Meet Your Maker Co-development with Behaviour Interactive

We at Room 8 Group worked with our long-term, valued partner, Behaviour Interactive, to port Meet Your Maker, preparing it for release on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5 while the game was still in development.  

Released on April 4, 2023, Meet Your Maker is a post-apocalyptic multiplayer game where players build fortified outposts to protect resources, while also raiding outposts created by other players. Players must upgrade their gear and evolve their ‘Chimera’, human-hybrids developed to be the next step in human evolution.  

The challenge 

Our main task was to work in lockstep with Behaviour Interactive to port a game centered around user-generated content (UGC) to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5.  

A core part of gameplay is player-created outposts, and heavy UGC elements make porting more challenging. We had to deal with platform-specific differences across Microsoft and Sony devices to make the content run smoothly on each, without compromising the game’s stability. Testing user-generated content requires precision and diligence, so we had to be thorough to achieve strong performance.  

What we did 

Our project started with a compact team comprising five skilled engineers. However, as the workload gradually intensified, we recognized the need for additional resources to meet the extra demand. At the project’s peak, we had 15 engineers and quality assurance (QA) specialists on the team.  

We ensured continuous and streamlined development, despite the time-zone difference. Behaviour Interactive would launch builds at night, and we would promptly address any problems by the morning. 

As the collaboration progressed, the partner made improvements to their processes by formalizing rules for making changes in the build and implementing tests prior to assembly. This proactive approach led to a decrease in the number of bugs we needed to address, streamlining the overall development process. 

Navigating UGC challenges to achieve optimal performance 

Meet Your Maker’s UGC features add complexity and scope to the porting process and present a unique testing challenge. Traditional testing methods fall short of adequately addressing the complexity of user-generated content. To make sure players have a smooth experience, testing this game required us to apply more advanced and automated techniques. 

We created numerous maps representing different player-created scenarios, including all kinds of traps and AI-controlled guards. In total, we developed around 40 maps for construction mode and raid mode to thoroughly validate the performance of these elements and their combinations. 

To figure out where the game could use performance boosts, we used PerfReportTool, which comes with the Unreal Engine. It allowed us to gather all the important performance data during gameplay, delivered in CSV format, which we could then analyze further. 

We also used a custom tool developed by our R&D team. It allowed us to analyze the CSV files from the Unreal CSV profiler and get useful stats like frame time, CPU time, GPU time, memory use, and network replication time on a user-friendly multilevel dashboard.  

Our custom tool also let us play around with different performance scenarios, like checking out the average performance, finding spikes, and figuring out which frames were causing trouble. We could also dig into specific components like graphics and gameplay to see how they were holding up. With this improved workflow, we didn’t need to sit around waiting for QA reports. We jumped right in and fixed problems as soon as we found them. 

We used a combination of manual testing and automation to compare performance over time, assess the effectiveness of optimizations, and observe any potential regressions. 

Tailoring the game for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5 

We used the Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) to make the game work smoothly on Xbox One and Xbox Series X. We also had to tailor the game’s functionality to suit the unique specifications of each platform, addressing specific challenges along the way. 

One area we focused on was the aim assist feature. Behaviour Interactive already had the implementation of the aim assist ready, but it didn’t meet the designer’s requirements for Meet Your Maker. Our task was to modify and fine-tune this functionality to align with the desired specifications. This involved tweaking the mechanics to make sure players could aim with precision and satisfaction. We also worked on extending the adaptive triggers for the PlayStation 5. Now, depending on what’s happening in the game, players will feel different areas of resistance when squeezing the triggers. For example, if you were pushing against a friend or dealing with a strong character, it would be harder; this added a new level of immersion and realism for PS5 players. All in all, adapting Meet Your Maker for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5 required some tinkering and customization to make sure everything worked seamlessly. 

Integrating voice chat and FidelityFX Super Resolution 

We had some interesting challenges integrating third-party functionality with Unreal Engine. 

First up was voice chat integration. Unreal Engine provides a standard voice chat feature, which we decided to leverage for Meet Your Maker. However, during development we found some bugs within the engine itself that affected the voice chat functionality. We therefore dug deep into the source code of Unreal Engine and identified what was causing those issues, and reported these bugs to the Unreal Developer Network (UDN), a platform for licensed developers, to contribute to the improvement of the engine’s voice chat capabilities.  

Another integration we worked on was FSR, or FidelityFX Super Resolution. At the request of our partner, we integrated this rendering technology developed by AMD into Meet Your Maker. FSR is a dynamic resolution scaling technique that maximizes GPU performance while maintaining excellent visual quality. By incorporating FSR within the Unreal Engine framework, we enhanced the game’s performance, delivering a smoother and visually sharper experience to players. 

Passing the stringent certification requirements of Sony and Microsoft 

To release the game on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5, we needed to adhere to strict rules and requirements laid out by Microsoft and Sony. 

For multiplayer games like Meet Your Maker, the certification process becomes even more demanding. Meeting all requirements while delivering a smooth and enjoyable multiplayer experience required careful attention to detail and thorough testing to identify and fix issues that could impact gameplay or performance.  

The outcome 

Meet Your Maker is an awesome game that combines UGC with intense FPS combat, resulting in a truly unique experience. 

Despite the extra attention to detail needed to port UGC-based games, we successfully met our partner’s expectations and delivered a seamless gaming experience to players on all designated platforms. In the process, we bolstered the capabilities of the team at Behaviour Interactive through the integration of custom-built tools and effective problem-solving. 

We met the performance goals for the game, even with the user-generated content that made it challenging. Optimizing the game to run at 30fps on Xbox One and PS4, and 60fps on Xbox Series X and PS5, was no small feat, considering the dynamic nature of UGC and the diverse range of hardware platforms. 

Working closely with our partner Behaviour Interactive, we were able to streamline the development process, divide responsibilities strategically, learn from each other, and improve the overall player experience. We feel proud that our work enabled an even greater number of people to experience and enjoy this captivating game. 

What the partner said 

Room 8 Group has been a critical contributor in bringing Meet Your Maker to market. Room 8 Group displayed an impressive technical expertise, showcasing a deep knowledge of low-level optimization evidenced by an ability to fine-tune performance and bring technical resources and imaginative approaches to the table. Over the course of the project, Room 8 Group seamlessly integrated with our internal team to create a collaborative, communicative environment that made exchanging ideas easy and ensured constant smooth progress. We appreciate their engagement and team spirit and were thrilled to find what felt like colleagues within our co-development partnership. We hope to work together again in the future

– Meet Your Maker Leadership team