BACK THE CAMPAIGN // DISPATCH
Operators,
First off, a huge thank you to everyone who’s backed the build so far, including our Kickstarter and Direct Backers, and the folks on Steam who saw the vision of the experience we're building. We also want to give a special shout-out to fellow veterans, especially our brothers and sisters from Regiment and their Games for Vets program. If you're a vet (or know one) and haven't taken a look at their wonderful support programs, you should.
A little background. Burned Horizons isn't just another game for us. It's not just something else to do or something to make money. This is a passion project. Particularly for me and some of the other veterans on the team, this is an opportunity to build a game that is radically different than others in the genre: one that treats battlefield trauma and injuries seriously, tells the story of war and its consequences, changes the way characters progress away from this buy-your-perk skill tree grind class rail nonsense.
This is to give players more options. To let them mod the game the way they want, to toggle/adjust it to play the way they want within it, and to act as a true sandbox set in a specific time period. It also has underlying messages about the cost of war, about brutality, about aggression, and about people making conscious decisions to do the right thing in extremely difficult times. It's to build something genuinely different than the industry is offering and has offered for more than 20 years. How do I know? Because I'm a gamer who's looked for something like this for 20 years.
20 years. So you have a vision, you plan it out, and unless you're a millionaire, you have to fund it. If you're not willing to sell out your dream to a publisher who'll take 30-80% of your ongoing development revenue, you get where you want by making sacrifices. You dig deep into your own wallet, then get folks who see the vision, and feel the same way to support the mission. Then you go from there based upon the reality on the ground. Development is expensive.
That's what we've done from day one. From the first sketches and posts to now. Steady, weekly updates since the original closed alpha. Extended, unedited regular livestreams to show progress/limitations/state of the build. Regular Sitreps, screenshots, Dispatches, Discord and Steam posts, emails to show exactly where we are, what we're thinking and we're going. We also took the extra step of adding numerous notices on the Steam page/pinned posts in forums & in Discord encouraging players to wishlist/follow/wait if they weren't prepared for a true EA entry. There's also always been a one-hour livestream up on the trailer section of the BHZ Steam page so everyone that looked would know exactly how the build plays.
There is a financial reality to building any game, especially one that aims to not just rinse and repeat what everyone else is doing. That reality has shaped every decision we've made along the way. Kickstarter, Next Fest (to draw attention to KS), Direct Backers, true Early Access, pricing. So, here we are. EA. Here is where the build sits, and what we're locking down next, and the long-term roadmap.
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LAYERS
When you're playing the build right now, what you are looking at is the early framework of these systems. As a small team, we must prioritize what gets built first. When I talk about "layering," this is what I mean: we get the core framework of a system into the engine so it's functional, and then we continually add to it, refine it, fix the balance, and expand it step-by-step until we get where we need to be.
Take the operational campaign system (“missions”). Hmmm... we may need to re-word that. Right now, what we have in the build is a free-form precursor to that full system. The full mission system is in the process of being built out. You can read more about where that whole vision is heading in the in-game mission briefing, on the Steam page, and in our pinned forum posts. Building that entire system takes time, but the very first functional layer of it is coming over the next two to three weeks with the Contract system, which will give players their first real set of actionable operational missions.
That same iterative work is happening across the rest of the build right now.
Focus for the Next 4 Weeks (September)
- Operational Campaign System (Phase 1): The current setup is a free-form precursor to the full operational campaign system being built out. Building the full system takes time, but the first functional layer arrives in the next two to three weeks with the mission contract system, giving players their first set of actionable operational missions. (Full details on the larger vision remain available in the in-game mission briefing, on the Steam page, and in pinned forum posts.)
- Cover Animations & Movement: The ballistics and mechanics are sitting in the backend, but the visual layers and animation states need work. We are fixing movement transitions and cover animations, so what you see on screen actually matches what the engine is calculating.
- Engagement Scale & Ballistics: Tuning weapon ranges, visibility, grenade throw distances, and line of sight directly to our map scales, making sure engagement ranges align with real-world values.
- AI Behavior: The AI rework starts next week. We are replacing the basic push-forward logic with tactical behavior, getting them to actively seek cover, go prone under suppressive fire, and make smarter decisions.
- Bug Fixes & General Polish: Fixing bugs, improving performance, and polishing overall stability across weekly updates.
On the Horizon for October and Beyond [This isn't an exhaustive list: just the immediate technical priorities. A full, updated Early Access roadmap covering broader feature drops, systems, and long-term milestones will be posted in the next couple of weeks]
- Time Unit System: Shifting from the temporary Action Point setup to a full-Time Unit system where actions scale based on actual units of time (like loading individual rounds into a mag rather than a flat AP cost).
- Medical & Triage: Updating the UI labels so treatment reads correctly in near-term updates, ahead of rolling out the full assessment phase for medical as that system deepens.
- Inventory & Encumbrance Overhaul: Tying the existing weight and mass code into full encumbrance, moving from inventory slots to a gridless system, and SCARs and integrating visual scale for items like weapons and SCAR mechanics.
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That is a brief overview of where we are, and where we are heading over the next month.
Starting in October, we hope to begin adding more members (SFX, Animation/Modeling/UI, etc.) to the team once August EA revenues arrive (minus Steam's 30% cut and 60-day hold). We are keeping up our aggressive update schedule with regular hotfixes as needed, weekly patches, and major content drops every 2 to 3 weeks.
Our team and community members (who are all volunteers, by the way) are actively reading and responding to comments in the forums and on Discord. If you have questions, ask them. This update isn't meant to cover every single detail: if it were, I’d be sitting here typing for another three hours. But hopefully this gives you a clear look at where we stand, the limitations we are working through, where we are going next, and another solid layer of transparency. We'll also be dropping a follow-up post next week specifically addressing pricing and a few other key topics raised in the forums.
To everyone who saw the vision, did their due diligence, and appreciated what we are building here, thank you.
Feel free to reach out. Thanks for backing the build.
Always Forward. [KAOS // U5·GRG·HRA·VET]
BURNED HORIZONS STUDIO
Always Forward.
Слава Україні. Героям слава.
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[NOTICE // DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY]
SYS.VER: 0.8.2-EA
STATUS: WORK IN PROGRESS
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BRIEFING: READ BEFORE DEPLOYMENT
Read the [BRIEFING: READ BEFORE DEPLOYMENT] section at the top of our Early Access page on Steam. If you want to be part of building something from the ground up, helping shape where the game goes, and actively contributing to that process, now is the time to jump in; whether that's through Steam or as a Direct Backer on our website. The feedback, input, and revenue raised directly fuel development and help us build on the vision we've laid out.
If you're expecting something further along, we'd rather you wishlist and follow the project for now, then jump in down the line when our progress matches what you want out of your experience.
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A BIG THANK YOU TO [WAR HERO] IN THE BHZN DISCORD FOR CREATING THIS INCREDIBLE GRAPHIC FOR TACTICAL KEYBINDS.
//---- DIRECTLY SUPPORTING THE GAME'S DEVELOPMENT VIA THE DIRECT BACKER PORTAL: https://burnedhorizons.com/dbx WISHLIST/FOLLOW ON STEAM | JOIN THE DISCORD
REVIEWS: TURN BASED LOVERS, POPULAR AIRSOFT, GAZETTE DU WARGAMER