Hey everyone!
Rafal here, the game director of DDS1 and 2. I’m floored by the amount of feedback we got from you regarding both games after we announced part 2. First of all, thanks for the effort you took to respond. I’d like to address as many issues that you’ve raised as possible, and together with Movie Games we figured that it’ll be best to prepare a proper FAQ.
We’ll combine questions about both games here, because you usually asked about the development process, and how one game affects the other. Well, find out below. :)
You can read this FAQ both on the DDS1 and DDS2 Steam page.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. So is DDS2 really a prequel?
Indeed, it is a prequel. You will experience Eddie's rise to the high cartel ranks at Isla Sombra. In a way - you write his story. You do not need to know the events of DDS1 to enjoy DDS2.
We wanted to keep the core of DDS1 heart and gameplay while giving the game its own identity, thus the new setting. We decided that Eddie's backstory will be perfect for both introducing a fresh setting as well as new gameplay challenges by running the business "the old way".
I think that we all like Eddie and that he deserves his own larger chunk of the story, more than he was given in part 1. I also believe Eddie’s popularity is in huge part due to Christopher Neal’s fantastic performance, and I’m happy to confirm that Chris will narrate DDS2.
2. Will DDS2 get updates? How frequently?
Taking our experiences as well as mistakes from the first part, we want to deliver DDS2 as a larger, much more full and polished experience at premiere point. Aside from that the game will still get support as long as it will need it. Expansions might also come, but time will tell.
3. Does DDS2 mean you’re dropping DDS1?
Not dropping. Completing. We want Endgame to be the final update that ties up all the loose ends and adds much more stuff for you to play with. We’ve been supporting DDS and publishing free updates for 2 years. It’s time to move on, because we’ve reached the limit of what we can do with the DDS technical framework.
This being the last content update does not mean end of support though. We will still be there to fix issues and bugs as far as the game core allows us to. We are also including a lot of requested QoL changes with the Endgame patch.
4. What about guns and the stuff you showed in the first DDS1 trailer?
Yes, that trailer is haunting us to this day. All I can say is that neither myself nor Movie Games would publish this trailer today. So what happened?
Well, first of all - the original DDS1 announcement was made during a very early stage of production, when the game was a vision in prototyping - if I may call it that way. As we dug deeper into assembling the core gameplay, we came to realize that some of the features we envisioned in the game either won't actually work well for the gameplay or quite simply - we won't be able to make them. At least not well enough for us to be acceptable.
First of all - that is a normal part of the game development process, but - as a fairly inexperienced developer at that time - I wasn't able to fully foresee it. Secondly, the guns in the trailer (as one of the examples) were more of a "cinematic enhancement", and, collectively, we wrongly assumed that they won't be treated as a promised gameplay feature. This was a wrong assumption. We understand that now.
We can't turn back time, but we sure can - and did - learn from our mistakes. Additionally, shooting - as fun as it may sound in theory - would ruin the balance and low-profile playstyle of DDS also introducing numerous additional issues we were not up for solving. That is why we scrapped the idea in early stages.
I know and understand that some of you felt cheated by that and I am truly sorry. We are all just people and make mistakes. Now, as we know the IP much better and learned from our mistakes - we are able to have more control over what the end form of our game will be. DDS2 is a different story and I'm convinced you'll love it, just as we do. No guns tho... as we already established :)
5. Will all the things from the DDS2 trailer be in the game, or will it be a DDS1 deja vu?
The DDS1 announcement was a huge lesson for everyone involved. We made sure to not include anything in the DDS2 trailer that would not appear in the game. I mean, it would’ve been really stupid of us to repeat the same mistake, right?
The DDS2 trailer is obviously cinematic but uses a lot of actual in-game assets and was made much further into prototyping the gameplay. We still have a lot of work ahead, but the core gameplay is set and well thought through. All the shown scenes have their "in-game relatives". The time for a gameplay reveal, and footage of how exactly we combined these elements in the game itself, will come when we are ready to show them.
Surely - some minor changes might and probably will come. In the end, all that matters is the good of the game as a whole, but what we've shown you are core elements of the actual gameplay. There is also more to it, but we leave the best for last. :)
6. So will DDS2 have all the stuff the fans have been wanting?
Surely not ALL, as there are a lot of dreams and ideas out there, but in the second installment we did our best to combine our own vision, and what is best in DDS1, with all the knowledge and ideas we took from the community. We want it to be a much better version of the original. In short we're adding everything that is reasonable and doable while maintaining our core vision.
There is a much larger world with more to do, better AI, way better and more complex cartel progress (from street level to boss) and much more engaging drug production/distribution system. The player has more control over his strategies, assortment and playstyle. We want it to fit the huge engagement and commitment of the game's community which we did not expect initially for DDS1. Also - there are a few really big and great features that we'll announce if we are fully certain we have control over. But more on that will come later.
Bottom line: We expanded DDS1 to the limits of the original technical core, added what made sense but a lot of it was just much better to save for a fresh, better designed from scratch game, made with larger experience and MUCH newer technology. Stay tuned for more info on what's to come.
7. Why is the DDS1 update taking so long?
First things first - it's a big update. It introduces a couple of new mechanics as well as an endgame questline. We are also adding many community requested quality-of-life improvements and features, Steam Achievements and more as well as fixing lots of old bugs. That alone is a lot of testing, polishing as well as balancing with the new features in the loop.
Additionally - DDS1 expanding and changing is very time consuming and complicated. First - as we established in earlier questions - its technical core is simply badly made in various ways and cannot be fully remade or fixed. Fixing issues brings new issues, reworks break game files, unchangeable modules have to be worked around and so on. Maintaining the stability of saved games on various levels of progress is a big part of it too. Obviously with that in mind we have to quadruple check different save files, fresh playthroughs, late game playthroughs and so on with EACH iteration.
Again - that's a huge part why we decided to start fresh and incorporate part of our plan for the "perfect DDS" in a new game which is DDS2. Trust me - that's really the best way to go and you won't be disappointed. :)
8. Did DDS2 slow the development of the update?
Only partially, for most of the time DDS2 was prototyped and developed by an additional group of people, but under our guidance - for obvious reasons. Now the time has come for us to jump in fully to maximize DDS2 experience and it is time to put the DDS1 expansion to a proper end.
9. DDS on consoles
We’ve been trying to make it happen for a long time, but here’s something you might not know. Console platform owners have to approve your game on their platform. They have much, much stricter content rules than Steam, and in general they don’t want “problematic” games. Adult games won’t ever come out on consoles. And when you have a game where you distribute drugs and use them, it is extremely difficult to convince the platforms to put it next to cute purple dragons and bandicoots.
You can say: but what about game X or Y? It has drugs and it’s on consoles! Yes, but usually drugs are just a minor part of these titles, or they’re stigmatized and portrayed as bad. This kinda isn’t the case with DDS.
So: we’ll keep trying to make it happen, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. It’s not because of the lack of will. It’s because we made a game called Drug Dealer Simulator. :) If you want DDS on consoles, maybe it would be best to tell this to PlayStation or Xbox. When they see a lot of people voicing it, they might reconsider.
10. Will there be controller support for DDS1 and DDS2?
Yes, we redesigned the input complexity and UI of the original, and we are trying to adapt it for gamepads. We also added features like radial menus and so on for making the interface as clean and friendly as possible.
11. What engine will DDS2 run on?
Unreal Engine 5. Currently it's the only reasonable choice. :)
12. Will there be Steam Deck support for DDS2?
There is Steam Deck support for DDS1, so I can’t see why not. We would sure want it to run on the Deck, but who knows what future holds.
13. Will there be an OST for DDS2?
Yes, we are making some awesome OST for the game and will make it available to you outside the game as well. Maybe besides some licensed songs that we won't have control over.
14. Will there be a fleshed-out gang hierarchy in DDS2?
Yes, the gang hierarchy in DDS2 is much more complex. You will be able to assign various tasks to your minions as well as assign clients to dealers to let you focus on more high-level business and more.
15. Will there be a demo or a beta?
Movie Games releases demos for most of their games and the plan is to have one for DDS2 as well. We will inform you when it might drop. In the meantime, stay tuned for Discord and Steam announcements as we might start a closed early alpha testing stage for the community at one point. No promises yet though.
Alright!
I think that covers all of the repeatedly asked questions. If you didn’t get a reply to yours, sorry about that. Comment below and the team will do their best to respond.
Thanks for sticking with us, wishlist and follow the game to support us. See you in Endgame in November, and on Isla Sombra next year!