SIREN

Demo Feedback Survey

Feedback Survey for those participating in the demo test. You will be able to edit your answers/feedback until the demo window closes on 7/6.

https://forms.gle/ZAXiEVbEyumLSMnL6

Demo bug

We've just become aware of a character control issue that may impact many of you (hopefully not all).

IF: you swim slower than normal when pointed toward the surface, OR sprint/surge doesn't seem to work at all, then you are being affected by this bug. The bug does not occur on the computers we test on, which is why we didn't notice it till now.

We're going to push this build anyway, since everyone has been waiting for weeks, but just be aware that your experience may be impac...

A few notes about the demo

Hello, everyone!

The demo links will be sent out in a few hours. Before jumping in, here are some things.

NO DOWNLOAD LINK

If you're expecting a link to the demo but do not receive one, it means there was a problem verifying your Patreon email address (either a typo, or you used a different email address). Please send a DM on here on Patreon to resolve this.

CONTROLS

Currently, the tutorial popups are not descriptive enough and a...

SIREN Tech Demo (Pre-Alpha)

Hello, everyone!

We will be releasing our first demo build this Friday. If you would like to try it out, please sign up with this link before 8:30am PST on 6/21:

https://forms.gle/AETq1BLhZn8LjiJj8

Since this is our first phase of testing, minimum requirements for this demo build are a bit uncertain, but here are some general guidelines:

OS: Windows 10/11 - 64bit

RAM: 8GB
...

Pre-Alpha Announcement

Hello, everyone!

Excited to announce that I'll be spending some time working on a small demo level for you to download. It'll be a stripped-down version of my working build; just to let you swim around and offer important feedback on things like controls, movement speed, and camera angles. I'll still be working on the main project concurrently, but I'm expe...

3.26.24 Progress Update

Hello!

This video shows off our new buoyancy system! Our character can now properly bob with the waves when they're at the surface! From a coding perspective, this was trickier than it might sound... We can't simply lock the character's position to the surface of the wave mesh; there has to be some lag and delay, to convey a sense of mass. To do this we sample several points around the character to get an idea of the surface's current angle and incoming wave direction, then we slowly (...

Companion idea...

So I have an idea for a semi-permanent companion/minion NPC, and I'd appreciate some community feedback and brainstorming. Here are some bullet points of my ideas thus far:

• Nix is a small octopus that you'd meet very early in the story.
• All Mercuan octopii are sentient and can communicate with the Mer telepathically.
• Nix remains attached to you while you're swimming, but detaches during combat and while idle. (see attached photo for reference)
• Nix will b...
  2024-03-12 17:40:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Update 02.27.24

Hello, Patrons!

Well, I've personally spent the last day and a half trying to resolve some hardware issues with my workstation, but aside from that it has been a solid week of progress.

The core focus is still on bringing the gameplay systems back to working order. The demo level is still intact, since it existed in the older save files, but a lot of the combat and quest system has to be rebuilt. On the bright side, it's moving a lot faster this time, and will be better optimiz...

Recalibration

For those of you who don't use Discord, I'm reposting the message I sent there:

Hi, everyone

First off, I need to apologize for going silent for so long. A few months ago, I made some catastrophic mistakes with Siren's version control (project backup system) and ended up losing a significant amount of work. I handled the setback very poorly. Went into some kind of mental paralysis, stopped communicating with the team, and started avoiding the community entirely,...

Thoughts on Quest Design and UI

Hello, Patrons!  I hope everyone is having a nice October thus far. Work on the more intricate parts of the combat system has been contracted out, so I've been able to spend some quality time on quest design/writing.

Quest design, and its integration with the UI has always fascinated me, and there are so many different ways to approach it. In my history as a modder, my primary goal has was to reduce UI clutter as much as possible, I want to actually see the GAME and not just a bun...

Equipment and Infusions

Hello, Patrons!

Today I wanted to drop some info about how we're approaching equipment and gear progression. It's what we're currently programming right now, so I'd appreciate early feedback. This is something that very few RPGs get right on the first try.  

The core philosophy here is to remove the need for a “transmog system” by removing the concept of item levels. All equipable items can be upgraded and modified to match your character level and playstyl...

Update 9/11/23

Hello, Patrons!

Took a few very-needed days off last week, but back on the grind! Lots of work being done on the quest scripting system, in tandem with the loot/object system which will spawn harvestable objects in the world (clams, edible plants, seaweed, different types of coral, shiny rocks, etc).

Unreal Engine also just released version 5.3 which has some major quality-of-life improvements for animation workflow, and a new feature which will allow us to edit character models...

Cellphone Wallpapers

Hello, Patrons!

Made some HD cellphone wallpapers for ya. Uploaded without any watermarks or logos. Currently using one of them myself :)

Progress update 8/21/23

Hello, everyone!

Quick update on what's been going on. Our sound designer, Evan, has delivered of bunch of great combat sounds which I'm incorporating into the system. The attached photo shows the incredible amount of layering that goes into one single "combat woosh". Yet another challenge of designing an underwater game: you can't simply buy a pack of pre-recorded combat sounds, because they don't sound right in an underwater environment. Everything has to be painstakingly handmade. 2023-08-21 15:49:33 +0000 UTC View Post

Combat Difficulty Poll

Hello everyone! Today, a quick poll regarding the game's combat difficulty. Just looking for a rough idea about how our Patrons typically play these types of games. While we obviously want all difficulty modes to be fine-tuned in the end, this feedback will help us focus attention and resources in the short term, and set a baseline for what the combat feels like.

Narrative mode: Basically auto-wins combat for you. Combat can be fought realtime at "novice mode" difficulty, but there is...

BTS Unlit Scene

Hi, everyone!

I was tweaking some lighting values and thought it would be a good chance to make a quick video showing what a difference the lighting system makes in a game engine. Lighting is EVERYTHING in video games. Even as a dev, it always shocks me just how ugly everything looks when you go into unlit mode😂. Game textures are intentionally designed to be flat, drab, and low-contrast, leaving room for the shaders and lighting to add all of the "pop".

Hope everyone has a ...

UI Update

Hello, everyone! Got a short video showing the core of our UI when you first launch the game. You'll see some inconsistencies in font choice, since we're still experimenting. Feel free to point out the fonts that you like (or don't like)! 

Biome poll

Hello Patrons! Quick update about work being done at the moment. I've been doing more work on some core UI features (I'll have some screenshots for you soon), and a 3D artist has been contracted to create the customizable mermaid model, so hopefully within a few weeks we'll be able to swap it in and replace the temp asset we've been using. :D

The poll below: where would you like to spend the majority of your time in-game? Please drop some comments about what you'd like to see in these ...

Moonlight and Auroras

Hello, Patrons!

As promised in Discord, here's a shot of what the ocean surface looks like at night. There's a bit of an aurora glow, which I think looks good, and yes, I know you can't really see auroras at tropical latitudes irl. What do you think? Should we keep the auroras, or scrap it for a more realistic look?