Hey everyone!
The last three months (!!!) have been busy here at Sushee. Heres a sum up of what weve been up to since the prototypes release.
Gameplay adjustments
Since you wrote such detailed comments and suggestions about the prototype, there was much to do to live up to your attempts as gamers, and as fans of the Fear Effect franchise.
Skills have been redefined so that they offer more strategic possibilities when we implement our most team-oriented feature: skill synergies.
Hana will now be able to fire bouncing bullets. Also, she will be equipped with heat detection mines, because traps can definitely be a lot of fun.
Rain will grab and stun enemies, leaving an electric damage over time. Shell also create a hologram of herself to lure enemies and avoid being attacked until they realize their mistake (too late, obviously).
Deke keeps his flamethrower (this was too much fun to remove), but can also fire mini-rockets that will randomly hit enemies around him (he definitely doesnt like subtle warfare).
Glas is an expert in military gear: he can now deploy a small machine gun turret that will explode when destroyed. He keeps his grenades. Grenades are always useful.
Axel will wield a small crossbow equipped with piercing bolts, damaging every enemy in a line. He will also throw a confusing powder in a cone in front of him, making opponents fight themselves for a short time.
All those skills will have at least one synergy with another characters skill. For example, hitting an enemy afflicted with Dekes flame damage with Hanas bouncing bullet will spread the fire to all the enemies it hits. But we wont tell them all, youll have to discover them. Theres nothing like practical experimentation!
Glas has a talent for finding the worst drinking spots in Denver.
Glas has a talent for finding the worst drinking spots in Denver.
Level design
We told you a lot about the combat system and our tactical take on Fear Effect, but very little about the stealth system and the puzzles. Stealth system will be very similar to what you might have seen in other games: when youre stealthed, your whole party will follow you in the shadows as well. Every attack will kill instantly (except a few stronger enemies), and an alarm system will alert the guards if youre detected. We are currently working on a level design that will allow you to play without being seen at all in certain areas.
But of course, if you prefer brute force...
Also, some levels will be designed as big puzzles. You will be given keys to change the configuration of the area (moving footbridges or crates, opening doors that will require others to close, etc), so making your way through the area will require a bit of thought. We are quite happy with the result so far, and we hope youll enjoy exploring those parts!
New environments
We took some time to focus on all the urban environments. This kind of environment offers a lot of visual possibilities, from luxury hallways to dusty rooftops, and we really enjoyed exploring aesthetic possibilities.
Paris' rooftops
Paris' rooftops
Paris - Chinese embassy - private showroom
Paris - Chinese embassy - private showroom
Were also working on the capital of Greenland: Nuuk. We all have images of how a city like Paris could look like in a near future, for it has been depicted many times along with other big cities. But Nuuk is a challenge for us, as it is a very fast-evolving city. If you visit Nuuk today, youll see no skyscrapers, but we like to think that it could be among the most technologically advanced cities, in the future. The cyberpunk feeling we cherish so much wont be lost at all once we get to Greenland!
And then?
Technically, the foundations are strong and we already started to test the combat in a few specific areas. It now requires some polishing, and clarity; we will start working on visual feedback and visual effects (electrocution, stun, explosions, flames, blizzard
).
Graphically, all the characters and enemies are ready to fight. There are still a few areas we need to work on to make sure we keep the Fear Effect touch. That means some landscapes and decors should look bloodier, weirder, darker.
Inspiration comes from all sorts of games and movies, but there is one particular area that hasnt been that much depicted in pop culture: the spirit realm, its link to animism and shamanism, its true meaning for the Inuit people, its weird and ominous-yet-fascinating beauty. We cant fail that part, for it is the heart of our story. And were eager to show you something were really proud of.
And this is how trouble starts.
And this is how trouble starts.
Lets keep in touch!
We saw all your comments, both in the forum and on the KS page. Dont worry, we are watching very closely every messages from our community, and your worries show that youre expecting a lot from Fear Effect Sedna, its a source of motivation.
This past three month, we chose to focus on the big amount of work we had, considering that every single member of the Sushee team is 100% dedicated to game development. Well try to send more frequent updates, but, really, dont worry, the game will be released, and we hope it will meet your expectations.
Dont forget, for more frequent information and shorter updates on Fear Effect Sedna, you can follow us on our Twitter and Facebook feeds! We like to share little things; images, gifs, as well as fan arts from all over the world. And do our best to answer your questions as quickly as possible!
Best,
The Sushee team.
Thank you for feedback.
