Development Notes (Read-Only)

[USG_Omucupixu]

These notes are meant to be just a summary, allowing us to post dev updates in a simple format until enough material has been sourced to post a Dev Blog.

For details you should read the full Dev Blogs available here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/710230/allnews/

25.11.2024
- The updated Store page now has an EA Roadmap with a general outline of what we plan to add to the game.
- Expect a lot of press/youtuber previews from now until launch, showing what's to come.
- We're working now with a professional QA team that hunts bugs for us and make your experience as smooth as possible at launch
- When watching youtuber previews keep in mind that they're playing a dev build, basically an early-early access; the final release build should come with even more content/fixes
- We'll have a full devblog later today with some interesting material, stay tuned

04.11.2024
- We've sent another batch of reaction VOs for recording after initial implementation & feedback
- We've finished the design and implementation of a full-featured timeline control in game that will both allow time controls and show incoming events/crisis
- Travel will also be adjusted to work with the new timeline: you will see your team moving in real time over the map and the ETA as a future event.
- The medical system has received its top layer, the hospital/trauma healing that removes any lasting injuries.
- The system is different in cost and method for each faction (and home base), each with its pros and cons.
- Army and Shelter will provide hospital beds, bikers and cultists will offer alternative "takeaway" solutions.
- Healing was also integrated with the new timeline, to show the exact time when each wounded is recovered.

17.10.2024
- The new reaction voice quotes have been coded into the game, expanding the present system from about 5 events to almost 100 per character.
- We're playtesting the new voices, tuning them and adding new quotes where events are often repeated such as move commands.
- We've completely overhauled our interface hover system, adding much needed information to a lot of places on the hud.
- We've also redesigned the hover windows to properly display weapon characteristics, values, attribute growth, perk status and effect, etc.
- Much of the RPG script for the first act has been fine-combed and updated to respond to the new skill checks and provide clues where needed.
- We've also added two new sidequest encounters between Courthouse and Supermarket (not random, mini-stories tied to the main plot but without critical effects on it)
- We did one of the many needed passes through the whole inventory of items and recipes and adjusted prices and weights for composite items.
- We have added left-over items when an item is used up so now an expanding list of items will break apart in components, becoming refillables.
- First one being a plate carrier vest that can be reused after the ballistic plates get destroyed.

More to come soon, stay tuned...

2.10.2024
- Prologue and first act of the campaign are now integrated and scripted
- The secret clues system has been activated for all the first act warlords and it's working
- The new faction reward mechanic is in, now a warlord will give you a list of blueprints to pick from
- We've improved on the system a bit, adding a background system of credits instead of them asking for a quest item (items can be lost, dropped, sold, credits are forever)
- We've integrated the clues into random encounters too, beside the old minor rewards
- More weapons have received attachments or weapon upgrade kits
- Equipment dropped by dead enemies now has varied states of wear for a touch of post-apoc realism
- Crippling wounds can now be healed at camps where a nurse/medic is present, including own base (cost is still WIP)
- The shelter upgrade system is operational, you can gather materials, recycle stuff to gain materials, donate them and build your first shelter upgrades as you finish the Prologue
- Attribute gains are solid even throughout the Prologue - provided your recruits are equally active in battle
- Fine tuning of the gains is WIP, our goal is for the player to start working on unlocking perks/specializations as soon as the Prologue is over (even during it if focused on advancement)

We've updated the Steam Store page with fresh screenshots from the latest game build so if you're curious about how everything looks lately, you can see it there.

For the duration of the Turn Based Festival we will also stream a sneak peek of the game on our store page!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/710230/Urban_Strife/

19.09.2024
- We've finished implementing most perks, complete with their requirements and bonuses. Only a few are still WIP, because they require more extensive code (drone pilot for example needs our drone code to be updated)
- We have activated the body part injuries and crippling effects, with their respective penalties; combat feels way more dramatic when a leg shot reduces your movement range and a wounded arm makes using a weapon very hard; same goes for your enemies, of course.
- If a limb reaches 0 hp, there will be a lingering crippling effect - that's where your Field Doctor will be your best friend; that or you'll have to find the nearest clinic.
- Combat, in particular melee combat, has been finetuned to work with these new conditions.
- We have added new recipes for backpack crafting and specialized (mechanic) crafts.
- Silencer and scopes are back as weapon attachments, more will come; they also have a homemade version that can be crafted.
- An entire arsenal of homemade bombs has been added to the recipes: smoke bombs, nail bombs, pipe bombs, firecrackers, aerosol bombs, sticky molotovs - all this beside the classic army stuff.
- Metallic crossbow bolts are now upgrades of the common wooden bolts so don't need to throw the cheap stuff away, just repurpose them.
- Reusing and recycling old stuff will be a theme of the backpack crafting in the game.
- You can now craft and recycle homemade body armor.
- Recycling weapons now will be an important source of materials for upgrading your shelter (beside the stuff you loot); having a mechanic to break apart a weapon is even better since that will yield more stuff; recycling a broken weapon is possible, but you'll the worst results.
- The clue minigame that reveals the background of each faction warlord has received some upgrades: now you can fail the checks or be tricked into picking a false lead - the bosses got smarter at spilling their secrets.
- All the help tutorials are now saved and can be recalled after being closed from an easy to access button, right on the main hud.

Work on many fronts is going forward at full speed, but the major announcements will be made once all the pieces are into place. Stay tuned.


04.09.2024
- We're almost done rescripting the entire Prologue, with new faction gameplay and plot lines
- The bridge tutorial is now sequential and goes from learning how to equip items in quick slots to destroying a zombie spawner (yes they can be destroyed now)
- Shelter industry is active, but we still need to add the new overview hud and reshuffle the rewards a bit
- The new diplomacy hud is done and works ingame, together with FBI secret files for each and every warlord (that you need to discover)
- Secret clues can be found in dialogue but also in various items found in the game world so... happy looting
- New team roster now includes perk selection and comes with a sister mini-hud for confirming the away team (when leaving the shelter)
- Final version is planned to show clear progress towards both gaining an attribute and the perks you've currently unlocked and are training
- Car boot inventory is in game now, shows fuel consumption and axle load and will allow to differentiate between each vehicle properly
- We're preparing a new trailer and and more detailed information, but can't give you any spoilers.

13.08.2024
- The prologue rewrite is complete, should soon be scripted
- Tutorial rewrite is 90% complete, pending scripting the new prologue
- The new interface is coming together nicely, still WIP but what's done works great
- Voiceover recording was a great success, we had some amazing talent work with us
- We're also working with MPS to produce a new trailer for the game
- It's been decided that we'll drop the big announcements post Gamescom


01.08.2024
- Urban Strife will be showcased at Gamescom. Attendees can find MicroProse located in the Gamescom Business Centre Hall 3.2, at the Australian IGEA booth, starting from August 21st to 23rd.
- We're currently updating/rewriting the bridge intro and the prologue
- We're also adding a lot more tutorial screens and refreshing the old ones to reflect changes
- Voice recording still in progress, we've got some awesome results so far.
- We hope to be ready to announce our release plan after Gamescom, stay tuned


12.07.2024
• HUD/RPG: Items in containers placed inside faction zones will now be tagged as “Private” and stealing them in sight of a faction member will generate aggro;
• RPG/Cars: Cars will have specific fuel consumption and load capacity; running out of fuel will abandon the vehicle in that sector until refueled; when passing through the sector with the abandoned car the event an encounter event will be triggered, allowing the player to re-enter the map and retrieve the car;
• 2D Art/HUD: Car specific inventory has been redesigned to be easier identified as a car booth and to show the new car specific functionalities (fuel and load);
• Crafting/HUD: Crafting UI has been redesigned to properly show the tool/workbench as non-consumable; it will also support scrolling through multiple instances of upgradeable items in order to pick the one you want to use;
• Diplomacy/HUD: The faction diplomacy UI has been revamped into a dossier system with background clues you can discover about local warlords and faction bosses before deciding to ally with them; clues will present themselves either as items you can loot or as secret dialogue options;
• Combat/Stealth: Initiative in combat is undergoing a redesign to prevent the player from overpowering Ais using stealth;
• Perks/HUD: The Roster and Away team HUD have been redesigned around the new perk/role system;
• Perks/RPG: Before leaving the base you will be able to pick a Role specialization from the unlocked perks (say, Stealth) for each member of the away team; beside the chosen perk, each recruit comes with a default specialty; there are currently around 20 perks active, but the list is open; the next Dev Blog will detail them and we invite you to suggest others too;
• Sound/RPG: We have written reaction (banter) lines for all the recruits and the player (about 15k words in total); currently voice actors are working to record these lines;
• Survival/HUD: The base industry interface has been completely redesigned to allow easier management of the upgrades at a glance;
• 2D Art/RPG: All the portraits for player variations (2x 150 parts), recruits and Tier 1 NPCs (about 150 faces) have been redrawn for a major quality boost;
…more details to follow…


27.04.2024
• AI/Combat: The third iteration of our AI mechanic has allowed us to add specific skills and roles for enemies; they know how to use medkits, bandages and boosters; snipers will defend their position from range, while assault Ais will try to force you out of cover;
• AI/Combat: For the proper setup of the combat scenarios we have designed our own AI Debug Scanner; it shows the danger scores the AI assigns to the visible tiles and their possible (and favored) set of actions;
• AI/Combat: Cultists, while technically limited, have received a very powerful unit – the zombie herders; these monks attack with herds of trained zombies, using them as shield and directing them with noise makers;
• Combat/Ballistics: We have overhauled the whole ballistics/penetration model, based on reference calibers and materials; details explained in the Dev Blog;
• Combat/Protection: We will use three levels of armor protection – Level 1, Level 2a and Level 3a; they are designed to stop .22 LR, 9mm and 5.56 NATO respectively;
• Campaign/Level Design: Game will have 15 major locations, scattered through the town and inhabited by various factions; end game will allow you to revisit the maps you’ve already fought on and witness the fallout of your actions;
• Campaign/Survival: Friendly factions will offer access to their own workshops;
• Campaign/Survival: Crafting recipes will now be divided by complexity; backpack crafting will use common tools you carry with you; industry crafting will require a specific workshop to be present in the area and accessible;
• RPG: The Caesar’s Legion is now gone from the Prologue maps; the three suburbs maps have been redesigned and overhauled for a new experience;


23.12.2023
• Combat: First iteration of in-combat zombie turning added; if a character is downed and killed with a bite by a zombie it will become undead;
• Combat: Depending on the zone population and game tier, certain zombies can appear wearing body armor, specific to the local faction;
• Level design/Campaign: Campaign maps will have zones that will completely change when triggered by event scripts, allowing dynamic changes to both the combat scenarios and story;
• RPG: Dialogue have been re-written and optimized with the help of a native speaker collaborator;
• RPG: We have added skill checks to dialogue (INT and STR); these unlock special branches with additional clues or special solutions to quests; same goes for faction affinity (except the player, every recruit has a specific faction affinity);
• RPG/Combat: Random encounters now have their own consequences; depending on how you solve them, you get different scenarios on the next visit;
• RPG: Perks or Specializations mechanic have been implemented; they require a certain level of a pre-requisite skill to start training; once the recruit has the required skill, each repeated action (playing as rooftop sniper, for example) will added experience toward the specialization, until its bonus is unlocked;
• Combat: We have added armor permutations for all body types; all characters now will be able to use all types of armor (all look fine doing it);

5.08.2023
• Launch postponed: We decided to post-pone the Q2 launch date; both the game development and the marketing environment were as they should be; a new release window is TBA;
• Engine: We have added a new smoke mechanic; smoke/gas will fill confined spaces and will stay confined until it finds an opening (a broken window or an open door); the cloud will dissipate over time, faster when exposed to outside air;
• Combat: Night ops have received improved mechanics in shape of a new light system, based on individual tiles; this allows us to implement light emitting throwables such as flares to support night combat;
• Combat: LOS mechanic has been overhauled with an option to manually fine tune the visibility ranges; the old automatic system was generating too small ranges when using stealth techniques;
• Combat: Zombie spawners have proper UI helpers now (danger zones);

26.01.2023
• Demo: Urban Strife demo will be featured at Steam Spring NextFest, coming February 6th; the demo will be available well past festival end time for everyone to have a chance to play it;
• Survival: All the industry NPCs have now a quest to build a specific shelter upgrade; spend materials and you'll get to see the shelter change under your eyes
• Survival: You can now salvage items and weapons at the Recycler Workshop and obtain building materials
• Survival: There are 4 new facilities you can build: a garden (+food), a jail (+morale), a pharmacy (+health) and a garage
• Survival: The items now have a trade value and the traders will be openly displaying the cut they take so you can do your trading math correctly
• Survival: The backpack has been completely redesigned, with carry slots now clearly separated from equipment slots and filters;
• HUD/QoL: Speaking of filters, all containers have item filters now and a SORT button for easier inventory management
• Engine: Item generation and manipulation has also been redesigned to lower memory use that sometimes lead to crashes
• HUD/QoL: We have added much needed hover information on the main HUD (and we plan to expand this to other parts of the interface)
• HUD/QoL: Targeting cursor has been adjusted to convey extra and more accurate information; loot cursor now is animated for easier detection of interactable objects
• HUD/Campaign: The city map has been re-drawn, showing the local attractions, districts and a streamlined road layout
• HUD/Campaign: Also on the city map, we have a new sector info chart, with new information about the places you plan to visit
• RPG: RPG has gone through a new overhaul round, dialogues are now less stuffed; you can still read the lore, but you can do it at will, after you settle in
• RPG: Finally, there is a whole new intro sequence to the game for more immersive story telling

8.12.2022
• Demo: The new Urban Strife demo will drop on December 9th and the official launch party will be hosted by Twitch.tv/Zemalf;
• Demo/AI: The new demo comes with our second AI iteration; a third iteration is already in the works;
• Demo/Level Design: The demo will consist of the Prologue zones (Shelter and 3 suburb maps);
• Demo/Loot: Entire loot system and the spread has been redesigned; acquired loot can now be delivered to specific NPCs inside base in order to keep the survival meters up;

3.11.2022
• Demo: Urban Strife will show a new demo at #TurnBasedFest this December;
• Demo: Valve has chosen Urban Strife as a Featured Game for their Spring NextFest coming February 2023;
• RPG: Each local warlord has received their own faction group, with specific appearances, wants/needs and politics (versus their enemies and the boss faction);
• RPG: Beside the warlord factions you will encounter supporting factions, hired or working for the local warlord, but not directly affiliated with him (meaning that taking them down will just annoy the main faction, not throw you in open war);
• Survival: Cars have now special “looted” state for their specific container, showing boot cover open when empty and saving you ample time from clicking all of them; same goes for other containers, such as furniture, where once looted their visual state will change;
• HUD: We have redesigned the stealth indicators and the zone markers so now they’re clearly visible when superimposed; we’ve kept their display discrete in order not to break immersion (around the mouse pointer);
• 2D Art: Steam page and social profiles have received a new art overhaul;
• Sound: A new soundtrack is in the works;

11.08. 2022
• RPG: We have implemented a new mechanic for the player’s avatar; choices of 3d meshes will now automatically generate a layered portrait from pre-drawn 2D assets;
• RPG: We have moved away from the portraits generated from 3d meshes for everyone, including recruits and NPCs, migrating to hand drawn ones;
• Combat: Added noise sensors that trigger spawners; added fire damage that can destroy them.
• Combat: Added low level crafting recipes for weapons and ammo; you can make your own sawed-off shotgun and homemade crossbow with their respective artisanal munitions;
• Combat: Added nails and nailguns that can be used both as a tool and a weapon;
• Animations: We’ve redone our animation pipeline; now new models can be easily added into the game easily; the new animation pipeline works with HumanIK (Maya) and Character Studio (3DS Max); post-release will also added a pipeline for Blender;
• Animations: We built a complete library of all idle animations (the start animation for all) for any future expansions and modding;
• Animations: A series of old animations have been redone, such as rotations; many testers have complained about slow animations when looting – these have been addressed too.

14.07.2022
• Campaign: Tier 1 first implementation; Snitch (Gas Station) vs Father California (Motel); Saints (Supermarket) vs Judge Jenny (Courthouse); Devilsons (Scrapyard) vs Agent Smith (FBI);
• Vehicles: We have added 4 choices of player vehicles – a default police squad car and three faction specific upgrades to it; cultists will offer you an RV, army will give you one of theirs HMMV trucks and from bikers you can get a zombie-proofed 4x4 truck;
• Survival: Survival tutorial cutscenes added in the shelter, to introduce you to the main NPCs that control the meters;
• Survival: Suburbs maps have received the new loot area tables; loot now is specific to the theme of the zone (a garage will spawn mechanical parts, not food or surgical supplies);
• Engine: Most of the script campaign code has now been ported to the new USG Scripting Editor; both for us and the future modders this is a powerful tool, much easier to use than standard UE blueprints;


9.06.2022
• Level Design: A dynamic map sub-levels system, triggered by the game script, will allow us to dynamically alter the shelter map when upgrades are built;
• RPG: Tutorial has been rewritten to be less edgy; tutorial items can now be recovered from Sheriff’s Office;
• RPG: The three main factions are present just outside the shelter; Sgt. Kowalski leads the Army squadron in the Old Port; Father Joseph minds the Cult camp in Adam’s Villa; Honest Joe runs the Biker outfit in Little Italy;
• Combat: We added the code for zombie spawner mechanics, with controls that allow fine tuning the generation according to difficulty level;
• Survival: Looting has been redesigned; loot will no longer be manually added to containers, but distributed from a loot table over all the containers in designated “Loot Areas” (these can be designed to hold only specific items)
• Engine: After many months of hard work, we are happy to report that the migration to Unreal Engine 4.27 has been completed and the game is running smoothly; software and hardware compatibility for years to come is now secured;
• Modding: The RPG script flow editor has received a major upgrade;

7.10.2021
Engine: Feedback from the demo players has determined us that we must start the migration to the newest version of Unreal Engine (4.27), in order for the game to have a solid future; this will ensure seamless 4k and Win11 support;

1.10.2021
Demo: Urban Strife will be coming to Steam NextFest with its first demo; there will be a livestream showcasing a demo walkthrough hosted by BoxMacLeod;

28.07.2021
• Survival: Base upgrades/survival industry added; upgrades will be unlocked by finding blueprints through exploring and combat;
• Survival: Letting the resource bases go to zero will generate survival crises that need to be stopped before turning into a game ending failure;
• RPG: The three main factions have been added; led by powerful bosses, they rule over the survivor camps spread across the town of Urban through local warlords;
• RPG: Faction befriending and alliance mechanics first implementation;
• Combat: We added a special tutorial/intro level with a dynamic help widget to guide you through the basic activities;
• RPG: We’ve streamlined the dialogue system; added a single choice input for the player party at the bottom of the screen;
• 3D Art: RV vehicle added, female zombies added;
• 2D Art: We started reworking the HUD to support 4K resolution;

11.03.2021
• RPG: Faction reputation checks first implementation; factions will grant access within dialogue if you qualify;
• Survival: Shared inventory for quest items and crafting; quest and crafting ingredients will be used from anyone’s backpack, not only the speaker;
• Survival: Added a base stash
• Combat: Configured zombies to resist body damage, but have critically weakness to headshots;
• Combat: Blunt damage will severely damage stamina, resulting in potential KO/non-lethal take-downs;
• 3D Art/RPG: We added makeshift armor for a couple of factions;
• RPG: Female avatars have been added;
• Animations: Cover animations have been redone; step-back move added when recruits pass near each other;
• Engine: First implementation of a Save/Load system added;
• Survival: First prototype of shelter economy;
• Level Design: Courthouse, Railway Station, City Hospital added.

16.12.2020
• Survival: New health mechanic added; all body parts have their own health meter, with damage applied to them being weighted differently when applied to the overall LIFE meter;
• Survival: We added bleeding, a damage tick over time; different types of weapons cause more or less bleeding; bandages stop it.
• Survival: Bandages added, to stop bleeding; they stack; they stop all bleeding on a body part and are consumed after;
• Survival: Medkits added, they will consume condition to stop a wound from bleeding; they can be merged into each other to save space;
• Combat: Immolation added; fire will deal damage to exposed body parts – walking through fire will damage your feet; if exposure continues fire will spread to the rest of the body; when immolated the character enters a special panic turn, trying to dose the flames;
• Combat: When HP meter of a body part drops below a certain level, it will generate crippling effects, affecting various skills;
• Combat: We plan to add body armor and various types of protective equipment against: ballistic damage, slash damage, blunt, blast, fire, bite, tear gas, toxic gas.
• Combat: Stamina added, affecting maximum Aps; characters will pass out when out of stamina; is drained by pain and exhaustion;
• Combat: Pain added, generated by taking damage; different weapons generate different amounts of pain; can be removed/numbed using boosters;
• Survival: Basic items will now stack; we added mechanics to both stack and split them; some items cannot stack, but they will merge into each other (such as gas canisters)
• 3D Art: New enemy types added

3.11.2020
- RPG: Expanded the racial options for avatar customization, adding Asian and African types; a female hero is in the works;
- RPG: Added a few clothing options for the avatar
- Survival: 30 upgrades for the base planned, meant to satisfy one of the following needs: defence, electric power, food, health, morale, transportation, player crafting.

3.10.2020
We signed a publishing deal with Micro Prose!

3.09.2020
- RPG: can use any member of the party to trade, not only the player’s avatar
- RPG: You can switch to and use any recruit to loot, craft or trade
- RPG: You can choose any recruit to be the active speaker
- RPG: First implementation of team banters
- RPG: First implementation of RPG scripting and dialogue outside the base
- Engine: Switched from baked exterior lights to fully dynamic lights with moving shadows and night/day succession
- Level design: Added new encounter areas
- HUD update: Known enemy chevrons