Oct 21, 2022

Astride - Raidho Games

Hi everyone! It's time for our bi-weekly updates regarding the last weeks work in progress and updates on Astride. There has been a big focus around horse colors, environment and more animations of course.

Low jump

We redid the low jump using the old as a reference and fixed problems that never got addressed in the old version. But while doing that it never ended up feeling right. Our animator realized he worked himself blind on this animation, so he asked our community to see if they could put words to what was wrong with the movement while adding his suspicions.

Low jump update

Our community was to great help as we got a lot of feedback on what could be the problem, from confirming the animators suspicions to other things that could need a touch up. One of the suggestions added a reference that turned out was in a better angle than the one already used. In the end almost all parts of the animation got scrapped and redone.

While some problems still persist and will be worked on more, the overall flow of the animation jumped leaps and bounds (badum tss).

Turning on the forehand

It has been a long time since we added a new animation and not redone an old one. Turning on the forehand is a variant of the old turning of the haunches when the players turn the horse while standing still.

The movement seems easy, but it turned out to be deceptively difficult movement to animate. But after a lot of tweaking back and forth and adjusting tiny joint placements it turned out great (badum tss x2).

Points of interest concept

For the past few weeks, Maja's tasks has been to draw alot of concepts for many different objects that may appear in the game. This includes different kind of fences, gates, lamps and "points of interest", which means interesting objects the players can discover through out the world of Astride. It can be a special looking tree stump, wood carvings, runes or cairns ("varde" in Norwegian).

Duns, duns and more duns

The quest to make more horse color variations is still ongoing, and these last couple of weeks has been mainly focused on that. As the dun gene can affect all horse colors in different ways, there had to be made different shades of dun. For example, the black dun overlay is more grey, while the red dun overlay is brighter and more red in tones to match the underlying color. Dun in single and double diluted creams also needed their own shades. Cremello, perlino and smoky cream dun will be very bright, but still show sign of primal markings if you look close enough. Palomino and buckskin also needed their own shades to match and look natural.

Horse coat greying

Since all horse coat colors can grey out, we had to scrap the previous greying cycle. The old one was based just on a black horse turning grey, but we needed the greying to work on any color horse. The greying was posted and received feedback of too little pronounced dapples, so this greying will be revised and remade once again to really give the greying process the love it deserves.

The new beginning of horse face markings

While keeping on the subject of horse colors, markings play a big role in making the horses look more alive and giving them personality. There are a lot of markings that will be added to Astride, but here are 6 of the markings that were worked on during an afternoon. Three of these are Kickstarter markings and three of them are inspired by Patreon supporter horses. We are excited to expand on the horse markings library to make every single horse in Astride unique in their own way.

Maps of Eldheim

Some of you might have seen our first draft of Eldheim. We think this version had too much city and too little space to roam with your horse in the nature. Therefore, we have been testing out other maps that will open up more space to explore from horseback.

We have tested out a faster way to make different types of landscapes. The 3D picture is just a test to see if our pipeline worked out, which it did! We don’t know for sure what Eldheim will look like in the end, but we are positive that with this pipeline and testing, the end result will suit the Astride and have exciting locations to explore.

Player character riding boots

Since the player character is also a big part of the player experience, we decided to outsource an artist to help with creating it. While we have two wonderful 3D artists at Raidho, they both agreed that getting a more experienced 3D character artist to work on the player character would benefit Astride both quality and time-wise, since our two remaining artists can focus on creating more environments and polish the horses during that time instead. The quality of the rider is important, and as you can see from this high poly version of the riding boots, we want to achieve a high level of detail.

Please note that everything shown in these devlogs is mostly just work in progress and is not finished. Changes may happen and the things showcased here will have further work put into them! To see work in progress daily, join our Discord server community here!

Oct 21, 2022

[Announcement] Changes after the mass testing

Crossout - XO_Team

Hello, survivors!

Last weekend we launched a public test server so you could try out the “Supercharged” update, which will be released next week. Today we’ll share information on what is going to be changed after analyzing your feedback and questions.

New vehicle controls for the movement parts with the strafing function

It is, probably, the most discussed change that has divided all the players into two groups. We have thoroughly analyzed your feedback, suggestions and questions and now we’re ready to announce our final decision.

Once the update is released, all the players will have a choice between both new and old control schemes. Those players, who are fond of the new controls, will be able to dive straight into battle with the new settings. Those, who still have troubles with the new controls or haven’t yet got used to the new settings, will be able to activate the old control scheme in the game settings. Let’s make it a bit clearer.

Once we have started to work on a new control scheme for the movement parts with the strafing function, we realized that such changes may seem a bit harsh and/or spontaneous for some of our players. That’s why we’ve implemented both old and new control schemes support. But, in order to let all the players at least try the new scheme, we’ve disabled the choice option on the test server.

We should mention that this option makes the development process more complex and it’s not as easy to maintain as it may seem. We believe we should give you an opportunity to get used to the new controls with an ability to switch between schemes whenever it’s required. Later we’ll analyze both old and new control schemes and make a decision regarding the future of the control scheme choice option.

And what about “sideways” builds? Are they still legit?

The old control scheme still allows you to use your sideways builds, but we still believe that something should be done with this way of building cars. In one of the future updates we plan to change hover models and make them symmetric. This, probably, will change the way hover-based cars will be built and, thus, solve the issue. We’ll share more information on our official “Supercharged” livestream next Monday, October 24!

Hovers parameters

Since the old control scheme and sideways-builds still remain in the game, both Icarus IV and Icarus VII do not require such a drastic change in parameters. In the release version tweaks will be less notable, compared to those from the test server.

Mechanical legs

All in all, we’re satisfied with how updated mechanical legs perform. The only change will make it a bit harder for the “spider” builds to climb any obstacle in front of them.

Please, pay attention that we have stated only the most important changes. The release version may contain some other tweaks and changes, as we’re still working on the update.

See you on our official livestream next Monday!

For more information on Crossout, follow these channels:

Oct 21, 2022

Open Beta Starts Now

Sector's Edge - Vercidium

The Open Beta is finally here!

We spent the past year on this update and it is now publicly available on the main branch - no more beta codes or beta branches!

What's new

The biggest new features are raytraced audio, weapon attachment system and falling block destruction, but there's so much more that's new. I listed out every new feature In the Closed Beta post, as well in video form below, so I won't repeat it all here. Instead I'd like to shout out some new team members that made this update possible!

Punch Deck

Punch Deck has been composing music for us for the past three years, with the last year focused on an in-game underscoring soundtrack. We discovered Punch Deck back in 2018 from his track Fallen, which we used as the main menu theme back when the game was called 'Marked'.

Audio is a huge part of this update and it makes the game feel more alive, with:

All sounds travelling further, using a distance falloff model that mimics sounds in real life
Raytraced audio, which muffles sounds that aren't important to you. Enemies firing guns in line of sight are loud and clear, and explosions/footsteps/gunfire on the other side of a thick concrete wall is muffled
Underscoring, which subtly fills in the gaps and provides a rhythm that keeps the match moving. Everyone hears the same music at the same time, with more energetic tracks playing later into the match

So far Punch Deck has composed 21 underscoring tracks (totalling 53 minutes and 25 seconds!) with even more in the works. Some tracks are allegiance-specific and will only play on maps associated with that allegiance.

These tracks will be available on Spotify soon!

Juan Moreno

Juan reached out to us earlier this year and offered to create artwork for the game. He's based in Managua, Nicaragua and wanted to help bring some vision into the worlds we're trying to create.

We were blown away by what he made for us and ended up commissioning art for each map (with more in the works!)

All 800 hi-res SE artwork is available on Juan's ArtStation

Dusk

When we first launched in 2020, Matt (Dusk) sent me an email saying "Hey let me know if you need any help with marketing!". I was clearing out my inbox a year and a half later and saw his email - thankfully Matt was still happy to help!

Matt joins us from The Bonfire Project, a creative agency whose focus is on telling stories that are authentic and meaningful to creators and their communities. His involvement in esports and gaming-related campaigns as well as just enjoying Sectors Edge itself made him a natural fit.

Matt's helping us primarily with developing and sharing content, connecting with the industry, and getting the good word about SE out there. On the servers you'll catch him stubbornly trying to make himself known for using the grenade launcher with the impact attachment.

<picture of dusk doing dusky things>

Fora

In June 2019 I received a message out of the blue saying 'hey I hacked your game' and ever since Fora's been helping with security, servers, databases and more. He's automated server deployments, stress tested servers and set up metrics/logging/alerts. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes and it wouldn't be possible without Fora.

Here's some fancy stress testing to make sure the servers won't burst into flames:

Community Mappers

This update has a few community maps in the official rotation, as well as a few more that are in the works.

Ancient Crossing by Blade
Soltec Plaza by Blade + Vhauss
Cold Harbour by TotallyPorff

We purchased Ancient Crossing and Cold Harbour for $400 USD each as part of the Map Maker Program, and they will be in the official map rotation from now on.

Translators

I uploaded all phrases/words used in the game to a repository on GitHub and we've had a few players help translate them into different languages.

Shout out to DoomerCy, Witness, Tilitaliboss, Temeski, Realkill_1111, nemelex, Decrare, Susul, Reekta, SSahin, Dunkelheyt and Margarinoslav for their contributions!

Localisation settings aren't available in-game yet as there are many phrases to translate. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Agamans

Unfortunately we weren't able to get the Agamans working in the new animation system for this Open Beta (they have four fingers and different arm/leg proportions) so that's next on our list. Until then I've renamed the Engineer Pack to the Block Pack and reduced it from $15 to $5, and anyone who purchased the Engineer pack in the past will be given a character token to unlock the Human Renegade or any other character if they wish.

Launch Discount

For the first week of Open Beta, everything in the in-game store is 50% off!

It may not show on the Store page, but it will have the 50% discount applied in the Steam Overlay.

Throwing Knives

New sharp grenade type

Oct 21, 2022

Offer: Middle East

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

Namer Tier 10 Premium Tank Destroyer
M60T skin for the Sabra Mk.2 Main Battle Tank
Merkava Mk.2D and Israeli bundle (with an Israeli camouflage and base paint)
Syrian camouflage bundle
Magach 7A Tier 6 Premium Main Battle Tank
Sabre Tier 6 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
Challenger 1 Falcon Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
Pile of Gold Loot Crate

Between October 21 and October 27, 2022, the following items will be available:

Namer

The Namer IFV is an Israeli heavy fighting vehicle version of the Namer platform developed in the early 2000s from the Merkava Main Battle Tank. Israel is a small country and cannot affect high infantry losses, which is why the Namer features extremely high levels of protection. The IFV variant is fitted with a Rafael turret, featuring 30mm autocannon and a Spike missile launcher. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Namer is a Tier 10 Premium Tank Destroyer. As its history suggests, it is a superheavy TD with its protection levels being amongst the highest of its class. It is slow and ponderous but its thick front can deflect even advanced shells while maintaining adequate firepower thanks to its autocannon and ATGM combination. Its MBT-like characteristics make this vehicle quite forgiving for new players, but, as they say, a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none.

The Namer Tier 10 Premium TD is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.

M60T skin for Sabra

This skin for the Sabra Mk.2 Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank is based on the Sabra MBTs that participated in the Turkish incursion into Syria in October 2019 (Operation Peace Spring). It combines a number of real-life elements, turning your Sabra into a Turkish service MBT. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

The skin is available either as a standalone item or as a part of the M60T bundle, which contains the following items:

M60T skin for the Sabra Mk.2 MBT
Sabra Mk.2 Tier 7 Premium MBT
500 Gold

That way, you can get this amazing vehicle together with the skin. Alternatively, the Sabra is also available in other bundles without the skin.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Merkava Mk.2D and Israeli Bundle

The Merkava IID (also known as Mk.2D) is an advanced version of the standard Mk.2 Merkava, upgraded with a modular “Dor-Dalet” composite armor kit. It’s a tough and unyielding vehicle, featuring a number of battle-proven components such as its 105mm rifled cannon. The first version of the Merkava Mk.2 entered service in 1983 and the last vehicles were phased out in 2016 after thirty long years.

In Armored Warfare, the Merkava IID is a Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank. It is not equipped with an explosive reactive armor kit, but is, nevertheless, a very tough customer due to the introduction of the applique armor, allowing it to take a lot of damage. Additionally, the tank is equipped with a Ready Rack mechanism, significantly increasing the rate of fire for the first four shots.

This vehicle is also available as a part of the Israeli bundle, which contains the following items:

Merkava Mk.2D Tier 7 Premium MBT
Sinai Grey base paint
Israeli Experimental camouflage
Israeli Flag decal (free bonus)
Israeli Flag banner (free bonus)

The Sinai Grey base paint is based on the color commonly used by the Israeli vehicles. You can now apply it to all your Merkava MBTs for maximum realism. The camouflage, on the other hand, is an experimental one and not used in active service. It was developed in the 1980s for a series of trials, but Israel ultimately decided not to adopt it. Still, it’s a piece of history and will fit your Merkava Mk.2 MBT really well. You can read more about both in our dedicated article.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Syrian Bundle

This gorgeous Syrian camouflage was seen in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War on a captured Syrian BMP-1 IFV and consists of sand, green and grey stripes. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

It is available as a part of the Syrian Camouflage bundle, which contains the following items:

Syrian camouflage
14 days of Premium Time
2.000 Gold
Syrian Flag decal (free bonus)
Syrian Flag banner (free bonus)

This camouflage can be installed on any vehicle that has the camouflage customization feature available and can be used in all three environments.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Magach 7A

The Magach 7A is an early M60 series American tank, upgraded by the Israelis to meet the requirements of the 1990s battlefield, especially to combat the threat of anti-tank guided missiles that had started to find their way into the hands of various terrorist groups in the late 1980s. The most distinctive upgrade is its box-shaped extra turret armor. While well-protected, the tank was quite lethargic when it came to its mobility due to the use of its old engine, a shortcoming that was only corrected in the final evolution step of the Magach series, the Magach 7C. You can read more about it in a dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Magach 7A is a Tier 6 Premium Main Battle Tank. With its excellent gun accuracy and aiming time values, the Magach 7A is a good sniper for its class and is perfectly suitable for those players, who want to experience long-range combat but who also want to keep some level of protection and survivability instead of completely relying on mobility and camouflage. It’s a rather sluggish vehicle, but more than a match for anything that it encounters on the battlefield.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Sabre

The Sabre is an interesting British recon vehicle, assembled together from older Scorpion hulls and Fox turrets after both parts were brought to zero hour state (completely overhauled) by a company called Alvis. The resulting vehicle from the early 1990s was called Sabre and, considering it was made of decades old components, it worked fairly well as a scouting vehicle, participating in the Iraq War as well as in several peacekeeping missions. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Tier 6 Sabre Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle is one of the deadliest vehicles on the battlefield thanks to its rather unique upward-aimed Swingfire missile launcher that allows it to fire over obstacles or while hidden, for example behind uneven terrain. While being quite difficult to master, this ability makes it a potent ambusher, especially in skilled hands.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Challenger 1 Falcon

The Falcon is an experimental turret developed in the early 2000s in Jordan as an upgrade to the Jordanian Al-Hussein (Challenger 1) Main Battle Tanks. It's a low profile turret, armed with an automatically loaded Swiss 120mm L/50 RUAG smoothbore gun, capable of firing standard NATO ammunition. The operator controls the turret from inside the vehicle's hull, significantly improving crew protection. A prototype was built and tested, but the design was never mass-produced.

In Armored Warfare, the Challenger 1 Falcon is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank. The best word to characterize this lumbering behemoth in the game is “tough” – its excellent hull armor shrugs off most shells while the damage its low profile turret takes when it is reduced by 90% thanks to the fact the crew is not located directly in it. Despite being generally very slow and sluggish, the Challenger 1 Falcon can take tremendous punishment and is ideal for the players who prefer the British Main Battle Tank play style.

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left and select Armored Warfare to access this offer.

Pile of Gold

We also have the Pile of Gold Loot Crate for you. This Loot Crate contains copious amounts of Gold for you to win.

This Loot Crate includes:

250.000 Gold
100.000 Gold
50.000 Gold
10.000 Gold
5.000 Gold
1.000 Gold
500 Gold
100 Gold

Clicking the link below will open the game’s launcher. Please select the Market option on the left, select Armored Warfare and then the Chest section to access this offer.

We hope that you will enjoy the offer and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!