We can't believe that 15,000 of you took to the slopes and the trails with us to try out Descenders Next, and your thoughts, feedback and gameplay videos totally blew us away!
The team have been hard at work while watching you play, listening to your feedback and planning what comes next as we look ahead to a little more testing and launch!
So let's talk about what's NEXT:
Here are some of the things we learned from the beta that we're putting into action RIGHT NOW, ready for you to get your hands on and play soon!
Animations, Physics and Ragdolls
One of the points of feedback that was important to a lot of you was that the animations didn't feel quite right. The team are currently hard at work reworking these and adding in some fresh new movements to kick these up a gear in both sports! Alongside this, the physics are being worked on to keep the classic feel of Descenders, but make pulling off those big trick moments feel dangerous and exciting. It also means we're looking at those ragdolls. Did you want floppier bails? You've got them.
A New Path for Snowboarding
A problem we found while watching a lot of gameplay was that snowboarding and mountainboarding felt a little similar still, and snowboarding was missing the freedom that comes with hitting a brand new, open mountain. To help bring in that feeling of freedom and give snowboarding its own identity, the trail on the ground is now unpronounced. You'll still get a feel for where the track is so you can follow the flow of the track down, or you're free to be more adventurous and seek out a different way down the mountain, finding your own obstacles and routes! Not only does this capture the real feel of snowboarding, but gives you more options to show off your team pride and ride the way you want!
First-Person View is on the Way
First-person view is back baby! If you've missed the pure immersion of watching a tree rush up to you at high speed right before it cracks you in the skull, never fear - it's on its way back! We can't wait to see what crazy, flippy POV videos you come out with!
Classic Cannons and Procedural Generation
While it was incredible watching you master each node in turn, we know you missed the original fun of procedural generation and finding new tracks with every run, so we're bringing that back! Each of the nodes not designated as something unique like a race or a park will now change every time you enter, bringing back the classic of mastering the biome! There's another Descenders classic back at the edge of the maps too. We hope you'll have a good flight!
Improved Steam Deck Performance
Over the last year the Steam Deck has become a must-have piece of kit for so many of us, and so many folks wanted to grab theirs and head out and play on the go. We're committed to making sure Descenders Next runs as well as possible, no matter where you've picked to play. The Steam Deck version is getting an upgrade ready for some on-the-go boarding.
So when will you be able to jump back in? Well...
Did you notice that No More Robots is in the Xbox + IGN showcase at the end of the month?
Check out the details here!
We'll see you there! Until NEXT time!