The Version 50 Post (Patreon)

Hi, this is the post where I talk about all the work I've done on Version 50.

Artifice

The first thing I worked on was Artifice, back in January. For a while, artifice was called Adamance and Adamance was called Constancy, but in my mind the moon names have a thematic progression when read in order, and I wanted to continue that properly.

From the beginning the concept for Artifice was to be a more interesting and nuanced end-game moon than Titan or Rend, and one of the ideas I've been moving towards has been introducing more small, interior-like spaces to contrast the large open areas outside. I also wanted to give more purpose to extension ladders and just generally make the outside feel less straight-forward.

Artifice was an ice/snow blizzard moon just like Rend and Dine, up until two days before Version 50 went into public beta. I made the change last-minute because thought its more complex design benefited from you actually being able to see and hear. I was also realizing players might get bored of the snow theme, and Artifice's change of scenery is like another reward for finally getting rich enough to route to it. It almost feels to me like a mix of Experimentation's desert wasteland and the forest moons' atmosphere.

Adamance

I don't have concept art for Adamance. The concept for Adamance was to make a level in which getting to the factory is far easier than getting back. A small regret I have is that the original design concept was going to be a complete downhill slope all the way to the factory, full of switchbacks and hills and a wide, covered bridge; but when painting the terrain I changed course and ended up making a valley between the ship and the factory instead. Maybe it would have been completely terrible having to trudge uphill all the way to reach the ship, but the trip to the factory would have been that much more joyous running downhill the whole way (and it would be so easy to seal your fate like that.) It could have been like an inverted Titan, which I like the idea of.

Since adding in Vow's bridge into Adamance, I think it's still accomplishing the goal I had, so maybe it's not that bad.

Embrion

Embrion exists only because of the Old Bird's bestiary file. I wrote the name, then realized people would try to route to it. Ironically (but not surprisingly) Embrion might be the most fun of these three, despite having the least thought put into it. I first envisioned the moon looking like a paradise, sunny with green flowery hills. But for a long, long time I've had the idea of a moon made of obsidian or some kind of crystal... so when Embrion became an actual moon, I decided it was time for that.

I have two more moon ideas that I would consider substantial, non-gimmicks. But they are both quite extreme and unlike anything else in the game.

The Old Bird

I think the Old Bird's intention was to cause total chaos and disperse a team.

The LRAD "sound cannon" on its chest originally emitted a loud siren which would mute all other noises in the game, including voice chat, if you were in its direct path. It would sound like in a movie when all audio goes silent for dramatic effect. I fully went through with this idea before deciding it was too confusing and annoying. The mech was also clearly chaotic enough in testing without it. However, I do plan to bring this idea back in a better form.

In testing I found that the Old Birds were scary if they caught you in a bad position, but somehow at the same time they were too easy to lose in chase; they just didn't have the amount of presence I originally intended. Then I added their charging/blasting forward ability which they use when a target is out of shooting range. This turned out to fix the issue I had, and it's also amazing to see them rushing towards you from so far away.

I still think I could do this idea better--an extermination machine with a terrifying amount of abilities which it uses all at once like a perfect try-hard.

The Butler

Now for my personal favorite addition of Version 50. I still almost can't believe I went through with the idea. It seemed completely unjustifiable and ridiculous. But I had this idea of an enemy which only attacks players in solitude since the beginning of Lethal Company, and a murderous butler gave the idea so much personality that I had to do it. I'm so happy with how it turned out. The Butler is somehow cute while being completely evil and disgusting and terrifying. Maybe it's because anyone can relate to the awkwardness of going through motions without actually doing anything, pretending you have a job or a purpose being in the area, when everyone knows you actually just want to commit murder.

I plan to re-use the idea of a creature which turns its eyes as its main display of emotion. That's a bit of a theme with this post--ideas which I wasn't able to fit in, which I'm going to hold onto.

The Spike Traps

I was kind of desperate to add in a new indoor hazard besides turrets and landmines, and this is the first one. I was going to make them only activate when a laser is tripped, but I quickly realized they were fulfilling the same design purpose as snare fleas. So I made them trigger on intervals. At this point they suddenly reminded me of these spike traps from the original Prince Of Persia, which is a game I love because its deaths are so anti-climactic and terrible. (The amount of time it takes to start moving makes this simple obstacle just riveting.)

While making their "slam down on intervals" logic, I messed up the numbers, causing them to slam down at a much slower interval than I originally intended--but I realized that can be a lot more terrifying. Their often-slow intervals, combined with the fact that they can sometimes not slam down on intervals at all, makes them a little evil and time-costly. However, since you can hear them slam down from a distance, this can be played around.

What's next?

I want to add more variety through interiors and creatures, but I also think a new system may need to be created for items which make modifications to the player's body, such as a head-mounted camera or a wingsuit.

Here is some brainstorming for enemy designs. One of them has already been modelled and textured and rigged, and I animated its idle state today. But I won't tell you which.

So it's an exciting time for Lethal Company