14 Aug 2018Developer post

Developing Pinnacle: Sky Noon’s Latest Map

Our first new map in Sky Noon, called ‘Pinnacle,’ will be releasing in a free patch on the 15th this week. This blog will give a bit of insight into its development, starting from the concept stage and progressing to the final result. What is Pinnacle Pinnacle is a section of lak

Our first new map in Sky Noon, called ‘Pinnacle,’ will be releasing in a free patch on the 15th this week. This blog will give a bit of insight into its development, starting from the concept stage and progressing to the final result.

What is Pinnacle

Pinnacle is a section of lake and a water source that was raised very, very high into the sky long ago, causing all the water to freeze for easy harvesting.

Before we began, we knew that we wanted to create a map inspired by the ice trade, which involved the mass collection and transport of ice from the 19th to early 20th century. We felt that this theme meshed perfectly with Sky Noon’s backstory of fighting over water. A large mass of ice would be a goldmine for whoever controls it, as they could gradually mine away at it and ship it off to wherever it was being sold or used.

https://architectofthecapital.org/posts/2016/8/5/american-ice-co

We felt that ice physics would be an interesting addition to Sky Noon. Having ice would allow us to create slippery ramps and surfaces that you could maintain your momentum while sliding across. It would be a unique addition to the game both in appearance and gameplay, striking quite a contrast against the existing maps.

Development

The map started as a bunch of grey boxes piled on top of eachother into the shape of nearly a map, inspired by some concept art which helped to set a general idea of the direction. After a few iterations and varying map styles, we arrived on a rough but functional level to test on. We played it a lot, then moved forward with the internal feedback and new ideas.

From there it was a balance of creating assets and developing the design of the level, which went hand in hand. A new set of rocks was created to act as the base land, with a new look that stood apart from the rest of the maps. The goal with the rocks was to create something that was familiar to Sky Noon and the western theme, but with some layered snow and hard cuts like a quarry.

The ice itself would make up a large portion of the walkable space, standing out against the orange of the rocks and creating a slippery playspace. We believe we have struck a good balance with the ice physics. You retain a great deal of control while walking on the ice but can still feel the slippery effects if you try to stop or are sent flying across it. You can take a break from grappling to slide across the ice with your momentum, but you will quickly slow to normal walking speed. That is unless the ice is sloped, in which case you will slide all the way to the bottom.

Major changes began to take place as we tested the map, finding that some parts worked and some didn’t. For instance, having a map with a single tall mass tends to reduce the potential for creative grappling, devolving into a constant roundabout. Adding extra high points, splitting up parts of the map into separated play areas and cutting out a few unnecessary sections brought it much closer to the final result.

A cozy building was added to act as a base of operations, a workshop for storage and management of the ice trade. Along with it came the barges and ice wagons, used to transport the ice locally or to far away places. We also added a few large ramps of ice to make better and more interesting use of the ice physics.

Final

Now here we are at the final result with some post process changes and new assets. We will leave you with a few screenshots to peek at. We hope you enjoy the new map!

Original post

25 Jul 2018Developer post

Coming Soon: Duels in Sky Noon

This week we have some new information to share regarding Duels, the latest game mode coming to Sky Noon as mentioned in our roadmap. You can expect this new mode in the coming weeks with update 0.6. Duel is a 1v1 round based game mode that takes place on very small symmetrical m

This week we have some new information to share regarding Duels, the latest game mode coming to Sky Noon as mentioned in our roadmap. You can expect this new mode in the coming weeks with update 0.6.

Duel is a 1v1 round based game mode that takes place on very small symmetrical maps with a strict ruleset. You can invite your friend (or enemy) to a personal competitive challenge to determine which of you is the best at Sky Noon. Duels are compact and tense, allowing for risky and daring moves to ensure that the other player falls first.

In a duel, the only thing that matters is that your opponent falls out of the map before you do. If a player is eliminated, then the other player will receive a point and a new round will begin. This will respawn both players with new weapons and abilities, continuing on like this until one person has earned 3 points.

It is the typical Sky Noon experience with randomised loadouts. A major element to success will be quick adaptability to what you have been given in the face of another skilled opponent, using the elements of the sandbox properly to out play them.

Standoff, one of the special duel maps
The maps will contain random weapon and ability crates if you are unsatisfied with your loadout or run out of ammo, but there aren’t many and you must compete with the other player for them. Being able to effectively use any weapon or ability will be key to success.

Each map is varied in layout, complexity and theme, allowing for different tactics and grappling manoeuvres

If both players are evenly matched and last the full time limit of a round without an elimination, then both players will be automatically given the powerup, lasting until the round is finally concluded.

That’s the basics of the new game mode coming soon to Sky Noon. Now we want to hear what you think. This is all subject to change as we continue to test and polish, so be sure to let us know your thoughts. The Sky Noon Discord channel remains the best place to do so. If you haven’t yet, you can join through the following link:

https://discord.gg/skynoon

Thanks for reading!

Original post

10 Jul 2018Developer post

Quick Join and Reticle Customisation Patch

Hello everybody, it’s time for a new patch! It will be adding Quick Join, a much requested feature that will automatically find the best server for you. Another new feature is reticle customisation, which will give you control over the appearance of your reticle. You can read the

03 Jul 2018Developer post

Sky Noon General Update

Hello from Lunar Rooster! The blog this week is just a quick general update on Sky Noon and to let you know that we are still working hard to bring you new things. We are now full swing into work on new features and content. Above is the section from the roadmap that we are curre

19 Jun 2018Developer post

Roadmap to the Future of Sky Noon

Hey everybody! Sky Noon is finally out in Steam Early Access! We’re thrilled to see the positive reactions and fun that has come out of it so far. Being able to interact with the community, discussing strategies or playing alongside you, has made it much more fun. Up next we will

Hey everybody! Sky Noon is finally out in Steam Early Access! We’re thrilled to see the positive reactions and fun that has come out of it so far. Being able to interact with the community, discussing strategies or playing alongside you, has made it much more fun.

Up next we will be walking you through our plans for the future of Sky Noon and its evolution as an Early Access title. We believe that being as transparent as possible with our ideas and future additions is massively important, giving our great community the chance to offer feedback and suggestions as we go. We want to make sure that there is always something cool to look forward to.

As stated on Steam, we think the Early Access period will last a maximum of 6 to 8 months. All along the way we will be updating with new features and content, as listed below. There may be more updates past 0.8 before full release if required, which we will know more about as it gets closer.

Features

These are new additions to Sky Noon that aren’t currently in the game or are in a very early state.

Duels

A true Western experience – standoffs at Noon. Challenge another player to a 1v1 match. The first to eliminate their opponent scores a point, first to three wins! We want Duels to promote community interaction with the ability to challenge friends and foes to a test of skill.
Duels will take place on specialised small scale maps, designed specifically for compact, competitive 1v1 matches.

Brawls

New unique game-modes that will be available for a limited time. Brawls will be a mixture of polished custom game rules or even completely different from the usual Sky Noon experience.You will be able to play these brawl game-modes on dedicated servers all while earning XP.
Brawls are a great way for us to test out new concepts or share a crazy custom game with the community, potentially paving the way for new permanent game modes.

Progression and Expanded Customisation

Levelling up to unlock customisation is only the beginning of our ideal progression system. In the coming updates we will be adding new ways to earn customisation.
We want to add a currency system alongside a customisation store. You will be able to earn currency through regular play, which you can spend on a selection of cosmetic items. The idea is to give players something to work towards, independent of leveling.
We want to introduce new kinds of customisation, separate from outfits, which can be earned in different ways. We want to allow you to stand out and interact in more ways than before, even show off some of your best achievements in Sky Noon. This could potentially include weapon skins, grapple skins, emotes and elimination effects, however, nothing is yet set in stone. Be sure to let us know what kind of customisation you would like to be added into Sky Noon in our Discord.

Bounties

These are long term, tiered goals or challenges that require you to play in certain ways to achieve them. Completing bounties might reward you with currency, special customisation unlocks or just xp, depending on the tier of bounty that you had completed. You might also see temporary bounties, lasting only for a set time period.

Localisation

We are striving to localise Sky Noon in many languages. Our first task will be to create the systems that will allow us to easily add languages in the future. While you won’t see new languages pop up right away, we will be keeping the community informed as we make progress.

Accessibility

We are keen to add in accessibility options to make Sky Noon enjoyable for as many people as possible. At the moment we don’t have a set list of accessibility options we will add. We are aware of the basics, but, if you have any requests or thoughts on accessibility feel free to drop them in the feedback channels in our Discord.

Parties and Matchmaking

Parties and Matchmaking is not on the Roadmap above because it could slip in anywhere, or nowhere, based on demand. It’s a feature that greatly relies on the number of people using it. Parties and matchmaking are features that we feel are important for ease of use and convenience, and we hope they will make it into the game closer to full release. However, we believe that the higher priorities should be general gameplay features and accessibility.
Parties will allow you to group up with your friends in the lobby. You could then take that party into matchmaking which would ideally put you against opponents of similar skill level with low ping. You could also use matchmaking solo.

The server browser and player hosted custom games will give the players plenty of choice and control in finding games for now, and we’re looking to expand it and make it easier to use, but we do see the value of matchmaking. As development goes on we may re-evaluate the priority of matchmaking, but for now it is low priority.

Content

In addition to the new features, we will be constantly working on additional content for already existing systems

Maps

We will be expanding the selection of maps with new and interesting layouts, using different themes and obstacles to keep gameplay different. While nothing is ready to be confirmed yet, some potential new maps could include:
-Damaged and fractured landmass with little to stand on
-Snowed over environments, perhaps with some slippery iced surfaces
-A Cartel fortress, rough and scrappy yet functional
-And more! Feel free to offer your ideas. Your suggestions could inspire the next map (We are keen on the windmills idea).

Time Trials

New time trials will be coming, being much like the ones you see today at various levels of difficulty and length. You may also see new kinds of trials and challenges that require you to completely change your strategy.
Down the line we hope to reward those of you committed to the trials, granting unique cosmetics that you can use anywhere.

Customisation

With the new progression system will come various new outfits and items for you to dress up and customise your characters. Our goal is to create a nice variety of appealing cosmetics you will want to work for.
In addition, you may eventually see new characters come into play. They will fit in to the list with Jaz and Steve, letting you dress them up separately as well. How these characters will be unlocked is something we are still considering.

Weapons and Abilities

We want to add new weapons and abilities sometime in the future. We will take a look at the sandbox and see what could be added that is unique or worth adding. However, we feel that the balance and diversity of the sandbox is in a good place for now. For the first milestones we will be focusing on new features and general accessibility.

Thanks for Reading!

That is the roadmap for Sky Noon as it currently stands. As we advance and in future blog posts we will continue to discuss and preview what you’ve seen above. A huge thanks to everybody who has purchased and played Sky Noon

Original post

13 Jun 2018Developer post

SKY NOON LAUNCHES INTO EARLY ACCESS TOMORROW @ NOON PST

05 Jun 2018Developer post

Closing in on Early Access

Greetings from all four of us at Lunar Rooster. Early access isn’t far off now! On the 14th of June you will finally be able to buy Sky Noon on Steam and keep it forever. We are super excited to get it out to you all and see what you can do. A huge thanks to everybody who partici

Greetings from all four of us at Lunar Rooster. Early access isn’t far off now! On the 14th of June you will finally be able to buy Sky Noon on Steam and keep it forever. We are super excited to get it out to you all and see what you can do. A huge thanks to everybody who participated in the beta tests and community discussions for helping to shape Sky Noon into the best experience it can be, but we aren’t finished yet! We read everything you say and are always making improvements, which only gets easier the more you share with us.

Now we want to share what you’ll get with the early access release of Sky Noon. What you see below is a preview of the maps, game modes and other features that you will get to start playing with immediately on release. Next week’s blog will feature a road map of our post release plans, including what we may be adding over the course of early access and which features will be expanded upon. For now, here is what’s in Sky Noon:

Game Modes

Free for All (FFA) Max 8 players – Everybody fights one another to find a single winner. First person to reach 10 eliminations wins.
Team Deathmatch (TDM) Max 4v4 – Two teams standoff with eliminations being the only way to victory. First team to 30 eliminations wins
King of the Hill (KOTH) Max 4v4 – Two teams must contest and take control of 5 hills to win. The hill will move each time one is captured.
Cart Max 4v4 – Two teams must fight over a minecart with the goal being to blow up the base of the enemy team. The cart can be moved along the tracks by shooting at it. Along the way are track changers which allow you to change the direction of each track intersection. First to blow up 3 doors or the team that destroyed the most in 10 minutes wins

Time Trial

It is just you and your grapple hook, a true test of your grappling skills and speed. Race solo against the clock, travelling through every checkpoint as fast as you can. At early access launch there will be several different trials varying in length and difficulty hosted on our playable maps. Compete against your friends and the world to score the best time on the leaderboards, and attempt to earn the bronze, silver and gold medals by beating the par times.

Maps

Saloon

A section of land that was mined out long ago is now the best place to go for a cool glass of water after a tough day. Those who prefer the the rustic country life gather here, far from the nearest town in semi-isolation. With plenty of water in reserve and lots of business, it’s no wonder the factions want to take control. This place is said to be among the first lands to be raised from below many years before.

Towers

A series of tall silos are under strict guard by the Minutemen. They contain the grain and water that feed the Minutemen controlled towns and peoples, one of many such containment sites throughout the sky. Control of these areas is vital for the long term success of larger settlements.

Hightown

This town has been so greatly distorted and changed by the raising from below that it is barely recognisable. Now named “Hightown,” the small community lives huddled together in the few buildings that haven’t been lost. Constant bickering between the Cartel and Minutemen over control of this town has prevented greater expansion, with most people opting to leave and found their own floating lands.

Homestead

A lone hermit lives in his house under an arch, having had his land brought up into the sky against his will. Efforts to remove him from his old home are futile, so the factions fight on for the land while he remains inside. The silo full of grain and mostly intact barn are too valuable to leave under the control of an uncooperative old prospector.

Bridge

A highly contested symmetrical zone, with the Minutemen and Cartel separated by a mere wooden bridge. A relatively new set of floating islands that is constantly changing, this land has yet to be properly settled and won’t be until a winner is determined. (Note that this map is still undergoing changes and may look different upon release)

Supports the Cart game mode.

Mesa

An intersection of the great sky railroad that has long since fallen into disrepair and segmented. This land would be a great prize for those who are able to take control, so long as they have the resources to repair and reconnect the distant sections of the railroad. The Cartel and Minutemen have dug in to this symmetrical mesa and neither have plans of leaving.

Supports the Cart game mode.

Whirlwind

This zone is highly volatile as a result of the contained tornado at the centre. It was an experiment conducted in an effort to quickly and efficiently harvest water from the nearby clouds, but it proved to be too dangerous. Now the Minutemen and Cartel fight over it, seeing its potential and foolishly thinking they can control it better than the other side can. Don’t get caught in the tornado.

Supports the Cart game mode.

Character Customisation

Choose between two characters, Jaz or Steve (doesn’t affect gameplay), and dress them up with cosmetics that can be unlocked through playing Sky Noon. Fully customise your ideal cowboy or cowgirl, allowing you to mix and match a selection of hats, face accessories, shirts and pants.

See you next week

That’s a preview of our major features upon early access release of Sky Noon. Stay tuned for next week as we will be discussing a road map of our post release plans, including potential new maps, our plans to expand customisation, weapons and more. Thanks for reading!

Original post

30 May 2018Developer post

Thanks For Playing!

We’re back with a brand new blog for you all. We hope that all of you in the US had a nice Memorial Day! The second beta for Sky Noon has been and gone. It was great to see so many people giving our game a go, helping us to find those pesky bugs and test new balance changes. We h

We’re back with a brand new blog for you all. We hope that all of you in the US had a nice Memorial Day! The second beta for Sky Noon has been and gone. It was great to see so many people giving our game a go, helping us to find those pesky bugs and test new balance changes. We have gained a great amount of information and feedback from the beta which we are putting to good use.

Overall we are pleased with how everything performed, barring a few bugs like the Teleporter sending people into walls. This and other such bugs will be fixed as soon as possible. Some tweaks to certain weapons and abilities are necessary but the balance is stable. We are happy to see that the revolver is no longer dominating the sandbox yet is still strong in its long range niche. It’s also great to see the hand cannon getting a lot of love. We have no specific weapon or ability changes to mention just yet, but if changes are made then they will definitely be in the patch notes before you can next play Sky Noon.

Thanks to everyone for playing on the dedicated servers. We were more or less happy with the stability, for our Early Access release we want to have more locations around the world allowing everyone to join games with a low ping. We heard the concerns of players who had to play at higher ping. We have been making changes to smooth out projectiles on high ping and will be making further changes to interpolate the character movement which should smooth enemy movement and player grappling.

Maps

As for maps, we saw a great deal of very important feedback. We learned that players felt that Hightown wasn’t as dynamic as Towers because of the more simplified two layered play spaces, so we are looking at ways to improve the verticality. More importantly, however, is that we have come to the conclusion that Bridge as a map didn’t work as well as we had hoped. We learned that flatter maps in Sky Noon don’t flow with the combat like one with greater verticality and space between landmass does, such as Towers. As it was, Bridge was underwhelming and didn’t showcase the Cart mode well enough. Bridge will be receiving a massive rework before early access release.

What’s Next

The next major goal is our Early Access release on Steam. We will be announcing a date and price soon. While we don’t have another beta planned as of yet, you should keep an eye on our Discord server for potential “opportunities” as they may or may not arise between now and Early Access.

Some Cool Clips

We shall end this week’s blog with some of our favourite clips from the beta. Remember to post yours in the #clips-steams-videos in the discord. Enjoy!

Diction - https://clips.twitch.tv/VibrantGloriousLasagnaCoolStoryBob

DDaFox - https://clips.twitch.tv/FancyTentativeSoybeanMingLee

GoldenTot - https://clips.twitch.tv/ThoughtfulYummyDaikonCoolStoryBob

BarDownRL - https://clips.twitch.tv/SassyLivelyUdonUWot

Bryonato - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=73&v=beYpU1Iw1wU

Original post

21 May 2018Developer post

What to Expect in the Closed Beta This Week

Wow, it has been a whole week already. Hello again, we’re back with another blog post for you to eat up with your eyes. Before we get talking about the closed beta starting this week, which is probably the only thing you’re here for, we should mention that our Unreal tech blog is

Wow, it has been a whole week already. Hello again, we’re back with another blog post for you to eat up with your eyes. Before we get talking about the closed beta starting this week, which is probably the only thing you’re here for, we should mention that our Unreal tech blog is now up. You can head over to the Unreal community website to have a look at the process of prototyping Sky Noon, followed by development from said prototype into what you see today. Here’s a nice link to get you there if you’re interested:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/sky-noon---reimagining-the-wild-west-into-a-first-person-action-brawler

Now onto the important stuff. The closed beta is this week. From the 23rd to the 25th you will be able to play a small selection of the maps and game modes we are offering in Sky Noon. Below is everything you will be able to play, nothing more, nothing less. We will also go over some general balance changes and additions since the previous closed beta.

Hightown

If you played in the last beta then this will be a new map to you. High in the sky is a town, a town with a super creative name: ‘Hightown’. The map has clear sightlines in the streets with buildings surrounding them, perfect for a classic western showdown.

You will be able to play the first public showing of our take on King of the Hill, a 4v4 team based game mode. Stay in the point while your enemies try to knock you out of it and be the first team to capture five points total. The point will move around the map so be quick to get there before the other team does.

On this map you can also play Team Deathmatch, the standard game mode where eliminations are all that matter.

Bridge

The Cart map ‘Bridge’ is back after its appearance in the first beta but with some updates. A few weeks ago we wrote up a blog post talking about some of the more significant changes to the map in response to beta feedback. If you missed it then here is a quick link:

http://lunarrooster.com/2018/05/01/building-bridge-s/

If you missed out on the first beta then here’s a quick run down. Bridge is a unique symmetrical map in that it hosts a game mode unique to Sky Noon called ‘Cart’. The objective is to shoot the minecart along the tracks and into the enemy team’s base, ending after one team has scored three times. Along the tracks are intersections controlled by switches. Shooting or punching the switch will cause the track to change direction, allowing a team to send the cart a different way. Team work will be required to manage the switches, the cart and the enemy team in tandem. Bridge is one of three Cart maps currently in Sky Noon (it will be the only one playable in this beta).

Some changes were also made to the Cart game mode. The minecart now has a higher max speed. This improves the effectiveness of the low fire rate weapons while decreasing the time players have to spend pushing the cart. Along with this is a change to how tie breaker works. If teams are tied in score after the time runs out then the track switches will lock, creating a straight shot from one base to the other. This should help to shorten those more lengthy tie breakers. Be sure to let us know any feedback you may have about the Cart mode and Bridge, we are always watching and listening.

General Balance

Several balance changes have been made to certain weapons and abilities for various reasons. Generally, the plan is to make sure that every weapon and ability is worth using with none being the ideal choice for every situation. In the last beta we saw that the Teleporter and revolver were causing problems and so changes are being made to get them in line. In addition are some buffs to abilities that felt worse than the rest in certain situations, namely the jet boots and dynamite. Full details will be available in the patch notes when they are ready, which will be just before the beta begins. A preview of some of the changes are listed below:

The Teleporter will now teleport you to it as soon as it hits a surface, preventing you from hiding one in the map as a get out of jail free card. You can still still activate the Teleporter early if you want to teleport into mid air.
Jet Boots are now much more useful for mid air strafing, having received a boost to horizontal movement speed. Additionally, they won’t boost you upwards unless you also press the jump key.
Dynamite has a shorter fuse and will blow up instantly if fully cooked, making it more reliable as a movement tool
The Revolver has gone through its first balance pass. The force per shot has been reduced alongside an increase in time between shots. This limits the maximum force output while maintaining the revolvers role as a long range weapon. Give us your feedback in the Discord

That’s all we have to say for now about the closed beta. Keep an eye on Sky Noon’s Discord server for announcements and further information as we get closer to the beta date. Feel free to use the server to find teammates for your Sky Noon squad and don’t forget to leave your own thoughts or suggestions. We hope you enjoy the beta and look forward to your feedback!

Original post

15 May 2018Developer post

Designing an Air Powered Machine Pistol

Hey again from Lunar Rooster. The next Sky Noon beta is now announced for the 23rd of May, so look forward to further announcements detailing what we’ll be showing. It will last for two days, ending on the 25th of May, so make sure you’re signed up in our Discord server and you w

Hey again from Lunar Rooster. The next Sky Noon beta is now announced for the 23rd of May, so look forward to further announcements detailing what we’ll be showing. It will last for two days, ending on the 25th of May, so make sure you’re signed up in our Discord server and you won’t miss out. This week our blog is about the machine pistol and how it transitioned from a gun that shot actual bullets (that still didn’t kill people) into an air powered thingamabob.

First Concept

First Thumbnail Sketches

Initially the direction of the weapons weren’t designed with the mechanics in mind. They were fairly standard weapons inspired by real world guns, using real bullets and even ejecting bullet casings. It was interesting trying to design a one handed fully automatic gun that would fit into western times. Ultimately we took inspiration from a variety of different designs, notably the rough silhouette of the Mauser pistol. We beefed it up a bit to make it recognisable from a distance and more appealing in the first person perspective, along with some custom details in an attempt to make it feel more Western.

Machine Pistol Concepts

This was in the game for the length of the Sky Noon vertical slice. It wasn’t until after this that we found our designs completely failed to communicate how they push people away instead of outright killing them. This caused a shift in design philosophy to what you see today.

Air Powered

Paint overs and new concepts

We drew inspiration from brass instruments, adding pipes, canisters and pistons to give a better idea of what the function of the guns were. For the machine pistol we salvaged what we had and added to it, doing paint-overs of the existing weapon to mock the kind of silhouette and form we were after. In the redesign process we opted for a more metallic look, trying to make better use of Unreals PBR materials and help to set a more unique appearance.
With this change of design came a new requirement for how the gun sounded, as no longer could it sound like a real world machine gun while firing compressed air. The sound design moved towards softer ‘airy’ sound effects while maintaining a nice popping sound per shot, along with a sense of pressure and rushing air for the reload effects.

Final Design

This also brought about a solution to reloading with only one hand which always felt a little awkward. Before the change to air powered weapons the magazine would drop out and the gun go off screen, doing who knows what in order to get a new one into it. Now we can contextualise and explain it without having to take the gun away. The machine pistol will open up its main canister and suck in air, which we felt had more flavour and was interesting to look at. The gun spin at the end of the reload animation was for fun, showing a typical cowboy’s sleight of hand and knack for unnecessary flair.

That’s all for this weeks blog post. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more closed beta information next week!

Original post

07 May 2018Developer post

Discussion: Randomised Weapon Pickups and why we chose them

As a foreword when we mention random crates we are solely referring to the in-game mechanic of running over crates to switch weapons or abilities. With the first Beta done and dusted we thought we would take some time to talk to you about the role of the Crate weapon / ability pi

As a foreword when we mention random crates we are solely referring to the in-game mechanic of running over crates to switch weapons or abilities.

With the first Beta done and dusted we thought we would take some time to talk to you about the role of the Crate weapon / ability pickups and randomness in Sky Noon. In your feedback, we found some of you were for and against randomness and we want to lay out how our current system works and then we’d love for you to chime in and discuss this with us on our Discord.

These crazy Crates

In Sky Noon players always spawn with a random weapon and ability. In order to change their weapon or ability, players can run over or lasso one of the many crates around the level.

Weapon crates: gives the player a new random weapon, never the weapon they previously had, with full ammo.
Ability crates: gives the player a new random ability, not the old ability, as well as giving a fair amount of ammo for the player’s current weapon.

Why did we decide to add randomness?

Sky Noon is a unique interpretation of a first person shooter. With the push and pull mechanic we can explore unique ways of allowing players to jostle each other around. The crate system ensures that players will be constantly challenged and engaged with the game by switching play styles throughout a game as their loadout changes. We aim to make each weapon and ability fun to use & powerful. With a bit of creativity, players can combine weapons and abilities to pull off wicked combos. A dash of randomness allows us to ensure that people make the most of the toolbox we’ve created. Although the crates are randomised, players still have quite a bit of control over their loadout throughout any single match.

Give and take

As described before, each crate type has benefits and drawbacks, and by knowing these a player can manage their loadout to a degree. Weapon crates offer an easy way to refill your ammo quickly with the drawback of being given a random weapon. If a player is invested in their current gun they can instead choose to pick up an ability crate which randomises their ability in return for ammo for their current gun. By selectively picking up crates a player can refine their loadout, although they are using up time to do so. With these tools in mind, players are in effect doing on the fly inventory management as they play the game. This extra depth is entirely optional, casual players can pick up the closest crate whenever the need arises.

Your turn

This is how we currently view randomness and crate pickups in Sky Noon, however, we want to hear what you think. How did the random crates affect your experience? Do you mind randomness in games? I’m sure you have much to say and more, we would like for you to join our Discord and give us your thoughts in the ideas/feedback chat.

Crates are great! Change our minds

Cheers,
Lunar Rooster

Original post

01 May 2018Developer post

Building Bridge…s

Hello and welcome to week two of Sky Noon deprivation. Since the closed beta ended we’ve been analysing our long lists of feedback and making some changes. We are hard at work fixing bugs you found for us and polishing up some rough areas in response to the feedback. Meanwhile we

Hello and welcome to week two of Sky Noon deprivation. Since the closed beta ended we’ve been analysing our long lists of feedback and making some changes. We are hard at work fixing bugs you found for us and polishing up some rough areas in response to the feedback. Meanwhile we are also taking a good look at weapon and ability balance. We want to carefully approach potentially overpowered weapons and abilities to make sure they remain fun to use and powerful but not clearly stronger than the rest. We will be able to talk more in detail about balancing later on.

For now, a fairly significant change we would like to share is the update we have made to the Cart map ‘Bridge’ which we showed during the closed beta. Some of the following changes are a work in progress and are subject to change.

Feedback

After observing gameplay and receiving feedback about the map we decided that Bridge was in need of some work. Bridge was the most flat and open map in Sky Noon at the time with two main landmasses and smoothed land. The lack of cover meant the cart and the players were practically exposed at all times yet, there were fewer areas than usual to knock people away. The central mounds proved to be frustrating, stopping people in their tracks when shot without explanation. It created chaotic gameplay, with people struggling to get kills or to score with the occasional never ending tie breaker.

Changes

Old Bridge

New Bridge

The main change is the addition of layered flat land where the empty mounds used to be. The goal here is to add some additional cover to break sightlines and occasionally requiring more thought about your positioning when approaching the cart. There should be more of a tug of war in the trench with the cart, putting the emphasis on the corner into the base and requiring flanking maneuvers to outgun the enemy. Adding flatter surfaces makes shooting people away easier while making it much clearer what and where the obstacles or walls are.

Old Bridge

New Bridge

The map also saw the removal of the large landmass directly next to each team base. The ability crate that was on top is now lower on a suspended platform. The goal was to open up the area for more elimination and flank opportunities on the defenders. To balance this the first and second gates were pushed further back with an added wall to take cover behind. The defenders should now feel slightly safer deeper into their base with the new cover, yet they remain vulnerable to flanks and sneak attacks with several openings. That’s it for the major changes to Bridge but you may notice some extra cover or scenery differences next time you play.

Thanks for reading this weeks blog post! Stick around for more updates and potentially new beta information in the future.

Original post

24 Apr 2018Developer post

So long and thanks for all the Fish… in a barrel!

Howdy everybody! The first Sky Noon closed beta is now over and we’re thrilled with the positivity and great feedback that has come out of it. Our Discord server is bustling with feedback and discussion from our 4500+ new members. A huge thanks to everybody who managed to get int

17 Apr 2018Developer post

Closed Beta This Weekend

Hello everybody! This weeks blog post is going to be short and sweet because we’re busy preparing Sky noon for our upcoming closed beta weekend! It will start on Thursday 4/19 at 12pm PDT and finish on Monday 4/23 at 12pm PDT. Make sure that you are signed up in our Discord chann

03 Apr 2018Developer post

And the Medal Goes To...

Happy Easter from Lunar Rooster! This week we’re excited to share something we have been working on recently — our new medals! Ranging from your classic multikills to our special kill style medals, we plan to make sure that your quick shooting and grappling skills will be appropr

03 Apr 2018Developer post

And the Medal Goes To...

Happy Easter from Lunar Rooster! This week we’re excited to share something we have been working on recently — our new medals! Ranging from your classic multikills to our special kill style medals, we plan to make sure that your quick shooting and grappling skills will be appropr

Updates & announcements

What is Pinnacle

Development

Final

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Reticle Customisation

Features

Duels

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Thanks for Reading!

Game Modes

Time Trial

Maps

Saloon

Towers

Hightown

Homestead

Bridge

Mesa

Whirlwind

Character Customisation

See you next week

Maps

What’s Next

Some Cool Clips

Hightown

Bridge

General Balance

As a foreword when we mention random crates we are solely referring to the in-game mechanic of running over crates to switch weapons or abilities.

These crazy Crates

Why did we decide to add randomness?

Give and take

Your turn

But what is in the Closed beta?