[2020] Roadmap Update

: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page [url=https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/548430/announcements/detail/1716372790317433196]here[/url].

Hello Miners!
As promised yesterday, we have an updated Roadmap for you, and it should hopefully help answer most of the burning questions you might have!

Right now, we're laser-focused on getting Deep Rock Galactic ready for the actual 1.0 launch sometime during Q2 2020. During this time, we'll be revisiting old systems in need of some well-deserved love, as well getting the game polished to a mirror shine. Update 28 started a lot of this, with the much-discussed Perk Rework, as well as the first batch of improvements to the Space Rig and its overall layout. And with the separation of Weapon Skins into Paintjobs and Frameworks, we also gave all Dwarves many more options in terms of expressing their personality through the looks of their weapons. These are key themes that you will continue seeing as we get the game prepared for 1.0.



Before we're ready to hit the big switch and launch 1.0, we will squeeze in one more update - Update 29. It will feature a lot of under-the-hood optimization and improvements, but more visibly it will see more work done to the Space Rig, a much needed graphical overhaul of the trusty old Drop Pod, and a full visual customization system for your pickaxes. AND, hallelujah, we're finally getting in proper item icons for all your phat lewt!

Update 29 will also bring a new and improved Greenbeard experience, with a brand new tutorial flow, and handy contextual hints. And of interest for any dwarf regardless of experience, we will also see the introduction of the Miner's Manual - an ingame repository of information about all kinds of Deep Rock Galactic related things.

And finally, Update 29 will also include another Weapon Balance pass, touching on many of the issues both we and yourselves have brought up regarding certain weapons.



After 29, we will be officially heading into launch. The Launch Update will not introduce any major new features, but it will still include some pretty tasty things. Apart from a whole lot more bugfixes and optimizations, it will expand the game's soundtrack with almost an hour more of synthy goodness, and it will enable a whole bunch of new Promotion Ranks and associated rewards.



And beyond that - well - depending on the reception of the game upon launch, the sky is more or less the limit. We have a stack of new things we'd like in the game stretching almost to our ceiling, based both on our own wishes and those voiced by our frankly awesome fanbase. The work you're putting in to assist us in making DRG the best game it can
be remains absolutely priceless.

One thing we KNOW we will focus on right after launch, however, is a return to the real meat and bones of the gameplay. We've devoted a ton of necessary work on fleshing out the game's surrounding systems for a long time now, but it's high time we turn our eyes back on the caves themselves. You can at the very least expect more Mission Types after launch, since that's something we rate very very highly on our list of wishes. And once we know a bit more, we will of course update you guys in our usual ways - blog posts, roadmaps, and so forth.

So until then, keep the bullets flying, the blood and ideas flowing, and we shall get back to you again very soon!

Rock and Stone!
The Ghost Ship Crew

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.

CHANGELOG (October 25, 2024): To give our team more time to work on features such as our Team Mayhem closed alpha, we are moving our 0.2.0 Content Update to later this year. In the meantime, our October Patch, 0.1.2, will deliver a critical update aimed to fix a number of bugs and improve performance for a variety of hardware configurations. We expect to follow it up with a November Patch, 0.1.3, which is scheduled to include a wide range of balance updates for ranked 1v1 play along with many additional improvements.

Other updates related to our future plans and our dev roadmap:

We are pleased to welcome Frost Giant’s new art director, Allen Dilling, to the Stormgate development team. Allen is an industry veteran who was the lead artist for StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm as well as the lead 3D artist and assistant art director for Legacy of the Void. He also contributed to Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, StarCraft: Ghost, and Heroes of the Storm.

Allen is currently onboarding and, as he ramps up, is planning for the future of Stormgate’s visual identity. The current plan begins with elevating our core factions, starting with the Infernal Host. Please join us in welcoming Allen to the Frost Giant team. More details on our plans around art will be shared in the future.

• Added spooky login rewards available to all players for free in patch 0.1.2.
  
• We are hard at work on our implementation of fully customizable hotkeys. We aim to deliver them early next year.
  
• Range indicators are being implemented in patch 0.1.2. These will continue to be visually polished after their initial implementation, but will enable players to more easily see the ranges of their attacks and abilities, especially when targeting them.
  
• Moved the release of our next Vanguard Hero to later this year, in update 0.2.0. This change was made so that we could prioritize some improvements to the Gear system, leveling experience, and other aspects of the Co-op mode.
  
• We’ve improved Co-op progression to make it more satisfying and to give players access to Gear much earlier than before. These changes will be part of patch 0.1.2.
  
• We are making significant improvements to the Chapter 0 and 1 campaign missions, but we will be putting more time into polishing that content and anticipate their release in early 2025. This work includes:
  • Changing the mission order to improve narrative flow
    
  • Adding a new “hub” level, the Raptor One, for players to explore between missions
    
  • Overhauling map layouts and mission objectives
    
  • Updating most character models with improved designs and higher-fidelity versions that support lip syncing and facial animation
    
  • Incorporating additional playable Heroes to more missions
    
  • Adding a new Hero leveling system and customizable abilities
    
  • Improving Campaign sub-systems, including Items, Journals, and cutscenes
    
  • Rewriting and re-recording a significant proportion of the Campaign dialogue
    
  • Improving how new units are introduced

Team Mayhem closed alpha playtesting begins at the end of this month. We are keeping this initial test very small and will invite more playtesters over time. Stay tuned for more information.

Please note that all future plans are subject to change.