Games (PC) Jurassic Extinction (Released)

Wanted to update with some findings per animation/movement. So far ive tested this on Protoraptors, and Gigantosaurus, and has worked very good for foot placement/IK, and turning. This still needs adjustment (turning speed, etc.). What im using is FImpossible's Ground Fitter, with a NavMesh script.

This gives me a dynamic IK for foot placement, as well as turning speed and axis. Add this with EmeraldAI, and works well, so far. This is the 1st test, and if you look closely, you can see, with a bit of adjusting the turn speed, and syncing of animation, will work good, but time will tell...

 

Sorry for the late update, but ive been working on JE alot. No news about movement as of yet, but ive solved a prob ive had with EmeraldAI since the start. EAI shuts off colliders on the AI once game is started, so the dinos didnt have collision detection or obstacle avoidance, and would walk through objects.

This was just another item on the "To Do" list, as easily solved. Knowing how EAI functions, (and no, Unity's collision matrix with layers doesnt work) the solve is to add a NavMesh Obstacle to the objects you want to have collision with/avoid (trees, rocks, etc.). So tested and works great, and being applied to all levels/scenes.

On the dino movement end, Ground Fitter didnt end up working out, as the performance was real bad (spikes, regardless of what update method used). Currently have ragdolls for 60% of the dinos, quadrupeds are a problem, lol. Plenty of tests and work on movement is on going, as i want things right...

 

Well i had a few extra days off, and ive upgraded JE to HDRP. The results are very good, and it plays and looks amazing. HDRP JE runs at 50+ FPS, and the built in runs at 70+ FPS. The builtin will be released as planned, but ill be working on the HDRP version till its ready.

Even though HDRP doesnt like them, i have the 1st person controller working good, but ill probably be using a different controller. Shader work is needed (foliage, etc.), and alot more optimization, to gain more FPS. Another thing to note: with the builtin i can actually make JE look like Farcry/Crysis, and it looks insane, but still testing that out, a very different look. Heres a video of level 1 HDRP:

 

HDRP looks odd and too dark in my opinion.

 

Yea, that video is right after the upgrade, so i hadnt touched anything yet except controller adjustment. Last night i did some work on lighting, mats/textures, and PPE's/beautify. Looks alot better, but need to dig into the shaders...

 

Great news, all trees, grass, rocks, plants, dinos, and controller are now 4k! To be honest, there were a few levels where the fps/ms was actually higher with the 4k textures. I adjusted the Normals, Metallic, and added a bit of Smoothness...Eye candy:

 

Visually is not too bad.
But definat3lly need more work on sounds.

Is Trex cooking own dinner?

 

Been working alot on the HDRP version of JE, and i now have something to show. Its been alot of work to get to this point, had alot of basic "porting over to SRP" probs, that just took time to sort out:

• All textures are 4K.
  
• Lighting, cameras and shadow mods/adjustments.
  
• Alot of shader work (to say the least, lol).

Alot more to do, performance is about what i expected at this point, 40+ fps at lowest. But runs really good, no lag, spikes, or etc. Im surprised at the way HDRP handles 4K textures, theres not alot of performance hit. All of this with a 1st person controller (with 2 cameras), lol.

 

Sup guys, today i worked on JE HDRP foliage, and ive finally got the hue/look ive been trying to get. I really like how it looks, and with 4K textures, it brings out alot of detail (look at the tree bark on the left). I use CTI HDRP shaders for all foliage, which they have 3 shaders, bark, billboard, and leaves:

 

A small update, but a cool achivement. As we all know theres no "rain" asset on the store for HDRP, but i needed rain for a few of the levels in JE HDRP. So ive ported Rain Maker asset to HDRP!. I use Rain Maker in the builtin version, so it was natural to port it over.

I changed the texture/shape of the rain drop, then hue'd it for color. I used the stock HDRP Lit shader, as im able to color/hue the Base Map, use Metallic for darkening/wet look, and Smoothness for reflectivity. With rain you never add a Normal Map. I have a ton of shaders for HDRP, but the HDRP Lit really fit well. BTW, one of my students said "you cant add rain, as theres no asset available for it in HDRP, so it must not be supported", ummm...hey GD65, ill see you in classs tomorrow, lol:

 

Been working on JE HDRP tonight, and its got to that point where i need to decide on a controller. UFPS is good in HDRP, but it shows its age. I have 1 more 1st person controller that works great in HDRP, and its used in my latest (un-announced) game, Direct Contact. Its a heavily modified version of RFPS Prefab.

RFPS Prefab is a bit old too, but runs great (code-wise), and functions awesome in HDRP. So this could bring alot to JE HDRP. Wasnt going to do this but, heres video of a prototype version of Direct Contact, so you can see the controller functions i like. The blood spatter/decal is just right, more available weapons and pick ups, explodable objects, and performance is great, DC runs at 70+ FPS, in HDRP. Worst case senario, i switch to UFPS v2.0:

 

Changing controller now would be a lot of work and a lot of lost time, but it's up to you. Personally I would have gone with Opsive FP Controller right from the start, but I think you said you were more comfortable with UFPS 1?

 

To be honest, changing the controller out is fast and easy. Well ive been using UFPS 1 for a long time, so its easy to set up and use, but i like Opsive v2, used it a few times, but ill be using it more as time rolls on.

 

Sup guys, alot of work has been done to the builtin version and the HDRP version. This is a builtin update, as HDRP is its own monster, lol, and ill update about HDRP soon. The following has been done, and a SS of the re-textured t-rex:

• Added a new shader to foliage.
• Smoothness has been applied to all vegetation.
• Shut off Bloom in PPE.
• Smoothness added to all dinos, and adjusted all normals.
• Wind adjusted for all vegetation, per new shader.
• Now using spherical wind, instead of directional.

 

Updates done to the Builtin version have been done to the HDRP version (smoothness, normals, etc.). But, the only problem ive run into is...SpeedTree. I had them working great in 2018 LTS, but they have a big problem with 2019 LTS, the LOD's dont work. So they have to be replaced, only in the HDRP version.

I have a great replacement tree for the conifers, and it also has branchlets. In the video you will see trees dont have LOD's working (poping everywhere, lol), but theres one tree that runs great, and i like the darker density look towards the inner of the tree, check it out, think you will like it, fits HDRP well...

 

May I address some current concerns?
You do really good job on graphics, landscape, etc.

But I see really little been done to the story line, or Gameplay and fun factor to be honest. What about the plot etc, to keep player hooked up playing?
Or is that in works?

Or you are planning more toward simple plane shooter, like Doom type game?

 

I posted the storyline here a bit ago, but i plan it to be inbetween both. There will be a storyline played out with dialogue and audio, or cutscenes.

Example: while playing level 1, you come across a dead body, who looks like your boss who was on the plane when you all bailed out (its in all level 1 videos, a skeleton with a familiar gun holster). When you see the body, a cutscene will play, or dialogue/audio will play. "Omar?, but that cant be you, your decomposed?, we just jumped a few hours ago?". "Whats going on here?". You also meet a survivor of the island in level 4, etc.

Cutscenes are great, but i dont want to load up on them, so many games ive played over the years have way too many cutscenes (bloatware), its like watching the game, not playing it. While you play youll hear things like: "where the hell am i?", "what in gods name is that?" "are the others here?", etc. I want to hear the main character talk, its more personal.

 

Example/WIP without audio, which ill add later. Still needs work, but i have the whole weekend to whip it into shape. This system has acually been in game for months, just havent got to that point yet, lol:

 

I haven't checked in for a bit, need to look at older posts to catch up.

I like the dialogue for the last post; I'm intrigued, that would make me want to play if I saw it in a trailer for sure.

 

Updated subtitles:

 

The storyline: Your name is SGT John Paul Dupree, a Navy officer on a flight back to the
states from Japan, you served your duty, its time to go home. On the flight is your best
friend and commanding officer MAJ Omar Khourey, and pilot Scott Tailor.
A sudden storm appears, and a big bang is heard... (pilot scott tailor): "you better jump,
engine 2 is out and we're going down!". You and steve decide to grab parachutes and bail,
as you open the cargo door, a freakish bolt of lightning hits you...thats the last you
remember...

You awake to find your in a strange place, with what looks to be a tropical type
environment, but not one you have ever seen before, something is different. (you): "where
the hell am i?", wonder if any of the others landed here?", only one way to find out".
As you walk towards god knows what, you are startled by the sound of something, you have
never heard before (a dilophosaurus call). You stop, and look, and what you see, you cant
believe...(you): "dinosaurs?" "what the hell kind of place did i land in?". You have a knife, and
pistol with 1 clip. (you): "Well this isnt good".

With quick thinking and well aimed shots, you kill the 2 dilophosaurs... (you): "Ya know, i
just wanted to go home, damnit"... As you progress you come to a skeleton, wearing a
distinctive pistol holster. (you): "Omar!...it, it, cant be?, we just landed an hour or
two ago, how can you be decomposed already?", (you yell out loud): "What the hell is going
on?, where am i?"...

So now my well written out storyline is being currently added in.

 

I suggest that text is adjusted to the left, rather to the right when "printing".
Either slow down printing effect, or disable it app together.

The idea behind printing effect is, that player can start reading, before whole text is finished shown up on the screen. It also gives some sense, how long player have, to read it.
Kind of like star wars intro text.
But if text is printing from the center, eyes can not track it. So effect is just waste of time.
Minor thing, but may be annoying in my opinion.

 

The story introduction sounds nice.
My one point is, it need explanation, why main character has a pistol and a knife. Sure he is a navy oficer. But who carry gun on a plane (before a crash)?

You know, need a bit filling into story, to make logic a sense

I would be more keen, to see some crates nearby, with weapons/tools as part of planes remains, after crash landing, or something like that.

 

@Antypodish I agree with text adjustment, its always a WIP, adding base features, then adjusting them, depending on options available, or writing new ones.

As far as intro...every serviceman in the US armed forces, carries a knife and service sidearm (9mm, etc.)... You are on your way back to the US from Japan, which means you were there for a "war time" assignment.

Also noting: i need to add a downed parachute to level 1. Did you catch that from the storyline? If you parachuted down, then where is the parachute?

 

I am not a military guy, so adding few more explanation words into intro, would be sufficient. Thx

 

@Antypodish I love you, you push me to greater heights, you rock on bro I got you, nice suggestion...ill add it in, but, the intro will be a cutscene/video, so alot will be explained...

 

Ok, ive made a compromise. What i did was shut off the typewriter effect, and my subtitle system allows me time control (how long it shows, when to start/stop, etc.). So ive adjusted the times so you can fully read the scentance, before another starts.

This will be adjust once again later, as ill be syncing the audio clip, to the text, once i add them. But my compromise is, i did leave the text output centered, i like it that way, lol. Heres a convo with shawn in level 4:

 

Yep that is much more friendly to a reader.

 

Sorry ive been gone lately, been real busy with JE. Ive done alot of work to the Builtin version and the HDRP version. Builtin has all dialogue added, and its funny to see the 1 liners, lol. Both are looking good. Ill have a little surprise by weekends end, yes... its demo time Ill be setting up hosting and will update with details soon.

Ive played the demo build many times, and have to say, the builtin with 4k textures, with Beautify and PPE mix...lookin real good. Everywhere you look, high detail, close up, or far away. Heres a video of level 3, a fight with T-Rex (yes i lost, lol), pay close attention to the detail. Ive worked damn hard at sqeezing out as much GFX/Camera Effects in Builtin, as possible, and it has paid off:

Side note: ive always loved the Temperature Setting/Option, on the directional light in HDRP, well you can also have that in Builtin. I may need to adjust it a bit more agressively... but it adds a really good warm type look with hue.

 

Alot of you may think im spending time with the newly released Flax Engine, not really... i created a "Test Scene" for it, and worked out well, but, nothing could be farther from the truth. Ever since i started the JE idea, ive always wanted a true "Open World" experience, but had performance probs, not anymore...

SECTR by Procedural Worlds is key. I can now chunk stream terrain and more. But SECTR basicly needs to be added towards the end of a project, in order to know what objects to be processed. Im also using a new system for procedural spawning. So in my spare time ive created an "open world" project in Unity, that im totally addicted to...

A complete large scale island, free to explore, open world survival, all types of enemies/creatures to encounter. Everything from a pre-historic crab, to a dinosaur, or other human contacts, your choice... Wanna be a wuss and follow the shoreline, to get to the other side of the island?, go ahead..., you will still encounter sea turtles, pre-historic crabs, etc. Wanna cut straight through the island, and encounter more enemy, and have a challenge? Once again, up to you...

SS of said project running at 80FPS base, 2019 4.8f1 (LTS), with 40% foliage added. This is a Gaia created terrain, of a large island (2048x2048), Builtin renderer, PPE and Beautify combo for camera effects, and a new controller with alot more function then UFPS v1.7.5. In the raft to the right, you will find food, a bow, and some arrows. (yes hunger and thirst is planned). Dont let anyone tell you Unity cant do something, or is a lesser engine, Unity is an endless learning tool. The JE intro level demo is almost done (Builtin), just waiting on set up of hosting:



Now, isnt that the dream of all of us devs? To always progress forward, learn, to create that 1 great vision you had when you started your journey, with the gained knowlege, and newest tech?. I never neglect JE, i work on it for 4 hours a day, the remaining 2-3 hours i work on this project...

 

Very pretty screenshot there. What are you using to have such fast game mechanics already, RFPS?

 

@Deckard_89 Yes (you can tell by the health text at bottom left, lol), i now use a modified version of RFPS. I tested UFPS (same bare scene, same exact placement) and got 180 FPS, then RFPS and got 240FPS. RFPS has much better base code, and core functions.

Tonight i got a chance to adjust light exposure/tone mapping/color grading, to add a warm tone type look. And these are the prehistoric crabs, ill be adding their AI next:

 

JE HDRP update, did alot of work to level 7 over the past 3 nights. I love the main and secondary colors of the foliage, nice to have accents like that:

 

Nice! I'm assuming you're getting a higher FPS in real life vs. the video?

 

yea, the video software i use aint too great. I get 45-50 FPS, to be expected (HDRP), hell my open world survival performs better, lol). Ill probably have to chunk stream the terrain.

 

Exciting news!, the Demo is done, and built with a new UI menu. All options work, audio, video, etc., and Hosting has been a PITA, to say the least. Heres the new menu:

 

Great news!, ill be hosting the demo on my own server, ill upload it tomorrow night (have class tonight). What ive done is, for the past 2 days ive released the demo to close friends, family, my teacher (hes had it for months, lol), and people i know personally, as they are my backbone support.

Next is here, to you guys, my second family. I really appreciate any support, and ive had meetings with promoters, but they want such a large cut, that id be better off promoting JE myself, which is the next step. During all of this, ive squeezed out enough time to work on the next project, and the workflow is working out better than expected.

 

What do you use?
Did you tried aTubeCatcher?
https://www.atube.me/

 

Sup guys, sorry im late (had to work late last night). Heres the intro/level 1 Demo, now remember this is a 4k game, so if you dont have a decent video card (no on board video), or it might not run so well, but you can try different settings/options.
Just a demo to get any feedback, or comments. Personaly i have a bunch of copies out there on different rigs, and so far it plays on alot of them, but the better the system is, the better it looks and plays. Enjoy:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gs7ip6ttyGIAk5uvRBBjjIsy1I2CAQ4j/view?usp=sharing

 

I got your demo, 250 MB 7z. nice.

Why don't you join us
Feedback Friday #154 - February 26 - 29 - 2021

First impressions.
I know this is beta, or alpha, whatever name, but I will comment on my first thoughts.

• Menu background need quality
• Menu options, sub windows, need darker background, so text is better for reading.

• Menu drop down selection when, when hovering cursor over, would need higlight.

• What about other contributors?

• Allow controls selection

• Also, allow muse speed change
• Controls also have Shift and Space, E key knife, C duck (should be quicker),
• I like this side way Pause
• Pause don't work.
• Can not hide behind unpassable for character a bushes. Dinos still can walk and attack through.
• I would love to go over / jump on obvious obstructin like these rocks.

• Yeah, stuck between plane and rock as I could not go over and escape, trico charged at me.
• Does portal work, or is disabled?
• Ok, I killed trico with knife by keeping behind it
• As for 4k, airplane looks rather low quality, low poly.

I suppose that is it for now

 

@Antypodish :
Alot of what you see with the UI, i know about, and agree. I added that new UI in just a bit ago, and as you point out, needs a bit of fine tuning. Just before release i tried darkening the menu background in settings/options, but didnt look right, ill see what i can do.

Contributors will all be listed in the credits at the end of the game, the credits in the UI menu, is just for assets. Ill look into mouse speed control, (didnt think of that one). The portal is shut off, as its a demo for level 1 only. The airplane im still working on, as its the only asset that isnt 4k, ill probably re-texture it.

Big thnx for the comments, glad to see you keeping me on my toes, lol

 

Per Antipodish, and 25+ other reports, ive adjusted the options menu. The drop-downs now have a dark BG, better to see, and the main BG now is set as an in-game image. Thnx to those who took the time to comment and gave feedback, though theres a lack of that here on this thread. The website, social media, beta testers, and PM's/e-mails/texts, had a better resonse.

If theres anything you see thats out of place, needs attention, or you would like to see, please let me know, as i only have so many beta testers. Also looking into improving the Audio section, as some have noticed that the Audio Voices function/slider doesnt work. Thats because i have a complete audio mixer set up for JE. So i need to work on sorting out the integration of that mixer, into the UI. Heres the update:

 

I tried your demo, it is quite impressive how you managed to have all that vegetation without framerate slowing to a crawl, also the redesigned menu is a lot easier to read. That being said I still think you should have post processing in your scene.

Gameplay wise, I think crouch should be a toggle instead of hold, because it can be quite uncomfortable to control that way (I know that's just how UFPS is set up though, so not really your fault).

Also you should add some extra paths or something to evade the dinos, because currently you are funnelled along this path with little ammo and no way to avoid the dangers, especially the raptors. The crashed plane near the Triceratops (I think?) is good because it allows you to move around it.

 

@Deckard_89 appreciate your feedback, and value your opinion, thank you bro. One of my strong suits in Unity has been optimization, so i take your comment to heart. Many of the demo testers comments always had a "great performance" in it, So im really pleased with that end of it. As we all know, trying to get ms/fps isnt easy.

I think i can change the crouch to a toggle, i remember seeing that in my notes somewhere. As for paths or more objects added in (like the plane), that could be done, but JE is set up as a "live environment". Meaning, example, the velociraptors...theres a "aggro" factor to consider. When you come up on the raptors, theres 3, so what i do is shoot 1 of them to draw him out, kill him, and do the same for the others. If 2 or all 3 of them aggro on to you,...its over.

As far as post processing effects, heres the current set-up, but ive been thinking of adding "Depth Of Field" (testing):

PPS v2.0:

• AA - Temporal.
  
• Ambient Occlusion.
  
• Color Grading
  
• Auto Exposure

Beautify:

• Sharpen.
  
• Eye Adaptation.
• Vignette.

Its been a good combo between PPSv2.0 and Beautify, but if you think something needs a change, let me know

 

The AI is more complex than I thought then, well done man.

 

Heya guys, glad alot of people are enjoying the Demo, have alot of positive feedback. Tonight was very busy, i taught a class, then i had class myself, lol. I was talking with my teacher after class and he had a convincing idea, which is to release 1 more demo, so ill be playing the 9 levels, and decide on one. Details later.

Tonight during class i was asked a good question: "If you use 1 directional light, and you look at the backside (opposite direction), it looks like crap". So i explained a trick most all of us know. You set up a 2nd directional light, and turn off shadows. Now you place it in the opposite direction of the 1st directional light, to counter that effect.

Heres a SS from my open-world survival island project, where i use that same set up, and you can control and set both directional lights to a desired effect:

 

SS 5humbnail is broken. But link click works.

 

After playing all the levels (a few times), ive decided level 6 will be the final demo. Its a night time setting, and its raining. Youll encounter pachy, compy, and giant snake. Im currently finishing up work on the ending scene this weekend, and will update more info later on.

 

Ive been asked this a few times, so i have to reply. "If you can use SECTR in your new project, then why cant you use it in JE?".

I can, but JE is already performant, how much FPS do you want?, lol. JE runs at anywhere from 60fps to 120fps. Theres no need to chunk stream terrain...

 

I finished up all work on the ending scene, except dialogue, and the unity community supporters at the end of the video. The ending will literally blow your socks off, lol. I compiled a build of the 2nd demo, runs perfect, and has the newly added UI updates/changes, per feedback...