Public Demo 1 (V2) & Roadmap

Hi!

Since the upcoming Public Demo 1 (V2) demo update/patch is getting closer, I decided to cover some main points related to this + clarify few additional details.

What is Public Demo 1 (V2)?

Public Demo 1 (V2) is an extra update to the first Public Demo 1. The word extra in this context means that this update isn't a part of the official roadmap. I decided to share this V2 update in order to provide the possibility to test new features and improvements that has been added since Public Demo 1. In general, there have been so many new systems lately, so I think it's good to have feedback on those before the Public Demo 2.

Public Demo 1 (V2) update will override the current demo on Steam and it will be available all the way for Public Demo 2 which is the main milestone for 2023.

Public Demo 1 v2 is totally free and open to everyone.

Public Demo 1 (V2) Feature List

- Village Map Expansion
- Attachment System
- Updated Recoil System
- Updated Inventory System
- Updated Equipment System
- Clothing / Character Preview
- Arms-IK / FPS-Arms 2.0
- New Weapons
- New Weapon Audio
- Ambient / Reverb Zones
- Winter Options
- Water System

When Public Demo 1 (V2) is updated to Steam?

The initial thought was around Q1/2023, so end of this month basically. There is no specific date for this update yet, since it might take a little time to put all these new features to playtest-ready state.

I'm usually really disciplined to any deadlines, but since this is an extra update and there isn't any official pre-planned deadline for this, I might take few extra weeks to polish some mechanics and do additional bug fixing, even though the feature list above is already pretty much complete.

The rough estimate for Public Demo 1 (V2) update is within 30 days. I will most likely announce the update in a short Youtube video once it's available on Steam.

Roadmap Details & AI

Yesterday, I was playtesting the expanded Village Map with the current AI and there was one important thought that came from this playtest session.

The key thought is that current AI is far from being "aligned" with the desired gameplay vision and my personal gamedev skills. This is totally understandable since there hasn't been much work towards the AI since Public Demo 1. The time that could have been oriented to AI improvements was instead placed on expanding the current maps (doubling the size) and making map related stuff like static props.

I would argue that competent and unpredictable AI is one of the most important things for this kind of single-player game. I consider the AI being one of the four Priority 1 (PRIO 1) elements for Road to Vostok at this stage which are: Movement, Shooting, Looting and AI.

So, the key thought here is that I would much rather have good AI that provides satisfying demo gameplay and replayability than have large maps with bunch of extra props to fill those new areas.

In order to correct this current situation, I will make the following changes:

I won't provide the actual map expansions ("commercial versions") for these upcoming demos, instead I will provide more compact areas which are still a larger and more detailed than in Public Demo 1. This will free a huge amount of extra development time to AI and because being a solo developer is all about making the right sacrifices, I think this will be one of the best ones currently.

This extra AI development time will be segmented to make at least the following updates to the AI before Public Demo 2:
- AI character models
- AI with new behaviors
- AI with different weapon types
- AI with new weapon sounds
- AI with granades
- AI voice acting
- AI animation updates
- AI crouching / sneaking
- AI improved flanking
- AI improved ragdoll
- AI improved player detection

+ This decision will most likely also provide me the timeline to implement the first trader mechanics before the Public Demo 2. Since trading/bartering is part of core gameplay loop, I think having this implemented before Public Demo 2 is also really beneficial in a big picture.

In summary, the map expansions on the upcoming demos + demo updates will be shrink down to more compact versions in order to free time for AI related work. I would say the expansion amount will about +25% (playable area) instead of doubling the map size completely.

Website Update / Wiki's / Changelog's

After the Public Demo 1 (V2), I will be updating the website, provide more detailed roadmap and better explanations about the game's core elements. The current website is pretty outdated and barebones, so I will spend few days on making that better.

I will also start sharing proper Item Wikis and Changelog's, so those who are really interested about the project and want to know all the nyansed updates there will be sources for this. These things will also help multiple development related tasks and bug testing.

General thoughts

I'm really enjoying the development and there's so much new stuff coming, so I'm definitely excited for this year. The work with the contractors have also been going smoothly and I see no obstacles for Public Demo 2.

Even though the decision to provide a little more compact maps for now is a compromise, I'm actually quite excited for this decision because now I can provide much more enjoyably AI and I think it will bring so much more replayability and enjoyment to that Public Demo 2.

Thanks!

- Antti (Developer)