ABSENT LOG Dev Update 7/15/2025

We are in full swing for getting the first wave of our campaign level assets ready to go!

Last month we took a look at Maintenance, and the direction we’ve decided to go with that. As those modular assets are nearing completion and in the polish phase, we are starting to turn our eyes to what's going to be immediately needed for the second level of the campaign, Dock/Concourse. 

“Tekka has mostly been taking charge of the Dock/Concourse level, and I'm moving back into a more support role for it. My main goal is to build up ambient props, rooms, modules and various different assets that will help bring together the finalized level layout that he makes.

One of the first things I wanted to do was create modular utility rooms. I started with the Security and Medical station, and all the necessary props and visual items that would accompany them.

My intention for these modular, copy-pasted rooms is to serve as almost landmarks that would be used not just in Dock/Concourse, but most other levels.

Starting with security, it would serve as a sort of base of operations in a way for when you first enter into a deck. Diegetically this makes sense, as in the game world, Security would be separated into each deck with a small station dedicated to that specific deck. From here, the player can stock up on some supplies, read security terminals for potential clues or context, and access work stations to override security lockdowns or with the proper know-how, replicate security clearances to access various rooms in that respective deck. I like to imagine that it is almost like a “command center” for each deck.

An element of environmental storytelling that is important to us is that the ship isn't just a collection of high tech panels, pipes, and metallic corridors, but it's made up of spaces where people lived and worked. WIth security, I wanted to make sure that it not just felt like a semi-military structure, but also like a work room, where guards wasted away countless days writing reports, throwing banter, killing time, and doing their day to day without any real action. Alongside locked weaponry and supplies, I wanted to make space for clerical work as well, like desks and shelves with various office minutia.

Weapons lockup operates fully on construction scripts. Meaning we can easily drag and drop the locker, set the lock code, and set what weapons and how many are stored and set what supplies are in the bottom compartment, we won't ever need to manually place each weapon and item in the locker.

Medical lockers work on the same general premise, and will be interacted with in much the same way.



Variation is never a bad thing, so I made sure to introduce 3 various types of security stations, a small half one that could be clipped seamlessly into a wall, a medium sized one that's considered more standard, and a larger 3 block version that houses a small squad of officers. 

Moving onto Medical, functionally it was a similar concept to security. Medical is almost like a semi safe room. It's quiet, cold, and calm. Visually, it is meant to really act more like a clinic, where small to medium severity injuries or illnesses could be treated throughout its respective deck. Visually, its very glossy walls, chamfered rounded corners and cool colors are meant to invoke a very sterile, almost stasis or sleep-like environment. A noticeable departure from how security or even maintenance is set up visually.

Originally, for visuals, I had wanted to set up a similar layout to the sick bays usually seen on Starfleet vessels from Star Trek (more specifically, from ST: Voyager), however I quickly realized due to its very irregular shape, it didn't lend itself to a seamless copy pasted design. So I went in a more rounded, organic semi-graphic feel.

(I'm quite proud of the CLINIC graphic on the main wall in particular.)

I've tried to set this up to not necessarily be as realistic as possible, but as sensible as possible. Everything that should be here is here. There is an office for the medical officer on staff here, 3 sick beds, a waiting couch, a storage room, and a simple bathroom. I've left a bit of open space so we can have different props or elements placed here that can give more variation for each version of the medical station that we place.

In terms of functionality, an idea we are playing with is that each medical station has a guaranteed free full heal whenever you need it, you would simply need to interact with one of the sick beds. Similar to how surgery beds work in the system shock games. However, it can be risky as depending on where you are, you would need to make a full trek back to the medical station for your health and you could potentially risk an engagement on the way.
However this aspect is speculation, and needs to be tested in the context of a full level to determine its viability.

Last month we talked a bit about utilizing projection decals to create easy and performance friendly detailing for levels. I’ve made a few new ones meant for much larger surfaces like walls and floors. This saves a lot of headache in the texturing phase of levels, as we can just texture simple color and material blockouts, and push a lot of big, visual detailing with just these decals.

MAIN PROJECT UPDATES:

- Various bugfixes and enhancements to AI perception, maneuverability, and world interactions. This includes giving them the ability to jump up or down from platforms and ledges to reach a search point or the player.

- Added various new panels and assets for Maintenance, including a procedural two-level lift, new light textures, and various optimizations.

- Reworked the laser pointer system when aiming, instead of using a projection decal, it now uses a flat plane with a transparent, emissive texture. Due to Depth Buffer issues, projected decals don't play nicely with transparent materials like glass. This solves the problem entirely as it projects a mesh (plane) instead of a decal.

- Added a stun state and animation for TW when she drops from a height that is greater than 5 meters. This only plays for about a second.

- Reworked various interaction collision box channels, this was affecting the visibility channel, which meant the AI couldn't see through boxes that are purely meant for testing if an object is there. This also caused issues with the reticle not placing on a wall that was behind a collision box.

- Completely overhauled how all doors function. Instead of being automated, you will need to directly interact with any door in order to open it. I've also fixed major bugs where the door would close if the player was away from the door but an AI was right at it. This was solved by performing a box trace check anytime ANY NPC/PLAYER has left the door detection. If something is still there, it remains open until it has left. 

- Added explosive barrels and radial explosions. These will damage both the player and enemies if within its blast radius. Includes destruction mesh physics.

- Implemented assets for SECURITY and MEDICAL stations, including respective props.

- Implemented 2 new detail decals for large panel use.

- Manifested TW into reality. (She's sitting on my desk.)

ART ASSETS:

"This month I get to show off a suite of universal assets that we had already shared some art for a while back: a set of column elements for dressing up our levels.  While Loom has been doing a very elegant job of setting up trim sheets for broad level geometry, I've been mostly focused on "universal" high-utility assets with bespoke textures.  Striking a balance between the two approaches should let us strike a balance between performance and fleshed-out visual variety.

I've designed all of these assets to use mirroring such that all of their textures can fit into a single UV sheet while also maintaining appropriate fidelity.  This also means that the models lend themselves to being halved or quartered as necessary when building them into levels, which will be beneficial to performance.

As we're getting into proper level production now, I've begun work on converting blockouts and explorations for the level "Concourse" into elements that conform to our established level asset standards.  This is slated to be the first true level of the game, and getting it designed and built out is going to be my main focus in the coming months."

-Tekka