In our last devlog, we shared future plans regarding Blackout Protocol’s body modification and synaptic enhancement systems.
In this post, as we present our new roadmap, we would like to give you a big-picture overview of some major changes we’re making to the game as a whole, based on the response we’ve received during Early Access. Those who want a more detailed list of upcoming content can find a dedicated section towards the end of this post as well.
Blackout Protocol first launched in Early Access in July of 2023. Since then, players have given us tons of great feedback, which we’ve been working hard to incorporate into the game. We’ve rebalanced the overall difficulty, streamlined various systems, and made a bunch of smaller changes to things like controls or UI to really solidify the game’s foundation.
In the process, we’ve had a lot of internal discussion about the game’s long-term future and the journey toward official release, which has brought us to a major shift in overall philosophy.
Replayability Through New and Expanding Player Experiences
Thus far, our approach to replayability has been largely built around damage-focused progression (or, to put it another way, numbers getting bigger). Stronger guns, stronger upgrades, etc.
Since then, our perspective has changed. Under the game’s new direction, we’re going to be more focused on achieving replayability via a wider range of experiences, from one run to the next. Instead of just “numbers going up”, it’s “more ways to have fun”.
These changes will be implemented on top of the current combat system (which we think has reached a pretty solid place), to take what’s already fun about the game and improve on it even further. And of course, for players looking for harder challenges and tests of skill, we’ve got plans for content that should satisfy you.
So without further ado, let us walk you through our current plans for the game’s full release version…
1. More Narrative Elements
In the version of BP that we first launched with, playing with a full squad was basically mandatory. But throughout Early Access, we’ve seen firsthand the risks and downsides of that. Hence why we’ve put a lot of focus into making sure the game is still playable and fun even for a solo player, while striving not to compromise the multiplayer experience.
But implementing a proper single-player mode goes beyond just fiddling with numbers. At the moment, BP lacks the kind of immersive, emotional engagement necessary to make a single-player game truly memorable. Our team has always had ideas about what’s going on in the game’s setting and story, but the issue is: there’s very little of that actually in the game. Aside from an intro video and a few random audio barks, even diehard BP players currently have very little to tell them who they’re playing as, why they’re here, or (most importantly) why they should care.
With all that said: one of our biggest pivots as we move toward official release is the addition of actual story-driven single-player content. Through gameplay, players will discover the backstory of the game’s Agents, how and why they joined S2P, and ultimately, what the heck is actually going on at Section 13. Our hope is to create a world and characters that make players feel immersed, engaged, and excited to discover more.
[Mock-up of how players would pick up items in-game to unlock the story at the hub later]To give our new story elements a home, we’re adding an in-game hub location, which will totally replace the main menu in the current session flow. From the hub, players will be able to interact with characters, discover and browse story-related unlockables, and initiate both solo and co-op gameplay.
[Early concept of the hub area. Can you guess what each area is supposed to be?]2. Combat Balance and Roguelite Progression
The game’s current overall structure is exclusively linear: Parking Level, Lobby, Office, Deep Storage, boss. The same is true of the game’s difficulty curve. The deeper you get, the more enemies spawn, the more damage they do, and the higher HP they have. Because of this, players tend to prioritize damage-related Synaptic Enhancements, and it becomes basically nonviable to try out anything other than the most DPS-optimized playstyle if you want to survive.
The result is that, ironically, the longer a player spends with the game, the less variety of experiences they’re able to enjoy, and the more repetitive and fatiguing the game starts to feel.
[Chart showing how we plan to adjust the agents’ HP curve, especially compared to how much damage the iconic enemies inflict]
As mentioned above, we’re aiming to improve on this in the full release. So we’re making the following major changes to the game’s core mechanics:
- Less pronounced HP curve for player characters.[/*]
- Less pronounced HP and damage curves for enemies.[/*]
- Dodge-rolling that pushes through enemy hitboxes instead of being impeded by them. (This one’s already live in the game.)[/*]
- A proper sprint ability, tied to a stamina mechanic.[/*]
At the same time, we’ll be reducing max HP curves (for both players and enemies) and reducing the number of elements around HP recovery. Our plan is to shift the focus of combat to managing your HP and the amount of damage you take, rather than the amount of damage you deal. Additionally, we are preparing changes to make HP recovery more of a choice with an opportunity cost (e.g., missing out on other power-ups), making unconditional full HP recovery a less frequent occurrence.
As these are some pretty core changes to the game’s overall balance and design, we’ll need to approach them cautiously, to avoid sabotaging parts of the game we feel are working pretty well. As we have thus far, we’ll roll out changes to the playerbase on an ongoing basis, solicit your feedback, and tweak as needed.
Along with changes in combat, roguelite growth systems will also be seeing a big change.
In the current game, collectible currencies (blueprints, data nugs, etc.) are lost unless players reach a Safe Room. Moving forward, currencies relating to persistent growth will always be retained whether you win or die, and players will be able to turn them in at the new hub area between runs.
Our hope is that the skill curve for new players will be less of a brick wall and more of a smooth ramp, with fewer of those devastating moments where you feel the odds are stacked against you, stalling your progression.
3. Diversifying the Replay Experience
One of the most common compliments BP gets from new players is that it looks great visually. That outcome was the result of prioritizing atmosphere and a handcrafted feeling in our approach to levels and their randomized variants.
But counterintuitively, the result was that once a player has seen all of the map variants a level has to offer, levels start to feel pretty monotonous and boring.
To improve on this, we’re working on some ways to provide a much wider variety of experiences from session to session, without compromising on that handcrafted feeling, while being realistic about the scope of content a team our size has the capacity to create.
We’re basically taking a two-pronged approach to this:[olist][*] Changes to the overall structure and sequence of levels.[/*][*] Systems-driven randomized experiences during sessions.[/*][/olist]In terms of level structure, what this means is turning the game from a straight line into more of a braided thread. Our new direction will encourage players to explore every nook and cranny of Section 13. For example, that door you passed by early on without noticing might be revealed as a shortcut later on, once you’ve unlocked the key to open it.
We’re also adding entirely new levels to the game, which will thread around and through the current structure. In an effort to bring more novel and interesting levels, these new levels will likely rely on procedural generation. (That sort of stuff is a pretty heavy resource lift, though, so it will take some time, and we’ll be rolling new additions out to players gradually.)
As for randomized elements: the idea is to lean harder on the roguelite side of the game, with mechanics that are inherently different every time you play. That’s a goal that can be achieved through a variety of tools – whether it’s the new body modification system, Synaptic Enhancements with more chance elements, challenge rooms can be rerolled, new weapon perks that play more with things like Critical Hit mechanics, and so on.
[Mock-up of rerolling the secret room before you enter]
[Look at those critical hits!]The final, official release of the game will include all the things we’ve touched on today: greater focus on a proper single-player mode, enhanced narrative elements, huge changes to combat balance and roguelite progression, more diverse experiences and replayability, and of course, new content. Some of these changes will be rolled out and iterated upon during Early Access, and others we’ll keep under wraps to avoid spoiling the finished game.
I imagine you’re probably wondering “Okay, but when is all this coming?”
We’re still nailing down a lot of the timeline, and plans can always change once new content hits players’ hands, but here’s our current thinking:
[This is our new roadmap. If you want to learn more about it, please continue reading!]In any case, we’ll keep you updated through dev logs like this as development moves along. We hope you’ll look forward to it, and that the changes we’re bringing will knock your socks off with their ambition and quality.
Thank you for playing!
- Jaeeun
New Roadmap Explained
Summer's “Section 13 Renovation” Update
We will be laying the very foundations of the new direction. In this update will come:
- The new Hub area, a central location for the new gameplay loop[/*][list]
- The Hub will replace the title and waiting area, becoming the main place for starting a new session (whether solo or squad), selecting characters, investing in permanent upgrades, unlocking the story content, etc.
[A prototype hub utilizing the waiting area from the current version][/*]
- New stats, such as critical hit chance and critical hit damage, will be added as well, especially in the body modification system[/*]
- Body Modification system[/*][list]
- A new temporary power-up option of stacking buffs (often with side effects) purchased with credits
[Mock-up for body modification, which is an alternative use of your credits at the med bay besides healing][/*]
- Randomization of the categories and points, opening up more choices for the Agents
[Can you spot the differences from the existing versions?][/*] - Consolidating the different grades into 2: regular and platinum[/*]
- An unlockable alternative route that takes Agents from the Parking Lot directly into the Office (i.e., replacing the Lobby)
[Prototype of the elevator level][/*]
Fall's “New Tools and New Jobsites” Update
This will be mainly for greater procedural generation and roguelite elements:
- 3 new levels with procedural generation[/*][list]
- One of them will be the Sewers, which will serve as another alternative route (like the Freight Elevator above)
[Prototyping the Sewers][/*]
- New enemies will be designed to fit thematically into the new levels[/*]
- Agents will be able to “upgrade” their current weapons to add more perks, as well as reroll the perks[/*]
Winter's “Section 13 Grand Reopening"
Finally, when Blackout Protocol graduates from Early Access into full release:
- Full story content revealing the backstory of each agent, in addition to the truth (and the true culprit) behind Section 13’s blackout incident
[Some of you may remember this old title screen we had… does it ring a bell?][/*][list] - In the format of dialogues and logs, unlocked with a special currency in the Hub area[/*]
We hope that you are as excited as we are to see these updates. As always, we will be taking in your feedback with each update, and incorporate it into our future plans. We ask for your continued support as Blackout Protocol shifts into high gear for official release!
- ODS Team
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