Hello, everyone!
Development on Gearbound: Odyssey continues, and we have been making progress across several areas of the game. This update focuses on the new systems and improvements that have recently been added as we continue building the opening chapter and preparing the Steam demo.
Expanded Weapon Handling
A large portion of recent development has focused on making weapons feel more responsive and connected to the player.
Weapons can now use configurable scripted recoil, allowing each weapon to have its own recoil strength and behavior. This gives us more control over how individual weapons feel instead of applying the same movement to every gun.
We have also expanded the weapon animation system with:
Weapon holstering and unholstering
A dedicated weapon position while running
Forward and backward movement while sprinting
Improved weapon rotation while aiming
Vertical weapon movement based on where the player is looking
Better transitions between aiming, movement, melee, and other player states
These systems are still being refined, but they provide a much stronger foundation for future weapons.
Animation and IK Improvements
Because Gearbound uses humanoid characters and modular weapons, the player’s hands and weapon need to adjust correctly for many different weapon types.
Recent changes have improved the way the animation rigging and inverse kinematics systems respond to gameplay. Weapons can now better control which hands are used, how the player holds one-handed or two-handed weapons, and when aiming constraints should be enabled or disabled.
We have also continued improving transitions between shooting, melee combat, running, gliding, climbing, swimming, and other actions.
The goal is to prevent the character from appearing locked into a single pose while also keeping the weapon aligned correctly during gameplay.
New Gameplay Systems
Several smaller gameplay systems have also been added or expanded.
These include improved interactive objects, animation-based seating, environmental devices, security systems, automated doors, and turret behaviors.
Security cameras and turrets can now perform more advanced target detection and idle scanning. Additional work has also been done to improve how sensors detect characters, including more accurate detection around the player’s head instead of relying only on the character’s base position.
These systems will help make environments feel more reactive and will be used throughout future levels.
Story and Voice Acting
Work continues on Chapter One: First Deployment and the opening level, The Silent Relay.
The opening chapter introduces Ember, Nick, Allen, the Commander, and the first major mission of the game. It also begins establishing the mystery surrounding Ember’s past and the people controlling what she is allowed to know.
Voice lines are continuing to be written, recorded, reviewed, and implemented into the game. We are also improving the internal dialogue tools used to organize conversations, subtitles, character names, audio files, and scripted events.
This pipeline will allow us to add and revise dialogue more efficiently as production continues.
Art and Environment Progress
Environment and visual work is also continuing alongside gameplay development.
We are refining the visual identity of Gearbound by improving lighting, materials, environmental effects, character presentation, and the contrast between interactive objects and the world around them.
Magnetic surfaces, machinery, powered devices, security systems, and other gameplay objects are receiving clearer visual feedback so players can understand their current state.
We are also continuing to experiment with color grading and other post-processing effects to create a worn science-fiction appearance without making the game too dark or difficult to read.
Steam Demo Progress
The Steam demo remains one of our primary development goals.
The demo is planned to include the opening of the game and the first major level, giving players an introduction to:
Ember and the main cast
Movement and platforming
Melee combat
Ranged weapons
Environmental interactions
Security enemies and drones
The early story and central mystery
Our current focus is making sure the core systems work together reliably before expanding the amount of playable content. Some features shown during development may change before the final demo as they are tested and refined.
What Comes Next
Upcoming development will continue to focus on polishing combat, improving animations, implementing voice lines, expanding Chapter One, and preparing more areas of the demo for testing.
There is still a great deal of work ahead, but the foundation of the game continues to grow with every new system added.
Thank you to everyone who has followed the project, provided feedback, joined the community, or added Gearbound: Odyssey to their Steam wishlist.
We look forward to sharing more progress soon.
Wishlist Gearbound: Odyssey on Steam and follow the project to receive future development updates.
— Extynct Studios