In the latest Squadron 42 progress report, Ryan “Mac” shares updates on the game’s development, highlighting advancements in AI, animation, environment art, and narrative elements, indicating that the project is nearing completion. The excitement builds for the upcoming CitizenCon event, where more significant announcements, including potential release dates, are expected.
In the latest Squadron 42 monthly report, Ryan, also known as Mac, shares updates on the development progress of the game. This report is notably brief, consisting of only seven teams of information, which suggests that the project is nearing completion. He expresses excitement about the upcoming CitizenCon event, where more significant announcements are expected, including potential release dates.
The AI Tech team has made several enhancements, allowing designers to set default schedules for NPCs and enabling better navigation for AI characters on planetary surfaces. These improvements include optimizing the responsiveness of AI based on their proximity to players, which could enhance gameplay experience in both Squadron 42 and the persistent universe. Additionally, the AI social Strike Team has been focused on enriching social scenes by adding life and utility behaviors to various locations, such as hangars and gyms.
The animation team has refined the zero-gravity movement mechanics and improved player interactions with the environment, alongside fixing bugs related to cover mechanics. The facial animation team is nearing completion of their work, preparing to enhance the quality of facial animations for key characters. The map team has also contributed by capturing additional animation data, which will aid in gameplay storytelling.
The environment art team is pushing the boundaries of art and lighting to create a high-fidelity cinematic experience, focusing on dynamic environmental destruction and planetary content for Chapter 7. This suggests that significant visual improvements are on the horizon, especially with the potential introduction of global illumination and ray tracing technologies. The gameplay story team is dedicated to polishing scenes across various chapters, ensuring that character interactions and environmental storytelling flow seamlessly.
Lastly, the narrative team is working on improving scanning mechanics and fleshing out information related to corpses encountered in the game, which ties into future investigation missions. They are also refining dialogue and environmental storytelling to create a cohesive narrative experience. The VFX team continues to support various gameplay elements and optimize content for an enhanced player experience. Overall, the report indicates that development is progressing well, and anticipation is building for announcements at CitizenCon.