Resurface by anchorlight
NOTICES:
- Resurface is a 6-degrees-of-freedom game that may present problems for players prone to motion sickness.
- WebGL has been removed due to lighting problems and other bugs that may be impossible to fix.
- A Mac OSX build is available, but not tested. Play at your own risk!
- This game makes use of the mouse cursor when in Interact Mode.
The control scheme may take some getting used to, but both the FPS exploration mode and the green-filtered mouse-driven Interaction Mode have distinct uses and benefits for the player to take advantage of.
Three years after a devastating crash, the story of the HMS Good Omens resurfaces.
Join a small recovery crew on an expedition to Omen's Rest, an infamous cove on the Martian Orange Sea where a once-luxurious cruise liner has permanently made itself a new resting place. Volunteering to lead the boots-on-ground side of the operation, you will be the first to set foot on the ship in just over three Earth-years.
The friends and families of its former passengers have offered to pay great sums of cash should you come across any of their valuables, both sentimental and otherwise, on your journey. Be warned: the roughly-terraformed environment will be tough on even the highest quality deep sea gear, and you will need to keep an eye on your Air Meter to make sure you don't end up like the rest of the ship.
Delve into the decaying halls of the ship and make enough back from returning cherished items to gain access to the furthest reaches of the ship's interior. If you keep your wits about you, you may be able to spot something of your own interest...
Controls
W/S/A/D: Basic Movement
Q/E: Roll Left/Right
Ctrl/Space: Move Up/Down
MouseLook: Turn the Camera (Navigation Mode only)
Mouse1: Click on Objects (Interact Mode Only)
Mouse2: Toggle Mode
F: Return to Surface (must be near AirLift)
T: Drop Glowsticks (requires upgrade)
Esc: Pause Game
Tools Used and Dependencies
Unity 2019 (old renderer, not LWRP/URP/HDRP) (Packages: Post-Processing, TextMesh Pro)
Blender 2.91
GIMP
Ableton Live 10 Lite (with VSTs by Spitfire Labs, BBC Symphonic Orchestra, Applied Acoustic Systems)
Atom
S.A.M. (recreated by Sebastian Macke, "Fair Use" license)
Fonts: Gugi Regular, Orelega One Regular (licensed under OFL)
Known Bugs
Doorways can be low-hanging and awkward in some later rooms. Try to make use of SPACE to pass through them if you have trouble! This improved a bit in 0.127.
The PA announcer will will fall out of sync if the game is out of focus or runs into performance problems.
Air Refill stations lack any kind of good indicator. This will be easy to fix postjam.
Lighting around some corridors in the opening segment will be suboptimal; this will be improved postjam, but 0.126 and 0.127 corrected the worst offenders.
The pause menu acts a little funny. Toggle interaction mode twice if you run into problems after going back to the game.
Having problems? Report them in the comments below!
Latest Patch and Hotfix
https://anchorlightforge.itch.io/resurface/devlog/249781/resurface-0127-release-notes-yesthisisthemovementupdate
This patch fixes some regressions, adds motion sickness friendly accommodations, and changes collision to both prevent clipping and uncontrolled rotation. Objects no longer knock around the player, and the player will have a much easier time fitting through doorways (while also not clipping through the top of every ceiling).
Next up for 0.1273: Fixes and tweaks aimed at cleaning up 0.127.
Investigation: An Art Gallery wall can trap players inside after contact
Investigation: Dormitory 2 traps players behind invisible one-way wall
Investigation: Framerate fluctuation causes mouse sensitivity problems
Archival: Outdated versions of the game will be consolidated to a single collective ZIP divided by platform.
0.127 is set to launch on May 7. Special thanks to @ramble-house-games for catching some of these!
Official Soundtrack (published 26 Apr, 2021)
A compilation of music and sound made for this game was released to SoundCloud and Bandcamp. See below for more details:
https://soundcloud.com/anchorlightforge/resurface-official-soundtrack
https://anchorlightforge.bandcamp.com/track/resurface-martian-medley
I may revisit this postjam with additional measures and songs, depending on how things go.
| Linux 64-bit (v0.127) [Tested on Ubuntu] | https://anchorlightforge.itch.io/resurface |
| Windows 64-bit (v0.127) | https://anchorlightforge.itch.io/resurface |
| Project Cello Source Code (v0.123) | https://anchorlightforge.itch.io/resurface |
| Cinematic Soundscape [SoundCloud] | https://soundcloud.com/anchorlightforge/resurface-official-soundtrack |
| Cinematic Soundscape [Bandcamp] | https://anchorlightforge.bandcamp.com/track/resurface-martian-medley |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/48/resurface |
Ratings
| Overall | 447th | 3.468⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 667th | 2.968⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 360th | 3.387⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 271th | 3.855⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 302th | 3.677⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 136th | 3.758⭐ | 33🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 287th | 2.9⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 54th | 4.083⭐ | 32🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 24🗳️ | 30🗨️ |
It would be really good to be able to player with a controller, though-- there are a lot of controls to keep track of!
Awesome work!
Thank you for checking it out! I poured a lot of time into the aesthetics to get things just right and I hope that the later areas reflect that. Unfortunately, QA for those later areas... well, let's just say I've got a really long list of things to take care of for 0.124. If you get really frustrated slamming your head against a certain doorway and wondering why you can't fit, it's not just you :stuck_out_tongue:
As for Controller support, I'm using Unity's default Input system with Axes and buttons so IN THEORY controllers should be pretty much good to go. I unfortunately stripped most of the default inputs out for the interest of time, and it does count as a new feature. That said, getting controller support going should be a very simple task once the Compo ends. Stay tuned and I'll probably add it! No new features yet unless they're 100% critical as per compo rules, but I may code in the special features to save time when it's all over.
I highly recommend switching to the latest version as soon as it releases, as unfortunately the main objective is going to be a little problematic with one of the nastier bugs that slipped in. I'm pretty new to 3D environment workflows, which shows in some of the more glaring technical problems I found just hours after ship.
The sound effect you're talking about was one of the last things I added to the game, and every time you get knocked on your face while trying to get through the tighter spaces it still gives me a good laugh. The one thing I felt the game really lacked was an underwater feeling, and for me that SFX is what kind of carried it back into that territory.
In an ideal playthrough, the lights _should_ guide you to areas that are visible enough even in Exploration Mode. It's really tough to navigate the pipeworks no matter what you're doing, but the longer-range flashlight and the glowsticks are both pretty useful in marking your way.
I'd be happy to help as I know the level layout isn't exactly optimal.
You may like the later areas of the map better, as those have neon decorations that are still working and are generally well lit.
Hm, yeah. That thought crossed my mind some time _after_ the game shipped. I definitely agree with you, there's nothing telling the objects apart.
You're actually supposed to tell the difference based on music. There is a Cello solo that's entirely 3D audio; that audio was also going to be the only thing that outright ignored the muffled audio filter, for plot reasons :eyes:. The problem is the code behind it isn't working. I've tried to fix it, believe me. The Mementos List was a last minute attempt to make sure players weren't 100% in the dark on what they were looking for, and by last minute, I mean it was one of three additions I pushed to the game minutes before I made the first Windows build.
Your actual goal is to look for the items that are on your list (hit Shift for some vague hints on the objects you were looking for). As a general hint, you definitely passed one or two based on the places you went to.
There is still supposed to be a very faint light after the lift flies off, but again, it may not be strong enough. I also recommend that you play the Windows version, as I have just removed the WebGL release due to Point Light problems.
@tero-pulkkinen The tutorials were something I made about an hour or so before submission, and I think you can tell. In retrospect, I wish I'd put more time into this as the controls lack an explanation for Interaction Mode. It's not a bug as much as documentation error, so I won't be fixing that until after LD ends. I appreciate the feedback!
There are some thoughts that I have (nobody asked for advice, I know, but I just wanted to share :D ):
1. Lootig mechanic and "buying upgrades" mechanic were a little bit useless, in my opinion. I finished the game from the second try having only upgrade for air. At the same time you could save that time to make it "single run" game but with oxygen in some places to make it more tense
2. I understood that having cello was thee main mission, and it could be frustrating to get bak, but I would like to have an option after I found it - continue my exploration or go to surface.
But these are like not really important thoughts, because I loved the game - I liked the controls (and this is from the guy, who had hard time in Outer Wilds :D ), and I loved the atmosphere. Good job!
@simpathey First of all, thank you for playing my game on stream! The build you played is a lot harder than the last one published. I messed with the material of the Pipeworks area and shrank the layout of the pipes to make it easier to traverse, as the severity of players getting stuck on said pipes made the entire last half of the game basically unplayable. I think you'll find the latest versions to be a step in the right direction (arguably too much so) for a less punishing air system. Also, the Pipeworks area isn't nearly as bad anymore.
@badabooom63 All very fair criticisms. On the other hand, the build YOU played was made a lot easier by these changes. I agree with your opinions-- I completely forgot to add more boxes to the later areas, and as a result my game has a severe problem between hot and cold difficulty. Either you have an intro segment that's agonizingly difficult (see 0.1254 and before), or you have a game that's a breeze the whole way through.
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Some of these problems come from post-launch changes. For example, the Air system was easily exploitable (you could infinitely click them due to a scripting bug), so I simplified it. The simplifications made it much harder to actually refill air, and from this point on players struggled to even make it up to the first lobby/"Fountain Room." I had to make other changes to compensate such as expanding the air meter. The shop menu also had prices drastically reduced, for example the air upgrades used to be $2000/$3000/$4000. I'll take the fact that you finished the game as a sign that I'm on the right track, but the next hotfix will probably walk some of those changes back to a happy medium. Other changes that impacted your playthrough include a much stronger default flashlight that's almost on par with the old upgraded flashlight and a bugfix for the rusty metal materials that makes them properly glow when making contact with the flashlight.
This is all ignoring the fact that I'm just putting postjam bandaids on an inherently unbalanced design. I'm not actually fixing the game, for the sake of preservation. Redesigning the pipes area didn't end up turning the area into an interesting maze, I just stretched the obstacles differently. I didn't actually fix the problems with my mechanics, I just made some numbers higher. I feel that to do anything more would be unfair for LD.
The major design flaw here is that you have to get through a really complex maze of rooms that are sometimes a struggle to enter just to get back to the upgrade station, all at a blisteringly slow pace. That design choice basically means you either don't need the upgrades to progress or you will have a nightmare trying to get through the game-- there's no in-between where the upgrade system feels both necessary and fair. I feel comfortable altering balance to make the game playable, but to actually change the position of items or otherwise add new features to the level would be too much for an LD patch. I'll see what I can do about some proper difficulty after LD ends.
The defeat/victory screen was put off until the last minute while I was working on the final rooms of the game. I think you can tell as it's very rushed and doesn't offer a lot of options. There's also a bug I have to correct, as $10000 is a placeholder value that is overwriting the actual monetary value you had (it only happens on victory). It would be easy to add a "Keep Exploring" option and originally there was supposed to be an "End Game" button when Resurfacing, but I forgot to implement that until I had no time left and phoned it in.
I'll try to search for a happier medium between the 0.126 rebalancing and previous releases. Once LD ends, I'll actually add a second point where you can enter the AirLift and implement some upgrades that didn't make the cut, like portable air tanks and a power cell that lets you power on parts of the ship. Thanks for the feedback! I figured the balance would still need a little more fine tuning. :laughing:
I love the atmosphere, I love the way you move around in total 3D, love the graphics and audio. I could only grab 2 mementos though, as I couldn't find anything else in the first two rooms and did not find anywhere else to go? I tried to go along the pipeline but both seemed dead-ends to me.
Overall, a fantastic experience for sure. I'll gladly keep an eye on any future title from you, as I think this concept fully-fledged out could be something special.
Congrats!
The default flashlight isn't quite as powerful when it comes to range, but when you exit the pipeworks you should be able to look around. The Interaction Mode wasn't originally designed for this, but it's sort of turned into a great way to get your bearings in darker areas. The fact that you already saw the Pipeworks means you're on the right track. If you find yourself crashing into objects and getting lost, the Glowsticks are a great way to mark where you've been (but there is a small collision bug with them that I haven't gotten around to fixing yet).
@badabooom63 I definitely agree with you now. There's a few ideas running through my head on ways to spice up the gameplay and properly add the survival threat/tension I originally wanted, so hopefully I can get back to that in 20 days or so. I know I said that before with LD47, but the difference is this game leaves a far stronger foundation to build on.
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As a side note, v0.1265 just released and should tone down *some* of my rebalances with a slightly weaker starting flashlight (still stronger than original builds), some visual fixes (the AirLift actually comes back down to the ship on time now!), and some audio balancing work that some people will definitely appreciate.
Small side note: When your volume is a float between 0 and 1, be careful not to set it to 100. Lessons were learned.
Unfortunately based on the time stamp, you might have _just_ missed the new patch today.
Okay, I watched your VOD. A few comments:
- You had a pretty rough first few seconds, but I don't know if I can fix that. It seems to stem from letting the game fall out of focus as it starts up.
- I have no idea where the performance problems are coming from. It runs great on my Linux system, but Wine/Windows builds have some really odd framepacing. Until I figure out why this is the case, unfortunately I won't have any good answers for you. The game does run at native resolution, but as the game's default view runs at 512x384 I don't think it's a graphics card issue. My guess is that you're hitting a CPU bottleneck from livestreaming at a high quality and having lots of dynamic objects on screen (already-intensive scenario + poorly optimized game). I have a system that I'm developing to reduce the amount of physics interactions happening out of sight, but it's on the backlog for postjam.
- Your complaints about the loudness of the game are valid, and were actually the focus of the 0.1265 Patch that released after you played.
- It clearly took a while to figure out Interaction Mode. This is pretty common among playthroughs I've watched, and it's entirely down to the fact that I did a poor job introducing the mechanics. The only way to fix this would be a tutorial sequence, which I will add postjam. The idea is the same as proceed, I wanted to use the mouse cursor to interact with objects in a unique way. Just like that game, I didn't explain it in-game and as a result you can easily miss it.
- You found another missing collider... NOOOOOOOO! Does it ever end?!
- The airlift caused a little confusion when it showed up because it took way longer to arrive than it should. This has been fixed in 0.1265.
I definitely appreciate you checking out the game, even if it decided it didn't want to play nice today. :laughing: Hopefully I can do something about the collision issue at the very least.
Very cool idea. the control scheme is more intuitive than I thought from the description. The major issues with this game are obviously due to time constraints rather than poor design. I know the dev is actively working on this one, and I'll definitely be checking back to see where this one goes.
Thanks for bringing it by the stream. Here's a link to the VOD:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1003360373?t=2h30m22s
To sum it up briefly:
- DOF tweaked so close objects don't blur until they're RIGHT in your face
- FOV Slider and Crosshair added after complaints of motion sickness
- Fixed an old menu bug that zoomed it in
- Flashlights are now marked as Important in renderer
- Glowsticks are cheaper, Overpriced Flashlight bug is fixed
- Player Collider is smaller and closer to camera object
- Player Rigidbody no longer rotates at all (player is always in full control of movement)
- Some other minor things, check the Itch page or readme for full details
https://anchorlightforge.itch.io/resurface/devlog/249781/resurface-0127-release-notes-yesthisisthemovementupdate
Thanks for sticking around!
For one, level design is easily one of the weakest points of this game. Besides the room scaling issues, there's a distinct lack of signposting. Can you tell the breached storage room and pipeworks were the first two scenes I made? You can see them in their more or less completed state at the end of my Day One blog, and a final pass would have given them a lot more clarity. You probably passed the Engine Room because I threw it there to fix a gap in the wall, then made the ladder path as a compromise. I thought making the ladder glow would be enough, but I failed to account for the fact that you can only see that ladder at some very specific angles.
For movespeed, you're right. It was my plan from the start to add a boost function, it was at first going to be tied to air canisters; you could collect them then either use them or expend them for rapid movement. Sadly, I got sidetracked and didn't even get enough time to implement it into the movement system. To actually increase the move speed would be a design decision, so despite how much I badly agree with you and want to change it, I plan on getting that one post-patch.
As for glowsticks, they don't light up the scene... but they also NEVER despawn and are almost always visible. Originally, the whole game looked a lot closer to the Pipeworks, so ~~until you got the power on in Engine Room... wait, that didn't get implemented~~ until you reach the more decorated and functional rooms towards the end, the idea was that you would need them to guide your path and know which way gets you back to the Resurface point. They used to also be one of the only objects affected by gravity, further increasing their usefulness by showing you which way was down. I hope that a little bit of polish can make them more useful.
Useful or not though, I really like them:
I do have a few ideas on how to continue this game in particular, so stay tuned! I'll try to have a clear and descriptive vision for the future of this project some time in the next two weeks.
I hadn't planned on a Mini Map, but it really depends on how the new mechanics play out. It might be a cool addition depending on implementation, so we'll just have to see on that. As for character speed, there's two huge changes planned that I think you'll like a lot.
My LD experience is going to be on pause for a few days while I take care of things on my end-- I'm really amazed I even got the last patch out before Friday as planned. All that said, I'll get back to your game some time this weekend and let you know how it goes!
Speaking of, here's the VOD of when we played: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1020802507?t=02h17m00s
What a pretty game! I wish I could have explored this sunken ship without having to worry about my oxygen. Maybe you could consider a sandbox mode just to relax around.
I made the mistake, I presume, to not buy extra oxygen tanks as my first purchase, I think it doomed me.
As said in the video, it would be a great addition, if the shop could give info on how much extra second each level of tank can provide.
Other than that, simple controls, nice athmosphere, but I wasn't able to understand anything about the voice speaking from time to time because there was too much distortion applied to it. Maybe it's by design.
Amazing entry in the jam! Congratulation