Rain, Steam, and “Mr Radio.”

The list of items required for the public beta has swelled from 88 items overall, to 101.  However, we’ve now passed the “half done” mark with 53 items addressed, and 48 remaining.

Without a doubt, the most comprehensive thing we’ve had to address was the addition of Rain.  We’ve had the ability to add such a weather setting to the skybox for years - but it was not so simple - because it pretty much impacts every important system in the game:

Basic “Cat Architecture”:  We needed to add a raycaster that would determine whether the cat was out in the open, or whether it was beneath something that would provide shelter.

Stat system:  If a cat is out in the open, their comfort level will drain for every second they are exposed to rain.

Cat AI: Since it causes discomfort, a cat is not going to stay out in the rain, unless under the direct control of the player.

For example, assume the player has unlocked all nine cats - and three are outdoors, not protected by overhead cover.  We needed to designate “Safe Areas,” and set up a trigger that would cause those three cats to immediately bolt for the nearest of these, when rain occurs.

Shaders & Textures: Terrain, cat fur & foliage need to look “wetter” over time, as rain falls.  Of course, this has to reverse gradually, after the rain stops.

We’ve been able to address everything “rain-related” to-date, with the exception of the terrain and cat fur.

Hopefully, this will be resolved in two weeks, when we will be releasing a second beta, which will contain a TON of fixes and improvements.  It won’t be 100% - I anticipate by that time, our “to-do list” will have swollen to the neighborhood of about 150 items - but there will only be about 40 bugs/fixes remaining.

We’ve had to put off any Steam release until then - there are just too many things still in flux, but:

WITH SIX WEEKS REMAINING, WE’RE ON-COURSE TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER A PUBLIC BETA ON NOVEMBER 17th!

Last night, I took an evening away from the Unity engine, and treated myself to a bit of sound mixing.  As I discussed in the last update, we wanted to include one of six “podcasts” that the cats can discover, in the public Beta.  These would be episodes created by a recent arrival on the island - a man obsessed with “cryptids” - especially the local phenomenon known as “Mr. Radio.”

We’ve had the script and voice overs sitting around for weeks - but hadn’t had the opportunity to mix the episode properly with background music and SFX until now.  I enjoyed the process, and think it turned out really well - I look forward to mixing the other episodes, when I can find the time!

PREMIUM SHIPMENTS HAVE BEEN DELAYED BY A BROKEN PRINTER - THEY WILL RESUME WITHIN 48 HOURS!

Thanks SO much for helping us get this far - see you next week!