Ready or Not
Ready or Not Spring Sale
In accordance with station protocol, with the changing of seasons in Los Suenos all active field units are required to retire their winter patrol gear and requisition new sets of fair-weather patrol gear.
With the start of the spring season, we will also be re-opening recruitment via our storefront on Steam. For the Spring Sale, Ready or Not will go on sale, temporarily reducing its price by 15%!
If you had been waiting to recruit the rest of your squad, then now is the chance.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200?utm_source=steam&utm_campaign=steamspringsale23
Keep your feet on the ground and shovel in the shed.
Ready or Not Team
Vol. #48 Ready Or Not Development Update
Welcome to our 48th Newsletter! This week we’re going to be taking a look at some of the work that makes the suspects, civilians, and your fellow officers feel more alive. It’s a subject that is unfortunately not talked about very often in comparison to its cousins AI, effects, and textures, despite being just as important or more depending on who you talk to.
This week we’ll be talking about how we bring specifically our officers, suspects, and citizens to life! Our artists don’t just sculpt the clothing and equipment that our characters sport. We take direct scans of gear to ensure greater authenticity as we outfit all of our NPC and player models to make our world feel more alive.
Gerard - Technical Character Artist
Gerard, known to some members of the community as Mery. G, is a veteran of modeling for more tactically minded shooters. Some of his claims to fame are his contributions to a monstrous set of ArmA 3 mods called RHS and a large uniform pack called USP, both of which should be familiar to even the casual ArmA modder.
The method that VOID uses to translate real world equipment into the world of Los Suenos is known as Photogrammetry, using his personal collection of tactical gear as well as acquisitions from other sources and insight from connections within the armed forces community, Gerard crafts the scans into usable equipment to outfit officers and suspects alike.
Above: A full materialized mesh, albedo texture, black and white map, and normal map. The result of a Photogrammetry session and post-processing.
According to Gerard, Photogrammetry vs. traditional methods (modeling & sculpting) is less settled on the artist's interpretation of a given item and provides realistic proportions details that are very hard for an artist to replicate, not to mention how fast we’re able to produce usable models. Though it is faster, translating the output of Photogrammetry into the aforementioned models still requires capable artists to clean up the scan and make the mesh come to life.
Above: A version of the Photogrammetry setup.
Above: Photogrammetry output after some cleanup
We want to show love to our characters by making them look as close to the real deal as we can, since our vision for RoN is formed along the lines of how gritty the job of swat officers can be, it only makes sense to pay the equivalent attention and detail to the tools and equipments our players will be using.
Conclusion
This concludes our 48th briefing. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news!
If you’d like to help us test new content during playtesting periods on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community; you can become a supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Are you a content creator on youtube or twitch looking for new games? We got you covered; Ready or Not has partnered with Lurkit to elevate gameplay! Make sure to follow us here.
https://www.lurkit.com/games/ready-or-not
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive
Vol. #47 Ready Or Not Development Update
Welcome to our 47th Newsletter! This week we’re going to be taking a look at some of the work that makes the suspects, civilians, and your fellow officers feel more alive. It’s a subject that is unfortunately not talked about very often in comparison to its cousins AI, effects, and textures despite being just as important or more depending on who you talk to.
The animations of both the player character and the AI in Ready or Not help contribute to the feeling of unease as you approach a suspect that hasn’t either surrendered or revealed their intentions. The shifting of their feet, the way they look around the room, even how they reach into their jacket or pants to retrieve something all contribute to these feelings.
For today's newsletter we consulted with Raihaku, one of VOID Interactive's animators, whose background and skill lend very well to the atmosphere of Ready or Not being one of the architects around many of the recent and incredibly well made trailers.
Animations by Raihaku
Part of the reason why animation doesn’t get much discussion is because there is nothing really mind-blowing to discuss, it’s unique in a sense because gameplay animation can get weirdly specific and a lot of stuff feels invisible to the player until it’s not there, and it’s really obvious that it isn’t there. It isn’t like AI or Levels where there’s amazing videos of their navigation and behaviors or pretty screenshots and images to show off.
Animating is, mostly, “We’re figuring out the time we spent blending the character between two poses and how they turn in place if they’re looking around or while they’re standing still and doing a neat shuffling animation.”
Above: Demonstration of various NPC states, instead of walking everywhere with their weapons up, they can take it slow with their weapons down as they investigate.
This is a preview of the movement system that we currently have in-game, this was a solution to the lack of momentum the NPCs have when they move around as they used to not build up any acceleration an actual person would need to start moving quickly, making them frustrating to fight against and hard to read. This is our method to interpret that into the game by blending between multiple types of animations, which is a walk, run, and sprint as demonstrated in the first section of the video followed by a walk and a jog in the second section of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWPONOc1zaM&ab_channel=VOIDInteractive
The way the speeds are interpreted in the actual game is simple: We increment from a 0 to 1 value, 0 being a full-stop and 1 being at full-speed, and the numbers in between 0 and 1 serve as the acceleration. This also gives us a wider range of motion as the strafes were initially only 8-directional, being able to blend between these directions means that they look more precise during navigation.
It's not a very technologically groundbreaking method and it has been around since the early 2000s. Valve uses this for all their game animations in the Source engine since Half-Life 2 and it helps their game animations achieve a very natural look with such a simple system.
Under the hood
There are many aspects of game design and development that the general public doesn’t see, along with our newsletters that show off the inspiration behind our levels, we will also be producing more newsletters that go more into detail about all of the things that make Ready or Not tick!
Conclusion
This concludes our 47th briefing. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news!
If you’d like to help us test new content during playtesting periods on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community; you can become a supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Are you a content creator on youtube or twitch looking for new games? We got you covered; Ready or Not has partnered with Lurkit to elevate gameplay! Make sure to follow us here.
https://www.lurkit.com/games/ready-or-not
Make sure you follow Ready or Not on Steam here.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive
Vol. #46 Ready Or Not Development Update
Welcome to our 46th Newsletter! Starting with this newsletter, and several of the following bi-weekly newsletters we will look at some real-life events that have impacted and shaped the design of both the game and the locations that make Los Suenos feel like a living, breathing world.
Unfortunately, there are many, many events that for one reason or another have been required to be solved by the tactical expertise of a singular or many SWAT teams. Whether the response was to a genuinely evil organization or person, slow escalation of hostage situations, robberies gone wrong, or at the absolute worst, a situation that ultimately involves reasonably innocent individuals placed in extreme situations.
A Tragedy
Very recently, one of our artists, Ropolio, took a trip down to the site of the Waco Siege and took a veritable mountain of incredible photos. For those who are unaware, in-short the Waco Siege was a Police action that majorly included the BATF and FBI responding to the serving of a search warrant to the Branch Davidians at their company near Elk, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 4 Law Enforcement Officers and 82 civilians.
Please Note: The above description of the Waco Siege is an extremely, extremely simplified version of a still discussed and highly disputed event; as such, if this is something you would like to read into, there are many resources to do so.
An Artist's Impression
We pulled onto EE ranch road; it was pretty bumpy from all the dips and potholes. The black iron gate was open, with a sign asking for a 10-dollar donation per visitor. A memorial just past the gates is dedicated to the 76 men, women, and children who had died in the fire caused by the siege.
Aside from the foundation remnants, the only original remains of the compound 70-foot-long swimming pool at the rear of the site, the unfinished storm shelter just to the left, and the buried school bus used as a tunnel between the compound and the storm shelter. Now lying partially unburied like an old, mangled soda can, completely unrecognizable as a school bus with the entire surrounding area overgrown with weeds and foliage.
Above: The remains of the Mount Caramel Center bunker, the compound that the Branch Davidians had built and used up to that fateful day.
Above: The remains of the bus tunnel.
Concrete slabs of the original foundation line the left side of the church, marking where the old gymnasium and foyer once stood. Walking into the pool, I stepped down to examine David Koresh’s [Leader of the Branch Davidians] signature in the cement of the pool when it was first constructed in 1992, “DK ‘92” with a barely visible star of David below.
A concrete slab with some dog paw prints was also located beside the pool, it matched the age of the rest of the concrete so I assume it belonged to the Branch Davidian’s dogs, who were shot by the ATF on the first day of the siege.
Between the pool and storm shelter is the remains of the water tower, now just a rusted pipe surrounded by concrete.
Above: The Branch Davidian compound pool with a portion of the Church visible in the background.
We stepped into the church, which had been partially converted into a museum of sorts. Various pictures of the ATF and FBI posing in uniform in front of the burnt-out compound sat alongside banners describing Koresh’s prophecies along the walls, as well as information about the original founders of the Seventh Day Adventists. The experience overall gave an interesting insight into the Branch Davidian's side of the story.
Above: A photo of the modern-day compound transposed by the burning compound, the aftermath of the Siege at Waco
Editors Note:
More of Ropolio’s hauntingly beautiful transpositions and photos will be posted and pinned in the #ron-media channel on the Ready or Not Public Discord for those interested.
Conclusion
This concludes our 46th briefing. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news!
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive
Community Content Exhibit Vol. 8
Attention Officers,
Welcome to the 7th in our series of monthly newsletters dedicated entirely to community creations and contributions to Ready or Not. Today we will be featuring some of the content creators that keep the Ready or not community vibrant and generate no end of informative and/or entertaining content.
For the first community showcase of the year, we’re going to be looking at some more stand out maps from our endlessly talented community.
Please note, they are in no particular order of quality, it is simply how they landed.
Community Spotlight - Community Maps
1.) Red Library Remaster by Aerostatic
Another in the inevitable series of Swat 4 remakes and another in the series of Aerostatics maps, who seems to have made it their mission in their RoN Career to move over all of Swat 4s maps judging by their portfolio on mod.io. The Red Library has all the makings of a classic level in its’ tight corners, wide variety of colors that keep the map from falling prey to the gray that prevelates too many shooters and maps, and finally the unique feature of multiple spawn points that show up in many high-tier maps.
Download link: https://mod.io/g/readyornot/m/sw4t-or-not-red-library-remaster
2.) Storage House by CLY89
As opposed to many maps whose claim to fame is exceptional aesthetics, non-stock features, or a complex and interesting layout, Storage House offers a clean tactical experience with just enough clutter to break up sightlines and gaps on the shelves creating firing slots that test the observation ability of LSPS officers of any level.
Download link: https://mod.io/g/readyornot/m/storage-house
3.) Neptune Spear by Scones3
Moving out of Los Suenos, we take a peek into the work of clandestine military operations with the mission to neutralize one of the most hunted men of the 21st century. Stepping into the realm of night operations, Neptune Spear requires a high level of situational awareness and communication for a high completion score as enemies often hide in the shadowy corner of this middle eastern compound. If you are looking for non-SWAT operations, then you certainly cannot go wrong with this one.
Download Link: https://mod.io/g/readyornot/m/neptune-spear-by-scones
Conclusion
This concludes our first content showcase of the new year where we looked at some community created maps! Be sure to tune in next time for more development news!
If you’d like to help us test new content during playtesting periods on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community; you can become a supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Are you a content creator on youtube or twitch looking for new games? We got you covered; Ready or Not has partnered with Lurkit to elevate gameplay! Make sure to follow us here.
https://www.lurkit.com/games/ready-or-not
Make sure you follow Ready or Not on Steam here.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive
Adam Hotfix #6
General Improvements
- Improve Performance when running in DX12
- Remove 'Into the Void' decal issues present when equipping a shotgun
- Show all mods in Mod.IO page, previous it was showing 100 only.
- This is a temp solution while we add a better paging solution
- This is a temp solution while we add a better paging solution
Vol. `2023` Ready or Not - A year in review
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2023! As is tradition we will be doing a recap of our game and communities achievements in 2022. On behalf of the staff at Void Interactive, we would sincerely like to thank you for your continuous support and feedback of RON, we owe our success to you! The team is excited to continue working on Ready or Not and looks forward to all the new exciting updates to come in 2023!
Since our launch into Steam Early Access in December of 2021, Ready or Not has progressed quite steadily towards our goal of a full release in 2023. Both community and development efforts have ramped up as we’ve expanded our development team, worked closer with the different portions of our community, and worked hard to grow the community we already have!
Community Content
Over the course of 2022, the community came together to produce a prolific amount of content. Videos that run the gauntlet from critique to compilation, every flavor of art one could look for, and even photos of community members doing their best impression of the Los Suenos Police Department!
Above: The winning art from our Community Art contest, produced by Etnad, picturing a newly engaged husband and wife.
Above: The Winner of our photo contest, Royourboy, took a stunning picture of two geared individuals backlit by a sunset.
On the side of modifications to the game itself, modders have continuously outdone themselves with a veritable mountain of content– and their passion has not gone unnoticed. We introduced mod integration into the game itself using the mod.io platform and through continued support and tweaking of the integration of mod.io we have made an amazing amount of progress on both the UI and UX fronts resulting in a more reliable modding experience! As mentioned in the recent AMA, the possibility of Steam Workshop arriving has not been entirely taken off the table, so if mod.io isn’t your preferred mod delivery platform then keep your eyes peeled!
I wish I had the time and the space to plug some of our favorite mods, but then this newsletter would be mostly mods. I highly suggest checking out our community content showcases for a more in-depth look at some frankly spectacular mods.
Finally, we cannot forget the part of our community that is the key to our continued presence on YouTube, TikTok, and other media platforms, the content creators! We appreciate every single one of them, from the smallest channels posting videos of their friends' first run of Voll Health House to users putting together beautifully framed pseudo-trailer videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzsDH0eUYCk&ab_channel=SheppLab
Above: The amazing video produced by SheppLab, give this creator some love.
Outside of media we’ve partnered with Lurkit to be able to reach more content creators in a more organic matter, giving us the ability to give existing content creators more compensation for their work and reach out to new ones to further increase the reach of Ready or Not.
Development Milestones
Since our launch into Steam Early Access at the very end of 2021, the growth of Ready or Not has been explosive in proportion to the competitive nature of the Early Access shooter space. The vision of Ready or Not has come into clearer focus after every single update with refinement of weapons, sounds, levels, AI, etc.– and with the invaluable feedback from our community the game will continue to come closer and closer to its finished state.
2022 has brought us 17 new weapons, among them being the introduction of the PDW class with the MP7 and P90, the renewing of the venerated M4 into the more modern Mk18, among a plethora of other beautifully rendered and powerful sounding firearms. Among the close to a dozen there are many standout maps, among those being the raid on Voll health house and its impeccably kept upper floor hiding a horrifying secret underneath, the bright and beautifully rendered club marred by violence and turning the entire building into a Neon Tomb, or the final moments of the ex-USIA agent Gerard at his home on Sullivans Slope.
Above: The MP7, first in the games PDW category.
Of course without the backend improvements, the maps would not be as spectacular as they are without the overhaul to the games lighting system to greater show off the excellent work of our mapping and art team.
Above: The new lighting engine in action
In 2023, we wish to carry Ready or Not into its release window and beyond, continuing to refine our labor of love until we can’t anymore. No matter how soon or how late that comes, we will continue to communicate with our audience, you can find a sneak peak into some of our future plans in our recent developer AMA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Cr1u8ulZQ
We hope that every single one of our supporters, new and old, continue to stick by us into the future of VOID Interactive and Ready or Not!
Conclusion
This concludes our first briefing of the new year where we looked at some things Ready or Not has achieved in 2022. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news!
If you’d like to help us test new content during playtesting periods on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community; you can become a supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Are you a content creator on youtube or twitch looking for new games? We got you covered; Ready or Not has partnered with Lurkit to elevate gameplay! Make sure to follow us here.
Make sure you follow Ready or Not on Steam here.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
Keep your feet on the ground.
VOID Interactive
Neon Tomb Video Out now!
Join our Discord server and let us know what you think!
https://discord.com/invite/readyornot
Keep your feet on the ground,
Void Interactive.
Ready or Not - Better with Friends Nomination
Thanks to your outpouring of support we've managed to make it into the finals of the 'Better with Friends' category, facing up against other well establish Titans such as Activision, Warner brothers, and Capcom as well as another fellow Independent Studio Redbeet Games!
Along with our Nomination, we have some words from VOID Interactives CEO, Julio.
Seems like it was yesterday when we launched Ready Or Not into Early Access on Steam...but it has been a whole year! The journey has been epic and our expanding development team continue to be hard at work to deliver the Quintessential Tactical FPS video game of our era. Today we got wind that we are a finalist for the category "Better With Friends" for the annual Steam Awards. Having our indie studio's title sitting next to storied publishers Capcom, Activision, Warner Bros. and Axolot Games is very humbling
-Julio R., VOID Interactive
With that being said, we once again ask our Community for their support, help us bring home the Gold!
Keep your boots on the ground and file those votes
VOID Interactive
Ready or Not - 25% off Sale
Attention Officers
If you've been waiting to pull the trigger and finally bring law to the lawless streets of Los Suenos, then now is your chance!
During the Steam Winter sale, Ready or Not will be reaching 25% off to celebrate our reaching the finals of the Steam Awards and our Early Access anniversary.
Get out there and do your job, officer. Protect and Serve.
VOID Interactive