Progress with UE3.5 / Integration

[MattScott 15242]

Hi everyone,

 

It's been about a month since my last post on this topic, and many players have reached out to me to ask about progress, so I'm going to take some time to do an update.

I also want to talk about the SPCT and testing to help shed some light on their role and activities.

 

At this point, we have all three platforms Xboxone, PlayStation 4, and PC on the same code base, and all three platforms are compiling.

We are working through some issues with Xboxone and PlayStation 4 that will need work before we can actually run them.

But the PC is up and in test.

 

We are behind where I wanted to be.

 

We'll do our best to catch up, but we had some technical challenges in January getting the new build up and running for testing. We had just gotten the game to run internally at the end of the year, but I seriously underestimated how much effort it would take to build an environment that SPCT could hit externally. I'm sure there was a lot of frustration on their side, week after week, when we would tell them "be ready this weekend", and then the servers weren't up.

Once we finally got things sorted out, the entire SPCT had to spend hours downloading the build. Then we had more problems getting into the Action Districts due to a networking issue. We figured out a work around that let most team members in, but then the disconnects started. Right now the server is very unstable and crashes based on a number of broken things that players can trigger. Due to a number of issues, players get disconnected every 5-10 minutes. Again, I feel for the team attempting to test or explore issues when they are getting constantly kicked and have to log back in.

 

Week #1

 

We have now had almost a full week of testing, and in a way the SPCT and Little Orbit are exploring this version of the game together in real time.

 

My raw initial impression of this build is... it's a mixed bag. I have publicly stated that that I didn't think UE3.5 was going to be that big of a change. And in some cases, I was wrong. There are some significant changes to loading times, visual look and feel, and CPU/GPU usage. However there are also LOTS and LOTS of oddball bugs, crashes, and generally unexpected areas where the game behaves strangely.

 

I'm going to try and give regular updates on our progress, so everyone can track where we are, but for now here is my best general update:

 

• Most of the code is based on the console version. That's great for engine optimizations, but generally bad for many aspects of gameplay right now. The menus, districts, weapon balance, and other areas are all based on what you can see right now on XB1 and PS4. My team will be pulling across all the PC specific pieces and updates as fast as possible, but there's a fairly big gap at the moment.
• There are lots of frustrating bugs (like not responding to ALT-TAB) that make the game not much fun to play. We need to slam a bunch of quality of life changes in as soon as possible, or I worry that SPCT folks are going to get very frustrated.
• Visually the game looks very different. Materials were updated. Textures improved. Reflections improved. Lighting changed. There are aspects of the game that I'm still hoping to adjust, and I'm sure each player will determine how much they like or dislike the new look, but I was surprised how much I liked it.
• Framerates seem to be more stable, but generally slower than Live. This is due to a number of unoptimized things. I'm confident that we'll actually get the game running better than Live once we apply some fixes.
• We are going to need to do some work on the districts themselves. Missing kiosks need to be replaced. Some elements need to be removed, and collisions will need to be thoroughly gone over.

 

Update UE3.5 Screenshots

 

I know some players have asked for a new round of sexy screenshots from the new engine. 

However given where we are, I don't think hyping this effort is the right route to take. We have time for that later.

 

Instead, I'm going to make an exception to the NDA and allow each SPCT member to post a single bug or feature they found interesting from their experience so far - good, bad or ugly.

 

Thanks,

Matt

[WorldDominator 61]

Sick

[Iazer 204]

finally some actual progress on this engine, good to see

[Shui 225]

44 minutes ago, MattScott said:

There are some significant changes to loading times, visual look and feel, and CPU/GPU usage.

Longer loading time?
Higher CPU/GPU usage?

 

@MattScott

Edited February 1, 2019 by Halelulia
idk

[JenzAmaka 259]

I saw floating candy bar.

[evergIade 24]

good update

[Shini 251]

Spamming F too fast on cars or anything that makes an animation teleports you into the skybox for a few seconds 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Shini

[Nitronik 348]

allowing breach of NDA for a cause like this?

 

d'aww matt

[Kiida 455]

APB was built as a complete mess from the beginning, it doesn't come as a surprise that you may hit obstacles here and there which can cause delays. The hard work is still greatly appreciated.

[Latsha 71]

inb4 Matt allowed single-time NDA breach to see who really is loyal as an SPCT member lul

[L4UR3NS 0]

Thanks for keeping us informed Matt, I'm waiting patiently

[IRyanI 15]

Id prefer to see some screenshots to see actual progress but it can and might lead to disappointment so i can see why we wont get any. its the long run that will lead to something great

[Nitronik 348]

"We are going to need to do some work on the districts themselves. Missing kiosks need to be replaced. Some elements need to be removed, and collisions will need to be thoroughly gone over. "

"...and collisions will need to be thoroughly gone over."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

[dailytism 16]

I just hope both teams have fun

[Frosi 722]

I honestly really like the new looks of the game as it looks far more vibrant then what we currently have on Live as fewer buildings are using the same light grey color template, there is also more foliage in certain areas which just adds to the looks of the game while not getting into the way of firefights. All in all, the visuals are great and the game looks far cleaner and less washed out which is a huge plus in my book.

[CookiePuss 5378]

I walked around social for an hour listening to footsteps and found some stairs and a landing with no footstep sounds. 

 

... testing is fun!

[Glubbable 41]

So basically the engine upgrade is a bigger clusterfuck than we originally thought. Welp.

[Nitronik 348]

1 minute ago, CookiePuss said:

I walked around social for an hour listening to footsteps and found some stairs and a landing with no footstep sounds. 

 

... testing is fun!

welcome to QA bud

[Knite 158]

One bug I ran into --

6 minutes ago, Latsha said:

inb4 Matt allowed single-time NDA breach to see who really is loyal as an SPCT member lul

[Latsha 71]

1 minute ago, Knite said:

One bug I ran into --

 

Excuse me? I'm not a bug. This is an understatement.

[Corsac 7]

I'm real happy about this transparency. I'm so tired of devs/publishers giving out false hope and promises. Keep it up and good luck.

[Speedz 147]

"Ammo resupply failed - All weapons full"

 

 

 

Ammo resupply failed - All weapons full 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Speedz

[Guest]

So damn happy to see that you are actually interested in making APB Great Again.

Will be sure to support you guys in anyway, how you want or prefer.

 

Beautiful work to both LO and SPCT and good luck for the future.

Hope to be able in helping you better.

[KyoukiDotExe 231]

Sounds troublesome. But also very excited for what it feels/plays/looks like!

 

I'll be waiting patiently (already am since 2011, so can't quit now!)

 

Thank you for your work. @MattScott & the team & of course SPCT for testing.

[iRawwwN 282]

Nice to hear some news about it. We just gotta patiently wait I guess. :^( i just want stable frames