Dearest War Mages!
Not too long ago, Patrick Hudson (CEO and Founder) and Kyle Snyder (Game Director) from the Robot Entertainment team headed over to r/Games for an Ask Me Anything on all things Deathtrap. We’ve picked out the best questions and answers for you, so you can gain a little more insight into the game and what to expect. If you want to read all the questions and answers, with some about the studio and wider franchise, be sure to head on over to the Subreddit.
As a reminder, for all things OMD related – join our Discord!
Let’s dive in, shall we?
How many traps will be in OMDD at launch and, why is Spike Trap still the best?
There will be just under 50 traps at launch, and plenty more to come.
I agree, but also Flip Trap best trap. - Kyle
Is Deathtrap free to play?
No, OMD Deathtrap will be a paid game similar to OMD3. - Patrick
Will cross platform play be available between PC and Xbox? Any plans on bringing the game to other consoles like the Switch or PlayStation?
Yes, Crossplay across all platforms at launch. We do plan to bring the game to other consoles. We're still working on the specifics with the console owners. - Patrick
Hey folks, thanks for the opportunity. Question: Will there be cross-progression across Xbox and PC? Using Series X at home and travelling with the Steam Deck!
There will be cross-progression between Xbox and Windows but not between Xbox and Steam. There will be cross-platform play. - Patrick
Would you consider making barricade limits a choice ie. choose for the limit or turn it off?
For the core loop of the game, the limited but free barricades will remain. The team is convinced that this was the right move for the game. Now that number can go up pretty high during a run. In the future, we're open to adding modes and other ways to play that either remove the limit or adjust how it works. - Kyle
Any plans to bring back other playable characters like Bloodspike? Also, PS5 version?
We are open to bringing back characters from previous games. In fact, I was working with Elizabeth Maxwell on a different role for OMDD, and she said she'd love to come back as Zoey. So no promises, but I am thinking of who to bring back and how to do it in a fun, graceful way. – Kyle
Offline single player support? GOG release? Always online?
Yes for offline single player! GOG is still TBD. Unlikely at the initial release. - Patrick
If you had to choose, which is your personal favorite trap combo for each character?
Don't make me pick. Right now, though, I love using Sophie and Cursed Ground. The Cursed Ground is a 2x2 floor trap that gets more powerful as it collects the souls of Orcs that die on it. Works great for a melee character like Soph, and fits with her goth aesthetic. - Kyle
Any thoughts around an unlimited mode for trap and combo testing? All maps with no trap limits, no coins, everything unlocked. This could make for some great TikTok videos showing crazy setups and kills.
I'm not against this idea on paper, but it would be a performance challenge and eventually it'd really slow down. If we could introduce it in a way where that is understood, sure. Regardless, we do want to offer more sandbox-like options in the future. - Kyle
How are you handling difficulty in your new games? Is it one set more or will there be options?
Great question. There is a pretty big change here. You no longer select from three difficulties. Instead, it's one core difficulty based on the number of players. It then gets more difficult as you play more Missions during a single Run. However, with the new progression systems and Threads, there are quite a few ways to make things easier. And if you want to make things more challenging, we have a slider that cranks up enemy HP and damage for bonus skulls. It's been super fun and hilarious to see how well we can do with that turned all the way up. - Kyle
Any plan to bring back Dwarf Minions or possibly a Dwarf player character?
Yes and yes. I was a Dobbin main. There will be a Dwarf War Mage in the future. - Kyle
How big is the dev team? Not including those who are play testers only. I thought it would be bigger since you've been around for more than a decade, but it sounds smaller than I thought.
We're a 30-person studio. Close to two-thirds of us are in Texas with the remaining folks spread around the US and one in Mexico City. - Patrick
Love the franchise and Deathtrap is looking good, but barricades having a limit is taking some getting used to. What’s a good way for me to approach Deathtrap?
(Here are a few reasons we really love the barricade changes: with the free barricades, you can plan your pathing before even starting wave one instead of needing to invest in barricades over time; you can take that rune coin and spend it on more traps; 16 is the starting number, and that's a lot of barricades to play with; that number isn't fixed and can go up quite a bit during a run; and most importantly, it allows us to design challenges for players of all levels because we know they'll have at least this many barricades.So we hope players approach the barricades with an open mind. It's a change, but this game is still very much Orcs Must Die!, and traps are more powerful than ever. -Kyle
Will Crossplay be implemented into Deathtrap? What is the content roadmap like post launch?
Crossplay is implemented, yes. We'll be sharing a high-level content roadmap post-launch. We intend to continue pushing content updates to the game, and we're working on those details. - Patrick
What made you pivot to rogue-lite? Are you planning to perhaps make a game in the vein of previous ones but with 4 player co-op?
When I started drafting the pitch for this iteration of OMD, I really wanted to focus on two things: replayability and four player co-op. The "rogue" elements give us far more variety than a short, linear campaign followed by Endless and leaderboard chasing that only appeals to a small percentage of our overall player base. The Mission Run system is also far friendlier to groups of friends that may have players jump in and out at different times vs. a linear campaign or six-hour Endless map. But! This is called Deathtrap and not OMD4 for these reasons. There's always a possibility we will return to the traditional format in the future. - Kyle
Has Max been aged up to reflect the ageing original fanbase? Or is it more to reflect the changes of the game industry overall?
We mostly thought it would be interesting to see Max and Gabby once the Order had been rebuilt. And it was difficult to introduce War Mages when most of them were dead. Going forward allowed us to start showing the new generation of orc slayers and how Max and Gabby's influence would affect them. - Kyle