Hey everyone,
Today we’re sharing with you an update on the state of play for Ready or Not!
We know you’re all eager for information so let’s breach and clear our way through today’s news…
Beta Access Date Changes
Having been diligently reviewing the current status of Ready or Not the team has made the decision to push back the Beta access.
What does this mean for you? Beta access for Ready or Not will still take place later in the year, but later than originally planned. We know this will be disappointing for you to read, but we will continue to be open and update you with more information as soon as we can.
Why the delay?
Moving back a date, whether it's Beta access, Early Access or ‘full launch’ is never an easy decision, but we know it’s the correct one to make.
Everyone at VOID Interactive and Team17 wants to give you an amazing, unique experience with Ready or Not, and we don’t want to compromise that vision by sharing sooner than it’s ready. We owe it to both the game and to you, our awesome community.
Let’s get on the same page, what is Beta access?
Beta access for Ready or Not is a snapshot of the core gameplay loop. In this loop, you’ll get to peek through the window and glimpse the direction we want to take Ready or Not. We know this will also spark constructive feedback from our core fans, and it’s you the community we want to hear from.
Beta access has always been exclusive to anyone that has purchased Ready or Not through the VOID Interactive site, this has not and will not change.
What happens after Beta access?
For the weeks and months following Beta access, we’ll be taking your valuable constructive feedback, analysing the data and then weaving our learnings into our future production plans. At this stage, we’ll be evaluating what needs to be done and when we’ll be able to deliver on the next stage of our journey: Steam Early Access.
It’s worth noting that there’s a lot to do in-between Beta access and Early Access. We’re aware that the Ready or Not community is more accepting of seeing rougher versions of the game. Early Access will open us up to a wider fanbase, and we must prepare to deliver to a broader audience without compromising our core fans’ expectations.
So, what can I expect when Ready or Not launches into Early Access?
Current plans are for Ready or Not to launch into Early Access with the following –
- A selection of co-op / single-player levels
- A range of authentic weapons and equipment
- A pre-planning mechanic
- And more…
Of course, that’s just the beginning. Once we’re in Early Access we’ll be regularly updating the game with more content including new levels, weapons and characters. During this process, we’ll be talking to and listening closely to you all as we proceed through the Early Access journey together.
Your feedback matters and we look forward to collaborating with you!
Every cloud…
We know today’s news may come as a bit of a disappointment to some, so we’re sharing an early look at what we’ve been working on over the past few months. In the following section, we’ll discuss how we’ve re-evaluated the design of our most publicly shown map, Hotel.
Our artists have done a stunning job of crafting Hotel into what it is today, so we’ve snuck into the designers filing cabinet and acquired some insightful design feedback screens.
Hotel Atrium Level Design Update
One of our bigger goals within Hotel is to improve navigation throughout the map. One way we can do this is by crafting natural breadcrumbs in the form of subtle signs and maps around the level. These have a compounding effect on improving the atmosphere too, and coupled with added environmental furniture like construction safety signage, the scene is brought to life by telling a story about the past of this room.
Hotel Café (Looking to Reception)
Here’s another example of just how much we can add by evaluating how to improve on level design. This has a huge impact on immersion in other ways too. We wouldn’t need to include UI markers or HUD indicators to direct players through the world. Instead, the focus becomes the world, directed by the subconscious and organic methods that we’re all already trained to do in the real world.
Hotel Gym – New Cover and Collision
We’ve also focused more on collision and cover for players. Let’s be honest, there’s always a bit of extra fun gameplay to be found in cover, whether it’s sneaking up on the suspects or getting ambushed. In Ready or Not we also take into account cover density, as we have penetration mechanics through surfaces. In this scene, you can see how much extra value we’re going to add to the level design by going through in this second pass. Lastly, we’re improving the location of suspects and civilians in creative ways so that every playthrough is its own challenge.
Hotel Floor 1 – Flow Map
Here’s a birdseye look at one of Hotel’s floor plans. Let’s break it down further, so skip over this next bit if you want to avoid spoilers...
[spoilers]
Ok good, so you'd like some spoilers... ready?
We want players to tackle challenges from different angles. That’s pretty much been the premise and core of what we want for Ready or Not. However, we’d be fools to ignore good design structure for our levels that show the experiences a player will go through as they traverse this floor.
To take a high-level approach, we’ve broken this floor into three sections. Green for safe, and yellow and purple for the two different encounter loops that are available, each with many different encounters. The encounter loops also have primary starting locations that give our art teams better direction with the steps we covered in the paragraphs above.
Encounter Layout and Overview
Here’s a glimpse of how each of the encounters within a loop is broken down. To avoid nesting spoilers in spoilers let's just enjoy the image and know that we’re working hard at improving the user experience and design on a granular level.
[spoilers over]
Oh, and for those that aren’t into level design, here’s the Krinkov SBR
Debriefing
We’ll be making the most of this extra time and will continue to keep you all in the loop with our bi-weekly community briefings.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding with today’s news. If you have any questions, feel free to pop them in the comments section and we’ll jump in for a chat.
Thanks everyone!
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive & Team17