Developer Diary: Titanic Report

Jose speaking -it's been a while since the last dev update and I thought it would be good to summarize recent progress with the game. So, without further ado, let's take a look:

GAME UPDATES

I've been talking to scientists from BIOS to schedule and define the work I'm going to do for the NSF grant. We are in the planning stages, but I'm going to tie in the grant with the Titanic so that we can do some interesting science in and around the wreck.

I really like the idea of showing the Titanic in context as the active, evolving part of a larger environment that it has, in no small way, helped create: Titanic the lifegiver, rather than Titanic, the dying grave. The wreck is literally full of life from inside out, not unlike a whalefall, and its decay, while sad from a certain point of view, is also a magnificent display of the forces of nature at play.

There's lots still to learn from Titanic, and because subROV is not a game about the Titanic, but a game about deep sea exploration with Titanic in it, I believe it is particularly well suited to this holistic approach. I am going to make a big effort so that every technology, tool, and experiment I develop for the Titanic dives can be used everywhere else, and in turn I will use all the available tools in the game to help you understand not just the wreck, but the creatures and elements around and above it.

STATE OF THE TITANIC

Steam post image General overview of the current state of the model

I'm close to finishing the Boat Deck all the way back to the Grand Staircase. Right this moment I'm working on the back of the first funnel, and I still have some work to do on the collapsed area around captain Smith's quarters. I have already finished all the "detailed assets" (see below), so most of what remains to do is shape debris and add cables.

Steam post image This second overview shows several key elements of my work so far: the telemotor and plaques, the davits, and the mast.

In contrast with the untextured overviews, here are two examples of detailed assets, fully finished:

These are all elements from the Boat Deck. Both the windows and the lamps open up so I can place them in the correct position and condition. I've also placed all the skidlights (the small portholes) in their correct positions, following several articles (e.g. Bob Read), and my own study of Magellan's scan.

WORK AHEAD

I have already been working a bit on the Grand Staircase and the collapsed areas beyond. I'm not going to say "it'll get easier" because it won't, but I can apply, and to a big extent reuse, lots of work I've already done, like the funnel structure or the fans. I won't aim to keep the accuracy I've achieved so far, but I believe I can get good results within a reasonable timeframe -end of summer at the most, since in September I must start working on the grant.

IN OTHER NEWS

-I've been granted a lifetime membership by the Deep Sea Society. This is an honor, and makes me very very happy 😄

-For those of you who might have been following my life and circumstances, things are still tough but I think they're getting better, e.g. the studio is in shambles but not flooding anymore. I'm almost afraid to be optimistic, though -I'll just keep my toes crossed since I need the fingers to work on the model.

-I have been streaming myself working (modeling) on Discord, and here on Steam too, sometimes for hours on end. I'm trying to get the streaming setup honed for when I really need it, and also I'm getting comfortable with livestreaming. It is boring work: sometimes there's a fancy step, like when I import a finished object to the big model, but most of the time I'm adjusting the position of tiny dots on screen. That said, if you want to know what it is that I'm doing, you can always find me on Discord, and sometimes you can see exactly where I'm at.

-I've uploaded the game's soundtrack to youtube (don't know if it's safe to post links, so I won't, but it should be easy to find). The soundtrack is still available here on Steam with a few bonus tracks, in case you want to support the game further.

That's all for now! Once more I would like to say thanks to everyone who's rooting for the game, and particularly I'd like to thank Cam, who's just landed on the server but has already made a few invaluable contributions. THANKS!

GET IN TOUCH

• From the game - press the Feedback button in the main or pause menus

• Through the forum right here on Steam

• Through our Discord Server,

• Through Bluesky,

• Through Twitter,

• Through mastodon,

• By email (info 'at'sqr3lab.com)

SUPPORT SUBROV

PS. If you enjoy subROV, please leave a review. It helps a lot!

I set up a Patreon too, but I don't know if I can post the link, so I'll leave it there 😅

Thank you for support - Happy subROVing! ⚓😄

Jose

edit: the Discord link was broken, but it's now fixed. Thank you Jen for pointing it out!