It's Retrospective time! We'll go through everything that happened during the September-October release together: the good, the bad and the scary! Let me, your humble guide MirAI, show you the way to the results! I'll preface the main part with some organizational stuff: as we mentioned in the Update Recap, the cadence of the playtest sessions has shifted and we settled on three biweekly playtest sessions plus one Steel Lab run for now. Additionally, the Steel Lab initiative has opened its doors for new recruits. We can't stress enough that early testing saves the build, and your participation in bug-hunting and opinion-sharing helps us make each update better before it hits more players. Seeing new stuff that will come soon is an added bonus. So, it you have a desire to help the game and some spare time, we would love to see your application for the [url=https://survey.steelhunters.com/s3/steel-test-lab]Steel Lab![/url] [h2]Ursine Power[/h2] First, let's recap what this version was all about — the new Ursus. Our beloved bear Hunter was long due to a glow-up. When we say that we take your feedback seriously, we mean it, over the year we received numerous messages questioning Ursus' positioning within the Hunter paradigm. Her tanky Glacial Armor ability clashed with the mid- to long-range main weapon and Secondary Rocket ability, which left this Hunter in an awkward position: neither a sniper nor a fully-fledged tank. Even before announcing the summer playtest break, we were secretly working on the Ursus 2.0 project. After conducting two Steel Lab sessions, which were open to all following this short-term break, we gathered enough data from your feedback to refine the balance for the first public playtest. Still, the most popular modes for Ursus turned out to be Wrangler for the Main Weapon, Centenarian for the Glacial Armor, Ringleader for the F.A.N.G. Rocket, and, last but not least, Bastion for the Mainframe Mod. Further changes to the Ursus stats and abilities will be available in versions 0.29 and 0.30 [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42049322/c13ae9048356923a04bbe99e23fafd03332ecf6c.png[/img] If we talk about perception, the majority of you embraced the revamped Hunter and noted that now she feels more purposeful in her build. To be honest, most of the feedback received aligned with our initial hypothesis about Ursus and was more expected than a complete epiphany. Therefore, further Ursus development will go according to the initial plan. Three major points have to be addressed: [olist] [*]Swapping the main weapon for a shotgun turned a bit painful for those bear lovers who enjoyed the previous gun. But such a change was absolutely necessary to support the new playstyle and tank class vision we had for Ursus, namely to barge into the fray of the battle and deal close-range blasts instead of precisely lining up shots from afar. She is no Heartbreaker after all.[/*] [*]Aiming the rockets was not easy, as the interface for the F.A.N.G. Rocket crosshair was barely noticeable and not legible enough to understand what is happening with the ability state and the Hunter at the moment. We realized that even before Update 0.28 was released, but went with it anyway with a clear plan to upgrade the user interface in version 0.30. And your feedback only deepened the determination to do so. [/*] [*]We didn't do much rework regarding Glacial Armor apart from transferring the buff/debuff effect from the main mechanics of the ability to its Mods, as the icy shield was in itself the latest addition to the Hunter. The results from the survey showed that it's hard to understand which Mod is equipped in general, and even figuring out what you get once the armor is broken/safe poses issues. For us, it means that we need to follow the Weaver's steps: clear depiction of the Mod used through VFX and other means to both the Ursus player and their enemies, which we plan to do but after the New Year.[/*] [/olist] Power balance is a fickle matter for any Hunter, and most of you felt that the fully revamped Ursus started dominating the battlefield, which is true. Following the grand release, each version will contain balance revisions designed to prod at different variations, and then we'll find the golden middle ground for all her abilities and major stats. [h2]The genesis of Clans[/h2] One feature carried over from the previous update before the summer break was the Clan system. After briefly testing it at the end of the summer, we expanded the feature in 0.28, having resolved many significant bugs. Some might recall a Discord contest offering the chance to integrate your prospective Clan into the Steel Hunters lore. We all appreciate statistics, and during the 0.28 update, 86 clans were formed. 'ClosedAlpha' was the inaugural clan, led by Deathshardd. Currently, the largest is 'SammelstelleCrew', comprising 4 players — a modest yet promising beginning, Hunters! Though its numbers are small for the time being, this feature is foundational for the game's future social framework. It allows players to dive deep into the lore of the Steel Hunters universe, picturing themselves as Faction Leaders, caring for Crewmates, or simply gathering friends in one place to jointly face formidable challenges. [h2]Important Questions[/h2] Along with our usual version-related inquiries, this time we also conducted two small themed surveys. The first one was dedicated to progression, leveling up, and overall attitudes towards purchases: we wanted to see what you like and don’t like in other games, what makes you happy, and which progression systems you engage with. Quite predictably, most of you prefer a progression system where cosmetics are purely that, vanity items rather than another thing that influences balance and gameplay, and it is also the most probable thing you would spend your coin on in Steel Hunters, according to your answers. Because you need to keep your Taurus the most stylish of them all, you know. More than 60% noted that a moderate pace in terms of content unlocking is the best course of action. The second specialized survey was all about the visuals, within the Hangar space to be exact. You had 4 sets of two screens to compare and choose from: the current interface and something we are working on right now. We asked you to pick the most appealing one from each pair and describe why you prefer it. As a result, the new screens won over the existing ones, and we now know what to focus on to make them more polished and thought-out. [h2]Upholding the standards[/h2] Supporting existing features and systems is just as important as developing new ones. We constantly update aspects of the maps and the match overall to maintain the high level of polish we've set as a standard for Steel Hunters. This version is no different, and we hope the small changes we outlined in the Update Recap—such as improved water effects and redesigned thematic zones—have been noticed. Sound design is also a passion of ours. With each update, we enhance audio quality and introduce new soundtracks. Perhaps one of the most well-received changes in this update was the new Announcer voice, which many noted during the Steel Lab tests. [h2]'Tis the Spooky Season[/h2] In summary, this Halloween we prepared a special skin for all Weaver players called 'Scarecrow'. This treat was available for claiming only during the last session from October 27-29, with a very simple requirement to get it—just log into the game! According to our statistics, 767 of you now have this menacing piece in your collection! By the way, did you notice that all the AI Weaver enemies and squadmates were also sporting this new spooky paint job? As a logical conclusion to this article, I'd like to thank all the players who stuck with us throughout this short-term playtest break and returned to testing afterward with renewed enthusiasm. And I hope the new content was worth the wait. We'll see each other very soon in 0.29, where even more interesting things await! Stay tuned!