Today I'd like to talk a bit about what I have been working on 2023. And what's to come in 2024!
2023
As some might know, the development fully started this year after Marble World (my other game) got released last year and was successful enough to let me work on the next game. I initially started with a purchased single player template. Because making a FPS (regardless of multiplayer) is a huge task, there are so many systems that need to be made and these systems are not that unique or difficult, just taking up a lot of time. So having that bypassed was a good choice.
I converted the template into multiplayer, adding 3rd person models for other clients to see and having all of your actions be verified on the server. Also set up a 'zombified' model with different animations for when you are a zombie. And to top it off added the 4 skills to the zombie character you can play: scratching, throwing body parts, puking and even explode yourself to deal some area of effect damage to nearby hunters.
Next to this, there's also a lot of things that need to be present in a FPS that you wouldn't initially think of, like a scoreboard, names above heads, and important behind the scenes features like lag compensation! But also gameplay features like the first zombie(s) and the last hunter. (The player at the end of the round with the highest score will return as a hunter one time for some chaotic gameplay.)
(Note: this is all placeholder, the UI will be themed to the game accordingly)
Now I don't like hackers in a multiplayer game, and playing against a hacker can be infuriating. So one of the main goals is to make sure to keep hackers out. I know no game is hack proof, looking at the big studios like Dice / Activision you probably know that no matter the budget or the experience you have, hackers will be there.
In Ravenous Horde, all your actions are 'server authorative', meaning the server will check everything you do to make sure you are not differentiating from the normal values. Like movement for example, if you managed to walk twice as fast by hacking the game, the server will rubberband you back to where you are supposed to be on the server side!
Another counteract to hackers is to have admins on a server that can kick or ban players that are exploiting the game, and in Ravenous Horde you can set up your own server! And set players to be admins to keep hackers in line, creating your own safe community server :)
(bonus picture of me adding in the double barrelled shotgun, but it bugged out the shotgun and not the shells)
Playtest - 2024
The goal is to do a playtest around the end of Q1 2024. There are some things that must be present in the game before this can happen, so I'll try my best to get it all ready. In this first test I'll gather info on how the match went, on both the client and server side so I can make performance and balance optimizations where needed.
Some things that are left to do for the first playtest:
- Add the ability to throw grenades as a hunter
- Add 2 more maps for a total of 3
- Add the ability to make loadouts
- Add a settings menu
- Add a basic scoring system
- Update the UI to be themed
- Balance the values of HP / gun & zombie damage
And I probably will face some other minor things that need to be done.
After the first playtest, the work begins on more content. here's a list of things that are going to be added after the first playtest has taken place (in no particular order):
- Levelling system using XP to unlock rewards
- Add more maps (perhaps 10 at launch? Perhaps I'll dedicate a whole post to maps as each map has variants of itself in different weather conditions)
- Killstreaks / death streaks
- The perk system (50+ perks!)
- Updated gore system
- More weapons and weapon attachments
- Reward tracks (this is the monetization model I'll be using as the game itself is free)
The goal is to have more frequent playtests in the future with each introducing a new feature and balancing to test out as I complete the game more and more towards a release.
For now, thank you for reading. Enjoy the holidays and take care! :)
If you are interested in more in-depth info regarding the game or just want to hang out feel free to join the discord: https://discord.gg/jbx92tbMSG
And if you want to join in on the future playtest, don't forget to wishlist and sign up!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2179490/Ravenous_Horde/
