DEADBOLT News

The forces of the planet roar to life.

One sleepless night now, ain’t it? With Risk of Rain 2 getting released a few hours ago and this contest ordeal being held, it is finally time to reveal who’ll be spending the next few hours playing Hopoo’s latest hit.

Straight to business, Puddin788’s “The Big Idea” is the winning submission!

This is the part where we fall into the more standard MotW formula, but hey, we gotta justify our choice.

To summarize, Puddin’s submission is a collection of trial-and-error-ish minigames with humorous remarks here and there and, even if the most frustrating, it is perhaps one of the better executed levels in terms of design and pacing, not to mention the obvious criteria – minigames being something out of the ordinary.



You’ll go through a mine-filled dropdown, a scavenger hunt and a trivia quiz, with questions of common knowledge and of concerning insight. I enjoyed it all the way through and was honestly surprised to see concepts like these arise in such a limited environment.



While we’re at it, let’s do a quick rundown on the honorable mentions – or, rather, the four remaining submissions, who’re getting away with a soundtrack code.

Honorable Mentions

Tahazzar's "Lost in Translation" is a puzzle that revolves around respawning with a different weapon each time, allowing you to progress further and further even when dying. The level handles this concept well, and only didn’t win because of its pacing - just as the most interesting part began, it was already over.



Classic_Cheese18's "In the Footsteps of a Reaper" is a heavily story-focused series of levels (six in total) with a bunch of different themes incorporated into it. Each of the gang-themed stages has you going up, down and inbetween two buildings and then lockpicking a safe. It is smart in terms of storytelling and shows that Classic_Cheese18 keeps improving in every aspect (decorations, overall ideas, just the levels being fun). It has some flaws like having too many enemies in a tight space and the fact that the keycard-based objective may get softlocked, but overall, it's so good it had me debating over whether to give this map the first place. Alas, while it does tell the story in a rather creative way, it's nothing super groundbreaking in terms of gameplay.



LittleHorn's "Creativity" (direct file download)

Again, a very promising concept with execution that leaves a somewhat unfinished feel, as so much more could be done with the “make your own level” gimmick in terms of variety and scale. Props for originality though – the approach was very clever and unique.



Taterazay's "High Dracula Nightclub" (direct file download)

While the level itself is pretty neat and the general idea of making a level that's level design is sort of expanding upon the idea of Madam Stela's level is cool, there isn’t actually much that breaks the boundaries or blows one’s mind. The vent system is great though, and it's one of the small number of submissions, so the level gets to be highlighted.



Aand that's it! I know, five submissions isn't a lot, but hey, it's a small community. Thanks to everyone who participated and even to those who were planning to but didn’t make it in time! It was like a breath of fresh air to see all the crazy stuff that you’ve managed to come up with.
Winners will be contacted shortly about receiving the rewards.

Hey folks!

After giving it a bit of second thought and realising that we might've underestimated the hardships of real life, we've decided to prolong the contest until March 28th (same time, 12pm PST).

If you haven't started working on a map yet, then now's the time, and if you have - you can now spend more time on polishing.

Don't forget to submit your maps onto the Workshop with "DBMC" in the title/description or send .ncs into the #contest-submissions channel on the Discord server (preferably both!).

Today marks three years since DEADBOLT’s release, and for a relatively unknown videogame, I'd say keeping its players for so long is a pretty good record.

Last time we hosted a Q&A, and while that was interesting, it felt like we could have done something that involves the community more, so we’ve decided to up our game with…



The difference between a regular MotW and this contest is that here you’ll get actual prizes as opposed to just a writeup about your map and a unique role in our Discord server



The contest’s submission period will last from March 14th, at this very moment, until March 21st, 12pm PST. (or 12:00 by the 24 hour system)

Much like DEADBOLT was Hopoo's attempt at creating a very different experience to Risk of Rain, this contest is focused on creating a level that deviates from the usual standards of level design: turn the Reaper upside down, emphasize verticality in your design, create a devious puzzle – go weird, go wild, and unleash your inner chaos to create something that truly stands out from DEADBOLT’s usual gameplay style of shooting dudes in buildings.

The rules are as follows:

• You are allowed to edit .nc files via text editors.
  
• If you own the GOG version or cannot use the Steam workshop for whatever reason, you can join the Discord server and submit your level in the dedicated channel titled #contest-submissions.
• If you’re uploading to the Steam Workshop, be sure to put "DBMC” (short for “DEADBOLT Mapping Contest”) either in the title or the description so that we could find your level among those that are not participating.
  
• You may submit only one workshop item into the final pool. Creating multiple maps (not a series in a .zip) is allowed, but as we said, only one submission actually participates in this.
  

If there’s any confusion, be sure to contact JAG or Square_Rabbit on the Discord server to clear things up.



I’m sure you’re eager to hear why you should bother entering this contest, and you have good reason to, because the first place winner will receive a Risk of Rain 2 Steam Key!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/632360/Risk_of_Rain_2/

We'd like to note that you'll only get the key on the release date, so you'll have to wait a bit after the contest ends.

We’ve also got 5 codes for the DEADBOLT Soundtrack, redeemable at https://chrischristodoulou.bandcamp.com/yum for runners-up.

If you’ve reached the end here, you’re probably eyeing that Steam Key, huh? Either that or you just really like reading our posts, in which case, thanks! Whatever it may be, you now know that you’re one weird level away from nabbing a free game, so be sure to make us question your sanity with whatever you come up with.

May the weirdest win!

Hey there, folks!

Today’s map had the potential to be featured much earlier as a MotW, but sadly never got the chance, and was forgotten, abandoned by the cruel march of time… until now, that is! This week’s Map of the Week is “Through The Looking Glass” by SockPuppet, though it doesn’t seem to have much to do with Lewis Carroll’s creations, despite the name.



This level may seem like it’s a remake of Vall when you first load it up, but it’s different enough that it’s more a reimagining than anything. It’s much harder than Vall is, with fewer weapons and a wider enemy variety. Nothing’s stopping you from bringing your own guns from your car, though. All the while, a sniper is taking potshots at you, so you know the drill. Stay out of the light, time your movements to throw off their aim.



Going up the elevator, you’ll fight more enemies guarding a sniper rifle that you can use to retaliate against the marksman who’s been harassing you the whole way up.

Once you go back down, however, you’ll find you have the option of going over to the sniper’s nest in search of information, where you’ll encounter a large group of zombies interested in scavenging the place now that you’ve taken care of all the threats present inside.



Yes, the real meat of this map is choice. Keen-eyed players will notice the level transition to the right of the first stage, where you can go to the sniper’s nest early and take them out up close and personal. She’s lost track of you by the time you arrive there, thankfully, so you’ll only need to contend with the guards you were sniping in the other available route.



Having the choice between taking on the enemy from range or up close is pretty cool, and being able to visit the area after you’ve sniped it is an interesting concept. Plus, lazy reapers can just snipe the target and leave right after. Score!

Oh, and also, I just have to mention my appreciation for the level’s name. Through The Looking Glass, as in a sniper scope! SockPuppet should write a joke book or something.

Play it now!

Hey, how’s everyone doing?

We’re reviewing another old map this week, with the blast from the past “To Hell and Back” by Nintee – a rather lengthy story-focused map that’s a part of his “Last Stand” campaign.



The level has a lot of features that were popular at the time – hiding secrets off-screen, decorating stairwells with background doors and, a feature unique to Nintee’s maps, ash piles that show you the respawn location of a recently deceased undead (my favourite type of oxymoron).



As mentioned previously, this level is pretty big, featuring long stretches of rooms in a fairly linear sequence. There’s plenty of weapons scattered about the place, along with plenty of enemies to empty said guns into. Be sure not to forget about your objective, though – you have to burn all the ash caches spread throughout the level, and backtracking in search of one you missed isn’t fun.







After you deal with that, you arrive in a large room that’s suspiciously quiet…



Wait, is that "The Parrot Is No More"? What could be going on there?



As for the rest of the level? Well, I’d rather not spoil it for you – it’s something much better experienced first-hand.

Play it now!