Descenders Next News

[h3]Thank you for all your amazing feedback![/h3]

It's incredible that 60,000 of you played our demo and helped us test Descenders Next. It's been incredible watching everyone play, and reading through your feedback has blown us away, so a massive thank you from all of us at RageSquid and No More Robots!

We're driven to make Descenders Next the best it can be, and reading through your feedback you made some great calls. We understand you feel the game needs some tweaks to make it feel like the ultimate Descenders experience, and we agree!



You hit on a few bits in your feedback that we want to iron out before we launch into early access. The team are already on it, adding in some highly requested features like key bindings, the first-person camera and the return of Enemy, Kinetic and Arboreal, but others will be a bigger undertaking.

This means getting Descenders Next ready for early access launch will take a little bit longer than we were anticipating, so we're going to give the game a little bit more time in the oven, and push the launch date back. We don't have a date for you just yet, as we're making sure that we've taken all your feedback on board and got our changes just right, but we're not going to keep you waiting too long.

We'll see you soon on the slopes with a new set of experiences - a massive thank you for helping make the ultimate sports game!



[h3]RageSquid & No More Robots x[/h3]

Hi everyone!

We hope you've all been enjoying the new demo for Descenders Next - we know we have!

As always, thank you for sending in your feedback and bug reports, we've been watching the demo closely & we've just dropped a small new update! Here's a quick rundown of the patch notes:

• Optimized terrain shader settings: We've removed tessellation on medium and below settings, so this will help performance on players on medium or lower settings, and should also improve performance on Steam Deck
  
• Tutorial adjustment: The tutorial will now push you to the world map instead of the option of hanging around Rabbit Hill
  
• Steam Deck: The game will now automatically preset the visuals on Steam Deck for smooth frame rate

For Steam Deck users in particular, to get the best out of your performance in Descenders Next, we recommend doing the following:

1. Press the Quick Access menu button (3 dots on the right).
2. Scroll down to the Performance tab (Lightning Symbol)
3. In there, change the Refresh Rate to 40hz



[h2]Play with the Devs! [/h2]

We're also running a Play with the Devs session tomorrow, which means you can hop into the demo and play some games with some of the team at RageSquid & No More Robots! We'll be running the session at 12:30 CET / 11:30 GMT, so come hang out with us in the Discord, and join the Descenders Next voice channel if you're wanting to chat with us!

Thanks again for playing the demo, we can't wait to show you more of what we've got planned at launch!

We'll see you on the slopes!

- RageSquid & No More Robots

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3450240/Descenders_Next_Demo/

Hi everyone!

We said we wouldn't keep you waiting long - Descenders Next launches into Early Access on April 9th on Steam, Xbox & PC/Xbox Game Pass! Watch the brand new announcement trailer below!

We've been so excited to finally bring you Descenders Next, so we knew we had to mark the occasion with even more celebration...

So, following on from the beta, a brand new demo for Descenders Next is now LIVE!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3450240/Descenders_Next_Demo/


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Descenders Next also runs great on Steam Deck, so you can hit the slopes wherever you are, and grind for those DesCents!

Running the beta for Descenders Next helped us out a ton, and thanks to your feedback and playtime, we've been working hard behind the scenes to bring you some amazing things in Descenders Next! Here's some of the changes you can expect from the beta:

• NEW levels
  
• Better animations, physics and ragdolling on bails
  
• More natural feeling snowboarding paths
  
• Procedural track generations
  
• Improved steam deck performance
  
• Edge of map cannons are back
  

There's also a new addition to the soundtrack, with a brand new track from Koven!



Don't worry though, there's plenty more unseen bits, but we hope this tides you over in the meantime! Come join the celebrations in our Discord, and don't forget to download the demo while you're at it!

We can't wait to get out there and hit the slopes with you - are you ready to climb the mountain?

- RageSquid & No More Robots

We can't believe that 15,000 of you took to the slopes and the trails with us to try out Descenders Next, and your thoughts, feedback and gameplay videos totally blew us away!

The team have been hard at work while watching you play, listening to your feedback and planning what comes next as we look ahead to a little more testing and launch!

So let's talk about what's NEXT:
Here are some of the things we learned from the beta that we're putting into action RIGHT NOW, ready for you to get your hands on and play soon!

Originally posted by author

One of the points of feedback that was important to a lot of you was that the animations didn't feel quite right. The team are currently hard at work reworking these and adding in some fresh new movements to kick these up a gear in both sports!

Alongside this, the physics are being worked on to keep the classic feel of Descenders, but make pulling off those big trick moments feel dangerous and exciting. It also means we're looking at those ragdolls. Did you want floppier bails? You've got them.

Originally posted by author

A problem we found while watching a lot of gameplay was that snowboarding and mountainboarding felt a little similar still, and snowboarding was missing the freedom that comes with hitting a brand new, open mountain.

To help bring in that feeling of freedom and give snowboarding its own identity, the trail on the ground is now unpronounced. You'll still get a feel for where the track is so you can follow the flow of the track down, or you're free to be more adventurous and seek out a different way down the mountain, finding your own obstacles and routes! Not only does this capture the real feel of snowboarding, but gives you more options to show off your team pride and ride the way you want!

Originally posted by author

First-person view is back baby! If you've missed the pure immersion of watching a tree rush up to you at high speed right before it cracks you in the skull, never fear - it's on its way back! We can't wait to see what crazy, flippy POV videos you come out with!

Originally posted by author

While it was incredible watching you master each node in turn, we know you missed the original fun of procedural generation and finding new tracks with every run, so we're bringing that back! Each of the nodes not designated as something unique like a race or a park will now change every time you enter, bringing back the classic of mastering the biome!

There's another Descenders classic back at the edge of the maps too. We hope you'll have a good flight!

Originally posted by author

Over the last year the Steam Deck has become a must-have piece of kit for so many of us, and so many folks wanted to grab theirs and head out and play on the go. We're committed to making sure Descenders Next runs as well as possible, no matter where you've picked to play. The Steam Deck version is getting an upgrade ready for some on-the-go boarding.

So when will you be able to jump back in? Well...



Did you notice that No More Robots is in the Xbox + IGN showcase at the end of the month?

Check out the details here!

We'll see you there! Until NEXT time!

Hi everyone!

The Descenders Next Beta is now over! We want to thank you for taking part and helping us with your thoughts, invaluable feedback, and of course, bug catching!

Don't worry though, it's not the end! We have something else coming very soon, so keep an eye out for that, we won't be leaving you hanging for too long...



We'll let you know soon what came from the beta, what we learnt, and what exciting things you can expect to come to Descenders Next! Thanks for helping us in making the game even better each time!

We'll see you soon, be sure to tune in for what's coming Next...