Abiotic Factor News

[h3]Greetings esteemed colleagues,[/h3]

Happy holidays to all our scientists! This week we’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to go over, including this sentence which is a very big hint that something PLAYTEST-Y is right around corner. Did you get the hint? Well, no matter, let's continue.

[h2]About Immurement[/h2]

The remote nature of the GATE Cascade Research Facility makes it ideal for the containment and study of dangerous and obscure specimens. At GATE, we call these Immurement Subjects, or simply IS, for short. There are further classifications but we’ll leave those up to you to discover as you venture forth into the Facility.

Mundane artifacts and oddities that have been deemed safe (Ordo) are immured within Cascade, kept in a particularly dry and deceptively large storage area, while deeper down in the Facility are the specimens under active study and more strict containment. These range from mysterious baubles with unique properties, to entities from beyond the veil of our universe - creatures and denizens of other Anteverses and the many worlds beyond.

"Although Cascade has well-established containment tiers, every subject is unique, requiring a different approach to immurement and study. Basic Ordo storage aside, the reality is that we have almost as many kinds of containment as we have subjects. In the final assessment, our containment tiers are a bureaucratic fiction." ~ Dr. Derek Manse

Please be cautious as you gain clearance throughout the GATE Cascade Research Facility. You never know what you might encounter.

[h2]Deep in the Field[/h2]

For this section of the Status Report, we’ll take a look at just a few of the works our devs have put into the game this past while. There were a lot of things to choose from so we picked some of our favorites!

[h3]Jorden, Level Designer[/h3]

Some of my previous work was in the more grunge, industrial, Manufacturing Sector. Lately I’ve been working away on the sprawling Labs, which is a stark difference in both cleanliness and budget, in terms of staff accommodation. I wanted to convey that difference through how clean and luxurious the areas of the Labs are and how hard GATE tries to keep their “upper crust” happy, but still a bit more utilitarian in comparison to the residential quarters.

[h3]Kecko, 3D Artist[/h3]

Welding Spear

Upgrading from your typically pokey makeshift spear made from cobbled together office parts, the Welding Spear brings fire to the mix. It’s pretty straightforward, but took a few iterations to get to this point. We had some slightly crazier ideas but it ended up looking too cool for being your first spear upgrade. Later designs get a bit more wild, and rightfully so.

Thermal Mallet

The Thermal Mallet, around the same tier as the Welding Spear, also went through a good bit of ideation before we landed on something we liked. It started out looking a bit more sharp (as opposed to blunt) and I took some inspiration from the abandoned mines surrounding the Manufacturing Sector. It ended up being a sort of railroad spike welded to the shaft of the club, wrapped in a high-vis material to keep the crafted look.

[h3]Connor, 3D Artist[/h3]

This was a personal milestone for me as I had never done an animation where the right hand leaves the weapon. It’s a notoriously tricky problem in game development, since the weapon is typically parented to a bone that is on the right hand. I worked it out through a series of null objects and constraints that get turned on and off throughout the animation that allows it to follow either the left hand or the right hand as needed.

Additionally animating a bolt action is always a treat. I’m happy with how the player doesn’t feel as proficient with the bolt, being a dorky scientist and all. We of course have progressive reloading animations based on reloading skill, and that changes a bit as the player progresses.

We worked on a hat that both belongs to an enemy, and was something we wanted to make available to marketing for Halloween, so while it was a bit of a rush, I think it turned out quite nicely. The “Swamp Hat” as we’re calling it sure has an interesting look, and perhaps raises some interesting questions too…

[h3]Jacob, Programmer[/h3]

Character Freezing and Slushie Bombs

We wanted some of the early on crafted items to be more fun, so we made the Slushie Bomb physically freeze any character it hits. When affected the character will freeze it's movement and animation, no matter what it was doing, which can look pretty whacky and we love it. You’ll be able to play with this in the next playtest for sure. We also keep the movement so a peccary charging at you will start sliding right past.

PROXIMITY CHAT!

We've changed the in-game VOIP to no longer be global, instead having it proximity based and directional. Alongside that we also have the player's mouth move while they talk, because… You gotta have that. The voice is also a real audio source, so it muffles when out of line of sight and is affected by reverb in the environment, just like a real voice would be. Here's a fun video we posted of a slightly older version of the VOIP in action.

Please Remain Seated

Seats and moveable carts were used in an interesting way in previous playtests, so we've improved the enter/exit logic to prevent certain exploits. Now when you exit a chair or vehicle you should appear in front if there is space, rather than just standing on top of the chair or other whacky locations. This isn’t perfect, but we’ll continue to refine it as we go.

Resistance / Weakness System

Enemies can now have resistances or weaknesses to certain types of damage, which have different audio/visual responses to the hit as well. This changes the type of weapon that might be best for a situation and should really shake up how players encounter things.

Engine Upgrade!

We’ve upgraded the game to Unreal Engine 5.3.2 in our ongoing efforts to keep on top of optimizations and new features. This won’t mean much to you, but it means a lot to us! There have also been some other changes in the optimization department, not quite related to this upgrade, that we hope player’s will notice. As always, keep the feedback coming!

Enemy Changes

We gave the ████ ████ a █████ and the ███████ █████ will be better at █████████ ███████ ████ so we're very excited to see how that plays out in the upcoming playtest. You might find a surprise or two there.

Wow, thanks for that, you crazy kids! Everyone has been extra busy getting content things ready for our next playtest and it’s been great fun to read everyone’s thoughts on their work.

[h2]PLAYTEST WHEN?![/h2]

There’s an upcoming playtest, very, very soon. That’s all I’m allowed to say, but if you’re signed up for the newsletter, please keep an eye on your inboxes this month.



[h2]Stay Tuned[/h2]

When you descend into the GATE Cascade Research Facility you’re going to be facing a lot of unexpected challenges. Follow these Status Reports for tips, insights and strategies to keep you safe, as well as fun looks-behind-the-scenes at development!

You can also subscribe to our Newsletter to keep up-to-date on news about Abiotic Factor, and gain access to testing environments. Keep your eyes peeled because things are ramping up behind the scenes!



You can also join us on Discord!


See you next time, Scientists!

[h3]Wishlist Today![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

[h2]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/h2]



We want to thank everyone who helped to make our first public playtest a huge success! Over 7,000 scientists gave it their all! Thank you for playing the alpha playtest of Abiotic Factor. We saw a lot of awesome bases and followed tons of streamers on their adventures through the GATE Cascade Research Facility.

[h2]We Want Your Feedback![/h2]

If you have not yet left playtest feedback you can do so by filling out this form: Playtester Feedback Form The form will be open until November 18 at 11:59 PM PST.

[h2]Couldn't Make It?[/h2]

If you missed the playtest (or didn't get enough) - don't fret. There will be more opportunities to get your hands on the game before the launch next year.

[h2]Stay Up To Date With Our Newsletter![/h2]

Subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to hear about future playtest dates!

[h2]Join the Discord![/h2]

Greetings esteemed colleagues! We are so excited for you to play Abiotic Factor!
This guide contains everything you need to know about the playtest. Grab your coffee and dive in!



Below you will find some helpful information, such as:

• Playtest dates and times
  
• How to access the playtest
  
• What's in the playtest
  
• How to report a bug or crash
  
• Where to submit feedback
  
• Where to find our FAQ
  
• A few new player tips
  

[h2]How Long is the Playtest?[/h2]

The playtest is open from the 9th of November to the 15th of November PST.

Here is a time zone breakdown:

• PST: Thursday, 9 November at 12:00 PM through Wednesday, 15th November at 8:00 PM
  
• MST: Thursday, 9 November at 1:00 PM through Wednesday, 15th November at 9:00 PM
  
• CST: Thursday, 9 November at 2:00 PM through Wednesday, 15th November at 10:00 PM
  
• EST: Thursday, 9 November at 3:00 PM through Wednesday, 15th November at 11:00 PM
  
• GMT: Thursday, 9 November at 8:00 PM through Thursday, 16th November at 4:00 AM
  
• NZDT: Friday, 10 November at 9:00 AM through Thursday, 16th November at 5:00 PM
  

[h2]How to Launch the Playtest[/h2]

To begin your work in the GATE Cascade Research Facility, you’ll need to request access by clicking the ‘Request Access’ button on the Abiotic Factor store page.



Once access is granted you’ll see Abiotic Factor in your Steam library. Select 'Abiotic Factor Playtest', download it, and you’re good to go!



[h2]What's Included in the Playtest[/h2]

This playtest starts you off in the Introduction, which acts as a sort of tutorial. We recommend you play it all the way through, it's not too long! After that, you can join or host a server, which features a section of the early gameplay and exploration in the GATE Cascade Research Facility. We've given you just a taste of the depths that you will be able to explore upon release!

There is a hard cutoff on the playtest in terms of content, but you can keep playing, making discoveries and unlocking more recipes and skills even after you complete the last available objective for this playtest. Please enjoy the "sandbox" we've created (in solo or co-op!) for as long as the playtest is live!

[h2]How to Report Bugs, Crashes and Make Suggestions[/h2]

We want to hear from you! Listed below are different guides and master threads dedicated to anything you’d like to ask or share with us.

• 🐛How to Report a Bug or Crash
• 📜Known Issues
• 💡Feedback & Suggestions
• 🤔Frequently Asked Questions

As a scientist arriving at the GATE Cascade Research Facility just as a mysterious catastrophe unfolds, you’re trapped far underground with no hope of rescue. Find ways to survive, explore, unlock and - eventually - escape your increasingly lethal workplace with your team.

[h2]A Few Tips[/h2]

Accessibility Options!
We have many accessibility options available in the game, ranging from FOV sliders to screen shake amount to Hold vs. Toggle, and so on. We do not yet have subtitles as we're still in the process of finalizing large portions of the script throughout the game, but that is on the horizon.

Keybindings & Controller Bindings!
Keyboard, Mouse and Controller can all be rebound in the settings menu at any time. Let us know how this goes for you and if you want to see any additional rebinding features.



Jobs and Traits!
You can pick your primary job and additional positive and negative traits at the beginning of the game (after the introduction concludes.) Once locked in, they can't be changed on that server, and remember that character skills, stats, and inventory are on a per-server basis. So give it a think!



Pager!
Your pager can be accessed in the emote radial wheel (B key by default, D-PAD Up on controller.) The pager is a nifty device your dad probably once used which lets you briefly ping your location to your fellow scientists in the event you become lost among the cubicles.



Medical Radial Wheel!
Bring up all your healing items on a radial wheel for easy access by holding down the X key. Quicky clicking the X key will bring up your overall health screen.



Holster Your Items!
You can holster your weapon and shield by pressing the H key. This can be useful if you have a shield equipped and want to cycle your weapon state, or just want your hands free so you aren't standing around threatening your fellow scientists.

Share Recipes!
Once you've researched a recipe, you can share it with your party! On the crafting screen, click the 'Share Recipe' button, located to the left of the recipe you want to share.



[h2]Join Our Discord![/h2]

To chat with fellow playtesters, find servers full of new friends, make jokes, share videos or screenshots, and just about everything else - join our Discord by following the link below.



[h3]Thank you for playtesting Abiotic Factor, and we'll see you in the Facility.[/h3]

[h3]Greetings esteemed colleagues,[/h3]

First, we made a new vlog, and you simply must see it. It is to die for.

[h2]Q&A Vlog - Part 1[/h2]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Now that you've certainly watched the vlog, let's get on with this feast of a status report. Happy November! Spooky season is over (though not for this dev. We have pumpkins in the game now and I am going to USE them!) and development continues onwards and upwards.

And speaking of upwards… Let’s dive into this week’s development sneak-peek!

[h2]The Ups and Downs of Travel[/h2]

Verticality is a thing that exists in the real world, so why shouldn’t it exist in the game world too? While designing the Facility and other worlds beyond, we always take into account how much the player will want to explore both the highs AND the lows...

One primary goal is to invoke the feeling of classic 90’s games while utilizing modern day engine capabilities to make the world as interactable and large. You want to get to that distant ledge? Dang it, you can make it happen! And not only can you make that happen, you can go about it in a multitude of ways.

Want to get big ups?
If you make a strange discovery during your travels, like this Gaseous Nest, be sure to package it up for future use. You never know when it might come in handy!

Originally posted by Manse

"The precise means by which these nests produce and release gas are still unknown, and their exact rearing purposes remain cloudy. But like so much fauna from [REDACTED], its metabolism is accelerated here. The result is a violent outgassing on contact, capable of launching objects large distances, before rapidly refilling." ~ Dr. Derek Manse

Traverse big pits?
The classic bed sheets tied together style rope is always an option. Though, with your scrawny upper body strength, it might be a one way trip.



Maybe you’ll be able to find some more… foreign rope materials to help you back up again. Wait, is this thing alive?



Building with BoB (Brains Over Brawn)
Of course it wouldn’t be a survival crafting game without some construction. Cobble together wooden scraps from around the office to build yourself platforms, bridges,



and ramps!



Use that freaky science brain to invent even more ways of getting vertical!

And there are, of course, more or less traditional scientific means of accessing hard to reach places. Such as rocket-powered backpacks and repurposing mobile gadgets.



Just remember, if you can’t walk it, you can craft it!

[h2]Deep in the Field[/h2]

Each Status Report we take a little walk by some of the team and ask them what they've been up to, and have them tell us a bit about the stuff they've been creating.

Do NPC’s get spooked? Can you weaponize the very concept of redacting information? Let’s find out in this installment of Deep in the Field! Plus a look at some never before seen, nicely dressed Facility locations.

[h3]Jenny, Tech Artist[/h3]

[REDACTION] Grenade

Upon activation, the [REDACTION] Grenade creates a gravitational distortion effect, which is visually represented by a swirling vortex. For this particular style of effect, I came up with the concept for it while reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics.

[h3]Hailey, Level Designer[/h3]

Manufacturing

At the heart of the GATE Cascade Research Facility’s industrial sector lies Manufacturing West, full of metal, concrete, and deadly health hazards. I’ve been working on various areas throughout this zone and have LOVED the challenges this theme presents. Pipes snaking everywhere and building row after row of pillars will always be a favourite past-time of mine.

Mines

Throughout the Facility, players will venture through large, underground, abyssal spaces. The mines are one such zone, hosting a mix of cool caverns and twisted tunnels. I’ve especially enjoyed capturing the dark and moody atmosphere as I fill out these lower spaces.

In-betweens

The Facility is wonderfully interconnected with halls, roadways, elevators and trams. Despite their relatively low foot-traffic, the in-between areas are just as enjoyable to work on as the main areas and are a great opportunity to show off some unique architectural and decorative styles, especially since these connecting areas visually link the style of the adjacent zones. This security checkpoint (I’m not allowed to tell you where this is) in particular has been a real pleasure to work on. Seeing areas become seamlessly interlinked and traversable is extremely rewarding!

[h3]Kecko, 3D Artist[/h3]

Batteries!

Batteries are the life-blood of your base at night. When the power goes out, you’re on whatever reserves you have available. One way to prepare for that is by crafting batteries!

I wanted to have consistent elements across these when conceptualizing them, and I thought the cyan capacitors were striking and tied the lower tiers together while allowing each tier of battery to fit both its style and sector-theme – that is to say, the area where you first get the materials to craft it.

For the highest tier battery I took inspiration from the interior of an IBM Quantum computer and stylized it, compacting it to fit in a small form factor.

Backpacks!

As you know, you can only carry so much in your scrawny scientist arms, and we make sure to remind you of that frequently. But with the help of backpacks you can live your best loot hoarder life!

The Makeshift Backpack is the first backpack you can create, scraped together with sections stolen from couches, chairs and spare lab coats. It will only provide a little bit of extra storage space and it's quite easy to put together.

The Research Backpack, a few tiers higher up the food chain, is a high-tech piece of equipment that will give you a very flexible amount of space and carrying capacity, as well as block some radiation from the items inside. It was a lot of fun designing both, but I’m quite partial to the metal shape of the Research Pack, there’s something rather neat about carrying around solid, non-flexible materials.

Barricades!

Gotta keep those critters out somehow, right? Due to consisting of all sorts of pieces around the early Office Sector, creating uniform, strong and defensive shapes proved a bit tricky but we got it in the end.

[h3]Jacob, Programmer[/h3]

Startling Enemies

Up until now, enemies didn’t really have any startle behavior. Now they do. If an enemy is out of combat, just chillin’, and hears a loud noise they'll get startled. Or if you walk around the corner and are up in their grill, they'll get spooked. This grants the player a moment of opportunity to strike while the enemy is stunned and rewards stealthy players with an advantage at the start of a fight.

We’ve also made shoving - the quintessential unarmed attack of a scrawny scientist - work on some smaller (lighter) enemies if you catch them unaware. This is another way to get a quick stun before they wise up and ruin your day.

Async Level Loading

The GATE Cascade Research Facility is rather large, and it’s going to feel that way as you walk from one end to the other. I’ve been working on some major optimizations to make the experience of moving between large sections of the map more seamless. You’re used to seamless travel in most games, and we aim to please.

Wow, that was quite the run-down from the team. What's next?

[h2]Stay Tuned[/h2]

When you descend into the GATE Cascade Research Facility you’re going to be facing a lot of unexpected challenges. Follow these Status Reports for tips, insights and strategies to keep you safe, as well as fun looks-behind-the-scenes at development!

You can also subscribe to our Newsletter to keep up-to-date on news about Abiotic Factor, and gain access to testing environments. Keep your eyes peeled because things are ramping up behind the scenes!



You can also join us on Discord!


See you next time, Scientists!

[h3]Wishlist Today![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

[h3]Greetings esteemed colleagues,[/h3]

Spooky season is here and we hope you’re enjoying it! We’ve got more developer insights and game mechanics to share with you this month, so grab a gourd flavored food item and strap in.

[h2]Worth the Weight[/h2]

If you’ve got frail human bones you probably also have wimpy human muscles, so it’s a perfect time for us to talk about how Armor Weight Class will function during your journey into the depths of the Facility and worlds beyond!

Through crafting and the occasional lucky loot, scientists will get stronger armor over time as they progress. Stronger armor is often heavier and wearing heavy armor slows you down - but exactly how much are you slowed?

To solve the challenge of creating a balanced and rewarding armor system, we’ve introduced Armor Weight Class, which as it sounds, calculates the total weight of armor and places you into a weight class. Weight Class primarily affects your base movement speed, meaning heavier armor will slow you down, and less armor will return you closer to normal.

Since this system can involve a bunch of numbers (and let’s face it, numbers can be a little misleading) we’ve created a handy UI diagram that gives you your weight class at-a-glance!

Keep in mind our UI is all a work in progress and may change and improve between now and release.



As you can see, the Chef Hat, which also offers no armor, doesn’t affect your weight class, but if you equip a full set, even a stronger, lighter armor set like the Carapace armor, you might find your trip to the kitchen a little cumbersome. And that’s okay, the benefits are generally… worth the weight.

As a general rule: the earlier in your adventure you can find or craft something, the less it weighs and the lower armor values it might have, though there are some exceptions to this with so many varieties of protection to find. A lead vest offers little protection, but it weighs a lot. Is it worth it, in a pinch? Probably! Even wearing something like a Hazmat Suit might slow you down a bit, especially with heavy armor worn underneath.

Now that we understand the connection, let’s get specific! As you can see in the UI image above, Weight Class has four levels of impact; no impact, light impact, moderate impact, and heavy impact. As a small quality of life note, no matter how heavy your armor is, your base speed can only get so slow before it “bottoms out.” So once you’re very heavy, you’re very heavy. We won’t turn you into a complete snail – as long as your inventory isn’t full of anvils or something!

Peep your little science eyes in the top right of this GIF to see the Weight Class UI in action.



[h2]Deep in the Field[/h2]

For this week’s installment of talking to the team, we’re gonna go look at beep-boopin’ servers, strange beings from who-knows-where, radioactive items, and more!

[h3]Kecko, 3D Artist[/h3]

Drills!

Tired of assembling furniture with a screwdriver? Well, not yet, because the game isn’t out. But one day, you might. Anyway, we have a solution! Upgrading your building tool is a crucial part of optimizing your journey.

The drills were a lot of fun to concept and bring to fruition, and some of the first assets I created on my own from start to finish, from concept to final mesh and texture. I think the drill made from a tape gun and a hand drill is my favorite of the three.

Pies

Nothing like a sweet (or savory!) treat to put you back on your feet. There are plenty of pies to make - assuming you’ve teched up into Ovens - which are crafted from all kinds of foods you might find or grow.

Making the pie really tested my modeling chops. It was tricky to assemble it in a way where each slice comes together to make a part of the whole without having weird gaps, mainly because of the lattice crust. The process was probably not entirely dissimilar to how you make the lattices on a real pie.

Explosive Sledgehammer

Only a brilliant scientific mind would think: "I should place a landmine on the end of a sledgehammer." This beast of a weapon and miracle of science is somehow relatively safe to use. I really like the dings and burn marks to indicate (explosive) wear, as well as the general construction of the head.

Server Rack

The server rack was a lot of fun to paint. The cables were tricky to get looking right, but I think I did a pretty good job on the drive-bay CRT. You tell me! The blinking lights really make this piece pop, and it looks awesome inside the glow of a server room - and we have a lot of those in the facility! Some of our process involves painting over real world examples to achieve our stylized retro look. This was one of my first forays into painting over photographs as part of my texturing process.

[h3]Jenny, Tech Artist[/h3]

Crystalline Chaos

While we first described this effect as “confetti” in a joke-like manner, it’s turned into anything but a joke. The [REDACTED] has a vicious projectile attack, emitting a burst of confetti-like fragments accompanying the main purple “laser” effect. It’s become quite the deadly spectacle, with a hint of twinkling afterglow…

Underwater FX

Quite possibly my favorite – and possibly most scary – effect this week: Underwater Post Process effects! I think the GIF speaks for itself. Big otherworldly fish not included. Not in this status report, anyway.

[h3]Jacob, Programmer[/h3]

Radioactive Items

I added support for items to emit radiation, whether it's on ground, in a container or even held by an unfortunate scientist. This can be mitigated by special gear and containers that shield the radiation. It gives an extra challenge and choice in co-op play, where the group must decide who’s the poor soul that has to hold the spicy power cell.

Luckily, refrigerators block a bit of radiation too, so all that stored up alien meat won’t make your kitchen the deadliest place to be… most of the time.

[h3]Jorden, Level Designer[/h3]

When moving between sectors, we wanted to show a clear change in the environment, for example giving the deep labs that “Big Science'' feel, opting for more curvature and a bit of a “Have I been abducted?” sort of vibe. You can also tell the higher up (or deeper down?) scientists have had a bit of a budgetary surplus, complete with artificial daylight and taxidermied denizens of some other world.

[h2]In Case You Missed It[/h2]

[h3]Vehicle Dev Vlog[/h3]
Vroom vroom! In this dev vlog we talk about vehicles. Find out how to get yourself forklift certified in ABF!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Abe Gets Sick[/h3]
There’s a new Watercooler short inspired by good old game conventions. Unfortunately I can’t embed YouTube shorts. Here’s a link instead: Abe Gets Sick

[h2]Stay Tuned[/h2]

When you descend into the GATE Cascade Research Facility you’re going to be facing a lot of unexpected challenges. Follow these Status Reports for tips, insights and strategies to keep you safe, as well as fun looks-behind-the-scenes at development!

We plan to continue doing these about once a month, with lots of surprises in between.

You can also subscribe to our Newsletter to keep up-to-date on news about Abiotic Factor, and gain exclusive access to testing environments. Oh, they’re coming.



[h3]Wishlist Today![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

See you next time, Scientists!

You can also join us on Discord!