Starship Troopers: Extermination News

Hey everyone, I am Pete. I am the Project Lead for the amazing Starship Troopers: Extermination team. Wow, it has been an amazing 6 months of learning for myself and the team. We have managed to deliver 3 major content updates that were focused on the world of Valaka, starting with Mutated Sands, then following with the Relentless Horde and recently launching our first foray into 4-player content with the Hives of Valaka.

The next phase of growing our galaxy just started with the release of update 0.6.0 Battle for Agni Prime. This update brings our first new world to the game, new Bugs, player customization, accessibility features and so much more. Our team has delivered fantastic results this year and we continue to grow the game, the team and the systems to ensure we arrive at our 1.0 launch in a really good place.

Community is at the core of everything we try to do here at Offworld and we deeply respect and listen to you all, whether it is on our Official Discord, Steam forums, X or Facebook. We will continue to engage and listen to every bit of feedback we receive. We introduced our Community Q&A in August and we will keep doing these as the experience has been awesome!

As usual, I want to touch base on a few bigger initiatives, feature updates and community conversations that we are working on over the coming 12 months. So what's next? Please note, all features discussed below are subject to be changed due to the ongoing development of the game.

• Holiday Studio Shutdown: We are all taking a much deserved holiday from December 18th, 2023 to January 2nd, 2024. We will of course have team members standing by to deal with emergencies.
  
• Quality of Life and Engine Optimizations Updates: As we mentioned in our November Community Q&A, upgrading to Unreal 5 came with some unforeseen challenges with our game client and server performance. We immediately began hotfixing and patching the most serious issues and fast tracked our investigation initiatives. A common question we received from the community was why we did the upgrade now and not wait for 1.0? It was important for the long term health and viability of the game to complete this engine upgrade as early on in development as possible. Upgrading our tech in Early Access would ensure we could iron out all the critical engine and server bugs before our 1.0 launch. Our team has been hard at work with optimization and investigating issues since the release of the engine upgrade. That being said, our first couple patches in January and February will be focused on quality of life, critical bug fixes and engine optimizations. We have a list of QOL updates that we gathered from our Community feedback channels that we feel would be really good updates to get out to you all as soon as we can.
  
• Playtest Realm: We will be deploying our first Steam Alpha build in Early 2024, where community members will get to play unreleased content, features, systems etc… This group of players will be able to give feedback though our playtest channels so we can ensure the game designers are hearing from the most dedicated players who play the game. People selected for this program must be of good standing in the community. More information about this program will be communicated as we get closer to launching this initiative!
  
• Class and Progression Revamp: We will be evolving and growing our classes in 2024. The new Class Progression system will be released tentatively in 0.7.0. This will require a full reset of all XP based systems. The good news is this reset will be the only reset/progression we plan to do. All progression from 0.7.0 onward will carry over through the official launch of the game. When the Class revamp is released, we will be doing multiple XP events so existing players can quickly progress during these event windows. This Class and Progression revamp is a massive undertaking and it includes a reimagining and rebalancing of our classes and it will include a mastery system for weapons, perks and utilities. We will be sharing more about this in the new year. The one thing I can tease you with is this. “The enemy can not press a button... if you have disabled his hand. Medic!”
  
• Galactic War: This feature is tentatively coming in the late Spring of 2024 and it will introduce a new metagame layer to the game. Our goal for Galactic War is to encourage players to band together in timed campaigns centered around a specific Federation goal in which the stakes are high and where victory must be achieved at all costs. Below are some work in progress mocks that the team is working on.
  

• Clans(which we are calling a Company) and Galactic War are being designed/built from the ground up to be a symbiotic system. You can participate in Galactic War as a lone wolf without a Company and make a solid impact on the current running campaign, but the benefit to being in a Company is overwhelmingly positive to every player. We cannot wait to share more info about this feature in the new year!
  

• Controller Support and Accessibility: We are taking every opportunity to make sure we improve the controller support currently offered in game. We have big aspirations in mind for our game so offering balanced control to our players no matter what the input they use is very important for us here at Offworld! As for accessibility, we have added Text chat, text to Voice and Voice to text options for players in the latest update to go with the existing settings for color blindness. As a team we are committed to looking at new ways to ensure we are adding more accessibility options, which includes language localization which will be coming later in 2024.
  
• Updated Living Roadmap: My goal is to provide an updated Roadmap in early 2024. As of right now everything seems to be fitting in albeit the phases they were originally included in will be updated to reflect where they currently sit on the project feature priority list.
  

I want to especially thank the thousands of Troopers who are playing the game everyday, interacting with us on our community channels and for simply being awesome! This game is your game and we will continue to listen and interact with you all as much as we can until the war against the Bug is won once and for all! I for one am humbled by the positivity in our community, please have a safe and healthy Holiday Season and talk to you in the New Year!

- Peter aka @OWI_PMO

Attention, Troopers! We're thrilled to announce that Update 0.6.0 - Battle of Agni Prime has landed on Steam, bringing a barrage of new content and enhancements to Starship Troopers: Extermination!

[h2]Update Highlights[/h2]

New Planet – Explore the untamed world of Agni Prime. This is no ordinary planet, that is for sure. A fire-lit land where survival is an art, and only the most battle-hardened troopers can endure the scorching heat that awaits.

New Bugs – Agni Prime has fallen under the Arachnid horde, and one should be prepared as these Bugs have adapted to the smoldering lands and boast a new set of traits adapted to cause havoc. Stay frosty, trooper.

New Customization – Your battle-worn outfit is about to get a splash of style. Your Federation-issued uniform isn’t just for protection; it’s a statement that symbolizes your unyielding dedication to the Mobile Infantry and its cause. We’ve added new colors, decals, and more to the Federation armory.

More Progression – For the most dedicated of troopers, elevate yourself to new heights as we increase the Career Rank Progression to 100, featuring new milestones rewards to obtain.

Communication Enhancements – Troopers can now communicate beyond the radio as we introduce Text Chat as well as Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text options to ensure your comms cut through the chaos of battle.

[h3]More Information[/h3]

Read the full 0.6.0 Patch Notes here.

Learn more about what inspired the Art Direction for Agni Prime here.

Read up more on our new Shoot to Kick feature here.

Lock and load, Troopers! We’ll see you beneath the surface of Agni Prime!

Help us develop Starship Troopers: Extermination by taking part in our User Research Survey: here

We have the 0.6.0 Patch coming at 10:00 AM PT (GMT-7) on December 7th, 2023

This patch will add a completely new Planet and new missions, new enemies, new career rank unlocks and new accessibility features!



[h2]New Planet: Agni Prime[/h2]

• New 3 zone map set on the volcanic planet of Agni Prime, supporting AAS, ARC and Horde game modes
  
• Added 12 new AAS missions
  
• Added 4 new ARC missions
  
• Added 3 new Horde missions
  
• Added 3 new Hive Hunt maps located deep within Agni Prime
  

[h2]New Enemies[/h2]

• Inferno Bug: a bug that fires flaming projectiles
  
• Fire Warrior: a fire-resistant Warrior mutation appearing on Agni Prime
  
• Royal Guard: a large and more dangerous evolution of the Tiger. This bug guards Hive Core locations
  

[h2]Player Career Rank cap raised to 100[/h2]

• Added second utility slot which unlocks at career rank 90
  
• Added a third perk slot which unlocks at career rank 30
  
• Added free visual customization items unlocking throughout the new ranks
  
• Ten alternate uniform colors
  
• Ten alternate helmet visor colors
  
• Ten helmet decals
  

[h2]Shoot to Kick[/h2]

• Teamkill mitigation feature: players who exceed a number of team kills are highlighted as Traitors, they are no longer able to cause team damage, and other players can shoot them to kick the Traitor out of the game. Please check out the Developer diary for all the details
  
• If you Team kill 2 players in a match you get a warning, if you kill 3 you are now a traitor and will be available to be executed by Loyal Troopers. Once you are killed you will be removed from the match, lose all match progression and are banned from that server.
  
• Also if you do up to 180 in friendly Trooper(s) HP damage you get a warning, if you do 360 HP damage to a Trooper(s) you are now a traitor and will be available to be executed by Loyal Troopers. Once you are killed you will be removed from the match, lose all match progression and are banned from that server.
  

[h2]New side objectives[/h2]

• New Hive Core objective appearing in the caves on Valaka during ARC missions
  
• Recovering supplies from a crashed Dropship during ARC missions
  

[h2]New accessibility and communication features[/h2]

• Added Text Chat feature (default hotkey: Enter)
  
• Added Text to Speech: turning it on will read out text chat messages you receive in a synthetic voice
  
• Added Speech to Text: Activating will turn incoming voice messages into text chat messages
  

• Bastion: Reduced Siege Mode cooldown from 30 to 10 seconds
  
• Operator: Reduced Medical Drone cooldown from 240 to 180 seconds
  
• Reduced the friendly fire damage of the Shotguns and the XXX Sniper Rifle
  
• Increased turret ammo box ammo to 100
  
• Increased Twin MG and Sentry MG ammo capacity to 300
  
• Reduced Interaction time with ammo boxes from 0.5 seconds to 0.2
  
• Reduced Hive Hunt Bug XP from 10xp to 5xp
  
• Hive Hunt is now unlocked with career rank 5 (previously 10)
  
• Hive Cores can only be destroyed by the provided Nukes
  

• Trooper and Veteran Modes will now offer bonus XP for successful completion
  
• The amount of XP earned is displayed in the post-mission summary - round performance tab
  

• AAS: parts of the bunker were appearing before the dropship carrying it was appearing
  
• When using the Reinforced Repairs perk, the crosshair was sometimes wrongly showing ‘Cannot repair’
  

• Reduced game installation size: Using advanced compression techniques in UE5 the game is a couple of gigabytes smaller, even with all of the added content in this release
  

[h2]What inspired the Art Direction for Agni Prime[/h2]

Agni Prime was initially conceived as a dark, fire-blasted landscape, very different in tone and feel to the sands of Valaka. Over time we moved more towards a more lush, tropical volcano-look. This allows us to play with a lot of previously unseen combinations, such as how the bugs would look against a jungle backdrop. Thematically the tone shifted from an apocalyptic wasteland towards a prehistoric Earth vibe, which we thought was far more interesting and gave us more room for visual exploration.

At this juncture, our decision was to imbue Agni with a distinct ambiance, diverging from the aesthetic approach employed in Valaka. My intent was to explore the notion of allowing players to traverse two or three markedly different environments within the same planetary setting. One of these regions presents an arid, infernal landscape, characterized by the violent expulsion of lava from the ground and rocks, creating an otherworldly scene. The second region, in stark contrast, boasts a vibrant and lush jungle-like setting, adorned with colossal crystal formations piercing through the rocks, evoking a sense of saturation and vitality. The final area is a subtle amalgamation of elements, with lava coexisting with flourishing vegetation, enveloping the remnants of a previous Federation expedition.
As the Art Director for Agni, my primary objective was to evoke a profound sense of grandeur. The cliffs and mountains dominate the skyline, not mere rock walls but colossal megaliths that render even the most seasoned Federation trooper feeling diminutive. Despite the expansive and level terrain of our play area, players should experience a palpable sense of scale, immersing them in a vast and imposing world

Early Lighting and Mood concept images.



After careful consideration, we opted to pursue the visual direction outlined in 1b and 2a. While the nighttime atmospheres of 1a and 3a presented a striking and dramatic aesthetic, the challenges of lighting saturated reds in a 3D environment, particularly in 3D modeling, led us to veer away from those options. Regarding the morning ambiance, I was particularly drawn to the image of the sun just beginning to crest over the volcano. This not only enhances the visual impact but also effectively accentuates the volcanic lava as it becomes backlit.

In refining the chosen direction, I conducted some swift adjustments in a paintover for 1b, introducing heightened contrast and specular highlights. Although the result is still high in value range especially in the shadows. It serves as a promising initial iteration, laying the foundation for further enhancements.




[h2]In Game Images[/h2]

From those beginnings and many months of work we bring you Agni Prime:









Thank you all for supporting our game!

Starship Troopers: Extermination Development Team