Find out more on CobaltWASD.com or head directly to the Steam store page!

Long time no blog post! Welcome back, glad to see you are still around.

Since the launch of Cobalt we have been busy working on improving the core game but also looking at what else can be done with what we’ve got. To be honest, Cobalt did not meet our expectations, and we decided to analyze what we could have done differently. There are of course many facets and opinions, but we boiled it down to these three main points:

1. Cobalt had too many options

We noticed that players were confused if Cobalt was a multiplayer or single-player game. Did it have a story? Did it have online play? Was there any co-op? Combat challenges AND speed challenges? What are the classic/alpha/triggers control modes and what do they mean?

Not only that, but each game mode came with a plethora of options and settings. Playing deathmatch? Free for all? Teams? Use map settings or custom character classes? What settings should I use to have the most fun? In addition, challenge maps could be played both in the arena and in the campaign, but with different setups.

For us this was a strength of Cobalt. An never-ending range of customization, but very confusing for new players.

2. PC gamers prefer not to play with controller

Although there are many games on Steam that you play with keyboard or controller, this is not the preferable choice. We love Cobalt’s controls and the gameplay that is designed around it, but many players still requested to be able to aim with the mouse.

3. The price point may not have been optimal

Cobalt took 7 years to build and contains a lot of content. Still, it’s possible that the price point were off-putting for many people. We tried discounts and free weekends, but the interest had already faded.

So what is Cobalt W.A.S.D.?

It’s a separate stand-alone game in the Cobalt universe. You play with mouse and keyboard. There is only one game mode. The game mode has very clear rules and clear options. It’s multi-player focused (though you can practice with bots, of course). And most importantly, it’s a lot of fun!

When will it be available?

We are currently polishing the last little bits and churning out the last few bugs. Our plan is to release the full game some time in August, 2017, and we will announce a more specific date when we have one. It will only be available on Steam, and will be priced at $6.99. Players who bought the early access of Cobalt will get a Cobalt W.A.S.D. key added to their Mojang accounts for free. There will also be a discounted Cobalt bundle that lets current Cobalt owners to get Cobalt W.A.S.D. at a slightly lower price.

How can you help?

Until release we are running a closed beta test of Cobalt W.A.S.D. You can join this test by requesting a game code in the Cobalt discord, and by that help us find and fix bugs. Beyond that we gladly appreciate any creative sharing such as streams, YouTube, or just chatting about the game. Cheers!

Helpful links:

Cobalt discord – https://discordapp.com/invite/sreHKwR
Cobalt on reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/cobalt/
Cobalt on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PlayCobalt/
Oxeye Game Studio on twitter – https://twitter.com/OxeyeGames

Cheers!

We are super happy to announce that Cobalt is now available on Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox 360!

Here’s the Steam store page: store.steampowered.com/app/357340

And here’s Cobalt on Xbox.com: store.xbox.com/en-US/Xbox-One/Games/Cobalt

Cobalt is coming to Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 on February 2! The game will cost $19.99, and comes with a single-player story campaign, challenge maps, co-op survival maps, and several multiplayer game modes for both local and online play.

Check out the full release post in the Mojang blog!

If you’ve pre-purchased the alpha you will get a Steam code added to your Mojang account. We will only release the Windows version now, so Mac and Linux users will have to wait just a little bit longer. This is because we switched game engines (from DaisyMoon to Stingray) in order to add online multiplayer.

In fact, we’ve never been dead.

Since the last post we’ve been busy with distilling the game, starting our collaboration with Fatshark to bring Cobalt to Xbox and we’ve been to Minecon.

Being a small team with the main focus to have fun, the development of Cobalt has always been a bit haphazard where we’ve added stuff as we go with less focus on the bigger picture and more attention spent on what felt right at the moment. This has led to, in our opinion, a great platformer but it has also resulted in a lot of features that remain hidden to the average player. When a new player starts up Cobalt, he or she isn’t really introduced to what the game is about. There’s nothing to hold their hand and present them with the experience that is Cobalt, especially not as a single player. I’m not talking about a next-gen like dumbing down of game play, but a coherent presentation of the actual game.

What we have now is a whole bunch of puzzle pieces hovering in the air waiting to be placed in the correct spot. Since starting our collaboration with Fatshark we’ve been busy trimming and arranging all pieces in order to put them down in a presentable larger picture and an enjoyable gaming experience from start to finish.

Hit the jump to read more!

The first step in this process has been to polish the game modes that we have. Below is a short expose of what we’ve been working on.

TEAM STRIKE

Team Strike Buy Menu

Even though you can choose to play Deathmatch in teams we felt that Cobalt was missing a proper team VS mode.

We had Capture The Plug and even though it was fun at times it felt too chaotic and wasn’t really focusing on what Cobalt does best – combat. Being avid Counter-Strike players me and thewreck started toying with the idea of adding a round based mode where at the end of each round you get to upgrade your character somehow.

Enter Team Strike and the philosophy of locking down characters into classes instead of focusing on equipment drops spread throughout the maps. In Team Strike, each team is presented with a character selection screen at the start of each round. After each player has chosen a character suited to their playing style the round starts. Each player gain funds from kills, combos and team wins during the round which in turn allows the player to afford higher level characters. The team that reaches the goal amount of rounds wins.

We tried this game mode with 8 Mojangstas in the office and it was an instant success! We realized that simplifying things might be exactly what Cobalt needs.

We started looking into bringing some of the things we’ve learned from Team Strike into the other game modes.

SURVIVAL

Survival game mode

The original Survival mode was added as a stand-in mode for single player while Adventure mode was still in development. Since the very first play-through it has had some serious game design issues.

First of all – choices – there were too many of them! As a first time player you were introduced to a lot of new concepts – shops, upgrades, recycling, re-spawning and so forth.

When we observed others playing it for the first time we noticed it could be a bit overwhelming at times.

Secondly, the objective wasn’t clear enough. Sure, the game mode was called Survival so you could sort of guess that that was what it was all about, but there was never any feeling of progress while playing. You were constantly barraged by a never ending stream of foes and all you could do was try to survive for as long as possible. At the end you got a score, but you never felt like you had actually achieved anything. It was very much an unclimbable mountain.

We decided to try a tower defense-esque wave approach to Survival instead. In the current Survival mode the player is presented with a finite number of enemy waves of increasing difficulty, some containing bosses. If you fail to complete a wave you can choose to continue where you fell but with a sort of penalty to your overall score. Between each wave we added a buy screen similar to the one in Team Strike where each player chooses their character class and level depending on their taste and economy.

The classes can be custom fitted to match the theme of the map.

Again, while testing this game mode with Mojangstas and at Minecon it has reassured us that we’re on the right track.

CHALLENGES

In version 122, the Challenge maps were presented as map packs were the common goal was to complete the maps as fast as possible. When playing through the maps we felt like some of the maps were focused more on combat related strategies rather than speed which led us to redesign the whole philosophy behind challenges.

Instead of presenting them as map packs, we’ve put the maps into categories. Currently there’s a Combat and a Speed category.

The Speed category is pretty straight forward and focuses on just dashing through the map as fast as possible while the Combat category tries to challenge the player to engage obstacles, puzzles and enemies in the map. Like Team Strike and Survival, before each run the player gets the option to choose a class of character which in turn affects the end score. How exactly the scoring system works or how the different classes are unlocked is something we’re still working on solving.

DEATHMATCH

The common denominator for the new design in Team Strike, Survival and Challenges is the equipment handling. Instead of presenting the player with a buffet of equipment and choices to be made while playing, these modes now present complete equipment choices in one phase, while in the gameplay phase lets players focus their attention on using that equipment tactically. Since each player chooses their own equipment outside of the gameplay phase, a larger variety of items can be in play at any one time, while at the same time reducing the amount of items any one player has to worry about. You as a player only have to focus on one ranged weapon at any given time which gives you more time to focus on your specific weaponry and your specific strategies.

Deathmatch is not the same as the other modes though, and splitting up class choices between phases might not be the correct path here. We still would like to get some of the same positive effects. To achieve the higher variety while lessening complexity, our idea is to instead of having a fixed set of weapons spawn in any given map, the map designer places equipment spawn-zones throughout the map and selects a default equipment theme. These spawn points then spawn crates of equipment for the player to pick up. When you pick up a crate containing a ranged weapon, you discard the ranged weapon you’re currently using. This makes sure that you never have to worry about too many different weapons, which again puts the strategic choice to the moment of pickup. “Do I want to use rockets, or my current gun?”, and the tactical problems to later, “how should I best shoot my rockets?”.

Indicators will appear with a timer showing where and when the next crate will appear, giving players ample time to relocate and fight over control. This changes which locations on a map are of interest at any one point, resulting in a more dynamic and shifting game.

To add increased variety to the mode, at the start of the map, the game randomly selects the starting equipment which is shared by all players (Defender Hulls with jet shoes, or Stealth Hulls with shield belts?), making each match unique.

Our hope is that this will introduce a sort of controlled chaos to the game mode that will enhance the experience.

SINGLE PLAYER

What we’ve been talking about so far is a part of the game that is best experience with a friend or two to play with. This has always been the core strength of Cobalt. However, not everyone has a second controller to hand over to a friend, especially not on a PC or Mac.

Our biggest challenge with Cobalt has always been to create a cohesive, progressive and non-repetitive Single Player mode. It’s been a challenge because each approach taken so far has entailed A LOT of content creation.

Our current approach is to include all the work put into multiplayer game modes, Challenges, Survival and the Adventure mode in one continues experience. Our plan right now is to have them presented in a Super Mario Bros. 3 style world map in which the player can progress and discover the game and the story.

XBOX

As mentioned in the beginning, we’ve started working with the excellent guys over at Fatshark to bring Cobalt to Xbox. This is of course a challenge in itself and will involve a lot of work on both our and Fatsharks part, but the work put into the port will also benefit the PC and Mac version of the game.

If anyone of you saw the Cobalt panel at Minecon we mentioned something extra that has to do with our collaboration with Fatshark – Fatshark is going to give online multiplayer a go for Xbox. IF it would become reality it’s definitely something we would want for the PC and Mac versions as well. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome to make it a reality but the collaboration with Fatshark has definitely breathed new life into the idea.

Last but not least I would like to thank everyone who visited us at Minecon! Both me and thewreck had a great time playing with all of you and the experience infused us with a lot of ideas of how to improve the game even more.

Also I’d like to recommend you all to read this excellent interview Trif did with thewreck: Part 1, Part 2.

Next post we’ll be talking 123!

Love,

Kinten

The version used at Minecon was v116 ALPHA, and is not yet available for download. Among other things, it featured a new game mode called Challenge. In Challenge, you focus on doing things as fast as possible, like getting from point A to B. Today we created more maps for the mode. Here is a sneak preview:

We have also added local high score lists with epic voice acting feedback by Kinten to all relevant game modes:

Huge thanks to all the volunteers during Minecon that made it all possible!

Thats it for today!

Good night!

/thewreck

Hey!

It’s over 1.5 years since we wrote about the 1.17 update to Harvest, and finally we’re able to release an updated version. It won’t be 1.17, but 1.18 (fixing a couple of more things), and this time also with builds for Linux!

The game changes are:

• Invert scroll direction setting
• Added drag-and-place buildings, if you keep the mouse pressed the game will place the next building at the edge of the energy range from the previous one
• Made it possible to select and sell multiple buildings at once, also added “getSelectedBuildings” Lua hook
• Added an option for the defenses to hold fire
• Shaded map edge
• Map expansion marker line
• Double-size minimap for resolutions larger than 800×600
• Changed damage calculation of missile turrets
• Removed the age limit of solar plants
• Removed the boss aliens
• Energy links will attempt to avoid sending energy to links that are pointing towards itself
• Made it possible to change language setting in the settings menu
• Changed so that Poseidon and Ares are unlocked by gaining award points

And we’ve also changed a bunch of stuff in the engine:

• Replaced the standard Lua intepreter with LuaJIT2
• Replaced BASS with OpenAL for sound effects
• Made profiles and save games “Program Files safe” (see more below)

Buy Harvest! It’s only $9.99, or $4.99 with discount code

If you don’t own Harvest: Massive Encounter, you should head over here and find the appropriate buy link:

http://www.oxeyegames.com/harvest/buy-now

Also, get an 50 % discount by entering the discount code “TOMMASO” when you buy the game! This code is to celebrate that the update was made possible by the nice Italian Tommaso Checchi (follow him on twitter at @_tomcc), and is valid until April 29th.

Try Harvest?

We also have a demo version if you want to try out the game before buying. We recommend you start playing the “wave mode” first You find the demo download links here:

http://www.oxeyegames.com/harvest/download-now

Already own Harvest?

If you already have a copy of Harvest: Massive Encounter, you can use your serial key to download the game here:

http://www.oxeyegames.com/harvest/update/getHarvestUpdate.php

Important! If you already have Harvest installed on Windows, you may notice that your profiles and save games are missing when you start the new version. This is because version 1.18 is “program files safe”, and will store your personal settings in “C:\Users\<your user>\AppData\Local\Harvest” instead of in the installation folder. To restore your save files, start the games once and then move your files manually from your installation folder to the documents folder.

Want Harvest on Steam?

As we mentioned in our previous blog post, Harvest: Massive Encounter is also available on Steam! The Harvest Steam store page is here:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/15400/

The Steam version was updated to 1.18 a few days ago.

Need Help?

This update contains a lot of changes, and if you encounter a problem we haven’t heard of before, you may need to contact somebody.

If it’s related to Mac OS X or Linux compatibility problems, try sending @_tomcc a tweet.

If it’s related to purchasing or Windows problems, please send an email to:

support@oxeyegames.com

If you just want someone to talk to, try our reddit community at:

http://reddit.com/r/OxeyeGames

Final Words

We would like to write a big THANK YOU to all who have bought and played our game! It means a lot to us!

Go to:

www.playcobalt.com

for more info!

Yay!

We at oxeye are currently hard at work with bringing the Cobalt pre-order to you ASAP. In preparations for this we would like to share our visions of what Cobalt is and how the development of the game will play out over the coming months.

Hit “Read More” to read more

What are the plans for Cobalt?

Our vision for Cobalt is to expand on the in-game editor to the point where the player can create everything from single maps to whole campaigns from scratch, including adding their own units and characters and finally being able to share their creations with the community from within the game.
Meanwhile, the development team will continue adding their own maps and game modes to the game as well as continue work on the main campaign.

What will I get when pre-ordering Cobalt?

When pre-ordering the game you will get access to the current build of the game as well as all future updates up until and including the full release of the game. This is limited to the PC-version of the game (Mac, Windows, Linux). Pre-orders will of course be offered at a discount price.
By pre-ordering you support the continued development of the game. Think of it as part pre-order, part funding support.

Current status of the game – Alpha

The first alpha release includes two hot-seat versus game modes (capture the plug and death match) and a co-op game mode (survival). The number of players in hot seat mode is theoretically limited by the number of USB-controllers you manage to forcefully plug in to your poor computer. That and the hardware limitations of your computer. Theoretically.
Our development philosophy is to keep it simple and manageable by being a relatively small team. That is why the alpha will be limited to the features we know are reasonably stable. This will help to keep development focused which in turn will help us update the game more often.
Please note that the current alpha is only available for Windows.

What are the major milestones for the game’s development?

Alpha
Hot seat multiplayer
Continued work on singleplayer/co-op main campaign
Introducing the level editor
Windows only

Beta
Fully functional level editor
Continued work on singleplayer/co-op main campaign
Introducing in-game level sharing
Introducing more editors
Windows, Mac OS X and Linux

Gold – Feature complete game includes:
All editors fully functional
In-game level sharing
Completed main campaign
Hot seat multiplayer

What About Networking?
Since we know people will ask about this, yes, we would like networking too! And yes, we are actually looking at networking, but as it stands now, we are not including networking in our vision for the game because as it is now, networking remains uncertain.

Who develops Cobalt?

Cobalt is being developed by Oxeye Game Studio, which in reality means it’s being developed by three friends who all love making games: Daniel “thewreck” Brynolf, Jens “jeb” Bergensten and Pontus “kinten” Hammarberg. Thewreck is the main developer of Cobalt. He has pretty much single-handedly created the game with occasional help from the rest of the Oxeye crew.
Oxeye have also aquired help from talented musician Mattias “Anosou” Häggström-Gerdt, artist and game designer Gabriel Verdon and programmer Jacob William Jervey.

Since the summer of 2011 Oxeye Game Studio has teamed up with Mojang to help bring Cobalt to release.

Love,
Oxeye

I am very excited about getting this alpha going as soon as possible, but in reality it looks like we are not going to be making it in October since ironically the pre-order stuff will not be ready until the very last of October. But its not all bad cause I love to polish stuff! I will be working like a beast in the meantime to make the alpha as enjoyable as possible.

While we await the “days of alpha”, I would like to take this opportunity to find out some stuff about who you are but more importantly, what your hardware is! this thread!

If you have questions about the game, please use our Reddit page

Furthermore, I (thewreck) will be idling in the IRC-channel #Cobalt on esper.net. Cya there!

/thewreck