Ghost of a Tale - Development Update

Myrthos

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The last development update for Ghost of a Tale was last year, but Seith delivers a new one this last day of March to share with us the status of the development.

And here is a summary of things that are either new or improved (in no particular order):


  • AI: I’ve implemented a new detection system for the enemies. Before it was a binary system which wasn’t entirely satisfying: you were either detected (and attacked right away) or you were not. The new detection system is much more organic and takes into account the player’s position, distance, speed, stance and whether you are hiding or not. There’s also a visual feedback icon on the enemy to let you know his level of suspicion (a little like in the Assassin’s Creed games). So now the whole thing is much more skill-based: it’s about how you balance the act of reaching a certain location without getting detected. Bottom line: it’s more fun!

  • Music: A while ago Jeremiah composed an excellent “combat” cue (actually several) which is triggered when you get detected by an enemy and I finally got around integrating it to the new detection system. Needless to say it adds a tremendous amount of tension and drama to the experience.

  • Animation: I mentioned before the “awareness system” in place for the player character; I’ve now added something similar for the enemies so that when they go somewhere (eg: patrolling from A to B) they actually look where they’re going. I know it may sound trivial but for me (as an animator) it really makes a difference.

  • Story: Paul and I worked a great deal on the story. It has grown in depth and scope and we’re focused on making sure we can explore it for all its worth. We’re also working on game design and we are now at a point where we’re testing individual mechanics to make sure everything is working as it should.

  • Interface: We now have a first pass on the inventory and the song system. It feels nice being able to actually see what you picked up at last (icon and description). Still a lot of work to be done in that area but it’s starting to take shape. We also have a new dialog system in place (thanks to Tony for the support on his Dialoguer asset) which works really well.

  • Visuals: All the game’s shaders have been converted to Physically Based Shaders using the new Shader Forge tool (thanks to Joachim for the support). What does it mean in plain English? Surfaces now look much more realistic in the way they react to lighting: stone, metal and wood actually “feel” like distinct materials.
More information.
 
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Great to see some progress. Still looks like a very promising and unique project.
 
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A bit of browse and clickin'…

Ghost of a Tale Game – Supporters’ Edition and Early Beta Access (Windows PC) Price Not Announced
Ghost of a Tale Game – Supporters’ Edition (Windows PC) Price Not Announced

What are they waiting for?!



Worth quoting is recommended requirements:
- OS: Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8
- Processor: Quad core CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955, Intel Core i5-750
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 1GB Video RAM: AMD Radeon HD 5870, nVidia GTX 480

Of course, as you'd expect, we'll try to optimize the game so that it will also run on systems with significantly lower specifications. Closer to release, we'll be sure to post the minimum system requirements here on the forum for you.
Check. Check. Check. Check.
Now I only need the game to put on it.
 
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