Into the Radius 2 News

Hello explorers!
ITR was originally designed to have gameplay and story closely interwoven. The game avoids separation into purely cinematic story cutscenes and interactive gameplay episodes. Players are always engaged in the gradual unravelling of the story in every moment of the game. However, limited resources and a higher priority on gameplay didn’t allow us to fully realize the majority our ideas for lore and story in ITR1.

In the sequel we want to deliver a more detailed and complete narrative, maintaining the core design philosophy mentioned above, and ironing out the inconsistencies and critical errors of the original.

Before we dive into the topic further, we’d like to quickly address the community discourse and theories in relation to the guns in ITR1. Some of them don’t fit from a historical point of view, existing before they were technically invented. In our defense, after the appearance of the Radius in 1987 the in-game world becomes an alternate history, in which they could’ve been invented sooner, and so the Committee might’ve gotten access to them for testing… Regardless, we hope you had fun with those guns just as much as with the others ;)

So, what can our players expect from a story and narrative standpoint?

The events of ITR1 took place at the turn of the century. The sequel takes place several years after the ending of the previous game, the mid 2000s.

The final events of ITR1 had a significant impact on the Committee. Thanks to the data gathered and prospects unlocked, it acquired greater resources and ambitions. This directly affected the Explorers. In ITR2 they’ll be residing in new bases designed from scratch. In addition to older equipment getting an upgrade, completely new types will be available as well. Changes will affect the majority of equipment designed by the Committee. What remains the same, however, is the Committee’s treatment of the Explorers who remain isolated in their bases, with only the Radius to venture into.

The main character of ITR2 is a new nameless Explorer, who will make his own path into the center of the Radius. In co-op mode the story will revolve around the host of the co-op game, while their friends will act as partners on their journey.

It terms of presenting the plot, even though it’s intended to have a more in-depth narrative and more structured story, we will still avoid the use of traditional cutscenes that remove control from the player, include a lot of dialogue, or other non-interactive techniques. At the core of ITR2’s story lies the gameplay itself and how it affects the player.

With this approach a very significant part of our focus is on visual narrative. A couple of examples without spoilers include changes to the Committee, and how we’re reworking locations of the Pechorsk anomaly.

The new base and its details will more clearly reflect the Committee’s treatment of its “volunteers” as well as its change in this approach compared to ITR1. In the original, the base was improvised, careless and shabby. This expressed the Committee’s disappointment and despair in trying to derive at least some practical benefit from its research of the Radius. The ITR2 base and upgraded equipment are meant to show the new capabilities and “mood” of the Committee.

When working on the locations of the Radius we adhere to the concept of thematic layering. The first layer consists of landscapes and nature, determined by the geographical location of the Pechorsk anomaly - Eastern Europe, the border of one of the Baltic countries. The second layer is the man-made infrastructure corresponding to the city of Pechorsk and its environment at the time of 1987, where and when the Pechorsk anomaly appeared. The third is the “Radius layer”, which reflects the gloomy, surreal and deadly essence of the Pechorsk anomaly. And the final layer adds traces of the Committee and its Explorers, which directly depend on how “inhabited” a particular location is by them, and how close it is to the edge or center of the Radius. All of these layers revolve around what kind of gameplay is planned for each location, and create an appropriate narrative context for it based on the lore and story.

In Early Access our main objective is to ensure that the general gameplay cycle of ITR2 functions as intended. This means the first iterations of Early Access won’t include fully fledged story elements. But you’ll already be able to experience the general visual narrative of the Explorer base and first locations of the Radius. Everything else will come with future updates to the game.
Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!

Hello explorers!
Today we’ll delve into some of the locations of ITR2. Let’s start with the world structure.

In ITR1 there were separate locations linked by pathways. They were of different sizes, and would gradually interconnect with increase in difficulty and time spent in the Radius. The player could find additional pathways and move more freely between these areas.

In ITR2 the general structure remains unchanged. The world is separated into multiple locations, each connected by pathways. There won’t be a complete open world. These locations can be separated into three types - general, “satellite”, and special.

General locations - massive areas. Bigger than any location in ITR1 2.0, but smaller than the open world map of ITR1 1.0. These areas will consist of multiple points of interest. Our explorers are familiar with the play patterns in such locations - finding artifacts, collecting loot, killing monsters, completing missions, etc.

“Satellite” locations - smaller areas. They are meant for unique main events that contain new mechanics, heavy lore/story beats, or special conditions. The first time you visit such a location, it’s strictly story/main mission focused. However, after completing said event you’ll be able to return here. It’ll become similar to a “general” location with loot, missions, monsters, the Tide, and etc.

“Special” locations - smaller areas as well, but with a unique role in ITR2. For example one of them is your Base. A place where you can relax and get ready for your next venture. Another example is the Tutorial area. Here our explorers will learn general mechanics, tools, and abilities of the game, similar to ITR1.

As mentioned above, these locations will be connected by pathways. Some will unlock immediately, others after some time. You won’t be able to travel from the starting area to the end in one go. New locations will be more difficult than previous ones. However, older locations will evolve along with the player’s progression more so for the sake of variety rather than just difficulty like during auto-leveling.

Time to mention an important addition - jumping! This opens up new ways to explore the world, and gives us a new way to bring more gameplay variety. Jumping in VR can be an unpleasant mechanic, so we’re trying our best to make it comfortable.

Walking, sprinting, crouching - are all present and for the most part untouched. Climbing has also remained in ITR2 and will get some improvements. Please keep in mind the game still isn’t about parkour, don’t expect leaps of faith into a haystack.

Considering all of these movements mechanics, we’ve revised our approach to location design. We’re already adding more areas where players are required to climb, jump, or crouch. Climbable zones will be visually distinct, so that players can easier identify if it’s even possible in a given area. We’re also trying to make our locations more prominent than in ITR1, adding more variety and diversity to these areas as a result.

In our first versions of Early Access you can expect one General location, one “Satellite”, the Base and Tutorial areas. Important to note that these locations will still be a work in progress and subject to change during EA.

We’ve got more Dev Diaries coming very soon. Thanks for reading and see you in the Radius!

Hello explorers!
In this first entry we’d like to share our general vision for ITR2, what we’re paying special attention to during development, and what our explorers can expect from their new adventures in the Radius.

ITR1 had a long and arduous journey. The most important part during its development cycle was the refinement of the game’s concept and gameplay formula, and in a way that was achievable by our team. ITR1 received many updates over the years. On the one hand, it moved away from its original overly ambitious ideas, but on the other - it became a lot more thought-out, detailed, and whole.

Into the Radius 2 is our next big step in this direction. A chance to significantly evolve what explorers liked about the first game, and to realize certain ideas we couldn’t before. Our main goals with the sequel are to preserve and maintain what made the original special, upgrade its most important gameplay aspects, and deliver a quality way you can enjoy it with your friends.

Now let’s talk about some of the bigger changes coming with ITR2 that we can already share with you today.

This will be an entirely separate story which unfolds sometime after the events of ITR1. Explorer #61 (the protagonist of the original), regardless of his final decision, had a significant impact on the UNPSC’s research of the Pechorsk anomaly. Our new hero - a different Explorer - will have to tread a similar path, however in brand new locations, and with far greater consequences.

The game will still focus on forays into the Radius, but our explorers can expect new places, dangers, and adventures.

We’re trying to develop ITR2’s locations on a whole new level for us. This includes not only image quality and visual consistency of said locations, but also staying as true as possible to the visuals and conditions of the Baltic city of Pechorsk and it’s surroundings as of 1987 (right before the unexpected appearance of the half-sphere of the Pechorsk anomaly, later named the Radius). The gameplay in these locations will remain the same for the most part, but it’ll be affected by various new factors which we’ll share another time.

The use and treatment of firearms is just as significant in the sequel if not more so. There will be fewer guns than before, however every single one is developed from scratch with high attention to detail, additional animations, sounds, and new customization options which can impact their feel and use.

Equipment management is getting an upgrade as well. Our updated loadout system includes new tactical vests and backpacks. This in turn will let you choose a configuration that better fits your play-style. At the base explorers can expect new options for storing and upgrading equipment, and of course, weapon cleaning.

ITR2 is meant to be a fully fledged single-player experience, but with the option of up to 4 player co-op if you so choose. Co-op mode will have a separate save from single-player, with no cross-progression between the two. It also won’t have any unique content unattainable in single-player. As a matter of fact, our initial internal play-tests show that by keeping the same mechanics and features, the game can play and feel very differently when experienced with someone alongside you, and yet still remain true to an adventure you’re familiar with in the Radius.

We’ve got a long road ahead of us, on which we’ll try our best to meet the expectations of our players and create a worthy sequel to ITR1. In future Dev Diary entries we intend to delve deeper into various aspects of the game. Thank you for your continued support.
See you in the Radius!