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[True Fire]

This game is going to be a masterpiece. All it needs is an amazing soundtrack and it might be a serious contender for GOTY 2016 (not joking).

 

[Crispy75]

I think I might go dark on rainworld soon. Feels like there's not much left behind the curtains and I want to discover at least some regions/creatures for myself...

 

[More_Badass]

This game is going to be a masterpiece. All it needs is an amazing soundtrack and it might be a serious contender for GOTY 2016 (not joking).

Here are two tracks:
Grumblebum
Else

I think I might go dark on rainworld soon. Feels like there's not much left behind the curtains and I want to discover at least some regions/creatures for myself...

There's a lot we don't know about. And I say that as someone who had been reading the devlog like a hawk for almost two years. They've been very secretive about the backend content. There are entire regions and species we know nothing about, plus the narrative and set pieces that are being worked on

 

[More_Badass]

New species coming together

I love how even this bare, WIP state, you can feel the weight of the movement

 

[KdylanR92]

Those animations....(drools)

 

[woopWOOP]

Was just wondering about the state of this game few hours ago. Almost done with all areas? Sweet!
Seems I missed a few updates too. That memory map looks pretty nifty.

 

[More_Badass]

Scavenger is taking shape. Showing off the varied properties (face, fatness, muscularity, etc.)

 

[Bold One]

yay more retro-inspired 16-bit goodness

 

[Conkerkid11]

yay more retro-inspired 16-bit goodness

Huh?

 

[SomedayTheFire]

yay more retro-inspired 16-bit goodness

What's the point of posts like this?

 

[True Fire]

yay more retro-inspired 16-bit goodness

I wouldn't call it retro-inspired, and it's certainly not 16-bit. It's minimalist 1080p.

 

[More_Badass]

What's the point of posts like this?

They happen every once in a while

Neat idea but man I'm getting real fatigued of 16bit inspired "indie" games.

yeah me too.... I'm done playing games that dont take advantage of this gen hardware.

Amen brother

Even tho this game in particular isnt relying solely on that

 

[UrbanRats]

yay more retro-inspired page 1 posts

 

[Theecliff]

yay more retro-inspired 16-bit goodness

yay more drive-by shitposts that completely ignores what this game's doing

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Please ban drive by posters.

Rain World has been on my radar since I first saw this thread in 2014. There are no games that look like Rain World right now. And that's extremely impressive, note worthy, and exciting.

 

[Ra1den]

I've been dark on this game since it was announced. Can't wait...

 

[More_Badass]

New gameplay video coming soon

But in the meantime, here's a look at some of the procedural scavenger variations

 

[More_Badass]

7 minutes of new footage showing off the Heavy Industrial region

Then > Now

 

[Raticus79]

7 minutes of new footage showing off the Heavy Industrial region

Looking good! Should make for some great Let's Play material for the big youtubers to react to.

I wonder if they could add some reactive 2D swirling mists as an after-effect... could bring up the atmosphere another notch.

 

[Crispy75]

Sooo perb. Just put this on with a couple of RW virgins in the room and they were suitably impressed. Truly great stuff

 

[More_Badass]

The animations for this thing are a-ma-zing

 

[Daingurse]

I've really fucking loved the premise of this game since it was announced. Trying to survive in these alien environments, dealing with all the predators. Shit feels like nature itself. World looks brutal, and cohesive. Really digging this one, can't wait to play.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

7 minutes of new footage showing off the Heavy Industrial region

https://giant.gfycat.com/MarriedPointlessAustraliankestrel.gif[

Then > Now

Wow that sound design/atmosphere when the rain starts falling.

 

[More_Badass]

I really fucking love the premise of this game. Trying to survive in these alien environments, dealing with all the predators. Shit feels like nature itself. World looks brutal, and feels cohesive. Really digging this one.

Yeah, it's one of the reasons I love this game so much. A lot of games boast ecosystems and animals. But none makes you feel part of that ecosystem like Rain World does, or makes that ecosystem feel so alive and dynamic. Some of my favorite moments in the alpha happened after I died, and then you just get to watch the AI do its thing

Lizards fighting over your corpse, as larger lizards take advantage of the melee to hunt the smaller lizards, then it all getting interrupted by a pack of vultures swooping down to snatch up some vulnerable lizards

I can't imagine how crazy things will be when you throw all the other species together

 

[Daingurse]

Yeah, it's one of the reasons I love this game so much. A lot of games boast ecosystems and animals. But none makes you feel part of that ecosystem like Rain World does, or makes that ecosystem feel so alive and dynamic. Some of my favorite moments in the alpha happened after I died, and then you just get to watch the AI do its thing

Lizards fighting over your corpse, as larger lizards take advantage of the melee to hunt the smaller lizards, then it all getting interrupted by a pack of vultures swooping down to snatch up some vulnerable lizards

I can't imagine how crazy things will be when you throw all the other species together

Holy shit, now that's what I'm fucking talking about. That sounds awesome.

 

[KimonoNoNo]

It never get's old watching these creations come alive.

I mean from this.

To this.

Is quite astounding.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

Hmmm, should I dust off the vita for this one?

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Hmmm, should I dust off the vita for this one?

The answer is always yes. Polish your Vita every day!

 

[More_Badass]

Holy shit, now that's what I'm fucking talking about. That sounds awesome.

Here we go. Captured this from the alpha

 

[Cave Johnson]

Game sounds better and better the more I hear of it. I just love how much focus the AI is brought to the design.

 

[Daigoro]

i may have posted this already months ago, but this makes me want to rebuy a Vita.

 

[Shredderi]

This game looks like something else, really unique. The comparisons to surviving in the nature is pretty accurate in my opinion as the game has this really brutal quality to it. Both visuals and sounds are abrasive and raw in a very good way. It all evokes memories of me as a kid watching those nature documentaries where we see a close up image of some insect or animal getting swarmed and then eaten by hundreds of smaller ones. Loving what I'm seeing.

 

[More_Badass]

I think that GIF of the scavenger climbing around is probably the best showcase of the game's procedural animations I've seen so far. The sense of weight, the fluidity in switching from clambering along to hanging from its arms, the smoothness of the movements...it just looks perfect

 

[More_Badass]

It all evokes memories of me as a kid watching those nature documentaries where we see a close up image of some insect or animal getting swarmed and then eaten by hundreds of smaller ones. Loving what I'm seeing.

Between the leeches and some...other things in the world, Rain World will be recreating those memories very accurately

 

[Shredderi]

Between the leeches and some...other things in the world, Rain World will be recreating those memories very accurately

It's the first time a game has evoked this particular feeling/memory for me. It has this peculiar quality to it that really makes it stand out from the rest. The super smooth animations look fucking good too.

 

[More_Badass]

Here's a cool piece of info on lizard/creature interactions

Certain breeds are more competitive than others, but not all. Some work together! Creatures can squabble for any number of reasons, over food, territory or just being annoyed with one another. The breeds have certain tendencies, but each individual lizard also has its own unique personality blend that makes it behave slightly differently, plus being informed by whatever experiences it's had. If it's been injured or threatened by a creature before, it might act more aggressively or more fearfully depending on its personality, etc etx

 

[TheCongressman1]

How have I never seen this before? It looks Super Metroid, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey, and Out of This World all mixed together. This is incredible. I love the aesthetic, and the animation works perfectly. I love how fluidly enemies react to you and other animals. Stellar looking game. I can't wait to play it.

 

[More_Badass]

Here's an interesting update about the scavenger AI

Working on scavenger AI! They now have a super rudimentary idle behavior similar to that of the lizard, which I want to expand a bit on when they are more generally functional. Also I've started on an attacking behavior, where they will chase you if they have a spear or other weapon, and otherwise they will go retrieve a spear or other weapon - seems to work nicely!

One interesting aspect of their AI is that they will have a bit different personalities. I've gotten started on that already, by generating a personality type for each individual. The personality consists of three base stats and three derived stats. The base stats are completely independent of each other, and may thus appear in any combination. They are

Sympathy
Energy
Bravery

From these three more stats are derived. Those are

Nervous (high energy, low bravery)
Aggression (high energy and bravery, but low sympathy)
Dominance (Depends on energy, bravery and aggression)

The derived stats are heavily influenced by the base stats, but there is a little window for them to fluctuate and define their own value randomly, so occasionally you might get an off-shoot.

These stats already feed into the behaviors of the scavengers a little bit, and will have a heavier influence when I get to the more intricate behavior. For example, a nervous scavenger will have a hard time sitting still while idling, and will twitch and look around itself all the time.

Also it was low hanging fruit to feed these into the cosmetic appearance procedure, so now their looks depend a bit on these different stats. The cosmetics are allowed to fluctuate randomly but will gravitate a bit towards certain values, so while you might get the occasional lazy+skinny individual it will be more common to get lazy and chubby ones. Dominance has an impact on antler size and general body size, mean ones are more prone to the narrow pupil-less slits for eyes etc.

 

[More_Badass]

I was going through the early devlog posts and it's really incredible how far the game has come, and yet also how close it is to the dev's original vision

This is where Rain World started. As a simple movement prototype in 2011. It wasn't even called Rain World yet. That wouldn't exist until two years later

Then vs Now

 

[Crispy75]

Just chillin'

(woo! I beat more_badass to it for once! )

 

[SomedayTheFire]

This looks so unbelievably good. I cannot wait to play it.

 

[Nikodemos]

Just chillin'

(woo! I beat more_badass to it for once! )

Chupacabra gunna get yo neck.

 

[More_Badass]

Now this is a game changer. A species as effective as you

Old meets new! Scavengers have learnt to throw spears (and rocks, but they will use spears if they have them).

Scavengers don't actively try to kill vultures, but vultures try to eat them and their fleeing behavior includes throwing whatever weapons they have at what's chasing them. This should be tiered a bit - they shouldn't use lethal force when not in lethal danger, and from you they might "flee" but that will be more about them being uncomfortable with you than deadly afraid, and they shouldn't hurl spears as they go (unless you really corner them, perhaps). The vultures however they know all to well, and they'll do whatever it takes to stay alive.

Another thing you can see in the gif if you look very closely, is a spear shifting hands. The green-eyed brown scavenger which is caught by the vulture in the beginning of the gif has many spears. When it rendezvous with the grey, black headed scavenger with long horns and a porcupine back, you might notice how it gains a spear, which is later thrown at the purple vulture - the last spear thrown in the gif.

I generally imagine the scavengers as sticking to a finders-keepers ethic; the whole joy of scavenging depends on that if you find something, its yours. However, if one scavenger has more than one spear and its pack member has zero, the game might do a roll between the spear owner's sympathy stat and the perceived desperation of the situation, and the spears might be distributed. In a very dire situation it generally serves the greater good if everyone is armed, as they sometimes manage to save each other.

Speaking of aggression, I do have a little bit of that behavior set up already, and have tried to aggro one of them on myself in a death match sort of situation. Man... These guys don't play around.

It's not easy to survive a scavenger hellbent on killing you. They collect spears, and they hit you with the spears, no mercy

 

[Crispy75]

I want a supercomputer, a gigantic 40,000x30,000 pixel screen and a Terrarium Version of Rainworld. Incredible stuff. As always.

 

[More_Badass]

Got to love these regular updates once again. The devs had been relatively quiet for a while

Here's a really long one about scavengers and aggression and social behavior.

Because of their ranged attack, this creature has one part of its aggressive behavior that is different from all the other rain world creatures - they don't want to get to their victim, they want to get to a position from where they have a clear shot at their victim. It might not sound like a big difference - if you get to your victim you'll also have a clear shot, after all - but there are several situations where these priorities inform very different behavior.

Imagine the garbage valley of yesterday's gif, for example. A vulture is in the middle of the valley, slowly moving upwards with a scavenger in its jaws - the rest of the pack spread out on the slopes around it. If they were to path TO the vulture, they'd all gravitate to the closest spot they can get to - ie the bottom of the valley. That's how it was set up yesterday, and of course it looked stupid. The sensible course of action is climbing up the sides of the valley until you are in a position to start hurling stuff at the vulture.

You might be able to see this ranked hunting behavior in the gif, where the individual I suspect to be the group leader (brown, pink eyes, slightly beefier build) is the one that takes the obvious route, and that dark grey orange-eyed individual switches to another route when it understands that it's competing with the leader. Two other more submissive individuals guard a corner of the map and take a more obscure flank respectively.

Apart from all this aggressive behavior stuff, I have started working on making their behavior dynamic. They are able to change their behavior towards other creatures depending on context - for example a vulture or a lizard with its jaws occupied by another poor creature is considered less dangerous as it can't bite, and one that is carrying a pack member might actually turn into a target for aggression rather than a threat to flee from depending on the individual's aggression, bravery or sympathy stats. The logic there being that if you are extraordinarily un-aggressive you won't use violence, if you're cowardly you won't take the risk of a rescue mission, and if you're terribly unsympathetic you just won't care about your friend being hauled off.

Full post here if you want to read the whole thing

 

[KimonoNoNo]

Hopefully these guys don't attack unless provoked, because by the looks of it you REALLY don't want to piss them off.

Then again I just thought of a new mode; Multiplayer Slugcat Scavenger Battle Royale!

 

[More_Badass]

 

[More_Badass]

Was playing around in the alpha, and realized I hadn't checked out the red lizards. From the beginning, Joar had described them as "fast, strong and smart hunters, but what makes it most deadly is its persistence. Once it spots you it will never give up the hunt"

But damn, I hadn't realized how terrifying these things were. So fast they can launch themselves to snatch you out of the air, and able to take a spear to the face and keep coming

 

[More_Badass]

Scavengers can hear you now

This is more close to where we actually want the creature to go. Fleeing and fighting are very necessary skills in Rain World so they had to be implemented, but the character of this creature is going to be more cautious, curious, communicative.

In the gif you can see how the scavenger hears me jumping around and decides to go check it out. The yellow meter on the utility comparer is curiosity for unresolved sounds - as you can see it's capped pretty low, meaning that urges to fight or flee etc will basically always take precedence, but if the scavenger has nothing do it might decide to go check a strange noise out.

 

[Mandelbo]

Every post you make about this just makes me want a release date more and more! It really does look like something special - but you know that already, of course