Steam Game Festival starts in just under 24 hours and in case you missed the news - HyperBrawl Tournament is a part of it!
We'll have a playable demo available, that you can download directly from Steam. Unlike our betas, no beta codes are required to jump into this one, so once it starts, you'll be good to go.
We've also got plans for a livestream and developer Q&A during the Game Festival, so do stay tuned to Steam and/or places like Twitter for all the latest information.
The demo will be a small part of the full experience, so if you like what you see, you've got a lot more to look forward to this summer, when we launch the full game on Steam and consoles!
As we're getting ever closer to our launch on Steam, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch this summer, we've just premiered a brand new trailer via The Escapist Indie Showcase. We've included the trailer for you below, but if you'd also like to check out the full indie showcase event, you can do so here.
HyperBrawl Tournament | PC & Console Announcement Trailer [previewyoutube="1xBw29e8Hac;full"]
Alongside the brand new trailer, we've also created a completely new piece of key art, that we will be using to promote the game going forward. We feel that this captures the feel and intensity of the brawl, while also making it clear that HyperBrawl Tournament on PC and consoles isn't just a re-release of the Apple Arcade version, but rather a huge step up in every way.
With new content, game modes, features, a worldwide leaderboard and a TON of upgrades and improvements from the initial Apple Arcade release in 2019, HyperBrawl Tournament on PC and consoles is the game we always envisioned. Many of the countless improvements are a direct result from player feedback from our most recent Steam betas, and wouldn't have been possible without everyone's invaluable feedback and support - so thank you for that!
Without further ado, here's the new key art:
We're hyper excited about HyperBrawl Tournament coming to Steam, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and we can't wait to get everyone into the arena for the full experience later this summer. We hope to see you there!
As always, it would mean the world to us if you could wishlist HyperBrawl on Steam, if you haven't already done so. The more wishlists we can get, the more intense the brawls will get at launch and beyond!
Welcome to Behind the Brawl #4, in which we'll be looking back at our most recent Steam beta. The May 2020 beta ended just a few days ago, and we've spent the last couple of days combing through all the awesome feedback that we've received from all of you. This once again included both things we've nailed so far, as well as things we need to make even better. First, let's take a look at some of the key statistics from the beta.
Now let's dive into some of the key takeaways from the beta itself!
The Pros
Players had a great time! Just like with the previous beta, everyone keeps telling us that the overall HyperBrawl experience is really fun, which is obviously essential for us!
Our competitions ensured, well, competition! We ran a number of competitions during the beta and particularly the one that rewarded the top 3 players on our Most Online Wins leaderboard created quite a lot of heated competition! Find all the winners here!
The new selection of heroes and weapons created new player strategies! With all weapons from the previous beta swapped out, players used a lot of new strategies, many of which were new to us. It'll be interesting to see which strategies prevail once players have access to everything at launch!
We had a ton of new players enter the arena! It was awesome seeing so many new brawlers enter the arena and a lot of that was thanks to all of you bringing in family and friends alike. Spreading the word is key to an active player base at launch, so we really appreciate everyone's help with this!
The player skill cap keeps going up! We keep being blown away by how good players are getting and we've already got several players in the community that bring both a challenge - and a beatdown - to the developers in the arena! Practice intensifies!
With great power comes great... double KO goals!
The cons
We still have bugs to squash! Our last two Steam betas have both been running on several months old code, which means a lot of reported issues have already been fixed in the full version of the game. That being said, thanks to your detailed feedback - and even videos showing the exact issues - we've been able to identify additional things that need addressing. Some of these are bugs and others are gameplay adjustments that we're now investigating further. Thanks for your help on this!
The Turbo Thruster became a must-use weapon! While this might not sound like an issue, we've seen the Turbo Thruster used in new ways, which means that we'll now be looking at whether it needs any adjustments for the full game, as all weapons have obviously been balanced with the full roster of weapons in mind, and not specifically for this beta where only three weapons were available.
Ricochet with great care, brawlers...
So, now what?
While we get ever closer to the game's full lunch later this year, we're currently working on additional opportunities for everyone to get in on the action, and show their friends who's boss. One of these opportunities is the Steam Game Festival taking place 16th-22nd June. We'll have more details on this soon, so keep an eye on our channels - like Twitter and Discord - for more information!
For now, if you've enjoyed what you've seen (and hopefully played) so far, make sure to add HyperBrawl to your Steam wishlist - it really helps more players discover the game. The more players, the more fun competition we'll all have at launch and beyond!
We've already given out more than 10,000 keys for the ongoing beta, but that's not been enough! As players keep asking for more, we bring you more!
You can now grab a Steam beta key for yourself or a friend by signing up to our newsletter (via Gleam) using the link below!
>> GET KEY << - Beta has concluded.
Beta competitions
Don't forget all the ways you could win prizes simply by playing the free beta. The prizes include both custom controllers, Steam vouchers and Steam codes for HyperBrawl Tournament at launch.
Share on Twitter!
Share screenshots, videos, gifs - or even fan art - on Twitter for the duration of the beta, for a chance to win a £20 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch. All you have to do is share it with the hashtag #HyperBrawl, and we'll pick a random winner after the beta has concluded!
The top 3 players on the Most Online Wins leaderboard at the end of the beta will be rewarded too! The top spot will receive a £50 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch. The two runner-ups will be receiving a Steam code for the full game at launch, too!
Anyone who completes the in-game objectives during the beta will be in a random draw for a £20 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch!
We've got another three online session planned for this two-week beta, and taking down a developer in Blitz mode (online) during tonight's online session will put you in the draw for this hyper awesome custom Xbox One controller. Look out for players with MilkyTea in their names. The brawl goes down at 6-8pm BST TONIGHT!
It's time! The HyperBrawl Tournament Steam beta is now live and will be running for the next two weeks!
Don't have a beta key yet? Grab one from Alienware Arena while supplies last!
>> GET KEY << - Beta has concluded.
Beta competitions
Share on Twitter!
Share screenshots, videos or gifs on Twitter for the duration of the beta, for a chance to win a £20 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch. All you have to do is share it with the hashtag #HyperBrawl, and we'll pick a random winner after the beta has concluded!
The top 3 players on the Most Online Wins leaderboard at the end of the beta will be rewarded too! The top spot will receive a £50 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch. The two runner-ups will be receiving a Steam code for the full game at launch, too!
Anyone who completes the in-game objectives during the beta will be in a random draw for a £20 Steam voucher AND a Steam code for the full game at launch!
We've got four online session planned for the two-week beta, and simply playing Blitz mode (online) during the first online session will put you in the draw for this hyper awesome custom Xbox One controller!
As you can see from the schedule above, we've got a number of livestreams planned for the duration of the beta, with the first one happening later today. If you'd like to take us on in the arena, simply play online during during the livestream and we might encounter you. If you'd like to tune in, watch live and talk to us in chat, it's all going down on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/milkyteastudio
Hope to see you there!
BETA FAQ
Beta start: 16th May, 10am BST Beta end: 29th May, 8pm BST
Beta Availability The beta is available on Steam. Beta keys are available via Alienware Arena.
Beta Content 4 Heroes; Shade, Tristan, Ti and Go-Zen 2 Arenas; Court of Azdritch and Base 27 3 Weapons; Grapple Gun, Mine Mortar, Turbo Thruster 4 Game Modes; Quick Play, Blitz, The Trials and Advanced Trials
Can I play online against other players? Yes! Blitz mode allows you to take on the world, climb the leaderboards and become the HyperBrawl Champion!
Can I play the closed beta offline? You need to be connected to the internet when booting up the game to be able to access any of the content. Should you go offline for any reason during gameplay, however, you will be able to continue playing offline without issue – at least until you restart the game.
Can I set up a game with my friends? The closed beta doesn’t include the full game, so while you will be able to set up games specifically with your friends in the full game, the beta only allows matchmaking when playing online. You can, however, enjoy Quick Play offline with up to 3 friends!
Is there any cross-platform play with the Apple Arcade version? No, we’re keeping the versions separate so we can ensure a fair, fun and level playing field on each platform.
Can I talk about and share content from the closed beta? You certainly can! There’s no NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) in place, which means you’re free to share screenshots, videos, livestreams, blog posts and any and all thoughts and feedback about the closed beta anywhere you want - and we would love it if you did!
Where should I share my closed beta feedback? You’re free to discuss your closed beta experiences anywhere you like, but if you’re looking to give us direct feedback to help us improve the game further, simply post below or on any of our channels.
Check out the May 2020 Beta schedule!
Hi brawlers
We've got a number of events and competitions planned for our upcoming beta (starting on Saturday!) and we'd like to share a sneak peek with you today. You could win prizes both in and out of the game, though they do all require you to take part in our beta. If you haven't grabbed a Steam key yet, they are available via the link below.
>> GET KEY << - Beta has concluded.
Our beta schedule includes both competitions (and there will be multiple!) as well as livestreams and online sessions, where you'll be able to take on the dev team. You could for instance jump into the first online session, play Blitz mode during the times outlined in the schedule and you might win a cool real-world prize! We'll have more competition details on Saturday, as a lot of it goes live.
See you in the arena!
Closed Beta Keys Available Now!
Hi, everyone!
It's time to brawl! You can now get Steam keys for our upcoming HyperBrawl Tournament Closed Beta over on Alienware Arena!
>> GET KEY << - Beta has concluded.
As a reminder, our beta starts on Saturday, 16th May and runs for two weeks until 29th May. We've got livestreams and competitions planned for this beta, so taking part might net you some hyper awesome prizes! We'll share our full beta schedule with you in the coming days, ahead of the start of the beta itself.
If you're looking forward to HyperBrawl Tournament and haven't already, be sure to wishlist the game right here on Steam. It helps others find us, which creates even better and more heated competition for everyone during betas, launch and beyond!
Today we're excited to announce our next Steam beta for HyperBrawl Tournament!
This time we're running the beta for two full weeks, packed with events and competitions - with prizes!
We'll have more details on Monday, but here's the quick rundown:
Beta period: 16th-29th May 2020 Beta platform: Steam Beta key availability: 11th-18th May via Alienware Arena
See you in the arena!
Behind the Brawl #3 - How we design HyperBrawl arenas
Hi brawlers
K. A. here, Community Manager at Milky Tea. It's time for another Behind the Brawl development blog and this time I've asked Luke, artist at Milky Tea, to take us through the process of designing unique arenas for HyperBrawl Tournament. Curious about the considerations going into it? And wondering why we're not creating star-shaped arenas? Read on below!
Designing arenas for HyperBrawl Tournament
Hey everyone, Luke here. I'll be explaining what goes into designing our arenas, and a little about the exciting worlds our arenas take place in. In this edition of Behind the Brawl I'll discuss the shapes of our arenas, their unique mechanics and some of the design decisions that we have to tackle along the way.
Our arena shapes and mechanics dictate your strategies, they influence your play styles and they are vital to our very important video game development Fun Calculations™ to ensure you’re having the most Fun™ you can possibly have!
Where it all began
When we first began development, our focus was primarily on the gameplay itself and the first playable HyperBrawl arena was nothing but a rectangle with two goals on either end.
We had these instantly enjoyable character controls and exciting abilities such as Weapons, Dive Rolls and HyperCurve; the power to bend the ball around the pitch. But no matter what mechanics we injected into the characters, every game was a case of ‘run to the ball first, shoot, score, repeat’. There wasn’t much incentive for the players to develop strategies and attempt to out-play their opponents.
By the simple act of adding a static box to the middle of the arena, we instantly improved the variety of gameplay potential and skill based purely on how we approached manoeuvring around this box and opponents, who were also trying to use it to their advantage. It also made abilities like HyperCurve much more relevant and increased the skill level exponentially.
Expanding on that idea, that simple box evolved into mechanics such as constantly shifting pillars, rotating floors and much, much more, further improving gameplay and strategy variety.
Considerations in creating a new arena
Our favourite shapes
After our first arena we also began to experiment with new arena shape designs, recognising that there was huge potential for gameplay variety purely by changing the orientation of the surrounding walls.
Based on our design experiences with trying out different ideas over the years, there are a couple of rules that we keep into consideration when designing a new one. So far, our roster of arena shapes has been perfected down to these 4 styles:
Rectangle
Long Rectangle
Circle
Octagon
These are the shapes that we feel give us the appropriate playspace we need to still be able to fill the arena with interesting mechanics, and have enough room for the players to move around and find their own playstyles. Combined with the unique mechanics each and every arena is a different experience!
What about a... rhombus?
We have of course prototyped other shapes throughout HyperBrawl’s development, but there are a lot of things we had to take into consideration, including:
Symmetry, so both players have equal playspace and neither has an advantage over the other.
Readability. Arenas need to be simple and instantly understandable, especially from the point-of-view of our fixed camera positions.
Interactable, as in, what shapes give the player the ability to use the wall angles to their advantage by ricocheting the ball or other potential strategies.
With more arenas to come, we will be continuously experimenting with different kinds of shapes and listening constantly to our community to hear their ideas on new shapes to try! But no rhombuses.
Dynamic mechanics
As with the shapes, over the course of development we began to figure out the rules of what we feel make a fun and fair HyperBrawl arena mechanic. During the days where there were no wrong ideas, we came up with a lot of very wrong ideas, which included mechanics/obstacles that would KO or harm the players. We quickly realised such mechanics added an unnecessary amount of frustration, and players were much more receptive to obstacles that simply changed how they manoeuvred the arena and their opponents, as well as challenge their HyperCurve skills.
There were also other mechanics that did not harm the player, and were for all intents and purposes Fun™, such as an arena filled with bouncy trampolines that projected the player upwards into the air! However after the novelty of being tossed into the sky had worn off, it just became annoying when a player was about to score a goal only to accidentally go flying and ruining their flow or strategy.
So to summarise, the connection between our shapes and mechanics, is that we never want to distract from the objective which is scoring jaw-dropping goals and outplaying your opponents. The arena as a whole should be instantly readable, with just enough complexity and variety that a more advanced player can take advantage of it.
New worlds
In a universe that literally spans all of time and space, there is no limit to the kinds of worlds that our arenas can exist in, and this can be as daunting as it is liberating. When you have infinite possibilities to pick from, it can be difficult to choose the one that fits your existing universe the best. Luckily all of our creations inspire each other, so if we have an awesome character in the works that has yet to be given a home, or there is a storytelling hint in one of our existing arenas or character backstories that literally inspires whole new worlds and characters into creation, that just helps us construct arenas that can exist in a universe of limitless potential, but still feel very important to the world of HyperBrawl.
The magic to making a HyperBrawl arena, comes when we mix and match our catalogue of arena shapes that we know work best, mechanics that give the player an exciting blend of challenge and opportunity, and wrap it up in an inspired and unique environment that cements the arena within the HyperBrawl universe, as well as just looking amazingly awesome to boot!
That's a wrap!
That's it for our third dev blog for HyperBrawl Tournament. Thanks to Luke for educating us on the wonderful world of arenas!
As always, do let us know what you thought of the blog, as well as which other topics you'd like for us to cover in the future.
Outside of Steam we'd love to talk to you on Twitter or Discord, which are two great places to stay up-to-date on everything HyperBrawl.
Behind the Brawl #2 - How we create HyperBrawl weapons
Hi brawlers
I'm K. A., the Community Manager here at Milky Tea and I'd like to welcome you to our second Behind the Brawl dev blog. For this one I've sat down with Scott, one of our designers, and asked him to take us through the development of a weapon in HyperBrawl. There are quite a few things to consider during this process, so fair warning; this post is quite long. Grab your popcorn and let's jump in!
Weapons in HyperBrawl
One of the main features in HyperBrawl is the weapons. Alongside selecting a hero, which offer their own attributes, players can select a weapon to take into the match with them. Each weapon gives players a unique ability to assist them in the game, so picking the right weapon for the right situation can make all the difference.
When it comes to designing a new weapon for HyperBrawl, we have figured out a nice process for making sure weapons are as fun, exciting, and as balanced as they can be.
Our first step, as with most design work, is to brainstorm a list of weapons which we think would be cool. This first stage is always very open, creative, and at this point no idea is a bad idea. From this initial brainstorm we will have several ideas which we will further discuss, and rate based on numerous considerations.
Considerations in creating a new weapon
Does it make sense in the game world?
Luckily with HyperBrawl, the game world is incredibly diverse and spans an entire universe, with tons of different cultural references. Because of this, most weapon types could potentially make sense in the game.
That being said, all the weapons in the game share a similar aesthetic style. This is to make weapons more immediately recognisable to the player. We experimented with more bespoke styles earlier on in the development, but we found it ended up being much more confusing for players.
Before we begin putting the weapon in the game, we concept up ideas for how the weapon will look in the game world, both up close, and from the player’s camera. If we find the weapon isn’t recognisable or often gets lost in the action, we will look at redesigning the visuals, or potentially scrapping the idea entirely.
Does it work with existing mechanics in the game?
In HyperBrawl, all weapons have a single use (e.g. the player presses a single button to use the weapon). Therefore, we wouldn’t want to introduce a weapon which requires holding down two buttons for example.
We need to ensure new weapons don’t disrupt the main pillars of the game’s design or require us to change how other mechanics work drastically. Ideally the implementation of one weapon doesn't require us to change every other weapon to keep the weapon balance in place.
Will the weapon be easy to balance?
Whenever we prototype a new weapon, chances are that it will be overpowered or underpowered in some way. This is okay though, because most of the time it can be resolved quite easily. That being said, if we test a weapon for a long time, and it continues to be unbalanced it may be easier to just remove the weapon from the game. Unfortunately not everything is as good in practice as it may have been on paper.
Might there be any online issues?
As HyperBrawl is a fast-paced competitive online multiplayer game, we need to ensure any new weapons we create are reasonably simple to network, and we need to be sure it won’t create any issues in an online match.
As an example, we had a bug with the Mine Mortar early in development, where the targeted player couldn't see the mine, and on their screen they just randomly blew up by something they couldn't see. It wasn’t the most balanced experience to say the least. Fortunately we were able to quickly identify and fix the issue, so now you can blow up your opponents without worry!
Is the weapon fun for both the user and the victim?
It’s obvious that we want weapons to be fun for the player who is using them – they should feel exciting and rewarding when used, especially when used successfully. At the same time, it should be quite fun for the victim of the weapon. This may sound strange, but the player who is targeted by the weapon should have the ability to counter it, and if they do get hit by it, it shouldn’t frustrate them too much.
One example of this is an old weapon which used to be in the game; The Reverse Potion. This weapon was a grenade which reversed a player's controls if they were hit by it. This was an interesting idea on paper, and it was very useful for the player using it. Unfortunately it was extremely frustrating for the player who was hit by it, as their character was essentially uncontrollable for about 10 seconds - which is about three times as long as a knock out. During early tests we found that matches using the Reverse Potion left players feeling frustrated and annoyed, so it was ultimately removed.
Balancing our weapons
We recently ran a closed PC beta for HyperBrawl Tournament and received some great feedback from our players. Thanks again for that!
One reason for our beta tests is to spot issues with balancing we may otherwise not notice. Once many players enter the arena, new strategies and playstyles emerge naturally which is awesome to see, but occasionally these can cause balance issues and become frustrating for other players.
One of these issues was the Sentry Shield, which turned out to be quite overpowered. Let's look at weapon balancing with a focus on this particular weapon.
How the Sentry Shield currently works
Here’s how the Sentry Shield worked in the most recent closed beta:
It is placed directly in front of the player and spawns a large barrier.
When the barrier is hit by the ball or a player, it’s reduced 50% in size. If it is hit once more, it will disappear.
If placed correctly players can block two shots with the shield.
The problem
During the closed beta, more and more players would make sure to equip the shield on at least one hero, and whenever it was ready to use (around every 20 seconds) they would place it directly in their own goal. This eventually became the meta during the beta, and a ton of players always had a shield in their goal for most of their matches.
This frustrated opponents as it felt like quite a cheap tactic, and by the time two shots were blocked, the player would soon be able to place another shield. It took a lot of the intensity out of the game, which obviously wasn’t great.
The potential solutions
There are several options we’re considering in terms of balancing the Sentry Shield:
Increase the cooldown timer. A simple fix; longer cooldowns = less shields uptime. However, this probably wouldn’t solve the main issue, which is being able to place the shield in your goal to stop players from scoring so often.
Stop the shield from being placed in the goal area. This is difficult because of the visual feedback that may be required. If a player tries to place the shield in the goal area, what happens? This would be a great fix, because it would create more interesting situations where players wouldn’t be able to directly block the goal, but still cause their opponent to shoot from different angles and use HyperCurve.
Reduce the shield’s “health” by 50%. Players can still make that one key block if they use the shield well.
Add a set duration to the Shield. The shield could be used in the same way, but only for a limited time, making players much more cautious about when and how they use it.
So, now what?
With all these options in mind, we need to ensure the shield remains balanced in comparison to the rest of the weapons in the game.
It needs to remain fun to use, while providing interesting and useful strategical opportunities.
It should remain powerful and useful for players, but opponents should always have a way to counter the weapon.
Weapons should be balanced enough that none feel completely essential to each match as this will make gameplay less diverse and interesting.
We’re testing the options above, and possibly some more in-game currently. We’re hoping to get a much-improved shield in the game for future beta tests.
That's all, folks!
That's it for our second dev blog for HyperBrawl Tournament. Thanks to Scott for giving us some valuable time and thank you, dear reader, for making it this far! You're still here, right?
Anyway, please do let us know your thoughts, and if there are any particular aspects of game development you would like to learn more about. We've got a lot more dev blogs planned, so please do keep providing us with feedback and suggestions for what you'd like to see next.
Also, if you've got any questions or thoughts on any of the above, do let us know. Do you perhaps have other suggestions for how we could adjust the shield? Or a cool idea for an awesome weapon we could add in the future? Let us know!
As always, we'd love to talk to you on Twitter or Discord, which are two great places to stay up-to-date on everything HyperBrawl. Hope to see you there!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/591760/HyperBrawl_Tournament/ Finally, be sure to wishlist HyperBrawl Tournament right here on Steam if you're looking forward to launch later this year. It really helps us to get the game out there, so we can create some heated competition online (and on the leaderboards)!
