The day we've all been waiting for has arrived—RETOOLED is officially out and ready to redefine your FPS experience! A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who has joined us on this incredible journey. Your support, enthusiasm, and feedback have made this moment even more special!
I've teased you with mini-trailers that showcased the arsenal, the arenas, and heart-pounding combat. Now it's time to dive in and live the action yourself! RETOOLED promises a unique blend of momentum-based gameplay, strategic thinking, and intense combat puzzles.
Experience the rush of high-stakes combat puzzles!
Navigate through race track-like arenas designed to challenge your quick reflexes and strategic thinking.
Take on a wide roster of enemies, each playing a unique role in pushing you into the 'fun zone'.
Experience the "Arena Master" systems that adapt the gameplay based on your actions and positions.
I've poured my heart and souls into making RETOOLED not just another game, but an unforgettable experience that stands alongside its peers in the FPS genre and the best part? We're just getting started.
So, gear up, bunny hop into the action, and let's make some unforgettable gaming memories together!
Feel free to share your game experiences and feedback. I can't wait to hear what you think!
Salutations! It is time for the fourth post in the deep dives series, today we are looking into how RETOOLED is handling difficulty levels.
To start off this deep dive I would like to explain my view on difficulty levels and their goal in RETOOLED as I believe the perception of what a certain difficulty level should be differs a lot from gamer to gamer.
It is important to me that I do not alter the core gameplay DNA when creating different difficulty levels in RETOOLED. I do not want RETOOLED to go from a momentum shooter to a cover shooter, instead the idea is to increase the pressure on the player. To achieve this:
I have created an “attack token” request system for AIs where they have to ask for permission to attack. This gives me greater control to not only make sure there aren't too uneven difficulty spikes within a map but also establish the baseline pressure for each difficulty level.
I slightly tweak AI behaviors like their reaction time to player focus, their need to avoid being targeted, defensive abilities cooldown and their charges.
Attack option selection to either slightly favor weaker or stronger attacks dependent on difficulty level.
Minor stat boosts, some % are AI dependent so not all are equal.
Normal
is the intended way for RETOOLED to be experienced. RETOOLED is meant to be challenging so the normal difficulty level can seem tough.
100% attack tokens 100% damage 100% health Standard behavior/reactions Starts levels with the intended amount of extra lives.
Easy
is for those struggling with normal, it’s more of cruise mode for the player but expect to die if you lose focus.
60% attack tokens 80% damage 80%(ish) health, AI dependent Slower reaction times, slightly favors weaker attacks than baseline. Starts levels with +1 of the intended amount of extra lives.
Hard
is for those that are looking for a challenge and It is recommened as a second playthrough. Knowledge of weapons and abilities combos as well as a few locations of extra lives throughout the levels is recommended.
140% attack tokens 120% damage 120%(ish) health, AI dependent Quicker reaction times, slightly favors stronger attacks than baseline. Starts levels with 0 extra lives.
Extra lives
are your limited checkpoints! Struggling with a certain section of level? Be on the lookout for extra lives throughout the level to increase your likelihood of success. If you die without any extra lives then you will have to restart the level.
I have strived to make sure each death occurring in RETOOLED feels fair and made sure you have the tools/options to avoid them.
RETOOLED is meant to be challenging and is carefully crafted to give you a power trip and a sense of accomplishment once mastered.
The wait for RETOOLED is almost over, on the 25th of september it will be in your hands!
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
Only 7 days left to release of RETOOLED! I'm very excited and I hope you are too!
I'm already working on the first content patch for RETOOLED and streaming some of the process on Twitch. If you are interest in whats being worked on and a behind the scene look at game development be sure to give me a follow. https://www.twitch.tv/swarmcreations
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
Back again! For the third post in the deep dives series we are taking a look at the process of creating an arena you fight in.
There are quite a few steps creating an arena for RETOOLED and very deceivingly time consuming.
Flow structure First step is to think of a flow structure that is unlike a previously created arena and then draw it on paper. This process is very iterative and works like a check gate to whether the initial idea has some flow structure problems in certain areas of the arena and if the idea is actually worth continuing working on.
With comment underneath: “This step requires a bit of imagination, if the player is at position X, what possible paths exist? From experience, a good design is having at least 3 paths available at most times.”
Blockout Next step is creating the blockout of the arena in Unreal Engine. Testing the feeling of running around in the arena, trying the different paths, figuring out if the scale and distance of things feels right. Checking different sightlines to see if something needs adjusting. The second pass of this blockout phase is to look at the current paths and try to add divergent paths to them. By having these divergent paths emphasizes the use of different movement abilities the arena is now starting to feel like a playground coming together.
AI prep All this work and we haven’t even added the AIs YET !?... well it still requires a bit of prep work to get them working on new arenas and… . . . .. It’s done!
Arena Masters For RETOOLED I have designed something called an “Arena Master”. It is essentially an object that lets me define how I want the fight to start, progress and end. There are a few arena fight “types” we can construct with this object and even mix them together.
Wave Pure wave based or alternatively we could spawn an initial wave and as you destroy some bots more gets spawn in until the wave is consumed.
Hydra Starts with a smaller initial wave and as you destroy some specific (or any) bots the amount of active bots increases. 6 turns into 12, 18 etc.
Phases Similar to wave type but instead of having waves with a clear ending they add on top of each other until a completion condition is met. Endless
Each of the previous types can be modified to be endless that will only stop as a completion condition is met. Perhaps a certain character is destroyed or an environmental puzzle is solved etc.
To retain the DNA of a specific arena fight I tell individual AIs what spawn position I would like them to favor depending on the player position. Thanks to this setup arena fights in RETOOLED very rarely have specific spawn positions for certain AIs so it becomes essential to think and react in the moment of a fight.
Stringing a few of these together in sequence or mixing them together, it can get complex quickly.
Playtest, playtest and playtest…. Ohh did I mention playtest? Now the playtesting and adjustments begins. It is only now can you get a holistic view of the initial arena idea you had.
Environment pass All that remains is prop creations, lightning, bug hunting, optimization etc.
That is it for this deep dive on RETOOLED but it is not all. Follow along as there is more to come and of course… Thank you for reading!
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
Hello again! For the second post in the deep dives series I want to talk about the enemies, the anvil that you will test your metal against.
I previously mentioned enemies being designed for certain roles, like different chess pieces but in a FPS format. When designing enemies there are 2 vital areas I need to figure out and that is how do they fit into the “play space” and where in “screen space” do I want them.
Let's start with “play space”, the first question might be what even is it? Well.. let me show you!
With a top down overview you can see where in “play space” the enemies aspire to be positioned along with some of their characteristic elements. This “play space” chart is quite a useful tool to not only identify which “play space” areas could use more enemy types but also how to combine the different enemies to make compelling and varied arena fights.
“Screen space” is.. well.. what it sounds like, the preferred positioning on the screen from the player perspective.
Identifying an enemy's “play space”, “screen space” and some of its characteristic elements aids quite a bit when conceptualizing it and getting its basic shape blocked out and ready for prototyping.
Having an arena fight with an overcrowded “play space” or “screen space” makes it very messy and not as fun. Thanks to this process, assuming we got our enemies working like we want of course, we now have enemies that utilize varied “play spaces” and “screen spaces” in a fight.
By having AIs in different threat tiers gives us a natural target priority and thanks to some AIs abilities we can influence the target priority mid fight forcing you to reevaluate your focus, actions or weapon choice.
It has been essential to get enemies with their actions to nudge the player into the fun zone of RETOOLED. I’m quite excited to have you all wreck some of my AIs, or perhaps even have them wreck you ;)
And that is it for this deep dive, there are more deep dives to come!
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
With a bunch of improvements, polish and some other surprises RETOOLED is now ready for you - the fans & players. In the coming week RETOOLED will join the Dreamhack Beyond Summer Indie Showcase and then continue to steaming ahead towards the release on September 25th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDYjP3b8EKw
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
Hi everyone! Today is the first post in a series of deep dives on RETOOLED and we are starting it off with the vision for RETOOLED.
The vision for RETOOLED is to build a momentum based FPS that emphasizes quick thinking and strategy in high stake combat puzzles fought in race track like arenas. Each arena in the single player is designed to test and challenge you and be reactive to your actions and position to keep it dynamic each time you fight in it.
Each player action in RETOOLED is designed to interplay with others with the goal of nudging the player into using the entire assortment of weapons, abilities and movement actions without forcing a specific playstyle.
All of this while facing a wide roster of enemies, each one taking on a specific role like a chess piece.
RETOOLED isn’t an imitation of past experiences but meant to deliver something new and stand longside its peers in the arena FPS genre. What are you waiting for? Bunnyhop, dash or boost jump of enemies into the action, RETOOLED is easy to pick up but hard to master.
Follow along as I will delve deeper on each aspect leading up to the release in the very near future.
And remember, join the Discord to discuss the game and find out about the latest updates:
I'm delighted to give you the latest on RETOOLED, the fast-paced FPS that's been my labour of love.
Since the last update, I've made significant progress, releasing a substantial update to the demo in May, all driven by your invaluable feedback. I've been honing the enemy mechanics, finalizing the boss battles, and enhancing the level designs to create an even more engaging gameplay experience.
Your input continues to shape RETOOLED. As we approach the release, know that I am committed to considering all your feedback and consistently refining the game.
In the coming months my plan is to shed some more light on the development side of things, and show some more in-depth about certain areas of the game.
A big thank you to everyone for your ongoing support and enthusiasm for RETOOLED!
Remember to stay connected: Discord https://discord.gg/HFC4sn6AC8 Twitter https://twitter.com/SwarmCreations Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093560630511
Massive Demo Update
The update is now live, here are the highlights!
New enemy: Wasp tank The most complex and advanced enemy I've designed so far. Beware of this mobile hover tank. Updated the new player experience - The order and locations of the abilities you unlocked has changed, improving the progression. - Made several level design changes to Awakening and Parabellum to improve flow and add complexity to some arenas. - New and improved tutorials.
The HUD has been cleaned up and changed to increase the readability.
Graphical Improvements - Every enemy has received texture reworks. Some even received new meshes and new animations. - Every weapon have received updated meshes and textures. The railgun got updated animations and changes to it's SFX and VFXs. - Jumppads, lights and several other objects have received new meshes and textures. - New lightning pass on every level, improving readability and immersion.
The Great Rebalancing With all of the enemies now complete for the release I decided to do a complete rebalance of the combat values. Nothing has been left untouched. To summarize everyone is now more deadly, including you :).
Enjoy and take care,
/Oliver Lagerblad Swarm Creations
RETOOLED
RETOOLED is a fast, fluid movement shooter, taking you on a challenging single player journey. Face a diverse and dynamic enemy lineup where each one serves a specific role like a piece on a chess board. With an underlying system "AI master" no areana fight will be exactly the same. All designed to put you into the funzone and force you to react in the moment. Just bunnyhop your way into the fast paced action and fight in complex arenas.
