We transitioned from Early Access to Full Release in January officially launching the game and making it free to play, yet know that it is not a content update. We are no longer developing the game and there are no future plans for any new content, nor can I promise any bug fixes. If enough people really do want a fix for the more niche crashes I might take a look but otherwise we've all moved on long ago from the game.
The game's launch is just a formality, an unceremonious end to a passion project that we'll look back at fondly over the years.
If you want to play it *today* I'll recommend you do so on Windows and offline as the other platforms are not up to date and the online mode is buggy. If you want online play use Steam's Remote Play Together.
Thanks to everyone who supported us and played our unfinished little game. It's free forever now.
Development Update - 2019
Hey everyone.
We've taken a bit of a prolonged silence on the game's state, so I want to get all of you up to speed on where we are and how we're moving forward.
What have we been up to?
Ever since the start of the year we've run into a shortage of funds to further develop the game, so in response we've been working on third party projects full-time. Be it art or programming, we've each taken up different games to work on in the meantime.
I can say I had the pleasure of releasing an educational game, worked on a AAA game for Electronic Arts for a couple of months and most recently started a new project as lead developer. A lot of growth in a very short time, and I'm grateful to have worked alongside very talented folks.
I'm also in the middle of relocating out of the country. It's nerve wracking to say the least.
What does this mean for Guns N' Boxes and LightArrow Games?
Until we have the resources to work part-time on our own projects again, Guns N' Boxes is no longer in active development. I will try to fix any game-breaking bug in the meantime (there's 1 pending as of time of writing) but there'll be no new content for a while.
One of the harsh realities of independent game development is the lack of financial support. Luckily we've been able to pull through and keep ourselves afloat, but there isn't enough to invest in Guns N' Boxes at the moment.
What now?
We're still around. I check the forums at least once a week, as well as twitter. It's safe to say there won't be any mayor news for the rest of the year regarding the game. All of us are committed to finishing it. After all, we've been working on it for quite some time. In the meantime I ask only for patience.
If you've recently bought the game and would like a refund, please keep in mind the Valve Refund Guidelines.
If you have any questions please leave them here or you can tweet at me at mauri_up.
Thanks everyone for the support as always. We hope we can bring some good news soon!
-Mauricio
Update 21 - Dev log
Welcome back
It's time to start off 2019 with a big patch. Update 21 is now live and it includes a few key changes we've been building towards for some time now.
The multiplayer code has been internally reworked. It should be transparent to you when you play, but it is now way better than before. There's a huge improvement in latency as well for those who were affected. Please keep in mind everyone needs to be on the same version for the matchmaking to work.
Steam invites are now back, but still a work in progress. Please try them out and let me know if it breaks anything.
The game's install size has been reduced considerably, and game stutters while loading have been eliminated. This was common on the first boss and some rooms.
A note about development. Our time's been taken up by other contract and freelance work for these past months and it will continue from February on, so while updates to the game will be less frequent, we are still working on it and heading towards the final release. Thanks to all who have stuck with us during these past years in Early Access.
Mauri
Update 21 Patch Notes
Replaced multiplayer backend with Photon PUN
Greatly improved online latency
Added Steam friend invites (this needs some testing. It may break)
Updated Unity Engine version to 2017.4.x
Greatly reduced game install size
Greatly improved loading times
Improved game performance
Greatly reduced game stutters
Updated loading screen graphics
Added rules menu
The default configuration for local matches is now: Countdown - 1:30 minutes - 3 bots
Guns drops in singleplayer is now more varied
Removed local battle menu. local battle button now creates a match directly
Fixed issue where damage would double while playing online games
Fixed issue where christmas effects were applied on halloween
Fixed issue where music slider wouldn't set the right volume
Fixed autosaving notifications not showing
Happy Holidays!
Hello!
As the year wraps up we'd like to make one more dev post. After the last mayor update and mini patches we took some time off Guns N' Boxes to work on some freelance proyects.
We've been steadily working on update 21 at a slower pace. The plan was to initially release it this month but with the holiday season upon us and the release of a certain fighting game we opted to push it to next January. This will also give us some time to include more content so it works out best in the end.
From all of us at LightArrow Games, we'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
See you all in 2019
-Mauri
Update 20 Hotfix 2
Hello
We got another round of bug fixes:
Fix an issue where twitch commands wouldn't trigger
Adjusted twitch enemy wave vote requirements
Added Caller bot sprites
Added quick start reminder as additional text to the first shopkeeper you meet
Fixed issue where vsync would revert to a default value when launching the game
Added twitch feed position options
Thanks for the feedback!
Mauri
Update 20 Hotfix 1
We noticed some issues with the launch of the singleplayer update today.
Here are some squashed bugs:
Fixed issue where remote players wouldn't receive damage during online matches
Fixed issue where npc encounters would result in a softlock
Fixed issue where Mac build would crash on startup
Fixed issue where some prompts would scale outside the screen when changing controllers inside the shop room
Reduced twitch health and money command cooltimes
Added randomize gun command to twitch command pool
Added developer tool for better bug reporting. Press 0 on the top bar to toggle this option before sending a screenshot
Thanks to those who played today and helped find these bugs.
Mauri
The Singleplayer Update is Live!
Hello,
We have some honest exciting news to share today.
The singleplayer campaign mode is now live!
Update 20 is live for Windows and Mac. This is probably the biggest one we've done so far. We couldn't be more proud, and we'll love to tell you all about it. To commemorate, we will be running a sale for 2 weeks starting now! It's now the perfect time to pick up the game.
The campaign mode is a whole new game, inspired by our love for fast action games and roguelikes. In it, you break free from the arenas you were forced to fight in, and must make your way through everchanging levels to defeat the mastermind behind the deadly game show 'Guns N' Boxes'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8vp2Fk_O0Q
It's a challenging but rewarding experience. After clearing the singleplayer, compete for best time in online leaderboards with global and friend rankings. (This is also an invitation to beat our best times. Good luck)
If you're a Twitch Streamer, enable Twitch integration and have Twitch Chat join your runs, changing elements as you play. Help or harm? You decide!
All stages have received a graphic quality upgrade and they're looking better then ever. This is true for multiplayer as well.
Please check the patch notes below for the full list of changes.
Our Discord server:
https://discord.gg/gunsnboxes
Follow us on Twitter for news and other game development updates:
https://twitter.com/lightarrowgames
Patch Notes
Added the singleplayer campaign (1st half)
Added cloud save functionality
Added Twitch integration
Added dash sfx
Added ui sfx
Added V-Trigger gun
Added sniper sfx
Added reload sfx for some weapons (others to follow)
Added option to toggle aiming with the left analog stick on controller
Added option to toggle fps display on the main menu
Added particles to multiplayer crown
Improved Moonwing accuracy
Improved level generation time
Improved audio latency
Updated stage graphics and names
Updated stage music (& fixed looping issues)
Updated bullet hit particle effect
Overhauled game lighting
Balanced music volumes
Countdown is now the default multiplayer game mode
Removed Banana gun
Weapons and bullets now show a silhouette behind walls
Players now emit light (singleplayer only)
Weather presets no longer loop (no more day-dusk-night-rain cycle) and are now handled with more variations
Menu buttons are no longer selected while fading in
Low quality settings no longer affect texture quality
Bow arrows no longer clip through walls on impact
Fixed issue where the game would solftlock when completing a multiplayer battle
Fixed rare issue where the forest's thunder flash would stay on screen between rounds (this is because there's no longer thunder on the forest)
Fixed issue where knockback would apply forward on low framerates
Fixed issue where player would join and confirm a character on the same frame in the multiplayer lobby
Fixed issue where vsync options would be swapped
Fixed issue where some decorations would render on top of players
Fixed issue where some decorations would have incorrect lighting
Fixed max powerups spawned simultaneously
Fixed issue where the Celsius fire would prevent other sound effects from playing correctly
Fixed Discord rich presence not updating properly
So, what's next?
This update marks an important milestone but there's still much to do. The second half of the campaign is in development and will launch later on. Feedback from the first half will help us balance it.
Our focus now shifts back to the online multiplayer. We will be switching to a dedicated server approach and improve our overall net code in hopes of a much smoother online experience. We will have more info on this as we start working on it.
Thank you
LightArrow games is a team of 3 people, but many more have contributed and made this game possible. We would like to thank everyone who has in any way given us a hand. Please head over to the new credits menu ingame for a full list. Thank you <3
We hope you enjoy Guns N' Boxes.
The LightArrow Team
Singleplayer Campaign Launches Sept. 27th
Hello!
After much work, we're announcing the release date for the first half of the singleplayer campaign. Make your escape on September 27th!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8vp2Fk_O0Q
Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Guns N' Boxes' launch on Early Access. After more than 3 years of development, we can honestly say this has taken more time than we'd like. There's more to be done, so please look forward to more Guns N' Boxes and more surprises.
Next week's update brings a couple of major changes:
A new look for most stages. We've reworked most graphics so they're much cleaner and pleasing. Weather has also received an upgrade.
New singleplayer campaign. Fight your way to freedom and defeat the mastermind behind the deadly Guns N' Boxes arena game. Different every time you play, this is a test of skill and a brand new way to play.
Twitch Integration. Join twitch chat and alter the way the streamer's run plays. Will you help or hamper? Your choice.
New guns and powerups!
This is a big milestone for us. Save the date for September 27th. We hope to see you there.
-Mauri
August Development Update
Hello
It's been some time since the last dev post so let's talk about Guns N' Boxes and what we've been working on.
We're planning on launching the first half of the singleplayer mode on the second week of September.
We're dividing it mostly because of time constraints but also because we want your feedback on what's done so far. Current development is spread between 2 part time artists and a single programmer(hi) so everything is taking a bit more time than we'd like.
That being said, all the content for this release is currently playable and quite challenging.
We'll be doing another more detailed update closer to the release date sharing more details about what the mode is about and some much better gifs.
-Mauri
June Development Update
Hello,
Welcome to the (late) monthly update. Sorry about that. The studio's been on sick leave this last weeks with winter kicking in.
Our focus this month has been in getting a solid gameplay session with clear feedback and a good difficulty curve. Getting some good replay value out of the mode since you'll now be able to unlock several characters for both singleplayer and multiplayer.
Steam Cloud is now supported with unlocked characters and singleplayer progress being synced. Once the update launches you'll be able to pick up and play from any machine across PC, Mac and Linux.
While the Cloud icon is already on the store page, the build currently live does not save any progress.
We still haven't got a solid date for when the singleplayer portion will be out. We're aiming for a solid experience on launch so we're taking our time to make it look and play great.
Work these next weeks will mostly be hunting some bugs and locking down the run.
That's all for now.
We occasionally post work in progress on our twitter page. Be sure to give us a follow for behind the scenes stuff and all the news.
