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Drunk On Nectar (Steam EA)

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#1

~ Drunk On Nectar ~
Available on Steam as Early Access!

[CENTER]Experience Life in a 0.1 mm scale world where animals and plants are not props, but living growing entities with full biological lifecycles. Drunk On Nectar is a Nature Sandbox game about animals, plants and ecology. You can play as Creatures or Simulate ecosystems of your own in DoN.

Engineered at a micro-world scale to support creatures as small as 0.1 millimetre, DoN aspires to become the first full-fledged Nature game ever made.

 







http:\/\/www.drunkonnectar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Egg-Emergence-Small.gif





*An example of animal lifecycle depiction in Drunk On Nectar (Monarch Butterfly):*


http:\/\/www.drunkonnectar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DoN-Monarch-Lifecycle-Chart-Annotated-Smaller.jpg

Videos
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6c0GtCIB_w4

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2rgBjTuOLlI


**DoN's Technology Stack**[/CENTER]
 






To provide a glimpse of DoN's varied technology stack, below is DoN's 3D-pathfinding system (available for free on the [Unreal Marketplace](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/don-s-3d-pathfinding-flying-ai))  https://youtube.com/watch?v=6Tr_K551zvI


Dynamic Mesh Effects via mesh painting ([Unreal marketplace](https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/don-s-mesh-painting-with-paint-blob-collisions))

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MXrHfWu9vD0!
 




The "3D-pathfinding" and "Dynamic Mesh Effects" plugins are one one among many such systems powering the game, including:


  - Procedural Plant simulation (germination, growth, pollination, seed dispersal over 4 seasons)
  - "360 degree" Locomotion systems (for various creatures)
  - Random-map generation, In-game-Editor/Sandbox
  - Creature A.I. system for simulating intricate ecological relationships
  - and more!

Behind DoN’s Development

I’m Venugopalan Sreedharan, currently the sole developer of DoN. I started working on DoN in 2014 before which I enjoyed a career in enterprise software development.

Let me know if you have any questions about the game’s development, Steam experience or technology stack and I’ll be happy to answer!

Hope you enjoying checking out DoN :slight_smile:

#2

Good job, congratulations :slight_smile:

#3

Thank you Galeon :slight_smile:

Leaderboard support has been released! In the first “Creature Quest” you play as a female/male Jumping Spider voyaging across a deceptively placid lake to reach its mate on the other side!

–

Female Jumping Spider gameplay (with narration by me!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRbMM-jr27E

The Male Jumping Spider:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jMvwyHtAqlo

–

Dev notes:

Steam Leaderboard Integration Tips
Unreal’s Online Subsystem appears to have major limitations vis-a-vis Steam leaderboards, namely:

  1. The “Write To leaderboard” function always increments your previous score with the new one. So only works for “cumulative” scores.
  2. Fetching leaderboard entries needs knowledge of the “PlayerId” beforehand so this doesn’t work out for things like Fetching the Leaderboard Top 10.

The Solution:
Like many before me, I ended up using the Steam SDK directly. Unreal still handles async callbacks for you inside OnlineAsyncTaskManagerSteam.cpp but you’ll need to register the relevant callbacks on your own to get the most out of the SDK.

With your callbacks running on the async thread you need to be careful about things like invoking Blueprint delegates (I use a mechanism like TQueue to pass data back to the game thread).

Another interesting usecase is displaying avatars of users which are not in the local player’s Steam cache. Sometimes you’ll get a “question mark” image instead of the real thing and you need to listen for Steam’s “Persona State” callback to learn when Steam has finished downloading the avatar. All this leads to a maze of callbacks (coupled with blueprint delegates that need to be sent from the async thread, even more so!).

#4

How many months or years of work do you pna before it goes out of early access ?
Do you have some new ideas to implement like new insects ?
Does it supports Gamepad ?

#5

Hey Galeon! Official timeline is Q3-2017 for the game to leave EA. More content/creatures/etc are definitely planned, short-term and post-EA too. Going from insects/invertebrates all the way up to mammals is a looong road but one I’m keen on bringing forth :slight_smile:

Gamepad is supported in all modes except the Sandbox which has an RTS-style interface and currently needs a mouse. Right now gameplay-focused “Creature Quests” with leaderboards/multiplayer are being worked on.

Appreciate your interest btw Galeon! :slight_smile: Here’s a new pics after the game’s lighting patch from yesterday:

[screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Milkweed-Quest.jpg[/screenshot][screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Lighting-Landscape-Improvements.jpg[/screenshot][screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/New-Lighting-2.jpg[/screenshot]

#6

New videos and plenty of GIFs!

The ladybug/ladybird beetle is arriving to Drunk On Nectar in the next update!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UuUfzk_ZShA


Milkweed plants were released recently along with new Sandbox content (add caterpillars anywhere!)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UGWDWbOv7AA

Here’s a Ladybird announcement article that was highlighted by IndieDB on their news feed and twitter!

[screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-Flight-of-the-Ladybird-1-medium443.gif[/screenshot][screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Ladybird-GIF-3-1.gif[/screenshot]

http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Ladybird-GIF-2b.gif

Hope to share more when the upcoming Creature Quest (featuring Beetles) is out!

#7

In-Game Mesh Painting with Paint Blob Collisions is the latest piece of DoN’s technology stack being made available for the Unreal community:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qX8hwWsL6uQ

To learn more about this new plugin, visit the dedicated forum thread below!

https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?144528-DoN-s-Mesh-Painting-With-Paint-Blob-Collisions!

#8

It’s been a while since the last post, been busy with building the game :slight_smile:

Here are some new videos:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6c0GtCIB_w4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK-YqUKRtTk

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lAidAMGOk8I

And new creatures!

Ladybug beetles, Ants and Mealybugs were added to the game recently:
[screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Beetle-Beautty.jpg[/screenshot][screenshot]http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DoN-Ant.jpg[/screenshot]

Lot more stuff up ahead! :slight_smile:

#9

One of my fav games on here… Real-eye candy for the eyes…
As a game it has loads of potential beyond entertainment too.

#10

Thank you franktech :slight_smile: Appreciate the kind words!

Lifecycles/reproduction for the game’s current roster is being taken up now. Might have some utility beyond entertainment if done right, but gameplay first for now :stuck_out_tongue:

#11

To celebrate Drunk On Nectar’s first anniversary on Steam Early Access, DoN’s milestone “Lifecycles” update was released on 16th November 2017.

Built at an unprecedented 0.1 mm scale and buoyed by several new gameplay systems, this update depicts the Jumping Spider’s lifecycle with birth from an egg and growth up to the third instar.

Take a look for yourself! :slight_smile:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2rgBjTuOLlI

GIFs for your amusement:

Emergence from egg:
[SPOILER]
http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Egg-Emergence-Small.gif
[/SPOILER]

0.1 mm scale depiction: pollen-grains and tiny creatures!
[SPOILER]
http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Collecting-Eating-Stuff-small.gif
[/SPOILER]

Climbing mother’s back (with limb attachment and animation support!)
[SPOILER]
http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Climbing-Mothers-Back-Small.gif
[/SPOILER]

Anatomy based combat system (easier to see in the video than this gif)
[SPOILER]
http://www.drunkonnectar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Anatomy-Based-Combat-small.gif
[/SPOILER]

A series of updates is in the pipeline including Act 2, Act 3 of the Jumping Spider’s life-story followed by lifecycles for DoN’s entire roster! :slight_smile:

#12

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xvriGPUi7Mw
DoN’s Anatomy Combat System!
It’s limb-to-limb action quite literally! Check out DoN’s anatomy based combat system above which features precise bodypart driven combat and live damage visualization/feedback for players.

The System Explained
Each creature’s body is divided into major body parts; the primary limbs for locomotion, followed by the head, thorax, abdomen, etc (or in the case of a game with humans, it would be stomach, throat, forearm, knee, leg, foot, etc), A bodypart usually corresponds to multiple armature bones.

During combat, collision for individual limbs is accurately swept. Each body part has a unique potency in an offensive capacity (eg: sharp mandibles deal more damage) and in a defensive role (eg: Abdomens are a weak spot, players can target them for earning critical hits on their opponents!)

When two creatures engage in combat the relevant bodyparts are rendered separately and shown to the player when they’re struck and additional commentary is provided in some cases.

Permanent limb damage, etc is calculated by tracking damage dealt to individual limbs. (Eg: targeting the legs to limit the opponent’s mobility is possible!). Limb severance is not supported yet as supporting multiple permutations of severance (with the creature still walking, animating, etc) will have to be properly handled.


While we're at it, I forgot to post two previous videos from the game to this thread. Here they are!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2-UF-sIgfg


https://youtube.com/watch?v=DsY3LCPqbiY
#13

Good work so far, if you keep things scientifically accurate I could see this being used as a learning tool for kids/biology classes (as well as for entertainment). I might buy this eventually to help support you, really like the colors. LOL at the ant owning the grasshopper, oldschool wrestling windmill.

What version of UE4 are you in?

#14

Just a quick round up of recent updates!

Parasitic Wasps were added to the game this week!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=nG6gNeCLih8

Earlier, “Building with Silk” was added to the game.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=oPACKRoIPNw

This video makes extensive use of DoN’s Dynamic Mesh Effects (available on the Unreal Marketplace) for allowing players to place silk trails and being bale to push it up at will, to create the illusion of building a silk tent just like an invertebrate!