We have some big news for the February 22 Open Beta… We’ll be removing the laser block and combat block. A decision we don't take lightly and one that is hard because of all the hard work put into them. Join us in a not so brief thread of the development of Musical Range until now.
Musical Range started as a very basic idea. There are some targets, you shoot at them, they make a music note. Back in 2017, I saw a video, ‘Firearm Symphony’ which inspired this new idea. It seemed fun and something I thought people would like to try out, so I did a quick proof of concept.
The proof of concept was fun and basic. It had a lot of promise, but the main feedback was that the world felt static, and in a music game that's a catastrophe, there needs to be a show for the player. The project seemed too big to tackle for a two person team.
Then, in late 2018, Rockhopper Studios was born and now with a bigger team and a few projects under our belts, the Musical Range itch came back. We were prepared to rebuild the game from the ground up and create a world full of action better than ever before.
The first new iteration of MR consisted of Targets (now spheres), that changed heights to add verticality. And you could hold the note, which gave that amazing feeling of power and creativity after finishing a song. The game was going great but it had a problem: Static hands.
Let's fix the static hands, 1st idea: We designed a bomb that would come out and you'll have to grab it like a lasso and fling it to one of the hexagons on the background, which will result in a big musical explosion. It worked well for moving the arms and felt unique but...
...There was a massive timing problem. Either the hand movement would be on time or the bomb hit. It messed up with the timing, which was and is extremely important for the game. So, we had to scrap this idea.
2nd idea. What if we could drag the target notes and that would change their pitch? The Note Bend system was born. It allows you to modify the pitch of the note and makes vibratos natural. It also makes you move more to bend the note and change the way the game sounds.
We felt we needed more still, so we created Combat Blocks, they would be fired at you and you had to punch them to the rhythm and direction. It was an exciting feature that we felt worked. Our thinking was that shooting the notes was the musical instrument and the combat blocks the percussion.
Now the players are moving, but what if they could move even more? We figured, we can have a "Laser Block" that comes at you and will grow in a direction, forcing you to dodge it. It was at this moment that the team felt divided on the gameplay. It was feeling kind of cluttered…
Now it was time to analyze the playtest sessions. We found out the feature the players enjoyed to the fullest was the simple Target Note shooting. And after watching a player headbang and especially enjoying those parts we knew we had to go back to the true roots of the game.
Musical Range is at the core an immersive instrument. One that could not be made before VR. Our current goal is to make the player feel like they own the music, just like how Jimi Henrix can make his sound his own, versus other guitar players. And so, we are removing all clutter.
On the new version of the demo, there will be no Combat Blocks and no Laser Blocks. With no option to play with them. We feel that this new focus will drastically change how the game is played and how you enjoy the game, the music, and your sound.
Musical Range is a new thing. And like any new thing, making it for the first time is hard, it takes a lot of iteration and understanding from mistakes made. But we feel that we have found what makes it tick and what makes it stand out.
Musical Range is an immersive instrument, not a rhythm game. You will be here to create music, and make each song unique to your feelings and the way you play.
And we are also adding a Dead Note. This one is fun, easy, and simple. But most importantly very obvious in retrospect, so we feel strong about this new note type. But now the blog is too long. So we'll be talking about it in another post!
Play the demo for FREE on Steam PCVR from February 22 until February 28! Now with a new song from Baron Carta!
Update 0.8.6 now live.
Hello,
We have a small update now available for the live demo.
Updated Color for Note Meteors and Note Spotlights to match the Note Sphere color. (Sharp notes are inverted in color)
Improvement to Game Over Menu and End Of Song Menu.
When finishing a song, should you beat your Old score, the leaderboard menu will appear.
We hope you are enjoy the game!
Update 0.8.6 Live! Team Fortress 2 Song!
Hello!
Took a bit longer than we estimated, but we are here now! get ready to play to the music of Team Fortress 2! Available on the Video Game Collection pack, try out the newest song and get to the top place in the leaderboard if you can!
Added Team Fortress 2 Main Theme song. (Quick Play > Video Game Collection > Team Fortress 2)
Visual Updates to Laser Blocks
Added a Lite Gameplay UI menu. (On by default, select SHOW on it to change to the advanced Gameplay UI option)
Added basic Game Over menu, and updated OnCoreDeath sequence of events.
Adjustments to Hexagon Screen.
Adjustments to menu interfaces.
We'll keep working on some visual elements and quality of life improvements over these days, and we hope to push these changes during the course of the week.
As always, please let us know your feedback either on the forums or through our Social Media.
Update 0.8.3 now live!
Hello,
We are back with a small update.
Added rework track for "Closer To The Sun"
Added rework track for "I Dream of Aliens"
Lose Condition starts to OFF by default.
Updated some Menu interfaces.
Minor gameplay adjustments to Laser Block positioning.
If you lose frames for a moment, Combat Blocks and Laser Blocks height will be offset from the expected height. We are working on a change that will make the Combat Blocks and Laser Blocks' height consistent independently of framerate.
Don't forget, Thursday 13th at 1200 CDT we'll be streaming over at Twitch. Be sure to catch up the stream to learn more about the game, our future plans, and what you need to be able to create tracks compatible with Musical Range!
Thank you for playing and helping us test!
Musical Range Demo Available Now until Jan 19th!
Hello!
It's time for another round of testing! We are pleased to let you in and try out our demo, available from right now until Wednesday January 19. you can download the demo for free from the Store Page.
We we'll be doing a live stream on Twitch tomorrow Thursday at 1200 CDT. Follow our new Twitch Channel and join us to learn more!
The demo, is not really a demo, as it contains the full, latest version of the game we have internally, without any limitation on content as a regular demo would have. So play any song in any difficulty, or explore your creativity in the Free Play arena to your heart's content.
However, because it's not a regular demo, it means there are many facets of the game that are currently a work in progress or have known issues. This areas are being worked right now, and so you should expect continuous updates to the demo thorough the week.
Some new features are:
Added the Laser Block! Dodge this deadly laser, don't just sit in one place.
Reworked the Track system, so the tracks can be fully different between difficulties.
Made lower difficulties of songs easier and more friendly to play.
Made tutorial tracks easier to play.
Added Laser Block tutorial pages
Loads of visual changes with way more to come!
Because of the rework on the music track system, we have to rework the tracks for all songs on 4 different difficulties, which means some songs previously in old demos, are not in the game, as we are currently working on finishing those songs to work with the new system.
Please let us know all your thoughts and comments either on the Steam group discussions, or on our social media.
Thank you!
December 2021 News
Hello!
It’s beginning to look like it's time for another post. This time we are going to talk about the combat block. When we design a feature for Musical Range our main focus is to make you feel part of the music. That’s why we developed the combat block, a percussion virtual instrument that depending on how you punch it you’ll get a different drum sound: a base kick, a snare, and a cymbal crash. This sound heavily depends on how you do it, the heavier and better the hit, the better the sound (and score points!)
An issue we found with the latest iteration of the combat blocks was their trajectory. They would come from a shallow angle, and the next block would be hidden by the one in front. Players would have to memorize the patterns, which is not our intention. For the next demo, the combat blocks will have a different trajectory. When they spawn, they are shot up high into the air, and then fall off to the final height, thus, it’s much easier to see the next punch.
We also expanded the particle effects from the combat blocks. The direction, color, and amount of particles represents how well you are performing during the song. We were careful not to obstruct the player's view. Speaking of player view, we expanded the system to allow the track designer to control where the Core and the combat blocks are in the game. So, if a section of a song takes palace in the bass section, and soon after we’ll be increasing in pitch, the combat block can slowly guide the player up in the scale in a natural way.
Finally, we have to talk about lasers. The main issue at the moment is the information overload they give. We still think that adding a dodge element will benefit the game greatly, so our current experiment is to have another type of combat block, a “Laser Block”. This laser block will spawn together with combat blocks, and as soon as they get close, they will spew out damaging laser beams which you must dodge, either to the sides, or duck down.
This is just a small tease of what we are working on. Right now we are working on new songs, quality of life elements, and more tools to enable you to play Musical Range in whichever way you want to. Our next goal is to re-enable the Steam Demo in January. Be sure to follow us everywhere so you don’t miss out on the exact dates!
Thank you all for reading and playing!
Update 0.7.1 Now Live!
Hello!
We hear that you are enjoying the demo so far! Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated! Today we bring you with an update!
Updated Basilisk song to make full use of the Bend System
Updated I Dream Of Aliens song to make full use of Bend System
Updated tutorial menus with new unified art.
Added the Hexascreen! A massive screen to display images while playing.
Feedback have been that the combat blocks can be difficult to see when they come one after the other. While this is going to be our next focus, we do not have an estimate of when this change will go live.
We are still figuring the system for the hexascreen. The final goal is to have a dynamic system that changes with the song. For now, we are testing various patterns, before we start to animate the mesh, and build a system that allows the screen to change shapes and the patterns it displays.
Thank you for playing!
Musical Range Free Demo Now Available!
Hello!
It is with much excitement that we announce that the Musical Range Demo is NOW available on Steam. Head over to the store page and download now!
Please send over your feedback through the forums, or through any of our social media. Also don’t miss our live stream on steam this Thursday 18 at 11:00 AM CDT.
Included in the demo:
New Sounds
New Mechanics
Updated Combat Block Visuals
In Game Leaderboards*
Audio and Game settings
Our plan is to monitor the demo through out the week and do small releases throughout to enhance the experience based on your feedback.
*In-Game Leaderboards make use of a special Steam functionality, where it will display extra information about a player's score. For old scores, these details do not exist, and some leaderboard entries will show the previous Leaderboard Entry's extra information instead.
Thank you for playing!
Musical Range Free Demo Now Available!
Hello!
It is with much excitement that we announce that the Musical Range Demo is NOW available on Steam. Head over to the store page and download now!
Please send over your feedback through the forums, or through any of our social media. Also don’t miss our live stream on steam this Thursday 18 at 11:00 AM CDT.
Included in the demo:
New Sounds
New Mechanics
Updated Combat Block Visuals
In Game Leaderboards*
Audio and Game settings
Our plan is to monitor the demo through out the week and do small releases throughout to enhance the experience based on your feedback.
*In-Game Leaderboards make use of a special Steam functionality, where it will display extra information about a player's score. For old scores, these details do not exist, and some leaderboard entries will show the previous Leaderboard Entry's extra information instead.
Thank you for playing!
Musical Range free Demo Week! Nov 17th - Nov 23rd
Hello!
Ticking away, it's time for another free demo! We are excited to show you what we have been working on since last October. We believe you will enjoy the game much more than before. This time we’ve added new sounds, new mechanics, and in-game leaderboards, but also some nice quality of life changes.
The demo will be available from Wednesday 17th to Tuesday 23rd. We will also do a live stream to answer any questions on Thursday 18th, at 1100 CDT on Steam.
With the new sound, we finished implementing the Target Note bending functionality. If you press your GRIP button while aiming at a note, you can drag the outer shell of the Target note, which will increase the pitch when moving to the right, and lower it when moving to the left. You can also modify the volume of the sound, drag the note up and it will be increased. Drag the note down and the volume will decrease. We have updated the songs to work with this new system. So, expect to bend notes up and down during melodies and solos. Or doing vibratos to add those feelings that the music enotes from you.
We have also updated the combat block visuals, as well as adjusted the score they give depending on your punch. The faster, harder, and the better your technique when you punch, the more points you’ll make, as well as the sound that it will make in-game.
During this demo, we will disable the Railgun Lasers, as we want to focus feedback on the main systems.
Speaking of scores, we have added in-game leaderboards menus, so you can look at your and global rankings for all the songs. Not only can you see your’s and other people's scores, but you can also know what accuracy they got, how many hits they made, as well as what difficulty they had playing the song.
And finally, we started the base work on the Settings menu. For now, you can adjust many sound settings to your preference. So if you want to hear the sound of the notes over the music, or prefer the music over the notes, you can adjust these settings to your liking in the Audio Settings tab. There you can also adjust the height of the CombatBlock, which previously might have been a bit high for some players. And finally, you can now preview the song before you play it.
Thank you all for reading, and we hope you enjoy the new build coming up on Wednesday 17th!
