Greetings contestants! Thank you for joining us once again for another diary. It’s here that we sneak out and leak out some of the newest features and game-changing elements coming to The Culling. Though we’ve been known to talk about long-term goals in the past, this time around we’ll be breaking down what’s coming in the very near future. While we don’t have a date to share just yet, there’s more than enough here that this edition is sure to be interesting, insightful and all the other adjectives that begin with the letter i. New Cosmetics We know that the best part about The Culling is smashing your opponents and climbing your way to the top. At the same time, what’s a moment in the spotlight worth if you’re not able to shine? We will be introducing a heaping helping of new cosmetic items for contestants to unlock and to show off their twister personalities. With new Culling Cards, new victory celebrations and new weapon skins, there’s sure to be something for every contestant. Plus, with summer coming to an end we’ve gotten into a festive, carnival mood. In addition to the above, we’ll be adding new hair, masks and some particularly dark clown outfits to bring a big smile to each of your faces. Xbox Voice Chat The next update will introduce voice communication options to contestants on Xbox One. We know that while many players enjoy coop with their friends, some simply enjoy the dynamics of working with a teammates and don’t always have a buddy, friend or a pal ready, willing and able to join into the action. Also, we know that when playing with a random teammate in the wild you can be left at a slight disadvantage, with pre-made teams often using lobby chat to strategize and gain the upper hand. Adding team chat both levels the playing field and opens up coop to a new crop of contestants who may have been intimidated to jump into the mode in the past. In addition to team chat, we’ll also be rolling out a much-requested communication feature: proximity chat. Though we’re not quite ready to talk shop on this just yet, it will also be included in the next scheduled update! Bug Fixes Each new update presents an opportunity to add, but it also goes without saying that they also allow us to address several key bug and issues head on. Some of the highlight fixes in the next update are changes automatic region switching (Xbox), thrown item disappearance, gas grenade glitches, unequipped cosmetic and more. We’ll have more details when we roll out official patch notes. Golden Weapons The wise philosopher C.H.A.S once said, “Not all that glitters is gold, but all weapons that are gold are FUNC’ing awesome!” Possibly one of the biggest additions to The Culling yet, golden weapons will shower the arena during event airdrops and offer players a never-before-seen level of power. There will be be no less than 8 Golden Weapons available next update (4 Tier 3s and 4 Tier 4s), each with their unique sets of abilities and modifiers. The entire Golden arsenal has been locked in, but you’ll have to wait until the patch notes to learn about them all. Until then, however, we have been able to sneak a couple out of Culling HQ to share with you early. Bleeding Blade - This legendary sword is so sharp and cuts so deep that the bleed it imparts lasts until the victim heals. Nutcracker - Though it’ a tad weaker than a regular sledgehammer under normal conditions, This Sledgehammer is no joke. It can be charged for 3 seconds to deliver 60 points of damage against any opponent unfortunate enough to be caught by its wrath. Closing This edition of our diary looked at the very near future and we can’t wait to share more details as the date draws near. We feel like each time we come together for these things, we get a little closer, a little friendlier, a little...cullinglier? What we’re trying to say is thanks for joining us again for this look ahead. Until next time, See you in the arena.

[ 2017-08-11 18:56:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

As a contestant in the deadly game of The Culling, you must explore, scavenge items, craft weapons, and build traps that will enable you to slay your fellow contestants and emerge victorious before the end of the round. Only with cunning, skill, and a little luck will you be able to prevail and survive the match.

Unlike add-on modes in open-world survival games, The Culling redefines the battle royale genre by providing a tightly focused stand-alone experience that delivers incredible thrills and endless story-worthy moments.

Features at Early Access Launch

Game Modes

The core of The Culling is an online 16-player battle royale, played solo or in teams of two. Matches last approximately 20 minutes, with deadly poison gas slowly constricting the arena in the final stages. The winning player (or team) is the last left alive.


With no respawning on death, you have to make every action count. Play too cautiously and you won’t be prepared for the final clash at the end of the match, too aggressively and you might not make it past the first few minutes.

Weapons and Combat

The Culling focuses heavily on melee combat. Use jabs, charged swings, blocks, and shoves in a system that’s simple learn, but requires practice to truly master.


There are 24 melee weapons in the form of blades, axes, bludgeons, and spears. There are multiple tiers of weapons, which deal different levels of damage, from the lowly crafted stone knife to the mighty Katana. Different weapons types also apply different wounds, which factors into combat strategy. All melee weapons can be thrown, adding the potential for ranged combat in any encounter.

There is also a variety of ranged weapons, including bows, blowguns, and even highly-coveted firearms. A gun isn’t a guaranteed kill, however, as ammunition is in short supply and ranged players can be disarmed by melee strikes if they don’t keep their distance.

Traps

Players who thrive on outwitting their enemies can sample from a collection of traps in the form of snares, mines, remote-detonated explosives, caltrops, and punji sticks. Matches are fast-paced, so sneaky players must lay their traps in hot spots (such as near an airdrop landing pad) or use themselves as bait to lure opponents in.

Items

A wide range of utility items is at your disposal, with everything from backpacks to smoke bombs, run speed stims to stun guns, player tracking devices to bandages. You start each match empty-handed, so you must explore to survive. Inventory space is extremely limited, forcing you to think carefully about how you intend to play and what you want to carry.

Crafting

The Culling utilizes a unique crafting system that is very simple to use (no bulky UI-heavy inventory management) but still offers a wide range of recipes. Players can craft rudimentary weapons, a wide range of traps, and a handful of useful items, including bandages, satchels, and even body armor.

Perks

Each contestant chooses 3 perks before the start of a match. There are dozens of perks available, and they range from combat bonuses (increase the duration of bleed wounds you apply with blade weapons) to crafting skills (reduce your trap placement time), to general utility (begin the match with a tracking device in your inventory).


All of the perks are available to all players from the start with no unlocking required. You can use perks to define and enhance your personal play style, whether it be focused on ranged, melee, or trap-based strategy. Advanced players will find helpful synergies between their perk load-out and their airdrop selection.

Airdrops

Players select a personal airdrop to call in during the match. Air drops are deadly care packages containing a predefined variety of weapons, traps and items. Be careful, because calling in an airdrop draws attention to you and can be stolen by other players (especially if they manage to shoot it out of the sky before it arrives).


New airdrops are unlocked by opening the container, so finding a random airdrop during a match or stealing another player’s airdrop will unlock it in your list.

Game Show Events

The Culling is the most popular game show in the history of the world, and for good reason. The show’s producers have devised events that take place at random during the match. If you choose to participate in these events, the rewards can improve your chances of winning, but don’t be surprised when other players arrive to challenge you.

FUNC

Flexible Universal Nano-Compound, or FUNC, serves as the primary in-game currency. You spend FUNC to craft, call in personal airdrops, and open certain types of item chests. FUNC is gained through combat and exploration.

Character Customization

Players start the game with a variety of hairstyles, tops, pants, and skin tones at their disposal. Through playing matches, new customization items can be unlocked. There are over 100 items available to unlock, with many more planned.

Audio

The Culling places a heavy gameplay emphasis on audio. Making noise by sprinting through the jungle crafting items, slamming doors, and engaging in combat will draw the attention of other players far and wide.


Using audio cues to locate opponents and using the crouch mode to conceal your movements add tremendously to the game’s suspense and immersion.

Map Exploration

The Culling ships with one map set on a tropical island. The map size has been carefully tuned to provide just enough space for 16 contestants, but also to ensure than no one is safe for long. The map is populated with landmarks, buildings (full of lockers and crates containing items), hidden caches, and hazards.


Many of these elements are random, meaning map knowledge is important, but offers no guarantees. When the match starts, you can choose to immediately set about crafting some basic survival tools, or sprint to the nearest building in the hopes that it will contain valuable items.

Tutorials and Offline Training Mode

The Culling can be intimidating for new players, so we’ve included basic and advanced tutorials that will help you learn all of the game’s mechanics.

If you’re still not ready to face players online, there is an offline practice mode against basic AI-controlled bots that will allow you to practice in a low-pressure situation.

Steam Items

No contestant leaves a match of The Culling empty-handed. Cosmetic items (hats, hair styles, shirts, and pants) are awarded at the end of each round, with rarer items rewarded for better performance. These items are tradeable on the Steam Market.