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GeneRally 2 - Pre-Alpha Demo Released

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:43 am
by James
(Thread split from the developer blog thread)
jefcam wrote:more news please... "a screenshot a day, makes a gene-player happy again!"
RacerBG wrote:New developer blog will be the best idea.
You say a screenshot and a blog post - I say a blog post and a pre-alpha demo :bg:

Please remember this is very early in the development process, so there will be lots of bugs and issues and many features are not working as intended yet :)

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:53 am
by TuomoH
Oh my God! :wow: :jawdrop: :heyea:

Thank you a bunch - now if only I didn't have some work to do still today. :doh: :D

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:06 am
by Glen
Just arrived 10 minutes late at work. it's 100% YOUR fault :)

I hope (and think) that the flickering shadows are due to the Web playable version.
The night effect is beautifull!!! Very well done! The glow of the car during the night is Great!

Thank you for this! Can't wait to play a PC version.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:07 am
by James
Glen wrote:Just arrived 10 minutes late at work. it's 100% YOUR fault :)
:shy: ;)
I hope (and think) that the flickering shadows are due to the Web playable version.
Yup, can confirm no flickering on what I'm running here locally - but these are issues we'll be addressing as we go forward :)
The night effect is beautifull!!! Very well done! The glow of the car during the night is Great!
That's just a temporary measure until we can work out a better way to highlight player cars during the night - we'll aim for something that 'fits in' a bit better for release, I think :)

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:24 am
by 1nsane
Hey, thanks for the demo! It feels just like it should feel. :) And looks nice already.

But there seem to be some controller issues? I'm using a PS3 controller with DS3 tool, which emulates it as Xbox controller. So in essence it works just like Xbox controller. Now, to the problems... Turning is fine, using left analoque stick to left and right turns it as it's supposed to. But gas... Turning the right stick to left makes the car go forward and turning it right makes it brake/reverse. So you might be using a wrong axis? To be during the kickstarting phase (at least) before yyou get bindable keys, you might want to also add gas and brake to something like A and B just to be safe. There also appears to be no button on controller which takes it back to the main menu.
Anyone with a proper xbox controller should confirm.

Then going into more minor things...
The haybales could maybe be less slidy, so they would roll instead if they move.
And this might be car specific (Since I couldn't go back unless I reload the page..), is that the Yankee seems to get stuck on top of traffic cones pretty easily. It also seems to take some serious air from the hay bales.

Also, man that lightning is super cool! I can't wait to get back into track making with GR2. There's just so much more potential in this in many ways. :goodvibes:

Edit: Oh and it looks like the race is infinitely long even if the lap amount is 3 in the settings.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:43 am
by Rendy
I will wait till midnight for this! (my midnight internet) :D

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:49 am
by James
1nsane wrote:But there seem to be some controller issues? I'm using a PS3 controller with DS3 tool, which emulates it as Xbox controller. So in essence it works just like Xbox controller. Now, to the problems... Turning is fine, using left analoque stick to left and right turns it as it's supposed to. But gas... Turning the right stick to left makes the car go forward and turning it right makes it brake/reverse. So you might be using a wrong axis? To be during the kickstarting phase (at least) before yyou get bindable keys, you might want to also add gas and brake to something like A and B just to be safe. There also appears to be no button on controller which takes it back to the main menu.
Will look into this - was working fine with X360 controller for both Kimmo and myself, so not sure on the issue there. We'll get onto it :)
The haybales could maybe be less slidy, so they would roll instead if they move.
And this might be car specific (Since I couldn't go back unless I reload the page..), is that the Yankee seems to get stuck on top of traffic cones pretty easily. It also seems to take some serious air from the hay bales.
Yeah, the Yankee is a bit light at the moment, I think - but, hey, this is the sort of feedback we wanted :)
Edit: Oh and it looks like the race is infinitely long even if the lap amount is 3 in the settings.
The lap count only applies to multi-player races at the moment... though that can be easily changed :) Currently, with a single car selected, it's just being treated as an infinitely long time-trial!

Rendy wrote:I will wait till midnight for this! (my midnight internet) :D
If you're concerned about bandwidth, the demo should be no more than ~5mb download :)

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:57 am
by puttz
There goes part of my evening. I'll have to try this after school.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:02 pm
by Crono
I have to say: I love what i just saw :D Pretty nice mood at night, i really like it! Also the smoke that moves with the wind turned out pretty nice.

Just an thought i had: wind feature in Unity + tree-generator in Unity = moving trees :D

Cu Crono

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:04 pm
by James
Crono wrote:Just an thought i had: wind feature in Unity + tree-generator in Unity = moving trees :D
:shhh:

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:04 pm
by Scholl
Holy f**k guys this is so awesome!
The head-lights shining through the trees, the sinking and rising sun, the cars sliding through the gravel-runoffs! (Rally-racing must be amazing!) Just fantastic.
This is exactly what I expected a sequel of Generaly would look like!

Keep it up and I think this Demo will definitly help to support your kickstarter goals!
I WANT TO THROW MY MONEY AT YOU RIGHT NOW!! :trampo:

Only problem I have is that the game doesn´t really run smoothly.
Also the controls seem to react with a tiny delay.
But I´m sure that´s caused by the web-player and my internet-connection.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:25 pm
by James
Scholl wrote:Only problem I have is that the game doesn´t really run smoothly.
Also the controls seem to react with a tiny delay.
But I´m sure that´s caused by the web-player and my internet-connection.
Shouldn't be down to your Internet connection, as all the player assets (~5mb) should load before the game is playable. However, do take a look at the options menu (accessible via the icon in the top-right corner of the menu), it gives a few performance options you can play with to get some improvements (though the webplayer itself isn't great on the performance front) :bg:

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:59 pm
by 1nsane
Also if you have many other tabs or programs running, try closing those. The browsers are still horribly bad at managing stuff like memory and processing, so even a smallest hit to your system stress might cause the performance of the game to go down.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:31 pm
by DuklaLiberec
It's the first time I played a Unity browser game and I have to say the game works like a charm on my Firefox 28.0 browser, even on the highest settings, so therefore I am very impressed by your work. :bg: The sound effects from the original GR give a taste of nostalgia into the demo, which feels somewhat relaxing.

Well, it's still a pre-alpha version, but you guys didn't fail to whet our appetites for more. Keep it up, James, Markku and Kimmo.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:00 pm
by One
The game is incredibly beautiful and the GeneRally spirit is fully recreated, that's fantastic.

Unfortunately, I don't know if it comes from my computer, my internet connection, or the way of releasing the demo, but I can't really enjoy it properly as I suffer a slight delay between input and reactions.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:23 pm
by Alonsomania
DuklaLiberec wrote:It's the first time I played a Unity browser game and I have to say the game works like a charm on my Firefox 28.0 browser, even on the highest settings, so therefore I am very impressed by your work. :bg: The sound effects from the original GR give a taste of nostalgia into the demo, which feels somewhat relaxing.

Well, it's still a pre-alpha version, but you guys didn't fail to whet our appetites for more. Keep it up, James, Markku and Kimmo.
Funny, doesn't load here at all in FF28 :) You wouldn't guess it but works like a charm in IE.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:20 pm
by tonyyeb
Firstly let me say what an awesome job you guys have done so far, it has a real feel of "GeneRally Successor". It looks fantastic, drives really well and has the foundations of being the best sequel ever.

Things I've noticed, after a few laps the ghost seems to go a bit weird, either driving much slower than it should (sector times say I'm behind but I'm ahead of the ghost?) or it seems to go a bit quicker? Keyboard controls are fine but there is no way to exit to the menu. I think the effect of hitting the sunken tyres is a bit extreme compared to the original GR.

But I have to say that I've played it a few times already today and not found anything horribly wrong or buggy so that's a huge positive.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:25 pm
by Trigger Happy
So I must load it everytime I want to e.g. switch between cars? Pretty annoying, hopefully one of fixes can solve it.

Otherwise it looks good, generallish feel is indeed there :bg:, but cannot say anything more relevant because of the above-mentioned delay. I barely can finish a lap bellow 40 secs while driving formula (MF28). :-D

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:31 pm
by Jim451
Soooo glad to finally discover what this GR2 will look like and it does look really great!! Graphics are nice and cars look funny, it kept Generally's soul and atmosphere!! At begining it's a bit disturbing to drive the cars and different to handle (my fav is the monster truck :D )
I tried to play with a game pad but it didn't worked (I use a Thrustmaster game pad) I can select it on the menu and chose car with arrows but then in game the car get stuck (like if I was pressing brake a throttle at same time.
And also I'm French so I don't use a qwerty keyboard and it's impossible to choose the controls for 2nd driver. But I don't mind I know that it's not the point for now and only thing that matters is that the game is just GREAT and that it's just the begining!!
Congratulations!!! :bg:

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:33 pm
by Paw
Trigger Happy wrote:So I must load it everytime I want to e.g. switch between cars? Pretty annoying, hopefully one of fixes can solve it.
Use backspace. :P

As I started it presented me with blank blue screen, I had to start it on other computer to see how menu works, then back at the first one I could blindly navigate through it, while onle the changed elements (like cars) appeared. The game worked, and after going back to menu with backspace it displayed OK. Just so you know, if you need any details about my specs send me a PM. Also the game ran a bit jittery, but I blame it on my browser not being restarted for days and many open tabs. :sweatdrop:

The driving itself feels disturbingly diferent from GR, while still being very close to it. Maybe it's that aformentioned jitter that put me off though or the fact I was driving small set of cars in GR and I got used to them. :shrug:

To not sound too negative (or is it actually constructive?) I like the day-night cycle and the smoke from the block. These little details :goodvibes:

Thank You for this present and keep up the good work, waiting for standalone full version! :bg:

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:23 am
by Rendy
After some tries, it looks great! I can see how GR2 will look, although unfortunately I can't verdict on cars since my FPS is average. :p

Nevertheless, I love how the Rally car looks, the additions of Group C and Buggy cars, and the Day/Night Cycle. It's going to be fun showing this to my college friends! :bg:

Gotta make a blog post out of this... :D

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:44 am
by puttz
Jest test drove it. WOW! It looks great, and it's fun to drive, although I had a bit of lag and had to turn down the effects some, so I can't really evaluate the physics, which I'm sure aren't final, anyway. And I'm sure the lag is just an in-browser issue that won't affect me when the real thing comes out. The cars are nice, the lighting effects are awesome! The one thing I didn't like was the engine sounds, they sounded terrible to me (the formula sounds like a dentist drill :scared: ), although again I'm sure those were just put in for the pre-KS demo and will sounds lots better in the final release.

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:04 am
by TheZkip
Hi, guys! It's Kimmo/J4ber here :mrgreen:

Just wanted to drop by to give some hints on how to improve the performance of the demo:
  • Turn dynamic shadows off (rather big performance gain)
  • Turn off high quality terrain (big performance gain, but takes away quite a bit visually)
We are aware of the current performance issues and have some ideas how to tackle them. The main culprit at the moment seems to be the Unity terrain system and how we are using it to determine the surface you are driving on. Dynamic shadows are also a big performance hog.

We'll also take a look at the handling issues people are having, but as the one who made the cars, I'd put it mainly on the way I like them to handle though. The physics system is flexible enough to create different handling cars, but I've just made them all a bit sluggish to drive from personal preference. Will have to prove that on a later update ;)

Anyway, I feel it's great to have the demo finally out and start getting feedback on the physics and whatnot. It really is invaluable for us so we can make the game as good as it can be. :bg:

EDIT: about the ghost car... yes, it's currently rather buggy, but we'll look into it. I wrote it some late night and haven't really had the time to fix it for good. I'm pretty sure I know why it is buggy so it shouldn't be a big issue :)

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:05 am
by Glen
So, I have remarks and I'd like to talk about it in first. I hope it is what you are waiting for to improve the allready good game :

When a car is touching the wall at night, the light of the car is passing through the wall.
In my opinion, the night cycle is too long. I wish I had more sun in the daytime. Will it be possible to set up the during of a cycle?
I personally do not like the sounds of the cars. Except for the mini of course. I think you could keep the original generally sound has you’ve done with the skidding.
At first, I was not comfortable with the driving. This was due to the fact I hadn’t played Generally so often this times. After Hours of testing, I only like the driving of the Mini. The driving is now close to the other Top down view arcades games. I don’t really feel the generally handling that was so good. But maybe it’s just the cars and not the in-game physic.
With the formula and the monster truck, i’m often on only two wheels. It’s like the cars are floating on 4 big helium tires.
I think the grass does not turn fast enough into mud when driving over it. And the mud from grass is not dark enough for the game.
The grass sparks are shining in the dark. They could be dark.

So, Good news:
I totally love the skids marks, the dust and grass effect.
The shadows, set to the maximum, are just great. (to play the game in nearly fullscreen, zoom on the webpage)

I’m done for today. Don’t think I don’t like it, the game is already very good like that! Keep it up!

EDIT: And I know that this is just a Kickstarter web demo. SO maybe you've allready done something :)

Re: Developer Blog

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:05 am
by Bouncebackability
I managed to give it a go for 10 minutes yesterday and I have to say you've done a fantastic job. I had a number of framerate issues the longer I played and after I swtiched cars. I tinkered with the settings, but I only got some decent running to begin with the mini. Perhaps an issue with my internet speed however :shrug:

Judging by the mini, and the short time I tried it, I personally liked how the car felt although I wasnt too keen on the car sounds (particualry the more powerful Formula and Group C.

Graphics wise I think it looks fantastic, great details and the lighting is nice. As someone else said, I too felt the night lasted too long, the day too short, also I felt the lamps/headlights turned on too late and off too early.

The split times were also a nice touch! I'll try and give it a further go later.