This is the second day of my time off and I just wanted to post a little screenshot update! These are all screens from a section of the the police station and some of you might recognize these places! I’ve expanded on them and given the areas a more realistic layout this time.
You’ll also notice that there are lights in all these images. Normally, it would be pitch black in most places in the city (it’s explained in the story why) and you’ll have to stumble through using your fairly weak flashlight but in this level you have the option of finding and starting up a generator which restores power to the station.
Of course you’ll have to complete a series of objectives to do so but it makes life a little easier in the long run if you do. However, you don’t even have to do that at all and can just run through with your flashlight if you wish! I’ve structured the game in a way that allows you to play any map in any order you like and you can spend as little or as long a time as you want.
The game ultimately rewards exploration and conserving supplies because the final level will be a…well, you’ll find out soon enough! 😉
Just wanted to do a quick update and video! Everything is still moving along smoothly with the optimizing phase. I’ve also got a bit of time off coming up pretty soon that I can throw all into the game work.
There were a couple of maps (such as the one shown in the video) which didn’t take too long to do because it was fairly fleshed out already. I did have to fix a few things here and there but it didn’t eat up much time. There were a couple of other maps that needed some serious work with the visuals and though it’s taking longer than I want, it was (visually) worth it in the end.
I had comments from people who loved the small swirling leaf gusts in the original mod. Well, you’re really going to love them this time because they’re actually leaf meshes randomly swirling around instead of flat textures on a ring (that’s how I did it in the mod) I also found some great sound effects for them and you can hear the dry leaves brushing and skidding across the asphalt. It’s nice taking a moment in-game and just listening (that is, until an angry mob of psychotic zombies finds you)
I spent a little bit of time trying to upgrade to the latest (and last?) version of UE4 and even tried downloading UE5 (I can’t even launch it on my system. I’m not sure why, there’s no prompt) The reason I wanted to upgrade to the latest version UE 4.27 was because there were some improvements to dynamic light bouncing, volumetric clouds and other features BUT I found that it all fucked with the art direction. I had created this fake global illumination system in version 4.20 that is really clunky (took years to get it working the way I wanted) and even though it is completely inaccurate, it served the art style really well.
When I tried using the the new effects from 4.27, even though it was more accurate to real life (I guess?) it just changed the look of everything too much. Though I would love to have more realistic dynamic lighting, I’m afraid it would change the whole grimy/gritty/muddy look that is such a core part of the Out Of Hell atmosphere. So screw all of the upgraded versions; this is the style and that’s how it’s going to stay.
I get really, really restless sometimes when I’m working on these because I want to reveal so much of it to you guys but I know that I have to wait. Since the original release date for this Halloween couldn’t be met, I was going to release a demo on Steam instead but I decided it was best to hold off for now. My plan is to release a trailer for Out Of Hell first, followed by a demo shortly after and then the full release once I get feedback from the demo and implement any changes needed.
In the meantime, check out the video below to hear more of Sergey Yukon‘s music! I hope I nailed that “Late October sunset in an abandoned city” feeling!
It’s been an event-filled time since the last update but the polishing process is still running smoothly. I haven’t run into many issues that have held me back for too long (used to take me potentially days to fix issues)
I’ve come up with some pretty grisly setpieces that I think you will all love when you play it. I’ve almost held nothing back on some of the horrific things you’ll find. This is me finally being able to express the vision that I’ve wanted to for over 10 years ago with the mod!
One of the things I set up in the story is that there are different Hells and not just one so it allows me the creative freedom to explore different concepts and visualizations. As you can see from these screenshots, this Hell is a fiery torture chamber whereas some of the previous pictures I’ve shown are cold, bloody pits shrouded in darkness.
The hooded fellow you see is a boss monster called “The Hangman” and you have no idea how great it felt to finally get him in-game and working properly after all these years of sitting on it.
I tried to introduce some interesting scenarios and had this “boss fight” in my head for a long time. It only existed in a very basic, blocked-out form up until a few months ago. I think the intensity of it will really freak people out and I can’t wait to unleash this!
Do check out the Youtube channel for some videos that I’ve recently uploaded and come join us in the Discord for some interseting discussions!
Hey everyone! While I was working away on tidying up another level, I brought on even more testers to run through a map I finished a little while back. I have to say, it’s such a constant, humbling experience for me because I usually send off the demo(s) feeling pretty comfortable(smug?) that there won’t be many issues because “I thought of everything and this is going to be airtight!” only to be shown a laundry list of hilarious bugs and issues within the first report!
Some of them are forehead-smacking issues too, like a “But of course! Why the hell didn’t I think of that!?” sort of thing. It’s been fantastic getting all this input and each tester brings with them a fresh perspective and playstyle to it. Had I brought on this many QA folks for the mod, it might not have been such an unmitigated disaster! 😉
Many of the testers record themselves playing through with reactions, comments and suggestions throughout and I’ll usually pause the video, head into the map and fix the issues right then and there. Another thing I’ve been doing is paying attention to what they look at, what they do etc. to see if the cues and (mis)directions that I’ve put in are working as intended. For example, if I place an important item on a desk and the tester doesn’t notice and walks right by it, I can then go in and make it more noticeable, use a cutscene or alter the path to it.
It’s all been so valuable and I’m happy to say so far so good! All the testers really enjoy the direction, presentation and visuals and I’m sure you all will too!
Now, enough of my yammering. It’s time to show some f***ed up images from the latest demo!
The player’s base of operations and the surrounding area is done and now I can move onto the next map! There’s a filthy couch to sleep on, a wooden chest to store things in (initially, I was going to make it so that you could drop your items anywhere in this place and it would be saved but having a chest is just a cleaner method) and a few other things.
I was able to solve a few different issues/bugs with the conversation tree and journal system which is a huge relief. I also made several improvements based upon some good feedback in the Discord chat as well!
It’s kind of a crazy feeling for me right now when I look back at all the concept art I made (Sullivan, for example) and now, like 7 years LATER I’ve got him in-game with cutscenes and everything. It’s really hard to describe but it’s a combination of relief, anxiety and sadness all rolled into one. Relanxness?
The rest of the maps that need cleaning and optimizing aren’t as sparse (in terms of completion) as this one was so it should go a little quicker (like the sewers, forest etc.) Just gotta keep focused and pushing, I am so damn close now!
There was a bookstore in the original mod that you came across that sold occult books and metaphysical supplies. It had some important information but outside of that it was just another stop on your way out of town. Here’s some refresher screens:
For some reason I don’t remember it being this sparse! Anyway, this store now serves as a base of operations (remember I mentioned in the development journal that the original mod was supposed to have a hub area?) You can eat, rest, research without fear of being mobbed by the demonic undead! You will return here after each mission and there’s an NPC that will answer questions and help you decide what to do and where to go next.
The above pic is what it looked like for about 2 years (I think that’s the last time I touched it, I can’t even remember) since I was just plowing through and only creating the layout of the maps and blocking everything out. I didn’t add too much detail to many areas (as I always said I would return and polish them up in the final detailing phase, which is where we are at now) so you can see what the game would look like at its basic.
It was a bit of a pain coming up with all the different little nuances of these types of places but having been to many of these stores in real life (I’m totally into this shit! XD) I felt an obligation to get the look and feel as accurate as I could. There are also living quarters upstairs but I decided last minute to not show any since I don’t want to further spoil it.
The cleanup of these maps is taking a little longer than I anticipated but they are also looking far better than I could have imagined. It’s coming guys, just a little bit more!
And for anyone that missed this video, you can get a small preview of me groaning and drooling all over the place! XD
LONG NGUYEN | Digital Artist & Game Designer 