soundStrider v0.13.0
The latest soundStrider alpha adds a new palette and a surprise new quest type. In the Aquatic palette, players venture into the depths of the ocean to swim through dreamy soundscapes. And its new escort quests task players with taking props from one place to another. Continue reading to find the latest patch notes and learn more.
Introducing the Aquatic palette
Grab a wetsuit and dive into the excerpt below:
The vision for this palette shifted greatly over the past several weeks. Initially I had wanted to build more of a wetland area filled with birds, bugs, and still water. In its early stages it became clear that its components weren’t cohesive and clashed with existing sounds. Bringing players entirely underwater helped unify its direction and set it apart.
Feedback delay is the primary ingredient of many of its sounds. It creates an illusion of density from otherwise dry sounds, turning a single bubble into a stream. The result is a viscous medium that keeps players afloat.
Introducing escort quests
This update also includes a surprise feature: escort quests! They answer the question: if we’re walking through sounds, can we walk with them too? In these quests, players encounter props that join them on their journey to a specific destination.
To get here, each prop needed to be slightly reworked to use one of several predefined movement behaviors. When a prop enters the inventory, its behavior is overridden to follow, orbit, or enter players’ backpacks. Several environmental sounds with custom behaviors had to be reworked entirely to fit this system. In retrospect, I could have saved myself work if I had understood the scope of this from the beginning.
Future updates will continue to improve escort quests. For example, some will have multiple legs that involve more props. And when the player idles these props should also enter an idle state. Ideally these changes will keep these quests interesting so players form unique stories about how they led a pig through the desert to its home.
Alpha 6 changes
- Added palettes
- Aquatic
- Added repeatable escort quests
- Enabled escort quests
- Some quests now spawn props that follow the player
- Any prop can be the subject of an escort quest
- Escorted props persist after completing quests
- Miscellaneous
- Added movement behaviors to all props
- Improvements to the exploration system
Next steps
The next update will introduce players to the Urban palette, which is less Robocop than it is Blade Runner or Tron. In its cities players will encounter networks of musical vehicles peppered with other flavorful sounds. Without getting overly ambitious, it would be rather immersive if it could simulate traffic patterns and prevent collisions between vehicles and the player.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this update. Be sure to share your favorite bookmarks below and wishlist soundStrider on Steam.