First things first:
TAGAP + TAGAP 2 remastered, reloaded and relaunched! Go get it!
Download Classic TAGAP!
Didn't see that coming, did you? 😉
The project we've been working on and the tech of which I've explained in our development blogs is indeed TAGAP 4. I won't say anything more at this point, as I believe the game should speak for itself – so we'll have to wait 'till December! However, it is safe to say that there are plenty of clues in the teaser!
My original plan was to release the gameplay trailer on this TAGAP Day 2019, but considering the events of last December, I'm now lagging a couple of months behind the original schedule. I still wanted to unveil the project, so I decided to create this teaser instead. I hope you don't mind a little tease.
Now that it is a wrap, I can say that Classic TAGAP was a fun little project. Not going to lie, it started with a metric ton of frustration, trying to comprehend why things are crashing despite me just switching the target platform, but eventually everything was figured out. And once everything was running, it was a matter of smoothing the experience out and making it ten times better.
In fact, big chunks of the engine operations have been tossed out and replaced with optimized code written specifically for TAGAP 4. Yes, even though the old engines operate as before, some parts of Classic TAGAP are even more finely tuned than those of TAGAP 3! Fear not, next project I'll start working on besides TAGAP 4 is adding these improvements to TAGAP 3 as well.
Classic TAGAP also made me research completely new venues, which was interesting – and beneficial to the all future projects, from upcoming TAGAP 3 updates to, naturally TAGAP 4. A good example of this was the upscaling research. Though it has no direct use for TAGAP 3 and 4 – the engines render in the selected resolution instead of a fixed one like the first two – it will come in handy for optimizing some of our shaders. Plus, this research is what led me to the brilliant Waifu2x algorithm I described in our previous blog post.
All in all, creating Classic TAGAP was really fun. Here's hoping you'll find it helpful when you want your nostalgic apocalyptic penguin fix!
You mean besides creating two trailers, preparing two games for a launch, writing the web site content for the said launch and putting finishing touches to the upcoming, completely new site?
Well, there's been little time to anything else, really. In fact, I've made very little progress in TAGAP 4 as this has been going on. But that very little is better than nothing, still.
One thing I mentioned earlier on Twitter was that I've upgraded my audio editing suite once more, to Sound Forge Pro 13. I intentionally waited until after I had finalized the two trailers before doing the upgrade. Not that there were any problems with the update – MAGIX does a great job. Still, doing major upgrade on a software suite you are currently using on job that has a strict deadline sounds like an invitation for Murphy to bring down his famous Law.
The new software is now running and is smoother than before. I'm still learning the ropes of the new features, but from the looks of things, it should make the editing of more complex audio events – especially the cut-scene sound effects streams – a lot faster.
Returning to TAGAP 4 – oh boy, is it a relief to finally say that instead of being coy – and starting the work on the next TAGAP 3 update. Plus, in the very near future the entire TAGAP.net will regenerate. The new website is basically ready to go, it just needs a couple of test runs on various devices to ensure everything works as planned.
On non-TAGAP front, I'll continue playing Bloodstained, likely followed by Wolfenstein: Youngblood and the soon-to-be-unleashed Ion Fury. This year is full of promising games, isn't it?
I hope you liked our anniversary this year!
Have an awesome TAGAP Day, folks!
