Smelogs Playground

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

Fog of War Visual Update

Greetings fellow gamers and game devs!

Today, I am excited to share with you some thrilling news about our latest update to the Fog of War system.

We recently released a new Trailer where you can see the new Fog of War in action.
You can already see some other changes and improvements we made which I will post about next.

As many of you may know, our previous Fog of War was already unique and innovative for the RTS genre. Unlike traditional approaches, which rely on a simple gray post-processing layer, our Fog of War utilized a volumetric shader to create a more immersive and realistic experience for players.

But now, with the help of Undertone FX, we have taken this system to a whole new level of awesomeness. Our new and improved Fog of War is even more dynamic and volumetric, creating a truly stunning and immersive environment for players to explore and conquer.

Also of great help was the Tutorial from Chris Zukowski and his blog post about Niagara Grid 2D Render Target.
Blog post here: Niagara Grid 2D feels like a superpower! Drawing Locations To a Render Target in Unreal 5.1 | Chris Zukowski Official Site

For the Niagra system we used HLSL code which is not something we are very familiar but with some help of ChatGPT we were able to achieve what we wanted.

If you have any questions or would like to know more please feel free to post them here.

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

New VFX and the challenges

Hello everyone!
Today, I’d like to share some insights about our recent upgrade to our Visual Effects, where we’ve added some exciting new elements.

Reasons

Technical

We made the transition from version 4.27.2 to Unreal Engine 5, which required us to address certain issues with the Niagara modules. Additionally, we converted the old Cascade particles to more efficient Niagara particles.

Quality

The decision to upgrade and improve our particles wasn’t solely driven by technical requirements; there was also a general feeling that our quality and standards needed a boost. Our previous particles just didn’t meet the level of excellence we strive for

How we did it

Given our resource constraints, commissioning custom particles wasn’t feasible. Instead, we scoured assets we already had and explored the free Unreal Monthly packages, as well as the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Surprisingly, we found some amazing assets that fit our needs perfectly. We did, of course, need to tweak them to ensure they worked seamlessly with our game and vision. The main adjustment involved isolating elements that should be colored based on the player’s color and binding them to user variables.

Now, let’s talk about the birds

We had a bird particle that we wanted to include in gameplay level to create a more lively environment with some fauna. However, we’ve temporarily disabled them due to their significant impact on performance. Rest assured, though, that we are absolutely in love with the idea and plan to revisit and completely revamp them in the future.

Our vision for the birds is to have them interact with the smelogs, playground, obstacles, palm trees, bushes, etc. They should fly away from smelogs form flocks and find suitable landing positions after a short period of time.

In our quest to achieve these improvements, we tried to use various assets that fit our requirements. However, we’re still actively exploring other possibilities to ensure the best possible experience for our players.

Endnotes

If you have any questions, feedback, or comments, please don’t hesitate to share them with us. Your input is invaluable in helping us continue to improve and provide the best experience for our players. We value your thoughts and ideas!

Additionally, if anyone in the community has expertise or suggestions regarding the birds, we’d greatly appreciate your assistance. Feel free to join the discussion and contribute your insights. Together, we can make our vision of a lively environment with interactive fauna a reality.

Thank you for being a part of our journey, and we look forward to hearing from you all!

[Zezkaii]

Wow, there is such a stark difference in quality between this 19-second clip and the trailer you posted about 2-weeks ago, unless I am imagining the difference.

If not, upgrading the particles was a solid and wise development choice by your team! Keep up the great work on Smelogs Playground; you are doing fantastic.

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

There is a couple of things we have changed since the trailer that boosted the visuals again.

After the Trailer, we added the CelShader and improved many VFX.
Some HUD improvements and the Healthbar now have a damage amount indicator.

Happy that you noticed
Thanks, we will keep improving

[SilverSalamander (Mazen "Salamander" Morgan)]

We have also made a huge improvement in gameplay performance, and we added Crash handling with BugSplat! and above all, we added EasyAntiCheat
@lkav will be posting about all that in the coming days!

Thanks so much for your reply & encouragement <3

[Zezkaii]

Thank you for the clarification, @lkav, and thanks to you @SilverSalamander, for the follow-up details! I can feel the excitement flowing from your text, which makes me more hyped for your game.

I hope you and your team have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to the next update; cheers!

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

BugSplat and Easy Anti-Cheat

Hello Gamers!
We are delighted to talk about some nifty enhancements to Smelogs Playground.

BugSplat

Say goodbye to those pesky bugs! We’ve now integrated BugSplat crash reporting into our system, complete with a webhook that seamlessly connects to your Discord channel. This feature has been a long-time aspiration, and we’re delighted to finally make it a reality. While BugSplat’s crash reporter may not win a beauty contest (at least not yet!), we’ve dedicated ourselves to prioritizing functionality over aesthetics. After all, we’d rather invest the time in ensuring it performs flawlessly than simply making it look pretty!

Easy Anti-Cheat

Back in the day, we were eyeing Easy Anti-Cheat before it joined Epic / EOS (Epic Online Service).
Now, not only is it free, but it has smoothly become a part of our arsenal. One aspect that resonates deeply with both myself and the entire team is the captivating startup sequence. As Smelogs Playground launches with the distinctive Easy Anti-Cheat splash, we can’t help but feel the rush that typically accompanies major industry players. It’s a nifty touch.

Endnotes

As always feel free to ask any question and comment any feedback you got

[Zezkaii]

The thumbnails your team has created for the Easy Anti-Cheat and Crash Reporter are truly outstanding!

It’s fantastic to see that you have taken the time to implement such useful features in advance. Your dedication to enhancing the user experience is undoubtedly commendable and will be vastly appreciated by the player base. Keep up the great work!

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

Improved HUD Visuals and more

Hello everyone!
I hope you’re all doing fantastic.
Okay, today is a bit different. I went with a special ChatGPT version of my draft.

New Look for the HUD

So, we noticed that Smelogs (you know, Units or Buildings) were kinda blending in because they all rocked the same background. But guess what? Once we kicked them out of that background, bam, major improvement!

And let’s talk about that HUD space – seriously, it was hogging up the place, especially the unit list. Even when you had just one lonely unit picked, it was all over the space.

Oh, and check this out – we decided to ditch the fancy rendering for the top dog unit at index 0. You know, the one with all the deets and value. We figured, why bother rendering it when we can save on performance? Plus, those new Smelog images? They’re rocking the scene with no backgrounds.

Oh yeah, we snagged some extra real estate for the minimap and spruced up obstacle readability. Sweet move, right?

Other Cool Stuff

Technology Tree

Okay, so the Tech Tree animation is nice, but there are two things that needed improvement. First off, it wasn’t clear that you could actually click on it. And secondly, matching up each point with the right Smelog? Total head-scratcher.

Chill Home Screen Vibes

Yo, check out the new digs on the home screen! We’ve stripped things down, gave 'em a fresh makeover. It’s all about those patch notes and the daily rewards now, looking all slick and easy on the eyes. And hey, just a heads up, we might still switch things up a bit – you know, keep it spicy.

Play Screen Level-Up

Guess what? We’ve gone and spruced up the play screen for both online showdowns and AI bouts. It’s like a whole new level of coolness. We’re talking tweaks and tunes to make your gaming experience top-notch. Get ready to rock and roll, 'cause we’re stepping up the game on the play screen!

Crystal Codex Update

We’ve polished things up! Now, it’s crystal clear that you’ve got to dive into these secrets from the outside in. Plus, we’ve turned up the transparency on the inner layers, making it all the more engaging. Stay curious

Fresh Off the Press: HUD and Main Menu Animations!

Hold onto your seats, 'cause this morning, we dropped a bombshell. We’ve rolled out some seriously slick construct animations for both the HUD and all those Main Menu screens. It’s like a visual feast for your eyes, making everything pop and come alive. Get in there and soak up the awesomeness – we’re all about taking things up a notch!

Wrapping Up: Looking Back at the Year

As we kicked off the year, we had our sights set on a bunch of visuals that were in line for a major makeover. Check out the list below – it’s all about that upgrade game, and we tackled things in order of priority:

Fog of War
HUD / UI
Visual Effects
Victory/Defeat Animation for Results
Ranks and Their Level-Up Animations

Hold tight for the juicy details about what we’ve got cooking for numbers 4 and 5 – we’re spilling the beans soon!

But here’s the kicker – we’re not stopping there. There’s a whole bunch of screens and UI elements that are on our hit list for some serious improvement. Keep those eyes peeled, 'cause we’re all about leveling up your experience!

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

We just posted on Twitter what the first version looked like

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

New Result Screens

Hey there, gaming pals!
We’ve got some awesome news to share with you all! We took a good hard look at our result screen and decided it needed a serious makeover to match the rest of the game’s awesomeness.

The Design Adventure

So, here’s the scoop on how we went about it:

Design Document

We started things off by cooking up a design document that covered every nook and cranny of our grand plan.

Research Time

We went on a bit of a research spree, checking out all sorts of cool (and not-so-cool) stuff to get inspiration.

Concept

After that, we came up with a design concept that ticked all the boxes of what we wanted.

Our main goal was to make sure everyone could easily see who the winners were and the colors they were rocking. You know how in some RTS games, it’s like a puzzle figuring out who won? Well, we’re putting an end to that confusion with our new result screen.

The Creative Process

Now, let’s talk tech. We had a couple of options on how to make this magic happen:

Classic 2D Style

We thought about going the classic route with 2D magic using UMG materials or videos.

Spicing It Up with 3D

Or we could go all out with some 3D wizardry – creating animated meshes that play nice with UMG.

Outsourcing seemed like a possibility, but boy, was it pricey! So, here’s what we did instead: we stumbled upon this super cool asset in the Unreal Engine marketplace – some awesome banners. We tweaked and tuned them to fit our vibe, and we threw in some gold ribbons for that extra flair.

We created two sets of videos – one for sweet victories and one for those tough losses. We needed to make sure these videos work with alpha channels and can be synced up.

Video set
Video 1: Black and white mask area so we can color it to represent the player’s color.
Video 2: The rest of the result animation.

The Grand Finale

And now, the big reveal! We’re thrilled to introduce our wallet-friendly solution that packs a punch. The result screen is rocking our vision. But hey, that’s not all. We’ve got plans to toss in some celebratory particle fun to crank up the excitement of a victory even more!

We’re all ears – if you’ve got questions, thoughts, or just wanna shoot the breeze about it, spill the beans! Your feedback means the world to us.

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

A side-by-side comparison of old to new can be seen here

[Zezkaii]

I’m a little strange, as I adore both the old and new victory screen animations. I think it would be good to be able to choose between the two or even have it rotate out per game. Also, your team is definitely not messing around, as each overhaul iteration of your UI and game mechanics is improving wonderfully! I love that passion and drive from your team; please keep it up, everyone.

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

That’s an interesting idea to have some variations in the result screens
Thanks

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

New Stunning Up-Rank Animations!

Hello there, wonderful community!

Today, we’re excited to share some fantastic news about our Ranks and their brand-new up-rank animations. Despite facing budget constraints that prevented us from creating new Result animations, we’ve harnessed our creativity and resourcefulness to bring you fresh rank images and stunning rank-up animations.

The Creative Journey

Research and Discovery

Our adventure began with a thorough search for high-quality assets that we could adapt and breathe life into. We scoured far and wide, determined to find the perfect pieces to elevate our ranks.

The Art of Experimentation

Armed with some fabulous 2D vector assets, we embarked on a journey of experimentation. Our vision was to make these rank-ups truly shine. First on our checklist was a transparent background which we later on decided against. We wanted it to feel grand and immersive, so we decided to create them as dynamic sequences that would fill your entire screen. It was a daring choice, but it allowed us to make the experience even more captivating.

Refinement at Its Finest

With our foundation set, we set to work on refining every detail. Backgrounds, animations, and sound timing went through multiple rounds of fine-tuning until we achieved a result that left us beaming with pride.

In Conclusion

Once again, we’ve managed to deliver a cost-efficient solution that we absolutely adore. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do! If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts. We’re all ears and eager to make your experience even better.

[Zezkaii]

It’s no problem at all; I’m glad I could offer some helpful insight. How about we make my rank permanently grand master, as I’m not the best when it comes to competitive gameplay, and we call it even!

I’m only kidding! () Your ranking emblems look fabulous; your drive for success allowed for your vision of these ranking emblems to shine through brilliantly. Amazing work! Will the top 500 players have a unique emblem as well?

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

We can maybe give you a special avatar image that is only handed out by devs. (Like the Valorant Riot gun buddy)

At the moment we haven’t planned for only the top number amount of players special rank.

[Zezkaii]

Hahaha, while I would most certainly appreciate a unique avatar image, I was only kidding about getting special privileges to your game.

Thank you for the offer, however! I hope you and your team are preparing for a fantastic weekend; cheers!

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

Spectator Redesign

Hello, everyone!
Our Spectator feature recently underwent a much-needed upgrade to enhance both its visual appeal and information presentation. The Spectator feature is also integral to our replay system, making this investment a two-fold improvement. We believe that a robust Spectator and replay system are essential for the game’s success.

To achieve this, we studied how other RTS games display information for spectators and adapted those insights to Smelogs Playground. Here are some of the key improvements we focused on for the new Spectator

• Team Organization: Players are now grouped by teams, making it easy to identify team dynamics and related information.
• Streamlined UI: We’ve created a clean and unobtrusive user interface that doesn’t overshadow the gameplay. We understand that gameplay is the priority.
• Enhanced Information: We’ve added more data and information, with an organized overview and subcategories, ensuring a simple and neat display.

Additionally, we’re exploring the possibility of introducing analyst and caster tools that will allow them to interact with the Playground during broadcasts, further enhancing the spectator experience.

Endnotes

Looking ahead, we’re also planning UI improvements for the Post-Match screen and a new Custom Game design.

We value your input and would love to hear your thoughts.

Your feedback is essential in our ongoing efforts to improve your gaming experience.

[lkav (NiftySimon)]

Custom Game Redesign

Video

Hello everyone!
Over the past few weeks, we’ve put a lot of effort into improving the new Custom Game screen. Typically, 2-3 team members are involved in Smelogs Playground at any given time.

@SilverSalamander has mainly focused on the functionality network and RPC logic of the new Screen, while I handled the initial draft, design, and screen creation in UMG. After sharing the draft in our Discord’s dev-only channel, I worked on the UI graphics and most of the UI logic. Fun fact: a significant portion of this was done during train rides to and from Gamescom.

A major part of my work involved creating subwidgets and Custom Game settings, complete with filters, search functionality, and the save/load switch. To ensure a smooth transition and minimize issues, I created the new Custom Game screen within the same widget without altering any of the old UMG elements. This maintains the menu flow, and we can switch between the two versions and refer to the old code as needed.

After that, @SilverSalamander took over and added new features, including spectator mode, handling empty slots, and changing how colors are selected. We also addressed numerous edge cases, like canceling the starting countdown when game mode settings change or when players switch teams or colors.

While some edge cases still need attention, we’ve conducted successful online playtesting sessions and are satisfied with the results.

The new Custom Game screen offers several improvements in features, ease of use, and aesthetics:

• Players can change their loadouts without switching screens.

• Spectator mode is now available.

• Categorized setting options.

• Any changes to options are communicated to all players.

• Saving and loading Custom Game settings presets.

• Custom Game naming, with profanity filter.

Endnotes

We’ll spend more time polishing it, alongside other tasks like the Post Match Result screen and the UI Ping system. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to share.