Hello Survivors.
In this development update, we want to talk about guns. Not the ones attached to a stout dwarf’s shoulder, but the ones used to enhance a cave through the merciless culling of glyphids.
Before we get started, and just like last time, a quick disclaimer:
There are several challenges when converting Deep Rock Galactic weapons into ones that can be used in a survivor-like/bullet heaven. Most notably, the weapons are going from 3D to 2D and they are no longer aimed but for the most part auto-aimed. We want to keep the flavor of the original weapon so that it feels right, but they don’t necessarily have to copy all of the characteristics of their origin.
Take the M1000 Classic, a Scout’s favored semi-automatic precision rifle with a long reload time and a unique alternative firing mode.
The core characteristics of this weapon that we are bringing into DRG:S is the low rate of fire, the high damage, and the precision. But how do you make one auto-aimed weapon more precise than another? Through lots of experimentation, we have made the M1000 feel more precise by making it auto-aim towards the enemy with the highest HP rather than the closest enemy (like many other weapons will), and by giving it piercing shots.
It’s the big piercing bullet in the sea of smaller bullets
Next up is Zhukov NUK17 - two SMGs dual-wielded by the Scout. Main characteristics are their high rate of fire, big clip size, and well… there’s two of them.
We’ve been through a couple of different iterations on this one, first of which was them shooting two side-by-side lines of bullets towards the nearest target - a bit too mundane. Then we tried to direction-lock them which is something that has become a staple in the genre for a good reason, as it forces you to think about your positioning in a new way when you equip it. First we had two lines of bullets from each side of the character, but ended with four so the bullets shoot out in four directions from the Scout. We think this has succeeded in making the weapons feel somewhat like its origin.
Finally I want to highlight the Breach Cutter - a heavy weapon that fires out a plasma blade that expands and travels as a purple line damaging anything in its path. Key characteristics here being slow reload, low magazine size, but also great AoE with piercing and cleaving.
This weapon was made for a game like this, and much easier to get as close to the original as possible. Each end of the plasma blade can bounce on walls and the beam between them can pierce both enemies and terrain. This makes it an exceptional choice in tight spaces, which you don’t have to seek out, but can make for yourself by mining through the terrain. Check out the Breach Cutter in action:
We have plenty more weapons in the game already, and a whole truckload from DRG that we haven’t even touched yet. Making them all feel unique, useful and true to their origins is an exciting challenge, and we can’t wait for you to try some of them soon.
Rock and stone!
Some gifs have my stupid cursor on them, and I noticed too late, and I’m too lazy to recapture. You probably didn’t notice but now you can’t unsee it.