Wow, it has been a whole week already. Hello again, we’re back with another blog post for you to eat up with your eyes. Before we get talking about the closed beta starting this week, which is probably the only thing you’re here for, we should mention that our Unreal tech blog is now up. You can head over to the Unreal community website to have a look at the process of prototyping Sky Noon, followed by development from said prototype into what you see today. Here’s a nice link to get you there if you’re interested:
Now onto the important stuff. The closed beta is this week. From the 23rd to the 25th you will be able to play a small selection of the maps and game modes we are offering in Sky Noon. Below is everything you will be able to play, nothing more, nothing less. We will also go over some general balance changes and additions since the previous closed beta.
Hightown
If you played in the last beta then this will be a new map to you. High in the sky is a town, a town with a super creative name: ‘Hightown’. The map has clear sightlines in the streets with buildings surrounding them, perfect for a classic western showdown.
You will be able to play the first public showing of our take on King of the Hill, a 4v4 team based game mode. Stay in the point while your enemies try to knock you out of it and be the first team to capture five points total. The point will move around the map so be quick to get there before the other team does.
On this map you can also play Team Deathmatch, the standard game mode where eliminations are all that matter.
Bridge
The Cart map ‘Bridge’ is back after its appearance in the first beta but with some updates. A few weeks ago we wrote up a blog post talking about some of the more significant changes to the map in response to beta feedback. If you missed it then here is a quick link:
If you missed out on the first beta then here’s a quick run down. Bridge is a unique symmetrical map in that it hosts a game mode unique to Sky Noon called ‘Cart’. The objective is to shoot the minecart along the tracks and into the enemy team’s base, ending after one team has scored three times. Along the tracks are intersections controlled by switches. Shooting or punching the switch will cause the track to change direction, allowing a team to send the cart a different way. Team work will be required to manage the switches, the cart and the enemy team in tandem. Bridge is one of three Cart maps currently in Sky Noon (it will be the only one playable in this beta).
Some changes were also made to the Cart game mode. The minecart now has a higher max speed. This improves the effectiveness of the low fire rate weapons while decreasing the time players have to spend pushing the cart. Along with this is a change to how tie breaker works. If teams are tied in score after the time runs out then the track switches will lock, creating a straight shot from one base to the other. This should help to shorten those more lengthy tie breakers. Be sure to let us know any feedback you may have about the Cart mode and Bridge, we are always watching and listening.
General Balance
Several balance changes have been made to certain weapons and abilities for various reasons. Generally, the plan is to make sure that every weapon and ability is worth using with none being the ideal choice for every situation. In the last beta we saw that the Teleporter and revolver were causing problems and so changes are being made to get them in line. In addition are some buffs to abilities that felt worse than the rest in certain situations, namely the jet boots and dynamite. Full details will be available in the patch notes when they are ready, which will be just before the beta begins. A preview of some of the changes are listed below:
The Teleporter will now teleport you to it as soon as it hits a surface, preventing you from hiding one in the map as a get out of jail free card. You can still still activate the Teleporter early if you want to teleport into mid air.
Jet Boots are now much more useful for mid air strafing, having received a boost to horizontal movement speed. Additionally, they won’t boost you upwards unless you also press the jump key.
Dynamite has a shorter fuse and will blow up instantly if fully cooked, making it more reliable as a movement tool
The Revolver has gone through its first balance pass. The force per shot has been reduced alongside an increase in time between shots. This limits the maximum force output while maintaining the revolvers role as a long range weapon. Give us your feedback in the Discord
That’s all we have to say for now about the closed beta. Keep an eye on Sky Noon’s Discord server for announcements and further information as we get closer to the beta date. Feel free to use the server to find teammates for your Sky Noon squad and don’t forget to leave your own thoughts or suggestions. We hope you enjoy the beta and look forward to your feedback!
Designing an Air Powered Machine Pistol
Hey again from Lunar Rooster. The next Sky Noon beta is now announced for the 23rd of May, so look forward to further announcements detailing what we’ll be showing. It will last for two days, ending on the 25th of May, so make sure you’re signed up in our Discord server and you won’t miss out. This week our blog is about the machine pistol and how it transitioned from a gun that shot actual bullets (that still didn’t kill people) into an air powered thingamabob.
First Concept First Thumbnail Sketches
Initially the direction of the weapons weren’t designed with the mechanics in mind. They were fairly standard weapons inspired by real world guns, using real bullets and even ejecting bullet casings. It was interesting trying to design a one handed fully automatic gun that would fit into western times. Ultimately we took inspiration from a variety of different designs, notably the rough silhouette of the Mauser pistol. We beefed it up a bit to make it recognisable from a distance and more appealing in the first person perspective, along with some custom details in an attempt to make it feel more Western.
Machine Pistol Concepts
This was in the game for the length of the Sky Noon vertical slice. It wasn’t until after this that we found our designs completely failed to communicate how they push people away instead of outright killing them. This caused a shift in design philosophy to what you see today.
Air Powered Paint overs and new concepts
We drew inspiration from brass instruments, adding pipes, canisters and pistons to give a better idea of what the function of the guns were. For the machine pistol we salvaged what we had and added to it, doing paint-overs of the existing weapon to mock the kind of silhouette and form we were after. In the redesign process we opted for a more metallic look, trying to make better use of Unreals PBR materials and help to set a more unique appearance. With this change of design came a new requirement for how the gun sounded, as no longer could it sound like a real world machine gun while firing compressed air. The sound design moved towards softer ‘airy’ sound effects while maintaining a nice popping sound per shot, along with a sense of pressure and rushing air for the reload effects.
Final Design
This also brought about a solution to reloading with only one hand which always felt a little awkward. Before the change to air powered weapons the magazine would drop out and the gun go off screen, doing who knows what in order to get a new one into it. Now we can contextualise and explain it without having to take the gun away. The machine pistol will open up its main canister and suck in air, which we felt had more flavour and was interesting to look at. The gun spin at the end of the reload animation was for fun, showing a typical cowboy’s sleight of hand and knack for unnecessary flair.
That’s all for this weeks blog post. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more closed beta information next week!
Discussion: Randomised Weapon Pickups and why we chose them
As a foreword when we mention random crates we are solely referring to the in-game mechanic of running over crates to switch weapons or abilities.
With the first Beta done and dusted we thought we would take some time to talk to you about the role of the Crate weapon / ability pickups and randomness in Sky Noon. In your feedback, we found some of you were for and against randomness and we want to lay out how our current system works and then we’d love for you to chime in and discuss this with us on our Discord.
These crazy Crates
In Sky Noon players always spawn with a random weapon and ability. In order to change their weapon or ability, players can run over or lasso one of the many crates around the level.
Weapon crates: gives the player a new random weapon, never the weapon they previously had, with full ammo.
Ability crates: gives the player a new random ability, not the old ability, as well as giving a fair amount of ammo for the player’s current weapon.
Why did we decide to add randomness?
Sky Noon is a unique interpretation of a first person shooter. With the push and pull mechanic we can explore unique ways of allowing players to jostle each other around. The crate system ensures that players will be constantly challenged and engaged with the game by switching play styles throughout a game as their loadout changes. We aim to make each weapon and ability fun to use & powerful. With a bit of creativity, players can combine weapons and abilities to pull off wicked combos. A dash of randomness allows us to ensure that people make the most of the toolbox we’ve created. Although the crates are randomised, players still have quite a bit of control over their loadout throughout any single match.
Give and take
As described before, each crate type has benefits and drawbacks, and by knowing these a player can manage their loadout to a degree. Weapon crates offer an easy way to refill your ammo quickly with the drawback of being given a random weapon. If a player is invested in their current gun they can instead choose to pick up an ability crate which randomises their ability in return for ammo for their current gun. By selectively picking up crates a player can refine their loadout, although they are using up time to do so. With these tools in mind, players are in effect doing on the fly inventory management as they play the game. This extra depth is entirely optional, casual players can pick up the closest crate whenever the need arises.
Your turn
This is how we currently view randomness and crate pickups in Sky Noon, however, we want to hear what you think. How did the random crates affect your experience? Do you mind randomness in games? I’m sure you have much to say and more, we would like for you to join our Discord and give us your thoughts in the ideas/feedback chat.
Crates are great! Change our minds
Cheers,
Lunar Rooster
Building Bridge…s
Hello and welcome to week two of Sky Noon deprivation. Since the closed beta ended we’ve been analysing our long lists of feedback and making some changes. We are hard at work fixing bugs you found for us and polishing up some rough areas in response to the feedback. Meanwhile we are also taking a good look at weapon and ability balance. We want to carefully approach potentially overpowered weapons and abilities to make sure they remain fun to use and powerful but not clearly stronger than the rest. We will be able to talk more in detail about balancing later on.
For now, a fairly significant change we would like to share is the update we have made to the Cart map ‘Bridge’ which we showed during the closed beta. Some of the following changes are a work in progress and are subject to change.
[I]Feedback[/I]
After observing gameplay and receiving feedback about the map we decided that Bridge was in need of some work. Bridge was the most flat and open map in Sky Noon at the time with two main landmasses and smoothed land. The lack of cover meant the cart and the players were practically exposed at all times yet, there were fewer areas than usual to knock people away. The central mounds proved to be frustrating, stopping people in their tracks when shot without explanation. It created chaotic gameplay, with people struggling to get kills or to score with the occasional never ending tie breaker.
[I]Changes[/I]
Old Bridge
New Bridge
The main change is the addition of layered flat land where the empty mounds used to be. The goal here is to add some additional cover to break sightlines and occasionally requiring more thought about your positioning when approaching the cart. There should be more of a tug of war in the trench with the cart, putting the emphasis on the corner into the base and requiring flanking maneuvers to outgun the enemy. Adding flatter surfaces makes shooting people away easier while making it much clearer what and where the obstacles or walls are.
Old Bridge
New Bridge
The map also saw the removal of the large landmass directly next to each team base. The ability crate that was on top is now lower on a suspended platform. The goal was to open up the area for more elimination and flank opportunities on the defenders. To balance this the first and second gates were pushed further back with an added wall to take cover behind. The defenders should now feel slightly safer deeper into their base with the new cover, yet they remain vulnerable to flanks and sneak attacks with several openings. That’s it for the major changes to Bridge but you may notice some extra cover or scenery differences next time you play.
Thanks for reading this weeks blog post! Stick around for more updates and potentially new beta information in the future.
So long and thanks for all the Fish… in a barrel!
Howdy everybody!
The first Sky Noon closed beta is now over and we’re thrilled with the positivity and great feedback that has come out of it. Our Discord server is bustling with feedback and discussion from our 4500+ new members. A huge thanks to everybody who managed to get into the beta and gave up their time to test out Sky Noon. You gave us a barrel-load of feedback and bug reports over the weekend. We are already collating that feedback and making changes, teleporter we’re looking at you, more on that in a future blog post.
This is not the last Sky Noon beta, there is still plenty more we want to test and hope that you guys and gals will stick around to help us out once again!
We want to leave you with some highlights of the beta that you have shared with us: Keep posting them and they might turn up in a future blog posts!
Hello everybody! This weeks blog post is going to be short and sweet because we’re busy preparing Sky noon for our upcoming closed beta weekend! It will start on Thursday 4/19 at 12pm PDT and finish on Monday 4/23 at 12pm PDT. Make sure that you are signed up in our Discord channel and have followed the beta instructions for a chance to get a key!
As it is a beta you may experience the occasional bug or glitch, but by playing you are helping us to find these issues so that we may fix them before our early access release. You can give us direct feedback in the #feedback channel of our discord as well as documenting any bugs and crashes in the #report-an-issues channel. This is our first time opening up our game to so many new players and we’re expecting some small issues to crop up, however well be on hand to fix-em-up right quick!
But what is in the Closed beta?
We’re proud to be showing off for the first time: Cart mode (our version of payload)
In the Cart mode two teams of 4 players will attempt to score by shooting the TNT filled minecart into the other team’s base. Players can shoot track changers to redirect the cart, moving it closer to the enemy base or mess with the other team by directing it away. Cart is played on specialised maps that stand apart our other maps. Closed beta with feature the map called Bridge. While it is the simplest of our cart maps there is plenty of skill and strategy required to win.
Players will also be able to play Free for All in two maps: Homestead and Towers, previously shown at Pax East. Games can get pretty hectic when you have no one else to watch your back.
Cinematic picture to make you like our maps
Haven’t signed up for the beta yet?
Haven’t heard of Sky Noon before?
Join our Discord @ discord.gg/skynoon
See you in the Skies!
And the Medal Goes To...
Happy Easter from Lunar Rooster! This week we’re excited to share something we have been working on recently — our new medals! Ranging from your classic multikills to our special kill style medals, we plan to make sure that your quick shooting and grappling skills will be appropriately recognised.
Introducing… Our new characters! We’re proud to show you our new characters that we have been working on for some time. We felt like our old characters, a hold over from the original inception of the Sky Noon, could do with a refresh allowing us to mold their looks, history and temperament. As an aside, these new characters are purely cosmetic in nature and have no impact on the mechanics.
Check out the rest of our Update on our site along with images:
http://lunarrooster.com/2018/03/26/adding-some-character/
Beta Sign Up!!!
We are also very close to announcing the dates for the beta so if you want to check out the game before we release sign up here: skynoongame.com/beta/
