Dec 2, 2022

Dominance — Next Playtest on December 3-4!

Dominance - Mistalleks

Hello, Dominators!

The weekends are here, and so is the newest Dominance playtest — starting Dec 3rd and until 11:00 pm PST Dec 4th! Join the battlefields and try out the first ever Bullet-hell Royale — solo or with friends!

Continuing our trend of making Dominance even better, we’ve introduced some big changes this patch. Our goal with the game is to make it the most explosively fun it can be!

Main changes in the latest version:

Changes to revive mechanics — you now have unlimited revives in the early game!
Critical hits — attain a new level of power with this change!
New tier 5 rarity for all gear — limited in drop, but extremely powerful!
Changes to stats for many characters and weapons!
Visual updates for multiple areas of the map

Read full changelog, thoughts behind the changes and future plans below! Let us know what you think of the game in Steam Discussions — your feedback is essential to us!

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How to Play

If you've participated in previous playtest, or at least got access and downloaded the game — just update Dominance and jump into the game!

If you're a new player — simply go to Dominance Steam page, click “Request Access”. After receiving confirmation press "Play the Game" to install the game’s client.

There are no restrictions on when or how long to play — simply launch the game any time you want and play as long as you want until December 4th at 11:00 pm PST! If there are not enough players in the match — the game will add bots for you to play against.

How to play with friends

1. Open your Friend list and click “+Invites”

2. Type in the nickname of the player you want to add. IMPORTANT: Upon 1st launch the game will ask you to come up with a nickname — you have to write this nickname to add a friend and NOT their Steam nickname.

3. After your friend accepts the invitation, you can find them in your Friend list. Simply click on their profile in the list and select “Invite to Party”

4. Voila! Just click “Play” and you’ll be on the same team when the match begins. You can have up to 3 people playing on one team.

Where do I report a bug or leave feedback?

You can leave any feedback or bug reports here, if you'd like to share!
Steam Discussions! We would appreciate any and all ideas and feedback.

Error 002 - Server is not responding

This error means that the game’s server is currently offline. While we do our best to make sure it works properly throughout the playtest — some hiccups can still occur. If you’re met with this error upon entering the game — just try starting it again a couple minutes later.

Foreword

During playtests we’ve outlined a problem with gameplay dynamics and our “risk-reward” systems. In simple terms — in the explosive gameplay we’ve created it’s very disheartening to die with a full build in mere seconds.

To compensate the turbo speeds and unique features of our explosive gameplay we’ve decided to split match time into 3 big phases — and give them with distinct conditions and bonuses.

The first phase is going to take up to 40% of overall match time and lasts until 4th zone shrink. During this period we’re allowing players to die and respawn on shrines UNLIMITED amount of times.

The second phase will feature our current rules — 1 chance to resurrect, after which you get eliminated upon dying again.

During the third phase — at the very end of a match — we’re fully disabling resurrections. Even if you didn’t die previously. In our opinion even right now you’d already have trouble finding a fitting shrine to resurrect, so this change shouldn’t be all that noticeable. But do share your thoughts on the matter!

From the balance perspective we’re going to make players considerably tougher, while providing new tools for dealing damage. Overall we think that right now it’s a bit too easy to get top damage, and we want full imba build to consist of more elements.

Specifically speaking, we’re introducing “critical hit” stat, which will be based off your Aim stat. Our version of critical hit provides a chance to fully ignore enemy armor with Aim/2 chance. Critical hits will be displayed with a big juicy font, to maximize the amount of dopamine received.

As for weapons overall, since we’re introducing critical hit we’ll have to cut base damage for all weapons — around 10-20%. Also, we’ll lower bonuses to Force and Aim from perks and items, to compensate just how utterly insane our critical hit turned out.

We’ve also changed a bit how items drop from airdrops and chests. In short, we’ve added tier 5 rarity to items, which can be attained only through airdrops — and which can not be achieved by normally (when we stack gear copies to raise its level). This tier 5 rarity will provide substantial power boost and amount of such items on the map will be very limited.

Patch Notes

General gameplay

Now every player has unique random selection of gear to buy before deploying
Respawn phases mechanic.
Green phase — early game. Lasts 3 zone shrinks: players can resurrect unlimited amounts of times.
Orange phase — mid game. Lasts another 3 zone shrinks: players can respawn only once.
Red phase — late game. Lasts 2 zone shrinks: players can not respawn if killed during the red phase.
Changed the timer for first 3 zone shrinks from 120/100/90 to 90/80/70
Added “Critical hit” stat
Critical hits ignore 100% of target’s armor
Chance to deal a critical hit depends on Aim stat and calculates with Aim/2 formula.
Added tier 5 rarity to all consumables, weapons and armor
Tier 5 rarity is equal to level 4 rarity pre-patch
Tier 1 rarity items have the same stats as common items pre-patch
Power of every other rarity tier has been reworked to incorporate the 5-tier rarity system
Tier 5 rarity items only drop from airdrops, and can not be attained by other means
Changed rarity tiers order: white, green, blue, purple, orange
Airdrops now drop less rewards and experience, but exclusively drop tier 5 items
Amount of loot in normal chests has been lowered

Balance

Valkyrie
Perk “4” no longer grants armor penetration.
Now grants squad buff — all allies ignore set percent of target’s armor.
Buff from multiple Valkyries doesn't stack
Amount of armor ignored lowered to 10/15/25%.
Hunter
Hunter’s Boomerang no longer applies “blinded” to a target hit.
Upon hitting an enemy, makes them visible to Hunter and his allies. Target is visible on both the map and mini-map
Perks “1” and “2” are now also applied to the area around a target
Boomerang ignores Valkyrie’s Barrier bubble
Power of artefacts granting bonuses to Force and Aim lowered to compensate for the damage from critical hits
Power of character perks granting bonuses to Force and Aim lowered to compensate for the damage from critical hits
Full set of “Firefighter” armor now grants bonus Force
Full set of “Policeman” armor now grant bonus Aim
Full set of “Military” armor now has 6% lesser penalty to movement speed

Interface

Improved ping display
Fixed errors in the “Killer info” screen

Map improvements and level design

Visual improvements for multiple areas of the map

Nearest Future

To emphasize the prestige and importance of getting kills, we will add an announcer, which will comment on multikills, the beginning of new phases, etc. We will also add a bonus to stats which can be earned through kill streaks. They will be applied to each player individually, until they get knocked down (not killed). For those familiar with league of Legends, you can think of it like bonus power from Mejai's Soulstealer — after getting 15 kills in a row in Dominance you will also get a juicy buff, but it will be followed closely by a high risk of losing this streak.

Thank you for your interest in Dominance and see you in the game, dominators!

Dec 2, 2022

Forge Features

Halo Infinite - misplacedyank

The best thing is when a Halo player logs into the game and says those three magical words: “It’s Forgin’ time!”

It’s barely been a month since the Winter Update released, bringing with it the long-awaited Forge Beta, and already we have seen the floodgates well and truly open to endless waves of excitement and creativity over what people are making with this tool.

And so, that naturally brings us to our second Forge Feature, where we showcase some of our favorite community-created content. Let’s get right to it!

Maps & Modes

Banished Narrows

Credits: AngelitoCO
Bookmark: Banished Narrows

Narrows from Halo 3, as you’ve never experienced it before...

We’ve not even given you a Banished-themed Forge palette yet, but here it is, plain as day (or, well... night) – Narrows has been revamped with an all-new aesthetic and it looks utterly spectacular.

You know this dance floor well. Man cannons on either side of a long, multi-level bridge – perfect for those intense sniper duels. Rockets on the light bridge at bottom-mid, Overshield and Active Camo on opposing sides. It’s a map that rewards strong teamwork and precise coordination, and it looks pretty as both Forerunner skybridge and a Banished outpost.

Uneeq | Lockout Remake

Credits: UneeQ TV, Soxxxie, Saucy Situation, wild1551, Surasia
Bookmark: Uneeq | Lockout Remake

While we’re on the subject of map remakes, this one is a 1:1 recreation of Lockout from Halo 2.

Return to perhaps one of the most iconic multiplayer maps in all of gaming, whether that’s to 1v1 a friend of yours and settle a score or if you’re looking for some classic team-based 4v4 action.

This Lockout remake supports classic modes – Slayer, King of the Hill, Oddball. Grab your friends and indulge that Halo 2 nostalgia.

Oh, and er... please let us know if you spot any supernatural occurrences. It’s been said that old places like these are known to have the odd ghost...

Banshee Battle: Space Cove

Credits: zreakz
Bookmark: Banshee Battle: Space Cove

Look, sometimes you just wanna get together with your friends, hop into some Banshees, and shoot at each other while navigating a bunch of asteroids. Sometimes, that’s what Halo is all about.

Zreakz knows this well, and has created just such a map to satisfy that need.

Play Banshee Battle: Space Cove with up to 28 players and jump in with either FFA or Team Slayer modes for some dogfighting carnage. Zreakz recommends setting the respawn timer to instant for more hectic gameplay, and I think that’s a recommendation worth listening to!

Outcast

Credits: RyzenFox64
Bookmark: Outcast

Are you a fan of Derelict from Halo: CE? Outcast from RyzenFox64 isn’t exactly that, but it certainly feels like it’s got a lot of that map in its DNA – the Forerunner aesthetic of the original Xbox has been lovingly recreated with Halo Infinite’s modern fidelity, and that same eerie sense of isolation in a long-forgotten place is palpably present from the few glimpses you can get of the outside (ring)world.

Also, seeing the blocky green teleporters from Halo: CE recreated in Infinite just really hits the spot!

Hop into the map to explore the artistry that went into its creation, or try it out for some 4v4 Slayer and King of the Hill.

Solution

Credits: I Crush All, unsorted guy, Black Picture, Foge, b0b is here, MythicFritz, NightAvenger01, CertifiedChamp, tdubfed1, Max Extra, Kabe, The Xzamplez
Bookmark: Solution WIP

Solution is one of those maps where every detail in every corner had me saying “Wow!” out loud. The screenshot above gives just an impression of the space, which is dense in its immersive atmosphere.

Both at a glance and upon close inspection, it’s a map that you could quite convincingly tell someone shipped with the game. With an extensive credits list of the dirty dozen collaborators who contributed to this map, the overall cohesion and thoughtfulness of this map really is admirable.

2-12 players are recommended. If you somehow find yourself stuck wondering what to play next during a customs night, this is your Solution. (Come for the map recommendations, stay for the toe-curlingly terrible puns!)

Community Creations

In case you missed it, just the other week we sat down for a Community Corner chat with Red Nomster, who has provided us with some insight into his journey as a Halo fan and content creator for both lore and Forge.

If you’re looking to get started with Forge and are wanting some advice from a seasoned map maker, then be sure to give it a read for some helpful tips!

Community Corner: Red Nomster

DEWtheMCCOY has been posting daily videos that showcase Forge content from the community. The dedication is thoroughly admirable, as he’s posted these videos (along with individual map showcases and “top ten Forges of the week” round ups) twenty-four days in a row. If you’re looking for a constant stream of Forge content to check out, you’re definitely going to want to keep an eye on DEW’s channel.

Looking for some more tutorials to get a better understanding of the myriad systems and tools at your disposal in Forge? UnknownEmerald has got you covered!

In their latest videos, UnknownEmerald has helped us understand Bot Movement & Scripts, Setting Up Gametypes, and Spawns & Weapons.

Looking at some of the more practical elements of how to publish your maps and how to update your published maps in Halo Infinite, Ducain23 has put together a handy guide.

Finally for this issue, if you're wondering how to use navigation markers in your map, be sure to give this helpful guide from Soft Sharp a watch.

We continue to be in half-jawed awe of the Forge community’s cunning creativity on a daily basis with the flurry of content that continues to give players countless hours of fun and unique experiences as a result of this tool. Even just hopping into these maps to look at how they’ve been crafted and feel inspired is great!

Looking to give us feedback on Forge? Head over to the forums here or on Halo Waypoint and leave us your thoughts.

Also, while sharing your Forge content online, just like with other community creations, be sure to tag it with #HaloSpotlight.

We’ll catch you in the next Forge Features blog!