It’s been a while since Uragun came out. A lot was going on internally and we didn’t want to write a post until we were sure about our plans. We apologize for the wait and we’ll commit to a more steady communication flow from now on.
When we launched Uragun on Early Access, the team was very proud of what we had accomplished. We knew it was unfinished and missing many features, but we thought it was fun and that the passion we put into its development could be felt in every detail. Most of those among you who purchased it seemed to think the same. You have told us the action is very smooth and fun, you liked the visuals and can’t wait for more tracks of the cool soundtrack.
However, we didn’t manage to capture a sufficiently big audience. For some reason, not many felt like giving our top-down shooter a try. We realized that, if we continued developing the game as it is, we would probably never attract enough players to sustain the project and the studio. That forced us to rethink our plans and goals
After a period of consideration and restructuring (where we never stopped working on the game), we have decided that a change is needed. We’ve heard what you love from Uragun and we want to continue expanding and improving those aspects. But we think a new structure for the game could make us a more appealing proposal for potential new players and also keep those of you who liked it entertained for longer. We want to turn Uragun into an Action Roguelite.
This might sound surprising (or even upsetting) for some of you. However, the reality is that we always intended to create some kind of infinitely replayable mode for Uragun. What has changed is that initially we wanted to wait until the end to construct such mode, but the situation has pushed us to reconsider our options and prioritise this approach from now on.
Uragun as a roguelite
Same action, different wrapping
A lot in Uragun will continue to be the same:
- Satisfying, frantic top-down shooting with an arcade flavor.
- Balanced encounters full of purposeful and enjoyable challenges.
- Beautiful hand-crafted environments.
- Some fun AI chatter.
What will change then?
- Permadeath. Whenever you die, you’ll have to start a completely new run. Most of the things that you collected (weapons, mods, expansion cartridges, …) will be lost.
- Randomized world map. The cool thing is that you will always be facing a different set of missions and rewards. While you are reconstructed, the evil AI will reconfigure the travel routes so your journey through every region will always be different.
- Permanent progression. Although most items will be lost after death, there will be a skill tree for you to spend the collected Intel after every run and increase your chances of success. This will only help so much, of course, to succeed you’ll have to master the combat of Uragun.
- Re-built upgrade system. To adapt to the new structure, but also to make it even deeper and more enjoyable, we’ll expand the types of gear that can be collected so you can create even more varied and lethal builds for your mech.
New Game Structure
A run of Uragun will consist of a set of missions (similar to the ones currently present in game) played consecutively and selected from a map with alternative paths. After every mission, you’ll be presented with a region map where you’ll choose your next destination. The main rewards and the kind of mission will be shown upfront, so you can strategize based on your current build and situation. Health will be persistent from mission to mission and not so easy to replenish, this will create many situations in which it’ll be up to you to decide if the reward is worth the risk.
You’ll have to complete one region after another: Barcelona, Hong-Kong, North Cascades, and the brand new Nairobi’s Underground.
If the mech is destroyed, the run will end and Ola will reconstruct it in a secret base. There, you can spend your Intel on new upgrades and perform other actions still to be determined. Once you are ready, you will start a new run. You’ll see a new map has been generated, offering you some different missions, with different paths connecting them and, most importantly, a different set of rewards awaiting. By mastering your arsenal and learning how to fight every enemy, each run will bring you further.
Why a Roguelite
Although the situation has precipitated our decision, we truly believe this is going to be the ultimate way to experience the action of Uragun. We always wanted to create a type of combat that feels great in every context and with enough depth to turn the learning process into a blast for the players. We also wanted to have a deep and playful upgrade system since we believe that’s what mech games are all about.
The Roguelite structure simply enhances all these aspects. Permadeath raises the stakes asking you to really master the combat and learn its intricacies. Meanwhile, the random nature of the roguelite structure keeps the system fresh by pushing the players into different scenarios with distinct builds and synergies.
What have we been working on
As I mentioned before, the studio never stopped working on Uragun after the hotfix period. First of all, we needed to do some technical groundwork like updating the engine and addressing some aspects that should significantly improve the game’s performance in the future. But I’m sure you care more about content, so let me share a few things we’ve been cooking.
New Region: Nairobi’s Underground
Kenya’s capital became a hyper advanced technological metropolis. Under its ever less habitable surface, due to the climate crisis, an endless labyrinth of tunnels and facilities was built. Our mech’s journey will lead us to this place that was once the home of a revolution and then a hideout for resistance against the AI corruption.
Visually, we have worked hard to define a strong identity for this new region. Light and darkness play an important role and we are trying to convey the feeling of exploring an enormous and complex facility full of mystery.
But the additions won’t only be visual. Nairobi’s Underground will be inhabited by new enemy types with attacks and movement patterns that can’t be seen in the other regions. The shape and size of the arenas are also different to support the gameplay.
More enemy types
Populating Nairobi’s Underground made us realize that we want to push as much as possible the differences in terms of enemies among regions. With this in mind, we are redistributing our existing units, making many of them exclusive to only one region. But we are also creating new variants or entirely new enemies.
New types of attacks, new ways of moving… all to make sure that you’ll be facing interesting and varied challenges. But, as always, we’re also making them very satisfying to destroy when you know how to fight them :)
Roguelite Systems: First Steps
We’re laying the groundwork for the roguelite structure to happen. Many systems have to be built at once: the logic for runs, generating random world maps, claiming rewards in levels, etc. There’s still plenty to do, but we’re internally playing the first rough iterations and we’re already excited about how it transforms the game. While the combat is the same (although we’re adjusting the level pacing to better fit the vision), the context makes everything feel different and more engaging.
Weapons, Mods, Heat Attacks, and much more
We know that every run should feel unique. We will keep creating new gear to make sure that the game is full of options and enjoyable playstyles. These new items are all in a conceptual phase and there’s not much to show yet. But we’re looking forward to creating new weapons, attacks, and mods. Let us know if you have any ideas and wishes for new ways to wreak havoc with your mech. In the meantime, this is one of the many concept art pieces that we're producing for possible future weapons.
Next Update
We need to rework many systems in order to get to a point in which the roguelite structure can be experienced cohesively. For this reason, we can’t really promise a specific date for the next update. Our intention is to do it as soon as we can because we want you to try it and let us know what you think. For a roguelite to be successful, balance, progression, pace and many other things are crucial. We want to build this one together with you.
While the update may take a while, we’ll do our best to share the progress through Steam posts like this one and some casual talk on Discord if you like that. The good news is that it'll take sometime, but it'll arrive completely packed with content in addition to the new systems. We’re honestly just trying to make Uragun as good as it can be and we want to be very open. We’ll share the reasons behind many of the design decisions and integrate as much as your feedback as possible.
Thanks for your patience and see you soon.
