Devlog

Alpha 0.1.2 is out

Alpha 0.1.2 is now on the launcher. This update comes straight from the first playtest, where the game had put itself on the lowest graphics settings with a 30 fps cap. Before it went out, we checked the packaged build on a test machine with a fresh install and a copy of a 0.1.1 install. Both came up at the right graphics settings, a new game loaded into Vesper, and two players hosted and joined over a network and saw each other move.

New

  • Automatic graphics setup. The first launch after updating runs a short hardware check and picks a graphics quality level. It also repairs 0.1.1 installs that were stuck on the lowest settings with a 30 fps cap. You can still change the result in Settings.
  • Unlimited frame rate. Settings now has an Unlimited frame-rate option.

Changed and fixed

  • Smoother movement. Movement settles more smoothly between idle, walking, crouching and view changes. Other players in co-op are smoothed better too. Crouch speed was too fast for its animation and is slower now.
  • Rebuilt roads. The country and dam roads now follow the terrain in shorter sections, including a new cutting down to the Substation 3 approach. The ground beside them was resculpted.
  • Buildings sit where they should. We separated 26 houses that overlapped each other or stood in a street, and added foundations beneath 13 buildings that floated over slopes.
  • The routes were cleared. Roadside poles, lights, fences, player starts and scene props were repositioned. Trees and obsolete road pieces that crossed the new routes were removed, and navigation was rebuilt.

Known issues

  • Feet can still slide. Foot planting is not in this build. It is already built and measured for the next one.
  • Characters are still rough. Female characters use the shared male walk, cover has no dedicated animation, and nobody’s lips move yet.
  • The rebuilt roads still have rough edges. The hillside is steep beside some roads, road pieces can show small seams at bends, and rock shows on the steepest new cut faces.
  • Every player starts out named “Merritt”. Set your name on the Character screen.
  • Internet play needs the host to forward UDP port 7777 on their router.
  • The first start and the first trip into Vesper stutter while shaders prepare. Give it a few minutes.
  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit) only. The download is still about 12 GB, and the launcher wants about 36 GB free on the install drive before it starts. A smaller update that fetches only changed files is still to come.
  • Extract the launcher before you run it. Unzip the whole folder first, then run PatcherXGameLauncher.exe from it. Started from inside the zip, it stops with “CreateProcess() returned 2”.
  • If the launcher says NOT ENOUGH DISK SPACE, free up space on that drive, or press INSTALL FOLDER and pick a bigger one.

What’s next

Foot planting is already built and measured, and lands next. After that comes the smaller download that only fetches the files that changed, followed by the character pass. The roadmap has the full list.

Alpha access goes to supporters through the launcher, via the Patreon. The progress page and the roadmap have the bigger picture.