Greetings Marines!
We thought it was about time to update you on how things are going here at Ironward and talk about what progress we have been making on our upcoming title Red Solstice 2: Survivors.
Before we start, say hello to the Rainbow Squad!
Yes there are customizable colors now!
Update
We do have some updates regarding the eight classes.
Let’s talk about the Hellfire and Terminator class. We do not feel like they are in the right place for the game like the other classes. We will strive to continue to amend and perfect them until they fit into the game. Due to our high workload, both classes will likely not be shipped with the game on release. We understand this may be frustrating to some, but we have always aimed to release a game that has no hiccups. Once the Hellfire and Terminator class are both finished and optimal, we will release them into the game at no cost as free update. We will keep you all updated on this matter whenever we have any news to share.
Let us begin by presenting some exciting numbers we think you would be interested in from our last Steam Festival to see how you all fared against the undying hordes of mutants.
Steam demo statistics
Total Marine Deployments: 111321
- Total Marine Deaths: 46787
- Total Team Kills: 3740*
- Total Evacs: 1092
- Total Revives: 22570
- Total Bullets Fired from Primary Weapons: 20926359
- Total Bullets Fired from Secondary Weapons: 644961
- Total Items Used: 319392
- Total Skills Used: 1040721
- Total Monsters Spawned: 3598011
- Total Monsters Killed: 2028401
*ouch!
As you can see, together, you all managed to kill A LOT of baddies (and occasionally each other). I think what really blew us away was the sheer amount of games that were played. It is humbling that you all took the time to give RS2 a try, and we hope you enjoyed the Demo as much as we had making it.
New tilesets
We have been working hard on perfecting the multiplayer. This includes cool stuff like new scenery and buildings to some other big ass monsters to make your life hell in the later rounds! A lot of these new implementations and ideas have come directly from the feedback you have given us. We really do listen! One of the highest concerns brought to us was the scenery and the different areas of the map. Our team has been working round the clock to create and perfect some new places for you to hold up and mow down anything that moves. Here are a couple of examples:
Another thing which is directly related to scenery are various mission related tilesets, some of you have experienced the HASTAC turrets which requires team effort to use. There will be much more of those in the future.
One of the big bosses
Just a reminder that this friendly worm is back again
New UI
As well as working on the scenery in-game, we have also been updating some of the UI. The most notable improvement would be the new Armory.
We decided to swap things around and try to make something like ability selection a bit clearer for the user to understand what abilities are locked at what rank for customizing the bots that you pick to stand by your side in battle. We also feel this gives the user a better look at the Marine model, which is important as we will be implementing different cosmetic variations for you to pick from to help you stand out from the other people in your squad!
We have also been working on some new weapons! Some of these are expected or discussed before on stream and the demo, then some of these are new concepts we thought would fit into the game nicely and help you punch holes in the goriest fashion.
For those who have played any of our previous titles you should be familiar with these. We will have some finished models to share with you soon!
Planned weapons
- HPR Viking - Energy rifle that was present in SC: MIA, primary weapon
- Arclite - Heavy version of flamethrower, primary weapon
- Strike V - A favorite from TRS1, high caliber combat rifle that has different effects at different range
- Homing missile swarm- Hover over your target, lock it down, fire a salvo, and enjoy.
We have made some fantastic progress on the campaign mode. We want to make sure each level feels like a new and unique experience for you, the player. Levels will include story-driven objectives and tasks to keep you busy and some new antagonists to try to stop you by all means necessary.
We are also working on things like steam achievements (for all you achievement hunters out there!). We don’t want to give too much away, but here are some screenshots from the single-player.
Convoy vehicles!
One of the biggest parts of the campaign development is the inclusion of vehicles. We intend on making these a core part of the gameplay, and being that we are on a planet full of mutants, we had to kit them out with guns. Big. Caliber. Guns. They will prove invaluable in missions, as they could be the very instrument that keeps you alive. Vehicles can be used to watch your back as overwatch as you continue on foot. Utilize them to their full potential, and you might just survive to fight another day.
Note that no driveable vehicles are planned at this point, but this is a first step in this direction, we simply don't have time to deliver them at the quality level we want, so they will serve as mobile turrets in this case which will still create nice convoy escort missions that we always wanted to have in TRS 1.
A lot of people have been asking questions, what will progression look like, and we believe that we can give a proper answer now.
There are 2 main types of progression for your profile.
Ranks
Wanna show you are a seasoned veteran? Want to show you encountered a fluffy and lived to tell the tale? Want to show you know how to handle explosives? Your personal rank will show this plus more! unlock colours, visuals and help you look for the ideal teammates with the detailed personal rank that is a way to show off all the adventures you have been on and your experience!
Global profile level
Any kind of combat mission, whether skirmish play or campaign play will contribute to experience here. Once you earn enough XP you will receive a skill point. Spending skill points to unlock or level up your skill will give you permanent campaign research bonus (which will enable you to tackle higher difficulties). Secondly you can unlock a class or component for your skirmishes matches that can be played anytime.
This will help us also to create a gradual learning curve for new players and to lower player dissatisfaction when an accidental SHIVA is dropped by unfamiliar operator with that particular device in the field.
That all about wraps it up from us this year. Again, we want to thank everyone for joining us on this fantastic journey; none of this could have been achieved without the support from all of you amazing people in the community. As we have said many times before, we are striving to create the best possible game for you, and we are thankful for any feedback (no, really, it’s been a real help!).
If you want to have a say or suggest anything, perhaps you see something you love, then please do not hesitate to contact any one of us at Ironward.
We have all had a tough year, which has brought its own unique challenges for all of us, so from all us guys and gals at Ironward, we wish you all good health and a joyous holiday!
Let us end on a high note! We recently had a pet battle and could not decide a winner on the best looking doggo or cat. Can you help us? Who has the goodest of bois or girly? Meet the pets of Ironward!
Only joking. They are all winners;)
See you all next year, wishlist our game and join us on this amazing journey!!!
All the best,
Ironward