Hello everyone.

I’ve decided to start organizing updates a bit better for the public side of the project. I guess I’m often too technical and not very “human” when explaining things.

General

Right now I’m working on creating the mechanics that I believe are necessary for the project itself, while also adding some early objectives and guidance so people trying the game can have an experience closer to what the final game is supposed to feel like.

I added a HUD integrated into the player’s arm. I think it fits this kind of game much better. Everything is still heavily work in progress, polishing will come later.

I also added a zone locator inside the HUD. It’s not something particularly complex, but I personally prefer it over a traditional minimap.

A basic dialogue system with high command has also been implemented.

On top of that, I added a delay to the Hunting Director spawn so enemies are not immediately on top of the player from the very beginning.

I also added a Sturmgewehr 44, a German assault rifle from World War II. The full shooting logic has not been implemented yet.

Bugs

Aside from the usual bugs that can appear, things are generally pretty stable.

The damn spiders and the double-layer AI are still a pain to deal with. When they enter attack state, they sometimes remain static. Right now I have AI work somewhat parked to the side; once I fully dive back into it I’ll fix it. The problem with working on AI is that you never know when you’re getting out of it.

Next Goals

• Polish the shooting system core loops.
• Add decals, recoil and shooting animations.
• Implement the full assault rifle logic.
• Add player damage and healing systems.

I’m also trying to find a way for the player to better escape or reposition during encounters. Right now the system feels pretty unfair.

I like that the spiders behave organically: some harass the player, others stalk, and sometimes they attack in groups. The issue is that when the Hunting Director and several spiders attack at the same time, the player currently has almost no room to react.

Technical Side

The arm-mounted HUD was made by modifying the curves from the default lighting overlay.

The HUD itself is actually two combined interfaces. The text layer uses custom depth so post-processing effects like dynamic resolution and pixelation do not affect readability.

Hartmann’s sprite was created using an animated 3D model combined with a post-processing technique to pixelate it. This usually allows for smoother animations and a higher frame count.

A well-known example of a similar technique would be Dead Cells.

Thank you very much for reading this far. If you made it to the end, you’re a brave one
                                      🦦🦦🦦
https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example

Hello everyone again, I just can’t sit still
God as my witness, the next thing I’m doing is the weapon core loops

I’ve been deeply focused on the HUD lately, and honestly I’m really happy with the overall result so far
I’ll keep posting updates
                                      🐦🐦🐦
https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example

Hello, hello.

I’ve been diving pretty deeply into the project lately, so I’ll leave the devlog separated into sections so you can ignore whatever doesn’t interest you

Additions and fixed issues

Character health system added

I added the weapon core loops, along with the beginning of the ammunition system

Added a new group action to the Hunting Director: Attack and Retreat

Fixed an issue where the spiders would remain static when entering attack behavior. Basically, I created a distance tolerance, but I never connected the result back to the actor... so yeah, sometimes I’m that smart

I also added a limited use emergency system. If the player’s health drops below a certain point, a series of flares deploy to intimidate nearby enemies

Thoughts

I really like the Sturmgewehr 44 (WW2 assault rifle). Enemies react to damage depending on their behavior, so if you have enough ammo, you can keep them at bay, which was one of my main goals

The downside is that, even if it is not extremely powerful, it is still a damn assault rifle, and in a horror game that needs to be handled carefully

Still, I think it has to stay. What kind of command or military support sends you into a situation like this without a proper weapon? It would feel absurd if they left you with only your standard sidearm

I also keep integrating more interface and gameplay information directly into the game world itself in order to preserve immersion. It is more complicated to develop this way, but it is the direction I want to keep following

Technical side

Nothing particularly crazy here. When I first started programming, the first things I worked on were shooters because that was where most of the good information and tutorials existed, so it is something I have revisited many times over the years

The health bar itself is a dither texture where I manipulate coordinates, movement, and procedural band generation to create that visual effect

Final thoughts

I do not think I should keep expanding systems too much for now. I believe I should focus on progressing into the next stage by defining player objectives first, and then building only what is truly necessary around them

As always, thank you very much for your attention

                              🦅🦅🦅
https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example

Since I had no idea how the hell this community section worked, I created this post a while ago, but I didn’t keep the thread updated, so it got lost. I think it’s necessary to add it back to the thread, since it’s the soul of the project    👾👾👾

Technical Document – Project Development

This project has been developed using Unreal Engine 4 (version 4.26), a choice motivated by its stability and maturity compared to newer versions of the engine.

Version 4.26 allows for more direct control over shading and lighting policies, as well as efficient management of large volumes of instanced elements within a level. This is particularly useful for optimizing performance in scenarios with high element density.

At the animation and movement level, the project integrates procedural locomotion systems. On one hand, an enemy system has been reused, currently without official support, adapted to the needs of the project. On the other hand, ALS V4 (Advanced Locomotion System) has been incorporated for characters.

Regarding artificial intelligence, the architecture is inspired by the approach used in the video game Alien: Isolation, Left for Dead 2. Each enemy entity has its own autonomous AI, based on the management of internal stimuli that allow fast and dynamic responses to the environment.

On this basis, a central state machine called the “Hunting Director” has been developed, whose function is to coordinate and modulate the behavior of the different AI systems. This system acts as a higher-level control layer, generating stimuli and directives that affect subordinate agents, enabling emergent behaviors and group coordination.

Additionally, tools have been implemented to facilitate group direction and the management of global dynamics within the game environment.

I’m also leaving a few random GIFs here

Thank you very much for the attention, beautiful people
                                        🦔🦔🦔

https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example

Hello,, hello ,, hello and do you like pizza too? And what flavor? Pepperoni?

I’m losing my mind already, it’s happened to more than one of us, I close my eyes and see code, XD

I’ll split it into parts again, everyone can skip whatever they want

Additions and bug fixes

• Added a moral implication mechanic ,, it’s a small moral choice I’m only trying to create a small emotional bond where you should assist and sympathize
  
  
  
  
• Added information to the arm HUD, it helps enter the context and adds some depth
  
  
  
  
• Added extraction principles, localization, dialogues since it’s the next phase of the game it still needs more work
  
  
  
  
• Fixed errors in the arm HUD, and small general inconsistencies in the game
• Cleaned the scenes in general both debug warnings ,, as well as the game HUD itself
• Added the first story event using the tools created from the hunting director (My little aberrations obey my orders)
  
  
  
  

Surely I’ve done more things but I don’t remember

Reflections:

I’ve had a critical point, I’ve gone blank looking for more mechanics, more filler, the eternal sin,.

More or less understood that the game is almost already structured the more I try to climb the tree the more I’m going to leave my ass exposed,, in principle you can already reach the extraction point which would be the victory condition

I think I should focus on making that escape memorable, like the green smoke from The Rock movie, not making you stay in the forest acting like an idiot going from one place to another epically

Really using the logic of World-first design the most normal thing is that if they’re not going to leave you to your luck they would try to rescue you fast and as soon as possible

"World-first design is a development approach where the world, its rules, and systems are defined first, and then the gameplay mechanics are built around that environment."

So what I have left is to deepen ,, polish,, fill out that escape, make an ending worthy of mordor

I know how to make shooters but I’m not a regular shooter player ,, I’ve asked around and normally if you have movement ,, hip fire and aiming down sights ,, in many games a quick press is hip fire and if you hold the button you go into sights, because using Tab for ADS would be diabolical leaving it like that

Technical part:

I don’t have anything memorable to tell and this is my favorite part

Thank you very much ,,if you made it this far     
                         🐏🧡

https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example

Hello, hello, hello.

I’ve separated everything into sections so everyone can jump straight to whatever interests them most.

<strong>Additions and improvements</strong>

-Added weapon customization system

-Added helmet module selection system (perks)

-Created curved distortion effect for the HUD

-Added distance meter in location selection

-Optimized enemy CPU load (mainly by disabling procedural movement and other unnecessary processes at distance)

<strong>Design reflections</strong>

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the game’s structure.

While testing, I realized that once the support packages arrive and the player returns to the bunker, following the world first design logic, extraction should happen as soon as possible.

It would not make much sense to force three or more filler objectives just to artificially extend the experience. That would only weaken the main tension of the moment.

At the same time, I also realized that the player needs a short preparation phase.

That is why, before extraction, the player will receive a small customization package for the Sturmgewehr 44.

The rifle will feature 3 customization layers, each with 2 possible variations.

For example:

Choosing between a laser sight or an attached flashlight

In addition, I have designed 3 helmet expansion modules (perks), inspired by different military doctrines from the central Oberkommando.

Reconnaissance

Focused on improving environmental awareness and detection.

Intelligence

Focused on tactical information and anticipation.

Shock Forces

Designed for a more aggressive and direct approach.

The idea is simple.

I want to give the player a brief moment to stop and think:

“This is the loadout I have chosen to escape.”

I do not want this section to feel generic.

<strong>Technical side</strong>

Since the weapon customization system was never meant to scale to multiple weapons or a large number of components, it was relatively straightforward to design.

I was able to avoid dealing with:

data tables

complex structures

overly abstract modular logic

Instead, I went for something much more direct and practical.

The truly infernal part was drawing those cursed connection lines on screen.

Finding a way to make them work properly with:  the camera, the locomotion system rotation, the projection of the 3D weapon onto the HUD was quite a battle.

In the end, I solved it in a rather brute force way. I temporarily removed possession from the player, transferred it to another actor, and worked from there. After that, I had to convert the weapon sockets from 3D space into HUD coordinates in order to draw the lines correctly.

In Unreal Engine 4, at least for this very specific case, there is practically no useful information or clear documentation available, so it ended up being a matter of fighting through it with trial and error until it worked.

Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end    
                              🦐🦐🧡


https://coyrestaurado.itch.io/rattenkorps-example