{"id":2640,"date":"2020-08-05T10:33:56","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T10:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lofigames.com\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2021-03-29T14:26:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T14:26:46","slug":"july-community-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lofigames.com\/zh\/july-community-update\/","title":{"rendered":"July Community Update"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018Caliburn\u2019<\/span><\/a> here again for another update on Kenshi. As with previous posts, I\u2019ll start by recapping a few things going on with the continued support for the first Kenshi. For this blog\u2019s special section, we\u2019re catching up with some of the team at Lo-fi to find out what\u2019s keeping them sane in isolation before finally getting to development news on Kenshi 2.<\/p>\n

Experiment recursion.<\/h1>\n

In the past month we\u2019ve once again been making use of the experimental branch, most notably around an issue users reported with saved games following the latest windows update. Many players had stated they were unable to save, load, or experienced crashing when they tried. In Kenshi\u2019s latest v1.0.50<\/span><\/a> update saves default to the Windows user directory, fixing any potential issues linked to system permissions. Please keep in mind that if you wish to edit a saved game the new location to check is
\nC:\\Users\\<YourUsername>\\AppData\\Local\\kenshi\\save.<\/p>\n

Defined interpretation.<\/h1>\n

Hinted above, after consulting with the forum mods we\u2019ve made some overdue changes to bug reporting flow \u2013 namely better collating more widely popular bugs, cleaning up a number of older topics, and providing a more visible response to new ones. This will likely mean pushing for a stricter adherence to the bug reporting format<\/span><\/a> as I work to ensure they can be reproduced and turn them into meaningful notes to the programming team to progress. The end goal here is to keep fixing issues for in Kenshi 1 in a more transparent way, giving users more feedback on if it\u2019s feasibly possible to fix and where we\u2019re at with their reports. For a more worded explanation of the changes check out the pinned topic here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hey, Fans!<\/h1>\n

In past blog posts we\u2019ve mentioned hiring a number of new team members to expand the studio for Kenshi 2. Over the next few updates, since we\u2019re focussed on an important Kenshi 2 subproject (details further down) I\u2019m taking the opportunity to catch up with different team members and share a little bit of who they are, what they\u2019re up to outside of the studio, and how they\u2019re doing working from home.<\/p>\n

Guy \u2018Warls\u2019 Warley \u2013 Concept Artist<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m Guy<\/span><\/a>, a concept designer with a background in graphic design, illustration and advertising. I joined the team in November 2019 and have been working on concepts for the architecture, furniture, and characters that inhabit the world of Kenshi 2.<\/p>\n

Home setup:<\/h3>\n

For my home setup I recently purchased a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24<\/span><\/a>, replacing my Wacom Intous 3. After spending 12 years with the Intuos 3 (which is still going strong) it\u2019s a big upgrade. I initially thought it was going to take a lot of time to get used to the switch but I\u2019m already really enjoying it and using it every day. The Cintiq is connected to my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) which works pretty well running things like Photoshop.<\/p>\n

Thoughts on working on Kenshi from home:<\/h3>\n

I am quite used to working at home and have got into a good routine over the years. I do miss working in the office though, it\u2019s much easier to talk through different areas of the project with everyone in the same room, much less typing!<\/p>\n

Life balance:<\/h3>\n

I have been spending the lockdown back in my hometown near East Yorkshire by the coast. Running and walking are the main things keeping me going. I\u2019m also doing some yoga in the mornings, I\u2019m rubbish at it but enjoying it anyway.<\/p>\n

In my free time I\u2019ve been working on several of my own illustrations, such as the album covers for three different electronic artists that I finished recently.<\/p>\n

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Other freelance projects I\u2019ve worked on that people might recognise include art for mud-and-lasers RPG \u2018Lancer\u2019<\/span><\/a> and a cover for the gritty future comic \u2018The Hand Unseen\u2019<\/span><\/a>. Right now, I\u2019m working on some posters based on my favourite Studio Ghibli films which follow on from other personal projects like last year\u2019s Akira poster<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Victor \u2018Mr4Goosey\u2019 Goossens \u2013 Technical Artist<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m Victor, or Mr4Goosey<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019ve been doing indie-dev on my own projects for over half a decade, and I\u2019ve spent part of that doing it for a living. I got fed up of running my own business and decided to look for a full-time job in the industry, leading me to Lo-Fi. I wanted to combine my love for making pretty things with interests in logic and programming, which is why I\u2019m now a technical artist.<\/p>\n

Home setup:<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m running a custom PC with a Ryzen 7 2700X and a GTX1080. For peripherals, I\u2019ve got a Decus mouse and a Razer Blackwidow (Green switches) both with lovely wrist-rests. Finally, for screens I\u2019m running a 34\u201d LG Ultra-wide which I\u2019m looking to replace with something less bulky and a 27\u201d AOC monitor on the side.<\/p>\n

Thoughts on working on Kenshi from home:<\/h3>\n

Thanks to past projects I\u2019m used to working from home, so it\u2019s really not that special to me, ironically being in an office will take more getting used to. It\u2019s nice to be in my own place and have access to my stuff, but when everything happens in the same room it\u2019s easy to lose sight of the boundaries between work and life. It can also be hard to get to know the team properly when we\u2019ve not properly met. All in all, I\u2019m looking forward to being in-office; working from home feels less efficient and enjoyable than being together with people, plus it gets lonely and boring.<\/p>\n

Life balance:<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve started another gamedev project in my spare time, though I\u2019ve been trying to get away from my computer too. Out of my new interests the main one that helps is blacksmithing. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t have a forge yet \u2013 that\u2019ll probably have to wait until I\u2019ve moved to the UK, but as I\u2019m mostly focussed on armouring, I can do quite a lot anyway. It\u2019s a steep learning curve, but it\u2019s really cool to produce something like a piece of armour out of nothing.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m also just getting into electronics and robotics. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been putting off for as long as I\u2019ve been doing gamedev, but I\u2019m hoping to get started on it properly now. First steps are reading up on basic electronics (I wouldn\u2019t be able to give you a definition of a \u201cservo\u201d), because that\u2019s the main part I\u2019m lacking. I\u2019m hoping I can get the hang of that then get properly stuck in!<\/p>\n

Lastly, I\u2019ve been doing more gamedev. I\u2019ve recently started playing around with Phyronnaz\u2019s Voxel Plugin for UE4<\/span><\/a>, and I\u2019m currently trying to make a small, relaxing game in which you build a low-poly eco dome with cute animals in it. Not sure exactly where it\u2019ll be going, but I\u2019m hoping to release it on Steam for a few bucks at some point in a similar vein to Islanders.<\/p>\n

Boodals \u2013 Programmer<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m Boodals, the programmer who was hired back in November. Up until now I’ve been working on remaking the GUIs from Kenshi 1 in Unreal Engine, but now that we’ve hired Craig, I can shift my efforts onto less urgent tasks, such as code cleanliness and stability. I won\u2019t go into too much detail, but I’d call it more of a support role, making the other programming jobs easier and faster, and discouraging code which could be unstable.<\/p>\n

Home setup:<\/h3>\n

Since we started working from home, I’ve been using my own PC for most tasks. We do all have laptops to work on, but I don\u2019t have the desk space to fit mine. Using my PC also allows me to test the GUIs I previously spoke about<\/span><\/a> on a 4k screen to make sure everything functions correctly at higher resolutions.<\/p>\n

Thoughts on working on Kenshi from home:<\/div>\n

Working from home is pretty great, mainly due to lie-ins and easy access to snacks (ha-ha), but it does come with its downsides. Not being able to quickly speak to other developers or show each other what we’re working on makes it harder to get stuff done. We’re exploring several apps and programs to minimize this, but you can’t beat being in the same room.<\/p>\n

Life balance:<\/h3>\n

Outside of work, the lockdown really hasn’t affected me too much, as I’m one of the lucky ones who isn’t bothered by being locked in. I moved house just before the lockdown started, so I’ve been hanging out with my new housemates and their cat, whom I pay tribute to in the form of pets every time I pass through Her domain (stairs, hallway, kitchen\u2026)<\/p>\n

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Declarative prologue.<\/h1>\n

The team have been hugely busy this month working on a \u2018vertical slice\u2019 of Kenshi 2, which I have the pleasure of sharing snippets of today.<\/p>\n

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For those unaware of the terminology, a vertical slice is a portion of near-finished quality game which then allows a studio to visualise some of what they\u2019re up to. It\u2019s traditionally distinct from a prototype in that the quality is much higher leaving less room for flexibility but for us we\u2019re blurring that line a bit and using it primarily as a tangible design tool. Internally nicknamed \u2018Concrete Neon\u2019, it\u2019s about having a space to test and iterate on some of Kenshi 2\u2019s ideas by taking them away from a design document and experiencing how they might actually be played.<\/p>\n

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Sharing some thoughts on our first major milestone, Chris compares Concrete Neon to founding Kenshi\u2019s Holy Nation and his hands on approach to game design: \u201cAnyone who played the [Kenshi 1 early access] map in it’s earliest incarnation will remember that only a small area around the holy nation was active, the rest was greyed-out and you couldn’t go there, because it wasn’t finished. This gives us a test bed to get everything working early on so we can play the game and experiment. I’m not a very formal designer, my technique is iterative because my \u2018special skill\u2019 is playing a game for a while and then going “hunger needs to be 0.8x slower and strength needs to raise 1.12x faster instead of 1.08x”. It’s also better that way because I can approach the design as a player rather than as a game designer. I don’t like game designers.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

This month\u2019s blog post was intended for last so ran a little late, but we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts in the comments \u2013 with so many players following different game development projects it\u2019s a great place to reflect. As ever you can join us on Twitter<\/span><\/a> and Facebook<\/span><\/a> where we still have an upcoming creator competition to announce once we\u2019ve worked out the prizes… If you\u2019d like a none-Steam way to keep up with the studio, blogs are available on our website<\/span><\/a> and via our mailing list<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n

Sam \u2018Caliburn\u2019 Hills<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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