The Steam release

Roadmap

To Steam

Overview and purpose

This page captures the features, capabilities, bugs, and general tasks of particular concern to the future Steam release of Beyond All Reason (BAR). This page groups and prioritizes these concerns to aid organization, tracking, and communication of the team's progress towards the first Steam release.

This list will be used to help the team ascertain the readiness of BAR for Steam release. Such a decision will be made by the team, considering all factors including those that have not been captured here

Priorities

A “must” item means that we cannot, under any circumstances, Steam release without this item completed. A “should” item means we cannot Steam release without either completing it or having a viable workaround.
Everything here is of course subject to change.

Scope

Only items (such as features, capabilities, bugs, general tasks, et cetera...) that impact the release of BAR to Steam are considered in this document. It may not necessarily contain every such item if that would interfere with the purpose of this document (for example, small tasks that can be resolved quickly enough that recording them here is not worth the effort.)

Roadblocks

Chapters

Last update: 31 Oct 2023

lead teammembers
Watch the fort

Internationalization

Must
  • Full game internationalization, in at least the major European languages WIP
  • German (90% verified), Spanish (85%), French (90%), Czech (20%) WIP
  • Support for glyphs from other languages (e.g. Russian) WIP
Should
  • Far-eastern languages WIP
  • Chinese (80%) WIP
Want
  • Voice internationalization - A lot of notifications are generated using robotic text-to-speech with added post-processing, English voice. English still isn’t fully ready. Internationalization is possible with TTS voice - though not on par with quality of English voice.
lead teammembers
Everyone

Gameplay Content

Must
  • Seamless first play experience: The first play experience, from the point the player clicks Download in their Steam library to issuing the first command to their Commander, must be seamless - it must be error free with zero points of friction. WIP
    - Download from site
    - Install application
    - Run application
    - Connect to server
    - Create account
    - Find or Create first game
    - Load first game
    - Issue first command

  • Single-player campaign (2 faction-specific storylines around 15-20 missions each) 
  • (Fully scripted) Tutorial mission. WIP
  • All (or most) missions except the tutorial must be playable in coop mode with an arbitrary number of players. As shared commander or multiple teams WIP
  • Improve AI’s further so chances of bugging/stalling/getting stuck is further reduced. As AI is very(!) important, we need it to work as well as possible. There still are some situations AI handles poorly. WIP
  • ✅ Make AI work on metal maps!
  • Make AI and units avoid walking into lava (needs engine update)
  • Finalize on Raptor & Scavenger game-modes WIP
Should
  • Continuous improvement of Balance WIP Zecrus
  • In-game cutscenes between missions.
  • Narration.
  • Add multiple AI behavior presets (like turtle, aggressor, defensive, balanced, easy, medium, hard)
  • Improve specific gameplay options/modes and make them work (f.e. Play as Scavengers or Raptors) WIP
  • Remake Ruins and all blueprints with better balance/unique styling and ideally new/more varied models/structures
Want
  • Ability for players to create their own missions/scenarios, using in-game tools and a text editor to create basic missions, along with the ability to share these missions and play them cooperatively with friends.
  • Ability for players to create/save presets of settings for their favorite play-style, so they can jump in their ideal game faster (and share this with friends/community)
  • New Game mode for fully dynamic battles games based on a ‘seed’ so other players/teams can share/compete in their survival / victory-rates / times. Game-master-AI controlled events like dynamic weather changes (solar eclipse, sand/thunderstorms, acidic-rain, solar-flare), random dropship-events, awakening of underground Raptor hordes, Scavenger attacks, etc.
  • Control gamemode needs to be improved (or removed)
lead teammembers
IceXuick
Floris

Graphics & Sound

Must
  • ✅ Investigate and decide on RLMGUI framework First working version! WIP
  • Re-design UI WIP and build it
  • Re-build UI with RMLUI WIP
  • Improve unfinished/unpolished UI parts for uniform styling
  • A lot more Sound notifications + upgrade from Allison V3/V4 to V5(roughly 80-120 notifs)
  • Improve/replace old/legacy textures with improved ones in quality/resolution WIP
  • Some new/missing cursor animations WIP
Should
  • Upgrade GUI to have a more character/design WIP
  • Add more dynamic ambient soundscapes to maps WIP
  • Add more/unique sounds to Scavenger and Raptor units and weapons
  • Design modal(s) for use in Scenarios/Campaign (f.e. Tutorial Guide-book)
  • Clean up & upgrade of some particle effects for mainly shell/unit explosions
  • Find a proper/universal fix for live-stream stutter when recording/streaming with specific settings (jitter)
Want
  • Improve overall quality of the UI with better scaling/anti-aliasing RMLUI can fix this
  • Add (more) subtle animations & sounds RMLUI can fix this
  • Easier UI configurability RMLUI can fix this
lead teammembers
ICEXUICK
NIKUKSIS

Mapping

Must
  • Fix a handful of maps with older tech / or (slightly) broken parts/features WIP
  • Finalize a list of ‘BAR Certified’ maps, and which ones included in the release
  • ✅ Centralize map data into BAR infra to Rowy Marek
Should
  • Add ±10-20 more maps to support asymmetrical play, slightly aimed at PvE/Coop/Solo players. WIP
  • Also some more FFA and Metal maps are welcome. 
  • Upgrade (some) maps with proper atmospheric & sound effects Like fog, mist, fireflies, dust, sand-whirls, river/water/sea sounds, etc - WIP on Dynamic Sound Scape system Damgam /IceXuick
Want
  • A fully new set of Civilian Structures to be used as ‘ruins’ or previous civilizations/settlements/outposts.
  • A high-quality set of modelled/crafted cliffs, boulders, rocky-ridges and other natural/organic features, for more rich maps, with a higher quality design / atmosphere. WIP
  • Centralize all Mapping objects/models/textures to game instead of map WIP
  • Relatively easy to use Scenario toolkit Already possible with this guide from Beherith WIP

lead teammembers
IVand
Tarnished Knight
Beherith

Engine

Must
  • No github blockers WIP
  • ✅ Find weird small bugs with culling and grass popping
  • Fix problem were changing resolution can have very noticeable buggy effects
Should
  • Extensive cross-platform and cross-hardware testing and validation
  • Per-frame sim load variance reduction WIP
  • Better/new way for rendering Special Effects like Cloak/Distort/Shields
  • Inclusion of volumetric lighting for map ambient effects, units, weapons and explosions WIP Beherith
Want
  • Some additional multithreading optimizations WIP Tarnished Knight
  • Improve unit pathing and movement, minimising path issues such as clumping of air units and eight-way movement of sea/land units WIP QTPFS Tarnished Knight
lead teammembers
Jazcash
Teifion

BAR New Client

Must
  • Feature parity with Current Lobby WIP
  • ✅ Working Singleplayer Skirmish
  • Working Multiplayer Battles
  • ✅ Working Scenarios
  • ✅ Working Maps section
  • ✅ Working Replays
  • Working Login / Chat / Friends / Downloads WIP
  • Completed interface with news, guides, tutorials, commands WIP
  • Basic integration with Steam
  • Matchmaking WIP
  • Tournaments WIP
  • UI for keybind customisation
Should
  • Internationalization
Want
  • Integrate superbly well with Steam
lead teammembers
teifion
Marek

Middleware server

Must
  • Tachyon protocol WIP
  • Matchmaking and finding WIP
  • User documentation (for administrative functions) WIP
  • No github blockers WIP
  • Moving player-facing systems to user client WIP
Should
  • Contributor documentation WIP
  • Tournament integration WIP
  • Achievement system WIP
  • Internationalisation WIP
Want
  • Community polling system WIP