Stargate: Timekeepers News

Hi everyone,

First of all we would like to thank all the fans who have been supporting Stargate: Timekeepers Season 1 Part 1 since its launch.

The team has been working relentlessy to deliver you the best possible gaming experience and please let us know what you think of the list of changes. Your feedback is essential to keep improving the game.

(Pre-production concept image)

Here below the detailed changelog is available for you:
[h3]QoL features:[/h3]

• We have added a feature that, when enabled in the settings, causes the character to approach the nearest possible location if the target of the skill is out of range at the time of selection, in order to place themselves within range.
  
• By holding down the LMB button for an extended period, you can now place an Enemy Vision marker to check which of the opponents is observing the designated location in real-time.
  

[h3]Voice overs:[/h3]

• We have added new voiceover lines for enemies.
  

[h3]General fixes:[/h3]

• Player characters and enemies should utilize ladders in a more organized manner now.
  
• Fixes to player character animations.
  
• Reducing the duration of alarms.
  
• Fixes for enemy drone VFX.
  
• Disabling Unity Analytics.
  
• Fixed achievements bug on GOG
  

Hi! I’m Patryk Nosek, Game Director for Stargate: Timekeepers. Today I wanted to share with you our approach about Stargate: Timekeepers trial and error mechanics.

Achieving a sense of fun in a game that heavily relies on a trial and error approach presents a unique set of challenges. This game design philosophy, while engaging, runs the risk of frustrating players if not carefully balanced. The key lies in designing a gameplay experience that encourages experimentation and learning without leading to excessive repetition or discouragement.

To mitigate potential frustrations in our game, we aimed to encourage experimentation within the gameplay. We understood that providing players with multiple solutions to problems and equipping them with a variety of tools and techniques to tackle challenges was essential. We wanted players to feel they had the agency to try different strategies and eventually succeed. From a technical perspective, we knew that the game's loading times had to be lightning-fast to keep the trial and error approach engaging. We put a lot of effort into optimizing the game's performance to achieve this, hoping to ensure that the process becomes more about exploration and learning through each attempt rather than about repetitive failure. We sincerely hope we've managed to accomplish this goal.

This technical pursuit, our dedication to perfecting the game's loading system to ensure it was as swift as possible, became one of the reasons why we were unable to release the game on schedule. In our effort to make experimentation a core part of the gameplay experience without the frustration of long loading times, we encountered unforeseen challenges that led to bugs. We want to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to our players for these delays.

One of the primary goals we set for ourselves in creating this game was to maintain a delicate balance between challenge and frustration. We aimed for the game to be challenging enough to provide a sense of achievement upon overcoming obstacles, but not so difficult as to lead to repeated failures and frustration. Finding this balance required meticulous tuning of game mechanics and difficulty levels on our part.

Fun fact from player psychology: players don't like to play on "easy" difficulty levels, so surprisingly, it took us a long time to choose the right word to name our lowest difficulty setting, ensuring it didn't sound discouraging in all the languages into which we translated the game.

Finally, the rewards for overcoming challenges must be meaningful and satisfying. Whether it's advancing the story, unlocking new abilities, or simply providing a display of visuals and sound, the reward must feel worth the effort. This positive reinforcement encourages players to persist through challenges and contributes significantly to the overall fun of the game.

We believe we've successfully delivered rewards to players in the right manner, providing them with satisfaction and a sense of achievement that are crucial for a positive gameplay experience. However, we've noticed that the penalties awaiting players who failed were too severe. The duration of alarms and the enemy's firepower are aspects we are currently examining. We want to implement adjustments that will allow players to more easily and quickly recover from troublesome situations in case of failure, rather than solely relying on reloading. This approach is part of our commitment to enhancing the gameplay experience and ensuring that it remains challenging yet fair and enjoyable.

Nobody likes waiting in the bushes, we hear you, we see you, and we're on it! Expect changes in the alarm duration in the upcoming patch.

In conclusion, designing a game that relies on trial and error while remaining fun and engaging is a complex task. It requires a deep understanding of player psychology and a careful calibration of game mechanics. When done right, it can lead to a deeply rewarding and memorable gaming experience that players will cherish and return to. Despite the fact that, of course, Stargate is not a game without flaws, we believe that we've succeeded in many of these aspects, and it can only get better from here.

Stealth Talks is a series of articles, written by the developers of Stargate: Timekeepers, which focuses on various stealth aspects of the game. Every article will cover a specific topic. Let us know what you think about the articles and if there are any other topics about the game you would like us to cover in the future.

Hi! I’m Patryk Nosek, Game Director for Stargate: Timekeepers. Today I wanted to share with you some thoughts about Stargate: Timekeepers stealth.

During the design of Stargate: Timekeepers, our ambition was to create a game that functions like a sophisticated puzzle, where the key to success is not only finding the solution but also the thought process leading to that "Eureka!" moment. We wanted players to derive pleasure from every stage of gameplay, starting from observation and analysis, to applying characters' abilities in practice.

The foundation of this enjoyment from the game is a deep understanding of the mechanics of enemy movement. Just like in Sudoku, where each number must find its place, in our game, precise planning and predicting enemy movements become the cornerstone of success. Players must observe, analyze, and find weak points in enemy formations, which is the first step towards a strategy that allows them to pass unnoticed or eliminate threats in the most effective way.

The direct approach is not always the easiest one. For example in Episode 1 we can skip the whole arena by taking the green arrow path rather than red path.

As players begin to understand how to exploit these weak points, they discover various ways to use their characters' abilities. Each character possesses a unique set of skills, which must be utilized in the right place and time. It is the skillful use of these tools that holds the secret to solving the puzzle they face.

Moreover, our intention was to ensure that there are many different ways to reach the "Eureka! moment. We did not want there to be only one "correct" solution to the puzzle, but rather for players to have the freedom to explore and experiment with various strategies. This openness of gameplay is intended to ensure that every player can experience their unique moment of understanding, deriving pleasure from their own path to success.

My favorite Eureka! moment was in Episode 3 when I realized that this somehow hard arena not necessarily can be completed by taking the ladder (red) but can be solved by chit chatting green circle enemies and using Ata to climb down.

Striving to create a game that balances tactical thinking with the satisfaction of solving a puzzle was not only a design challenge for us but also a way to pay homage to the problem-solving process. We wanted players to feel the same emotions as when solving complex puzzles – starting from the moment of understanding patterns, through planning strategies, to the triumph when the plan finally succeeds. We wanted our game to provide satisfaction not solely from achieving the goal but from the entire journey – from the first glance at the game field, through each thought-out move, to the final, triumphant solution.

Hi everyone,

First of all we would like to thank all the fans who have supported the launch of Stargate: Timekeepers Season 1 Part 1.

The team has been working relentlessy to deliver you the best possible gaming experience and please let us know what you think of the list of changes. Your feedback is essential to keep improving the game.

(Pre-production concept image)

The new update includes improvements and fixes across all areas of the game. Here below the detailed changelog is available for you:

[h3]General fixes[/h3]

• Tactical Mode should now execute properly on Alternative Controls
  
• Achievement involving opportunities should be unlockable now (If you are sure that you discovered all opportunities, click on opportunity in Mission 1 again)
  
• In specific cases resolution will be set to native one to prevent bug with vertical resolution from happening
  

[h3]Characters and enemies behavior[/h3]

• Sam should not be detectable anymore when opening ammo boxes in disguise
  
• Fixed issue when disguise was not loading again after saving in Drop Disguise sphere
  
• Enemies will not lock themselves in body examining state; they will not behave weird when body is in unreachable place
  
• Fixed situation in which enemy distracted by player was not continuing his patrol
  

[h3]Fixes in missions[/h3]

• Fixed an issue in which Mission 3 sometimes could not load properly after disguising Sam as Svirda
  
• Disabled clicking on wheel in Mission 3 when Max isn't on second vantage point that mission
  
• Minimap on Mission 7 will now display properly after load
  
• Mission 6 teleporter opportunity is now behaving properly; clipping through rings was removed
  

[h3]Technical fixes[/h3]

• Optimisation of save game icons
  
• Fixes in ragdoll
  
• Polishing animations
  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1523650/Stargate_Timekeepers/

Today, we launch part one of Stargate: Timekeepers. The game is divided into two parts, each containing seven Episodes that are full single-player missions set in the Stargate SG-1 universe. This real-time tactics game propels you into the heart of a new storyline where time is in short supply and every choice matters as you try to thwart the power-hungry Goa’uld.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You will need to use a combination of stealth, skills, and combat prowess to succeed on the battlefield. Characters take center stage in Stargate: Timekeepers, with each bringing their special skill set to overcome obstacles, foes, and in-game puzzles.

Each Episode needs careful planning and expert use of skills, including “Tactical Mode,” which allows for actions to unfold simultaneously.

Stargate: Timekeepers features a host of different environments, from the lush jungles of "The Resistance” episode to the snowy highlands of the “Crossfire” episode. Episode One plunges you into the heart-pounding chaos of the “Battle of Antarctica,” with the valiant Stargate commander Eva McCain in a desperate attempt to stop the deadly Kull warriors.

Stargate: Timekeepers was created in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios. Part two will be released later this year; when you purchase Stargate: Timekeepers you will have full access to all Episodes in both parts of the game.