We are still working really hard on some details and last minute changes and additions. Today, let's focus on François, who recently joined us (just fyi, he happens to have the exact same Aperture Science mug as me! ♥) and focused in this add-on on improving the multiplayer. And, as it's been implemented just now, I will publish some nice screens, with Mathias' wonders.
Interview: François talks about his work on the multiplayer
Can you introduce yourself?
François: Hi, I’m François, also known as “The new Kid in Town” here.
Max: NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!
François: I joined the dev team 3 weeks ago. Before that, I was working for another indie game company where I was involved in the development of a strategic space game.
I’m a big fan of SF, and especially torning apart spaceships burning in space. It makes me feel good.
What is your job at Amplitude?
I’m a generalist programmer, but I’m clearly focusing on the multiplayer aspect of the game, which is a lot of work in perspective according to what I’ve read on the forums. I’m investigating network-related issues, such as desync or connectivity problems, which is quite demanding because I have to understand the existing code base before I can actually track down and fix issues. That’s usually when Eric comes by with some wise pieces of advice.
What does a typical day at Amplitude look like?
François: First thing in the morning: coffee, a lot! Then we all discuss the work we did the day before, and what we plan to do until the end of the day. Communication is the key point. After a quick review of the forums and my mailbox, I can move to serious business, which consists in debugging, testing, and debugging again, until it all works fine.
The atmosphere is pretty cool, even if I have to support Maxence’s below-the-average sense of humour. But to be fair, he helps me a lot
Maxence: Beyond-the-average sense of humour!
What were the main multiplayer issues that you are hoping to solve? What will eventually be fixed in this 2nd free Add-On?
Some players are complaining about the lack of multiplayer games. Actually, there are open games waiting for you, but you simply can’t see them. Two reasons: the distance between the game’s host and you, and mods. In order to make the game list more user-friendly, the distance factor has been removed, so you can see lobbies worldwide. On the other hand, you can also see servers running a different mod than you are, with a tooltip explaining why you cannot join this particular game, and what to do to fix this. Those two features (plus some other fixes concerning disconnections) will be ready for the 2nd free add-on coming up this week.
I am also investigating on the desync issue which is currently tearing down the game experience. This is a fairly large amount of work, but I really hope I can make this better for players.
Wonders
Some screenshots I have taken for you in my current game.
Enjoy!
The big day is tomorrow, but we still have some nice things to reveal...
Stay tuned!