Hey everyone! Long time no see! If you were thinking we left you behind and this community would fall into a silent obscurity, think again, because this time were bringing something bigger than a usual MotW instead of highlighting a map, what if we highlight the entire community? All of the efforts made to spice up the game experience and make DEADBOLT something unique, molding it into what it is today this New Years special is all about YOU, dear readers!
I know we just said wed be talking about more than maps, but we really need to start with whats earned the game the most of its longevity workshop support, and all of your custom maps that come along with it. And oh boy, is there a lot to talk about. Throughout this games 3 years of existence a major sense of community formed amongst the mapmakers exchanging feedback, experimenting with the editor, eventually taking part in other aspects of this neat little family. Over the time period many great maps and even campaigns, telling their own story (ranging from sequels and prequels to the campaign, to something entirely new), were released short and long, action and story focused, optimized and laggy and while what makes a great map can be quite subjective, weve decided to include some of our personal picks (hey, we never said this isnt biased), sorting maps by what they do best in order for everyone to find something that suits their preferences. And hey, if you don't like anything off this list, you can always search for over a thousand maps that there are.

Into the Reaper-verse

While DEADBOLT is usually all about breaking into buildings and wiping out everything that moves in it, you shouldnt forget that with the gritty and mysterious tone that the game sets, theres plenty of potential for a story. Perhaps a prequel, delving into characters backstory and giving an explanation for the events to follow? Maybe even an alternate universe or a sequel? Whatever it may be, these story-heavy campaigns are one hell of a ride. Included are Last Stand by Nintee and Cassettes by kilozombie a sequel and a prequel respectively.

Skeletal Brainiac

Tahazzars maps are, quite frankly, always a puzzle waiting to be solved, whether it be a cool twist on the games mechanics or simply figuring out how on Earth this thing even works, but for now we'll stop on Ghost Recon stands out by using a Y-Axis flip on every entity in the level and having two Reapers one being in some alternate dimension and ours being upside down dealing with not-so-harmless ghosts. Can you figure it out?

Fish in a Barrel

If youre the sort of folk who like when more than two enemies come at you simultaneously, we can recommend Sinner Dinner by Alex Pine a level from his Deadline campaign, filled with enemies to the brim. You are given plenty of options for moving around a level and are provided with a powerful arsenal obviously you wouldnt go on a horde with just a revolver. Despite that, it doesnt feel any easier, so get ready for a challenge.

Death from the Shadows

Some folks, like myself, like doing everything quietly without drawing any unnecessary attention. The levels presented here are (mostly) all about sticking to the shadows and avoiding enemies as much as possible rather than getting into a fight Bypass by the ever-so-memorable Tahazzar and the first chapter of the Prologue series by SwamDono. oh, huh, whats this? Using this special occasion, SockPuppet made a New Year-themed map! Cant miss out on that, so go and play it! As people delved further into the workings of the level editor, many of its secrets, bugs and unintended features were discovered. Some mindblowing and tricky, others not so much, but each handy in some way whether itd be adding unavailable-in-the-editor objects (or even cut ones) or making your cutscenes much more impressive and pretty for the curious ones, you can read it all over in these guides: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=761140674 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1103643027 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1483500137 And hey, dont even get me started on how much you can do by fiddling around with .nc files in a text editor.
While were on the topic of creativity, why not talk about artists? These folks also spend countless hours to create something on their computers, but rather than figuring out the mysteries of the level editor, theyre figuring out the mysteries of how the heck you draw skeletons or make the stuff in their heads become reality. Dont forget that you can always browse the Artworks tab in the Community Hub to find something of your personal liking! One of the first things that comes to mind is the tarot card collection that was released a few months ago. It was even spotted by hopoo himself and highlighted on his twitter! This card collection is a collaboration between twelve artists, each with their own unique and a bit twisted look on things.

Back when the game first launched, one of the more active artists were CrazyCKen and aemni with their super detailed artworks almost too good to be true.

Among the communitys artists are some of my friends who, perhaps unsurprisingly, also started out as mapmakers like Nintee. Nintees speciality is pixel art its so well done that hopoo even commended it at one point! He helped out a lot on a Nuclear Throne mod which was supposed to bring DEADBOLT into the games universe, but sadly that never worked out.

Onto the stuff less exciting but interesting nonetheless. Although the game only got a couple updates over the course of three years (literally a couple, actually) and doesnt feature any form of modding support (which has been requested since ror1), there have been times when Hopoo Games tried their best to do only the best for DEADBOLT. For one the games console release on PS4/Vita and Nintendo Switch, attracting a new playerbase and allowing us to smash undead skulls whenever and wherever we please. Another thing that shouldnt be forgotten about is the fact that hopoo bit the bullet and recruited a moderator a mostly silent observer, helping out on discussions, writing Map of the Week on a semi-regular basis, and currently writing this very New Year-special post. Bet this game would be dead without one. mw Heck, while Im at it, I might as well mention Square_Rabbit a MotW messiah (the posts wouldnt be so flashy without him redacting stuff, lads), has the most hours on DEADBOLT (to my knowledge) and probably the one whos done even more for the community than me. Oh, and he also has several WR speedruns, which is pretty cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NXUvvPUAd4 While weve moved away from the development topic anyway, its important to recall the games soundtrack its got a Soundcloud release for all to hear and download, a stem album to remix and research and even a physical release in form of vinyl records with cool design and other nick-nacks!
And we definitely shouldnt forget the Discord server thats been running for over a year now and which has everything you could wish for: emotes, memes, complete lack of any seriousness and quick access to discussing all aspects of the game and its community! Click here to join!

And huh, thats about it.

Although the community isnt all that big and active, Ive had an absolute blast moderating it for over a year at this point, helping people out in discussions, playing and reviewing peoples maps and just generally having a great time watching as this small community of ours prospers. Heres to another year, hopefully even crazier than the previous ones!
Artwork by Nintee

[ 2019-01-01 01:21:41 CET ] [ Original post ]