Greetings, folks!

As we work on the upcoming Early Access updates for Bloodshed, we'd also like to tell you more about how the game came to be. And that's what we are kicking off today with the making-of update series 'In the Midst of Bloodshed'.

In Bloodshed, you can expect a diverse array of unique characters, each entering the fray with their own strengths and weaknesses. Although you’ll control these characters from a first-person perspective and won’t see them directly in the game, it’s important to us to breathe life into them through individual character portraits.


The character selection screen in BloodshedThe character development process is both exciting and multifaceted. Initially, we focus heavily on gameplay: How should the character feel? What makes them unique compared to others? What stats and special abilities do they bring to the table, and what weapons or spells do they wield in battle? Once we have established a functional foundation and are satisfied with the gameplay, we turn our attention to their appearance and backstory.

Ideally, we already have a rough idea of the character traits that will influence the design. To create more diversity, we develop different archetypes, which we then refine until a clear picture of the character emerges.


Character fact sheet and moodboard from our development wikiA crucial tool in this process is our character profile. This contains standardized information that describes both the visual design and the personality of the character. We determine which stereotypes apply to them, which notable quotes best express their nature, and what their proportions and physique look like. Finally, we create a short biography or backstory that fully encapsulates the character.

Another important element is our mood board, which consists of a variety of images that align with our visual vision. Armed with all this information, we approach our talented character artist, who produces the first sketches of the character. These are often still in black and white but already contain a lot of detail.


Character line art, colorization with basic colors blocked in & the final artwork of Jared, our ruthless gunslingerAfter refining the details, we move on to the initial coloring phase, where we establish the basic color palette. In this stage, we also define materials and lighting effects to bring the character to life. Once everything feels right, the final artwork is completed and integrated into the game.

We hope you enjoy discovering and experimenting with the heroes of Bloodshed. Stay tuned for more issues of 'In the Midst of Bloodshed' providing you more insights into our development process!

See you next time!


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Greetings, friends!

We know many of you have been wondering what we are working on at the moment. With this news post we want to shed some light on this. Okay, off we go!

Upcoming Update

Some of you have reported that you are having problems targeting enemies. Headshots in particular were often difficult to place. This is due to the fact that we initially decided to go for a billboard approach in terms of rendering: This means that the enemy sprites are rotated on all axes towards the camera. This technique is particularly authentic, as we are aiming for the typical look of 90s shooters. Unfortunately, it has the disadvantage that, for technical reasons, only the graphics of the enemies are rotated, but not their collision boxes, which causes the aforementioned problems whenever you are not facing an enemy in a straight line.

To counteract this, we have now decided to change the rendering to ‘upright billboards’ - this way, all enemy sprites are standing upright and thus correspond to their hitboxes at all times, which should massively increase your aiming accuracy - headshots are no longer a problem! However, if you're a fan of the old look, you can deactivate this option at your own discretion, but you will have to accept certain inaccuracies in the hit behaviour.

To improve the overall user experience, we have made some minor tweaks and improvements to the UI. Among other things, the loading status of your weapons is now displayed in the UI. This small change allows you to see which weapons are ready for use at any time.

Two new relics will also be integrated into the game - here is a preview of their icons:

We will reveal the exact features behind them at a later date!

We've also added three new, short but challenging missions for this patch to tide you over while we work on brand new main missions. In one of these new missions, you can expect a variant of the familiar Graveyard map with tougher enemies and a special twist at the end. Unlike the main missions, this time it's not about surviving a predefined time, but about completing certain objectives as quickly as possible. We can't wait to see who will have the fastest time!

With the other two missions, we are introducing the new ‘Challenge’ mission type. These missions are clearly aimed at the speedrunners among you, as the aim here is to reach the goal in the shortest possible time and overcome numerous, varied obstacles along the way.

In addition to all these features, there are of course a bunch of new objectives allowing you to unlock some of the new features.

A lot has also been done on the audio side: new voice-lines have been implemented for all characters, which will be triggered on various occasions. New music has also been added for the challenge missions and the boss music and boss intro have been finalised and mastered.

Speaking of music, we have significantly and extensively refined one of our internal gameplay systems - the Intensity Manager. Thanks to a fairly complex calculation system, this system now measures the stress intensity at any point during a session. Based on this, the background music now adapts itself even more finely and the change between the three different intensity levels is therefore much better suited to the current gameplay.

In addition to all these features, we have of course also worked diligently on numerous other improvements and fixes that you have brought to our attention.

In addition to some urgently needed bug fixes, this of course also includes various performance improvements, because phew, sometimes over a hundred active enemies with complex pathfinding and behavior patterns, dozens of projectiles and effects, hundreds of active items, relatively detailed levels and, on top of that, our complex gameplay systems working relentlessly in the background admittedly demand a lot from your hardware (despite the retro look). As the analyses are very time-consuming and we already have our hands full with fixes and new content, we can unfortunately only work on these problems in small steps. We ask for your understanding that we cannot solve all problems immediately. However, we are planning further optimizations in the course of the next updates.

Outlook

We have realized that the weapon feature currently raises two big questions for many of you: Why should I ever change my main weapon? And why should I level up more than one weapon per run? We can understand these questions and are already working on several solutions that will hopefully benefit the weapon feature as a whole.

However, it is not yet certain whether we will be able to roll out these adjustments with this patch. We therefore ask for your understanding in this regard - but rest assured: your feedback is being taken seriously and we are already working on a solution.

A lot of stuff is already in the works for the upcoming patches too. There will be many brand new enemies, as well as new main missions, characters, weapons, spells, music, and much more. Parallel to the current patch, the team is currently working on this new content on all fronts and we are very excited to be able to present the first results to you soon!

As always, your feedback and thoughts are really appreciated! If you want to give us any feedback please do so in the comments, in the Steam Community Hub, or on our Discord channel[discord.com]. That would really help us a lot! ❤️

Stay tuned and happy shooting!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Pre-seasonal greetings, friends!

Bloodshed has been available for almost a week now, and we've received an incredible amount of good and constructive feedback from you in those six days. Thank you very much for that. We really appreciate it! ❤️

From all this feedback from you we have now created the first update Version 0.11.34, which is now available for Bloodshed! For example, the update rebalances the target values of the achievements, increases the HP of the Hell King boss, and much more.


Options Menu

• Added new menu page "Accessibility" with options for screen shake intensity, pickup flash intensity, camera leaning and field of view
  
• Moved pickup flash option to accessibility page
  
• Pickup flash setting is now stored correctly in savegame data
  
• Added displays for numeric values to each slider option for better readability
  
• Added an option for vertical syncronization (V-Sync) to video options menu
  
• Fixed an issue with resolution and window mode not being initialized correctly in certain cases on game start
  
• Fixed an issue with initializing slider values in options menus
  
• Improved slider element feedbacks
  
• Generally improved menu navigation via gamepad/keyboard

User Interface

• Improved readability of damage numbers
  
• Items that are only available as start item of certain characters are now also listed in the Headquarters' Collection menu
  
• Adjusted font settings for Bestiary
  
• Changed enumeration system for Bestiary; enemies are now numbered by internal order to prevent duplicates
  
• Adjusted enemy stats for Bestiary display

Enemies

• Sacrifice:

1. Added distinct visual glow effect to Sacrifice enemies
   
2. Sacrifice enemies now stop in place for 1.5 seconds before blowing up, leaving players more time to escape
   
3. Added distinctive sound for Sacrifice enemies when switching to blow-up phase
   
4. Toned down damage of Sacrifice explosion a bit

• Increased HP of Hell King boss enemy to a more reasonable level
  
• Fixed Hell King taking damage from other enemies or its own attacks, potentially leading to a dead end when being defeated by non-player units
  
• Fixed a general issue that could slow down the movement of enemies during high frame rate phases

Objectives

• Objective conditions are now correctly tracked per player. This fixes an issue of objective "Reach 500 kills with Sakura Fury" being solvable with any character.
  
• Fixed wording issue with "reach headshot kill count" objectives

Achievements

• Following achievement target values have been rebalanced:

1. Passive-Aggressive: Unlock 6 passive abilities. (was: 10)
   
2. Spellbound Survivalist: Unlock 6 sells. (was: 10)
   
3. Level Up Your Game: Reach level 30 with any character. (was: 50)

• Target condition checks have been improved for several achievement types
  
• A failsafe/re-check function has been added for cases where the Steam client did not receive an Achievement trigger in time (executed automatically each time the Headquarters are entered)

Miscellaneous

• Fixed orientation of mini gun, now pointing correctly towards crosshair
  
• Improved internal object pooling and error handling which could potentially increase performance in late-session gameplay
  
• Fixed a severe issue that could lead to a dead end during the treasure chest event when the engine skipped frames either due to performance issues or the application window losing focus
  
• Removed wrong ambient sound effect from destructible brazier columns
  
• Adjusted amount of available weapon and spell slots as well as weapon category restrictions for Sakura Fury
  
• Reduced voice comment chances for all characters
  
• Minor cosmetical fixes and adjustments

As always, your feedback and thoughts are really appreciated! If you want to give us any feedback please do so in the comments, in the Steam Community Hub, or on our Discord channel[discord.com]. That would really help us a lot! ❤️

Happy Slay Day!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Happy Slay Day, friends!

We have some good news for all you slayers out there: Hell has finally opened its gates and is spewing out endless numbers of undead foes and other creatures! So, pick your trusty weapon of choice to confront the hordes and send them straight back to hell!

Just in time for the peaceful, quiet, and calm pre-Holiday Season, our retro-styled Roguelite Survivors FPS Bloodshed breaks free into Early Access AS OF NOW! Embody four playable characters (more to follow during Early Access), each equipped with their own arsenal of clever quips, distinct abilities, and tailored playstyles to cater your preferences:

Bloodshed fuses Roguelite Elements with classic FPS action, to make every run feel unique and unpredictable. You can choose between auto-shooting mode for effortless firing, or take control with classic manual shooting for a more hands-on experience.

The Early Access release includes an arsenal of weapons, spells and skills, an upgrade and a progression system, over 20 distinct enemy types, and 4 maps. Over the coming months, the scope of Bloodshed will of course be constantly expanded. Just take a look at that packed Early Access Roadmap!

Your feedback and thoughts are really appreciated! If you want to give us any feedback please do so in the comments, in the Steam Community Hub, or on our Discord channel. That would really help us a lot!

Now unlock your weapons and get going!

Happy Slay Day!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Greetings, Slayers!

The Early Access Launch of Bloodshed is right around the corner; there are only 2 days left until December 12. So, it's definitely about time for you to prepare for what awaits you with our retro-styled Roguelite Survivors FPS!

You can of course still try the demo, or read the following summary of what to expect with Bloodshed in two days. Or do both! Anyways, this is the Early Access launch of Bloodshed in a nutshell:

• Immerse yourself in a first-person shooter experience set within a haunting, gothic-horror realm, overrun by relentless undead and demonic entities, presented in a vibrant retro-inspired boomer shooter visual style.
  
• Choose from a cast of four unique playable characters, each equipped with their own arsenal of clever quips, distinct abilities, and tailored playstyles to cater to every player's preference (more charters will follow during Early Access).
  
• Experience a fresh and challenging gameplay loop that fuses Roguelite Elements with classic FPS action, to make every session feel unique and unpredictable.
  
• Engage in visceral combat across four maps, facing off against endless waves of over 20 distinct enemy types, from swarming minions to formidable bosses, each with their own strategic behaviors and attacks.
  
• Choose the innovative auto-shooting mode for effortless firing, or take control with classic manual shooting for a more hands-on experience.
  
• Unlock and upgrade an arsenal of weapons, spells and skills, empowering you to craft personalized strategies and playstyles that suit your gaming approach.
  
• Explore the dark mystery of the Cult while completing a variety of objectives, unlocking new content and features, and diving even deeper into their world.
  
• Persistent upgrades and a continuous progression system ensure that even in death, you emerge as a more fearsome survivor ready for the next challenge.
  
• Enjoy the retro-inspired pixel art style, smooth movement mechanics, and an immersive soundtrack.
  
• Fully compatible with either keyboard and mouse or controllers (complete with rumble effects), featuring customizable control schemes to match your preferred playstyle.
  
• Plus, earn Steam Achievements that reward your skill and dedication, adding an extra layer of accomplishment to your journey.

That's it! That's the current state of Bloodshed for the Early Access launch. But this is just the beginning: over the next months we will be adding more content to Bloodshed according to the Early Access Roadmap below and improving the game based on your feedback! This is what the following months will look like:

If you want to give us any feedback please do so in the comments, in the Steam Community Hub, or on our Discord channel[discord.com]. That would really help us a lot!

Talk to you again really soon!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Happy Friday, Slayers!

We announced it twice, but did not deliver yet. Shame on us! But after almost 16k demo players and tons of videos, postings and comments, we're finally getting started: let's talk about feedback and criticism we have received from all of you for our Bloodshed demo. But first of all: thank you for playing the demo and being so responsive!

We have divided the feedback into three categories: content, balancing, and general bugfixes and improvements. Here we go:


So, when it comes to content, the most frequently mentioned feedback is: “We want more”. And we hear you! After all, you've only played a demo so far, and there will of course be more content for the Early Access release on December 12! More player characters, more missions, more maps, more enemies, bigger enemies, more weapons. Overall: more variation!

• Additional player characters
  
• Additional missions and maps
  
• More than 10 brand-new enemies for more variation
  
• Several bigger enemies
  
• A boss enemy and boss level
  
• More Weapons
  
• More Feature Unlocks, including damage numbers display
  
• Steam Achievements
  
• Additional music tracks and sound effects

What we've recognized the most from your feedback when it comes to balancing is, that very little players used the melee weapons. And that's why we decided to overall improve the melee weapons system: the effects have been redesigned, the weapons can now inflict temporary status effects, and feature area damage! Besides that, we improved the overall gameplay balancing and difficulty level for a more challenging gameplay experience as many players felt underchallenged.

• Stronger and improved Melee Weapons system:
  
  1. Effects of melee weapons have been redesigned
     
  2. Melee weapons can now inflict temporary status effects
     
  3. Now feature area damage for hitting multiple enemies with a single strike
• Improved XP collection by adding levelable ability “Attraction” to the game
  
• Improved overall difficulty level for a more challenging gameplay experience
  
• Improved overall gameplay balancing

The demo we published back in October was still early, and a lot has changed and improved since: many of the UI elements were still placeholders and have been replaced; just like the placeholder voiceovers from the demo (we'll tell you which voice actors we were able to secure for Bloodshed soon!). Performance has also been optimized and a system has been installed with which you can remove certain items from the level-up menu selection for the current run.

• Demo placeholder voiceovers replaced by first voiceovers for player characters
  
• Mission Start UI has been completely redesigned
  
• Icons for Passive Abilities have been redesigned
  
• Added several options for post effect adjustments
  
• Improved blood and splatter effects
  
• Improved enemy AI, enemy targeting and collisions
  
• Added an option to remove certain items from the level-up menu selection for the current run
  
• Added additional trackable statistics for the statistics menu
  
• Playable characters now each have their individual number of available weapon, spell and ability slots and each character has different categories of usable items
  
• Implementation of some initial performance optimizations

As you can see, we've made good use of the time since the demo was released! And we want to thank you once more for sharing so much constructive feedback and ideas for Bloodshed! Oh, and so much love! We are really blown away by with how positively Bloodshed has been received by you.

And we want to build on this to make Bloodshed the best possible gaming experience together with you in Early Access!

And now have a restful weekend everyone!

Talk to you again really soon!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Greetings friends!

In case you are a fan of Roguelite Survivors-like FPS games, or you enjoyed playing our Bloodshed demo over the last weeks, we have some good news for you to share today:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAbDXMCktcA

As promised, we will also publish an other update posting before the Early Access release in mid-December in which we will be talking in more detail about the feedback and criticism we have received and how we intend to optimise these points. Stay tuned!

Talk to you again really soon!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Happy Friday, folks!

It's been almost exactly a month since we announced Bloodshed together with the launch of the playable demo. And a lot has happened since then, I can tell you that! So, where do I begin ...

Probably with this: we are super happy with the feedback we have received from all of you! By now, over 14k players have played our demo (🤯), and many of you have also filled out the online survey[forms.office.com] or given us feedback in the Community Hub or on Discord[discord.com].


We have received tons of good and constructive feedback. And we're reading through, and listening to it all, and working hard to find solutions to make Bloodshed the best Roguelite Survivors FPS experience possible.

We will shortly be talking in more detail about the feedback and criticism we have received and how we intend to optimise these points. Stay tuned!

And now have a restful weekend everyone!

Talk to you again really soon!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/

Happy Steam Next Fest kick-off day, friends!

Once again, it's about time for the fabulous Steam Next Fest! Until October 21 an endlessly large number of demos are live here on Steam, connected to hundreds of streams, developer specials, and much more. Exciting times for sure, and you definitely don't want to miss out!

Bloodshed is part of the Next Fest circus as well! Our demo includes:

• 2 playable characters
  
• 1 map
  
• 7 passive abilities (5 of which must be unlocked)
  
• 5 active abilities (3 of which must be unlocked)
  
• 10 different weapons (5 of which must be unlocked)
  
• 2 unlockable extra features
  
• and 3 global upgrades

We really hope you will enjoy playing our demo! If you're having a good time, please do us a favour and click on "Follow" as well as on "Add To Your Wishlist". If you want to give us feedback on the demo (highly appreciated!), please do so in our online survey[forms.office.com], leave your feedback in the Steam Community Hub, or on our Discord channel[discord.com]. That would really help us a lot!

Happy Steam Next Fest to all of you!
com8com1 Software & Headup


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2747550/Bloodshed/