It has been a while since the previous update (though it seems like all of these updates end up being released far later than they are expected). Amidst college finals and graduation, I did not have as much time to work on this update and so progress has been extremely slow. However, there was some work that was done and I feel that I at least ought to share the progress made so far.

Upgrading to Unity 2022 LTS and HDRP

This update upgrades the game to a slightly newer version of Unity and also upgrades the game from the built-in render pipeline to the high definition render pipeline. With that, the game now can boast far better lighting and realistic colors that were not achievable before. There is a lot that was added and changed to the game as a result of this and work is still underway to add more. Currently, these changes are only in the Guantanamo Bay map, but they will be added to the other maps before the release of the update. Here is a quick rundown of everything that has been changed visually to the game.

Improved Lighting

Lighting is now much more realistic, with more natural colors and better atmospheric effects. In the past, the game had to rely on heavy usage of post-processing effects to even look passable, which made the game look severely washed out and overly exaggerated. With the improved lighting, many of those post-processing effects have either been removed or toned down providing much needed clarity to the game.

There is a layer of fog that hangs in the distance, the skybox now features volumetric clouds that not only affect sunlight, but actually move during runtime. There is also a dirty camera lens effect that appears when looking at sunlight.

Seriously Better Water

I am not joking with that subtitle. The water in the game went from being just a slightly transparent blue plane (that was removed in the last update completely) to being a highly detailed and dynamic water simulation, complete with waves, foam generation, and sunlight refraction. Work was done to squeeze as much performance benefits out of the water physics, while still keeping it looking high quality. You can also now go underwater. When this happens, you will have extremely limited visibility and will slowly take damage until you either resurface or drown (keep in mind, there is no swimming in the game).

I still plan on working with the water simulation to add ambient sounds to make maps feel less quiet and give more context to bodies of water. The San Juan and Las Guasimas maps will also use a slightly different version of HDRP’s water physics that are used for rivers rather than oceans.

Better Vegetation and Nature Assets

I plan on replacing some (definitely not all) nature assets with some of the nature assets seen in Unity’s HDRP nature demo and “Book of the Dead” demo. These assets are extremely high quality and will give the game much more visual fidelity that could not be achieved with the nature assets used before.

As seen in the Guantanamo Bay map, there are now 3D grass models that sway with the wind. Though a bit more performance demanding compared to the flat billboard textures used before, these grass models add much more believability to the environment. In addition, there are additional bushes and other ground foliage to add some more variety in the maps. On the subject of the ground, new ground textures are in place that are both more natural looking, higher resolution, and that blend together far better than the old textures did.

Most notable in the Guantanamo Bay map is the complete replacement of the rocks and beach cliffs with assets that blend with the ground better and that look visually more detailed. These rock assets also have better collision than the old, allowing players to climb these rock surfaces to get to higher ground. Before release, there will be a bunch of new trees placed to provide more cover and further improve the graphic quality.

What's Next?

There is still a lot that needs to be done in this next update. In addition to what has already been mentioned, I plan to create background environments to give better context and set-dressing to each map. Map borders will also be re-coded, depleting players health over time while out-of-bounds rather than just immediately killing the player.

I also plan to make a more robust graphics setting menu allowing players to customize the graphics settings to their liking (especially with the new 3D grass, allowing players to either completely disable or change the distance of how far grass is being rendered). As a stretch goal for this update, I would also like to finally reintroduce some new particle effects for gun shots and bullet holes as well as create bullet wounds when a soldier is hit.

There is a lot coming in this next update. I hope to get it out soon, but I can not make any promises at this point given everything going on in my personal life. I’ll be sure to make update posts whenever and as soon as possible. With only two more major updates left for Alpha 1, Unsung Heroes is getting much closer to Alpha 2 and the Steam release. Thank you all for your patience and I hope to provide much more exciting information in the future!

You can also view this devlog on the Venomic Games Website: https://venomicgames.com/?p=755