[h1] Hello everyone! [/h1] Welcome to another dev blog. While we have made great progress on every part of the game, we want to dedicate this blog entirely to our new mission system, which finally adds a new layer of progression to the game. [h2] Mission system [/h2] We’ve added two types of objectives to PROJECT QUARANTINE. The first type is a CONTRACT. These primary objectives will unfold the campaign and will result in larger rewards. CONTRACTS are map-bound, and only one can be tracked at a time. In coop, the party leader’s CONTRACT will be the only active CONTRACT. Progress and rewards are forwarded to all players on completion or failure. The second type is a CHALLENGE. These secondary tasks are individually tracked, and each player can have different CHALLENGES active at a time. Up to three challenges can be tracked per player, and the rewards are not shared. CHALLENGES result in smaller rewards but help maximise potential rewards per raid as they allow you to do more each run. They are persistent, allowing the player to complete them over several raids. The initial release includes the “Secure and Place” CONTRACT and three different challenge types. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/517c610613b0beb94031db291629af7c2b0df659.gif[/img] Both mission types can be sorted in the UI based on title, location, and Faction. Objectives can be tracked (set active) and untracked for raids. Faction relations are also tracked in the Job Board and determine which items the vendor offers. Rarer items come with higher relation. Relations will increase when CONTRACTS/CHALLENGES are completed and decrease when CONTRACTS fail. Lastly, an overall success rate for the last contracts is tracked and will define which upcoming contracts are offered. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/e78e8be5fba4e381469b95dc00f510f60c28b6ff.gif[/img] All missions can be tracked directly from the job board and managed. Only one CONTRACT and three CHALLENGES can be tracked at once. [h2] GCPS [/h2] One of our highlights for this update is the Global Combat Positioning System. From a technical standpoint, it brings the UI aspect into the game and serves as a vital tool during raids. It also helps keep the hud as minimally invasive as possible by providing all the typical FPS widgets off-screen when not needed. The GCPS shows a top-down view of the map you're playing. The map will have key objectives and extractions labelled, as well as a live view of teammate locations. On the borders of the screen will be tracked CONTRACTS, and CHALLENGES. As the technicalities of the game deepen, so will the GCPS. We aim to keep this tool essential to gameplay. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/58c4d0bc22605c94f65196c8cf2aee2120954f97.gif[/img] [h2] pre-game options [/h2] We have also introduced a global world manager. This means that all playable maps are synced in time. There are two times to choose from at any given point. Said times are opposite from each other and will affect the look of the map drastically. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/fe0a6270bc8b462a0394c44a8f0c83e7bc1e4e0a.gif[/img] With the exception of dawn and dusk, each time can be considered a day raid or a night raid. For those who are curious about the time cycle, each second in real life is equivalent to 6 seconds in a game. We’ve also added a default loadout option to the Patreon build. Simply select “provided” for your default loadout. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/b8836e80116995087ce3253ad2aaf5c499b0ea02.gif[/img] [h3] optimizations et. al [/h3] While this year’s scope will have much more emphasis on bringing new content to the game, we aren't leaving optimizations and back-end developments behind. Our foundation is scalable, and so must be the tools that support them. We continue to optimize our graphics as the QUARRY map develops, and will continue to strike a good balance in immersion and performance. We also want to target a broad range of graphical settings to maximize system compatibility. Networking optimizations have also been implemented. As in almost every update since their introduction, AI was also optimized both in terms of performance and behaviour for QUARRY. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43394331/ca5fdebf35fb9780d07c39c834a25e24da07e68e.gif[/img] [h3] Conclusion [/h3] To wrap things up, we kicked off 2024 with new missions, challenges, and major playability expansions. QUARRY is truly setting precedence for our setting, and we can’t wait to unfold the game as the year progresses. We wanted to thank our Patreon supporters for giving us feedback on this patch, and for making PROJECT QUARANTINE closer and closer to a reality. If you’d like to join our Patreons and try this update, you can support us [url=https://www.patreon.com/projectquarantine]here[/url] for access. We hope you enjoy this update, and we’ll be back with more soon! Team - PROJECT QUARANTINE