Airframe Ultra News

[p]Hey racers,

Last month, we ran the 4th closed beta and had a ton of fun watching others check out the new track: Estate. We have gone through the numbers and gone through the feedback, and now I can share what we learned.[/p][p][/p][h3]Estate[/h3][p]First off let's go with the new track in the Beta. It had players racing alongside a cliff wall before trespassing into a yard with a massive, decrepit mansion looming over the horizon. Racers head into the abandoned mansion and beat each other senseless in the tight corridors and hallways.[/p][p][/p][p]This track was full of experimental features, some of which players loved, and some that players didn’t love so much.[/p][p]
First off, our door puzzle was met with mixed feels. Our goal here was to add a new type of competitive-cooperative encounter to the game, but many players found themselves confused about how to move forward. Some folks felt the door had too much health, some found ways to bypass the door, and some found it more effective to farm other players during this encounter. We’re going to continue experimenting with this section to find something that the community loves, and we’re excited to see what you think of our changes![/p][p][/p][p]The bush section was also a point of contention for a lot of players. We had a few reports that it was hard to follow and had too much visual clutter to tell what was an obstacle and what way the track was going when This is another area that we are taking a look into.[/p][p][/p][p]One thing that we found people did like about the Estate is the horses! I saw some people hanging out with the horses trying to interact with them.[/p][p][/p][h3]Weapons[/h3][p]Weapons are arguably one of the most important things to nail down when developing a vehicular combat game. You could have the best tracks, best tricks, best vehicles, etc. but if the weapons don’t feel balanced or feel good to use then the game may lose interest and could be boring.[/p][p][/p][p]We had one weapon stand out as people’s favorite weapon. Out of all the weapons, 39.1% of people voted this weapon as their favorite. An overwhelming amount, can you guess which weapon it was? It is probably my favorite weapon as well. It’s the traffic sign. There just isn’t anything better than impaling someone with that thing after a big boost.[/p][p][/p][p]There was one weapon for the second beta in a row voted least favorite: The SMG. No surprise there, I’d probably say the same thing. It doesn’t have a high rate of damage and there isn’t a lot of feedback to show if you actually hit someone or not. Some felt like they weren’t doing any damage with the weapon and that it was very difficult to get kills. This will be one that we revisit in the future.
[/p][p]The SMG wasn’t the only weapon that you guys pointed out that didn’t have good feedback or good visuals when using them. I’ll name another one pointed out: The sledgehammer to many felt clunky at times to use as the timing wasn’t always clear.
[/p][p]We saw more weapon kills AND more weapon kills per minute in this beta. Estate is a map that has more direct player-to-player interaction, since there are fewer of the long breakways to create a gap between you and other players. Also, we think you guys are just getting more and more bloodthirsty every beta.[/p][p] [/p][h3]Airframes[/h3][p]And now time for the vehicles themselves. Throughout the beta, all airframes have about the same pick rate. The bluntnose has the highest pick rate at around 50%. This might seem like it is overpowered and needs a nerf but to us, this is a good number. The Bluntnose is an all-rounder that should satisfy most players.  [/p][p][/p][p]Both the Vector and Hopper sit at just under 20% with the Hopper at a slight edge. The least picked airframe is the poor cruiser sitting at about 11%. Here are the exact percentages if you would like to know.[/p]

• [p]Bluntnose: 51.4%[/p]
• [p]Hopper: 19.4%[/p]
• [p]Vector: 18.1%[/p]
• [p]Cruiser: 11.2%[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]What is New?[/h3][p]If you read this far, first off thank you and for your reward, I will share some new things already being worked on. [/p][p][/p][p]I know this was highly requested and I’m super glad to share this screenshot with you. I’ll let the screenshot speak.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now this is a very very early version of this setup and can change but this is for sure something we want to hone in on.[/p][p][/p][p]I also want to share another new option that we’re looking into. Screen Mode where you can swap from fullscreen to borderless to windowed! Josh is also cooking some changes for audio settings, blood toggling, screenshake toggling, and is exploring other options to improve accessibility.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Community Corner[/h3][p]I saw some amazing art pieces and videos coming out for the beta, and while I would love to share them all, I don’t think the cops are going to let me stand around in one place for too long (Yes, we got your feedback about them, too.)[/p][p][/p][h3]Art[/h3][p][/p][p]Klleh on Discord[/p][p]
Kocao on Discord[/p][p]
Notmacrowave on Discord[/p][p]
Not_a_bot60 on Discord
[/p][h3]Clips/videos[/h3][p]What would Airframe Ultra be like with Team Fortress 2 sounds? Well Thingamagic answers that question with this video.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
If you missed beta 4 but wanted to get a good look at Estate, then NotSoGoodGamer 2 shares a match in the new map![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] [/p][p]Rule number 1 of fight club: Don’t talk about fight club. The police are listening[/p][p]Rule number 2 of fight club: No Airframes. No Weapons. No place to hide.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]There were even people trying to skateboard and do tricks with their airframes! Sniffles shows that off in this video![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]How about a wonderfully put together 10 minute montage with Nautillo![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h3]A Word from the Developer[/h3][p]I spoke with Josh on what they thought about the beta and what they are working on for Airframe Ultra![/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello airframers! This is Josh, one of the engineers/designers on the project. Since the last beta, we've been focusing on the design and functionality of some of the game's core systems. By that, I'm referring to things like settings, gameplay loop, and progression. These are all super high level things, so let's break them down a little, one by one!

Settings
We've kept the settings pretty light for previous betas for two reasons: limited dev bandwidth, and to see what things the community would speak up about most. We're pleased to say that since adding some more content to the game and getting it feeling decently polished, we've had some more bandwidth to tackle settings! Y'all have spoken up most about some things we've had on the roadmap for quite a while. The new settings menu features plenty of quality-of-life and accessibility features such as\[/p][/p]

• [p]fullscreen/borderless/windowed toggle[/p]
• [p]screenshake on/off slider[/p]
• [p]blood on/off toggle[/p]
• [p]more granular audio controls[/p]
• [p]rebinding![/p]

[p]If there are any other accessibility settings you would like us to include, don't hesitate to let us know! The settings menu is still super early and we plan to make some changes to it, similar to the head's up display, to get it consistent with the style of the rest of the game.

Gameplay Loop
We've made some intense changes to the core loop of the game! Rather than being booted to the main menu to find or create a new match after finishing a game, we decided to make a circuit system. After each match, players are returned to the warehouse to see which player won that match. Players are then able to vote on what the next map will be. After three matches, the circuit concludes, and the winners are given a podium finish and some other surprises we've been cooking up. When the circuit is over, players can start another circuit in the same lobby, or they can wrap up their play session! This system is still super early, so we'd love your input and thoughts on what you'd like to see from it.

Progression
We're also working on a progression system! The design is nailed down pretty well, but we're still fine tuning the scalars to make sure players are given reasonable rewards for both performance and participation. The TLDR is that completing circuits will net you some big XP gains, playing well will increase those gains, and playing with a higher star level (voluntary setbacks) will provide a multiplier to further increase your XP gains. That XP will let you level up and unlock some cosmetics! That said, let us know if there are any medals you'd like to earn in game to get big XP boosts, or if you could have any one cosmetic in game, what would that be? (Other than cat ears pls)[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p]If you would like to keep tabs on any future event, like maybe another beta, then join the Airframe Ultra Discord![/p][p]
-riv otter[/p]

[p]Hey Racers,[/p][p][/p][h2]It’s time for you all to take the streets![/h2][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Beta 4 will include many new changes that will shake up the competition from a new map, new UI, and more! How about I dive into them just a bit? Save those pipes for the racing.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Estate[/h2][p]Many of the maps battle over asphalt and concrete but Estate challenges that by fighting in the front maze of the manor. Starting at the edge of the property, you will race on top of the man-made cliffside before diving into the labyrinth of towering bushes. If you didn’t fall off into the dry trash ocean, you will drive upon a greenhouse where your first arena is. With bars blocking off the entrance you must be good at your foot combat in order to survive and not give away too many points. [/p][p][/p][p]In the greenhouse you will find a mix of melee, guns, and throwables. The greenhouse gives nice sightlines for people who pick up guns however there is plenty of cover for those with melee weapons to hide behind and sneak up on unsuspecting players to close the distance. [/p][p][/p][p]After the fighting you race back into the jungle of bushes where after you stuff your airframe into the mouth of a narrow tunnel, the track opens up to a long wide open straight away. No barriers between you and the finish line to the next arena so if you aren’t fast then people with guns will shoot you down or with faster Airframes will fly past you. I’m sure no one will kick you as they’re driving by right? Right? [/p][p][/p][p]I’ll leave the last part of the track for you to discover. I will say though that you may or may not enter the Estate. Oh yeah for some developer backend secrets. This is Jerry. Used for scaling the world around the size of the player! Everyone say hi to Jerry! [/p][p][/p][h2]New UI[/h2][p]Josh, a developer of Airframe Ultra, has been fiddling with UI changes. These are not final but here is a sneak peek at what they have been cooking there.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Balance Changes[/h2][p]For the next balance change we decided to make it a complete even playing field by removing all airframes. That’s right the cops put a tire boot on your airframes. How does that work when airframes don’t have wheels you ask? Um………………………..[/p][p][/p][p]Let’s just say we’ve made a few small tweaks to the airframes and certain weapons. People are still going to break the maps with the Vector. I see you!![/p][p][/p][p]One more thing. While not technically a balance change per se, Josh is also implementing some input fixes as well. 
[/p][p]If you are excited to check out the new changes for Beta 4 and want to participate, then join the Airframe Ultra Discord. This is also the best place to receive updates and news for Airframe Ultra.
[/p][p]-riv otter[/p]

[p]Hey Racers,[/p][p][/p][p]First off, I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate in the third beta. We had over 1,600 people sign up for the Beta! I hope you enjoyed beating up your friends on Ocean Drive. I’m sure you all loved watching me get beaten up on stream! I also want to extend a special thank you to everyone who made clips or memes for the beta– we’re talking about them constantly, let me tell you. But the team is taking things seriously too, reviewing the feedback, bug reports, and data gathered from the beta. [/p][p][/p][h2]Maps[/h2][p]Something that always surprises me with each beta is how quickly people go into “How Can I Break This Map” mode. I sat in on the call in the Airframe Ultra Discord right at the start of the beta with other players as they did everything they can to break Ocean Drive. Which, as someone who did some Quality Assurance for Akupara Game before becoming Community Manager, is a mode that I fully understand and support. It put a big smile on my face to see the maps broken with shortcuts finessing the out-of-bounds barrier and getting their airframes in unintended areas. Pushing the boundaries of Airframe Ultra is always what the betas are for.[/p][p][/p][h3]Ocean Drive[/h3][p]In case you were busy over the weekend, Ocean Drive was the new map we released for Beta 3. Players got to race along a massive megashipyard on the narrow highway roads populated by other drivers and then dropped down to the coastline. Some people were wondering if they could shoot down the innocent parashooter just minding their own business over the water. I see you![/p][p]
[/p][p]Check out this match posted by a community member on the map Ocean Drive![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] [/p][p]Some people have learned that if you surrender the quick fight over the water and time it well, you can get a major head start. In fact, if you drive up the wall and time it right you can drive under the map and win the next race for an easy 3 points.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]A huge highlight for us with this map was asking the community to contribute to the big wall alongside Ocean Drive! There were over 500 submissions and that wall got populated by tons of graffiti from the community. Just to take a second to highlight a few:
[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]There’s a ton of art and I wish I could highlight them all but Steam might be mad at me if I make a dev log with so many beautiful art pieces so let's move on to Storm Drain before I get lost.[/p][p][/p][h3]Storm Drain[/h3][p]Storm Drain is the first track that came back to the beta– it was actually the very first map produced for the game! People who played the first beta may remember the very first version of Storm Drain. Well, this version is different! New Storm Drain features a rain mechanic that affects visibility and the water level throughout the map. This is a feature we’ve been looking to test for a while– what happens when the maps are dynamic? When they change from lap to lap? Thankfully, you guys seemed to really love it! There was an area in one arena however that players easily got stuck in because of the water. People who fell in know the spot. Sorry![/p][p]
[/p][p]Here is a full match from the community on Storm Drain if you would like to see it![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Yet again, players found amazing skips and tricks to break the track. Don’t tell the developers, but I think these are amazing and maybe I will need to use them against my co-workers on stream. [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] [/p][h3]Warehouse[/h3][p]OK, let’s be real, can I talk about Warehouse without talking about Fight Club? Look, Warehouse is in here as a testing ground– where you go when you want to see how the changes have manifested. But you guys just love the club! It started in the second beta by the community and has continued on to the third beta. Fight Club is when people go to Warehouse and only fight in hand to hand combat. No weapons, no airframes, and no where to hide. Just you versus the person in front of you.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]They do movement tech that I didn’t even know was in the game. Seriously, I’m pretty sure if I ever dared set foot in one, I’d lose five times before I even land a punch. But I do wanna say for any curious racers out there: They are very supportive to new players coming in and I’m sure they will be there for the next beta and launch.[/p][p][/p][p]While some people were getting off their Airframe to go into hand-to-hand combat, there were others who were using their Airframe to lap around the map as fast as they could. Here is a person who completed it on the Vector in 49.26.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Dev Talk[/h2][p]Next up, I spoke with Josh, one of the gameplay developers working on Airframe Ultra, about some of the behind the scenes in development.[/p][p]

Hello racers and a heartfelt thank you to everyone that's taken the time to play Airframe Ultra so far! I'm Josh, one of the gameplay developers at Akupara Games. From weapon balance to airframe gameplay and from map design to random bugs, just about all of your feedback gets routed through me, and I do my best to act on it. It's been a blast helping Joar and James bring the world of Airframe Ultra to life, and a huge thank you to them for their patience and dedication, as well as just being fantastic folks to work with![/p][p][/p][p]Let's talk balance.[/p][p]We seriously appreciate the thoughts y'all have shared with us about certain weapons, and we're taking steps to give every weapon a fighting chance while allowing them all to maintain a unique identity and power fantasy. Two of the most instrumental metrics we're keeping an eye on to keep weapons balanced are total time held and total kills. Through these two numbers, we can deduce how many kills weapons are earning per minute they're held by players (with a million caveats of course, but hear me out). This has helped us quantify how certain weapons are overperforming or underperforming. For instance, during beta 2, we saw all weapons net an average of 0.82 kills per minute. Great! What can we learn from this? Well, we saw that ranged weapons got 0.96 kpm, with the least effective ranged weapon being the rebar fastener at 0.46 kpm and the most effective weapon overall being the plasma pistol at a whopping 2.01 kpm.[/p][p][/p][p]That's all good and groovy, but how do we rebalance these weapons? While we're no stranger to tuning damage values, fire rates, magazine sizes, and reload speeds to adjust weapon uptime and time to kill values, we've got an interest in helping each weapon keep its own aesthetic and functional identity. To satisfy that goal, we lean away from big number changes in favor of tuning more abstract properties of the weapons. These changes help the weapons fulfill the roles they play in the universe by buffing along strengths and nerfing along weaknesses.[/p][p][/p][p]In the case of the plasma pistol, it was killing players in one shot in betas 1 and 2. To turn this weapon into less of a free kill printer, we decided to discourage players from spraying one-shot-kill fire everywhere by introducing an overheat mechanic as well as quickly degrading precision the longer the trigger is held. We also adjusted the way the weapon's fire works so that it should kill most players in 2 shots rather than one -- but only if those shots keep their target ignited for a short duration. This keeps the weapon feeling super unique and strong while giving other players a fighting chance against it.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]In the case of the rebar fastener, we took a similar-but-opposite approach. Rather than tuning the damage of the weapon against players, we aimed to satisfy its power fantasy of the weapon being heavy-duty piece of construction equipment. It turns out that airframes really don't like being impaled by rebar, so we improved their damage against vehicles! The projectiles should also feel heavy and destructive, so we buffed them to cause serious knockback and camera movement on those who find themselves on the action end of the rebar fastener.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]And these are just two examples of adjustments we've made between beta 2 and 3! We've taken a similar approach to helping every bike shine in its own area, keeping melee weapons competitive, and dialing in the impact of body type on movement tech. We'll continue tuning these values in the future, and we hope to dial things in just right as we approach launch. I'm sure we'll have more to share about bikes and our design process in the coming weeks![/p][p][/p][p]Thanks![/p][p]Once again, thanks to everyone in the Airframe Ultra community who has made these betas possible! I can't wait for y'all to see what we have in store for the future. Don't hesitate to say hey in the Discord![/p][p]-Josh[/p]

[h2]
Art[/h2][p]I always want to wrap up any dev log with art from the community. I do appreciate the hard work these artists have put into drawing fan art and I do show what I can to developers of Airframe Ultra who love every single art piece drawn. I will share just a few but there are other amazing art pieces posted in the Airframe Ultra Discord.[/p][p][/p][p]The community has created a shared public canvas for Airframe Ultra. The link is pinned in the Discord but here is the progress so far with so many artists adding to it already!
[/p][p]Here are some individual art to highlight as well! Again there are so many art pieces to choose from that I can’t get everyone.
[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Another end to an eventful Beta. The team is still going through the data, numbers, feedback, and bug reports you have submitted over the weekend. Thank you for checking out the beta over the weekend. Without you guys, Airframe Ultra wouldn’t have been developing so well without your feedback and input. [/p][p][/p][p]Riv otter[/p]

[p]Hey racers,
[/p][p]The 3rd beta for Airframe Ultra starting this Friday the 25th! Today, I’m going to give you a plane-in-chasm eye view on what you can expect in the new beta. If you haven’t already, sign up for the beta with this Google Form! I’d also recommend joining the Airframe Ultra Discord to keep up with the news for the Beta.[/p][h2]
Beta 3 Overview[/h2][p]Alright, now it’s time for the meat and potatoes. What is coming up in Beta 3 and what has changed from Beta 2? First, some quick and easy things to list. We took the time to look at some data and read through your feedback to tune some bikes and weapons. I’ll be curious on what you think and what will be this beta’s “meta”.
[/p][p]There are also some new sound effects and music coming to Airframe Ultra! Those of you who played in the very first beta may remember that our first test had no music at all– that’s how early in the development cycle we wanted players to test! Last time, there was some positive feedback from the community since we started adding them in Beta 2 and the master of sound design, James has whipped up some great tunes for this one. [/p][h2]Maps[/h2][p]In this beta, there will be three maps that you can play with– which means three maps to find all the shortcuts to your heart’s content. It’s OK. The devs understand. I honestly find it pretty funny and we are happy that people are having fun with the maps. If you want to see the different shortcuts and tricks the community has found in past betas, they have been recording them in the Tech and Skips Wiki! (Unfortunately, some of these are now patched out– sorry, racers.)[/p][p][/p][p]For fans of Fight Club and hanging out on the couch, Warehouse is one of the maps that will be staying in the map pool! As a simple, straightforward testing ground, this one will remain in all our betas going forward. Plus, we know how much the community loves hanging out on this map and we couldn’t take that away from you. Have fun at the Warehouse.[/p][p][/p][p]Storm Drain makes a return from the first beta and it has a new look! The devs have been toiling  with some new ideas for the map and revamped it a bit. I won’t get into any details into what has changed, I’ll leave that up to you to discover.[/p][p][/p][p]That last and final map is our newest addition to the roster, Ocean Drive. Starting high up alongside a massive megashipyard, you’ll drive along the coastline on the narrow highway roads populated by other drivers. But this track takes you down to the water level too, through a shantytown, up drainage sluices and even out on the waves themselves. That’s all I’ll mention of the new track, I can feel James behind me readying his metal pipe if I say more. [/p][p][/p][h2]Jackrabbit[/h2][p]Jackrabbit has entered the race and you have no chance to keep up. Working as a mechanic on their own airframe deep in the Megashipyards of Slabtown, she has optimised everything from aerodynamics to boosts to give herself the most speed. She knows how to use the track around her to stay ahead of the competition and leaves the fighting to the less intelligent.  [/p][p][/p][p]Join the beta for the exclusive Jackrabbbit skin![/p][p][/p][p]Ready your Airframes and get your metal pipes, Beta 3 is right around the corner. And as another sneak peak– our crew will face off against racers like you in our Friday livestream! Tune in to [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] and see if you can beat me, Fae and a few other folks from the team when we roll up on the new map!
[/p][p]See you on the streets,[/p][p]-riv otter[/p][p]
[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hey Racers,
[/p][p]It’s time…
[/p][h2]Airframe Ultra Beta 3 is available for sign ups[/h2][p][/p][p]Jackrabbit… By day, she works on her Airframe and by night, she outsmarts the competition along Ocean Drive.
[/p][p]Good luck trying to keep up; Ocean Drive is her home turf. [/p][p][/p][p]Join the Airframe Ultra Discord and fill out the sign up sheet there![/p][p]
- riv otter[/p]