Lights Out.

Major Doom 3 vibes happening

Explore the Unknown, and sometimes, terrifying.

Decided to lean in a bit more on the “explore” factor and made many rooms darker overall. The capsules you see here are the enemies you fight, multiplied by the difficulty set in the settings.

I’m thinking of adding red, glowing eyes or something to make it a bit scarier. I plan to not lean too much on this aspect, though. This is only for the first chapter of the story.

PSA on the lighting.

The reflections on the gun is a bit off, I know, I’m fixing it right now. Anyway, that’s the update for today! Going to work on some more story content soon.

Apollo Accord: Gameplay and story updates, finally!

After multiple delays, I started working on expanding the next chapter of the story.

Story areas!

First, I made the mess hall area where the player goes to support their teammates and fight the boss. I’ve started noticing the similarities between my combat system and the combat systems of arena style shooters, so I intentionally made this area larger so the player has a lot of space to move around (foreshadowing)

I’ve finished the interaction system where the player can interact with in-game objects to trigger story changes, etc. Nothing too special to see here.

Major movement updates!

I made a GRAPPLING SYSTEM. It works by pressing right mouse button, and a circle shows up at where the target is. Simple, but it allows for more dynamic combat, and lets players take advantage of height.

So, simple stuff! I have a lot of smaller updates like showing damage dealt when shooting enemies and stuff like that packed into this update, be tuned for more!

Apollo Accord: Finishing up the main menu.

I was working on the SaveManager system, and thought, Hey, why don’t I just finish up the options menu using this interface?, and voila, 2 hours later I finished up the partially done main menu.

This update includes very minor changes to the game itself, only the main menu, so nothing to note of gameplay changes here…

I feel like the main menu looks pretty good and functional, the only complaint I have right now is the visibly low-poly moon (the moon is NOT supposed to look like that lol)

Also, I had to make a work-around for Unity’s default JSON utility not being compatible with Dictionary structures, made my own custom format instead which is MUCH more space efficient than JSON and suits my needs perfectly.

Well, what happened to the game itself?

Will continue working on the story and gameplay after this little tangent.

P.S. Tysm for the super star!!

APOLLO ACCORD: Spherical enemies, In-Game UI

Combat

Primitive enemy combat implementation, but it works. Stylizing will come later. The sensitivity’s a bit low, so I will have to investigate that. In addition, the enemies are all capsules atm, which is 100% temporary (obviously).

With this update I also started laying down the groundwork for the next step, which is a world space control panel for communicating with aliens. This is probably the most challenging part of this game, since I have very little experience in Unity’s Canvas system and I don’t like it too much.

APOLLO ACCORD: Official website is now open!

Minor update that isn’t directly linked to the game.

Made a website for the page advertising its promised features. Also added a news section that will bring more frequent updates to the project, based on GitHub commits.

Development Update

Things are going smoothly. Enemy combat need some reworking, but other than that I still have plenty of time to finish this game.

APOLLO ACCORD: Honing in Specific Parts

Working on improving the movement, creating scripts for future gameplay and changing the lighting to feel less intrusive.

Graphics

Graphically, this update isn’t much different compared to the previous update. I added localized post process volumes that make each area look different and cleaner. In addition, this allowed me to make some areas brighter, letting me do cool scenes like screenshot #1. (I wish they weren’t T-posing)

Scripting and Behaviour

In the real world, you’ll be fired from the military as soon as you point a rifle to an ally, in a safe place. This is why I implemented safe zones, where health recovers and the gun is holstered (pointed down in a M4’s case) so that they aren’t always pointing towards someone. Plus, I made use of the localized post process areas to only enable DOF in the command center, so the gun is out of focus. Take a look at screenshot #2 for reference.

Next Up: Storytime

I keep procastinating making the story, but I’ll do it this time. The foundations are all set and everything non-story related is pretty polished, such as scripts and movement. This is where I:

1. Implement enemies (and create assets) so that they block the player’s path to the tech module.
2. Implement a scene equipment interaction script/UI so the player can communicate to alien civilizations.
3. Implement a tutorial system so the player doesn’t get lost.

Phew! That’s quite a lot to finish. I guess I’ll start cracking at it then.

Quote of the Update:

Motivation is key. Enjoying what you’re doing is the best way to put in more effort and make a better product.

Apollo Accord: Refining graphics, improving gameplay, expanding the story.

Minor upgrades that span across all aspects of the game

Story
Wrote the script up to the point where the player interacts with the communication system. Improved the fading in/out of dialouge by removing the hardcoded wait times and making it into a integrated animation system. I also added the ability for the dialouge system to know when the player has exited the speaker’s range of influence, and quits speaking after.

Graphical changes
I think I hit peak with this one. Performance-wise, it’s not much different compared to earlier builds and it looks much more colorful and interesting. The blue undertones give it a much more colder and space-like look.

Next steps
Working on the assets, fleshing out boxes (theres alot of them) and making the communication system. I hope to be able to integrate procedural generation when making aliens, making for a fun gameplay loop.

Apollo Accord Minor Update

TL;DR: Minor updates that improve the UX

Focused on cleaning up the lighting and improving legibility.

• Removed excessive effects like film grain and motion blur that reduces clarity and bogs down performance.
• Added stylized backgrounds to the quest HUD so there’s more contrast between the scene and text. Colors are matched to the 70’s - 80’s retro kind of color scheme (I think it was called supergraphics) that I feel like represents the golden age of space.

Again, HDR screenshots look overly bright, explaining the blinding white of the screenshot attached.

Next Steps

I am going to work more on the story next, up until the player interacts with the aliens. After that, I’m going to implement gameplay mechanics for communicating with external civilizations, which will mark a departure from the first person camera for a bit.

Changing the project’s goals
Just a ramble on how the project is gonna be made for the future. First, graphically I’m going to try to achieve a matte, clean look since I don’t have access to tools (cameras, money for 3d model websites, etc) that would let me get high quality, realistic textures/models in order to maintain a uniform look throughout the game. Going to focus more on shaders and world details, and also adding more handmade models to the game.
Update on the project
Other than that, I improved the stability of dialouges now, they trigger consistently and don’t get confused when the player enters multiple dialouge trigger spaces.

PS
Had to go through exam stuff and formatting my computer because Asahi Linux messed it up hard. Working on recovering my data and reinstalling Unity, etc.

Apollo Accord Movement Update

TL;DR

• Crouching works!
• Snappier movement
• Leaning in the works; conflicts with mouse yaw.
• Raycasted bullets

Long Version

So I was somehow able to get crouching working. It’s more of a semi-crouch, since I haven’t implemented the humanoid animator yet and it works by moving the camera down. (Yikes)

In addition, I’m currently working on leaning, but it’s not really stable yet and conflicts with the mouse yaw. I think it’ll be fixed by the next devlog. ??

Last, I got a comment on the last devlog suggesting a raycast + physics based solution for bullets and implemented that.

[RANT] Character Animation Woes

I have ALOT to say about Unity’s Humanoid animation system.
Like, why do I have to go through the Animator thing that has wayy too much parameters, that override each other and create a jumbled mess??
And WHY actually WHY??? does the character dip through the floor when it’s idle??? Who in the world decided that humanoids should ignore all boundaries and start dipping through the floor when there’s nothing playing??? Why is the default animation like that??? I literally have no idea. [^1]

[^1]: I eventually got it working somehow. Really frustrating process.
Edit: I just noticed that the video looks really bright. That’s because I’m recording in SDR while the game is in HDR. In reality, the game looks much darker.

Very minor update.

I changed the weapon script so it fires physical bullets instead of raycasting. Shooting moveable stuff like chairs now interact with the bullet upon collision, and also bump into other objects in the process which creates a domino effect. Very cool to see.

In addition, I added a flash light to the underbarrel of the gun so players can navigate dark environments (which I predict will be a lot of)

Apollo Accord Minor Update

Finally finished the (temporary) control center.

• Control center made!
• Performance & Color Improvements
• Also detailed some other parts of the ship

The main idea was to have a bright, high-tech command & control center, so I took reference from a lot of NASA and Sci-Fi media and made this. It’s supposed to encompass the people inside it.
     
In addition, the control center has chairs that are moveable. Since this is in space, I turned down the gravity quite a lot so now they float when you bump into them, and settle onto the ground after some time. Feels more like a physics simulator now.

Next Steps

I’m going to start working on the storytelling next. While development has definitely slowed over the past week, I hope to maintain this pace, and accumulate small improvements over time to make this into something I’m proud of.

Apollo Accord Minor Update: Main Menu Changes

Added Features

• Added Earth, Mars and Moon (Luna) to the main menu’s background. (With animated clouds and rotation!)
       
• Added a options menu that allows the player to change the planet in the background, or set it to random on start.
       

Comments

     
Just a minor update. More settings to tweak coming soon.
     

Planned Features

• DLSS/FSR upscaler support
       
• Ability to change enemy difficulty
       
• Ability to change volume
       
  Probably delaying these features for more important stuff, like storybuilding, etc.

Apollo Accord Update #5: Curing Loneliness

The Premise & Changes

     
Decided I was lonely so I added some background characters and a “colleague” character to spice things up a bit. While not fully AI, these guys can say stuff and makes the atmosphere a bit more grounded.
     

• Added dudes talking military lingo
       
• Changed up the environment lighting a bit more so it looks more like a emergency and not just a house on fire.
       
• Assisted the player a bit by shining spotlights onto path signs. The guys also act as blockades to assist player navigation.
       

Next up: More environment building

• Expand the right side of the base a bit more
       
• Clean up messy geometry
       
• I STILL HAVEN’T WORKED ON THE MAIN MENU
       
• Detail the control center.
       
• Script systems for campaign flow & to make it a true RPG, a inventory system
       

Quote of the Update

     
Animating these guys is DEFINITELY something I am NOT looking forward to.
     

Apollo Accord Minor Update: HDRP

Changes

• Finished the dialouge thingy
       
• Changed rendering pipeline from URP to HDRP (mostly for volumetric effects)
  It was a pretty daunting task, and as you can see from the time I spent just changing the rendering pipeline, was painstakingly buggy.
       

Major Issues Solved

• Exposure being weird, everything was either white or black.
       
• Materials not being ported from URP to HDRP - I had to create them from scratch.
       
• Artifacting when backing lighting.
       
• The Earth disappearing?!?!?!
       
• Emissions and lighting combined made things really complicated. To make it easier to maintain, I decided to only use material emissions for baked environment lights and actual lights for dynamic lights.
       

Quote of the Update

     
It’s really hard to debug visually
     

Apollo Accord Update 4

What’s New

• Lots of animations for jumping and shooting, all smoothly transitioning between movement animations.
       
• More work on the environment. Showcasing the power of baked lighting.
       
• Optimizations to improve performance. ~150k vertices in total, around 200 FPS on my Mac rn.
       

Next Steps

• Expanding and detailing environment (mostly blocking, textures later)
       
• Finishing up the main menu
       
• Working on game characters & HUD
       
• Animating the character model
       
• DLSS? Maybe?
       

Quote of the Update

     
Don’t want to get close to C#
     

Let There Be Light!

Long Version

     
Small update onto the development of Apollo Accord. Implemented baked lighting to optmize performance early on. Had trouble deciding which light type to use (directional, spot, point, area) but ultimately I decided on a option E - emissive materials.
Basically, emissive materials make the material itself a light. The downside is that it’s only baked, so non-static objects, like the gun and player, isn’t affected by it. So in short, it makes non-static objects unlit.
     
To resolve this, I had to use Adaptive Probe Volumes, which are basically version 2 of Light Probes. These take data from baked lights to approximately light moving objects. In combination with reflection probes, these make great visuals - or at least visuals better than my last devlog, w/o sacrificing performance.
     

TL;DR: Baked lighting beautiful computer go brrr

Apollo Accord Update 3

What’s New

• Major refinements to UI. Found a way to combine in-world text (weapon ammo, etc) and on-screen text.
       
• Animations for walking, running and idling
       
• Wrote scripts for core gameplay systems, like weapon switching and character communication (putting alot of emphasis on the RPG mechanics this time around)
       

Next Steps

• Incremental changes over time for the shooting system.
       
• Getting started on the environment.
       
• Adding a core story.
       
• Finishing the UI/Load+Save systems
       

Thoughts

     
I’m trying to get things right the first time, so I’m putting a lot more work into my initial “draft” for the game. I’ll work on hud legibility, procedural recoil, and more afterwards, once the core gameplay mechanics are pretty tidy.
     

Quote of the Update

     
I really don’t like C#

Apollo Accord: Assets & Envisioning Roadmap

Summary

     
Started moving forward into the start screen. Thinking of a soldier on the ground w/ a M4 to their left, and then being helped up to fight the offensive. During that, the player listens to the main character speaking about the past. Then, FF a few days and the player is promoted to commander, where then the main gameplay starts.
     

New Changes

• Added spacesuit model (player)
       
• Added M4A1 model
       
• Scripted & animated scene
       
• Performance improvements here and there (player settings, using Vulkan, etc.)
       
• Early HDR Support