Drumroll, please! Here are the raw summarized survey results of the 69 responses: Survey Result Page
Winners of the giveaway will be notified by email on Dec, 02!
Now let’s dive right into the new roadmap:
Based on the Survey the new Game Mode will be
Endless Mode
No difficulty progression, just short rounds with different objectives. One for Action Mode and one for Expert Mode.
New Community Hub Discussion to gather ideas for this mode: Discussion
If we can come up with enough content, it makes sense to have two modes, and hopefully the action mode can be a good starting point for new players, because it's still hard to get into the game (Time Survival is hard, Obliteration needs progression).
Huge thanks to everyone for the feedback through all channels! Without you the V1.0 would have a lot less content. The new roadmap does not mean that the sandbox mode will never make it into the game. In fact, it would be the next mode. But let's get the current roadmap implemented first!
A longer word about the coming changes
I read every comment and you may want to know in advance how drastically things will change. In short, please don't expect everything to change. I won't be able to remove every imperfection from the game. Some decisions are hard to change (or only with a lot of resources) and sometimes it is better to start from scratch than to change everything fundamentally and destroy things in the process that some people enjoy -> maybe a sequel makes sense?
Btw. who wrote the following?: I hate and love the difficulty of this game.
Please allow me to quote it on the Steam product description 😊. I really started the game to provide a challenge. But now more and more I want to make the game more accessible to everyone or go more towards a game that can be enjoyed more casually. Maybe that's partly a result of the Steam Deck release, the game is certainly not tuned for a handheld (difficulty, etc.), but the game is a natural good fit.
Just to be clear, I understand there are different expectations regarding difficulty. I'm not planning to make the expert mode easier. I just want to address some balance issues with a lot of care. I am sure some of you want to hear the opposite. But I still believe that we can have hard missions and more casual missions at the same time (without having different difficulty levels for one mission -> another huge topic).
So one question remains. When does it happen?
Here's the bad news. With the rise of Generative AI, I have been drawn into its magic. There is a window of opportunity to create something completely unique, to break new ground, to create entirely new experiences. Driven by this new technology, I need to get some ideas out of my head and into reality.
Internally the overall roadmap looks like this -> AI Engine (currently in Alpha, not on Steam) -> Project Double Helix (codename, planned for Steam release) -> Project Iron Forge (codename, planned for Steam release) -> Outnumbered V1.0
The promise I make about the schedule is that I'll stick to it (assuming life doesn't screw it up). The roadmap is not strictly sequential, so there won't be a year without an Outnumbered update. However, as you can imagine, it is a busy schedule for the next two years. I will post my progress on Discord.
Thank you again, I'm sure you understand the reasons, please give me some time, stay tuned for the cool things to come and keep your eyes on the Horizon!