The Haunted: Hells Reach cover
The Haunted: Hells Reach screenshot
Linux PC Steam
Genre: Shooter, Indie

The Haunted: Hells Reach

DLC 2 "The Fog" & Special Sale DLC 1 "The Island"
Dear Fans!
As promised, we're gonna launch a 7-day special sale because many people missed the publishing sale for "DLC 1 The Island" for reasons beyond our control when DLC 1 was released Xmas eve 2021. In accordance with the STEAM rules, we are allowed to do so in February and start the week for the

Special Sale beginning Feb. 14, 2022, 10 am PST.



Many heartfelt thanks to the hundreds who appreciate our work and encourages us to continue!
We're happy and do so - started working on the Splitscreen-Update as well as on the DLC 2 "The Fog" to release that second DLC. Although, please have in mind that the game is far away from any profit, nevertheless we work as soon as possible.

So, keep your eyes open and let yourself be surprised by news about our progress for your game fun.
CHEERS !

RELEASED: THHR DLC 1 The Island

Dear THHR Fans.


First of all we wish you a Healthy Happy New Year and just the best for everyone of you!

Some of you noticed a few issues during the launch with pricing on some regions like Poland, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Australia etc. and we like to clarify a bit of what happened: Brazil and Australia were without prices on behalf of countryspecifc restrictons. THQ decided by publishing the base game not to accept the Australian application conditions and to use Steam Key's instead the retail process for there - we've joined that. For Brazil we were able to solve it ːsteamhappyː and the DLC 1 became available there.

For the rest of the regions that couldn't get our DLC 1 we contacted Steam more than once and, after some time has passed, they found the problem and wrote yesterday "...very unusual circumstances combined with the Christmas holiday caused a delay." So, the issue on their end was fixed and everything is working now, you should be able to see the price everywhere:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/525170/The_Haunted_Hells_Reach_DLC_1_The_Island/

Since the affected regions couldn't buy the DLC 1 The Island at the reduced release price, we will be doing a special sale. Unfortunately, according to the rules of Steam we have to wait for that and will inform you when this special sale will take place.

Last but not least for today we want to say thank you very much - to everyone who bought the DLC 1, every gameplay, every video and screenshot and every suggestion which makes us know that you really like the work we're doing. So please, keep checking the news because we're on more things right now and announce our above mentioned special sale soon.

Thank you!

The Island - Now Available!

Dear Fans!



Today is December 24th, 2021, Christmas Eve and we are starting selling THE ISLAND with a one-week-discount. We wish you a lot of fun with it, kick all the demons off THE ISLAND and get the new achievement!!!
Be sure to get your DLC until last day of 2021 - for a lot less than a Big Mac!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/525170/

The Haunted: Hells Reach First DLC! - The Island

To all new and old THHR Fans out there!


Here are now the best news since S&A released the original game with THQ - after so many years of trouble! And we request everybody to buy the main game here at Steam! Those are the only authorized sales - and you are able to buy it for a special price - RIGHT NOW here at the STEAM WINTER SALE beginning today, 22.12.21 - check it out!

Hey, Ezequiel here:
When we first started this year we fixed a few old bugs first - some of you noticed it. We also added a new achievement for you to gain - SALVAGED ISLAND.
After working hard on the new level and all the gameplay for the quality assurance we are sure you will like it as we do ! Like we said: GIVE IT A TRY!

The new DevCrew and everyone here at S&A wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2022!


We are going to start the DLC "THE ISLAND" sale this month - that's now for sure! And you will be able to get it here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/525170/

Hi there THHR-Gamer, news...
...yes, Ezequiel here.
We have some views from the new level, testing is in progress...it's really fun! Let's see - it got symbols - are they really just opened by shooting? Find out when you need it - opening up is a one-time pleasure!

"Prison Cell Section" ...be careful not to be cornered despite throwables and special weapons - you don't want to be on higher difficulty levels.

Run through the island garden? Should be done careful in battle mode - and up to...cough...cough...oops, what's that?

Isn't the church nice and shine? While playing Nightmare or Battle mode we are talking about a place where it's better not to be.

Okay, keep checking the news feed and get the game now!
Cheers, Ezequiel

We end the year 2021...

Dear THHR Fans, old and new!
We end the year 2021 with the news that none of the last and the original DevCrew are connected to THHR anymore. We are not promising again something like the last time that we can’t keep - after promises made to us and the agreed delivery dates for Data and level 2017 didn’t comply. Nobody was more sorry and angry about this ongoing to that time than us. But we are pleased, and hopefully you too, that we have now been able to make a new agreement far from any old influence and the new head of the DevCrew has its say now:

Hi there Fans![
My name is Ezequiel, let me tell you firstly a little bit about myself: I've played “The Haunted:Hells Reach” a lot, I know every place, every movement and every weapon advantage/disadvantage. I have also won 4th place on a competition of Killing Floor 2. I am specialized on Unreal Engine and I have made a lot of projects by myself for years. So you know I am not just any player or a someone who came in the way of SyA. May be the most important thing here is: I know what the community wants because I want it too and now it’s time to have it.
In other words, I am happy to announce that we're close to finish the first DLC for the game. The new map we are working on is huge, it has a lot of sections and places you can explore - but don't be too confident because you'll get cornered pretty easy. There are a few secrets that make this map unique and I hope you all have fun finding them all :-). The team and I put a lot of time and effort on this map for you to enjoy - so we hope you like it (we're sure you will!). We will be back soon, stay tuned!
Greets, Ezequiel[

Halloween Sale 2021
The New DevCrew shortly took over and is working on what's been missed since 2017.

Haunted2 Workshop
Starting Haunted2 workshop (Animation) in a few days and news to DLC Haunted1 coming soon...

2017 - News from TheHauntedGames
Hello to everyone!
Let’s start with a small report about 2016: we all had taken no vacation last year, because we aimed (and still aim) on making the DLC1 on UE3 as soon as possible, to compose/record the new music for DLC and Haunted2, to master it and then cut the sequences for the game and have the team for Haunted 2 complete, starting the level design on UE4 plus the work for new characters. Through the following month we saw new team members come and go, because they couldn’t do what they said - or they were much to slow. But professionals who can work faster, prefer to work for large companies with big budget, not for Indie’s. That all wasn’t so funny since our decision to bring Haunted to life again. But, as said in the last announcement, we wanted to have finished the first dlc until christmas, which wasn’t to realize. In addition, there was an accident in november, which still hinders us until April this year. So, we finished 2016 reworked and a bit frustrated.
2017 started with much needed recreation, but also three weeks ago with febrile flu for all plus now shingles for one of us :-( ...and the latest news from the world of justice, aren't constructive, too. Nasty people that still do not give us our money because they think we are dead or they feel safe in their countries and don’t understand why we are still not broke like so many others after our partner THQ has gone bust - which means, the costly lawyer-issues still go on (what the heck costs so much time?).

But that all will not bounce us back and to all the guys who owe us money are said at this point: better you’ll get in contact with us and give us the money you made with our game than being prosecuted and sued for damages for selling copies illegal. We’re gonna get you sooner or later!

And at this point also a big thank you to all of you, who bought our game legally here at Steam and support us thereby! Please have in mind: since we restarted Haunted 1 (Hells Reach) we sell it only here and exclusively on Steam because of the precise separation of legal from illegal sales with respect to the ongoing investigations and law suits.

Okay so far, we are going on with keeping you informed - and now Cedric takes over:

Hello!

Have you ever built a do-it-yourself furniture only to find out that the last piece doesn't fit?

Even if the parts are supposed to fit perfectly, the accumulation of very small mistakes during the construction can sometimes lead to this problem and you have to undo a part of the construction to get things to fit. This also happens when making game levels.


Like their name implies, modular kits are modular and just like legos, you can build a lot of things with only a few different pieces. This makes the production much faster but there is a big drawback and that is that the things can get a repetitive look very quickly.

To avoid art fatigue, I often add a few unique pieces breaking the generic look and that is where problems can arise. Things that should fit no longer fit. In addition, you are at a point where you can not really get back to fix things - since it take a lot of time and could create problems elsewhere.

This is the moment when you have to do things differently - let's say by cheating a bit. If you can not fix something, then you can make it invisible, for example by hiding it. How?
You've got a little gap between 2 wall parts? Let's cover it with a pillar!
You've got two textures which won't connect properly? Let's place a rock on it!
May be you’ll find that is a lazy way to fix unexpected things, but it works, nobody will see it, it saves time and that is what counts. Something that has gone wrong, but can not be noticed as wrong simply does not exist as wrong.

Of course, there are different ways to solve a problem. You could un-build a part of the level and rebuild it with different parts to make things fit, but that's very slow and there is no guarantee that doing so won't break another part of the level. Creating an unique piece just to connect things properly is also another possible way, but I'm not fond of these solutions.

I like to keep my modular kits as simple as possible. What does it mean to have more pieces? Just a higher chance of making errors. Of course, If I want to make something architectural, that means modifying more pieces, but I believe that the most important thing is that if a modular kit is made, it should also be thought of for future potential users. A unique piece which was made to solve a certain situation in ones level used by another artist can become the source of a problem in this artists level.

In a team, you can always communicate with your colleagues to come to a name convention, an agreement for such pieces - but, for example, what about mod-enabled games? The external users know nothing of internal agreements on names for unique pieces and will find themselves with a broken kit to work, which gives them a to the highest unsatisfactory modding experience.

My recommendation on this topic is: if you are going to build a modular kit, you should make it simple and easy to use, not only for you, but for everyone else who will have to work with it.

Dec 18th, 2016 - News from TheHauntedGames
Hello to all friends of The Haunted Games, despite our efforts, we have not been able to complete the DLC before Xmas. So, at KTX, we are somewhat disappointed.
However, Cedric today has especially important notes for the production, perhaps the most important so far at all, because dealing with light and shadow is an overwhelming task in the visual arts:

Hey guys, time to talk a bit about of one of the most important aspects of a game: lighting.

Nature never looks boring because of the unlimited amount of detail it contains - you'll never find two similar rocks or two similar blades of grass.

If we simulate nature in games, then we are limited by some facts like:
- the average power of game computers, which we can not expand,
- the experience of the artist to deal with complicated circumstances,
- the extra time the artist is willing to spend to realize his own ideas, which he wants to see in the final version and
- the money of the investors, since time is money.

As a result, we have to be creative and so lighting in games accomplishes a lot of things:
- it defines 90% of the mood of the level (eg. adding an iceberg will not cause a cold feeling, but a good pale blue lighting will do it)
- it is used to break the repetitive look of objects and textures
- it can provide subtle visual hints for the gamer (eg. where it goes on or what he has to do next)
- it can be used to enhance the look of hero pieces in the level and hide pieces that are not so good

Unfortunately I wasn’t an expert at it from the beginning, though I learned a few things from my colleagues over the course of the years which also depends on the projects you are working on - as you may see here.


Since we can’t have the extremely subtles variations that make nature look unique, we have to increase the contrasts between lights and shadows and use colors that look unnatural but make things look more dramatic.


One of the main feature of the DLC level is that there is a day and a night side to the level. In the night side there is a lighthouse which is casting light in 8 directions.


I designed the lighthouse to make sure that the light from the lighthouse is going to create interesting situations. As you can see here, it is highlighting a path on the cathedral's roof and a fraction of the light inside is shining trough the windows in a specific way. In some case, I had to alter the gameplay slightly to make sure that interesting highlights and shadows would always fall on interesting parts of the level.


This part is my little reference to one of my favorite games: Final Fantasy 10. This area was designed as a reference to the arrival to Zanarkand, when you start seeing the rooftops of the destroyed city in the horizon, which really blew my mind back then.


So, I gave the DLC that kind of breathtaking sight that gives mystery, excitement and a clue as to what's coming…by the way, in case you did not notice, I did exactly the same thing with Irithyll from Dark Souls.


To sum it up for today, a bad lighting can break a level made out of the most beautiful assets, but a good lighting can make average looking assets look really awesome. Lighting itself is far more important than the subject that is being lit, lighting is what brings life to a level.

On the other hand and invisible for the gamer - the biggest problem with complex but mostly impressive lighting is: it takes a lot of time to check it out and finish. At that point where we are right now I made a little screenshot to bring you in the position to get a clue of what I am talking about…


Now you can imagine that something else invisible, especially for Indie's, is also very important while these things always lead to the time schedule being disregarded, and that is the understanding of the CEO and the amount of humor and ideas he has to keep the investors in a good mood - since there are many games that have never been finished and/or released because the studio ran out of money for production or marketing or both.
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