Twist on 27/2/2014 at 22:10
The developer of The Ball (atmospheric first-person puzzler) and Unmechanical (side-scrolling adventure/puzzler) is developing a mostly non-linear, atmospheric first-person survival game in Unreal Engine 4.
(
http://www.solusthegame.com/)
(
http://www.onlysp.com/solus-unreal-engine-4-survival-game-set-on-an-extraterrestrial-planet-exclusive-interview/) Only SP Interview
(
http://www.unrealengine.com/en/showcase/solus/) Unreal Engine 4 Showcase - Solus
There is no combat. Instead, you must explore, scavenge and craft to survive and progress in the harsh weather and environment of an exotic alien planet.
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With no combat whatsoever, the sole threat comes from the world itself. “Solus has a fully dynamic and random weather and atmosphere system.” De Jong said. “Extreme heat during the day, extremely cold during the nights. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, earthquakes, and meteors can occur at any point and kill you.” The biggest killer will be the temperature. Swings between hot and cold of over 100 degrees celsius (180F) occur between night and day, placing the player in precarious positions. Staying cool during the day and warm at night will be a significant issue if your survival is to be ensured. To this end, Teotl are going to rather extreme computational lengths, going so far as to “calculate the temperature both in the shadows and in direct sunlight, so sticking to the shadows will lead to a cooler environment. We also track the amount of wind and humidity in the atmosphere, which also has an impact on the way you experience the temperature.”
The developers don't plan on providing any hand-holding:
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“The underground passages are… pitch black, and are a maze of tunnels. Unless you figure out how to navigate the environment through [crafting a torch and] marking where you’ve been before, as you would in real life, you are likely to get lost and die. Again, we won’t protect the players from those kinds of things.”
They're also developing with the Oculus Rift in mind and aiming for total immersion:
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Design-wise, Teotl are attempting to make Solus as immersive as possible. This begins with the UI. Or, rather, the lack thereof. Teotl are trying their damnedest to create
a UI-free game. This includes the crafting system.
Crafting takes place entirely outside of menus. Instead, crafting is implemented directly in the world. Designing for the Rift is a challenge, with Teotl having to make some significant design choices to accommodate the Rift... The team are also
aiming for a complete lack of loading screens to increase immersion...
The project director has some refreshing things to say about single-player and free-to-play trends:
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“I have very little interest in various forms of single-player blending with multiplayer, or any type of free-to-play mechanics within single-player games... I believe there will always be a sizable audience who want single-player games that don’t bug you with in-game purchases, that don’t slow you down to try and extort money out of you, and that don’t require you to login or connect to some server just to be able to play on your own for a while."
For anyone unfamiliar with Sjoerd De Jong, the project director, he's one of the industry's foremost Unreal Engine experts, often hired by developers to help a team learn how to use the Unreal Engine. He also designed two of UT2004's most popular levels, ONS-Torlan and DM-Rankin.
Solus sounds like an intriguing concept and ambitious design for a small, independent studio. Yet given his background and his tenacity, I'm confident Hourences can complete such a project. But... will the end product play well, or just be a technology showcase?
