Hey everyone! Welcome back to a new TeamTopHat development update and in today's update, we will go over some of the revamps we have made to existing rooms, as well as some new rooms and finally, some notable stability and bug fixes.
Revamped Main Hall:
One of the biggest changes we have implemented was the redesign of the Main Hall section, which acts as a starting point as well as a hub that is connected to each of the levels. The new design fixes some spacing issues as well as make everything very symmetrical, furthermore we implemented new materials which look much more realistic and gritty. To add onto this further, we wanted more variety of textures and colours instead of just the main red and brown, and added beige coloured patterns across the ceiling. Lastly, the layout was also changed by a significant amount, accounting for the new symmetrical design and blind spots we had in the old version.
Overall the changes to the Main Hall were very positive and made traversing the scene much more interesting and explorable, while some work is still needed to make the scene feel full with furniture, we are satisfied with how it turned it.
Revamped Power Room:
Another room revamp we developed was the Power Room, the original look of this room was very basic, bland and was the product of the old greybox version, as such we deemed it necessary to make changes as soon as possible. The changes we made will accurately display the look of old Victorian piping and power rooms, all of which we used references for to create it as accurate as possible.
New Hallway Sections:
Another change added was the inclusion of new hallways that links the scenes between the Main Hall and Library, as well as the Main Hall to the Theatre Room. This was a big improvement as the old designs were wood boards, with the new design having similar wall textures to the Living Room and Main Hall, as well as featuring windows in which the moonlight would shine into.
Changes to Library Platforms:
One piece of feedback that was common throughout the testing session, was the issues that people had with the library platforms, as testers found themselves struggling with the speed of the platforms, as well as the player control. As this was 1/5 of the playable levels, we had to make the changes as quick as we could, in which we did and ended up improving the experience overall. The next step is to add ladders that will act as checkpoints in case the player ever fell down.
Lighting & Game Optimization Fixes:
Lastly, we tinkered some bugs involving the lighting, as well as game optimization fixes to make the game run much more smoother and more atmospheric. This is a change that will consistently get updated with the inclusion of new features, levels and assets.
Conclusion:
Overall, development is still in continuation, but getting to a point where we are almost at completion, the goal is to complete what is being developed as well as improving old features and scenes to reflect the newer designs.
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