We Happy Few - Welcome to Wellington Wells, you Saucy Minx
Created by Compulsion Games
A game of paranoia and survival, in a drugged-out, dystopian English city in 1964. From the studio that brought you Contrast.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Update #23 - Bringing life to Wellington Wells
over 10 years ago
– Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 10:49:54 PM
Hello!
Welcome to another edition of our weekly update.
This week, like the last couple of weeks, we have been focusing on bringing life to Wellington Wells - eg making the NPCs do interesting things, rather than mill around aimlessly, along with a bunch of other changes. There are some super cool changes this week, and we’re excited to push them out to pre-alpha players in the middle of next week to see what you think.
Gameplay Team
Vince
This week's focus was on the Village and making sure all the Wellies have plenty of things to do, such as:
Sweeping Wellies. Wellies that own a home will now sometimes go outside to sweep clean their stairs.
Window shoppers. Wellies will stop at some shop's windows and stare at it for a bit.
Chair and benches actions. Wellies will now read newspapers, drink coffee or just sit.
Communal Gardens. These small garden maps will spawn here and there in the Village District, but it still needs a bit more work to account for terrain slopes.
Village Square. A big park where Wellies can enjoy themselves.
Also worked on Random Encounters for the Village:
Bobby Investigation. A Wellie is laying dead while some Bobbies are investigating the crime scene.
BBQ Party. These Wellies are just enjoying the sun and having a good lunch in a backyard.
Game Stand: Shoot the Duck. There is a tent set-up where you can grab some rocks and aim for the moving Rubber Ducky. There are lots of prizes to win!
Meat Errand boy. This clumsy Wellie is trying really hard to bring juicy V-Meat somewhere, but he keeps dropping the precious cargo.
I did a bit of tweaking on the Begging Wastrels in the Garden District: you must now put whatever you want to give them in the active Quickslot instead of taking one item you might want to keep from your backpack.
And finally, I did a small tweak for Joy so you don't need as much Joy to be "Joyed" and can now pop a pill more without overdosing.
Narrative Team
Alex
I did an interview and wrote articles for the in-game newspaper. Revised [redacted] playthrough and started editing [redacted] playthrough audio cutscenes.
Art Team
Marc-André
This week I worked on a small filler building.
Emmanuel
I’ve been working on some military props
Deven
This week I worked on the following props:
Programming Team
Camille
There wasn’t much in the way of exciting game work on my plate for the last two weeks.
Last week was mostly spent setting up an Xbox One to start working on that platform, and then preemptively flushing out some of the UI issues that come with the Xbox One having multiple controllers. The upside of this is that this also highlighted some issues using a controller on PC, especially if one happens to have more than one connected, so I fixed those issues as well.
Then, for this week, I took over web duties for a little bit and did a pass on polishing our forums and adding some functionality. Once our hosting team pushes those changes live, lots of minor annoyances should be gone and we’ll also have better tools to get rid of spam bots in a timely fashion.
Marc
I’ve worked on fixing and improving the AI systems to add more variety to the world (see Vince’s update), and integrated a few new sounds, especially the player character’s voice. The main character will now say a whole bunch more things when you greet Wellies or Wastrels. The voice system is a bit naive for the moment so you may find the lines are too frequent or repeat themselves a bit too much, or not actually enough. It’s ongoing, so feedback will be appreciated, as always.
Backer Kit reminder
We still have a sizeable number of people who haven’t answered their survey on Backer Kit. We use these surveys to make sure that everything is ready for sending out rewards, so we need you to fill them out!
Make sure to check your spam folders, and if it isn’t there, please search for “Backer Kit” using the search bar inside your email application. The emails were sent to the same email you used for pledging on Kickstarter.
Windows 10 and the pre-alpha
As a quick note about Windows 10: pre-alpha players may experience random crashes/performance issues if you upgrade to Windows 10. This is due to Windows 10 display drivers not being quite ready yet for primetime. The game will run for most people, but please be aware that it might be a little while before Windows 10 players are at parity with Win 7/8.
Have a great weekend!
Compulsion Team
Update #22 - Village Behaviour
over 10 years ago
– Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 10:23:18 PM
Hi everyone!
It’s another quiet week at the studio, as about half of us take a much needed break. We toyed with not bothering you this week, but figured you'd prefer a smaller update rather than none at all.
This week has been an interesting week. The main focus has been on NPC activities - basically, what the Wellies do all day. It's important to us that the game feel alive, and one of the main ways of doing that is to make sure that the Wellies act in ways that you would expect (shopping, playing, doing weird Wellie things, etc). We had a bunch of these in the world previously, but due to a couple of bugs they hadn't been working properly. So, now all the previous activities are back in, and we have a whole bunch more ready to go. It’s livened up the place something grand.
Narrative Team
Alex
I went through our recording session and pulled the best takes to use for [redacted]’s in-game barks and responses to scenarios. I’ve also been editing audio for various cut scenes in the [redacted] playthrough. Also, over the weekend, I rewrote [redacted]’s playthrough so that it’s no longer an issue of [redacted].
Sam note: This message is brought to you by the NSA and their corps of redaction engineers, and by the number 13.
Programming Team
Marc
I worked mostly on AI passive behaviours (the things they do when they don't suspect or try to kill you). We added a few activities (we call them "points of interest") using existing animations that were not yet integrated into the game.
The Fast and the Furious
I also fixed tons of stuff that really should have been working at this stage, including usages of some activities and general movement. Now the NPCs, mostly in the Village, have a lot more variations as to what they're doing.
It's just the beginning.
Art Team
Marc-André
I continued working on last week's filler building, by texturing it.
I wonder what it's filled with? I hope whipped cream.
That is all from us this week. Thanks for reading!
Team Compulsion
Update #21 - Summer Vacation and New Biome Art
over 10 years ago
– Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 10:52:30 PM
Hello all,
Welcome to a new edition of our Weekly update!
Weekly Update
Production Team
Sam
Hi everyone! It’s been a little while since we updated you on the status of the project, and a few important things have happened that I wanted to discuss.
First, in Germany, I met the creator of Minsc. I’m pretty sure this is the high point of my life, and it’s all downhill from here as I drift towards my twilight years. If you do not know who Minsc is, just remember, go for the eyes, Boo. Go for the eyes.
Second, as you may know, we went to GamesCom in Germany last week, to announce that we’re releasing We Happy Few on Xbox One! Guillaume and I went over there to talk to media and fans, and while it was an exhausting week, we’re really happy with how things are going.
This is a big deal for the team and the project. Microsoft has been very supportive of the game and is eager to help us make it the best it can be. We agreed to do this because of their enthusiasm - something they seem to have in spades - and having partners on board who really care about the game means a lot to us. We’re really excited about it, and hope you are too.
Some of you have raised concerns that creating console versions will result in the “dumbing down” of the game or our vision for it. Don’t worry! The Xbox One version will be pretty much exactly the same as the PC version, and we’re not making any design adjustments. Any work we do/improvements we make for the Xbox One will apply to the PC version too (and vice versa). Performance optimizations will benefit PC players, particularly those not running high end PCs, and have already improved things for a lot of pre-alpha players. We’ll also potentially have ease of use options for Xbox One, that could carry over to PC. For example (and this is only an example), if we implement some sort of controller aim-snapping into the Xbox One version, we’ll add that as an accessibility option in the PC version. In any event, this will not affect the core game design.
Third, we’re smack bang in the middle of one of our two quiet periods for the year. July/August and Christmas are times when the team usually goes pretty dark, going on holiday and spending time with our families. This means our pre-alpha updates will be a little smaller than usual during this time, although we’ll still have a few surprises for you in the next update. Your feedback on our forums has been really helpful, and we’re looking forward to more of it.
Gameplay Team
Vince
Hi there! A big week again with lots of little things, centered around finishing what I started last week and making sure they are working as intended.
I implemented a new water bottle/canteen system. Basically I removed large bottles and replaced them with canteens, so that's what you'll need to find if you want to carry around tap water now. Glass bottles cannot be filled with water anymore but they are now throw able objects and are needed for crafting Bangers.
Did some testing and fixed some problems with the begging Wastrels, they should now behave properly - they don't care what you wear and won't get suspicious of you. They will randomly spawn in destroyed buildings in the Garden District.
Did some tweaking on the MultiTool and the Advanced Electro-Lock Shocker to better fit their description. They are quite a lot harder to craft, so I thought they should also be more useful. The MultiTool is now basically an unbreakable lockpick and the Advanced Electro-Lock Shocker will also be able to zap any safe you come across!
Finally, I added a few things the Wellies can do in the Village besides wandering around aimlessly. They will now stop and stare at shop windows and home owners will now go out of their houses from time to time and start sweeping their front or back stairs. Marc also worked on this and we will continue adding more of those so that the Village of Hamlyn really feels more alive.
I worked again on the super secret stuff I started last week... and can't wait to see your comments when you'll actually play it!
Programming Team
Camille
I've been mostly quiet in updates these past few weeks because the bulk of my work was spent on minute UI details that aren't that interesting to summarize. But with the last update, you might have noticed improvements both aesthetic and functional in all menus.
A lot of it was getting the main/options menu functional with both mouse and controller. I also polished controller support for most menus, namely adding controller button prompts for the useful but less obvious features.
Probably the most visible effort is on the map, which I feel has now graduated from "programmer art prototype" and, incidentally, can now be controlled with a gamepad too. It should handle much more smoothly now, though there is still quite a lot of functionality and detail to add in the days to come.
Marc
This week I mostly did some sound integration for various props and gameplay effects, I reworked the ambient loops and integrated the garden district and the ocean ambience. I also adjusted the dodge mechanic for the NPCs, plus the usual bug fixing and optimisations.
Narrative Team
Alex
What I am working on this week is learning Pro Tools so I can edit the cutscene audio at pro quality!
We’ve been having issues with players attempting to go in filler houses. The original intention was that the Wellies have painted all the boarded-up houses to look like inhabited houses. Unfortunately, people are not finding it clear which is which.
So, Whitney and Josh and I worked up a new lexicon. Wellington Wells no longer has access to oil or coal. They have replaced it with a sparkly blue, highly volatile and unstable fuel called Motilene™. Active houses will have clear pipes carrying Motilene out front (retrofitted into their vintage exterior). If the Motilene is flowing, it’s a live house. No sparkly blue, it’s not for you.
Also, filler houses have boarded-up doors that have been painted to look like windows. And they don’t have doorknobs, either. So we’re hoping it will be pretty clear where you can go in and where you can’t.
Art Team
Whitney
One of the things I did this week was continuing to develop the new biome. This biome is heavily inspired by White Hall, London. We’ll talk about the backstory soon, but here are some designs for the architecture we're using.
Deven
Marc-André
Laura Ellis on Indigogo
Music was a fundamental part of our first game, Contrast. One of the characters was a cabaret singer named Kat, and we had the extremely talented Laura Ellis on board to be her singing voice. Here is one of the songs from the game:
Laura is preparing for her new album and has launched an Indigogo campaign! If you like her work please consider supporting her or simply sharing the word :)
Have a great weekend everyone!
Compulsion Team
Update #20 - Gamescom, Xbox One, New Update
over 10 years ago
– Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 05:31:13 AM
Happy Friday everyone!
We have quite a few things for you this week.
Gamescom and Xbox One
As you may have learned by now, we are delighted to announce that We Happy Few will make its console debut on the Xbox One!
We announced at Gamescom 2015 earlier this week that we will be releasing We Happy Few on Xbox One next year and that it will arrive on the Game Preview program (Xbox's Early Access) this holiday season.
In case you missed the new trailer that was shown during the Microsoft conference, here it is:
We also prepared an FAQ for your questions, if you have any more feel free to send us a message.
When will WHF be available on Xbox One?
This holiday season in the Xbox Game Preview program, the released game will come out next year.
How much will it cost?
Same as PC
What about PS4?
At the moment we are focusing on the PC and Xbox version. We are a small team and we want to take our time polishing the game first and foremost.
Can I change my Kickstarter pledge to an Xbox version?
Unfortunately no, the Kickstarter was exclusively for PC. We would have loved to change your pledge, but we'd have to raise the price of the tier. If you haven’t backed us yet and wish to get the Xbox version, we suggest you wait until it becomes available on the Xbox Game Preview program this holiday season.
New Update
This week we also released a new update for the pre-alpha, the Gamescom build, which matches the build we are showcasing at Gamescom right now on Xbox One.
We have listened to your feedback about the game being too easy. In this update we have focused on player progression and optimization, and the changes we have made are going to make a lot of you rethink your strategies. If you feel adventurous and up to the challenge, do not read the build notes...! ;)
The past weeks have seen a lot of work going into our Xbox One support and
getting a demo together for Gamescom, which we haven't been able to talk
about much for what should now be obvious reasons.
This kind of work will often drive you to go back and revisit many of
the decisions you have made to this point. This in turn will lead to
frequent shrieks of "WHAT WAS I THINKING?" and will help you identify
problems that you thought were more or less solved, but turn out to
require a little more attention.
The good news, is that this work helps everyone - regardless of what
platform they are playing the game on. A lot of the work we're applying
to the Xbox One version, is identifying areas where we could make
improvements, especially for performance. Some of these improvements
can already be seen in our recent pre-alpha PC builds, and there will
definitely be more in the future.
Narrative Team
Rémi
Hey everyone! it's been a while since we gave you an update on our animation work.
The reason of all these missing updates is mostly because we are working really hard on Cinematics and Narrative content. We do not want to spoil anything for you guys and want to make it the best Narrative experience possible! Also, Tuesday at Gamescom, you were able to see for the first time a video that I was working on for the past few weeks: The Gamescom Trailer!
I really hope that you liked it and I am very happy about the response that we got from it so far.
Thank you for being such an awesome community, and I hope that I'll be able to give you some visual updates in the upcoming weeks!
Alex
This week I recorded 2 hours of [Actor]. Some of this should get into the game pretty soon
Gameplay Team
Vince
- The Butcher now carries a meat cleaver as a weapon, which you can pick up and use. It has a very high chance of causing a bleeding status on opponents.
- I made a lot of progress on adding new Wastrel beggars inside the Garden biomes. They will ask for different things and probably be thankful for it. We just need a custom animation and sound and voila! You can be all Robin Hood if that's your style (bless those poor Wastrel's souls that we keep beating up)
- I also worked on integrating some very special secret encounters which require a lot of animation but shhh! That's a secret.
We also have some very interesting new gameplay elements listed in the build notes that we released yesterday.
Art Team
Marc-André
Filler building
Close-up
Close-up
Deven
Sam, Guillaume and Josh are currently at Gamescom while the rest of us are trying not to set the office on fire. Guillaume sent us a picture of two We Happy Few cosplayers that he met there, we couldn't believe how amazing they looked. Everyday we are truly baffled by the passion the community is showing us with your fan art, costumes, make-up, kind words etc...We couldn't be more grateful, thank you!
Guillaume with two happy Wellies
How cute are they?!
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Naila
Update #19 - Contrast codes, Wellie mode, New build next week
over 10 years ago
– Mon, Aug 03, 2015 at 11:49:05 PM
Good evening everyone,
Welcome to this week's update!
New stretch goal unlocked
We are delighted to announce that we've unlocked the very last stretch goal on our list: Wellie Mode!
What is Wellie Mode? Play as a Wellie, and hunt for Downers. But, remember to take your Joy, because you'll go mad without it. You'll experience the game from the point of view of a Joyed-up Wellie (or Wellette), and will watch the downfall of the city from the other side.
Contrast codes
The Contrast codes have been sent! Yay! If you’ve pledged to the Shadow Tier, you should have gotten an email. If you didn't get anything, try logging into your Backer Kit profile, the code should be there. If you are still confused, let us know and we will help you.
Next week
Next week is going to be pretty busy and full of surprises. Not only will we release a new build, but we also have an announcement for you all. We can't say anything yet but let's just say that Sam, Guillaume and Josh won't be in the office next week ;)
Weekly Development Update
Here is what the team has been up to this week:
Narrative Team
Alex
We recorded the extraordinarily talented [Secret actress] today! And we would have recorded [Secret actor] this week, except he fell out of a tree (true story). We will record him next week.
Rémi and J.R have been working on some cinematic for the story, which of course we cannot show ;)
Art Team
Whitney
This week I researched a variety of special locations and did a few loose concepts. I also helped out on some UI needs. Here is a concept for the female downer's bedroom.
Marc-André
Hi, my name is Marc-André and I am the new environment artist at Compulsion Games. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help bring We Happy Few to life! Working here as part of a very driven and talented team is a blast.
Emmanuel
This week I made a few things, one of them was a meat cleaver. You know who that is for, right? ;)
Deven
Programming Team
Marc
I did mostly fixes and optimizations.
Matt
This week was all spent on debugging and working on performance.
Gameplay Team
Vince
Lots of testing and bug fixes again! We gave a big push on optimization and that always means a lot of testing and grunt work... but there is definitely an improvement on performance and loading times, those of you on lower end PCs will see a difference, hopefully.
On the design side, we made a lot of small changes in the game progression and balancing. You will have to work harder to get food and to be able to craft what you need to escape. I also modified some of the crafting recipes, especially for the suits, and worked on balancing some loot tables.
Josh
What a week! I beat StarTropics for the NES what a great but extremely hard game...
As Vince mentioned in his update we've put an extra focus on player progression and the overall player experience this week. In fact the amount of changes are going to make a bundle of you rethink your strategies. i.e. no more guaranteed Hammer Pipe spawn in the Butcher shop. We'll expand on that next week.
We intentionally made the game a little bit easier since our initial opening of the Pre-Alpha in order to ease more players into the world of Wellington Wells but it is now time to bring a challenging experience back up to a fair, and rewarding level.
With Marc's AI tweaks, all the optimization, and stat adjustments, you're going to feel a little bit more on the defensive and a little more wary about attacking Wastrels and Wellies a like.
A list of all the changes will come with the next build update but if you want to experience a "New" spoiler free journey of Wellington Wells, I would suggest jumping into the update without reading the notes and see if you can figure out how to escape the "Pre-Alpha" of We Happy Few.
Thank you all for the support and for chatting with us on the forums. We are having a blast reading your posts and seeing your fan art, theories and beautiful screenshots <3
