Thunder Tier One
Update 26MAR17
We have had yet another rather longer-than-expected radio silence since the last update. This was caused by multiple issues, most of them related to work overload all of us had in last a few months. This includes, but is not limited to, Pawel's work over https://www.playbattlegrounds.com/ which just went live into Early Access and required great deal of extra time to finish.
So that bad news is - we need to push the release of Early Access further. Our final EA date is May 2017. We are very happy about all the positive feedback we have collected from our Alpha testers that joined our little community, but we strongly feel like the game is not yet ready to publish, because of several critical issues.
However, there are some good news. Because of the extra time we give ourselves, we can push the project further in all other departments. To compensate for another delay, we have decided to extend the content base of the game and deliver, additionally, the following:
- a whole new map for up to 16 players with a new gamemode of Sector Control style
- Windows dedicated server support
- more customizable items (uniforms, headgear, backpacks)
- more guns (3 shotguns, 1 handgun and 1 submachinegun)
- small MP-focused gameplay additions such as target spotting etc.
The Early Access build will help us establish financial support to deliver the remaining content (Operations and Gamemodes). For now, all we ask for is your patience. You can always support us in game development by cheering up on our discord server: http://discord.gg/a8khDrc
STORM out.
Update 27NOV16
There has been a rather long radio silence since last update although we did try to keep you posted with updates on our twitter page ( https://twitter.com/ThunderTheGame ). At the present moment we have reached Pre-Alpha state. Our dedicated community members who reached out to us should be receiving Supporter Keys next week as we run our last RC test tonight.
Pre-alpha tests will primairly focus on gathering feedback on the game mechanics, features and gameplay. So for now, just hop in and take down as many bad guys as you can or try the simple round-based team deathmatch mode.
However, we regret to inform you that we have to move Early Access date due to both foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. We will take advantage of that extra time to include new features and fix bugs based on pre-alpha tests. For those of you who love top down military shooters, you are more than welcome to join our discord community and wait for next batch of pre-alpha keys, we will be happy to let you in and get to know what do you think of our gameplay.
Stay frosty!
Storm out
Update 29OCT16
There's been a lot of stuff going on in the project these last days, however of all of it was related to optimization and refactoring of existing code so not much to show on the visual side. We are on the home straight now and we want to make sure the initial Alpha will be running smoothly enough on as many PC confiugrations as possible.
We have also began sharing pre-alpha keys with our beloved community so if you have not received it yet although you have asked us for one, you will receive it sooner or later.
The gameplay walkthrough video is a bit delayed due to aforementioned code refactoring but will be posted at least 2-3 weeks before the actual EA release.
Our current deadline for EA is last week of November.
Storm out!
BTW some further progress with over the top reload system :)
https://twitter.com/ThunderTheGame/status/792770195722899456
Update 19OCT16
We are working hard on getting all 3 scenarios playable for the initial early alpha release next month. Right now we have closed the list of Alpha features and we are focusing on testing and fixing bugs that prevent smooth gameplay. There is a gameplay playthrough video incoming, albeit possibly delayed till next weekend, so please stay tuned for that.
Stay frosty!
Update 01OCT16
Today's #screenshotsaturday shows a brief look at an important supporting feature of Thunder Tier One gameplay.
Full Video here
The cover system has been worked on for a longer time now. It is very simple to use and extremely versatile. One key is used to snap in and out of the cover in which character takes defensive/hiding stance. Holding aiming key exposes the character and allows players to fire. Worry not though - an elite operator is trained to only reveal only the portion of the body that is absolutely necessary to aim at the target. What's more important is that you can take cover behind nearly every object or wall in the game!
For those of you intrested in more technical aspect: aiming to the sides of a low cover will result in your operator maintaining low, crouching silhouette. Aiming to the front is solved based on the height of the cover and the space to its sides. If you are just taking cover behind a tall structure, such as wall, your thunder will jump out of the cover to make sure he can get a clear Line Of Sight on the target.
Stay tuned for more and don't forget to start following our Twitter page for daily updates on the project!
Update 25SEP16
This weekend was really busy for us as we went to Warsaw, Poland to do a public controlled tests of the gameplay during local game expo. We have managed to locate and identify many issues thanks to invaluable support of random players that were kind enough to hang around our booth. Oh, and we received Jury award for the best game too :)
Starting from next week we will be opening up a few slots for alpha testers as we close in onto EA release date. If you would like to help us polishing the game, drop us a message on the steam community forums. And if you enjoy what you see, you can also support us by following our twitter account or liking and sharing our facebook page with your friends.
https://twitter.com/ThunderTheGame
https://www.facebook.com/thundert1pc/
Storm out.
#Screenshotsaturday
We are finally on Steam! And as it is Saturday today, we are presenting two screenshots from upcoming urban/industrial EA level worked on by our new level designer, Kevin.
We are planning to open early access signups in November 2016 so if you are in for some cool top-down tactical experience - follow the development of Thunder and be the first to get their hands on:)