Hello explorers! Today we'll talk about some of the “trials and tribulations” we've already faced, continue to encounter, or will definitely encounter during the development of Into the Radius 2. ITR2 is the second part in the series, and it quickly became clear that it's both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, there's a foundation to build on, understanding what players loved about the original game and what they're most looking forward to in its sequel. On the other hand, it's quite easy to make mistakes here, and also very difficult to find that delicate balance between preserving what was in the original and adding elements that will make the sequel a fully-fledged new game. Moreover, it needs to be interesting to veteran Explorers with dozens and hundreds of hours in ITR1, while also accessible to those starting their journey with the series directly from the second part. We began by breaking down everything that makes up ITR1, everything our players can expect from a continuation, and everything we wanted but couldn't do in the original. Then we formed separate concepts for the game as a whole and its individual parts. As a result, we rejected at least two full concepts because it became evident that they drastically changed the game and strayed too far from the foundation of the first part—a dark, atmospheric shooter with realistic weapons. Let us know if you’d like to learn about these rejected concepts in a future diary. Through discussions and debates, we concluded that ITR2 should first and foremost be the ultimate ITR1, where everything meaningful has been refined (or where resources didn't allow us to do as we and the players would like), and where co-op and necessary changes have been added to make the second part perceived as a new game (more cohesive visual design, narrative, and many other important elements). Co-op was one of the most requested features by ITR1 players, and we ourselves wanted to play our game with friends and colleagues. We were confident that in co-op, the gameplay of ITR1 would unfold in the most exciting way without compromising immersion and the overall gameplay experience. We immediately decided that it wouldn’t be a separate mode with distinct functionality and content, but rather another way to play the same game as in single-player. This approach clearly seemed better, and the game's design (open locations, the ability to act differently, the "materiality" of items and the environment) allowed for it. Focusing on co-op became one of the major challenges for game design. Its presence in this format required us to consider it in the design of absolutely all game elements: mechanics, interactions with objects, in-game interfaces, missions, progression, rewards, and even narrative. This meant that every decision, moment, gameplay detail in both design and implementation had to constantly answer the question, "How will this work in co-op?" Additionally, co-op became (and will clearly remain until the very end of development and game support) a “nightmare” for our technical team. Even initially using co-op as a design modifier, we underestimated how significantly it would impact the implementation of every mechanic. Now, literally everything needed to not only be reprogrammed on a new level with deeper requirements but to also function in co-op, for multiple players at once. It wasn't immediately obvious that co-op increases the time and complexity of implementing any feature not just by a factor of two, but by 3-4 times! And this isn't even mentioning how many more bugs it generates… Maybe we’ll share some fun ones with you from time to time. An unexpected issue was also the need to clearly convey to all players how the presence of co-op affects the game as a whole. Seeing mentions of co-op, many assumed that the second part would be purely multiplayer, although it was and will primarily remain single-player, just with the option to fully experience it in co-op. We hope our efforts to clarify this haven't been in vain. Our biggest challenge yet, which we (and you) will soon face, will be the Early Access launch of the game. Often, there's an expectation that an Early Access game is almost ready. ITR2 will enter EA in a very limited form, due to us wanting to iterate on the game with community input. There’ll be bugs, missing features, and plenty of content yet to be added post-release. We hope that those who choose to purchase the game at such an early stage understand this, and do so to support the continued development of the game, rather than expect a complete and finished product. Our next diary entry will cover in great detail what to expect from ITR2 on EA release, so stay tuned! By the way, as you might’ve noticed, releasing these dev diaries on a consistent basis has also been surprisingly difficult haha. We haven't done this before, and maintaining their regularity, which takes time away from urgent development tasks, isn’t easy. But your reactions, comments, expectations, and even videos inspired by them, let us know they are clearly worth it. Thank you for staying with us, see you in the Radius. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44777179/51e4c02e55b6a42350b90f34a36b721dd112846f.png[/img] [h2]Previous Diary Entries[/h2] [expand type=showmore] https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4164220603448083397 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4165344601312375901 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4177728231403944325 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4181104663292221332 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4193488293621894543?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4115799931687545740?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4130435365852766085?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4194610392076293661?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/4059501135884135951?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/3996449472307187236?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/5797888151162063655?l=english https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2307350/view/3862464213256385055?l=english [/expand] [url=https://discord.gg/itr style=button]Join our Discord[/url] [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intotheradius/ style=button]Join our Subreddit[/url] [url=https://twitter.com/intotheradius style=button]Follow on Twitter[/url]