Servus Allies! Earlier this week, we asked all of you to send us your most pressing questions about SAND, whether it's about current features, future plans, ongoing issues/concerns or anything in between and today, we're back to answer them. So let's just get straight into it.
If we split matchmaking into too many separate queues, then even with tens of thousands of players online, there still won't be enough people to fill matches. Just look at how long you can end up waiting for a game if you only queue for certain maps and a single game mode.
Instead, we'll try to match you onto servers where all teams are the same size whenever possible. That means you'll still occasionally run into larger teams (still within your queue limit), but it should happen much less often.
The reason our anti-cheat improvements are taking so long is that we need to significantly rewrite the character movement and interaction systems. This will allow us to verify whether the information sent by the client is actually valid.
Once that's finished, things should improve.
Will cheaters disappear completely? I don't think so. No game has ever eliminated them entirely. But there should be significantly fewer of them and help us identify anyone that slips through more efficiently.
As for compensating players, we technically can't identify every loss that was caused by cheaters, so I can't promise that everyone will get their gear back.
Trampler capture will return once we've made it impossible for cheaters to abuse the mechanic.
It's a great feature that creates very tense moments. We'll also rework it a bit to make those exploits much harder to pull off. Re-implementation of this feature is a top priority for us, but we need to ensure we’ve got the cheat situation under control before we can bring it back to the game. Realistically, this will be at some point next week, likely with update #5.
Yes. We plan to continue improving server stability.
Right now, though, we're working on what we call an "emergency parachute." If a server crashes for any reason, players will receive the loot that was stored on their Trampler.
The game won't save every second, but we think we'll be able to save your expedition's progress roughly every 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, we need to focus on addressing the most prevalent issues we’ve seen reported since launch before we can focus on GBMM.
Hopefully, we'll release an update with it sometime this summer.
We'd rather avoid doing forced wipes.
Prestige (optional wipes) seems like a much more elegant solution for letting players start their journey over. We already have a few ideas for how that could work, but I don't know when we'll be able to start working on it.
Yes. We want to add both quests and contracts.
Our goal is for players to have different objectives during a match-sometimes encouraging conflict, and other times encouraging cooperation.
We expect to start working on that around autumn.
GBMM should resolve the steamrolling issue.
First, we'll separate new players to give them room to learn the game. Second, we'll match players with others of similar progression, so even experienced crews will have to stay alert because they might run into an even bigger fish.
Absolutely.
With every update, we try to improve shooting in some way. These will be gradual improvements over many months, rather than one big update that says, "We fixed shooting, everything's perfect now."
Not at the moment, balancing a global player economy is extremely difficult and time consuming.
If you want to trade with someone, you'll have to risk those items by taking them into an expedition.
We'll think about what we can do in that direction.
It could definitely be interesting.
Right now, we've balanced them around a maneuverability stat.
Maneuverability determines how quickly a Trampler turns and accelerates. On flat terrain, all Tramplers have the same top speed. However, on rough terrain, more maneuverable Tramplers can navigate more easily and pull away from larger ones.
Over the next few months, we'll add the final piece of this system: rods (the propulsion mechanic) will also provide acceleration based on maneuverability.
After that, we'll evaluate whether the system works as intended.
I can't say much about new leg types, that's a very complicated task.
As for Trampler shapes, we're already working on specialized compartments that will both have significant gameplay effects and dramatically change the appearance of Tramplers.
We'll announce more once we're ready.
We aren't planning any crossplay at this time between PC and Console As for consoles however, bear with us, we hope to have news on this front soon!
We're slowly rewriting the lighting system whenever we have free time which will improve general performance.
Later on, there will probably be an update focused on improving performance, alongside other small improvements over the course of Early Access.
We're working on it.
To add character customization, we first need to significantly redesign the character model and the animation system.
Female characters are dependent on those changes.
This has already been a major task for several months, and it'll likely take at least a couple more months.
We've heard the feedback.
We'll try to add a visual indicator that warns players when enemies are near extraction towers.
It may not make the next update, but it's definitely something we want to add soon.
We have a solid understanding of the story that's unfolding in the Sands of Sofia.
Unfortunately, traditional storytelling doesn't fit very well with the pace the game ended up having.
Instead, we'll sprinkle hints and pieces of lore throughout the world whenever we get the opportunity.
Yes, we're already working on a new turret and a new turret mounting system.
We also have ideas for additional handheld weapons.
Those will come as part of a future content update, after we've stabilized the game.
Yes.
We're exploring solutions to make capturing a Trampler more difficult, and hope to implement this in an upcoming update.
There won't be a dedicated PvE mode.
We're already thinking about bosses, though. We have some good ideas, and we'll probably start working on them closer to autumn.
There are no plans for that at this time, proximity chat will remain the primary form of communication in the game and we will continue expanding the functionality of the Flare Gun instead.
Absolutely!
That's definitely planned, unfortunately, we can't give any specific timeframe right now.
Thank you all for taking the time to share your questions with us, if there is anything we didn't cover, don't hesitate to leave your questions in the thread and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
The SAND: Scorched Shell Showdown, our first all-star tournament, begins tomorrow at 5PM CDT / 3PM PDT / 12AM (19th) CEST! Featuring The Burnt Peanut, Zchum, Hutch, Dezignfull, Gingy and more incredible raiders... Follow the event live on Twitch as 20 teams battle it out for SAND supremacy, a $10,000 prize pool, and the chance to be immortalized in-game!
Please don't hesitate to report any issues you encounter or share any feedback you might have following this update on our Steam Forums and Discord!
Catch you on the dunes, Scavengers!
- Hologryph / tinyBuild Games