It has been one month since Darwin Project launched on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview. I am personally amazed by how our whole community has grown in that short time. Our community has expanded to almost 13,000 on Discord (from about 7,000 prior to launch), 14,500 on Twitter, and almost 33,000 here on Steam. For a small team like us, those numbers are humbling. However, what we’re even prouder of is the sense of camaraderie and positivity within the community, despite Darwin Project being all about sticking your axe into other players the first chance you get. Players are generally friendly to one another, and we hear “good game” frequently―even from players who just died to a headshot. As someone who has been a member of many other gaming communities for several years, I find this simply amazing.
Darwin Project’s vision was built around social interaction, so it’s very important for us that our community continues to display this positivity throughout Early Access and beyond. We have been hard at work listening to our players, recording feedback, and amplifying community initiatives. Most importantly, we have been working on making sure that Darwin Project matches are toxicity-free as much as possible. Today, we wanted to share some measures we’ve taken to minimize the number of unpleasant experiences our players encounter:
We are investigating player reports and have given sanctions to players found to have violated the Code of Conduct.
We have increased the number of in-game enforcers on both Steam and Xbox as well as the number of moderators on our social channels. Enforcers and moderators exist to provide support, answer questions, ensure order, and spread positivity.
We now require event organizers to adhere to the Code of Conduct to promote their events in the dedicated community events channel on Discord.
Your reports are greatly helping us make sure toxic players are held responsible for their actions, and we are working on better tools to not only handle reports more efficiently, but also notify you when those you’ve filed lead to a sanction. Please continue to report behavior that violates the Code of Conduct so we can maintain the fun atmosphere inside the Darwin Project arena together.
If you haven’t already and want to get more involved with our community, come join our Discord server at discord.gg/darwin. We are now 12,700 strong and still growing! It’s a chance for you to get to know community members, share tips, and apply for special roles if that’s something you’re interested in.
We will keep being as active as we can on all our official channels and do our best to nurture the wonderful spirit many of you have come to expect from the Darwin Project community.
Looking forward to seeing you around!
Love,
Your blacksmithing Community Manager - Sam <3
Mister Friend's Escape Plan Begins Now
Hello inmates,
You’ve received a strange message from your jail cell neighbor, known only as Mister Friend, saying he needs your help to escape the facility and show up (albeit very late) to his son’s soccer game. He needs you to collect some flags from the arena that he will use to build a device for his escape.
Collect 50 flags to add the Earhart hat to your dressing room. If you work together with other inmates and manage to find a collective 500,000, a new tool will be made available for all players!
Full details about Mister Friend's Escape Plan here: http://www.scavengers.ca/help-mister-friends-escape-plan-unlock-new-hat-tool/
View patch notes 1.8.3 with today's improvements: http://www.scavengers.ca/changelog/patch-notes-1-8-3/
See you in the arena!
- The Scavengers Team
Duo Mode Is Here to Stay!
Hello inmates!
As you've probably guessed, Duo Mode is sticking around for good!
We'll continue improving it with your help, so be sure to keep the feedback coming. You can expect to see Duos leaderboards and Private Matches soon.
As a reminder, you have until Friday, April 6 at 3 PM EDT to participate in the Darwin Project Easter Egg Hunt and unlock three special hats. Full details here: http://www.scavengers.ca/earn-special-hats-week-long-easter-egg-hunt/
See you in the arena!
Second Duos Test Weekend and Easter Egg Hunt
Hello inmates,
Duos are back for another Test Weekend! As with the first test, we'd love to know what you think. Please leave us your feedback on any of our official channels.
From now until April 6, you can also score some special hats during our Easter Egg Hunt event. There are three Easter-themed hats on offer if you can collect enough eggs before the event ends. Full details here: http://www.scavengers.ca/earn-special-hats-week-long-easter-egg-hunt/
Wishing everyone a great long weekend, and see you in the arena!
- The Scavengers Team
Take Our Duo Mode Survey Before this Weekend's Second Test
Hello inmates,
Duo Mode decided to stick around longer than originally planned, but we've now officially ended the first Test Weekend. Please exit your game and wait for the update before heading back into the arena!
We'd appreciate 10 minutes of your time to fill out our Duo Mode survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9KVZKQ3
Your feedback will help us improve Duo Mode and prepare for its official rollout.
Thanks to everyone who participated, and we'll see you all in the arena again for the second Duos Weekend Test beginning Friday, March 30!
- The Scavengers Team
Duo Mode Test Weekend and Skill-Based Matchmaking Are Live!
Hello inmates,
We're excited to kick off our first Duos Test Weekend!
Duo Mode is available now for testing until Monday, March 26 at 12:00 PM EDT for all Darwin Project players on Steam.
Remember that you'll be playing an early version and may experience minor issues. We're still working on things like match pacing, stats and leaderboards, and Duos Private Matches. Please leave us your feedback on any of our official channels to help us prepare for the full Duo Mode rollout!
We've also introduced skill-based matchmaking! Read about it here: http://www.scavengers.ca/say-hello-skill-based-matchmaking/
See you in the arena!
- The Scavengers Team
Player's Whishlist - A Dev Answer Part 1
This post is to give you feedback on some of the requests that were made in Player's Whishlist discussion. It is not up for debate though, more to inform you guys of where we are going.
It's split in 4 sections:
<*> 1-Feature Wishes that have been added to the game
<*> 2-Feature Wishes that are in the pipeline
<*> 3-Feature Wishes under discussion
<*> 4-Feature Wishes that will not make the release...and why
Note that - Items in the list of “in the pipeline” has strong chances to make the cut, but doesn’t mean 100% it will make it.
- Some points/feedback aren’t tackled in this list. Anything not mentioned should be considered as it doesn’t fall in any of the categories yet.
- Does it mean the features that were cut will never make it in the game post-release? Maybe.
- The following features are in no specific orders.
-SD is for Show director
1 - Request Wishes that have been added to the game -Female character
-Community plays
-How about giving skins to the first people who classified in raking? exemple : the first person for each ranking; snowy skin to the first person classified as snowball killer etc
-Server browser for Custom Matches.
-Show director rating after the match
-Show Matches of streamers and players of the game against each other.
-Idk if this has been suggested or not, but since official rating leaderboard resets how about a special skin for the top 5-10 people.
2- Wishes that are in the pipeline -Duoooooos!!
-Customization
-Progression system
-Could it be possible to change our crosshair?
-Skins for the Show director.
-A mobile version for voting on twitch
-Please push to talk option
-add Steam Achievements
-add server in japan
-optimization 32 bits
3 - Wishes under discussion
Show director powers
-Megaphone General announcement
-Fog or some feature that strongly limits visibility
-Released yeti, wolf or monster released ai
-Release a group of drones
-Announcement text in the sky
-Taking light down in one section
-Global sonar. everyone can see everyone as if they were tracking them for 5-10 seconds
-Customized cursor for the game
-Power avalanche on a certain zone
-spawning a loot chest
-More powers for good rated
-Blizzard Effect
-When the camera zooms in on the Manhunted person, allow everyone to talk to each other for that brief moment. You can talk trash for a second or just say something funny.
Game mode
-5v5
-A map that is only a single hex big for 1v1 or 2v2 matches
-Building fires and throwing snowballs only
-Target with no person having the same target. permanently have a manhunt on your target - being able to see them and getting the special chest.
Viewers interactions
-API so twitch bots (or if they exist on mixer, mixer too) that provide currency could maybe be linked to allow for betting on people n stuff
- Show Matches of streamers and players of the game against each other. SaltyBets where the money is fake, but an AI is ran to spectate games and there is a dedicated twitch channel to watch for this. I feel like that fits the theme of the Darwin Project since it is an “entertainment” based game
-Replay mode
Players features and gameplay
-add a chat text
-player boost
-voice sensitivity option for our mics
-Inmate voting with show director
-More wildlife robot-animal
-Inmate voting with show director
-electronic power : disable others players super power
-Center cursor on craft wheel
-Cover clues
Other
-central us server
-language based matchmaking for showdirector
-each up any name on the my career section
-finding my friends stats on the leaderboard
-Special Skins for Beta Testers
4- Feature Wishes that will not make the release ..and why
Show director powers
-Wall that pops-up from the ground
Dev answer : We did a prototype of it, but we felt like separating players is not as fun as bringing them together. Also, it's not spectator vote friendly. On the other hand, we are thinking of a power similar to the arena to trap many players together
-Super-Storm - Warm consumption rates go up by 1000% for 40 seconds, and you must be near a bonfire to stay warm. I feel like it could force some area control gameplay, as players are trying to stay warm and fight at the same time. It also reveals locations through the smoke, and would make some more exciting gameplay.
Dev Answer : I like the idea of an epic storm. The idea of making the weather very cold however, is something we prototyped with a bit and it always resulted in just slowing down the pace and did not create much excitement
-Power cool down on single player
Dev Answer : I feel it's too context specific and not very awesome for the spectator watching
Game Mode
-And a game mode where the cold bar is replaced with hunger
Dev Answer : A different kind of bar to replace cold could be cool ex: oxygen or hot. Maybe after release!
-Death match mode. no survival nor harvesting.
Dev Answer : Not the same game at the moment, but after release could be cool to try a mode.
Players features and gameplay
-upgrade of electronic power
Dev Answer : We design the powers to be simple and straightforward like they are. We will add new powers though.
-deer-destructor electronic
Dev Answer : Nice scify touch here, but kindda counter the design of battle royale to kill other people.
-A way to reward players who get chained consecutive hits would be cool, like a combo bonus. Obviously not 2 OP or fights will be really 1 sided.
Dev Answer : Our fight system is not very compatible for combos as the attack push people away and put space between players
-zone heal
Dev Answer : the survival aspect and the arcade combat with the push back makes the player think twice before attacking. Having a zone for healing would change de design of the combat system.
-Auto Run with one button
Dev Answer : The stamina management is an important part of the gameplay. Having an auto run would unbalance the gameplay.
-boots that decrease the knockback you take from hits
Dev Answer : Being pushed back is actually good for you man - it's what prevents you from being chained by your opponent
Other:
-OSX / Linux? Can has not-Windows version, plz? : )
Dev Answer : One of our Architect Thierry would love to do that :)! Mabe after release!
Again : Feel free to add any feature wishes and game design crazy idea you might have in this section :
Darwin Project > General Discussions > Topic Details > Player's Wishlist
First Duo Mode Test Weekend Begins March 23
Hello inmates!
We've heard all your requests for Duo Mode, and we're excited to announce that we're running a Duos Test Weekend from Friday, March 23 at 3:00 PM EDT to Monday, March 26 at 12:00 PM EDT.
Can't make it this weekend? We'll run a second test from March 30 to April 2.
The results and feedback from these tests will help us prepare for the official Duos launch. Grab your buddy and mark your calendars!
Please note that servers will be closed for maintenance before the Test Weekends begin, starting Friday at 2 PM EDT.
See you in the arena!
- The Scavengers Team
Player's wishlist
Hey guys!
We believe that the future of video games will merge gamers with their community in a whole new level. The game was designed from the ground up around a simple premise: creating the first gaming show. To create a new and innovative experience, we are building this project hands and hands with the community since September 6th, 2016.
By joining Darwin Project, you won’t be simply be sitting on passenger seat, you be a co-pilot as the way play, speak and behave will have a real impact on the future of the project.
By reading all your feedback, comments and ideas, it help us envision and draw in our mind a picture of what the game could be - and of what you collectively want to see evolve.
Why do we look at all of this? By answering your feedbacks, we will help you understand our decisions and give you more insights on our creative direction and motivation. This process is the first step toward understanding each other better. The more we will, the better we’ll be at pushing the project to its full potential!
What will we do with this ? On a second post (see Dev answer post) we’ll give you feedback on some of the requests that were made to inform you guys of where we are going.
Feel free to add any feature wishes and game design crazy idea you might have in this section :
Darwin Project > General Discussions > Topic Details > Player's Wishlist
Patch Notes 1.8.1
Hello inmates,
Thanks again for an awesome launch! Today’s patch notes aren’t quite as meaty as usual, but rest assured that we’ve been busy planning upcoming content. In case you missed it during yesterday’s Darwin Project Invitational, we’ll have a status update about Duos mode for you next week!
Here’s what’s new in the next Steam patch that drops Tuesday, March 20 with the weekly leaderboard reset at 7:00 PM UTC:
