We wanted to let you know that we're looking at Thursday, January 21st for our next big update, the one that has us leaving Early Access.
Here's a short list of just a few of the things we're changing, improving, and adding:
Adjusting difficulty of first level and rearranging missions to better reflect a difficulty curve
Fixing levels in Story Hub 1 to go in a certain order, rather than all being available
Revamped tutorial mission to better explain the game's controls and systems
Quick access guide in both the Pause and Main menus that detail controls, game mode descriptions, and more
Fixing every single waypoint in the entire game (story and survival) to either be re-positioned, reworked, or just overall made better
Fixing various Survival mode issues that prevent enemies from spawning
Adding brief introductory videos to each mission in Story Hub 1, as well as an introductory video for Story Hub 2
Professionally voice-acted opening cinematic
Complete Story Hub 2 -- build an FTL (faster-than-light) drive and escape the galaxy!
Improved UI when in menus (screen will dim appropriately)
More sound options (adjust sound effect volume as well as music in addition to the currently existing Master volume option)
Improved options for dialogue text speed
That's just a small sneak peak into all the things we're fixing with the next update. Thank you all so much for your feedback, good or bad, because every single bit of it has helped us improve the game exponentially.
We think you'll enjoy the final game even more.
In the meantime, leave us any ideas in the forums - we'll be reading! :)
- The Raconteur Team
Known Issues
Hey everyone!
We got an influx of new players from the Steam sale and other things, and we're glad to have you here! We also got a ton of new reviews and feedback. Luckily, a lot of what is being mentioned is either already fixed, or being fixed!
Here's a short list of things we are aware of and will be fixed in the next update:
Survival mode issues -- enemies not spawning, etc.
Tutorial mission not explaining enough
First mission being too difficult
Certain mission waypoints either not functioning as intended or being put in an incorrect spot
Story Hub 1 not playing in a specific order (letting you play in whatever order you want)
Additionally, we outlined a few other things to expect in our next update, and you can find that here!
Thanks for your patience, everyone. Your feedback helps us improve the game! :)
- Raconteur Team
New Update Incoming -- v1.0!
Hey everyone!
It's been a while since our last announcement, so we wanted to give you a heads-up about our next update. It'll contain tons of things, but the key things:
A complete hub world 2 -- three missions revolving around building an FTL (faster than light) drive!
Introductory videos for each mission in hub world 1, and one big introductory video for hub world 2.
Final non-placeholder narration for the introductory cinematic as well as every other video that will be included.
As always, lots of bug fixing!
This will be our v1.0 update that leaves Early Access, and we'll continue fixing bugs as all of you wonderful ladies and gentlemen point them out to us.
One other thing to note -- in standard game development, Alpha is typically when mechanics are complete and content is playable but not polished, Beta is when mechanics and content are final and you're just bugfixing, and Gold is the final v1.0 you end up buying. Our content was built while we were still fixing/improving mechanics, something we've learned from for future projects, so that's why you'll see a change from Alpha to just the full release instead of Beta.
Thanks for an exciting, humble, and wisdom-filled development experience. Y'all will love what's next!
- The Raconteur Team
Our Biggest Update Yet -- Play It NOW!
It took over three months, lots of bug fixing, and a ton of feedback, but we’ve finally completed the first major component of Close Order!
Today, our newest – and biggest so far – update is now available. Here’s a breakdown of all that’s been changed recently:
Enemies, since release, have been rebuilt from the ground up to be based on specific behavior types (called archetypes).
These archetypes are now color-coded, so that even though you may be facing enemies that look differently, if they’re the same color, they’ll behave the same and you know what kind of armada to build to face the threat!
Our first section of the story, Hub World 1, is now complete! Two new levels have been added recently and this completes the story arc of looking for the remnants of humanity.
If you haven’t played recently, we chose to go with a standard level progression system where levels are unlocked sequentially.
Additionally, we’ve split up armada slots to be awarded based on total kill count! You’ll start with a few, and grow up to 40!
Minions are awarded for completing levels and playing all game modes. Explore the game and get tons of new minions!
If you find that story levels are too difficult, play Survival to rack up some easy kills in unique environments and level up your armada!
Finally, TONS AND TONS OF BUG FIXING! Guys and gals, we’ve fixed so much and it’s all thanks to you. Undoubtedly there are still some things to iron out, so please give us your feedback in the forums on anything and everything that may not be working correctly or that you would like to see changed.
Also, we’re offering you the chance to join our community at 30% off during the sale to celebrate this update. If you’ve joined our community already, enjoy our new content! For those of you just now joining in, we welcome you – and invite you to help make the game even better, like the community has been doing.
Join us today, and enjoy the long weekend! ːsteamhappyː
- The Raconteur Team
New Content is LIVE!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re extremely pleased to announce that our first piece of dedicated new content is now available! In this level, you’ll face off against a crazed dictator who maintains tight control over a sector of the galaxy. It was built with all of the feedback from the past three months in mind. You’ll find it at the top of the list in hub world 1.
Additionally, among lots of bug fixes and small improvements, we are now promoting level progression in a certain order rather than having things be free-flowing. This supports recent changes more logically. Now, you’ll play through story levels in a certain order – and if things are too challenging, hop on over to Survival where you can rack up kills and expand your armada!
We made a gamble by deciding to focus on our core gameplay first before adding new content, and it’s truly paying off. Before you know it, we’ll be shipping the last level of the first hub world and completing our first major section of content! Then, we’ll be rapidly developing and releasing the second hub world, thus completing Close Order.
Close Order, for us, has been a story with many ups and downs, twists and turns, successes and failures. It brings us so much joy to finally have the end in sight!
As always, please leave your feedback in our forums so we can continue making the game better. We wouldn’t be here without you!
- The Raconteur Team
New Update is LIVE!
Good morning!
We're proud to announce our newest mega update has shipped! This update brings a wealth of improvements, chiefly the following:
"More Info" buttons throughout the Crossroads
Minions now awarded throughout the game for playing levels and modes
Formation editor slots now awarded as a result of total kill count
Tracking of total kills in the pause menu
Added new opening level - play as a Maker, a mythical, mysterious, and all-powerful deity
Tons of bug fixes
Those last few represent some of our biggest work! Now, you'll have to earn your armada, and we think you'll love it.
Additionally, we're close to completing the first hub world! We're finalizing the last two levels and will release them as we finish them, hopefully in the next week or so. We had to cut a level that unfortunately no longer lined up with our shmup-focused gameplay, so hub world 1 will contain 5 levels total. Please keep an eye out as we steamroll forward!
We thank all of you for being patient as we focused on improving the game before piling on more content. This way, our new levels will be up to a much higher quality standard! We appreciate every single one of you, and hope you'll keep giving us feedback as we get closer to a full release.
Go be badass!
- The Raconteur Team
New blog post: What's next
Good afternoon, badasses around the world! We've got a few quick things today.
Fisrt, we're amping up how we communicate with you. Check out our social links below, and follow us if that's your thing.
Additionally, we've got a blog post for you RIGHT NOW! :) It's starting to get chilly, so gather around our campfire for a look at what we've learned and what's next.
Finally: We've got a massive amount of stuff coming soon! More content, gameplay improvements, and more. Our Early Access period thus far has been defined by improvements to the core of how our game works; going forward, we'll continue improving the game, but adding more content to explore the post-Earth reality of Close Order.
Thanks to everyone who's stuck with us. We appreciate you, and wouldn't be here without you.
- The Raconteur Team
The Campfire: Gather 'round for news, and sign up for testing!
How's it going, badasses?
We wanted to pull you 'round the campfire for just a few minutes to discuss our plans.
In short: Close Order has been an exciting learning experience for us. We don't define success monetarily, but rather, based on us putting out a product that we're proud of. We're proud of the mashup that is Close Order, but we're listening to YOU to make it something you're proud to play.
We've learned a lot over the past two months. Quite a lot, in fact! All of this learning helped us identify a few key things:
We needed to focus more on squashing bugs and ensuring quality.
We needed more content to allow you to be even more badass.
We needed to make sure you get genuine value out of Close Order.
With this in mind, I wanted to announce our plans through the end of the year!
First, we've lowered the price to $4.99. We feel you get more value this way, and we want to thank those who've been with us since launch -- you've helped us learn so much!
Second, instead of jumping into more content right away, we decided to harness all of your feedback and tidy up our mechanics and overall design. We're still doing that, but we finally believe we're close to getting it right. We'll continue providing regular updates to fix bugs and improve the overall quality of the game.
Finally, it's that same question -- content! We're excited to announce that we're working on the remaining levels of hub world 1, and we're designing them in a very different fashion to reflect what we've learned from previous issues. There's no exact date on this content yet, but we hope to deliver it in a month or so.
Soon, you'll be getting an update that further streamlines your experience and focuses on the core of what Close Order is: becoming a badass armada! In that update, we're revitalizing how we tell the story of Abe, Chakor and Mary, and we think you'll like the changes. More on that very soon.
LASTLY! If anyone would like to sign up to test forthcoming updates, please send an email to info@raconteurgames.com with the subject line "Update Tester" and we'll get you in on our playtest lists. Early Access is a great way to test new ideas, but we use playtests to get things up to a quality standard before we put things out there.
In summary, we've learned a lot. We're applying that learning to the game, and we've got some really, really exciting things coming that will make the game even better.
We're pleased to announce that the Shmupdate, a fundamental revamp of our enemies and single player missions, is LIVE!
This is our first major update with Early Access, and with it comes a slew of changes that make the game way better. A lot of this feedback is a direct result of what YOU have told us! Here's a detailed breakdown.
General Changes
Single player missions reworked to be more fluid
Dialogue no longer pauses the game
Camera control no longer taken from the player
Emphasized story to be more focused on the briefings rather than in-level conversations (though those still happen)
Revamped enemies from the ground up (details in next section)
Minor minion adjustments to have more distinct counters to updated enemies
Molotok bullets now spin around perimeter of armada once after initial explosion
Various performance tweaks
Lots and lots of small things that overall make the game much better
Enemy Changes
The old enemies you know are gone, except for the models. Each of the new enemy types are listed below!
Swarmer
Attacks in great swarms. Weak alone, but challenging in numbers!
Kamikaze
Heavily armored foe that charges into the player and instantly explodes upon impact, causing great damage.
Broadsider
A quick-moving ship that encircles the player, firing upon them while moving quickly.
Closer
Enemy that aggressively closes on the player, shooting a powerful -- but inaccurate -- shot.
Bombarder
Fires a solid beam of energy that deals damage every half-second.
Gunner
Fires constant shots at the player to attempt to distract them from heavier or more deadly targets.
Grenadier
Shoots an exploding projectile that can be deadly to large armadas!
Carrier Ship
A large, heavily armed ship that can spawn smaller ships (such as the Swarmer).
Here's a glimpse of a test scene filled with Swarmers and Bombarders, with a Carrier Ship in the background.
They may not seem very tough...
... but then BOOM!
With this update, we've accomplished many things. Primarily, 1) we're more confident in our storytelling methods, and 2) we're more pleased with how enemies work and how minions counter them.
We'll continue updating the game with small bug fixes until our next big update: Those three other missions in hub world 1!
We hope you enjoy Close Order even more than before with this big update. Early Access has been a lot of fun so far, and we have even more exciting things to come! Stay tuned, but for now... go be badass! :)
- The Raconteur Team
Update on The Shmupdate
Hello again!
We've been working hard on our first big update to Close Order. Since we released August 7th, there has been a wealth of feedback and data on how we should improve the game.
We decided to be ambitious, and revamped every single enemy in the game from the ground up. The new enemies you'll face will be swift, deadly, and pose a much more serious challenge. Gone are the days of awkward enemy formations -- and now are the days of swarms, fleets, and armies of challenging foes!
The enemies may look the same, but their behaviors are completely rebuilt. The new enemies you will be facing:
MookShip
Attacks in great swarms. Weak alone, but challenging in numbers!
SuicideShip
Heavily armored foe that charges into the player and instantly explodes upon impact, causing great damage.
BroadsideShip
A quick-moving ship that encircles the player, firing upon them while moving quickly.
ShotgunShip
Enemy that aggressively closes on the player, shooting a powerful -- but inaccurate -- shot.
BeamShip
Fires a solid beam of energy that deals damage every half-second.
TurretShip
Fires constant shots at the player to attempt to distract them from heavier or more deadly targets.
GrenadierShip
Shoots an exploding projectile that can be deadly to large armadas!
CarrierShip
A large, heavily armed ship that can spawn smaller ships (such as the MookShip).
Additionally, each ship has a clear rock-paper-scissors-style strength/weakness system with minions. This means minions have also been adjusted to more accurately reflect clear strengths/weaknesses, thus giving them even more importance.
Here's an example of a chaotic new scene in action:
It starts off simple enough...
... but then these new foes ATTACK!
There's a lot of love in this new update, and we think this will make Close Order exponentially better.
We'll be pushing a slight retooling of single-player levels as well to temporarily accommodate these new changes, but the update that follows this one will focus on improving how we tell our stories, and we've got equally exciting changes on that front.
Thank you all for sticking around and helping us make this game even more badass. It's paying off! Please keep sounding off and letting us know what you think, because it goes a very long way.
