Hey Steel Dragons!
At the end of August we debuted our Gamescom 2021 trailer, and since that time, we’ve been hard at work on not only refining the game, but also looking closely at many of the common issues you’ve encountered.
Before we get onto those, we thought we’d point out a few things that have been happening since Gamescom.
A Little Bit Of Our Development Process
First up, we’ve continued trickling out some small videos showcasing our development process.
You might have missed a couple of the last from “Camera Control” that lets you use the middle-mouse button for far more flexibility.
We also showcased “Floor Visibility Control” to manually toggle between visible floors, along with more UI Updates. A few days ago we released “Continue Move”, a long anticipated feature to continue your movement after a mercenary stops, if they detect a new enemy midway, allowing you to re-evaluate your strategy.
To see similar improvements and updates, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube or follow us over on Twitter.
We Were A NGDC Grand-Finalist!
The Nordic Game Discovery Contest (NGDC]) recently selected its grand finalists for this year's Game of the Year and People’s Choice award, and we’re proud to say Project Haven, against a selection of brilliant games, made the final three! While we didn’t lift the trophy, we’re thrilled to have made the final round. You can view all the entrants here, and the final results here.
Project Haven Is A Fan Favorite Winner!
We’re also incredibly pleased to say that we were not only part of, but have won round 32 of GDWC’s Fan Favourite selection. Amongst the company of 8 other incredible games, readers were able to cast their vote to support Project Haven for the crown. We were up against some exceptional games, and we’re humbled to have been chosen as the winner. You can view the GDWC Trailer below, as well as our winners page here.
Finally, and before we dive into our FAQ, YouTuber Brought To Bear recently chatted with us about all things Project Haven.
We’re not only grateful for him taking the time out to talk to us, but also his knowledge of the game and his support of it. His first video from June 2021 perfectly captures our journey.
Your Frequently Asked Questions Answered
Finally, to answer some of the most frequently asked community questions, we’ve pulled them together in one place. We’ll do our best to get into the habit of this, so you know exactly the direction we’re taking.
Game Information
When is Project Haven coming out? I can't wait for the release!
2022, a more specific date will be announced at a later date.
Are there plans for Project Haven to be released into Early Access or as a full release?
We have no plans for Early Access, and instead will simply be releasing the full game when it’s ready.
Will Project Haven be on Epic Store or GOG besides Steam?
The current plan is for a Steam release only, but we may be on other storefronts upon release.
Will the game be exclusive to Epic Games Store or available everywhere?
There won’t be any exclusivity for the Epic Games Store.
Will [insert language here] be added?
While we haven’t finalized the list of languages we will have in the game, confirmed languages include Portuguese (PT-PT) and English (EN-US). We are using Wishlists and the locations of those who Wishlist the game to gauge further regions.
Will players be able to add mods?
Absolutely, the game will be moddable and we can’t wait to see what you all implement!
Will the game support pad control?
Not planned for the initial launch.
What are the system requirements?
Windows 10 64-bit • 8 GB RAM • DirectX 11 compatible graphics card.
The game seems to have problems on Windows 7 or 8. Will improvements be made? (Some players reported that it runs on Vulkan but crashes during Gecko’s mission.)
We will try to keep Vulkan support working on Windows 7, but it will not be officially supported. As a very small team it’s difficult to support an operating system that’s past end-of-life.
Is a Linux release planned?
Yes! We plan to release a Linux version at the same time as Windows. GamingOnLinux also gave us a lovely shoutout after discovering the game is coming to Tux machines.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Are there plans to implement armor?
Armor is already in the game, but no helmets. We’re intending to implement those.
Will there be melee weapons?
As for melee weapons, yes! Currently, we only have melee without weapons, but melee weapons are planned.
Will autoloot be added when each mission ends?
Yes! There will eventually be an end-screen where you can pick up loot, up to your character's limit.
Will permadeath be added?
Definitely. It will be a difficulty option that we’re intending to add.
Will inverted mouse controls be added?
Of course!
Will lobbies be added?
Yes!
Will damage and weapons be rebalanced?
Absolutely. Balancing weapons is something that’s never finished, and as we implement new features and mechanics we will continue to evaluate the games overall balance.
Will grenade throwing in first-person mode be tweaked? It feels a little odd...
Yes, we are working on improving the throwing mechanics to be more user friendly and they aren’t where we want them to be. Stay tuned on this one.
AP drain could use some tweaking. Could any improvements be made? (Could you add an option where you’re shown how much AP is drained before you make your move?)
Great question. AP is part of the game balancing that we’re constantly trying to improve. We are tweaking the UI to better display your available AP’s so that you can anticipate costs more easily
Is there a difference between hard and soft cover?
Yes! The game uses a ballistics system, so soft covers will only slightly reduce a bullets effectiveness. In contrast, hard cover can stop the bullet in its tracks. Ammo types can also affect these properties and how much they can penetrate each type of cover.
Will the UI be improved to make it easier to use?
Yes, as we finalize the mechanics we’re adding to the game we will be improving the UI to make it as readable and as accessible as possible.
Are there any plans to make combat smoother? It sometimes feels clunky and unintuitive.
Most of the combat issues are related to UI and as we improve that, it should alleviate most of the issues. We will also have better tutorials that explain mechanics in far greater detail so players have a greater understanding of the game’s mechanics.
Could options be added to lock your viewing direction so you don’t spend AP?
We’ve recently added a way to select the viewing direction at the end of a move so you don’t need to spend an extra AP after moving if you’re not facing the correct direction.
Will any improvements be added to camera controls?
We’ve recently added new camera controls, so you can pitch the camera for better visibility in certain situations. We’ve also added a way to manually control which floors are visible too.
Are any changes planned for the path finding system? Sometimes characters either don’t move, collide into each other, or cling to objects.
Absolutely. We’ve recently improved pathfinding to prevent most of those issues!
Will dialogue be tweaked? Some of it feels a little...immature?
We only have a small number of dialogue lines recorded, mostly the “unique” ones that aren’t meant to be played too often. We’ll continue to evaluate these if players feel they’re below standard.
Can players customize their characters?
Character customization and character builder is something we would definitely want to do, but because of the size of our team, we don’t have the capacity to do it. If the game does well enough on launch, it's something we'd like to add as post launch content.
Cutscenes can sometimes look a little janky. Will these be polished over time?
Animations are very much a work in progress, and we will be recreating them before release.
The swearing can be a bit much sometimes. Are there ways to tone it down or play it less frequently?
The option is already available in the Demo, just like mentioned before though, due to the low amount of recorded lines per character some “special” lines are playing too often.
Thanks to all of you for providing your FAQ questions and reading our November update! Don’t forget to wishlist the game (if you haven’t already), sign up for our email newsletter, join our official Discord and follow us on our Steam Page to get updates about Project Haven.
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