DevBlog #12 - Bug Fixing and Head Wear Accessories

Greetings all,

The weekend is finally here and that means it's time for our weekly DevBlog! What's been happening you ask? Well, if you've been following our progression on Steam, you'll notice that there has been quite a few updates this week. We've been taking full advantage of our testing branch releasing patch after patch.

The main theme this week has been bug fixing. We've had our bug nets out this week and we've been hunting down all kinds of bugs with the help of the community. Once we believe that we've got a solid build, we'll be moving the newer version of Atom Universe over to the Main Branch.

New Head Gear Coming Soon

While the Programming and Design team have been focusing on the bug fixing side of things, the art team have been working away on the some new fashion accessories for you avatar, allowing you to have a bit more customization over your avatar, want to see? Of course you do!

Eve's looking stylish with her Aviator sunglasses.

Adam sure knows how rock wearing a Beanie Hat.

Weekly Developer Activity

Art;

• Build the entrance of the arcade plaza and added WIP art in The Hub
• Creating hats for the avatars

Design;

• Bug fixing (Bowling, new player menu, new internal UI system)
• Designing new chat interface and new interface for friends system

Programming;

• Bug fixing on the server side of things
• Beginning work implementing the "friends" server code

Community;

• Scheduling more content and planning 
• Deciding whether to join the Dark Side or Rebel Forces. 

DevBlog #11 – Improvements to the UI, New Dances Moves and Poses Added and Weekly Developer Activity

Greetings Everyone!

Wow, is it Friday already? Well, we guess it’s time for another entry into our DevBlog. So, what’s been happen this week you ask? Quite a lot in fact, in last week’s Devblog you may have noticed that team was in the process of implementing some new dance moves, new poses and the in-game players was getting a revamp. 

New Dance Animations

It’s not secret, Adam and Eve were a bit shy when it came to dancing on the Arcade Plaza dance floor (awkward). Anyway, after a few lessons and dance routines in Unreal Engine 4, they can’t wait to the back to the dance floor and bust-a-move!

Looking good Adam!

Eve is starting to feel those electronic moves.

In total, Adam will have choice of six dance moves and Eve will have choice of six. Between each Avatar, you’ll be able to select between shared and unique moves.

New Avatar Poses

It’s time to show off with our new poses, whether it’s for a group photo or maybe you want to act like the Karate Kid. Similar to the dance moves, we’ll be adding six new poses for your avatars and once again, there will be a mix match of shared and unique poses for the avatars.

In-game Player menu 2.0

One of the more notable changes to Atom Universe in the improvements on the in-game player menu. Previously, by press TAB on the PC or Square on the PS4 a menu would appear above your avatars head. While it gave you basic access to the emojis, dances and poses, we felt that it was a bit unconventional.

With the newer design, your avatar will use and small device that transmits a holographic menu in front of your avatar (futuristic huh?). While the menu is open, you’ll have access to all the options that were previously available and you’ll also be able to preview them before selecting them.

PlayStation 4

What about the PS4 version of Atom Universe? This week, the team have been looking at bringing the Arcade Plaza to the PlayStation 4. At this current point in time, we’re in the process of building the PS4 version and testing it internally around the studio. Once we’re happy with the build and there aren’t too many game breaking bugs, we’ll be looking to release to our Kickstarter backers for further testing.


We must continue to ask for your continued support and patience while we continue to work Atom Universe and make it an experience that everyone can enjoy. From all your encouraging posts on Social Media, we know just how much the PS4 version means to you.

Once the Arcade Plaza is live on the PS4 for our Kickstarter backers, we’ll also be holding weekly competitions across our community giving you the chance win access to the PS4 version.

Weekly Developer Activity

Art;

• Created design mock-ups for the in-game store.
• Worked on a bunch of dance and poses animations.

Design;

• Implementing new in-game player menu. 
• Continuing to make improvement to the UI Framework

Programming;

• Unreal Engine upgrade for the game to 4.10.4. 
• Preparing a PS4 build of the game for internal testing.

Community;

• Scheduling content and planning DevBlogs.
• Logging player feedback and bugs reports.

DevBlog #10 - Steam Early Access Release and Developer Activity

Hello and welcome to issue #10 of the Atom Republic DevBlog. In our last issue we we’re preparing the Arcade Plaza for our Alpha testers on Steam as well as making some smaller changes to the front end menu.

Since then, we've opened the doors of Atom Universe to the public on Steam Early Access and we’ve had an amazing response from the community who have been sharing their feedback across our social media channel and forums.

Toward the beginning of this week, March 8th we release a Hotfix patch containing some bug fixes. You’ll be able to find more details here of what was included in the patch.

What’s next?

Firstly, our Community Team will be going over the forums and social media gathering any and all of your feedback and they’ll be relaying this information back along to the development team. Whether you've got an amazing suggestion for Atom Universe, or maybe there is a bug affecting you in-game. Make sure you either visit our forums on Steam, or on our Website and post away!

Working with the community

With Steam Early Access available to the general public now, we’ll be looking at ways of how we can include the community (that’s you) in our development. From time to time, we’ll be posting polls that will allow you choose what features, mini-games or avatar clothing you’d like to see get implement next.

And who knows, maybe the Development team might like one of your suggestions and it could pop up in one of our polls further down the line.

Weekly Developer Activity

Art;

• In the process of creating eyewear for the Avatars.
• Creating dance animations and poses.

Design;

• Re-Designing player menu and designing new shop interface.
• Bug fixes and improvements to the UI framework.

Programming;

• Adding emojis to the server so they appear in the in-game menu and above the avatar correctly.
• Working on a block list that players to block troublesome players from contacting them.
• Implementing poses for the avatars.
• Implementing dances for the avatars.

Community;

• Logging community feedback and bug reports.
• Relaying information onto development team.

Atom Universe is now available on Steam Early Access

We’re happy to announce that our Free-to-Play social virtual world is now available on Steam Early Access for PC gamers to download! In this first version, which we will use to test and refine our core technology and mechanics, you’ll be explore only our first area: the Arcade Plaza. Take part in the 10-Pin Bowling mini-game and socially interact with other players!

Steam Early Access

With Steam Early Access you’ll be able to get immediate access to Atom Universe throughout its development process. Over time, you’ll be able see Atom Universe evolve from this small section of the park, as new features and attractions are added all the time. You’ll be able to witness and test it all!

Is Steam Early Access for me?

If you’re looking for a solid gameplay experience, we suggest that you might hold-off on playing Atom Universe until we exit the Early Access phase; despite our best efforts in these early days there will likely be a wide range of bugs that can affect your overall experience of the game.

However, if you want to help us mould the game into an awesome experience, then get involved now!

Working with the community

By using the bug report section in our Steam Forums, you’ll be able to help the development team squish all those pesky bugs. We're always reading all feedback, and from time to time we may share polls to the community that will allow you to choose which features you want to see implemented into Atom Universe next! And, as always, we encourage everyone to share their ideas and feedback about Atom Universe in the Feedback & Suggestions sub-forum. Who knows, your feedback and suggestion might catch the eyes of the development team!

Devblog #9 What’s been happening over the last two weeks?

Hello and welcome to another edition of the DevBlog. We’re sorry we skipped last week’s DevBlog, but this week normal service has been resumed. So, what’s been happening around the Atom Republic Studio you ask? Well, quite a bit actually, where do we start?

Firstly, we've released not one, but two new updates for our Kickstarter backers on Steam and as you’re reading this blog, we’re currently working on a third update! (we'll keep you updated on the process).

Arcade Plaza is now available!

If you’re one of our lucky Kickstarter backers or competition winners who have access to the Steam version of Atom Universe, you can now access the Arcade Plaza and have a game of Bowling. You’ll need to access our test branch on Steam, if you head over to our forums you'll be able to find the correct information on how to access the testing branch.

Front-end menu changes

There has been a few changes to the front-end menu of Atom Universe, most notably is the previews of what coming soon, you’ll be able to see screenshots and videos of all the games, private spaces and The Hub (why’s that there? We’ll answer this further down).

Avatar Customisation

You'll now be able to have a choice of selecting your Avatar's clothes colour, highlight colour and hair colour separately. You'll also notice the outfits selection at the bottom, this gives a little preview of some different clothes style that your avatar will be able to wear in the near future. Finally, you'll be able to change the skin colour of your avatar, bringing diversity to Atom Universe.

The Hub

One of the thing you’ll notice with the latest update is that you’re unable to enter The Hub. For a short period of time, we’ll be closing this off to the public as we’re going to reiterate the design and make The Hub look even more spectacular than before. Unfortunately, we don’t have a time frame to when it will be available again, but we’re hoping sooner rather than later.

Weekly Developer Activity

Art;

• Improved informational messages on upcoming games
• Added effect on seats
• Created new splash screens

Design;

• Implemented sound FX into the front-end menu
• Implemented pop-ups to show information of upcoming mini-games

Programming;

• Stress testing the server with bots
• Scalability solution to support hundreds of online connected players
• Working to server code to allow players to block troublesome players

Community;

• Partaken in some video production and created videos for the previews in the front-end menu
• Dived into Unreal Engine’s Matinee editor to create cut scenes.
• Drank 20 cups of tea.

That's all for this week, but stay tuned for more news!