Fragmental cover
Fragmental screenshot
Genre: Shooter, Indie

Fragmental

Discount and RADtv!

Hello Fragmental players!

We hope you’re still enjoying the frenetic and intense gameplay that Fragmental delivers, but we heard that your friends haven’t picked it up yet from their wishlist!

Fear not, we’ve popped a huge discount on Fragmental to celebrate our brand new release, RADtv! It’s out today, and if you have a Rift or Vive VR headset, gather your pals and prepare to get sweaty in a collection of 25 insane mini-games.



If you don’t own either game, there’s also a bundle available that’ll give you both for an *even better price*, who doesn’t like even better prices?!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/11678/Ruffian_Party_Bundle/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/649240/RADtv/

Many thanks,
Ruffian Games.

Bug Fix Update

Hi,

We just noticed a pretty nasty analytics bug that only surfaced when the year changed, so we've fixed it and updated the game.

Hope nobody ran into this issue, if you did, we're really sorry.

The Ruffians

FRAGMENTAL v1.0 RELEASE!

It’s been a long road, but we’re finally at the stage where we can call v1.0 of Fragmental done and ready for release.

Our final update for v1.0 contains a lot of new content – we now have over 100 Arenas in the game. We’ve added new game setup options, we’ve given our in game visuals a full overhaul, our full front end has been updated visually and functionally, our AI has had an entire update, we’ve fixed a huge amount of bugs and made lots of feature tweaks, and finally we’ve done a full optimisation pass of the game to get it running at 60fps on our minimum spec PC.

We’ve added more detail on all of this for you to check out below.

...


  • In Game Visual Update and Optimisation.
  • Visual and Functionality Update for Front End.
  • Full AI Update.
  • Difficulty / Danger Levels.
  • Full Onslaught Update.
  • 16 New Deathmatch Arenas.
  • 7 New Survival Arenas.
  • New Weapon.
  • New Music Track.
  • Lots and lots of Bug Fixes and Tweaks.


...

IN GAME VISUAL UPDATE AND OPTIMISATION



We’ve done a huge amount of work to ensure the game runs at 60fps on our target min spec PC. We’ve also given the entire game a visual and functional overhaul. The game is now more vibrant, clearer and sharper than it ever was.


  • A completely new dynamic background has been added for the game.
  • Every Arena has been converted from BSP to Static Mesh for big perf savings.
  • A full optimisation pass of our post process pass has been done.
  • Every 3D Model and Particle Effect has been improved and optimised.


VISUAL AND FUNCTIONALITY UPDATE FOR FRONT END



Our entire Front End and In Game HUD has been completely updated, both visually and functionally. We’ve fixed all of our usability issues and added some more useful information for the Player as well

FRONT END

  • The Front End is now controlled via a virtual cursor, getting rid of countless bugs and allowing for a more varied and balanced layout on our screens.
  • We’ve added an intro animation and new background to the Front End.
  • The entire Front End has had a visual update, it’s more vibrant and cleaner across the board.
  • The Lobby has been completely updated which has fixed some usability and control issues we had, and there is no longer a stall when entering or exiting the Lobby.
  • The Weapons screen has been completely updated with the addition of Stats for each Weapon to better represent the variation and the pros and cons of each Weapon.

IN GAME HUD

  • The Round Intro info has been updated, the Player info and kill logs have also been updated, as have the End of Round and Game Summary screens – where we have also added numerical scores as well as the existing bars.


FULL AI UPDATE



The AI have had a lot of work done on them since Update 5, there’s too many minor tweaks to list, so we’ll just stick with the highlights.


  • Specific movement behaviour per target - weapons, enemies, etc.
  • More accurate aim prediction.
  • Target sharing limits for specific targets.
  • Better cover usage.
  • Per weapon preferred engage distance.
  • Behavioural variations in Onslaught.
  • Smoother path acquisition and chaining - less visual jitter.
  • Mountains of bug fixes and stability improvements.


DIFFICULTY / DANGER LEVELS



We’ve added a new setting for the Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch Game Modes.
There are countless dangerous Arenas with Lasers, Death Spheres, cliff edges, etc. that could easily kill an unaware new Player. There are just as many dangerous Weapons that a new Player could kill themselves with before they get the chance to kill an Enemy. Then finally there are some Modifiers that can catch new Players unaware and unknowingly send them to their death.
This new setting allows the Player to choose the type of content they want to play with, allowing them to define how much of that risky content they want to play with.
The default setting is DANGEROUS, but you can step down to SAFE if things are still a bit too much, or if you think you can handle more you can jump up to LETHAL. It’s your choice.

SAFE

  • Contains the safest subset of Weapons, Modifiers and Arenas for a gentle introduction to the game.

DANGEROUS

  • Contains a wider range of Weapons, Modifiers and Arenas for a closer taste of the full game.

LETHAL

  • Contains every Weapon, Modifier and Arena for the full Fragmental experience.


FULL ONSLAUGHT UPDATE



Onslaught has had a lot of attention to make sure that it was as well balanced as possible for 1 to 4 Players.


  • We’ve updated all 3 Tiers for every single Challenge.
  • We’ve added new behaviours for the AI Enemies per weapon type, and made them stand out from each other using colour variation and different masks / headgear.
  • We’ve also altered how Melee attacks and Thrown Weapons affect the Enemies too. Rather than killing them, they just stun the Enemy now.
  • Enemies now spawn in staggered rather than all at once.
  • Only a few of the Enemy will chase down a target now, rather than all of them coming at you at the same time.


16 NEW DEATHMATCH ARENAS



We’ve added another 16 Deathmatch Arenas to the game, which takes out total number up to 64 Arenas.

HARD BOILED

  • One of the smallest and tightest Arenas in the entire game. 4 Corridors with doors at either end of each of them. You need to decide when to jump through and when to sit and wait.

CELL BLOCK

  • Another small Arena. This one is rotationally symmetrical and has a lot of little corners to hide in, or to bounce projectiles off. Rounds tend to end quickly in this Arena.

CHOPPER

  • Inspired by the blades of a helicopter, this constantly spinning Arena has 4 Teleporters at each point of the compass and a death pit at the centre. Plenty of cover options available, but there are so many angles for lines of sight that you’re never safe.

BATTLE BRIDGE

  • Each character starts in a corner room with a window looking across to the enemy on the other side. Each room opens up to one bridge that connects them all. Things come to a head fast in this Arena.

BINOCULARS

  • Possibly the simplest Arena design in the game. Two overlapping circles with a pillar in the centre of each. Absolute chaos if you end up with bouncing projectile Weapons being spawned in.

MIX TAPE

  • Two circular platforms, each with two bridges crossing at their centre. Each of these platforms spin in opposite directions and there are no outer or inner walls to stop you falling to your death. This is a dangerous little Arena.

RED DEAD REDEEMER

  • 4 platforms set out on their own at the four corners of the screen. Each platform has a single pillar at it’s centre and one Weapon spawn point that only spawns Redeemers. Now you need to choose a target, then steer your Redeemer towards them while steering your character away from any incoming Redeemer Rockets. It’s like patting your head, rubbing your tummy and dancing a jig at the same time.

DOUBLE-DEE

  • A very tight S shaped path with another vertical path that connects it all together, which has Teleporters at the top and bottom. Half height walls split the walls along the path as well, so you really need to pay attention in this Arena.

JUMP AROUND

  • One of the few Deathmatch Arenas that uses Jump Pads. There are 4 raised platforms each with a Weapon spawn. A single Jump Pad creates a path to 2 of the platforms while another does the same for the other 2. So you always meet another character at the Jump Pad as you race to grab a Weapon.

BLITZ

  • A mid size incredibly varied Arena with lots of angled walls for cover. 2 Teleporters either side of the Arena make it feel larger and more connected than it’s size initially suggests.

HEXBRAWLER

  • A symmetrical honeycomb style Arena, with 4 internal walls that split the space into an exterior path with some sheer drop offs, and an interior space with central pillar that has two back to back Teleporters, creating cover from some angles and a clear line of sight on others.

RISE AND FALL

  • Another honeycomb style Arena. This one has 8 hexagonal platforms that each have a Weapon spawn point on them. All of the platforms are raised, then two will randomly lower at a time, giving access to two of the Weapons. They will then lift back up as another two lower. This brings constant conflict and an Arena that constantly changes where the cover is and isn’t.

LONGSHOT

  • A long wide honeycomb style Arena. At each of the four corners there is a Teleporter angled at 45 degrees. Along the centre there are cover opportunities, but you need to keep your eye on lines of sight through the angled Teleporters.

DOWNFALL

  • 4 circular platforms with walls shaped like cross hairs. Each platform has 4 sheer drop offs at the edge, and ever platform is constantly spinning. This is a really tricky Arena to judge where the angles are and where they’re not.

RICOCHET

  • A large symmetrical Arena with 4 separate, octagonal platforms, each containing internal and external walls, with lots of gaps and half height sections. At their centre is a smaller octagonal platform that connects with each of the outer platforms with 45 degree aligned Teleporters. A great Arena for bouncing projectile Weapons.

SALTIRE

  • A mid sized Arena, with 4 corner rooms that connect to each other by corridors with swinging doors. At the centre is a spinning circular platform with crosshair shaped walls. At either side there are 2 Teleporters that open up what looks like a really tight little Arena.


7 NEW SURVIVAL ARENAS



We’ve also added another 7 Survival Arenas to the game, taking our total up to 41 Survival Arenas. Combined with our Deathmatch Arenas, we now have a total of 105 Arenas in the game!

CROSSBEAM CANNON

  • A large circular Arena with 8 raised circular starting positions for characters. The large lower platform has 4 Jump Pads and 4 Stinger Weapons on it. At the centre of the Arena is another raised circular platform which has a Repulsor on top of it. This central platform also spawns Cross Beams which fly outwards from the centre from random angles. This is a seriously dangerous Survival Arena.

DISC DODGER

  • A large spinning outer ring with curved blades. Characters spawn at the centre on a smaller circular platform with a sheer drop all around it. The inside of the spinning outer ring spawns deadly Discs in from random positions at random angles. These Discs collide with each other at the centre making this Arena extremely difficult to navigate.

SLICE AND DICE

  • A circular Arena with a hole at it’s centre, where two spinning Lasers criss cross across the diameter of the platform. 4 smaller, raised circular platforms placed equidistantly along the outer edge of the platform contain a Repulsor, and in front of each of them is Jump Pad. There’s a lot going on for such a simple design in this Arena.

REPULSOR RAYS

  • Shaped like an octagonal sun dial. A central octagonal platform which has an octagonal hole at it’s centre and no outer walls. The octagon also has Bouncers placed at each other point of the Octagon. Outside the Octagon are 8 triangular platforms that each spawn Repulsor Rays that fire in towards the centre of the Arena. There’s nowhere to hide on this Arena.

LET’S BOUNCE

  • Two wide paths cross each other at the centre to make a large X. Each path has a slim cross section path at either end which contain Stinger Weapons. Each path also contains a huge Bouncer at either end, and 2 buttons jut off centre. Hit any button and all of the Bouncers slide into the middle then back to their starting places, and the buttons become active once again.

DODGEBALLS

  • 4 separated octagonal platforms, divided by Lasers. Each platform has 3 Stinger Weapons. You need to grab a Stinger then throw it at your opponents to knock them off their platform or into one of the Lasers.

POWCHINKO

  • Inspired Pachinko. The 4 characters spawn at the bottom of a large platform with walls to the left and right, a sheer edge to the bottom and a tall wall to the top which has Bouncers stuck up on the wall. A constant stream of Death Spheres start to roll down the wall, hitting the Bouncers and flying down the platform towards you.


NEW WEAPON



We’ve added a new Weapon to the game. We thought we were all done with our Weapons, but one of our Designers – Dave Hoare – created this new one, called the Stinger. It’s a single shot, non-lethal thrown Weapon that will stun anyone it hits. Dave always wanted to create a Dodgeball Survival Arena, and that’s what this Weapon was created for. We’ve had so much fun with it, it’s now been added to any Survival Arenas that we felt needed a little more action.

NEW MUSIC TRACK



We’ve added one more music track to the game, taking our total up to 10 full tracks. This new track by a new addition to Ruffian – Dale Smith. The track has a bit of a Stranger Things vibe to it. We hope you like it.

LOTS AND LOTS OF BUG FIXES AND TWEAKS



As ever, our test team have found so many little functional and usability bugs with the game, and we’ve fixed everything we could to give you the most polished and balanced game we could.

...

So, that’s the game finally out of Early Access. We’ve still got some features we would like to add to in the future, but we hope you like what we have created for v1.0 of Fragmental, we’re extremely proud of the game as it stands.

As ever, we really want to hear what everyone thinks of the game, so if you have any feedback or questions please add them to the Steam Discussions board and we’ll do everything we can to respond to your comments as fast as possible.

The Ruffians

24 / 7 Live Stream

We're broadcasting a live 24/7 stream of Fragmental right now. It's a stress test for the AI for v1.0.

Watch them blow each other to bits and take bets on which Bot you think will win each round!

If there's enough people watching, the dev team may join in and take over the Bots for some couch play action for a little break from developing v1.0.

https://www.twitch.tv/fragmentalgame

Updated UI Visuals

We're giving the entire UI a visual and functional overhaul for v1.0 - here are some shots of where we're at right now.

Hope you like the direction we're taking.

The Ruffians











TRADING CARDS ADDED!

We've just added Trading Cards to Fragmental.

Hope you guys like them. :)

The Ruffians.

Update 5 - NEW Survival Game Mode, Arenas and Music is LIVE!

It’s been a while since our last major Update to Fragmental, but as promised the game is still being worked on and we’ve got a big Update with lots of new content for you.

This will be our 5th major Update to the game, and we have one more Update planned before the game hits v1.0 within the next month or two.
Here’s a high level overview of what you can expect from Update 5.


  • New Survival Game Mode.
  • 26 New Survival Arenas.
  • 4 New Music Tracks.
  • Lots and lots of Bug Fixes and Tweaks.


NEW SURVIVAL GAME MODE



The new Game Mode is called Survival. It focuses play on the more abstract and dangerous Survival Arenas where Melee combat rather than Weapon combat is more often than not the order of the day.


  • The Survival Game Mode is for 2 to 4 Players. You can play against each other individually or split into two teams. You can also include AI Players if you wish.
  • The Game Mode is like a twisted mirror image of the Deathmatch Game Mode. The structure of the game has you playing 3 Survival Arenas in a row, and then you play 1 Standard – Deathmatch – Arena for 1 Round. Then it loops back to the start and continues in this manner until one of the Players or Teams win.
  • Rather than aiming for a target number of Frags to reach in order to win, in Survival each Player begins the Match with a set number of Frags – the default is 10.
  • As you play through each Round within the Survival Arenas, Players will be punched off the edge of the Arena, punched into Laser Beams, Death Spheres, etc. and when they do, they will lose one of their Frags. As the Rounds progress, Players will lose more and more of their Frags.
  • When the Match gets to a Standard Deathmatch Round, the Player will be able to pick up Weapons as usual and kill their opponents. For each kill they get, they will get a Frag added to their total – giving them a chance to further extend their lead, or claw back some Frags if they’re falling behind.
  • If any Player loses all of their Frags, they will not appear as a Player Character in the next Round of the match. What they do have is an aiming reticle in their colour projected down on the ground that spawns where their Player Character would have done. They can move the reticle around as if it were a Player, and if they press their Fire button they will spawn a Death Sphere in the air that will fall and land on that exact spot.
  • If they kill an Enemy with a Death Sphere during a Survival Round, that Player will lose a Frag as usual, but if they managed to kill an Enemy with a Death Sphere during a Standard Deathmatch Round, not only will the Enemy lose a Frag, the Player will actually gain one, which will get them back into the game in the next Round. If they can survive the next 3 Survival Rounds without getting killed, they’re back in the game. It’s a tough challenge, but it can be done!
  • A Player or Team wins when all of their opponents have 0 Frags remaining and they still have at least 1 remaining. Simples.


26 NEW SURVIVAL ARENAS



26 new Arenas for you to play the new Survival Game Mode as well as Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch in.

BATTENBURG

  • This capsule shaped Arena is split into four by criss crossing Lasers. A Jump Pad sits at the centre of each of the four areas, and a central raised plinth – accessible via the a Jump Pad – has a button on it. Hit that button and the Lasers will start to spin and keep accelerating.

UNFAIRGROUND

  • Each Player is locked in an area, with a button and a Laser facing each of them from a distance. Each Player has a Pistol. Shoot a button and the Laser in line with it takes a step toward the Player ahead of it. The Players then choose which Player they want the Laser to hit first – usually whoever is currently winning!

TRAPDOORS

  • A really tight little Map with no obstacles to hide behind. The outer edge of the floor will randomly open under you, so stay in the middle and stand your ground to avoid falling to your death.

ICE RINK

  • A tiny, circular platform with a Black Ice Modifier dead centre. Pick it up then try not to slide off the platform as you avoid all the punches flying around.

SPINNING WEB

  • A spinning spiderweb of pathways lead to a central platform containing a lone Repulsor. Reverse Runner Modifiers will also spawn within easy reach on the outer web. Can you get to the Repulsor before another Player picks up and activates the Reverse Runner Modifier?

LET’S DO THIS!

  • A little nod and wink to the UFC here, with the addition of Lasers instead of a chainlink fences and the addition of a big red bouncer in the middle to keep Players on their toes.

WIPEOUT

  • A small honeycomb platform with walls to avoid you falling off, with four Jump Pads. Then we have a Laser that swipes back and forth left to right. You need to your timing right and use the Jump Pads to skip up and over the Laser while avoiding the other Players.

HEADS UP!

  • A small rectangular platform that starts to shrink in size. A Death from Above Modifier sits at the centre. The smaller the platform is the smaller the space the Death Sphere have to fall, making it an incredibly dangerous place to be.

ORBITALS

  • A large ringed platform with a series of small floating and spinning circular platforms rotate around a central platform that contains a single Repulsor. Double Time Modifiers also spawn on the outer ring. Get to the Repulsor before the Modifier is activated so you can take out your opponents without needing to move at double speed.

WORLD 1-1

  • Inspired by that little Italian plumber. This level has a series of steps going up from left to right. Use Jump Pads to make your way to the button that sits on a floating platform connected to a tall flag pole. If you hit the button the steps will all start to fall away as you slide down to safety.

LIMBO LASERS

  • Two long horizontal platforms connected by a short vertical path at their centre that has a button on it. Each platform has 4 sets of pillars with Lasers connecting them that rise and fall slowly. Jump Pads sit between each of the sets of pillars. If you hit the button the Lasers start moving at much higher speed, making it extremely risky to try to move under them.

STAY ON TRACK

  • 4 long and thin angled platforms connected at right angles by short even thinner platforms. Each long platform has a Repulsor sitting on it. Which Player can get to their Repulsor first and get their angles correct to take the others out?

SLOW AND STEADY

  • 4 thin zig-zagging and interconnected paths lead the way to the top of the screen and connect to a long horizontal path that has a platform with a button on it sliding back and forth from side to side along it. If a Player can get to the button and activate it, a Laser will slide up from the bottom of the screen killing anyone it hits.

SNOOZE YOU LOSE!

  • 2 horizontal platforms with Repulsors in the middle, both platforms connected by a vertical path with a pillar in the middle. You either need to run for the Repulsor, or run for the cover of the central pillar – the Repulsor is your best shot!

CRASH COURSE

  • A long assault course that has the Players running toward the top of the screen as the camera tracks along the course. Navigate the Lasers, gaps, Jump Pads and Teleporters to get to the end.

CLONEBALLS

  • A medium size hexagonal arena with one small Death Sphere in the middle. This Death Sphere begins to expand until it pops and creates two new small Death Spheres, which once again grow and pop, into 4, and then again until 8 large Death Spheres are rolling around the Arena.

ALIEN TROIS

  • Inspired by the final scene of Alien 3. 2 buttons are placed either side and just outwith a long walled path. If any of the 4 buttons are hit, a wall with a Laser attached to its front slides along the path from right to left, killing anything it hits.

KING OF THE RING

  • A spinning cross hair of an arena which has 4 sliding bouncers that move back and forth the four lines of cross. Do you stand your ground behind the bouncers or try to dodge past and take on your opponents?

CENTRE STAGE

  • This arena is split into 3 platforms, with 2 either side of a central circular platform with a Repulsor. Each of the outer platforms have a button in the middle, which when pressed will slide out a platform connecting that side to the central, circular platform giving you and one of your opponents access to the Repulsor.

PORTAL PUNCHOUT

  • A spinning, circular platform with four rows of bouncers placed along the other edge. At the centre are four Teleporters which will send anyone punched into them out to other Teleporters that sit directly above the abyss. There’s not much room to move in this one.

BEST OF LUCK!

  • A plethora of spinning and moving hexagonal platforms of different sizes move along various paths. They create multiple routes to a central platform with a single Repulsor. If you can somehow make your way across then you will surely have won the Round – which is a lot harder than it sounds.

MINUTE MEN

  • Inspired by the face of a clock, only on this clock, the hands are replaced by Lasers with Death Spheres at their end, and they both spin in different directions. You have two Jump Pads to use to skip up and over these constantly accelerating hands of death!

TIME TO START RUNNING

  • A long, long arena where you run towards the screen as you’re chased by an enormous Death Sphere. Your path is constantly blocked by holes. You need to sprint at full speeds, avoid your opponents, the holes and the enormous Death Sphere to see if you can make it safely to the end. It’s possible, but it’s really tricky!

DEAD CENTRE

  • A circular platform with a hole in the middle spins at the centre of this arena. The platform has 4 curved walls on it and another 4 curved walls that float and spin around it in the opposite direction. Further out from all of this are 4 Lasers that point in toward the centre of the arena. The various curved walls provide cover at times, but being anywhere near the centre is a dangerous place to be.

DEATHBOWL

  • A funnel shaped arena, where Death Sphere slide down the coned ramp towards the small platform where the Player are waiting. This little platform also has a hole at its centre with spinning Lasers in it. Looks like a big scary toilet bowl.

REDEEM YOURSELF

  • A slowly rotating circular maze split into four slices. Each Player starts with a Laser facing them and a Redeemer behind them. At the centre of the maze are four buttons. If you can fly your Redeemer Rocket through the maze and hit the button, the Lasers in front of your opponents will slide towards them and take them all out. Ready? GO!


4 NEW MUSIC TRACKS



We’ve added some variation to our musical landscape with 4 fantastic new music tracks for you to listen to as you destroy your opponents!

...

So, there you have it, a brand new Game Mode, 26 new Arenas, 4 new Music tracks and countless bug fixes and gameplay tweaks! It’s a pretty meaty Update. :)

As mentioned, we’re hoping to get our 6th and final Update done soon so that we can finally exit Early Access.

As ever, we really want to hear what everyone thinks of the game, so if you have any feedback or questions please add them to the Steam Discussions board and we’ll do everything we can to respond to your comments as fast as possible.

The Ruffians

Update 4 with NEW Onslaught Game Mode is LIVE!

It’s fair to say it’s been a while since our last Update, but rest assured that we’ve been hard at work adding new content, tweaking existing content and fixing a huge amount of bugs that our test team have found. Update 4 is easily our biggest Update so far.

Our main goal during Update 4 has been to create a more varied and enjoyable experience against AI controlled players – we realise that most PC players will struggle to get four controllers and 3 friends around to play every session, and with Online Play being further out on our Updates plan, we wanted to get some more content for solo players as well as pairs playing co-operatively rather than competitively.

So, to make sure we could realise that goal, we’ve spent a lot of time on the AI, in truth we’ve overhauled the entire AI system and we’ve added a brand new AI focused Game Mode called Onslaught for you and your friends to team up against and chase your best completion times.

We’ve also added new Arenas, new Weapons and more polish, control and game information to our Front End.

As I mentioned, we’ve spent a lot of time fixing bugs too – 120+ found and fixed since Update 3 – so the game should look and feel a lot more polished now.

We’ve also done a lot of cosmetic tweaks, general balance tweaks, and tweaks to spawn positions for Weapons, Player spawns and Modifiers in various Arenas. We’ve also improved usability in the Front End and in game Pause Menu, as well as a long list of other things that just make the game play better. There are too many to list though, there have been 800+ Perforce checkins by the Fragmental team during Update 4.

So, rather than share hundreds of pages of our checkin notes, I’ll try to summarise the highlights of Update 4.

NEW ONSLAUGHT GAME MODE



The new Game Mode is called Onslaught.


  • The Onslaught Game Mode puts the Player – and up to 3 Player controlled teammates if they wish – up against 10 Waves of Weapon wielding AI controlled Enemies.
  • Unlike Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, the Enemy are only interested in Player controlled characters, so all their focus and infinite supply of ammo will be aimed solely at you and your teammates.
  • Onslaught is played on 10 different Arenas handpicked from the main game.
  • Each Arena has 3 different Challenges for the Player to attempt, labelled as Tiers 1, 2 and 3.
  • Each subsequent Tier gets more and more challenging as they add a greater number of Enemies to fight against.
  • Rather than the usual 1 shot kill for a Player, each Player will now take 3 hits before they die. Thankfully, the Enemy still go down after 1 hit.
  • If the Player takes 3 hits, it’s game over and the Challenge ends in failure.
  • If multiple Players are playing, every Player must be killed before the Challenge ends in failure.
  • Onslaught is a Time Based Game Mode, so to make things interesting and push for a perfect run, each time a Player is hit, they will receive a 5 second penalty that will be added to their final time if they successfully complete the Challenge.
  • To make things even more challenging, Friendly Fire is on, so you’ll need to avoid shooting your teammates or you will incur a lot of 5 second time penalties!
  • The goal of this Game Mode is very simple. Take out all of the Enemies in all 10 waves as fast as possible without taking a hit yourself to log your Personal Best times locally.


We’ll be adding another AI Difficulty level in Update 5 too, so if you start to feel like you can dominate the Enemy, we’ll make sure we create an even greater challenge for you, but for now we wanted to gently introduce you to the new Game Mode.
On top of that we’ll also be adding Online Leaderboards in the future too, so people can start posting their Personal Best Times and fight over the top Leaderboard positions.

4 NEW WEAPONS



We’ve added 4 new Weapons to the game, each of them add a new dimension to the game, specifically fire and lobbed projectiles.

INFERNO

  • The inferno spews out a long line of flames that will take out anything they hit.
  • The flames will remain where they land for up to 5 seconds, allowing them to be used to set traps or block off areas of a map.
  • AMMO - 15


BULLETSTORM

  • Second only to the shredder in fire rate, but it has a tighter spread of projectiles that also move faster through the air when fired.
  • It's high amount of ammo make it a very good weapon for covering a large area with a lot of fast moving projectiles for a decent period of time. Its one downside is your movement speed slows down while it is firing.
  • Its a very effective weapon at close to mid range, but slightly less so at long range.
  • AMMO - 90


BOOMER

  • The boomer fires an arced projectile up into the air, allowing the user to target enemies behind full height walls.
  • The projected arc is displayed by a clear line, and a circle shows where the projectile would strike if fired.
  • The projectile will bounce three times, creating a small explosion where it bounces. The projectile will be destroyed on the third and final explosion.
  • AMMO – 3


WILDFIRE

  • The wildfire behaves the same as the boomer, firing an arced projectile into the air. It also uses the same visual indicators to show the projected arc and the point of contact for the projectile.
  • When the wildfire projectile hits the ground it explodes into a wide circle of flames, which will take out anything they hit.
  • Similar to the inferno, the flames from the wildfire will remain where they land for around 5 seconds, which can be used to create traps and block off areas of a map.
  • AMMO – 3


15 NEW ARENAS



15 fantastic and hugely varied new Arenas for you to play in.

TRANSISTOR

  • Surrounded by high walls, this level is perfect for bouncing projectile Weapons. Make sure you keep an eye on those Teleporters though, they can be dangerous.

PAC-ATTACK

  • Inspired by the original Pac Man layout. This Arena has a lot of half height walls to shoot over, and the Teleporters at the top and bottom of the Arena can cause real problems too.

LANES

  • Looks like a really simple Arena at first glance, but the stepped nature of the Teleporters and the sections of the Arena make this one more complicated that it looks.

CELTIC TIGER

  • A perfect Arena for bouncing projectile Weapons. If you can control the centre of the Arena you can dominate, but it’s a tight space to control.

OINK OINK

  • Cracking name for this snout shaped Arena. Plenty of places to fall off, and not that many places to hide. If your aim is good, you can really clean up on this Arena.

ROBBOTRON

  • One of the largest Arenas in Update 4. Great mix of open space, half height walls, and a straight line constant repeating shot through the two Teleporters dead centre of the Arena.

THE BUNKER

  • Similar to ROBBOTRON, this Arena has a constant repeating shot through the two Teleporters at the centre. It’s a tight Arena, but there are plenty of places to find cover too. Always good Rounds in this Arena.

HEXADEATHIMAL

  • Apologies for the name of this one, it’s what democracy provides when you let game developers vote on the name. This one has two constant repeating shots running vertically through the two sets of Teleporters. Plenty of half height walls too, making it a tricky Arena to find cover within.

FRAGSVILLE

  • An extremely tight Arena with plenty of places to fall off the edge and half height walls to shoot over. This is a really dangerous little Arena.

PARTITIONS

  • A labyrinth-like design to this one. It creates a lot of places to hide, but watch out for those half height walls and the Teleporters or you’ll end up getting one in the back.

TURNTABLE

  • Spinning concentric circular pathways with Weapons dotted all of them. You’re best not running against the direction of the spin on this, go with it to really fly around this Arena. Perfect flame based and bouncing projectile Weapons.

TICK TOCK

  • The first standard Arena to have Jump Pads in it. Use them to get into the walled centre section and back out, watch out for the shots into the centre over the half height walls. Sneaky players stand on top of the walls too.

DUNGEON CRAWLER

  • A large and spatially divided Arena that is then linked by lines of sight through the half height walls and Teleporters. A really varied and unbalanced level design makes this a really good Arena to play in.

ARMAGEDDON

  • This is a really dangerous Arena, sheer edges into the abstract abyss at every turn, but there are plenty of places to break line of sight. Great use of edges, gaps and varied cover on this Arena.

HONEYCOMB

  • A large Arena that has almost no cover in the centre and lots and lots of holes to fall into. This is another dangerous addition to the long list of Fragmental Arenas.


NEW WEAPON DESCRIPTION SCREEN



We’ve added a new UI Screen that lists every Weapon in the game. Each Weapon has a text description that describes the Weapon’s strengths and weaknesses as well as the occasional hint at alternative ways to use them. This text descriptions is also accompanied by a short video showing the Weapon in action.

NEW HINTS AND TIPS INFO



We’ve added a new Hints and Tips feed to the Main Menu and the Lobby to provide little pointers from the team at Ruffian. Hopefully you’ll get some little insider, golden nuggets of info.

NEW LOBBY AND GAME FLOW



We’ve replaced our old Lobby and added a new one that looks better, and allows Players more control over the setup of the characters in each of the 4 slots.

GAME FLOW

  • The Lobby and the Game Mode setup for the chosen Game Mode are now separated, so that the Lobby focuses on Player setup and the following screen focuses on the chosen Game Mode setup.


SWITCH TEAMS

  • In a Team Deathmatch game, Players can now switch teams to decide which one they want to be on, rather than automatically being forced on to one or the other.
    This also allows Players to play 1 v 3 if they’re feeling confident.


SETUP AI ENEMIES

  • The Player can now setup the difficulty level of each AI Enemy on an individual basis. So, if they want to play against an Easy, Medium and Hard trio of AI Enemies, they can.


3D CHARACTER MODELS

  • Each character is now represented as an animating 3D model, rather than the old 2D static image.


UPDATED STREAMING MODE



It was unclear previously what the “Streaming Mode” option within the Video Options section of our Options screen did previously, and that’s mainly because it wasn’t working properly.

So, we’ve made sure that this now works as planned.
What it actually does is turn off some post effects that create compression artefacts if you are streaming at a lower res, or if you capture a video at a lower res. It also turns off the Player Info HUD in the corners of the screen.

The intention for this is to allow Twitch Streamers and YouTubers to stream or record footage without any issues and provide the space for them to add their own content to the corners of the screen – like video of their faces as they play, or images to represent them personally.

UPDATED AI



We have been constantly updating the AI to make them more intelligent, give them better reactions, and make them more challenging and aggressive at the highest difficulty level.

We’ve also brought them back a little for the lowest difficulty to make sure that new players, specifically young kids have a nice and easy entry to the game. We’ve been really surprised at how many young kids have been turning up in large numbers at the events we’ve shown the game over the past 6 months, so we wanted to make sure they had a gentle introduction to Fragmental.

Here are some more high level points on what we’ve done with the AI since Update 3.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

  • AI move more evasively when they’re in close quarters. This means they’re less likely to punch too often.
  • AI take cover more consistently.
  • AI are less likely to walk into death beams.
  • AI spread out when moving as a team.
  • AI have more accurate target assessment.
  • AI use modifiers more consistently.
  • AI are more likely to use in game buttons and switches.
  • AI will mess about post match.


WEAPON USE

  • AI steer redeemers.
  • AI can correctly use lobbed weapons.
  • AI will try to hit you around corners with weapons like crossbeams.
  • AI use drillers very aggressively.


DIFFICULTY TWEAKS

  • Easy is easier.
  • Normal is normaler – that’s totally a word, RIGHT!
  • Hard is harder.


Other than all that a lot of work has been done to make the AI more stable. They’re less likely to give up on fights they might have done previously and they’re also less likely to repeat actions without any obvious purpose.


That’s everything we can think of to tell you about Update 4. Overall we’re really pleased with the current state of the AI, the new Onslaught Game Mode, the new Weapons and Arenas, and how the Front End flow feels much tighter now too.

We’ll be sharing some videos over the coming weeks to show how those single player Tier 1 Ruffian Best times were achieved for Onslaught. They’ll show what we believe to be the perfect routes you need to take, but you’ll still need to pretty much make every shot count to get near those times. Failing that, you can always team up with a friend or two and see if you can beat the times that way. Single Player Times on Tier 1 is where the glory is in the Ruffian office though!

We’re hoping to get Update 5 out at some point during January. Update 5 will contain a new Survival Game Mode and 25 new Survival Arenas to support it, as well as a few new music tracks. We’ll also have the usual list of tweaks and bug fixes too. We hope you enjoy the new Game Mode, the updated AI, the new Weapons and Arenas and all the tweaks and fixes we’ve added, and that our future plans are in line with what you believe should be added to the game.

As always, we would love for anyone out there to give us their feedback on any part of the game, it’s still very much in development, so changes can be made if we know what the problems are. The more comments we get, the more chance we have of finding the issues and finding good solutions.
So please give us your thoughts on the current status and future plans, add them to the Steam Discussions board and we’ll do everything we can to respond to your comments as fast as possible.

The Ruffians

Update 3 with AI Players is live!

Over the last few weeks we’ve been hard at work implementing the biggest new feature yet to Fragmental – AI Players!

You’ve possibly lost most of your friends over the last 2 months through arguments while playing explosive and ultra-competitive matches of Fragmental. Never fear, you can now replace them with AI opponents so you can keep playing the game on your own!

Games in Fragmental are arguably still at their best on a couch with 1-4 human players, so that you can elbow them in the ribs and make fun of their inferior skills, but if you don’t have 4 flesh and blood players, you can now choose to fill any empty slots with AI Players, and set the skill level of them depending on how masochistic you are.

We’ve also done some other bits and pieces that have made it into Update 3, and everything is listed below.

AI Players



Behaviour

  • AI seek cover if they have an inferior Weapon to an attacking opponent.
  • AI have an understanding of which Weapons are more powerful than others and will choose the most effective one.
  • AI will also take the distance of the chosen Weapon into consideration, sometimes a weaker Weapon that is much closer, is a better move.
  • AI will avoid Death Walls and environmental hazards as often as possible.
  • Predictive aiming. AI will try to lead their shots for a moving enemy.
  • AI will use and fire through teleporters.

Difficulty Levels

3 different Levels – Cautious, Normal and Aggressive.
These are the different variables that change between these 3 different Levels of Difficulty.

  • Reaction time to getting line of sight of a target.
  • Min and Max Accuracy with a sine wave timer that controls the speed back and forth.
  • Min and Max Movement Speed – while Attack and also while going for Cover or to pick up a Weapon.
  • Rate of Fire.
  • Min and Max Confidence – how likely they are to run headlong into a fight they think they may not win based on Weapon differences.


HUD



  • Player names are now permanently displayed under Player Character.
  • Player names scale depending on the size of the Map / distance that the camera is from the action.
  • New curved Ammo Bar.


Game Controller Vibration Feedback



  • Every Weapon now has a different vibration setting for firing.
  • You will get vibration when you are hit by a thrown Weapon.
  • You will get vibration when you are hit by a Melee attack.
  • You will get mild vibration when you pick up up a Modifier.


Known issues



  • The AI are first pass, so they are very much a work in progress. They will undoubtedly show behavioural issues, and they will make some less than ideal decisions at times, and a few of the Maps with moving platforms absolutely baffle them. Rest assured we are continuing to work on them, we just wanted to get them into the hands of the Players as soon as we could.


We’ve been looking forward to this Update since we first created our Roadmap, as it will open Fragmental up to a wider audience with the addition of AI Players allowing anyone to play on their own if they want.

It’s great that we now have a gameplay experience for solo Players, but as we said this is the very first pass of the AI, we still have a quite a bit to do to get them to play as well as the best human Players can. They will provide a challenge, but they’re not at the highest level, not yet anyway!

With that in mind, we would love for anyone out there to give us their feedback on the AI as it stands. The more comments we get, the more chance we have of refining the behaviours to provide the best challenge possible for the most skilled of Fragmental Players.

Our plans for Update 4 are more content based, with more Weapons, more Front End information and a completely new AI focused Game Mode – as well as the usual tweaks and bug fixes as we go. We hope you enjoy playing against the AI Players, and that our future plans are in line with what you believe should be added to the game.

As ever, community feedback is incredibly useful, so please give us your thoughts on the current status and future plans, add them to the Steam Discussions board and we’ll do everything we can to respond to your comments as fast as possible.

The Ruffians

We’ve just made Update 2 live on Steam!

Our 2nd Update to Fragmental has now gone live!

It's been 4 weeks since our last Update, so we're currently a little behind our planned schedule, but I promise it will have been worth the wait!

While Update 1 added new Weapons & Modifiers, this Update is a bit heavier in content, providing new Maps, Game Setup configuration options, and a new team based Game Mode.

New Game Mode – Team Deathmatch



  • 2 v 2, (or 2 v 1 if you want a challenge!).
  • Friendly fire is most definitely on, so pick your shots carefully.


13 New Standard Maps



BOXED IN

  • One of the tightest Maps in the game. The combination of windows and doors mean Rounds never last long here.

SHOWDOWN

  • A high noon shootout, wait for the walls to drop and don’t get an itchy trigger finger.

PRISON ARCHITECT

  • Don’t be introverted here, run to the middle to fight!

SHOOTING GALLERY

  • Moving platform action where you can be fragged from any angle.

KNUCKLE DUSTERS

  • Curved walls everywhere mean you’re never safe from bouncing projectiles.

DEATH TRACK

  • A racetrack loop with deadly spectators ready to join the action at the press of a button…

BALL PIT

  • So. Many. Balls.

NAE DICE

  • Lots of movement on this Map, try bouncing shots off the outside ring for skill frags.

GRASSY KNOLL

  • This is all about deflecting shots off walls, or threading the needle down the centre.

WINDOW PAINS

  • Remember you can shoot through windows. There’s lots here to take advantage of.

STANDING STONES

  • It looks like Stonehenge? Really? Hadn’t noticed.

BATTLEFIELD

  • A large battlefield with irregular walls for unexpected ricochets and perfect aim long range shots.

DEATH VALLEY

  • Careful of the gaping chasm in the centre of this Map.


3 New Survival Maps



LAZER MAZE

  • This room hates you. The floor moves and the walls are deadly.

HEX-A-GONE

  • An evil Billiards inspired table with added laser death.

PARKOUR PUNCHING

  • Aerial jousting with 4 platforms and 1 Jump Pad.


Game Setup Configuration Options



Only Player 1 can change these, more options to come in future Updates.

Frags required to win: 5 /10 / 15 / 20

  • This has been the most requested feature from all of our feedback so far. 20 frags can take a long time. Especially when playing 1 v 1.

Survival Maps: ON / OFF

  • These Maps currently appear every 10th round. This option gives Players the option to disable them, so they will only ever see standard Maps.

Modifiers: ON / OFF

  • The Modifiers are there to add extra variety to rounds, but for a more vanilla experience, this option allows them to be disabled and so not appear.

Deathwalls: ON / OFF

  • The purpose of the Deathwalls is to keep the game flowing, by making it impossible to hide for too long. The essence of Fragmental is fast paced, rapid fire rounds, not a tactical cover shooter! However if you really don’t like being rushed, this option allows the Deathwalls to be turned off.


Weapon Updates



Mine Launcher

  • Player can no longer trigger their own Mines.
  • Splash damage radius +100%.

Rocket Launcher

  • Splash damage radius -20%.

Homing Rockets

  • Splash damage radius +100%

Redeemer

  • Splash damage radius -17%

Sniper

  • Can now fire through teleporters


So, that’s Update 2 out of the way, now on to Update 3. This next one is a biggie, with the first implementation of AI Enemies meaning you will finally be able to play Fragmental single Player.

As ever, if anyone has any questions or suggestions about these Updates or the game in general, add them to the Steam Discussions board and we’ll do our best to get back to you as quickly as possible.

With these Updates, and the growing number of videos from Youtube and Twitch streamers, we’re beginning to see our Player base grow. If you’re not yet one of them grab the game now!

The practise time you get will give you an advantage when we get to Update 6 where we deliver the monster that is Online Play. It’s only a few more Updates away…

The Ruffians