Space Station Testing & Procedural Generation
Welcome to some more Star Citizen with a Summary of Around the Verse – Mocap, Mo’ Light looking at scramble races in space, procedural space station updates, a recent mocap shoot & a question about music in game from Spectrum.
The Evocati are getting ready to test OCS.
Fine Tuning for Scramble races is ongoing.
Lighting for space has previously been an issue, asteroids that are not getting any light can appear almost invisible sometimes and cause players to ram into them.
For Scramble Races in space this can be solved
They have tried multiple solutions but have settled on placing low intensity bulbs / lights around the Asteroid arenas, it looks like in space that Scramble Races will be confined to these zones.
Asteroids might still be hard to see, but they aren’t super difficult in these areas.
They are looking at building cube maps on the fly and global illumination as well for lighting space and dark areas in general. The idea is that they want a small amount of light everywhere. And then more specific lighting for certain areas.
Rest Stop Procedural tech has been evolving. It can generate various shaped externals and internals with different liveries/color schemes too.
They’ve been testing fulling docking inside rest stop hangars with Starfarers, the internal hangars are massive!
There has been various props and clothing updates for Lorville.
Hanging clothing, trashcans and more.
For Ships, onboard power systems have seen work.
They are making the power systems more consistent in how they react.
If you lose some of your power then, they can have systems turning off in a specific order based on needs & priorities. Even your MFDs require power.
You’ll want to manage your power systems manually sometimes to put more power in shields or weapons BUT also you can tweak your default system priorities too and what systems are vital if you are having power issues.
It allows you to have some micromanagement if you want it.
The Audio team has been working on the Karna assault rifle
And footstep weight distribution, each foot has it’s own audio identity as well as crouching / smaller steps are quieter.
You’ll still be able to focus your audio by looking at your own feet for example, this will allow you to hear them more clearly.
There was a recent (week long) mocap shoot in the UK at the start of Sept, for some Generic NPCs, that players may meet at landing zones. They capture audio & facial work simultaneously too then sync to motion capture with that.
The animation team then polish it & is put into the game engine.
This work will be used in 3.3 and 3.3.5 for the FPS AI and some of the Lorville NPCs.
As well as maybe something for CitizenCon.
There are less than 50 CitizenCon Tickets.
The winners of CIGs mocap competition were AR_Foghorn Kinshadow Vilos Hyndrosa1, I look forward to seeing their emotes at CitizenCon.
The sneak peek that I missed the other day in the newsletter was of a Cyclone in a Red Color Scheme.
There was a question on music & realism on Spectrum, should music be in game OR should it be more digetic:
“Ultimately, we are creating an experience. an immersive, cinematic experience. music is a key factor in that. ‘realism’, in this case, is a very loose concept when we’re looking to create a game that is compelling, that is emotive. Music is a very important part of that – ‘realistic’ or otherwise. everything in the game – weapons, footsteps, ships, doors opening and closing, the music – it is constructed, with the intention of making the game as good as it can be.
When we need to make a new sound for a weapon, for example, do we record any old gun and just throw the recording into the game? no. we spend many hours thinking and creating, taking sounds from different places, different sources, combining them together, crafting something that is bigger than the sum of its parts, and something that creates a feeling in the player. we deliberate over these sounds, we put time and effort and hard work into making them perfect for the game, perfect for the player, perfect for the experience.
The same goes for music. Pedro lovingly creates music that is intended to convey meaning and emotion to the player. It is informational. It is important. Of course we’ll be continuing to add more music to the game – it is a core part of the experience.
We understand and appreciate that not everyone will want music, and that is totally fine. As you say, we do include an option for the music to be turned down, or turned off, during gameplay. This will neither be enforced, nor the option removed, at any time in the future.”