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[jamesprimate]

truer words have never been spoken. hopefully we'll have sone proper updates soon, pardon our silence as we crunch for a GDC build

I guess it's going to be whole map + music and sound?

yep! and quite a bit more than that too 

[Christian]

As someone who's been following this game like a hawk for years, it's awesome that there's so much I don't know about. I know most of the region names, but only what seven or eight actually look like. A bunch of the creatures, but there are a handful that haven't been revealed. Set piece rooms, secrets, story, all unknown

[jamesprimate]

thats the intention! the game has had so much media exposure for so long, which is awesome, but as a result there was real concern about it coming out and people just being like "yep, its still rain world, like we've seen in 345987 gifs". so we've been working super hard to subvert that and make sure the experience is fresh and surprising even for people who may have been following it closely.

does make for a boring devlog though im afraid :/

[oldblood]

thats the intention! the game has had so much media exposure for so long, which is awesome, but as a result there was real concern about it coming out and people just being like "yep, its still rain world, like we've seen in 345987 gifs". so we've been working super hard to subvert that and make sure the experience is fresh and surprising even for people who may have been following it closely.

does make for a boring devlog though im afraid :/

I understand that concern from a marketing/business stand-point but, honestly- think this game is going to rock the charts. This will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of players. I wouldn't lose much sleep over the game being over exposed. You guys have done a masterful job with the devlog and building hype that's maintained for years now... Best of luck on the final leg of development. It will all be worth it.

[Christian]

I hope this isn't releasing in June. As much as I'd like it to release in June since that's my b-day month, it's the same month as No Man's Sky and Obduction and I wouldn't want Rain World to be overshadowed.

[jamesprimate]

I hope this isn't releasing in June. As much as I'd like it to release in June since that's my b-day month, it's the same month as No Man's Sky and Obduction and I wouldn't want Rain World to be overshadowed.

june 2036 though

[tortoiseandcrow]

Completely of topic: James, because of you, I finally installed Dark Souls and gave it a proper shot. In addition to having a new favourite game, I also have a way of explaining the appeal of Rain World: it is the Dark Souls of running away.

[Christian]

Completely of topic: James, because of you, I finally installed Dark Souls and gave it a proper shot. In addition to having a new favourite game, I also have a way of explaining the appeal of Rain World: it is the Dark Souls of running away.

Wait, wait, wait, this is your first time playing Dark Souls?

Welcome to the wonderful world of Souls games

[tortoiseandcrow]

Yup! Weirdly enough, it was James talking about the sound design that got me intrigued the most. I was delighted to find that the sound design wasn't the only excellent thing about the game.

[jamesprimate]

Ahh this is such an interesting topic to discuss! For the record I also think there's some terrible sfx / sound design stuff here and there in DkS (mostly in the form of loops that are too short, much like the texture / tile repeat issues), but the music and the way the music is implemented is fantastic. Lots of space and subtlety. And some very good uses of NO music as well!

 It'll probably take you a while to get there, but let me know when you get to Ash Lake. That left a huge impression on me. Moonlight butterfly and Gwyn too. Some of the best videogame music moments imho.

[Jad]

does make for a boring devlog though im afraid :/

this devlog is one of the best devlogs of tigsource of all time, so I guess 'boring devlog' means amazing

[jamesprimate]

thanks! at this point were probably coasting on past successes though 

anyway, heres a recent clip i liked that illustrates the Scavenger's friend/foe system a little bit:

https://twitter.com/RainWorldGame/status/707027795449262080

this Scavenger has never encountered a Slugcat before, so is initially wary and moves to create distance. when slugcat approaches with a spear, the Scav draws its own spear anticipating a fight, but then as no action is taken by the player, it switches to a less lethal rock. when the vulture comes into view it changes things up a bit, as its considered a much more immediate threat, but you can still see the Scav targeting both the slugcat and the vulture with its spear as the moment to moment threat level changes. but then the slugcat spears the vulture behind the fleeing Scav and you can even see the moment of re-evaluation as the Scav decides "eh alright, youre cool" before they both escape underground as comrades.

a lot going on in 22 seconds!

[tortoiseandcrow]

That is so sweet! Code-wise, does the Scavenger actually know that the Slugcat hit the Vulture?

Ahh this is such an interesting topic to discuss! For the record I also think there's some terrible sfx / sound design stuff here and there in DkS (mostly in the form of loops that are too short, much like the texture / tile repeat issues), but the music and the way the music is implemented is fantastic. Lots of space and subtlety. And some very good uses of NO music as well!

It'll probably take you a while to get there, but let me know when you get to Ash Lake. That left a huge impression on me. Moonlight butterfly and Gwyn too. Some of the best videogame music moments imho.

Yes! The thing that struck me the most is how every area (with the exception of the Firelink Shrine so far - I just got to Anor Londo) has been without any music at all. The only exceptions are the boss battles. The stillness is such a breath of fresh air, in comparison to the musical business of so many contemporary games. It makes everything feel really lonely and sad (which is perfect), while drawing attention to the slightest sound as a potential cue for what is coming up. I'm also really fond of the unique ambiences of each environment (short though the loops may be). The constant wet hum of Darkroot Garden goes a long way to making the area feel much more dense and alive than it is. And the rumble and clatter of machinery and boulders in Sen's Fortress is fantastic.

It does really bug me how there are a number of sounds repeated with different sources, though. It's amusing to discover that giant mosquitoes make the same death groan as Hollows, but the fact that random torches have the exact same fire sound as bonfires (minus the hum, which is subtle enough to miss) has a big impact on gameplay. I get all excited about there being a bonfire nearby, only to realize that it is just the light fixtures.

Actually, this leads me to a question about Rain World - have you considered audio cues to help guide players to shelters?

[kennoley]

Is there a way to download the Alpha, ive been looking evreywhere

[gimymblert]

I can't believe you have been able to pull off this level of emergent AI

[jamesprimate]

physically present at GDC! look at us here doing Professional Videogame Development™:



"Hmmm yes, these smudged papers are fascinating."

A surprising amount of work can be done when people are actually in the same room, as opposed to literally the opposite sides of the planet! So far Joar has implemented a "wiggle system" to allow some possibility of escape from non-binary player death scenarios (when caught by sticky white lizard tongues, worm grass, etc etc); a "room attractiveness" tool that allows us to specify which rooms a creature might want to be in or avoid, allowing for us to fix problem areas, shape the player experience / difficulty curve a bit more, and setup "soft" creature set-pieces; we've finally put in region gate shelters, making the entire world map Totally Actually Playable, worked on placing the music, fixed SFX issues, solidified progression details, plus a million little improvements and bug-fixes of course. Stuff is really looking good 

Also we're prepping for Joars talk on Rain World's procedural animation for the GDC animation bootcamp. Nothing you loyal devlog peeps havent seen, but should be interesting to show it to an audience who may not be familiar with the game. The rest of the talks heavily skew AAA, so we will be the weirdos for sure. Nothing new there! So if you happen to be there, def come say HI and bail us out, haha.

[Christian]

Sounds like the game is coming together really well! Very exciting. I had actually downloaded the original movement prototype again a few weeks ago, and it's so impressive 1) how much the game has evolved and 2) yet how so much of the same personality was already there with the animations and slugcat

Will that GDC talk be available to watch online afterwards?

[Dinomaniak]

That looks awesome ! Best wishes to you guys at GDC ! and as soon as the video is on youtube, please link it here, I'm extremely anxious to understand the methods you chose and followed for the procedural generation - and whatnot .

[oahda]

pls make a sequel called drain world after this btw

[presidenthobbes]

When the game comes out will you be releasing the unsmudged spoiler papers?