Hello,
I'm just here to say that it has been a pleasure working on this little prototype project with a group of 7 people, consisting of 4 game programmers and 3 artists. It would be a lie if I said making this game has been easy, Unreal Engine was a brand new environment for me and all of my group members 2 months ago. We studied diligently for 2 weeks (the first of 4 sprints we had during the project) before even making a repository for the game, because it was so different from what we had learned before in Unity.

Despite the steep learning curve, the team pulled together, and over the following sprints, we managed to implement a set of core features that we're excited to share with you in this latest build! We really wanted to nail a distinct feel for our core gameplay.

So, What's in This Build?

Our main goal was to create a satisfying and engaging gameplay loop, and we've focused on a few key areas:

• The Signature Slow-Motion Dive: This is the centerpiece of our movement mechanics. When you execute a dive, the world around you slows down, giving you that "bullet-time" feel to line up shots, assess threats, or just look cool while repositioning.
• High-Stakes Combat: We've implemented a challenging combat system with a few unique twists:
  • Low HP, High Lethality: Both the player and enemies operate on a tight 5/3 HP system. Every encounter is dangerous!
  • Critical Headshots: Aiming for the head is crucial. A headshot deals 3 HP, making it an instant takedown on enemies and a very serious threat to the player.
  • The Bleedout Mechanic: This is where things get interesting! If your health drops to zero, you're not immediately out. You enter a "bleedout" period. If you can secure a kill against an enemy during this critical time, you'll regain your health and get a second chance!
• Functional UI System: We've got the basics covered with a working main menu (Play, Options, Credits, Quit), a simple options screen (for now!), an in-game pause menu, and of course, the essential in-game health indicator and ammo counter.

Our Development Journey & Current Focus:

As a team new to Unreal, each of these features presented its own set of challenges and learning opportunities, from mastering Enhanced Input for our dive to setting up the UI and game state logic. We're incredibly proud of how polished the core combat and movement mechanics have become.

With those core systems now in a solid state, our focus for the later part of the project has been on expanding the game world. This means building out the map and starting to add more content for players to interact with.

It's been a fantastic experience watching our programmers and artists collaborate, learn, and adapt to bring these ideas to life in Unreal Engine.

What's Next?

While this build represents a significant milestone for our prototype, we're keen to continue building upon the foundation we've laid, particularly in terms of map design and encounter variety.

We'd Love Your Feedback!

Please download the build, try out the slow-motion dive, test your skills in our combat, and explore the current (unready) state of the map. Any feedback you have would be incredibly valuable to us as we continue to learn and develop.

Thanks for checking out our project!