Howdy Folks!

Today we present the first part of our news series about our work on "Black Powder" in the last few months, to you.
You'll go from the glowing deserts of Arizona, to the fertile landscapes of North Dakota, to the hidden underworlds of "Black Powder".
Load your lead-spitting "life insurance" one last time and set off on a journey of discovery. Always be ready to pull faster than the ruthless enemy ...



A birds eye view of our map "Abandoned Farm", set in 1868 Arizona. However, everything above the ground isn't all there is to discover.



When you've got the guts, descend with us into the mighty catacombs under the abandoned farm of Jessie's brutally smuggled grandparents ...
Explore the countless corridors and rooms whilst you try to survive against your enemies, who are lurking around every corner ... But your enemies aren't the only thing wanting to end your life with a bloody end. There are other dangers lurking deep down ...





Enjoy the fertile North Dakota countryside in and around the town of McKenzie in 1870.
Rolling hills, wooded areas, the city of McKenzie and its train station, as well as farms and cultivated arable land await you. But don't be fooled, even here cruel death lurks around every corner, just in a different guise...




Join us in the town of Ash Springs, the first stop for Jessie and his companions after the slaughter on the abandoned farm. The streets and alleys of this small town in the steppe of Nevada have given Jessies arch enemy refuge. With Jessies arrival the city is now transformed into a hell of powder, fire, powerful explosions and unspeakable suffering ...
Always orientate yourself with the main street that we show here, it could possibly save your life!


We will introduce the various buildings that await you in-game, in detail. We start with 4 work-in-progress versions of the models, in the next few episodes these same models will be presented textured and equipped. Have fun watching!


A two-story townhouse with very unusual architecture on the upper floor and in the roof area.


A small, wooden semi-detached house as you can see it in many small towns and in the country.


Your local weapons dealer in a fancy townhouse, death may have many calibers but always the same price: Your life!


A big, two-storey townhouse – A classical timber construction of its time with an extensive balcony surrounding it.


We hope you enjoyed the first part of our journey and made it through without any serious injuries ...
Load up your lead syringes, put your holster down and maybe enjoy a last cigarette before continuing with the dangerous discovery of the world of "Black Powder"!

In our last post we showed you the construction of the winter based map, Cranks Station.
Today we present you with different content, consisting of in-game images and a small video.
Enjoy the gripping, wintry atmosphere of the map, captured in the images.
Dress warmly for the ice-cold wind that will pierce your skin.
Snowstorms and subzero temperatures await you and your battered body.












We are developing Black Powder as a realistic, historical and authentic shooter. Our motto for the game is “Easy to learn, difficult to master”. We have made a series of decisions to reflect this goal throughout development:

• No crosshair
  
• Realistic Ballistics with bullet penetration, ricochets and bullet drop.
  
• Individual weapon handling, recoil and weapon jolting, along with many more weapon specific features
  
• Realistic damage models on characters, with which each body part has a different collision zone and different damage modifiers.
  
• Interactive environments.
  
• And much more!

Learn more about these features and many more in future videos.
Do you have ideas, questions or feedback for us?

Feel free to contact us through our social media channels!
We always look forward to hearing what you think.

Discord
Reddit
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube

It is the year 1871, the next episode of the drama about Jessie's bloody revenge takes place during the snow-covered winter of 1871/72 in the Appalachian Mountains. Cranks is a small town that has developed little by little around its once lonely train station. Today, in 1871, Cranks is a vibrant little town with everything you need to live and have fun. From saloons, stores and various smaller companies, to the railway depot of a large railway company, everything you need in the west can be found here. Here, a careless "wanna-be hero" can suffer the fate of an unnatural death faster than he would like ...

Be warned stranger, the peaceful appearance of this cozy town is deceptive. Death will be your constant companion!



Please note that the above video is a visualization with no color information yet. The final product and future posts will show the level with true colors.

The maps in Black Powder are fictional locations that could have existed in the wild west based on historical models. By creating all 3D models based on original templates such as historical photos and sketches, we are able to capture the breathtaking atmosphere of the time with all its facets. The design of fictional locations allows the level design to be flexibly adapted to the requirements of the gameplay of the different maps.

• All buildings are accessible!
  
• Individual, detailed interior design of the building!
  
• Climb on roofs!
  
• Fight in short distances in and around buildings!
  
• Kill your opponents with targeted shots from afar!
  
• Find good shooting positions!
  
• Fight as a team!
  
• Win together!

Please note that the above picture is a visualization with no color information yet. The final product and future posts will show the level with true colors.

We are developing Black Powder as a realistic, historical and authentic shooter. Our motto for the game is “Easy to learn, difficult to master”. We have made a series of decisions to reflect this goal throughout development:

• No crosshair
  
• Realistic Ballistics with bullet penetration, ricochets and bullet drop.
  
• Individual weapon handling, recoil and weapon jolting, along with many more weapon specific features
  
• Realistic damage models on characters, with which each body part has a different collision zone and different damage modifiers.
  
• Interactive environments.
  
• And much more!

Learn more about these features and many more in future videos.
Do you have ideas, questions or feedback for us?

Feel free to contact us through our social media channels!
We always look forward to hearing what you think.

Discord
Reddit
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube

During a frantic shootout, the shooter's steady hand is the decisive variable between life and death.

Whether one fires a perfectly aimed, fatal shot depends on several elements that must coincide in the best possible way in the final moment.

It is important to consider the weapons and their individual characteristics such as center of gravity and the presence of shoulder support, as well as the characters own degree of exhaustion and concentration in tense situations or under fire.
The gun sway mechanics in Black Powder allow the player to be immersed in an even more intense experience of firing black powder weapons in the wild west.

The realistic weapon handling in Black Powder is of the utmost importance to us, but we are aware that it is important for a competitive first person shooter that the individual skill of the player must not be negatively affected and/or obstructed by a random, unpredictable aiming mechanic.


A Rhodenea curve generates complex patterns that are tailored to the respective weapons. The resulting natural movement of the weapon in the First Person view repeats, allowing a weapon to develop an individual character. This also allows players to learn and master specific guns.


We are developing Black Powder as a realistic, historical and authentic shooter. Our motto for the game is “Easy to learn, difficult to master”. We have made a series of decisions to reflect this goal throughout development:

• No crosshair
  
• Realistic Ballistics with bullet penetration, ricochets and bullet drop.
  
• Individual weapon handling, recoil and weapon jolting, along with many more weapon specific features
  
• Realistic damage models on characters, with which each body part has a different collision zone and different damage modifiers.
  
• Interactive environments.
  
• And much more!

Learn more about these features and many more in future videos.
Do you have ideas, questions or feedback for us?

Feel free to contact us through our social media channels!
We always look forward to hearing what you think.

Discord
Reddit
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube

In this upcoming video series we would like to show you a selection of Black Powders features the team has been working tirelessly on. Furthermore we would like to give you a sneak peak into the background works and the resulting gameplay mechanics.




Most modern FPS games opt for the aiming mode in which the gun is locked to the character view. They also have the crosshair in the centre of the screen along with the iron sights always aligning to the centre.

For Black Powder we are allowing the gun to move freely on the players screen within an area, meaning the middle of the screen will not always be the place your gun is aiming. By doing this we don't only replicate eyes, but we also achieve a clearly immersive and natural weapon movement.



We are developing Black Powder as a realistic, historical and authentic shooter. Our motto for the game is “Easy to learn, difficult to master”. We have made a series of decisions to reflect this goal throughout development:

• No crosshair
  
• Realistic Ballistics with bullet penetration, ricochets and bullet drop.
  
• Individual weapon handling, recoil and weapon jolting, along with many more weapon specific features
  
• Realistic damage models on characters, with which each body part has a different collision zone and different damage modifiers.
  
• Interactive environments.
  
• And much more!

Learn more about these features and many more in future videos.
Do you have ideas, questions or feedback for us?

Feel free to contact us through our social media channels!
We always look forward to hearing what you think.

Discord
Reddit
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4IppAwfJL8&feature=youtu.be

1869 in the New Mexico desert ...

Jessie and his friends are in a hot pursuit, leading them to a godforsaken hellhole "Hopetown".



The murderers should have arrived a few days ago by trail and must’ve quickly scurried to a Pueblo settlement about a mile away. According to the information that Jessie had, the bandits are hiding with one of the members mothers, in hopes to not be tracked down. As per usual in life, nothing is ever as it seems…
This is so in this instance…
Jessie has tracked them down and wants to settle his debts. All with be paid with blood. Their blood. That is as certain as an amen in a church.



Jessie and his companions get off the train, covered in dust, at what may be called a ‘train station’ in this part of the west.

He stares off into the distant desert at their destination, the Pueblo settlement.



He can see a tall bell tower that has seen better days. Perhaps it is a now ruined relic of a once magnificent church. Furthermore, structures of varying sizes and shapes can be recognized on the hills, from dilapidated, stand-alone, double story, to large buildings that are connected with mud walls.

Where in this maze of houses, ruins and walls could the murderers be hiding?



Maybe they are hiding with the mother of the member and are sitting in one of the dirt houses, or maybe they are crawling in one of the countless cellars. Rumor has it that the houses are partly connected by secret underground passages. They could also be in an ancient crypt under the old bell tower?

One thing is for sure, it will be a treacherous and brutal fight, one man at a time, between the tightly packed houses and walls. Death and destruction will be lurking around every corner!



Jessie and his fearless companions set out on their way. Vultures circling in the skies above in anticipation for a feast of bodies. Obviously, Jessie and his men aren’t the only ones to know a bloodbath is near.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7zKk5lO5-o

Work in progress gameplay from our upcoming wild west shooter!


Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/blackpowdergame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtTrAKEiWEw

As part of today's technical showcase video, we‘d like to present the making of the „Smoky Mountains“ map to you.

The scenario is set in spring 1872 in the dense woodlands of the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee.

Located in a valley, one can spot the settlements of Dudley Lake and Goldwater, separated by one of the many smaller lakes in this region.

The mountains are honeycombed with mine shafts, wild animals roving around in the woods and
those who are brave enough cross the lake on a wild ride in one of the cable cars or rowboats.
With this short video, we would like to give you some insights on how we‘re making use of the Unreal
Engine 4 to create a realistic and natural gaming experience.


This includes:

- Working with 3D landscape materials (DirectX 11 Tessellation)
- Working with the Foliage Tool and Assets
- Setting up weather effects
- Lighting the scene
- Post-processing such as color grading
- Bringing all the visual aspects together to create a coherent atmosphere

We hope that we can provide you with a small, interesting insight into our work.

https://youtu.be/rtydO2NV1_A

The year is 1873. The sun has become a rare sight in the sky. The overcast and gloomy fog shows the most callous side of Fall. Jessie and his friends had lost track of their opponents for a long time. In the meantime, their hunt has led them into the deep woods of Louisiana. Fate certainly did not have anything good in store for them.
Even nature seems to have conspired against them as heavy rain falls out of the sky. A thunderstorm is brewing above, and wild animals are pestering them wherever they walk.



Today is just one of those days. Downpouring rain intensifies to an indescribable thunderstorm.
The band was forced to search for shelter right before they reached their destination. A small lumberjack settlement nearby the road to Montgomery would have to suffice.
They jungled-up and ignited a fire to gain a bit of protection from the cold, wet environment.
A pig they‘d shot earlier in the day is impaled and barbecued over the blaze of their fire.
Only hunger is worse than the cold.



Two of the men guard the camp against unpleasant surprises while the rest of the exhausted men try to get some rest.

Meanwhile, rainfall has become less intense. Distant rolling thunder and lightning that suddenly brightens the sky above, paint the scene of the dark forest. However, this doesn‘t make it any more pleasant.



Suddenly, different noises mix into the scenery, one of the men believes he hears voices in the dark, cursing and shuffling as they approach.



As tense as a man possibly can get, one of the guards stares up the path. As a thunderbolt illuminates the gloomy night, he suddenly sees a group of roughly eight figures tediously walking on the drenched path towards them.

As the group gets as close as about fifty meters, the guard rubs his eyes in pure disbelief.
They‘re the ones they were looking for! What now?
Being alone, he wouldn‘t stand a chance against the approaching might. Eventually, he hides behind a rock, with his heart in his mouth and a clump in his throat. If he’s spotted, he’s as good as dead.



Seconds become hours, as sweat drips down his forehead. They‘re so close that he can hear every word very clearly. He clutches his colt with his sweaty hands, almost breaking the stock. The next seconds will decide his fate.

„Shit weather, shit forest. Everything is shit here.“, he heard somebody say, „As soon as we reach the settlement, we will fill up our supplies and get ourselves some horses. Maybe we’ll even find a carriage!“ Another mumbled, „The inhabitants won’t be too understanding, especially since we have no intention of paying them.“ Laughter breaks out and another man says „If anybody retaliates or tries to give up trouble, we’ll do what we do best. Slice them up or hang them! There are heaps of trees here and far too few decorations!“ Laughter breaks out again. As the group distances itself someone is heard yelling „As a sweet farewell gift we’ll light their huts right under their asses!“ The laughter rages again as the group walks out of earshot.



Relieved, the guard breathes softly and the tension dissolves a little. At least he has remained undetected ... He sneaks back to the camp as quickly as he can to alarm his companions of what he’d just witnessed. The murderous plan must be prevented, no matter what!
Jessie and his companions immediately grab their weapons, as much ammunition and dynamite as they can carry, and set out on a manhunt. This time none of these unscrupulous freaks will get past. They'll all be mercilessly crushed!
In hopes of preventing a bloodbath involving innocent lives, Jessie and his companions rush with their guns cocked and loaded, trying to get to the murderous bastards before they reach the settlement.



If they can not reach the killers in time, all hell will unravel on the poor unsuspecting residents and a beastly massacre will unfold.



Jessie and his companions want to prevent that by all means!

Will they be successful? Only the next few minutes will tell. This is a matter of life and death…