Multiplayer Dev Diary #4 - Environment
Hello raiders!
Here we are with a new dev diary. We’ve been receiving continued support from you all. It means a lot to us, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. Please keep in mind that the images we share with you are work in progress.
Let’s dive into today’s topic, which is quite fitting because we’re talking about water. In one of the previous diaries, we told you about the new environments we are designing. One of the technological challenges we’re facing in the multiplayer project, and an innovation from our single-player project, is the possibility of planetary flight. We’re working hard on the environments, and one of the elements we’ve decided to introduce in the current map is water, specifically a waterfall.
From a technical standpoint, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve never tackled a challenge like this before, so we started with some tests using the elevations from our first map. We evaluated different approaches until we found a specific plugin that allowed us to achieve the result we envisioned. We used this plugin to create an ad hoc simulation within the environment. After numerous tests, we decided to use an animated material to reduce memory load and ensure lighter animations compared to real-time simulation. This solution convinced us of its effectiveness.
However, we then faced another problem: the scale of the map. Extensive testing revealed that while the plugin worked well in small sections, our environment was much larger. After many trials, we found a solution by concatenating several simulation boxes treated individually. This led to the challenge of designing a seamless transition between these small pieces, ensuring consistent water levels between each box
The final challenge was height. We wanted to create a waterfall that cascades for many meters, while still constructing it in sections as described. We decided to design terraces, allowing for several drops in succession and bringing the simulation boxes closer together to cover the height of the waterfall.
That’s all for today. We hope you found this topic interesting, we’ll see you in the next dev diary!
Farewell, raiders!
