ROCKFISH Games Senior Sound Designer Lukas Deuschel Interview

[p][/p][p]Greetings, Pilots!
[/p][p]EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients is a callback to the expansions of yesteryear, a massive addition bringing new story, sprawling locations, dynamic player ship, exciting mechanics, and new gear for players to challenge the Ancient threat. Using new tools, bespoke solutions, and clever design, the ROCKFISH Games audio team, Audio Director Gero Goerlich and Senior Sound Designer Lukas Deuschel pushed past limits to bring exciting alien worlds to life.
[/p][p]Today we’ve got an in-depth interview with ROCKFISH Games Senior Sound Designer Lukas Deuschel! Lukas joined the team for development of EVERSPACE 2: Titans, and put his talents to the test working hand in hand with Gero to develop new sounds and music for EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]First, let’s talk about the soundtrack. ROCKFISH Games Audio Director Gero Goerlich is known for his rock, synth, and EDM influences on the EVERSPACE soundtracks, it seems you’ve brought your own ideas to the table in some of the more cinematic tracks.[/p][p]The score carries the soul of the EVERSPACE series’ established sound as shaped by Gero Goerlich, while introducing a more modern approach. We recreated classic, nostalgic 1980s sci-fi synthesizer aesthetics - think Blade Runner, The Terminator, and Tangerine Dream - using a custom sound-design process, then refreshed through hybrid orchestration. In this approach, orchestral instruments meet contemporary synthesizers, arpeggiators, electronic drums, and sound-designed transitions, bridging the familiar with something new. This keeps the soundtrack true to EVERSPACE while giving the new music a richer, more cinematic scope.[/p][p]For the fully animated and illustrated cinematics, I composed original music tailored to the mood, pacing, and emotional nuance of each scene. Every cue was mixed individually for maximum impact, from the punch of low drums to the airy clarity of ethereal high voices, drawing inspiration from the depth and punch of Alan Meyerson’s blockbuster mixing style.[/p][p][/p][p]As the Okkar feature so heavily in  the narrative of the expansion, how did you explore that on the audio side?[/p][p]We wanted the Okkar to feel ancient, alien, and powerful, unlike anything else in the EVERSPACE universe.[/p][p]A major touchstone for this direction was Hans Zimmer’s Dune soundtrack, especially its sense of ritualistic intensity and monumental scale. Inspired by that approach, I built a bespoke audio palette through extensive sound design in Phase Plant, Vital, and modular/custom processing chains. Most of the Okkar instruments were created from scratch: aggressive synth drones, bowed-metal textures, deep percussive hits, processed string instruments and Tuvan-inspired vocals, crafted with automation-heavy FX chains to create timbres that feel both organic and otherworldly. This included not just synthesizers but also unique sampled instruments captured from rare sources with alien timbres to define the Okkar’s sonic identity.[/p][p]From the start, the Okkar and cinematic music introduced in EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients evolved in close collaboration with the studio’s creative leads, ensuring it stayed aligned with the story and visual direction. This kept the score faithful to the narrative vision while allowing it to evolve naturally during production. The Okkar, an alien race EVERSPACE pilots have encountered many times in the series, have their own leitmotif, woven into both gameplay and cinematics, refined until it captured the “essence” of the faction, and resolved in the outro cutscene. Key characters, like Prime-Leader Ulthark, also received distinct instrumentation and motifs.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]What kind of instruments and inspirations were you pulling from for the new Okkar themes?[/p][p]Significant time went into collecting and refining reference tracks and rare instrument recordings, from Tibetan throat-singing monks to the elusive octobass, to establish a clear emotional and sonic blueprint before full composition.[/p][p]For a more mystical edge, classic Balkan and Middle Eastern female vocals were mixed with the Armenian duduk and layered them over expansive, space-inspired soundscapes designed specifically for this project. In faster scenes, electric arpeggiators intertwine with tight string spiccatos to bridge modern synth drive with classical articulation.[/p][p]We also incorporated frame drums, bowed and scraped metal textures, and processed brass-style drones to create the raw, alien timbres we associate with Okkar culture. Epic low-end instruments such as large brass sections sit alongside more unusual timbres like brass-style synth drones and the rare, ultra-low octobass - a massive bowed string instrument that is notoriously difficult to sample and recreate. To use that character throughout the score without compromise, we built a playable synthesized octobass in Phase Plant.
[/p][p]Like Gero, your role extends beyond composition and into the more technical side of audio design. What kind of techniques and systems were used in the expansion?[/p][p]Beyond composing the cinematic score, I also contributed to the technical side of the in-game audio systems together with Gero. The in-game music uses our custom adaptive setup implemented directly in Unreal, without middleware. Exploration stays atmospheric and open, alert phases introduce tension through added layers, and combat builds into a high-energy mix. We spent a lot of time making these transitions feel seamless while working within strict CPU and voice-count limits.[/p][p]Most sounds were created from scratch using modular synthesis and custom processing chains. For ambiences, sessions often contain dozens of layers: a subtle noise floor to simulate the physical space, low space rumbling from outside stations or ships, and ventilation shafts built from modulated noise sources combined with custom-recorded impulse responses from metal tubes and containers, blended with self-recorded rattling-metal layers. Every UI sound - from console beeps to button presses - was built from analog oscillators with custom LFO and envelope shaping.[/p][p]To support the expansion’s varied environments, especially for the new systems in Rhak Homeworlds and Khaït Dominion, we implemented atmospheric audio systems that enable seamless transitions between environmental sound levels and zones, so immersion is never broken by abrupt changes. The modular architecture maintains consistent quality across the world while still allowing fully handcrafted, highly detailed soundscapes for narrative-critical locations. This lets each environment “breathe” with its own sonic identity.[/p][p][/p][p] Speaking of identity, were there particular places in Wrath of the Ancients that inspired you and the sounds of the expansion?[/p][p]Many of the new locations in Wrath of the Ancients strongly shaped the sound identity of the expansion. On the desert planet Khormot Cenotap, the wind can carry the distant, haunting calls of massive exotic creatures, rare enough to spark curiosity. Flying over open dune fields surrounds your ship with wide, barren wind textures. Threading through sand canyons adds the tactile patter of fine grains cascading across the hull and wings. Inside ancient temple ruins, the outside winds become filtered and hollow, blending with faint rustling, stone crackles, and the whisper of shifting sand.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Ghareth Refinery, provided an entirely different sonic contrast. Over the viridium lakes, the surface churns with thick, molten-like bubbling, while the towering refinery structures groan with deep metallic resonance when the wind gusts. Near tunnel entrances, the wind carries a heavy industrial hum. Deeper inside, the soundscape becomes sterile and claustrophobic, electric drones, metallic reverberations, and faint low-frequency hums define the space. At the lowest levels, slow water drips into still pools, creating a quiet, almost eerie counterpoint to the mechanical chaos above.[/p][p][/p][p]You and Gero worked closely with ROCKFISH Games Senior Cinematic Designer Alexander Junghans on the cinematics of EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients. Can you speak to that part of development?[/p][p]In Wrath of the Ancients, the cinematic work was split across two parallel pipelines. Gero collaborated closely with Alex on the in-engine narrative sequences, while I focused on the fully animated and illustrated cinematics together with the art team and an external studio.[/p][p]Every cinematic was treated as its own self-contained piece of art, with bespoke linear sound design tailored to the scene’s narrative beat and pacing. Original compositions were created specifically for each cinematic, integrating thematic motifs where relevant while leaving space for fresh tonal shifts. Custom sound elements designed in Phase Plant and Vital give key moments a distinct, memorable sonic fingerprint.[/p][p]Complex scenes grew into large soundscapes. The arrival at Prescott , for example, included around 50 layers: close and distant chattering, weeping refugee crowds, custom take-off and landing effects for ships, flyby drones, police sirens, PA announcements, and synthesized station voices. I also recreated alarms from scratch, inspired by the MU-TH-UR 6000 system in Alien. For the Okkar Ceremony, I built a custom bowed-bell instrument by shaping noise through specifically recorded metallic impulse responses. This allowed the instrument to be performed in perfect sync with the action rather than relying on fixed samples.[/p][p]Close collaboration with the narrative and art teams ensured that every sound reinforced the visual storytelling and emotional pacing of the scene. These layers do not just fill space; they make each cinematic feel alive, grounded, and part of a larger, believable world.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks so much for taking the time to share these insights into the development of EVERSPACE 2: Wrath of the Ancients! [/p][p]
[/p][p]As the ROCKFISH Games team work behind closed doors, we’ll occasionally share lookbacks at the development of EVERSPACE 2 and DLC to showcase developer stories here and during our monthly livestreams. Join our Discord to find out about upcoming interviews and to post your questions for the team. [/p][p][/p][p]If you missed it, we recently launched a special EVERSPACE 2 + Hardspace Shipbreaker bundle. Check it out and all the discounts on EVERYTHING EVERSPACE in the Steam Winter Sale.[/p][p][/p][p]Lee and your ROCKFISH Games team[/p][p]
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