Hey there,
In the final weeks now before the torture test: aka the Sony “technical requirements checklist” submission. What does it play like? Others will judge, but perhaps there are similarities to Transworld Surf and KSPS to some extent but in our view the gameplay is deeper, it’s much faster and it’s also far closer to the sport of surfing. We’re aiming for somewhere between a sim and arcade accessibility; our engine has the heartbeat of a wave physics simulation – so it feels like surfing should, but it’s much more accessible to a normal person than a sim – if that makes sense. Frame rates are more consistent now and the challenge to win heats and rounds is a bit stressful and addictive, which is the aim. On the other hand we’ve still got some fps bottlenecks to sort out so we’re not getting too carried away just yet. The local multiplayer mode is becoming tighter and it’s annoying to lose to your buddy, a cherished old school design goal that is looking like it might be met. Planning for online modes via the DLC is underway, but as to whether this happens on PS3 will depend on circumstance beyond our control. We’ll also have to see what happens for current gen platforms. But with all the good progress inevitably there’s bound to be some development headwinds. Just when you think you’re getting there… wham, nasty bug. So typical. For example we’ve got a few last minute bug blow outs with our end to end testing on the French and Brazilian Portuguese versions. English is good, no major crash bug issues there (that we know of), but this will be inevitably be borne out in the compliance testing we’re undertaking in the next couple of weeks before submission. We’ve also got a save game crash which is a nuisance, so touch wood we can overcome this particular menace soon. So after nearly twelve years of serious slog for this version, we’re nearly there.
Cheers,
The Bungarra Team