Weekly Update - September 13th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome to our latest weekly update!

We miss playing with everyone!
It was such a blast to play during the recent alpha test and at the PAX West booth. We can’t wait for the next test!

I know it’s frustrating that we don’t have the game up all the time so you can get your Ghost Hunting fix.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYY DOES THE ALPHA HAVE TO BE CLOSED?! I WANT TO PLAY!

WHYYYYYYYYYYYY DOES THE ALPHA HAVE TO BE CLOSED?! I WANT TO PLAY!

There’s a few reasons why we only do short tests.

The main reason is that we are still in an alpha state and we have limited content available. Only a couple maps, a few weapons, and so on. On release, we will have much, much more.

It makes more sense to have short intense bursts of testing as we really start to nail our core gameplay loop, and then focus on content afterwards. When that happens, longer tests are definitely in the cards. There will be simply more things to test.

On top of that, maintaining the alpha servers and functionality is rather time intensive. We’d rather have the team be working on making the game better instead of maintaining an alpha test longer term.

However, there will be longer tests in the future once we have enough content to test. Stay tuned for that!

Ok, cool, makes sense! what has the team been working on?

We’re glad you asked!

A bunch of stuff, really. There’s even somewhat big tweaks in the works - we’ll get to that when we are ready to show it off!

One thing that’ll be fun to talk about is our new voice chat system.

If you remember during our recent alpha test, our voice system didn’t work super well. We were using Unreal’s built in voice solution in conjunction with Steam Voice. There’s a number of issues we encountered, including jittery audio or just not even working.

And, of course, there was no team chat. No support for that in the engine, unless you want to mute the other team on a loop. So there was just a lot of confused yelling and screaming.

It’s just not a super configurable system without deep diving into the engine code, so we started looking for an alternative service.

Luckily, Discord offers high quality voice chat through their SDK. Birdm’n and Kite have been implementing this SDK over the last week or so. Thanks, Discord!

Lobbies are automatically set up on join, and we’ve got separate channels for Ghosts and Ghost Hunters. We’re also looking at the possibility of an optional global chat, as it was rather fun to yell at the opposite team at choice moments.

The audio quality is really, really good. And you can keep having Discord voice going out of the game too. don’t override anything. It’s configurable as push to talk or voice activity.

Only requirement is that you have Discord installed and logged in. Seems fair enough!

So that’s just one little preview of what’s to come in the next test. Stay tuned next week for some more!

Thanks for sticking around! We’ll see you in the next test!

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters

Thanks so much for checking out our Weekly Update! Let us know your thoughts and feelings via our social media! Check below for the links!

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Weekly Update - September 6th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome to our latest Weekly Update! This last weekend, we were at PAX West thanks to our awesome friends over at Discord! Thanks so much for inviting us out and hosting our game.

We really ‘haunted’ the floor with our presence.

Didn’t get a chance to attend PAX West, or maybe you did and just wanna revisit your time with us once again? Don’t worry, we’ve got some pictures to share with everyone.

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That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters.

Make sure to check back next week, where we will have some updates on what we are working on and maybe even a few questions for the community…

Weekly Update - August 30th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

This week, we concluded a VERY successful Alpha Test #3! Thank you all so much to every single one of you who supported us, showed interest, and helped us find and destroy the bugs hidden deep within our Mansion’s walls…

We were blown away by the amount of attention our post on Reddit managed to gather. If you were in our Discord, you probably managed to see a lot of the chaos! Here’s a little peak at some stats from this weekend!

Our server isn’t such a ghost town when you see these stats…

Our server isn’t such a ghost town when you see these stats…

We had a WHOPPING 50k total messages sent from the date of our Alpha announcement, all the way up until we closed this last Monday. This is our biggest burst of activity ever, even when you compare Alpha #1 and #2!

Some of you may have noticed this guy hanging out in our Discord Server as well…

Have a question? Hit us up

Have a question? Hit us up

This is our ModMail bot! When you message this Bot, you have a direct line to our entire Moderation team! We’d like to give a shoutout to some of our team members who kept up with the mass amount of messages, and influx of Alpha Tester role requests.

We had a whopping 881 tickets sent and answered by our team. Here’s a breakdown of tickets answered by our team!

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Some of our Mods were busy with traveling and other IRL responsibilities and sadly didn’t get to participate in our Alpha weekend, but if you see any of our Mods talking in chat, be sure to give them a round of applause for all their work! We couldn’t have done it without you guys.

Weekly Update - August 16th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!
WE ARE GOING TO PAX! 👻🎮

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We are going to be at the Discord booth at PAX West in Seattle, WA from August 30th until September 2nd!

Huge thanks to the Discord team for hosting us! ❤️

If you’re coming to PAX West, definitely make a point to come on by the booth and say hi and play a couple rounds!

We will have a total of 8 machines running Midnight Ghost Hunt (Courtesy of Discord❤️) so we’ll have a full lobby! No bots needed.

Perfect for you and up to 7 of your best pals to come by for a chance to try out the game.
WARNING: MGH has been known to ruin friendships. Ghosts are scary.👻

We hope you can come by for some good ol’ fashioned ghost hunting. There may even be some swag I’ve heard…

If you’re a content creator, definitely come on by and check it out! Although we are not permitting recording during this showcase, we’d love to connect for future opportunities.

but thats not all!

We know everyone has been waiting all summer long for news on the alpha test that Kite promised on stage at E3.

It’s taken a little bit longer than anticipated because we want to make sure the test is stable enough to be enjoyable and productive! We appreciate your patience!

That being said… you MIGHT want to keep your eye on the Discord in the coming weeks. No reason in particular. Just a hunch.

Thats it for this week, ghost hunters

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Weekly Update - August 9th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome to another electrifying Weekly Update! This week, we’re examining a new weapon coming to the Ghost Hunters arsenal.

Almost 2 months ago, we premiered our trailer to the world at the PC Gaming Show at E3. In that trailer, some of you noticed our new primary weapon for the Ghost Hunters — the Spectral Cannon.

Who knew such a nice looking machine could be so dangerous?

Who knew such a nice looking machine could be so dangerous?

The Spectral Cannon is part lawn mower, part motorcycle, part vacuum cleaner, part deadly laser cannon - and 100% dangerous!

Recently, we've moved on to prototyping other types of weapons. Our goal is to have a nice selection of varied weapons for each Hunter to choose from. Each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

This is our latest prototype.

Keep in mind, of course, that the model itself will be redesigned! But we wanted to show it off anyway.

Enter: Ghostsmasher!

Not only is it deadly, it doubles as a small light source as well. This helps after Midnight when the lights go dark.

Not only is it deadly, it doubles as a small light source as well. This helps after Midnight when the lights go dark.

The Ghostsmasher is a melee weapon powered by Ghost-obliterating electricity.

The Ghostsmasher was made for those of us who like to get up close and personal with our enemies. Besides, who doesn’t love walking into a room and hitting every single thing in an effort to find the last Ghost? It’s rather cathartic.

Unlike the Spectral Cannon, this device requires no battery. You can smack away to your heart’s delight. However, as a tradeoff, the range is very limited. You need to get right up to the Ghost to deal damage.

This is rather risky, of course. The further you are away from a Ghost, the less likely you’ll take a lamp to the head.

The weapon also doubles as a small torch. This can be very useful in the darkness that comes after Midnight.

Watch Melee Showcase GIF by MIDNIGHT GHOST HUNT (@midnightghosthunt) on Gfycat. Discover more destiny2 GIFs on Gfycat

Let us know what you think!

Are melee weapons cool? Do you want to smack Ghosts around with an electric stick?

Or do you think it’s lame? Let us know either way!

That’s it for this week, ghost hunters.

Thanks for checking out the latest Weekly Update! We hope these last few weeks of content are getting you excited for the upcoming Alpha test! Expect an announcement sometime this month. Keep your eyes peeled on these updates, and we shall see you on the next one.


Until next time, Ghost Hunters.

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Weekly Update - August 2nd, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome to our latest Weekly Update. We’ve been showing off some new content in game for the last few weeks, and we figured we’d continue the trend. Let’s begin, shall we?

When you’re hunting Ghosts, it should feel satisfying to land a direct shot. If you damage them enough, they shatter into a pile of Ghost Crystals. Other Ghosts can actually resurrect that fallen Ghost unless you get rid of the evidence.

Watch Ghost Crystals GIF by MIDNIGHT GHOST HUNT (@midnightghosthunt) on Gfycat. Discover more related GIFs on Gfycat

The Vacuum alternate fire function of the cannon can prevent that from occurring. Simply vacuum up the shards and that Ghost is toast. Of course, unless the clock strikes Midnight…

However, when you destroy an object a Ghost is hiding inside, the physical object will shatter and collapse. The Ghost hiding inside is revealed as the pieces of furniture fall to the floor.

Here’s an example:

Watch Grandfather Destory GIF by MIDNIGHT GHOST HUNT (@midnightghosthunt) on Gfycat. Discover more related GIFs on Gfycat

Every single possessable object has a unique physics destruction that occurs when that object is destroyed. It’s very satisfying, I must say!

In our E3 trailer, you may have noticed the Ghost is destroyed if the object the Ghost is hiding in gets destroyed. We playtested this internally, and determined it’s more fun if the Ghosts get another chance to escape.

However, the Ghost that pops out of a shattered object will be very weak and just needs one more shot to destroy them.

Always hunt with a buddy to ensure at least one of you has remaining battery on your weapon when the vulnerable Ghost is forced out! If not, they may escape and find a new object to hide in.

But I urge caution upon your Ghost Hunting adventure. Sometimes the Ghosts inside aren’t always going to try and run away…

Watch Red Ghost Short GIF on Gfycat. Discover more cofee stain, indie dev, indie game, midnight ghost hunt GIFs on Gfycat

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters

Thanks for checking out our Weekly Update! We hope this content showcase is getting you excited for the upcoming Alpha Test! Expect a date announcement in the next few weeks!

Until next time, Ghost Hunters.

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Weekly Update - July 26th, 2019

Hey There, Ghost Hunters!

Welcome to another weekly update. A quick shout-out to our Twitter, we post daily content that ranges from memes to in-development screenshots and clips. Check it out!

Last week, we showcased some new animations for our Ghost character. We’d like to continue that trend and show the latest and greatest with you now.

This is our new spawn animation that plays whenever a Ghost pops out of an object, or otherwise materializes into the Ghost's true form.

Watch Midnight Ghost Hunt - New Spawn Animation GIF by Midnight Ghost Hunt (@ienjoywhiskey) on Gfycat. Discover more destiny2 GIFs on Gfycat

At first I thought it might be a little over-the-top, might be one of our most vibrant animations. But after dropping in it into the game, it’s grown on me.

I think it really helps separate the movement / identity / vibe of the Ghosts from the Hunters - they move entirely differently, and seem to defy physics/reality, unlike the heavy, loud, clunky Hunters.

Looking at it again, it may transition too quickly to to the idle animation - going to go smooth that out right now! But overall I think the idea is working. Let me know what you think on Discord!

There's a lot more where this came from, too - a lot of cool new stuff to discover when the test is ready.

Speaking of Discord - you may have noticed there is a new face in the Dev Team role. Our sound designer and composer Dennis Filatov has joined our Discord and plans to be active with the community.

In addition to all sound design for the project, Dennis and his partner also wrote and performed the music for our E3 trailer.

Make sure to check out his Soundcloud and show him some love!

Let’s take a moment to listen to the lovely track again, shall we?

That’s it for this week, Ghost Hunters!

Thanks for checking out our update! We hope all these previews and new content is getting you excited for the next Alpha test! We have an announcement in the works… stay tuned for that.

Until next time, Ghost Hunters.

Weekly Update - July 19th, 2019

Hey there, Ghost Hunters!

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes. We know you all want keys.

They’re coming soon. We hope to actually have a date for you soon - discussions are taking place.

In the meantime, we appreciate your patience, friends!

Ha, you missed!

Ha, you missed!

This week we wanted to show off some new animations for our Ghosts.

As you may remember from the E3 teaser, the Ghost runs like any normal person would. In fact, as some people noticed, we were using the default Unreal walk cycle.

Definitely not ideal, of course. I can explain!

Well, out of all of our walk cycles we had at our disposal, the sad truth is that the default walk cycle was the best one. The others looked wrong. I also did not have an animator to build one from scratch.

However - we do now!

Enter: floating scary ghost.

Moves a little bit more like a Ghost, at least, right?

It’s pretty scary when a Ghost comes flying out of a door or something with this pose - I must admit.

Let us know what you think!

Well, that wraps it up for this week! Thanks for tuning in, Ghost Hunters!

Till next week,

Your friend

Kite

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