In October 2022, PlaySide Studios excitedly launched WORLD BOSS into Early Access in partnership with two of the world’s biggest content creators, LazarBeam and Fresh. Since then, the talented development team have been hard at work, taking onboard the feedback of our passionate community and LazarBeam and Fresh themselves, to deliver countless tweaks and changes, and refining the gameplay experience for all of our players.
We're committed to making WORLD BOSS the best it can be, and we're not stopping until we achieve our ultimate goal – our crowning jewel and completed vision: the full v1.0 release.
Guess what? It's coming sooner than you think! You heard it here first, folks… put it in your calendars and get your weapons ready, as 27 June, 2023 will see the official release of WORLD BOSS v1.0!
THE ULTIMATE WORLD BOSS
Early Access has been indispensable for us. We’ve been able to experiment with some really entertaining and unique ideas as well as different mechanics to create a game that we believe is truly unique.
The team has put in a massive amount of hard work to bring you our fully realised WORLD BOSS experience.
Here’s a little taste…
An all-new Arena with diverse biomes, new gameplay options and enhanced graphical fidelity
ADS for most weapons for enhanced accuracy
Total Perk overhaul alongside new Perks including Boss Killer, Airborne Aggression and Ratman
Party Join allowing players to join up and fight against up to four of their friends
The ability for dominant World Bosses to plant Corruption Bombs and destroy areas of the map and even end the match…
And post-launch, players can expect a new way to earn Boss Bucks via in-game challenges
BATTLE PASS COMING TO AN END
It’s been a wild ride, but as of 27 July, 2023 our Early Access Battle Pass will come to an end.
The Early Access Premium Battle Pass will continue to be for sale until 27 June, 2023. This is your last chance to grind the exclusive cosmetics from the Early Access Battle Pass before this feature goes away forever – and is replaced by a new rewards system.
Therefore, the end of the Early Access Battle Pass will see the end of Battle Points, but don’t be alarmed. Any Boss Bucks that have been purchased in Early Access will carry over into v1.0 and players will now be able to earn these Boss Bucks in-game from 27 July, 2023.
Similarly, the Fresh and LazarBeam Founder’s Packs will be changing. The skins will be still available in 1.0 with new pricing without the inclusion of the Early Access Battle Pass and XP boost.
CORRUPTION DETECTED
We want to keep some things under lock and key… for now. So, keep your keen eyes peeled over the next month for an information extravaganza as we delve deeper into all these amazing new features.
So, buckle up because this upgrade is set to be absolutely epic. The game you’ve grown to love is about to be turned up to a whole new level! Every aspect of the full release has been given a lot of TLC and we can’t wait for you to experience it for yourselves soon.
Until then, Gladiators, get hyped and be ready to immerse yourselves into WORLD BOSS v1.0. The battle for the crown is approaching fast.
Where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
Roll up folks, because it’s time to unveil the latest weapon for you to use in your pursuit of the World Boss crown! Named after the lord of lazars himself, the LAZARBEAM is set to send shockwaves through the Arena with its incredible destructive power.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
‘Our players have been asking us for the ability to “romance the LazarBeam” for months. Our design goal was to have a LAZARBEAM players could have and hold, forever and ever. Amen.’
- Game Designer Ben C.
With 50 Damage per shot, double the fire rate of the SMG, a whopping 75 rounds per battery pack, near-perfect accuracy and a very long range, the LAZARBEAM is a deadly precision instrument in the right hands.
‘What’s the catch?’ You ask. The LAZARBEAM rewards those who are a cut above with their aiming and can keep the beam trained on their enemies for those big damage ticks. The LAZARBEAM is a great tool to use while you close distance on your opponents, and then finish off them with melee or a Shotgun.
Perkswise, this weapon works almost too well when partnered with some of the Epic perks, such as Super Charge and Explosive Shots, giving you even more opportunities to shred your opponents.
If you’ve got the skills, then the LAZARBEAM is the tool for you – but watch out for players who’ve invested in movement perks, as they’re going to keep moving and keep their distance, where the LAZARBEAM’s considerable damage drop off takes effect…
ART ATTACK
The art creation for any new feature is always a two-pronged fork – is two prongs enough? Absolutely!
The first stage of art is concepting, which is where the fantastic Nick Y. comes in, and this is where the magic begins. The weapon needed to feel futuristic – I mean, it fires a friggin’ laser beam! This is why you’ll notice that there is a lack of mechanical parts compared to our other base weapons.
Many ideas were painstakingly created, however, some drifted a little too far away from the initial concept. Banana laser gun? Sadly it was a no from the judges on this one.
Real world inspirations were blended together, along with pop culture references of laser guns to create the perfect blend of believable fiction. Fun fact, that’s called verisimilitude. Who said learning can’t be fun?!
From the concepting phase, it’s then time for the weapon to be brought to life by our awesome 3D artist, Kaye! Going from 2D to 3D is always a fun and iterative process. Changes are made to the 2D model to get to the final version, but still keeping the essence and appeal established in the initial concept.
In this case, Kaye modelled the gun and found that the ammo counter was difficult to read with the dedicated display, and the white colour palette from the concept was making UI unclear.
Huddle up, because our devs are team players! Sometimes, the only way to win is to team up… are we hinting up something here? Who knows… anyway! To help reduce the workload in other departments such as technical art and animation, the team were able to utilise and rework rigs and animations that already existed. The LAZARBEAM was designed and modelled around the DMR. This meant keeping the key features in the same place such as the trigger and grip positions. Smart, right?!
You know how they say if you see a bright coloured animal, don’t touch it because it’ll probably kill you? Well, the LAZARBEAM started off the same way. As the colours were much lighter than other weapons in the game, it stood out quite a bit when comparing it to the existing weapon lineup.
The bright tones conflicted with important UI, so muting the colours into darker tones was a way to bring it back in line with the other weapons which helped it feel visually balanced on screen. Initially, the colour of the beam was blue, not that you needed any more hints at the fact we love that colour, but with the new visual changes to perks, the colour pivoted to a warmer yellow/orange.
Although the model may look perfect already, regularly testing the 3D model in game is essential, so the weapon can be visually readable in both first and third person – making sure the ammo counter, for example, was super clear. Essentially, we want to make sure you can see your impending doom, or on the other side, weapon of mass destruction, very clearly.
So, stick a fork in me, I’m done!
PEW! PEW! PEW!
We like making dreams come true here at PlaySide, setting to work on the sound for a laser gun is every Sound Designer's dream! Audio wizard, Zach, was excited to work on the LAZARBEAM, as it gave him a lot of opportunity for creativity and exploration.
The audio needed to be as loud and as special as the LAZARBEAM’s visual design, so this was supported audibly by using a mixture of electronic hums, spot welding arcs and earthquake sounds as a starting point. Otherworldly audio modulations were then mated to these sounds which quickly changed the pitch of the otherwise consistent bed of original assets.
No boring audio allowed!
Despite the LAZABEAM being futuristic, at the heart of it, it’s still a gun. Player feedback when pulling the trigger is still important, so transient heavy "pull the trigger" sounds were added. How did Zach achieve this masterpiece? This consisted of many sound layers such as real gun shots, kick drums and 8-bit arcade beeps running through some heavy overdrive effects. Having all of these elements pitch down really quickly when the sound starts gives it that classic Hollywood Laser Gun sound that everyone knows and loves!
Once the building blocks had been cemented together, the audio was then put into the audio implementation engine middleware Wwise. This allows our Sound Designers to tweak things like pitch, volume, overdrives and delays.
Great audio can level up any gaming experience and the LAZARBEAM sound effects have hit the nail on the head.
Get ready to disintegrate anyone that stands in your way with this new weapon… See you in the arena, Gladiators!
Where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
What's New in v0.2.0 - Lives System, New Weapon, Controller Support and more!
Gladiators,
Our latest content update is live and jam-packed with exciting new things to play with. We’ve got a brand new weapon styled after one of our IRL World Bosses, the rollout of Controller Support, the new Lives System, a main menu overhaul, and much more.
INTRODUCING THE LAZARBEAM
We just couldn’t miss the opportunity to name this gun after the legend, LazarBeam – Genius right?!
Packed with plenty of damage, insane range and near perfect accuracy to boot, this high impact weapon is sure to be a new fan favourite.
Keep your eyes peeled for a blog dedicated to this epic new weapon – but for now, jump in game to experience its power!
GETTING A LIFE
Say goodbye to the old Demotion System and hello to the new Lives System. This new system introduces a fast-paced, risk vs reward dynamic that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
We saw that high level players had limited incentive to prestige, and that the Demotion System was not as clear as we would have wanted. With the new Lives System, dying has consequences, so watch your health!
Each progression level has a certain number of lives to help you survive the battle for the crown. But be careful, because each time you die, you'll lose a life from your total count.
If you manage to level up and reach a new bracket, all of your lives will be replenished. The catch-22 is that the capacity of your lives will be lower than before, so be sure to strategise before running head first into battle.
Levels 1-4 = Infinite Lives
Levels 5-9 = 6 Lives
Levels 10-14 = 5 Lives
Levels 15-19 = 4 Lives
Levels 20-25 = 3 Lives
If you run out of lives completely from level 5 onwards, you'll be sent back to level 1 and lose any perks, weapons, or equipment you had until your next level up.
But don't worry, there are ways to increase your lives count. To help you stay in the game, keep an eye out for health pickups scattered throughout the arena – these are set to a lower drop rate than health packs, so you need to grab them before another Gladiator can!
Are you ready for an adrenaline rush? With each life at stake, you'll have to make split-second decisions and take calculated risks to progress through the game. But fear not, the fun doesn't stop there! The Lives System also creates emergent gameplay opportunities, allowing you to capitalise on other features in the game like perks and equipment.
So gear up, strategise, and get ready to take on the challenges ahead. The Lives System is about to change the game and create so many more variations in your gameplay style and experience.
EVEN MORE PERKS AND BONUSES!
[I]*breathes*
We’ve got even more cool stuff in this update.
In our previous update, you may remember how we added in multiple new perks in the game. As an update to that update, we have made some visual changes to help with readability. Every player will now have an aura based on whichever perk type that makes up the majority of their build. Depending on your selected perks, you’ll now have different coloured muzzle flashes, tracers, impact and player aura. Flashy, right?
CONTROL HOW YOU PLAY
Did I hear you say full controller support? Well, if you didn’t that’s what you’re getting! Update v0.2.0 brings full controller support to the game and a revamp of all the menus. This will continue to be enhanced so let us know your feedback.
The main menu has received a major facelift, with an all new 3D background. It's now sleeker than ever and ready to impress.
Alright, Gladiators! The competition’s fierce and it’s time to put your skills to the test and steal that crown… or die trying. Good luck!
As always, where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
Get ready to rumble, because we’re bringing you another huge update. New features for everyone!
The most notable new feature in this update is the new Lives System. Move over Demotion, no one wants you here. The Lives System gives our players a heightened sense of risk vs reward – with each level (above Level 5) you are given a certain amount of lives, lose them and your luck will run out, sending you back a notch. Being strategic is more important than ever, so don’t lose your head.
With all the sweet perks we gave you last time, we decided to sweeten the deal even more. Now, depending on what perks make up the majority of your build, you’ll now have different coloured muzzle flashes, tracers, impact and player aura.
But wait, there's more behind door number 3! Full controller support is now here, providing our Gladiators with even more tools to be at their best. Along with this, menus and plenty of UI have been updated and elevated to feel extra slick when navigating through them with your controller.
As always, we’ve sprinkled in plenty of bug fixes to keep your game running as silkily as smooth peanut butter… no crunchy bits here to mess up your gameplay.
Read about all the new features in an in-depth blog coming later today!
The crown is yours for the taking, careful not to lose a life and all your hard work while you fight your way to the top. Until next time, Gladiators…
Release Notes
Features and Content
New: Updated Main Menu
New: Lives System to replace the Demotion System
New Weapon: LAZARBEAM
Perk Visual Update
Controller Support Updates
Full Controller Support
Controller Glyph Icons
Refine Aim Assist for controllers
Melee Updates
Refinements to when you are about to make an action, have made an action, and missed an action
Perk Update
Impulse punch proc on each successful melee
Jetpack model is now visible when the player has the jetpack perk equipped.
Weapon Update
Sniper Glints to better visualise where players are shooting from
SMG max range is now 50m from 75m
Miscellaneous Updates
Jetpack FX readjustment
Adjusted death screen character pose so male and female skins are different
Pre Game Loadout Panel
End Of Round Progression Panel
Bug Fixes
General
Health Ping remains on the player even when not selected when prestiging
Fixed an issue where World Boss gems rain from the sky when making contact with the player
Fixed an issue where the kill notification icon for rank 1, 2 and 3 players are all the same
Fixed a range of inconsistencies in the Banner Stats
Fixed an issue when joining a new game caused the pistol to float behind the player
Fixed an issue where the world boss crowns don't sit correctly on the characters head
Fixed an issue where players couldn’t melee mid-slide
Fixed an issue where the player loops mantling when walking into cardboard boxes in the Plane Hex
Fixed an issue where the back button text is didn’t fit in the button
Fixed an issue where the localised purchase price was different price on the payment screen in Steam
Server
Fixed an issue when disconnecting from a game while in the loading screen brings the end of round orbit cam to the main menu
Weapon Fixes
Fixed an issue where destroying reactors with AK not 100% accurate
Fixed an issue with the RPG not playing correct audio or PFX when fired
Fixed an issue where the Mega Soaker RPG skin didn’t get PFX from fire rate increase or damage increase perks
Equipment Fixes
Fixed an issue where the Teleporter was invisible when thrown back against a wall
Fixed an issue where the Bubble Shield did not change colour as it took damage
Where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
This blog may as well be called ‘How many times can we say perk?’ because this update is all about balancing the literally dozens of perks we currently have in game – and adding a few new ones, just for good measure.
Right off the bat, we’ve reduced the max level from 30 to 25. This means players can prestige earlier and perk up even faster. What a perk!
Now, we know you’re wondering, ‘what have you done to our precious perks that are already in-game?!’ – but don’t worry, we’ve given them some love.
Many perks have received an extensive amount of changes. For some, tier levels have been lowered and some stats have been refreshed to keep the playing field even.
One of the biggest changes for this update is that we have added five new perks. We want to continue to give our legendary players more build options on their path to becoming the World Boss:
Gem Magnet: This handy perk creates a magnet-like area of effect that causes gems to gravitate to players from further away. Players will gain 50% additional range on gem pickups. This is how I win.
Lunch Money: Each time players get that sweet Melee kill, they will be rewarded with a drop of 50 EXP worth of gems.
Ignition: A truly epic Perk that grants the player infinite ammo while on fire… muy caliente!
Damage Range Increase: A damaging blow for your enemies, this perk extends weapon damage fall-off. This will add 10% to each damage range tier. Does what it says on the tin.
Throw Distance: Increase the distance range that equipment can be thrown. Players will reap the rewards and have 35% more range and force when throwing equipment.
I bet you’re thinking, they sure have said the word perk a lot. Well we’re about to say it a couple more times…
With the exciting arrival of all the new perks, some existing ones have received tweaks. We have removed the XP Loss Reduction perk, as well as ALL debuffs from Epic perks, making them even more powerful than ever!
But that’s not all! We have continued to update weapon and equipment balancing to ensure that fights are always fair. As well as this, this update squishes various bugs, such as player collisions with environmental objects, various fixes for drones, and fixes for the generators not showing the correct amount of health.
Perk patrol, activate! It’s time to hunt down those new perks and create the ultimate World Boss build… see you in the arena!
Make sure to read about all the changes below and keep your eyes peeled for more information on the next Update.
Release Notes
Features and Content
Perks
New: Gem Magnet Perk
New: Lunch Money Perk
New: Ignition Perk
New: Damage Range Increase
New: Throw Distance
Debuffs removed from Epic perks
XP Loss Reduction Perk removed
Perk Balancing
Kill XP Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Kill XP Increase gains 25 extra EXP per kill up from 10 EXP
Kill XP Increase perk changed to Health Category
Gem Heal tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Gem Heal gains 25 HP on gem collection down from 100 HP
Gem Heal perk changed to Health Category
Gem XP Increase tiers decreased from to 3 from 5
Gem XP Increase gain 25XP per gem bonus up from 10
Gem XP Increase perk changed to Health Category
Shield Bonus tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Shield Bonus capacity increased to 25% from 10%
Shield Regen decreased from +5 per tick to +3 per tick
Health Bonus tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Health Bonus capacity increased to 25% from 10%
Magazine Size Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Fire Rate Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Fire Rate Increase now lasts 10 seconds instead of 5
Fire Rate Increase gains 25% faster fire rate down from 10%
Spread Decrease effect reduced from -25% spread to -15%
Movement Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Movement Increase speed decreased from 10% down to 5%
Recoil Decrease effect reduced from -30% down to -20%
Explosive Shots perk rank changed to Epic
Explosive Shots area of effect increased to 5 from 1.25
Explosive Shots damage increased to 50% of shot damage
Electric Shot range increase to 5m
Electric Shot increase damage to 75%
Electric Shot description change to ‘Shooting players can shock nearby players.’
Health Ping area of effect reduced to 25m range
Health Ping tier increment reduced to +5m
Weapons Updates
SMG rate of fire changed to 8 frames from 6
SMG Headshot multiplier dropped to x1.35 from x1.5
Assault Rifle rate of fire increased (from 420 to 480)
Assault Rifle headshot multiplier increased to x1.5 from x1.35
Equipment Update
Tesla Coil arc range changed to 10m
Tesla Coil arc damage increased to 75
Tesla Coil increased tick rate to 45 from 20
Grenade fuse timer reduced to 1.35 Seconds from 2.25
Grenade explosion radius increased to 7.5m from 6m
Environment Update
Generators now show health bars
Progression System Update
Max Player Level decreased to 25 from 30
EXP required for levels within Prestige 1, 2, and 3 have increased
Highest level minimap reduced to 15m from 25m
Lowest level minimap reduced to 85m from 100m
Stats
Kills will Impulse Grenade stat tracker has been replaced with Environmental Kills
Kills with Active Camo has been removed
Daily Activities
Player is awarded a fixed amount of BP for prestige
UI Changes
Characters now have idle animation in the main menu and loadout menu
Miscellaneous Updates
In-game chat will be turned off by default for new players
Chat filter updates
Log in screen before reaching main menu
Kicks character model colour changed from red to blue
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed health packs not appearing correctly when joining a new game
Fixed occlusion culling for better performance
Fixed player being controllable in the loading screen
Fixed various drone issues
Drone kills no long count towards kills in the end of round screen
Fixed issues with joining a match and interacting with menus
Fixed various issues with minimising or focusing on another window
Fixed player collision on environmental objects
Fixed outdated loading screen tips
Fixed various issues around generators having inconsistent health
Fixed players camera cutting out and only showing their HUD
Fixed challenge counter going over the required amount
Updated servers to say ‘Full’ when at max capacity
Fixed bots not engaging in firefights
Fixed bot weapon alignment
Controller support
Fixed player not being able to select stats with the controller
Fixed player not being able to start a match with a controller
Stats
World Boss denials fixed
Equipment
Equipment flow reworked
Fixed various issues surrounding the firebomb
Fixed player getting launched in the air on respawn by Impulse Grenade
This blog may as well be called ‘How many times can we say perk?’ because this update is all about balancing the literally dozens of perks we currently have in game – and adding a few new ones, just for good measure.
Right off the bat, we’ve reduced the max level from 30 to 25. This means players can prestige earlier and perk up even faster. What a perk!
Now, we know you’re wondering, ‘what have you done to our precious perks that are already in-game?!’ – but don’t worry, we’ve given them some love.
Many perks have received an extensive amount of changes. For some, tier levels have been lowered and some stats have been refreshed to keep the playing field even.
One of the biggest changes for this update is that we have added five new perks. We want to continue to give our legendary players more build options on their path to becoming the World Boss:
Gem Magnet: This handy perk creates a magnet-like area of effect that causes gems to gravitate to players from further away. Players will gain 50% additional range on gem pickups. This is how I win.
Lunch Money: Each time players get that sweet Melee kill, they will be rewarded with a drop of 50 EXP worth of gems.
Ignition: A truly epic Perk that grants the player infinite ammo while on fire… muy caliente!
Damage Range Increase: A damaging blow for your enemies, this perk extends weapon damage fall-off. This will add 10% to each damage range tier. Does what it says on the tin.
Throw Distance: Increase the distance range that equipment can be thrown. Players will reap the rewards and have 35% more range and force when throwing equipment.
I bet you’re thinking, they sure have said the word perk a lot. Well we’re about to say it a couple more times…
With the exciting arrival of all the new perks, some existing ones have received tweaks. We have removed the XP Loss Reduction perk, as well as ALL debuffs from Epic perks, making them even more powerful than ever!
But that’s not all! We have continued to update weapon and equipment balancing to ensure that fights are always fair. As well as this, this update squishes various bugs, such as player collisions with environmental objects, various fixes for drones, and fixes for the generators not showing the correct amount of health.
Perk patrol, activate! It’s time to hunt down those new perks and create the ultimate World Boss build… see you in the arena!
Make sure to read about all the changes below and keep your eyes peeled for more information on the next Update.
Release Notes
Features and Content
Perks
New: Gem Magnet Perk
New: Lunch Money Perk
New: Ignition Perk
New: Damage Range Increase
New: Throw Distance
Debuffs removed from Epic perks
XP Loss Reduction Perk removed
Perk Balancing
Kill XP Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Kill XP Increase gains 25 extra EXP per kill up from 10 EXP
Kill XP Increase perk changed to Health Category
Gem Heal tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Gem Heal gains 25 HP on gem collection down from 100 HP
Gem Heal perk changed to Health Category
Gem XP Increase tiers decreased from to 3 from 5
Gem XP Increase gain 25XP per gem bonus up from 10
Gem XP Increase perk changed to Health Category
Shield Bonus tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Shield Bonus capacity increased to 25% from 10%
Shield Regen decreased from +5 per tick to +3 per tick
Health Bonus tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Health Bonus capacity increased to 25% from 10%
Magazine Size Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Fire Rate Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Fire Rate Increase now lasts 10 seconds instead of 5
Fire Rate Increase gains 25% faster fire rate down from 10%
Spread Decrease effect reduced from -25% spread to -15%
Movement Increase tiers decreased to 3 from 5
Movement Increase speed decreased from 10% down to 5%
Recoil Decrease effect reduced from -30% down to -20%
Explosive Shots perk rank changed to Epic
Explosive Shots area of effect increased to 5 from 1.25
Explosive Shots damage increased to 50% of shot damage
Electric Shot range increase to 5m
Electric Shot increase damage to 75%
Electric Shot description change to ‘Shooting players can shock nearby players.’
Health Ping area of effect reduced to 25m range
Health Ping tier increment reduced to +5m
Weapons Updates
SMG rate of fire changed to 8 frames from 6
SMG Headshot multiplier dropped to x1.35 from x1.5
Assault Rifle rate of fire increased (from 420 to 480)
Assault Rifle headshot multiplier increased to x1.5 from x1.35
Equipment Update
Tesla Coil arc range changed to 10m
Tesla Coil arc damage increased to 75
Tesla Coil increased tick rate to 45 from 20
Grenade fuse timer reduced to 1.35 Seconds from 2.25
Grenade explosion radius increased to 7.5m from 6m
Environment Update
Generators now show health bars
Progression System Update
Max Player Level decreased to 25 from 30
EXP required for levels within Prestige 1, 2, and 3 have increased
Highest level minimap reduced to 15m from 25m
Lowest level minimap reduced to 85m from 100m
Stats
Kills will Impulse Grenade stat tracker has been replaced with Environmental Kills
Kills with Active Camo has been removed
Daily Activities
Player is awarded a fixed amount of BP for prestige
UI Changes
Characters now have idle animation in the main menu and loadout menu
Miscellaneous Updates
In-game chat will be turned off by default for new players
Chat filter updates
Log in screen before reaching main menu
Kicks character model colour changed from red to blue
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed health packs not appearing correctly when joining a new game
Fixed occlusion culling for better performance
Fixed player being controllable in the loading screen
Fixed various drone issues
Drone kills no long count towards kills in the end of round screen
Fixed issues with joining a match and interacting with menus
Fixed various issues with minimising or focusing on another window
Fixed player collision on environmental objects
Fixed outdated loading screen tips
Fixed various issues around generators having inconsistent health
Fixed players camera cutting out and only showing their HUD
Fixed challenge counter going over the required amount
Updated servers to say ‘Full’ when at max capacity
Fixed bots not engaging in firefights
Fixed bot weapon alignment
Controller support
Fixed player not being able to select stats with the controller
Fixed player not being able to start a match with a controller
Stats
World Boss denials fixed
Equipment
Equipment flow reworked
Fixed various issues surrounding the firebomb
Fixed player getting launched in the air on respawn by Impulse Grenade
With the release of our latest map point-of-interest, the Viking Hex aka “Midgard”, we wanted to do a deep dive and take you through the decisions our designers and artists make when building a playspace for our Gladiators.
The biggest factor in creating the new Hex was to provide players with a different experience each time they jump into a game. What makes the World Boss maps unique, is the way in which it is made up of different Hexes. These can and will be reconfigured, to create an almost infinite range of new maps that will all play differently.
MAKING MIDGARD
Our talented 3D artist Vinnie, who worked on Midgard starts the thought process for each Hex with the question, ‘what will make this Hex unique?’
For Midgard, we wanted something more intriguing than just a snowy environment, which is where the Medieval Viking theme comes into play. From this starting point, our amazing artists started concepting a Hex that felt truly different to anything else in the game so far…
You’ll notice the historic inspiration the most in the selection of buildings and the subtle Viking motifs they feature. Can’t you just imagine a group of warriors sitting inside, drinking ale and preparing for a fight?
As mentioned above, each Hex needs to look unique but also instantly recognisable. Using a cool blueish palette means Midgard immediately stands out against the other Hexes. Then, our artists used splashes of warmer colours, such as the orange of the trees and warm reddish houses, to add some contrast to ensure the environment doesn’t come across as monotone.
Vinnie noted an important factor to consider when creating environmental art is ensuring the player can always orient themselves using landmarks on the map. This means placing distinctive and recognisable environment pieces in each Hex so a player can look around and immediately know exactly where they are.
CREATING A WORLD WITH SOUND
With each new environment, our amazing Sound Designers can experiment a lot when creating the sonic landscape to help immerse the players within each Hex. The audio and sound effects when entering Midgard are instantly noticeable and really transports you to another world!
The environmental art of Midgard lends itself to a more playful approach to Sound Design. As an example, we wanted the frozen river to have an echoing ice shelf effect common in arctic and alpine areas when a lake freezes over in the winter.
Our Sound Designer, Zach, delved into trying different “ice stress” sounds such as crunching paper and ripping polystyrene. These gave a really nice “ripping” or “creaking” sound especially when combined with the echo effects. So next time you are running around the new map, jump on the frozen river and listen to it creak beneath your feet!
Zach’s favourite portion of the map to work on was the Viking longhouse. As you approach the longhouse in game, you are able to hear Viking music and dancing from inside the building. Historically, longhouses were multi-purpose – with dining, sleeping and dancing in the one building. Putting these sounds together meant Zach could get involved and clap along to the song with a drunk sense of rhythm and layering that on top of the music.
Have a listen for some of the interesting sounds around the map next time you’re in Midgard – you might even hear a plate or two smash inside the Longhouse…
ENABLING DIFFERENT PLAYSTYLES
Midgard provides players with the opportunity to get into close quarter combat, says Game Designer, Ben, to really test their skills and see if they are worthy of becoming the World Boss. Throughout the Hex there are multiple choke points to force Gladiators into battles that could make or break their climb to the top of the leaderboard!
Something that was kept in mind when designing Midgard, was establishing that paths leading to points of interest have close enough walls and cover that will facilitate the use of high damage but close ranged weapons. However, there are still plenty of vantage points on the cliffs to be able to get that sweet snipe and delete as many opponents as possible.
With a vast range of movement options such as Multi Jump, Jetpack and Super Jump (among others) we want to provide as many opportunities for our players to utilise these tools throughout their battles. Vertical level design allows us a unique ability to encourage moments and scenarios where Perks can be leveraged in a multitude of exciting and unique ways, both during combat and regular gameplay.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Currently, the Hex you spawn into is chosen at random, so you never know which one will be your starting base, which keeps players on their toes and adds to our overall enjoyable casual gaming experience. As we continue to develop more Hexes, we are exploring options to allow players to choose which Hex they want to spawn into or respawn at after being Deleted.
May Odin bring you good fortune… What will your strategy be when contending for the crown in Midgard?
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
We hinted at the end of 2022 that a new Hex would be coming to our map…
The time now has come to introduce our brand new Snow Hex, Midgard! Complete with plenty of Norse flavour, Midgard offers Gladiators an all-new winter wonderland Hex to do battle in. Will you reign supreme as World Boss? Or be carried off to Valhalla?
This new Hex has been highly requested by our loyal community, and helps us continue to keep World Boss as fresh and exciting for our players each time they decide to jump into a new game.
With our new FOV slider, players are now able to adjust how much of the arena they can see on screen at the same time. This can help improve aim and increase your peripheral vision in-game – so you can make sure other gladiators don’t sneak up on you for a kill. It’s also a great accessibility option to help those who may suffer from motion sickness when the FOV is zoomed in.
Along with these exciting changes, we have included various quality of life improvements such as:
The World Boss Health and Shield boost is now visible on the HUD to allow other players to keep a closer eye on them…
A rejoin timer so players know how long they have to rejoin to keep all their previous progress
Bullet sound FX when a player has a near miss
And so much more…
Squashing as many bugs as possible is always a priority, and this update is no exception. Some notable fixes we have made are:
XP Loss Reduction Perk not calculating XP lost correctly
Fixes to collision so players won’t get stuck on objects
Fixing issues where Drones would get stuck on geometry
While the snow falls in Midgard, load your weapons and find your vantage point. It may just be the place you finally become the World Boss!
Make sure to read about all the changes below and keep your eyes peeled for more information on the next Update.
Release Notes
Features and Content
Map Update
New Snow Hex, “Midgard”
New visuals and audio unique to Midgard
New map configuration
Settings Updates
Enabled the option to adjust Field of View
Developer tag visible on World Boss devs when in-game
Audio Update
Bullet whizz SFX when a player experiences a near miss
Rejoin with progress
The main menu now shows a ‘Rejoin Timer’ indicating the period players have to rejoin to save their progress
Drones Update
Drones now move along a pre-determined flight path
A limit of five drones per hex at any one time
World Boss UI Update
World Boss health and shield boost visible on HUD
PFXs surround the name of the current World Boss on the leaderboard
Stats
New stat tracker: Telsa Coil kills
Miscellaneous Updates
Improved information gathered from reported players and bugs
Bug Fixes
General
Fixed players being able to escape the map with specific perks with addition of a kill box on the skydome
Fixed invisible players bug relating to Active Camo
Fixed weapon level changing when reconnecting using the save progress feature
Fixed World Boss related UI appearing over the Loading Screen
Fixed weapons not despawning when throwing them off the map
Fixed specific first-person arm skins changing when switching weapons
Removed weapon outline shader in the Respawn and End-of-Round screens
Fixed Drones getting stuck on geometry
Fixed death desaturation filter carrying over to the End-of-Round screen
Fixed Drone hitboxes remaining behind when destroyed
Fixed navigation in the Main Menu with the controller
Fixed various damage text issues
Fixed enemy’s weapons not appearing in the Respawn screen
Fixed various issues with ‘Misadventure’ information
Fixed incorrect textures on art assets
Fixed support UI box following the mouse when player Alt+Tabs
Fixed UI overlapping with the Report window
Fixed Last Chance tip description in the Loading screen
Fixed characters walking slightly above the ground in certain situations
Fixed player spawning incorrectly when repeatedly attempting to respawn
Fixed text formatting on the ‘Kills with Explosive Magazines’ stat card
Audio
Fixed various issues surrounding audio not playing correctly
Fixed UI elements missing audio feedback
Perks
Fixed an issue with XP Loss Reduction Perk not calculating the amount of lost XP correctly
Fixed an issue with XP loss amounts not updating in the respawn screen when XP Loss Reduction Perk is equipped
Fixed an issue with the Last Chance perk effects remaining on the some characters after respawning
Active Camo Perk no longer remains active when the Tesla Coil is active
Fixed multiple of the same Perk appearing on the Item Wheel
Fixed the player being able to consistently throw Explosive Magazines
Fixed respawning in the Ground Slam state when using Ground Slam off the map
Fixed being able to activate Ground Slam while crouching
Fixed the Jetpack fuel value not being updated after respawn
Fixed various health perk effects appearing on players
Fixed players returning as the World Boss after using the Last Chance Perk
Crashes
Fixed crash when launching through the executable file without the use of Steam
Movement
Fixed player getting stuck on objects when mantling
Fixed getting launching in the air when mantling next to another player
Fixed various collisions
Equipment
Fixed mantling over the Speed Tread when its placed near a ledge
Fixed the Fire Bomb detonating from behind when throwing against a wall
Fixed Speed Tread not deploying on the Western Hex water tower
Weapons
Fixed getting a black screen when switching between weapons
Fixed Rocket Launcher projectile detonating on objects/players behind the player when firing
Fixed incorrect material applied to the Future Sniper Rifle ammunition counter
Where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
We’re starting 2023 off right with a brand new update! While we’re working hard on a full Content Update due to land in the coming weeks, we wanted to take this opportunity to make several Quality of Life improvements along with some bug fixes.
This update includes the highly-anticipated ability for disconnected players to rejoin the game with all of their previous progress saved, so they can continue forging their path to become the World Boss.
Additionally, there have been some changes to make UI elements more readable (e.g. shield and health), we’ve included more information about perks via the Tab screen, and unlocked more options for crouching players to sneak around without appearing on the minimap. Check it out!
We are always assessing the balancing for weapons and perks to ensure that the playing field remains even. Some perk buffs have decreased slightly as a result.
Make sure to read about all the changes below and keep your eyes peeled for more information on the next Update.
Release Notes
Features and Content
Rejoin with Progress If players disconnect from their current session, for a short period of time, they will be able to rejoin the same game with their progress (Level, Perks, Weapons) at the same state as when they disconnected.
Health and Shield Bar Visual Update Bars are segmented and will increase/decrease uniformly to clearly show players total based on what upgrades they have equipped.
Tab Screen Update Stats added with a new layout to accommodate all of the information
Loadout Update New Layout and Navigation setup
Boot Up Sequence and Splash Screen Updated the boot up flow and splash screen to better reflect how the game loads, and added more relevant information in the screen
Hex Visual Updates
Crash site
City
Main Menu Updates
Player idle pose
New posed character icons
Miscellaneous Updates
Improved UX flow to the store
Implemented a multi-slot sub-menu for selecting an unlocked stat tracker
Implemented a notification system for missions pop-ups that supports animations
Gameplay
Perk and Weapon Synergy Instead of the Perks offered to players at each level up being almost completely delivered at random, we have implemented a system that provides some weighting towards what selections players have made at previous levels and will make future offerings slightly favour synergistic selections.
The aim is to give players more agency and provide some control over how they craft their particular character “build” within that session, but still providing the possibility of some randomisation to keep things dynamic.
Crouch to Disable Visibility When the player is a regular Gladiator and they are crouching, they aren’t visible on the minimap, and when the player is the World Boss – regardless of their movement state – they should be visible on the minimap.
Last Chance Perk update When a player dies, and the Last Chance perk procs they will be able to reset the countdown timer by successfully making a kill.
Store Revamp The store has some new additions - go check it out!
Steam Rich Presence Update This now reflects what you’re playing on Steam.
Balancing
Tesla Coil cooldown increased from 10s to 25s.
Tesla Coil damage increased from 50 to 75.
Impulse Grenade power increased from 20 to 30.
Impulse Grenade explosion radius increased from 10.5m to 12m.
Melee damage decreased from 425 to 350.
Pistol Fire Rate increased to 300 from 250.
All weapons now have fall off damage.
Refuel speed debuff reduced to 2% from 10%.
Elemental resistance speed debuff reduced to 5% from 15%.
Thick Skull speed debuff reduced to 2% from 5%.
Last Chance countdown timer can be reset by chaining kills.
Last Chance timer changed to 10 seconds from 5.
Last Chance chance to proc increased to 15% from 10%.
Reload Heal reduced to 10% of nominal health from 100%.
Melee Damage Changed from health category perk to damage perk.
All Epic debuffs set to a max of -5%.
Shield Bonus decreased to 10% from 25%.
Shield Bonus increased to 5 tiers from 3.
HP Bonus decreased to 10% from 25%.
HP Bonus increased to 5 tiers from 3.
Removed the +5% elemental damage from Impulse Punch.
Removed the +5% elemental damage from Jetpack.
World Boss Shield decreased to 1000 HP from 1500.
Minimap Level 1 size increased to 100m from 65.
Minimap Level 30 size increased to 25m from 10.
Bug Fixes
General
Various audio improvements.
Fixed an issue where the grenade indicator wouldn’t disappear.
Fixed miscellaneous player and environment collision issues.
Fixed an issue where players would A-pose.
Fixed an issue where the store was unavailable after clicking on "Buy Premium Battle Pass" from the Battle Pass menu.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to skip levels or claim all items in the Battle Pass.
Fixed a range of text overflow issues in the menu and HUD.
Fixed issues with the weekly mission timers.
Fixed % off for Boss Bucks to reflect the correct discount.
After using melee, it now uses the correct weapon equip animation.
Explosive mags now have the correct icon.
Fixed an issue where prestige showed at the incorrect level.
Fixed a range of issues with shaders.
Fixed an issue with the active vignette showing after leaving and rejoining a game.
Fixed a range of issues with climbing and mantling objects.
Fixed an issue where the player would periodically turn invisible after prestiging.
Fixed neck topology on characters.
Fixed a range of UI issues in the battle pass, menu and HUD.
Fixed an issue where clicking "No" when prompted to save changes to inputs would not revert bindings.
Fixed a range of missing weapon icons in the Loadout.
Fixed an issue where after killing a player their health bar and hit box remained until respawn.
Fixed an issue where the EOR screen didn’t show perk levels.
Fixed an issue where the player and pedestal was missing from the EOR screen.
Fixed an issue where one XP generator didn’t activate in the Wild West hex.
Fixed an issue where the Default Shotgun skin was mis-labeled as the Default Sniper Rifle.
Fixed an issue where the Skins/Pedestals changed automatically when players exited and entered the game.
Fixed an issue when a player equipped the kill XP perk, it broke the XP bar.
Fixed a UI issue when selecting a common weapon in the perk wheel it switched to legendary.
Fixed an issue where the player's camera sometimes cut out after getting a kill.
Fixed an issue where double-clicking a locked item in the Loadout menu equipped it.
Fixed an issue where the player’s point of view was locked on respawn except the HUD.
Fixed an issue when the search bar was highlighted, clicking on any element would trigger search.
Fixed an issue where the player could see splash damage PFX but no damage was taken.
Fixed an issue where banner titles and stat rewards do not have a description.
Fixed an issue where a player would be awarded XP and Boss Bucks in error.
Fixed an issue where the death screen didn’t display perks correctly when the opponent had more than 24 perks.
Fixed an issue when the player got kicked for inactivity the character render disappeared from the main menu after closing kicked notification.
Fixed an issue where the respawn screen banner briefly showed the enemy’s then switched to the players’.
Fixed an issue where the stat cards didn’t update until the game was closed.
Fixed an issue when opening the loadout menu whilst loading into the main menu caused a duplicate of the character render to appear.
Crashes
Fixed an issue where the game would crash after starting a new game.
Fixed an issue where some players would soft lock when joining a game.
Fixed an issue where the game crashed after clicking on "Buy Premium Battle Pass" from the Battle Pass menu.
Fixed an issue where the game crashes when selecting Icon Background.
Fixed an issue when selecting the Loadouts tab it caused infinite loading.
Stability
Improved the server and client sync.
Fixed an issue when inspecting items in the Loadout it caused frame drops.
Fixed an issue when the user dies whilst playing with a controller they couldn’t respawn.
Fixed an issue where the player got stuck on spawn or stuck after moving briefly.
Equipment fixes
Fixed missing trail from the Bubble Shield, Jumppad and Speedtread.
Improved Teleporter collision.
Fixed an issue where the Teleporter gets thrown instantly on respawn.
Fixed an issue where the Bubble Shield did not deploy where the player was aiming.
Fixed an issue where the Firebomb icon sometimes didn’t appear under players' health bars.
Fixed an issue where the Speed Tread often sent the player in the wrong direction.
Fixed an issue when the Teleporter was deployed on a vertical surface it made the player float.
Fixed an issue where equipment deployed on respawn if the player died as equipment was deployed.
Fixed an issue where in third person view, the Teleporter played the throw and activation animation on deployment.
Weapon fixes
Fixed an issue where rockets from the Rocket Launcher were unable to destroy drones.
Fixed a range of issues where weapons weren’t firing or firing incorrect shells.
Fixed an issue where equipped weapons would be floating around players' heads.
Fixed an issue where the character does not hold the assault rifle properly in 3D preview.
Fixed an issue where after firing with a single weapon equipped causes ghost shots to fire.
Fixed an issue where the weapon skins didn’t match what was equipped.
Fixed an issue when reconnecting after disconnect, one weapon occasionally got switched to the default pistol.
Fixed an issue where Rocket Launcher projectiles carried perk VFXs between prestiges, even if they weren’t selected.
Known issues
Completed missions from v0.1.4 may appear as incomplete. You won't be able to complete them again, but you will not lose any Battle Pass progression.
Players' items will be unequipped upon updating the game. You'll need to jump into your Loadout and equip your preferred items.
Players getting kicked out of game/back to lobby.
Hang on Loading Screen. Dev note:The workaround is to hard close the game, and reopen.
Some connection or high latency issues.
After being kicked for no/poor internet connection, trying to rejoin the game before your internet has reconnected will cause infinite attempts to connect to a match - Dev note:Close the game and reopen if this occurs.
Some banner stats may be slow to update
After minimising the game for a few minutes, sometimes the menu tabs become invisible (they are still clickable)
On low occurrence, saving and exiting from the settings while connecting to a game may result in infinite connecting - Dev note:Close the game and reopen if this occurs.
On low occurrence, a player may be unable to respawn after dying while clicked into another window
Where possible please ensure all drivers are updated to ensure the best and smoothest performance.
Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
It’s been a massive year! At the beginning of 2022, World Boss was officially announced to the public by LazarBeam and Fresh. A month before launch, we gave our amazing community the opportunity to jump in early and then in October we successfully launched into Early Access. Now, as we approach the end of the year, we want to look back at the year that was and look towards the future.
Naturally, we want to give a massive shout out to LazarBeam and Fresh. This game could not have come to life in the way that it has without our two superstars and we can’t wait to continue the work we have planned. To be able to create a game with two of Australia's biggest content creators has been an amazing collaborative experience and our vision of creating a unique FPS for the gaming community has exploded into something really special.
Thank you to all of the community who have joined us along our development journey, through to the launch of Early Access, and beyond. The eagerness to play World Boss has been awesome to see and we love watching everyone battle it out for the Crown!
Since the start of Early Access, we have seen Gladiators jump in the game, playing over 100k hours and deleting a whopping 420k enemies in their quest for the World Boss crown. It looks like the Assault Rifle is the weapon of choice and a crowd favourite, is it yours?
Version 0.1.4 was our final Update for the year, but we have plenty planned for our next release early in 2023. We are aware that there have been some stability issues that could potentially impact gameplay, but rest assured our team are currently working towards fixes for these and more.
Over the next two weeks, our legendary dev team will be taking a break over the holidays to recharge and come back refreshed in early January and ready to make World Boss even better! Don’t worry though, the servers will still be up over the holidays and a limited crew will be working in case any issues may arise, so you can continue to hone your skills and get those sweet deletions.
We’re working on some really exciting content that is currently under lock and key, but we can’t wait to share more with you when we can… To tide you over, here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming in 2023!
Although we will be a little quieter in Discord, we still appreciate your comments and feedback so keep them coming.
Until next time, chase that dream of taking the Crown. But don’t get too overconfident because you never know who might steal it from you!
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Have a bug you want to report? Head on over to our Discord server. For Player Support issues, please contact us via Zendesk.
