Ravenfield News

Hey everyone!

As you may know, I've been away on a summer break since releasing EA16. I'm back now and wanted to update everyone on exactly what I'll be working on.

The Conquest Mode has always been the end goal for Ravenfield, and it has been teased in the main menu ever since the first Steam version. Originally I had planned to ship the Conquest Mode within one year of the first Early Access release, but that obviously didn't happen :). Instead, I spent most of my time working on modding support for the game, and general game improvements.

Even though the original release target for 1.0 was missed I think it was worth it thanks to the incredible modding community creating tons of really cool mods for Ravenfield! A huge shoutout to everyone involved with creating/playing/making videos of mods!




I'm now shifting my dev time towards finishing up the Conquest Mode. This means that the upcoming EA updates will have playable versions of Conquest Mode, where more features will be added incrementally in each update. Eventually, the final conquest mode will feature army upgrading, weapons/vehicle research, and story elements.

This is what the Conquest Mode looks like right now (you may recognize this scene from the game's greenlight trailer):



Each game level is represented by a tile on the world map, and each tile can be held by up to 3 battalions at the same time (represented by the blue/red soldier miniatures). Conquest is played in turns, when it's your turn you may move your battalions to any adjacent tiles. If there are any enemy battalions already occupying that tile a battle will start, loading the game level that tile takes place on. It is important to consider how many battalions to attack with, having larger numbers than the enemy is a big advantage.

The objective of Conquest Mode is to take over the enemy HQ tile, but each owned tile will also provide you with valuable resource production. Resources include battalion production, money to buy new equipment, and research points to discover new weapons and vehicles.

After some playtesting it was obvious that having only 10 tiles on the world map wasn't ideal, it would be interesting to provide more paths and possible tactics to the player. From the desire to add more tiles, I also played with the idea of adding new tiles where battles would play out quicker. These tiles would represent less crowded battlefields such as hills, roads, fields etc. When battling on these tiles, the game would load a level with a different style to the others:




Engagement Levels are open and straightforward levels that are designed around fast, agressive engagements between the two teams. These levels typically take place on smaller, symmetric terrains and victory requires effective use of vehicles. Here's an example of an Engagement Level concept:



Because most points lack proper defenses, the Engagement Levels work very well with the Skirmish game mode where an all-out assault is highly effective. These levels play a lot faster than the "normal" levels which is a huge plus: when playing the campaign you will experience more battle variety.

Another strength of Engagement Levels is that they can be designed a lot faster than a normal level, meaning that there can be a greater number and variety of them. In fact, I have already designed a few concept levels to try out the ideas behind Engagement Levels in instant action mode. During this week I'll be adding one level each day on the beta branch for people to try out. On friday I'll make all concept levels playable at once.




Because my focus is on Conquest Mode, another programmer (who made the ingame map editor) will be working on adding more features to the modding side of Ravenfield. For example, the Conquest Mode will be fully moddable, allowing you to create your own war scenarios. We also have some other exciting plans that we aren't quite ready to show/talk about yet!




Here's what to expect of the upcoming updates:

This week (on the beta branch): One Engagement Level concept per day from monday to thursday. All levels available on friday and forward.

EA17: A very work in progress but playable version of Conquest Mode.

EA18,19,20+: Improvements to Conquest Mode and game polish.

Ravenfield 1.0: Final Conquest Mode with story elements.


I hope this clears up where the Ravenfield development is heading and that everyone is as excited for Conquest Mode as I am!

/SteelRaven7

We're really happy to introduce the new ingame map-editor in Ravenfield. The ingame map-editor is designed to be an easy-to-use but powerful alternative to the Ravenfield mod tools for Unity.



The map in the screenshot above is made by Maffnwy, you can find it here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1765196638

There's no need to download any extra software or tool, so making a custom map in Ravenfield has never been easier! The editor comes loaded with all official Ravenfield props, so you can start designing right away. When you have a nice map, use the built-in uploader to publish your map on Steam Workshop.

If you have any questions or need help getting started with Ravenfield mapping, reach other mappers and/or the Ravenfield devs on the official Ravenfield discord chat here: http://discord.gg/ravenfield

If map making just isn't your thing, you will want to check out the new Jeep overhaul. The new jeep even has a windshield that will protect you from small-arms fire, at least until it breaks.




Full change log:

- Added ingame map-editor
- Reworked the jeep.

- Added optional depth-of-field effect to photo mode, available by pressing i when in photo mode.
- Spectator/photo mode now shows a list of available controls.
- Fixed an AI issue that caused bots to sometimes instantly exit a player driven vehicle after entering it.
- Improvements to ragdolls such as joint constraints and lower angular drag (allowing them to rotate faster)
- Ragdolls now have some slight drag so they eventually come to rest which frees up work on the physics engine (so potentially higher framerates with lots of ragdolls/bodies)
- Ragdolls will now get tossed when ragdolled by explosions and splash damage, making them spin in the air.
- Fixed a bug where sound bank audio sources would sometimes not be affected by slowmotion effects and the in-game volume slider.
- Added support for vehicle hitboxes with varying damage (so modders can create critical hit spots, heavy armor spots etc)
- Added support for vehicle destructible objects, such as the windshield on the new jeep.
- Added support for destructible objects in maps.
- Added camera recoil to the jeep's machine gun.
- Removed splash damage from the jeep's machine gun.
- Improved projectile hit scan, you can no longer shoot through walls when standing very close to them.
- Reordered the map list so old favorites like Archipelago are at the top and WIP maps are at the bottom.


July 3 patch:

- Added Flat terrain biome that creates a completely flat terrain and an ocean water plane.
- Renamed Flat Island biome to Round Island.
- Gizmos (the move, rotate, scale clickables) are now larger and easier to click.
- Increased the normal and fast camera speeds (Hold shift to go fast).
- Added a slow camera speed when holding left control.
- Fixed a bug where asset preview textures would sometimes not show up for all assets in the picker menu.
- Fixed a bug where the terrain brush indicator would not scale with the brush scale setting.
- Fixed a bug where the terrain tools would not work when clicking far-away points on the terrain.

I'm going to take a summer break after some potential bugfixing on EA16, but I have some exciting updates on Conquest mode coming up when I'm back. For now, enjoy this update!

/SteelRaven7

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The Tank has received a significant overhaul in EA15, sporting both a new look and handling characteristics. The new Tank can take more damage and also has a new turret system that will prevent the barrel from getting caught in walls. Also, make sure you don't miss the new Tank sound effects!



Along with the Tank, the Quadbike has also had a facelift, along with new sound effects.

There have been several AI improvements to ground vehicle combat. For example, the AI will now stand still when attempting those tricky long range shots. When taking damage, bots will now turn towards the direction of the shooter and attempt to retaliate.

Full change log:

- Updated Tank to new style, including improved handling, new sounds, effects and more.
- Updated Quad to new style, including improved handling, new sounds, effects and more.

- Added support for turret springs and max turn speed, used on the tank main cannon
- Added support for throttle sounds that only play when accelerating a vehicle.
- Added support for fancy geometric tank tracks - no more cheap scrolling images ;)
- Increased tank health to 4000 (was 3000 before)
- AI will now stop when aiming long range shots. This also applies to vehicles.
- Major tweaks to AI aiming. They are now a little deadlier than before at low and medium range.
- AI will now always fire their weapon after aiming at an enemy for a while. Sometimes they would just aim but never fire before this update.
- When being attacked inside vehicles with anti-tank weapons, AI drivers/gunners will now turn towards their attacker.
- Anyone dealing high damage to a vehicle will be marked as a high-priority target. This means that AI are more likely to attack anti-tank units if they have recently fired.
- Fixed incoming damage indicator not showing up inside vehicles.
- Improvements to vehicle sound mixing. The vehicle you're inside should always be at the highest volume now.
- Changed the APC team color indicators
- Fixed the player minimap viewcone sometimes not turning with the player view.



Enjoy this update!

/SteelRaven7

EA14 adds a highly requested vehicle to the game - an amphibious APC! The APC is designed to safely transport infantry to the front lines, but don't underestimate its power against vehicles. The APC also introduces a more detailed vehicle style, both in its look and handling. Expect updates to the existing vehicles to bring them up to par!



EA14 also introduces Skirmish mode, a brand new game mode with limited respawns. When you die, you take the place of a bot on the battlefield. This means that you will no longer have access to the weapons you picked at the start but will have to make do with whatever the bot was carrying. Improvisation is key here!

As the battle rages on, reinforcements will be airdropped onto the battlefield. Here you have a chance to pick a new loadout to bring into battle. The number of airdrops are limited though, so make sure your team doesn't run out of soldiers or you'll lose the battle. Any team can also win by capturing and holding more flags than the other through a domination victory.


Full change log:

- Added APC
- Added Skirmish game mode with limited respawns.

- Several improvements to vehicles (mainly car improvements):
- Added Forward/Reverse gear that takes a brief moment to switch between.
- Added tipping force when turning sharply and accelerating/braking.
- The engine will struggle a little bit when the suspension is under high load
- Added support for new sound such as shifting gears, suspension stress, engine ignition.
- New sound mix when sitting inside an enclosed seat.
- Added support for amphibious (floating) cars.
- Added stable turret that doesn't rotate with whatever it's attached to.

- Some various minor tweaks to levels to help AI get into/from their vehicles a little easier.
- AI can now get into vehicles just after leaping off a surface, especially useful for vehicles in water. Before they had to wait until they were swimming before they could get in.
- Fixed a bug that would cause AI to perodically slow down when following a path.
- Added modding support for weapon parameters such as custom sight modes and weapon alt fire modes.
- Added secondary fire mode to Thumper where it fires smoke rounds. This is useful for both blocking view and ranging your grenades.
- Fixed a bug that would cause vehicle gibs such as wing parts to jitter when on the ground.
- In the weapon picking loadout UI, weapon tags are now hidden if they contain no weapons.
- Moved the Player Has All Weapons checkbox to the instant action page.
- Player Has All Weapons setting will now persist between games.
- Player Has All Weapons setting is now saved with your game configuration saves. By default it's set to off.
- All weapons are now always visible in the Weapon Switch menu. Any weapons that can only be used by the player is highlighted grey.
- Improvements to how AI pick weapons, they will now prioritize long range weapons such as snipers and assault rifles on longer engagement ranges and vice versa.
- AI will now pick up two equipment items (previously they only picked one). They also have a slightly increased chance of picking an anti-tank weapon in slot 4.
- Smoke grenades particles will now be lit according to the level ambient lighting conditions. For example, they will no longer appear super bright during night time.
- Vehicle HUD sounds such as missile lock on will now also be heard in third person mode.
- Increased grenade launcher damage when hitting a vehicle directly. This makes them more effective as anti-armor weapons (But rocket launchers are still the better choice).
- Smoke grenades now have a unique 3d model

Enjoy this update!

/SteelRaven7