End of May Update

Hello all,

As I've mentioned before, the trailer for the upcoming PC Gaming Show stream is complete and submitted. The show will start at 1:00 PM PDT on June 11th, though I'm uncertain as to when the trailer in the stream itself will show up.

As for other updates, the resource rework (or at least its logistics portion) is finally complete; we now have functional pipelines and conveyors that work correctly.

As you can see, the Crude Oil resources (represented by the black bar filling up when you click on the Oil Rigs and the Silos) will automatically be transferred from the extracting Rigs to the holding Silos via the pipelines. This will of course work for other structures as well, such as transferring resources from the Silos (or anywhere where they are being stored, rather than used) to production structures where they can be used to build things. Keep in mind that raw resources (such as Crude Oil and Scrap) have to be converted into useable resources first (Crude Oil is converted into Fuel, and Scrap and Raw Ore are converted into Materiel). This is done at a refinery or HQ building.

(Also note that there will be dedicated construction animations for the pipelines, the simple transparent graphic you see there is just for testing and demonstration purposes. They will also be constructed with workers in the final game, but again, for testing and demonstration, they are built without workers)

This flow mechanic also works for solid resources (Materiel) as well. Refined resources can be moved from structure to structure via Conveyors.

Also note that this system does simulate flow, however the visuals of flowing liquid/moving boxes are not a simulation, but an approximation. The crates moving, for instance, are not actual blobs of resources moving through the world, but an animation that gives the illusion of flow. Resources moving through pipelines or conveyors are instead "stored" inside each pipe or conveyor section, and the visual is just there to give an indication that resources are moving, and where they are moving towards. You can tell this especially in instances where a moving crate reaches a T-intersection, and somehow becomes 2 crates upon leaving. While true simulation would be cool, this would likely be needless time and money spent developing something that wouldn't be totally necessary, and would also require a total rework of the way OpenRA handles unit pathing.

Also, one last note on resources; you don't need pipes or conveyors to move stuff around, you can always just use a good old forklift, or other transport units.

Keep in mind that transports are needed to move supplies to construction sites. Pipes and Conveyors will only be used to move supplies around from finished building to finished building, so in that sense, they are less dynamic, but more efficient at their specific job.

Also you've certainly noticed the clipping issues in the above gif. This brings us to the next phase of the project, which is implementing a superior lighting/rendering engine, which will serve to both remove all the clipping and Z-fighting issues the game has, and also add dynamic lighting. I won't go too much into detail, but essentially, we would utilize Z-depth maps accompanying every sprite to determine depth, allow units to be lit realistically, so no more ugly fake shadows. More on this later, as we work on this part of the engine.

Also, here's a few new assets:

The big oil pump and big windmill are neutral civilian buildings. Capture the pump and attach a pipeline or resource transport, and its oil resources are yours. Given their titanic size, they extra resources at twice the rate of normal Oil Rigs. The windmill works similarly; capture it with infantry, and you'll get access to additional power to power your base structures with.

There's also another civilian structure, a big gas station. Capture this and attach a pipe or use a transport, and its refined fuel can be extracted and transferred to one of your silos or factories. I would show off the pipeline attached to it, but like with many other things, the current nature of the engine makes it look odd and glitchy when this is done. Yet another thing the coming render engine rework will fix.

Lastly, next month, we will resume community polls to let you pick which units or features you'd like to see worked on next.

That's all for now, and once again, thank you all for your continued support.

- Henske