays at 4:30 PM PST. It’d be awesome if you could stop by and check it out with us!

Join the Sky Link: Freefire discord at the link discord.gg/playskylink