July Development Update news - ALTERA

Hi everyone,

Today we want to tell you about all the amazing stuff we've worked on the past few months. The overall biggest change of this update is that we found a practical way of merging the Sandbox and Campaign into one unified game mode. We think this is much better and overall will reduce a lot of confusion for all players.

MetaHumans

We implemented new human characters that are based on Epic MetaHumans. There will be a lot more characters in the future as well as a lite character editor!

Clothing

It wouldn't be appropriate for our newly created characters to be without clothing, so we've implemented a few initial sets. The starting characters wear survival-styled outfits, while most enemies are currently dressed in military uniforms. We plan to significantly increase the variety of clothing in future updates. Soldiers accompanying you on adventures now put on backpacks, allowing them to carry more gear, which is necessary with all the new items we've implemented and plan to add.

Hunger and Thirst system

In this update, we've added hunger and thirst systems. If a soldier's hunger or thirst level reaches zero, they will start losing health. To support this system, we've introduced new items. You can find them in the game world or buy them in the shop, all featuring our new carefully crafted animations.

Apples keep your soldiers well-fed.


A water flask is a must-have item for every soldier.

New health item

Use the Syringe Gun to refill your soldier's health.

New grenade

We've added a new frag grenade, the well-known M67. But don't worry, this doesn't mean we're getting rid of all the old grenades. The terrifying mango grenade is still available and can be used to eliminate entire enemy troops!

Recoil updates

The recoil system has been further refined to provide smoother and more satisfying gunplay.

Animation updates

We've continued improving our animation system to work seamlessly with the human characters. The missing movement states have been migrated from the old animation system to the new one, designed to work neatly with UE5 skeletons. Additionally, we've focused on creating transition animations that were missing in older versions but are crucial for realistic movement. These include full-body animations for equipping, holstering, and swapping items. We're continuously working on the animations to make them feel and look more polished with each update.

A small insight: the animation system was probably the most challenging and extensive task in this update because it involves implementing and seamlessly blending countless movement states, transitions, actions, and reactions, and making all of it work in both first-person and third-person perspectives. Moreover, crafting animations and tweaking them for the best appearance is a very time-consuming process. But we've made great progress, and we're proud of the results!

Swapping animation example.

Inventory updates

We've made significant improvements to the character inventory. Each soldier now has an individual inventory. The slot configuration has been reworked as well. Every character now has 2 main weapon slots, 2 secondary slots (for items like bows, pistols, and melee weapons), and 6 belt slots (for grenades, food, drinks, etc.). The inventory interface has also been updated; item slots are now larger for easier access and gear management. Additionally, a 3D preview of the character is displayed.

Skills

We've further developed the skill system. The skill for increasing health has been removed, as we plan to allow players to protect themselves by equipping body armor. The skills window has been moved to the inventory tab for easier access. Several bug fixes have also been made to ensure the system works as intended.

User interface

Our user interface has been reworked and now features greenish military colors that better match the game's mood and feel. The main gameplay UI has also been significantly redesigned. The appearance of items has been improved, and they are now displayed in square boxes.

New outposts

We've designed new outposts in a military style. There are living quarters, medical facilities, and a command post where the faction command (you and your friends) can meet to discuss plans and strategies. There are also checkpoints on the main roads, equipped with facilities for controlling bypassers, large watchtowers, and spacious storage facilities. No hostile troop will pass by—or will they?

The new addition to the outposts is the watchtowers. Soldiers positioned in the towers help build a multi-layered defense, making capturing the camp a more challenging task. Additionally, the command tower model has been updated to resemble a radio tower, serving as a communication hub between your outposts in different territories.

The road system has also been updated to look more realistic, with the new meshes and new textures replacing the old ones. And by the way, are you excited about the possibility of building your own outposts? If yes do not forget to check the next update too!

Missions

A new set of missions has been added to guide players through their first steps in the game. The mission system itself has received numerous improvements and fixes to ensure tasks are properly replicated for all players.

Co-op

We've simplified the process of inviting players to a session. After starting a session, you can now copy the invite code and send it to a friend, who can enter the code in the main menu to join your game.

Full list of changes:

• Added new playable human characters.
• Enemies on the outposts and inside the portal dungeons were replaced with humans.
• Added blood visual effect upon hitting another character.
• Added two new survival clothing sets as well as a basic military outfit.
• Added backpacks.
• Implemented hunger and thirst system.
• Added the red apple food item.
• Added the flask with water as a usable item.
• Added the syringe gun used for healing.
• Added M67 grenade.
• The bow now deals damage instead of a stunning effect.
• When an object or enemy is hit with a bow, an arrow realistically persists on the impact location.
• Updated muzzle flash effect on the weapons.
• Improved weapon recoil.
• Added unarmed movement state.
• Improved equipped movement state, especially when moving sideways.
• Added equip and holster animations for rifles, bows, and belt items.
• Added item swapping animations.
• Updated item slot configuration.
• Improved the appearance of the slots in the inventory.
• Added real-time character preview in the inventory.
• Moved skills to the inventory screen.
• Removed Viable skill (increases maximum health)
• Changed the color scheme of the UI.
• Changed the friendly faction's main color to green and the enemy's color to red.
• Improved various UI elements.
• Improved appearance of quick access slots on the main gameplay UI.
• Replaced character stats appearance with numeric.
• Updated the appearance of the status UI of the friendly and enemy units.
• Added military outposts.
• Replaced the command tower model.
• Added new road meshes.
• Replaced the road textures.
• Added initial set of missions.
• Troop size was limited to 3 characters.
• Every commander and a soldier can now be revived by an ally.
• Implemented inviting friends with an invite code.
• Performance and visual updates to the time of day and weather systems.
• Added additional graphic settings and simplified DLSS quality selection.
• Updated project to Unreal Engine 5.4
• Updated DLSS to the latest version.

Bug fixes:

• Used items are now properly removed on the client.
• Fixed animation when going through the portal.
• Fixed bug when jumping interrupted the reloading.
• Fixed Stable Hands and Quick Hands skills. their effect now properly affects reloading speed and recoil amount.
• Fixed bug when active missions were not replicated to a newly joining client.
• Fixed bug with displaying mission progress.
• Made various fixes and improvements to troop commands.

JOIN OUR DISCORD AND STAY TUNED TO THE FUTURE UPDATES!