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Steel Hunters

13 in de groepschat

STEEL HUNTERS is a Free-to-Play, PvPvE shooter with futuristic mech battles. Fight to collect rare loot on an abandoned Earth, and use combat tactics to turn rivals into scrap. Choose your Hunter and playstyle to battle 5 other duo teams. Only one can extract from the Hunting Grounds.

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The Forge: Audio

21 jan

Ouverture

"What does the future sound like?"
When tasked with creating the sound design of a post-apocalyptic hero-shooter set in the year 2099, our Audio team was indirectly tasked with answering this question. The soundtrack in Steel Hunters needed to be futuristic and reflecting of its dystopian world. "New sounds" had to be created for materials and weapons that do not (yet) exist.
But what exactly sounds futuristic to us is often bond to the time we currently live in.

Bravura

In 1919, composers Hauer and Schoenberg baffled the world with their dodecaphonic approach to music. Or better: They decided that all notes are equal, and wrote explicitly difficult compositions with seemingly no melodic coherence, strong tempo and technical emphasis and very off sounding, peaking bits. Classical instruments started sounding mechanic, robotic almost. Emotion was removed from the equation.

Opposite to that, our composers and sound engineers selected a different approach: Minimalism. This is a style lately popularized through use in movies such as "Tenet" - the listener is exposed to repetitive sounds and rhythms. By varying the intensity and timing in which these are played, adding or removing micro-rhythms, we are forced to listen closely to it. Minimalist music has proven to be able to move us emotionally. And another decisive factor in it are the sounds and frequencies used, which only seldom are produced with classical instruments. They feel "new."

Crescendo

If you by now think our sound team ventured out and squeezed themselves through air vents, trying to record all different types of new sounds: You're right. We did exactly that. A little crazy enhances the creativity. But not only did we rely on uncommon practices: We have classically trained musicians and a wide array of instruments and synthesizers at our disposal - and an iron will to experiment. The result is a blend of ancient and modern. In Steel Hunters you can find us using instruments like e.g. jaw harp just as well as a LYRA-8 and PULSAR-23 synthesizer, among others. These last 2 are most important in the process: The LYRA-8 can create a wide range of organic sounds, some of which can almost not be replicated if you do not exactly know how to use it. The PULSAR-23 is a more straightforward synth that can add instrumental composition.

When a dignified master of music uses all these at their disposal, they can - through the use of effects like sidechaining or ducking - create clarity and harmony within a musical arrangement of wild sounds. Sidechaining and ducking are both techniques that use a certain domino effect - they create audio signals that interact with other audio signals - thus triggering sounds that can create emotional response. One of these can be the release of dopamine in humans. Or better: To trigger happy hormones.

Apassionato

Having defined an emotional approach for our game's music, now we took on enhancing the connection of this emotionality and the players. First of all, in-game the audio engine had to be flexible. During intense battles, the sound "escalates" - enhancing the moment of what is happening on-screen. Additionally, we were able to add "micro-rhythms". Since clarity and simplicity dominates our minimalistic musical approach, there was enough space to incorporate these - and they really make a difference, confirming errors or amplifying a Player's sense of victory when things are going great.

The Hunters themselves - like Darth Vader in Star Wars - were of course entitled to their very own distinctive audio identity. Voiceovers - performed by original actors - were recorded and are continuously re-recorded to make sure we can transmit the human element in the final game. A Hunter's personality.

Maestro!

"A painter paints on canvas. Musicians paint on silence." - Leopold Stokowski
Before a Hunter utters it's first word in battle, it has usually been around quite some time already - in drawings, in narrative, even as a model in engine. It probably already has a name, abilities and a clear definition of how it fits into the world. But a voice, it has not.

As the game comes to life, the Hunters turn into members of our SH team family themselves - so it only makes sense that everybody in our team can suggest voice-lines for them. Once the writing stands, we proceed to select voice-actors from a wide portfolio provided by different agencies. During recording sessions all lines from the script are usually recorded more than once. The actors are tasked with emphasizing different parts of the script, words, sounds, to give us options to choose from. The Steel Hunters team directs these recordings, making sure the project develops in the direction we want it to.

Giocoso

Upon entering the game, one of the first musical bits you'll encounter is the lobby theme. If you listen carefully, you will re-encounter this in a more dynamic remix when you transition into the matchmaking phase. The idea behind this: The olayer shall meet first with the soothing, relaxing sounds of preparing for a game, but be slowly enticed to action when transitioning into the game. This small example hopefully serves well to show the care we put into crafting every aspect of this game, and how dedicated we are to perfecting it.

Then later, when the battle heats up, so does the music. The more intense the battle, the more intense the music. Makes sense. But there's more happening during a game - you might want to try to listen to this when you play SH the next time:

Also, as all of you know, each map in Steel Hunters features landmarks that define it. Like Dinoland, or the Launch Pad.

So, we developed custom ambiances for each environment, capturing terrain changes, positions, heights, and other factors that affect sound dynamics.

And additionally - and most importantly for a portion of realism - we've implemented a sophisticated sound propagation system on how sound travels, with delays that increase with distance.

Now this, of course, does not quite play out like in the real world: Sound travels much slower than light, at a 330m/s. This means e.g. if Heartbreaker shoots you from 1km away, you would only be able to hear the shoot about 3 seconds after it hit you. What in the real world happens, can seem bizarre in a video game. Finding the sweet spot between realism and playability - doing the fine adjustment so it feels, looks and sounds real but is still easy to play - is our mission.

Trenchwalker[sh-portal-prod.wgcdn.co]

Da Capo

As mentioned, we use synths and more uncommon methods to find the yet unheard sounds of the future. The previously mentioned air duct research with contact mics happened e.g. whilst we were researching sounds for our new upcoming map, "Flooded City". Some of these sounds were then integrated into the official soundtrack. We have an extensive roadmap that spans across all audio facets, aimed at adding an extra layer of shine and depth to Steel Hunters. Beginning with the implementation of Dolby Atmos for a truly immersive audio experience, we are also integrating proper convolution reverberation to enhance environmental realism. This is a system that allows us to refine sound - just like images are perfected in movie post-production with filters and colouring etc. - and brings us closer to reverb the real-world sounds.

By further experimenting with our modular synthesizers, we are able to push beyond the borders of new sounds we have discovered and further refine them.

Futurissimo

But, hey, look - let's come full circle with the beginning of this article. What is futuristic and what is not is can often be determined by the time we live in. In 1919 it was overcomplicated, technical, braking the borders of harmony. Nowadays, it is the minimalist opposite.

And then the 20's also gave us the infamous Theremin, the 60's revolution were synthesizers, and the 80's the brought about the first digital sound - all things you look at nowadays and think "yeah - 20's, 60's and 80's stuff".
And in turn that also means that staying ahead and constantly keeping up the search for new stuff is going to be part of our jobs once we're live.

Sound can create an emotional response - a feeling of joy - that reminds us of a beloved game we used to play years ago. Recently I went for a walk through the city by night with a friend, now 35. We talked about childhood Video Games. At some point he said: "There was this game I used to play when I was 16. We would go to a friend's house, stay there all day to play it, all summer. It was the best of times! What is stuck in my head, was that amazing 8-bit Soundtrack. Whenever I hear it, or anything that reminds me of it, it really makes me smile. I feel all cozy and happy then."

Yeah. This is exactly what we are gunning for.

Steel Hunters

Was super excited to try it until I saw...

No controller support... Looks like I can't play it. Edit: Looks like it has partial support that isn't marked on the steam page. It works but it is far from ideal. The aim assist is extremely weak and with mouse and keyboard having a 4:1 advantage it might not be a good experience for a lot of players....

Kankaku

28 dec 2024 om 15:52

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Mapping The World: Crimson Ridge

17 jan

At every stage of map creation, our team's main focus is Steel Hunters' signature core gameplay. Leaning on it, our designers strive to create the most unique and visually appealing locations for you to play in. While conceptualizing our second map, Crimson Ridge, they set their gaze on the United States for inspiration again, following the well-trodden path taken with the Maryland Heights setting.

General References

Although influenced by the same country, Crimson Ridge is nothing like Maryland Heights in terms of visuals. Upon entering the former, you're greeted by steep sandstone canyon walls and cactus-studded landscapes, surrounded by rock formations of bizarre shapes and sizes. Add to that dusty terrain with golden sand blowing off the scorched ground, all under brilliant blue skies—an enchanting sight, isn't it?

The main geographical reference source for the map's biome (overall environment and flora) was scenic American desert cliffs, wild canyons, and spectacular sandy plains. Any corner of Crimson Ridge will definitely remind you of the kinds of breathtaking views you can find in the states of Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah; in particular, such places as Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, and others have contributed to the map's vibes.

Lore Connections

What is the ideological concept of Crimson Ridge, making up its core environment?

Well, our team's narrative idea was to bring the lore of Steel Hunters to the forefront by building objects and places directly related to the post-apocalyptic world of our game.

So, in the heart of this map, you'll see a massive rocket launch pad, from which the rescue shuttles were dispatched as part of the station resettlement program as part of the main story.

Shaping Up the Sandy Land

Let's get into the actual creation process of the map.

Firstly, as soon as the central idea for Crimson Ridge came from the Concept Art Team, our level designers began to construct it from a simplified scheme on a drawing board, arranging possible landmarks. Check out its fragment with the map's "before" and "after:"

Then there was the usual graybox blocking of the level routine (as mentioned in the first issue of the MTW, it's basically presenting objects in their simplest 3D form), the playtest tryouts of the rough surroundings, and creative coloring challenges for the Art Team.

The general environment creation pipeline was significantly changed, as the map dimensions were not the same (compared to Maryland Heights), and the points of interest (the game mode events) differed completely in theme and size. Subsequently, Crimson Ridge became a "breath of fresh air" and a further step in our dev progress, making it possible for the team to try out new strategies and techniques at various stages of its development.

While working on the map, our 3D Art Team had to take up the challenge of building truly enormous objects (like those at the space complex). They needed to make them visually appealing and at the same time ensure that they fit into the overall map sizes. Also, an important task was the separation of visual zones, each already filled with a number of natural objects.

The approach to landscape design and navigation was altered dramatically, too. Our designers then moved from creating large thematic zones to building local landmarks (objects of a smaller size): e.g., compare a city spread on a wide region and a distinct dinosaur statue. This made it easier to forge more detailed, authentic objects.

On the gameplay side, there were also some innovations: the desert setting included enclosed areas, tunnels, and passageways. The map thus incorporated vertical gameplay as it ensured interaction between players at different levels of a given location. It certainly brought versatility to the environment: e.g., you could fire from high ground or take cover behind rocks below. A perfect example for this is the Launch Complex area—a big circular multi-leveled platform with the Space Launch Center, Rocket Launch Pad, and Control Center. Here, the diversity of the gameplay is especially felt when you're firing from the sandy high ground while your opponent is firing back from the tunnels below.

In fact, the map was originally larger than it is now, but our team cut it down in size. This is why you can see some objects outside the map borders.

Currently, the team is brushing Crimson Ridge up and adding eye-catching visuals, as well as new locations to diversify the gameplay. For instance, a lot of effort was put into implementing sand animation and constructing a brand-new area—the Amphitheatre—and more.

The Inspiration Behind the Main Sights

As we mentioned above, the central landmark of Crimson Ridge is the Launch Complex, created for loading spaceships with thousands of settlers and launching them into orbit, according to the lore. It occupies a rather large part of the map and consists of the Launch Pad and additional tech infrastructure, like the flame trench, utilities with underground tunnels, fuel storage, etc.

When constructing this picturesque place, the team was inspired by a number of spaceports and airbases, such as: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex (Florida, USA), Vandenberg Space Force Base infrastructure (California, USA), the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan), and Groom Lake (Nevada, USA) as landscape references.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex

The Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vandenberg Space Force Base

In addition to the map's compelling setting and central idea, distinctive landmarks were needed to add to environmental variety and facilitate player navigation. Typically, our designers choose real-world objects as references that are specific to the geographical location in which the map is being created. So, keeping with the Crimson Ridge's predominant desert biome, the team added campgrounds, recreation areas, trailer parks, small settlements, etc.

And, of course, the USA as the main reference is known for its rich dinosaur history, with a wealth of archaeological sites and museums dedicated to these majestic beasts. This had to be taken into account, and the map was filled with dinosaur-themed locations (e.g., the mascot statue, the "Dino Cave" zone, "DinoLand" amusement park, etc.

Final Word

Of course, all the map locations that you wander through represent artists' creative interpretations of reality. Even with the real-world references' impact, much of what you see is created in the minds of the team.

Every day, its members are engaged in creative and strenuous work, immersed in the construction of massive objects, such as the Rocket Launch Pad, to small ones, such as the billboards and Easter eggs that are yet to be discovered by all of you.

This was the first map where the curtain to our game's lore was lifted, as it comprises many more sights directly related to the world of Steel Hunters than there were in Maryland Heights. We'll continue to push this development direction, adding more lore elements and diving deeper into the post-apocalyptic atmosphere than ever before.

Steel Hunters

The Forge: Lore

14 jan

Game lore is a very broad concept; every studio and every team on every individual project works with it differently, and how it works frequently depends on what comes first—the lore or the game.

In our case, the lore has been developed from scratch along with the game. That's why our lore is created not by just one writer but a whole team of game designers, script writers, publishers, and art designers. It's like we're assembling a Rubik's Cube together, and the cube's faces revolve around the core—the gameplay.

Gameplay and Setting

Suppose the game is launched by a new player. What will this player see?

An 8-meter steel soldier with razors on his shoulder attacking a 6-meter tall, 48-ton iron bear and occasionally destroying Drones that get caught in the crossfire (not to mention houses, cars, gas stations, and other objects around). And all this happens on an abandoned Earth with no trace of people.

The player may have a number of questions. What is happening or has happened? Where are the people? What year is this? Who is this soldier, and why is there a mechanical bear? Behind every object on the screen, there's a solution for a specific problem, and these solutions shape the game setting.

How Hunters Appear

Initially, we wanted to make a shooter with powerful, resilient characters. There aren't so many things in the world that can endure heavy damage: some machines, buildings, and heavily armored vehicles. Looking through the possible options, we eventually came up with large robots, and we initially used the term "mechs" to describe them.

We liked everything about the idea except for the very concept of "mechs." A mech is lifeless and impersonal. We knew, even during our Playtests, that our team wanted characters that were animated and of human origin.

But how could we implement that? Perhaps the mechs could be driven by pilots? Ok, so would the pilot be inside or outside? If inside, then the player is the pilot, not the mech, and the mech turns out to be deprived of life again. If the pilot is outside and within something like a cloud center, connecting via a machine (like in "The Matrix" movie), then it's not even clear who the player should associate themselves with. We understood that the personality should be embodied in the character we see on the screen, the one we actually play as. We needed a character with their own thoughts, experience, and emotions, but we didn't know at that moment how to explain this and how to make it possible within the framework of the game's lore.

Character Scale

At the same time, we were working on the aspects of scale and location. We wanted the player to feel like a huge 8-meter-tall robot. As a result, we gave up on battles in "galaxies far, far away" and returned the mechs to the Earth—an environment where players would be familiar with the sizes of everything they could see in the game: cars, buildings, bridges... These objects surround the player in everyday life, and the player can feel the characters' scale amid them.

Where Did the People Go?

Once we brought the setting back to Earth, a new question arose: What should we do with the Earth's inhabitants—its people? Our initial intent was to create a game featuring opponents of equal size, and humans didn't fit into our concept. Consequently, the gameplay doesn't involve humans. So, something must have scared people so much that they hid underground or even fled the planet. We intentionally avoided scenarios that involved killing everything and everyone. After all, there had to be someone to continue building, updating, and repairing the mechs.

Bearing this in mind, we came up with Starfall. It was an unknown substance that had originated from a meteoric cloud and spread all over the planet. Exposure to Starfall accelerated aging, which forced people to seek refuge from it. Then we went further; some people turned out to have an immunity to the material's negative effects… And what if people with this immunity could, under certain conditions, merge with Starfall and imbue a mech with their personality, memories... everything that made them, them, essentially becoming one with it?

This is how Hunters appeared. Similarly, literally everything that the player sees in the game arose from this concept. The Survivors' War, Corporation, and rewards—they all are solutions for specific problems we were solving until all the "Rubik's Cube faces" were in their proper places.

Roadmap

The roadmap represents a brief overview of the development of events in the universe that has brought us to the point where the game starts.

Our entry point is as follows:

"Hunters are 8-meter-tall machines with character remnants of a life that was given for them to become conscious. They fight in the League of Steel on Earth, which is mired in oblivion under a layer of Starfall—a mysterious substance which is simultaneously a threat to all life and the most valuable asset in the new world."

In our roadmap, we specify the important events that shaped this reality. It's here perhaps that we address the history of humanity and up-to-date news most often. We introduce an action and then imagine how the real world would react to it.

We make sure that a sense of truth is maintained. We could plot out that four alien races will arrive tomorrow, and the Earth will turn into an arena for combat games the day after, but this is very unlikely. The world is not that agile. It changes slowly and adapts to new circumstances reluctantly.

History has already seen numerous cases when meteoric clouds, asteroids, and comets that could destroy all life on the Earth were detected. There have also been countless doomsday prophecies. So, we had enough resources to pick something for our roadmap—from conspiracy theories to riots and rebellions, from government bunkers and attempts of corporations to save their assets to people fighting for their lives with any means available.

All this has happened before, and the COVID-19 pandemic is just the most recent example. We've learned quite a lot from how people interacted with each other in extreme situations.

Characters and Events

In geometry, we need two points to draw a line. In our case, these points—the desired Hunter image and Hunter's place in the gameplay—are set through cooperation between numerous different departments.

Plot webs start spinning at this stage. We have a table of relationships between the characters—who did what to whom and what that led to. Even if they belong to the same faction, Hunters can dislike each other and pursue their own interests.

The purpose and motives for participation in the Survivors' War are a separate matter. We want every Hunter to be driven by their personal purpose and for the player to know the history and motivation of each particular Hunter when choosing one. Heartbreaker plays to cement and grow her power, while Razorside fights for the rebels that believe in him.

Events in the universe are a separate story. Internally, we refer to them as "minor" or "major." Minor events happened in a character's life and directly influenced the character's history and relationships with some of the other Hunters: Razorside making sacrifices for his people, Trenchwalker conducting shady experiments. All these events not only fill the universe with life and history but also provide us with an opportunity to create something special in the game: a skin, event, or reward.

Major events affect the universe in general, which means they affect all Hunters. The first wave of the meteoric cloud, discovery of Starfall, confrontation between the Mining Guild and the Corporations, the start of the survivors' war—all these are major events in the universe that shaped Hunters and our attitudes to them.

There were also certain major events that happened after the survivors' war began. We've rarely spoken of them to date, but we've already saved up a massive list of such events. They will be the game's driving force after the release and will be embodied in season updates, events, skins, and merchandise for players.

While working on the game from the lore perspective, we aim to create a unique atmospheric world that will elicit a wide range of emotions from our players. Many interesting challenges lie ahead. Follow the project development to learn fascinating details about the Hunters' universe. See you in the game!

Steel Hunters

103

the best robotic game

Please make it the best free to play shooting game and make us happy. It's been a long time since we did not try a good game to spend our time and money on

pedisplay

22 uur geleden

Algemene discussies

PvE or bust

I like just about everything currently in the game, except the part that is PvP only. I would like to see a proper, fully fleshed out PvE Co-op game mode with story and all that fun stuff. The background lore is already there, now it's just a matter of expanding upon it. And before any wisecrack says "isn't skirmish a pve mode" No, stop it, it is not. Skirmish is the same battle royale as the main game. It is just a practice mode against bots who only stand there and let you kill them while only bare...

The Dannister

9 jan om 10:24

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Give me access

Kivin

22 jan om 6:45

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Meh at best. DOA at worst.

Lets be honest this is NOT the game we were hoping for. Its an ok mech game but at the end of the day its just another run of the mill battle royale with very large characters. Seriously am I the only one who wants a mech game to be like TItanFall x Battlefield?!? Large teams facing off against each other with on foot and mechanized assaults?...

L-laine

21 dec 2024 om 19:31

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