April 2022

Disclaimer

As a reminder, devblogs will be available only for Patreon patrons until the next game update. After which, every devblog posted prior to this update release date will be publicly posted, one by one, on the game’s website.

v0.4.1 and v0.4.1.1

As planned, v0.4.1 was released, followed by the hotfix v0.4.1.1

Many bugs were fixed in both versions, such as AI getting stuck, Dedicated Server issues, Steam VR control schemes with Oculus and Vive hardware, as well as a lot of small various bugs.

See the full release lods here:
- v0.4.1: https://github.com/xavier150/MMVS/blob/main/ReleaseLog/v0.4.1_Alpha.md
- v0.4.1.1 (Hotfix) https://github.com/xavier150/MMVS/blob/main/ReleaseLog/v0.4.1.1_Alpha.md

Kinks options and start options

I have added options on the profile configuration page to select which kinks you wish to see or not.

The Game Master also has more control over Talas’ AI choices.

Two options were also added to the “Play” page:

One to enable every teleporter at the start of the game
One to begin the game with invulnerability

Useful, noticeably in VR when you cannot alternate between the Micro and Game Master mode as easily as on desktop. I advise against enabling these settings when discovering the game.

VFX

Regarding Unreal Engine’s update to version 5, I converted all outdated VFX files using Cascade towards Niagara. Cascade Particle Editor is the previous VFX tool used from UDK, but in UE5 this software is not compatible anymore. Thus, I need to start using Niagara VFX System that is the new tool in this regard.

Cascade : https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/RenderingAndGraphics/ParticleSystems/Cascade/
Niagara : https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.0/en-US/creating-visual-effects-in-niagara-for-unreal-engine/

I took the opportunity to add more VFX, especially small clouds of dust when Talas steps or stomps on the ground, or when Cobble walks.

Sweat was added to Talas’ talons. (It is possible to change the sweat amount in profile options)

Orbs now have particle effects. Other than that, not much else was added, but I am planning to use Niagara for other features, such as displaying player names in a more optimized way, or visual notifications for the Game Master.

Note: I have implemented this system too quickly in v0.4.1, causing issues regarding optimization and even creating memory leaks as particles weren’t deleted properly. V.0.4.1.1 fixed these issues.

Nano environnement on Talas sole

The new environment, Nano Sole, offers a scenario where the player is shrunken down to a 1/5000 scale on Talas’ paws.

This month, while working on v0.4.1, I added several elements such as teleporters and toboggans to help with exploration, as it is no easy task while being this small.

Other than that, the environment does not have a lot of gameplays. As said during the previous months, I would like to add more content to this scenario. A future update will focus on these additions.

Animation and glass floor shader

New small animation: Talas spits a micro into his hand. This allows Talas to not swallow a Micro, but also to prevent harm by catching it before it hits the floor.

Not really an animation, but part of it: I worked on shaders to ensure paw pads were flatted on the ground, but this time by taking the floor angle into account. This prevents rendering issues.

VR controller binding and orb model

I made a new pass on the VR controller Binding.

Regarding Steam VR users: if you made updates since the previous game version, you would need to reset your controller bindings. I fixed issues on Oculus and Vive hardware’s, but custom edits made on a previous version will not carry over to the new update.

I updated the orbs’ model and added particle effects, but I’m still not found of the result. I will very likely do more edits within the next updates.

Thank you for reading!