Site-02 Transmissions #9 | SCP-127 and Visible Armour
Hello Site-02!
With most of the features for 14.1 being wrapped up and readied for launch, we’ve prepared another Site-02 Transmission to show you the major and minor additions coming in 14.1. We are also planning a beta towards the beginning of April, which you’ll hear more about soon. But for now, let's dive in.
SCP-127
Game Design
The idea of adding SCP-127 to the game was considered for years. It was first pitched by Game Design in 2020, during the development of the 11.0 ‘Parabellum’ update.
Being a simple Series 1 SCP, it was a perfect fit for an SCP shooter, and well-suited for the update that would overhaul the weapons and animations. However, the difficulty in designing SCP-127 was making its design both interesting and rewarding. It was intended to be “the S-tier of SMGs,” with its high fire rate and damage counteracted by the inability to reload the weapon.
Early drafts by Game Design were not satisfactory, due to the weapon’s sole gimmick being the regenerating ammo. This caused the anomalous ammo to be more of a hindrance than an upgrade, as the user had to wait for ammo to regenerate, leaving them exposed and unable to fight back, a unique problem no other firearm in the game suffers from.
Unfortunately, 11.0 had finished development by the time the document had been finished and a satisfactory concept was made, and attention had to be turned to more important projects, causing work on SCP-127 to be paused. It was not until 14.0 that development decided to revisit SCP-127, and it was decided that SCP-127 would become the primary focus of 14.1.
To solve some of the initial issues with a non-reloadable gun, it was decided that SCP-127 would grant 15 bullets upon a kill, allowing the user to get multiple kills in quick succession without needing to worry as much about the limited ammo. SCP-127 also grants the user Hume Shield, the same artificial armour given to SCPs which, unlike the artificial health (AHP) given by adrenaline, absorbs all damage and does not decay while the weapon is equipped. If lost, it regenerates after a short while, but starts decaying the second SCP-127 is no longer being held.
To further incentivise keeping SCP-127 instead of swapping it out with another firearm, SCP-127 has a tiering system where, depending on the amount of kills and damage the gun deals in the hands of the same user, it receives an increase in its damage, fire rate, penetration, and ammo regeneration. This makes extended use of SCP-127 a gamble, as the potential to snowball into a hyper-effective killing machine is countered by the initial vulnerability and the possibility of losing it all if the user were to die.
Art
In contrast to SCP-127s design document, the development of the model and animations were considerably quicker and smoother.
The actual SCP-127 model was created by Murmur, the same artist behind the FR-MG-0 and the Experimental Weapon Locker, who based the design on the Heckler & Koch MP5K. The internal biology is based on the original artwork, with the barrel and ejection port visibly showing the fleshy internals.
The animations for SCP-127 were made by Mikel. Due to the weapon’s non-reloadable nature, it has a significantly smaller set of animations compared to other weapons. Replacing the standard loading and unloading animation of other guns, SCP-127 features the satisfying ‘HK slap’ in its unique loading animation, while its inspect animation shows the weapon’s chamber in all its visceral detail. The weapon's sling loop was given physics, allowing it to swing in whatever direction the player looks, similarly to the Lantern item’s physics.
Sharp-eyed SCP fans may have noticed that despite the article featuring SCP-127 as a MP5K PDW, the model chosen in-game was based on the MP5K. This is because during development, the SCP Wiki article was modified — SCP-127 was originally labelled as a MP5K, with the image of a MP5K SCP-127 displayed on the article. However, due to copyright issues, the image was taken down and replaced with a normal MP5, yet the text of the article still erroneously referred to SCP-127 as a MP5K. Our model was based on the text of the article, not the image, and it wasn’t until the model was complete that the text in the article was changed to reflect the new image.
SCP-127’s image used on the modern wiki page. https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-127
Audio
The creation of the audio assets for SCP-127 also went smoothly. The gunshot sounds were designed to sound unique enough to clearly convey that it was not an ordinary gun, while also being clearly identifiable as gunfire, which was accomplished by layering in audio of a sound designer spitting alongside audio of a 9mm gunshot. The handling audio was also intended to sound unnatural and painful, which was accomplished by mixing various meaty and metallic sounds, combined with breathing noises during weapon inspection, to impart the idea of a living weapon.
Narrative Design
“I know it's a weapon designed to kill things, but it's just not hostile or cruel. If anything, it almost seems… tired. Like all it really wants is for someone to take it out of that tank and give it a reason to exist.
I dont think it’s bloodthirsty. I think it’s just lonely.” - Alyssa Warwick, Senior Researcher, Site-02 Being one of the first sentient SCPs that most players will not be running in fear from (at least when it’s on your side) gave an interesting challenge to the narrative design team. How is it possible to convey a sense of its personality and story to the players in a diegetic manner that doesn’t force players to go out of their way to find it? In other words, how can we make the lore of the item come to the player?
While not the main priority, it was a possibility which intrigued the team, and with the possibilities of a living item being endless, we found a way! We’ll let you discover it on your own, but we will say that we’ve found a way for the player to hear comments on the history of SCP-127 before it was transferred to Site-02, all entirely in-game.
Third-Person Armour Models
A feature previously planned for 14.0 that was cut due to time constraints, we’re excited to finally bring visible armour on human player characters!
PurpleGoop, the artist behind these armour models, went through several different iterations before landing on designs everyone was confident in. It was important to us that the pieces of armour not only look good, but are also presented in a way that makes sense within the game’s setting.
The first problem that the team ran into was how exactly armour would be represented on each class. SCP: Secret Laboratory features two very distinct groups of player models: the ‘civilians’ (D-Class Personnel, Scientists, Facility Guards), and ‘militants’ (Chaos Insurgency, Nine-Tailed Fox). While it would have been an easy task to equip the civilians with armour, it was not as easy of a task for the militants, as their models have built-in armour and would be much more difficult to modify.
The team was butting their heads together trying to figure out a solution to present armour which made sense visually for ALL classes, while also maintaining consistency in appearance. We quickly realised that it was not possible for a few reasons. Primarily, the NTF and CI models have vastly different body armour designs, and blurring the line between the two with similar-looking armour models would go against our design principle of keeping the two teams visually distinct.
Early sketch of armour designs
Another issue was that if we were to base the armour designs off of the Nine-Tailed Fox or Chaos Insurgency, civilians who find armour in the early game will appear like military combatants, which we believe would look neither aesthetically pleasing nor fitting.
It was a tough choice, but at the end of the day, the team decided to give armour a unique ‘facility’ look for the civilian classes. Armours, when worn by civilian players, will appear as protective gear that one would generally expect to find inside of an SCP facility. Light Armour would appear as the Facility Guards’ day-to-day vest, suited for low-level security detail. Combat Armour would appear as riot gear, which Facility Guards would equip during more violent assignments such as D-Class riots or when transporting SCPs. Heavy Armour would appear as Armed Mobile Task Force gear, found in the armouries of Foundation facilities.
Concept art of Combat Armour.
“Combat Armour is where things get tricky because on the one hand, it spawns in the facility, but also on MTF/CI. I would argue that Combat [Armour] should not be represented with military gear, because it won't even look like what the CI/MTF wear, and will create all sorts of inconsistent weirdness. Should we make medium look more like what heavy security guards would wear, then at least it’s justified by the fact that they spawn in on-site armouries.
Most of the time, civilians will be wearing medium armour, either from TC01 or looted. And police riot gear is sleek and slim enough to keep them looking kinda still like civilians instead of bulked-up bomb defusal units, keeping their distinct silhouettes. It's better for a civ to loot an MTF/CI and get armour that looks like it came from the facility, rather than looting armour that looks completely different to anything anyone else is wearing.” x3j50, Lead Narrative Designer
Heavy Armour
Heavy Armour was an exciting task to work on. Designing the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Heavy Armour proved a lot more challenging than the Chaos Insurgency’s counterpart..
The Chaos Insurgency’s Heavy Armour variant, now quickly becoming a fan-favourite, had the simple creative process of a designer saying “Use the Altyn helmet. That one looks really cool,” and the rest of the team responding with a standing ovation to that idea.
The gasmask got in the way, so it had to be removed.
The Nine-Tailed Fox’s gear, however, was much more involved. We wanted a design that complemented our MTF’s strange, alien, and occult design.
The first design concept was way too strange, alien, and occult, so we lugubriously decided against it.
“This probably ain’t gonna fly” -PurpleGoop
After some iterations, PurpleGoop settled for a more realistic and practical design for the armour that was appropriate and accurate to the lore of the Foundation’s new, questionably-sourced Mobile Task Force gear. Sometimes, all you need to protect yourself against a dangerous anomaly is some good old kevlar and some guts.
Below are work-in-progress screenshots of the high-poly model, before optimisations.
Here are some renders of the Nine-Tailed Fox and Chaos Insurgent in their heavy gear to conclude this section of the devlog, provided by our talented 3D artist Sol.
Miscellaneous
This post is starting to get too long, so let’s quick-fire some features that you can expect to see in 14.1!
New Keycard System
14.1 will slightly rework keycard functionalities. Rather than the original system which often confused new players, we have opted for a simple, three-clearance system, separating access levels to three distinct groups: Containment, Security, and Administration. Have we mentioned that they’re also fully customisable through the admin panel? Have fun, server owners.
In addition to this, the update will feature the Surface Access Pass, a keycard which is exclusively capable of opening surface gates. These will be found around the map, so keep an eye out!
Pocket Dimension Visual Overhaul
The Pocket Dimension is being given a well-needed facelift! While still functioning identically, SCP-106’s personal hellscape has been decorated with luxuriant, muddy greenery, the impression of rotting wood soaked with gangrenous humours, and a dense fog blanketing the endless suffering of attempting to guess the correct exit.
New Containment Signs
This one is a minor change, but it’s a long time coming. We’ve finally decided to swap out the SCP containment signs found at containment chambers with our own original design, replacing the old Containment Breach design. This design features magnetic, numbered squares, which containment personnel can interchange whenever an SCP object must be relocated or swapped out for a different one.
SCP-3114 Reimplementation
14.0 broke SCP-3114 due to its disguise mechanic not supporting the new human models, and due to time constraints, it was not able to be completed in time. We have been able to fully reimplement 3114 in 14.1, with it being accessible through the RA once more.
SCP Opt-Out
A great quality-of-life feature coming in 14.1 is the SCP Opt-Out setting. We recognise that not all players want to play as a bloodthirsty anomaly, and some prefer the gameplay of a human fighting against the odds. The SCP Opt-Out setting allows you to do exactly what it says on the can.
More Lore Interactibles
For all you lore detectives out there, update 14.1 will include a handful of new discoverable lore pieces, some easier to find, and some hidden away in the darkest depths of the facility.
We won’t be spoiling anything here, but we hope that you have fun discovering more about the story and world of SCP: Secret Laboratory.
Conclusion
Update 14.1 is an absolutely impressive feat from our development team (at least, we at PR think so!), and we’re greatly anticipating its release. We’ve still got a little more to do before the team can confidently ship it to the public, though.
The upcoming Patreon Beta on the 5th of April will hopefully give us enough time to polish the update to perfection, as well as provide us with valuable feedback to make 14.1 the best we can!
We thank you for reading this entry of Site-02 Transmissions, and for your continuous support towards SCP: Secret Laboratory’s development.
Stay tuned, and until next time, see you in the dark.
Site-02 Transmissions #8 | Community Showcase
Site-02 Transmissions #8 | Community Showcase
Hello everyone,
It has been a while since our last showcase. 14.0 has gone public with all of your steps finally echoing through the vast hallways of our new Heavy Containment Zone, and we’ve had one of our most successful plush drops to date. This and much more is all thanks to your support!
Many memorable occurrences have taken place ever since, including cherished moments that would not be the same without all of you. With the New Year, we have plenty more planned for all of you! We hope to share the delight we have found within all of these community creations, and much more.
Art Showcase
CHAOSSSSS Rainforest,by Zaring Here we have a captivating depiction of a Chaos Insurgent in the cold night rain, with remarkable detail to equipment. We can only wonder what led them to the seeming respite of this thicketed arboreal scene.
they made a little chaos!, by Grongo Thank you for pointing it out like that with this amazing drawing of a Chaos Insurgent holding a comfortable and cuddly Chaos Insurgency Plushie!
SCP:SL short film progress, by Angel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ND75tGZ4rc&ab_channel=Angel
This animation by Angel is a glance at their ongoing SCP:SL short film project. The intro beautifully displays a group of Mobile Task Force operatives on their way to Site-02, with great immersion and very lively scenes.
mini poster project 1/2, by wantedparts Propaganda posters always provide an interesting perspective into the foundation, and this one does it so well!
Enjoy us! We are the Chaos Insurgency,by Scouter This piece by Scouter shows us their imagination of a Chaos Insurgency poster, some of the Foundation’s well-kept secrets already within their grasp.
Project Highlight - SCP:SL Blender Ports
In regards to the creation of community content, particularly in spaces like animation and 3D art, there are several examples of collective effort where people provide resources for one another, fostering mutual aid and support. A particular example of such an occasion is the ongoing project “SCP: SL Blender Ports”, led and directed by Seernix.
Since May 2023, they have been pursuing an active effort of porting the content found within Foundation Site-02 into Blender. This project has become an enabling force for Blender users and 3D artists to interact with the various elements and aspects of SCP: SL gameplay, visuals, and aesthetics. As of today, the many overhauls, reworks, and additions involved with Version 14.0 have brought a plethora of new variables to this endeavour. New models, items, mechanics, and interactions which provide new challenges, approaches,acts of ingenuity, and creative problem-solving as the ports update alongside the game.
Such detailing to new features and their application has materialized from various places, such as the integration of moving shaders in order to port the waterfall found within Site-02’s Acroamatic Abatement Section or that which pertains to the new experimental weapons.
“One of the arguably coolest things I was able to do with the ports is incorporating Bone Constraints. Basically, these allow a specific part of the rig to control other parts of the rig or limit a specific bone's rotation or position.”, “The 3-X was the first one I had implemented this on and was how I originally had the idea. The 3-X's animations have a lot of parts that are controlled by other parts on the model. The front bit with the charging handle and the cooling joints come to mind first. I actually had a lot of trouble with this as I had never done something like this before, and it ended up breaking a few times and I had to start from scratch.” - Seernix
As a project aiming to enable the community, a large portion of the effort is care and commitment to quality-of -life and simplicity for all of those who give the ports a try. One such recent accomplishment has been the addition of a simple way to update the states of elevator buttons!
“Overall, one of my favourite parts of the porting process is seeing everything come together. Often, I'll just stare at the in-progress project, watching the fans move or just staring at the lights.”
We want to express our appreciation to everybody involved in the commitment, passion, and effort in this project!
Conclusion
The year 2024 had many milestones, memorable moments, and developments that we are happy to have accomplished. Now, with the new year, there is even more to come! It is always an honour getting to work with our community, you all make these kinds of posts possible.
And as always, see you in the dark.
- Northwood Studios
SCP: SL Community Livestream ft. Dr. Sherman
Hello everyone!
On the 25th of January 20:00 UTC, we will be hosting a community livestream! We will be playing SCP: Secret Laboratory with our partnered content creators, alongside a special guest. You might know him for his SCP content and great humour!
>> https://www.youtube.com/@Site_42/ <<
That’s right, it’s Dr. Sherman from Site-42. He will be joining us on Saturday to play the game for the first time while being guided by members of our marketing team, Tamer & Alice.
What could possibly go wrong?
An evening full of fun and laughter, come and join us during this wonderful event!
Stay safe, and see you in the dark.
- Northwood Studios
Anniversary Update 2024 - Feedback Survey
Hello everyone,
With our Anniversary/ Christmas Update now concluding, we would like to invite you to participate in this feedback survey.
With the entry into a new year; we would like to thank you, our playerbase, for your continued support and interest in providing us with valuable feedback — so that our studio can continue to improve upon SCP:SL, and make it the best it can be.
https://forms.gle/89k75v2E5fdG63fd6
Here's to another great year and see you in the dark!
~ Northwood Studios
End of Anniversary Patch Changelog
Hello everyone. Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to revert back to the standard game. 14.0.2 is here with some fixes and tweaks we accomplished during the season.
Animation and Graphic Updates
Added an item pickup animation.
Added an animation for the ‘flashed’ status effect, applied by flashbangs.
Added third-person animations for coins and SCP-1576.
Made some adjustments to human running animations.
Improved joint limits on corpses; post-humorous legs should now bend more realistically.
Fixed missing materials for the Jailbird’s third-person particle effects.
Replaced all pre-placed corpses with updated models. Jerry, the helicopter pilot, remains untouched for the time being.
Bug Fixes and Miscellaneous
Laser attachments now point towards screen center in all standard situations; they will now be affected less by weapon sway animations.
Rewrote the code responsible for the shotgun’s reloading, resolving some errors and graphical issues.
Resolved error logs related to blinking lights.
Fixed the candy bag not updating its contents when picking up candies post-escape.
Resolved issues related to hotkey override modes not working as intended.
Fixed some strange culling in the HCZ Nuke room.
Fixed certain guns equipped with the night vision scope not stopping 173 in blacked out rooms.
Fixed strange SCP-914 interaction behavior with the Jailbird and Micro-HID.
Fixed extended AP magazine weapons using short-mag animations.
Fixed the Refresh button in the main menu occasionally not re-downloading data properly.
Fixed SCP-939’s amnestic cloud not requiring a minimum size.
Technical Changes
Made major improvements to how we handle seasonal events behind-the-scenes. While you won’t see immediate effects gameplay wise, we’ll be able to reimplement features for seasonal events much easier in the future, leading to significantly less complications around previous features.
Added the ‘HolidayUtils’ utility script, allowing checks on whether a specific seasonal event is active.
Replaced the ‘Holidays’ enum with ‘HolidayType’. Note that this is not a one-to-one conversion. Ideally, this will be easier for plugin utilization in conjunction with the previously mentioned addition of utility methods.
Improved weapon AutoSync exception handling. This allows for the system to recover from most exceptions without resulting in a softlock. Error logs will also include more details— be sure to report them!
Thank you all once again for another wonderful holiday season. Have fun, and see you in the dark.
14.0.1 Patch Changelog
Hello everyone. We’ve recently released some bug fixes and small changes for the holiday update. Included in this post are details that you may have missed.
Flamingo attack damage multiplier against SCPs is now 2.0x (was 0.9x).
The Flamingo tape player now increases its odds of spawning each round until it is obtained from the tree.
Fixed an issue where Flamingos would get stuck on Surface post-warhead detonation.
Fixed an issue where Flamingos would grant object rewards when killed by humans.
SCP-2536 now teleports to Chaos Insurgency as per any other human role.
Grenades spawned by SCP-2536 will properly deal damage to players, instead of just scaring them.
Restored SCP-173's Christmas/Anniversary Model.
Fixed 173's death animation using its standard model.
Fixed 173's teleport indicator sometimes not appearing correctly.
Added more snow piles throughout all zones, primarily within important rooms.
Fixed snow piles not regenerating after a set amount of time on Surface.
Restored ‘snowy’ textures on Surface's terrain.
Restored Christmas/Anniversary Fog throughout the Facility.
Fixed Pit Shader not being recolored with the Xmas fog.
Restored Chaos Train as a random variant of the Chaos Van during the event. Keep an eye out for flying cars!
Disabled the Achievements Debug Menu.
Fixed misaligned Clutter spawns on the Surface railings.
Extended SCP-079’s fence ever-so-slightly so that you couldn’t jump in and get softlocked.
Removed debug messages from the Server Console.
That is all for today. Have fun, and see you in the dark.
14.0 Full Release + Holiday Update
Hello everyone. After a long month of refinement during our Public Beta, we are happy to conclude and release the ‘Heavy Duty’ update. While we have plenty more in store for the 14.X lineage, we have decided to begin by releasing a redux of 2023’s Anniversary update alongside the full release. We’ll continue refining the last few remaining features in preparation for a festivity-free Facility.
We will briefly revisit what you can expect within this update. For a more detailed changelog of how the game iterated over the beta process, you can read more here.
SCP:SL Version 14.0 — ‘Heavy Duty’
HCZ Rework and Facility Updates
As mentioned in the previous update notes, a primary cornerstone of the ‘Heavy Duty’ update is our changes to Heavy Containment Zone (HCZ). With ten new layouts and massive modifications to level design, we are happy to consider this the first proper ‘zone rework’ we have accomplished.
Following feedback regarding HCZ’s layout, we have opted to proceed with a few adjustments from the beta. We noticed that structures were spawning slightly less than intended, leading us to update our randomisation system. You can now expect an increased number of doors, clutter objects, and improved bulkhead consistency. Also, keep your eyes out for the newly finished Alpha Warhead room!
Respawn Overhaul
Another core feature of ‘Heavy Duty’ is the newly improved Respawn Overhaul systems. With a goal for gameplay decisions to feel more impactful in-game, players will have the ability to observe how actions directly affect the flow of the game.
Firearm Soft Rework
The firearms within SCP:SL went through many iterations during the public beta. Overall bullet accuracy has been improved across the board for every gun, with reduced recoil also leading to a more user-friendly gunplay system. Much has changed since the start of the beta, so be sure to experience the new gunplay systems if you have not done so already..
Experimental Weapons
We have reworked the 3-X Particle Disruptor and experimental weapon spawning systems during the beta. Alongside this, we will be showing off the new Micro-HID with the full release of this update. We hope you enjoy it.
SCP-1344
SCP-1344 is the new SCP item released in this update. As our first item that directly toys with body horror, we are happy to release the ‘eye-catching goggles’ within this update.
Fixes, Improvements, Technical Changes
This update also contains a massive amount of fixes, technical changes, and more for the game community at large. From new achievements, to a ton of bugs being fixed, and the addition of the new Speaker Toy, there are plenty of changes, the details for which can be found in the previously linked Beta Changelog.
Anniversary Update
SCP-2536 — ‘The Gift That Keeps On Giving’
The Christmas tree is back and ready to spread more cheer. This year, we have made adjustments to its available loot pool, meaning that players should expect helpful gifts more tailored to their current situation.
The Chaos Insurgency has also kept themselves off of the naughty list this year, meaning they can now receive gifts as well. How exactly they accomplished this is still to be determined.
SCP-1507 — ‘Pink Flamingos’
We have heard your pleas, the Flamingos are back. Last year when we first introduced them to the public, we felt we accomplished our festive goal of bringing people together. This year we will be achieving the same, alongside some improvements and balancing changes. Here is what you can expect:
As a whole, the possibility of SCP-1507’s tape recorder being a possible gift will be decided upon round start. The biggest downfall of SCP-1507 was the fact that they existed nearly every single round. Now, you can never truly expect when the horde may appear.
SCP-1507 instances must stay together to have their maximum potential speed.
Flamingos now deal reduced damage to SCPs. They are still capable, but it requires more planning and teamwork!
The Flamingos are in your walls. They now spawn inside the HCZ vents.
SCP-559 & SCP-956
The Piñata and cake are also making their return. Having been our first true wildcard seasonal feature, we have also found the time to be able to bring them back as well. Keep on the lookout, as SCP-956 moves twice as often!
We have been hard at work in getting this update out to you folks, and while we have certainly been busy, we are beyond happy to celebrate another year of SCP: Secret Laboratory with the community. From each and everyone at Northwood — thank you all for the unique opportunities you have given us!
Have fun, and see you in the dark.
- Northwood Studios
14.0 Public Beta Feedback Survey Part 2
Hello everyone!
Now that you've had a chance to play with the rebalanced weapons for a while, we invite you to fill out this second part of the 14.0 Public Beta Feedback Survey.
https://forms.gle/vRChG2YyLoQj7sBj6
We thank you for your ongoing support and see you in the dark! ~ Northwood Studios
14.0 Beta Update #2
Hello everyone.
We have just released the second update to the Public Beta. Included are new CASSIE announcements, bug fixes, and more.
Concept art of Combat Armour.
