As summer approaches, I know you are all wondering when Firearms: Source 2.0 is finally going to be released. Well, us developers are having that same conversation right now as we look at our long list of stuff that needs to be completed. The good news is that we have removed or fixed all critical crashes and bugs that we consider to be show stoppers. For a time we had some memory leaks that would cause client crashes after map change, but those have since been fixed. The game is feeling very solid, and at this time we are really just focusing on finishing up a large load of art assets, finishing what maps are on our plate, and a few big ticket coding tasks. This weekend we will make a decision as to what the plan of attack will be as we are considering trimming some features that are still pending so we can get an open beta out to the public for larger testing.

In the meantime, we have finished our move to the new web host and have a fresh new website to match. We wanted to keep it simple for now so that we can focus on wrapping up the game and just make simple blog updates about our status. I hope you all dig the nostalgic look as I think we will be sticking with this branding for our release. I am going to try to be a bit more transparent about our progress, so look out for an update next week in regards to our plan for getting FA:S 2.0 out the door.

“For the past 2 years, Firearms: Source has been undergoing big changes and a lot of experimentation. I felt that, given it’s a whole new year now, I should let you all know what we have been working on. We’ve experimented with new technologies, as well as a bunch of new features. Some were discarded and others are still in this game. We are still experimenting with new features here and there, but for the most part, we are really comfortable with FAS gameplay. In fact, we are so happy with the gameplay that we are waiting on doing any more major changes until we bring you – the community – in for some feedback.

Some examples of new technologies that we have been playing with are FMOD and Awesomium. You may be familiar with FMOD, but for those who aren’t, it is a sound engine with a toolkit that allows us to redesign the audio in FAS, to better suit our needs. Don’t get me wrong, the Source Engine has a great sound system, but unfortunately the Source 2007 mod support doesn’t give us the access we need to mix the music and sounds the way we would like. Additionally, the inclusion of Awesomium is a User Interface library that allows us to create our HUD and UI menus using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript rather than using standard VGUI (Valve Graphical User Interface). This means that we can more quickly create menus and HUD elements with web development tools and use animations from JavaScript libraries. It’s all really cool stuff, but unfortunately has required a little bit longer of development time making it all stable. In the end it will provide an awesome game experience not found in most other Source games.”

“When adding new features, one of our biggest focuses has been on trying to make the game more intuitive for our community. We really wanted to make FAS more fun by making it easier for new players to understand what’s going on. FAS 1.0 had a high learning curve, and not really for a good reason. We have added simple changes like dynamic crosshairs allow players to learn the mechanics of the weapon they are using. However we have also added things like larger impact particles so you can see where your bullets are hitting along with subtle tracers showing where your bullets are traveling. Players are able to grasp the accuracy and stance mechanics a lot easier with these changes. We’ve also added bullet miss sounds so that you can hear when bullets whizz by your head, informing you that you are under fire. These features may all seem really simple, but they are all features that are easily missed or put on low priority when you consider game design from a broader perspective. We have also added more blatant notifications like hit indicators with hit sounds to notify you if hit registration decided to play nice with you. There are also bigger features that we are playing around with like weapon scavenging, which allows you to temporarily pick-up a dropped weapon. I can go further into detail about the balance of weapon scavenging for another news post, but I mainly wanted to use this as a way to catch you guys up to date with everything we have been working on. There are also some new skill features that we have added but we will save that for another time.”

“We are working hard, and some of us having actually been working full time on FAS so we can get this mod out to you guys as soon as we can. However, I am not going to mislead you and say that FAS is about to release, because quite honestly, there is a lot that still needs to be done. I am comfortable saying that we will release this year, but that’s because the game is very solid from a gameplay standpoint, and we are mainly working on the game stability and making sure these we get the game as polished as we can to make everyone’s first experience with FAS as mind-blowingly awesome as possible. This does mean that you may also see more attachments and weapon in FAS than what was originally planned. The nice thing about weapons and attachments is that they are fairly easy to add when compared to what we have been battling recently. Rest assured, as we will get this all settled and we hope to bring in more testers soon-ish as well. As always, we are looking for talented self-motivated developers to help us out. If you are interested, please apply on our Jobs page. We could use a hand in finishing this game and make sure it’s released to you all this year. In the next coming weeks we can also get back to our skill showcases and show off the last two skill tiers we have planned for Firearms: Source 2.0.”

You’ve heard it from our development director himself, and now you’re up to speed, how about some eye candy? Everything we’re showing you today is from a map called Caliber, an Assault map which I’ve just adored playing on. However, overhead shots of a map would be pretty darn boring – so how about we throw some guns into the mix? So far you’ve seen the Silencer attachment but you haven’t seen our Aimpoints which have, until now, only been talked about. Though ironsights are definitely optional in Firearms: Source, fans of the feature are definitely going to want to look into the Aimpoint attachment. Get it?

Our Aimpoint is the best you’ve ever seen, and I say that strongly without a doubt in my mind. You’ll be able to use it on a whole lot of our weapons, too, so if you want the power of an AK-47 with a little more precision then you’ve got it. In combination with the silencer attachment, you can turn a simple assault rifle into a beast that’ll take targets down from range before they even see you. Eat your heart out, snipers.

The EOTech 553. Sat atop the rails of our lovely M4A1, the EOTech is a nice alternative to those who may have an aversion to the Aimpoint. Though it’s only just been added and is still in its infancy, the EOTech is great fun to use and just as awesome as our Aimpoint. That’s great news for all you rifle fans, but our sidearms are feeling a little left out and I’m guessing they need some love. For anyone who loves a Glock 20 like myself, you’ll be happy to find that Tritium Night Sights are an option for free. With no credit cost, they’re always available should you need that help in the dark; same for the Desert Eagle – see below!

Though Down the Barrel didn’t turn into the once a week feature I was hoping for, I hope what you’ve seen today has put a smile on that face. After all, Firearms: Source will be playable this year, and you’re able to see it as development progresses. As always, feel free to private message me on our message boards or even just join in the conversation with other FAS fans. Until next time, I’m Super Joe, and Firearms: Source continues to be fantastic.

Gun Game.

That’s right, the ever-popular Gun Game deathmatch mode is coming to FAS 2.0. Stop and think about that for a moment – you won’t just be playing with the piddling 24-weapon arsenal of a game like Counter-Strike, but a full showcase of every weapon in Firearms. That’s over 40 unique implements of murder with more coming every update! In classic Gun Game style you’ll dig through our mountain of guns a kill at a time, from sidearms to sniper rifles, finishing the round with nothing but an M67 grenade and your trusty DV-2 combat knife. Rise up the ranks by scoring a kill with each weapon in order, and if opportunity knocks and you trust in your blade, take a stab at a knife kill to steal a level from your victim and knock them down a peg. But be careful if you do, however – one misjudged slash and they might do the same to you.

We’ll be adapting existing maps to properly suit the total anarchy that is Gun Game, as well as featuring several levels designed exclusively for the mode, giving you even more reasons to dive into the chaos on a regular basis if ever you grow tired of the more evenly-paced Assault, Territorial Control, or Push levels. This mode will be available in the beta that’s coming on… wait for it…

Alright, alright. The first wave of 2.0 beta invites will be being sent out next week, commencing Monday 6th. If you want a chance to get a beta invite, head over to the forums! Follow this link to be taken to the public beta testing forum, and be sure to ready the sticky thread which contains everything you need to apply – it’s as simple as answering a few questions.

Firearms: Source is also looking for an experienced sound designer who will assist through the development of weapon handling sounds, like reloading and deploying. As a team member, you’ll have access to custom sample libraries recorded specifically for Firearms. It’s also recommended you come equipped with your own samples, although not mandatory. We will be accepting applications starting today, and will be conducting interviews on our “Mumble” voice communication channel February 6th through March 1st 2012. Have some previous work ready to show us, and check your email for a reply regarding an interview date. You or someone you know can apply here at our Jobs page.

If beta applications being open wasn’t enough to make you scream at your monitor with glee, then the following video may well do just that. Our very own Sab0t has recorded gameplay from various Gun Game sessions we’ve had during our play testing, and at just under eleven minutes in length, it’s a definite watch for any Firearms fan. You may notice the introduction of backstabs in the video, which are executed simply by approaching an enemy from behind and waiting for your knife to be raised. Once you’re in a position to strike, a single click will bring down your opponent; but if you’re not quick enough, things may get messy. Speaking of messy, you may also notice some ridiculous gibbing – don’t worry, this isn’t typical of Firearms. We were simply having good fun screwing around with some of the game settings. Laughter ensued. But without delaying it any longer, here’s that video:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this instalment of Down the Barrel. We have more coming next week, and I wish you all luck when applying for our beta test. As always, feel free to message me on the forums with any questions you may have – or just for a nice chat! This is Super Joe, signing off.

The number two question you have is probably something to do with what Firearms 2.0 has in terms of new content. Now that is a question I can answer! How does a new game mode, new weapons, significant map changes, weapon attachments, and a completely rebalanced arsenal sound? Oh, and we’re also working a new user interface for the game as well as improving upon the in-game ranking system.

Since the last version FAS 1.0, we’ve temporarily removed the Search and Destroy gametype – why? In its current state we feel that even though the basic concept is sound, it isn’t done justice by the existing maps and mechanics. For the time being we’ve stripped it out of FAS 2.0′s official levels until a later update when we can dedicate time and resources to developing it to the same standards as our other gameplay modes. This allows us to focus on other objectives such as the new Assault levels in the mean time, bringing you the best experience possible on release day. If you missed last year’s update and are interested in learning more about Assault mode, you can read all about it here.

As Firearms is naturally all about the guns, it’s only fitting that we stick to them and bring you even more of what you like. Version 2.0 will add no less than fourteen new weapons to the arsenal. Featuring everything from pistols to sniper rifles, come release day you’ll be able to play with the following new additions:

-P226
-Raging Bull
-MP5K
-MK7A4
-Uzi
-PP19 “Bizon”
-L2A3 Sterling
-KS-23
-SG-552
-AK-74
-SKS
-RPK
-M21
-Dragunov SVD

But that isn’t all! You may know from a previous blog post that we’re adding weapon attachments to the game, so not only will there be a wide variety of weapons to choose from, but also you’ll be able to customize them to fit your unique playstyle. 2.0′s system will include suppressors and aimpoints for all firearms which can accept them as well as tritium sights available for certain weapons, with many more options planned for future patches.

Without going into absolute specifics, there are some big changes happening to our roster of levels in terms of both visual quality and design. These reworked (sometimes almost completely recreated) levels aim to bring you improved, fluid combat as well as a wider range of engagement distances to accommodate all styles of play. We want every weapon and every strategy to be covered; we believe every option should have a proper and challenging role to fill in each level.

Finally – the ranking system. We’ve received comments lately in relation to the score system looking ‘CoD-esque’. The truth of the matter is that mechanically FAS’s ranking system has remained largely unchanged from version 1.0, with the only major alteration being an exponential curve to the points required for each consecutive rank. This means that new skills are easier to obtain at the beginning of a match but more difficult by the end as you amass more of them, with each increase in rank requiring more points than the last. As this naturally requires larger numbers than 1.0′s linear “score” value to function properly, we’ve replaced it with a more flexible three-digit field labelled “exp”.

Though the way our new heads up display shows XP gains may appear similar to a modern shooter’s progression system, that’s where the similarity ends. The only progression of power in Firearms: Source takes place inside of each individual game, as is the Firearms way.
I think I’ve sufficiently tickled your taste buds for now – feel free to let us know what you think on our forums, and as always you can PM me there too with any queries you might have. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, as we make fairly regular posts there as well.

First off, I’d like to introduce myself as I’m a new member to the FAS team. You can call me Super Joe, and I’ll be handling Firearms: Source’s public relations from here on in. I’ll be writing up weekly(ish) blog posts to keep you guys filled in with what’s going on with FAS, as well as handling any press contact we receive. Though I have no hands-on experience with PR until now, I have been on the flipside of PR for nearly two years now thanks to a little website called Reaction Time. It’s my pet project, with games journalism and the reviewing of games being a passion of mine for quite a while. In January 2010, I solidified my ambitions, and since then the site has grown by a large margin with a now well-sized staff onboard and hundreds of new visitors each day.I urge you to check it out, and maybe even tell your friends – that’d be great!

Anyhow, onto business…

Yes – Firearms: Source is being released this year. I say that first because this is definitely the question you want answered right away. Having been in a few playtests myself, I can safely say that the development team are wrapping up existing content and nearing the closed beta that we intend to release. I’ve played a good amount of Firearms: Source 1.0 in my time, as well as the original Half-Life mod before, and I’d like to put your minds at ease by saying that this is still the game you know and love – but kicked up a notch. Or two. Or three. The team is hard at work polishing off the maps we currently have in-game, as well as completely reworking the user interface to look better than you’ve seen in a Source mod before.

The exact date of the closed beta is under wraps at the moment, but keep on the look out for future blog posts for up-to-date information on Firearms’ development. We’re eager to get some community feedback, so the closed beta will be sooner rather than later (though the number of people being let in will be small at first). This is Super Joe signing off; don’t hesitate to PM me on the official forums, and maybe check out our Facebook page where I should also be posting on fairly regularly.

Oh, and by the way, I have a little gift for you all from our very own VMan. He recorded some gameplay from a recent playtest and, well, see it for yourself! I advise watching right up until the end, also. Do it.

Mitchell Curtis Keesee
April 19, 1988 – September 26, 2011

If you have not heard already, I unfortunately bring the sad news that our long time Sound Designer, Mitchell “Engineer” Keesee has passed away a week ago today. Mitchell, or as we called him “engy,” was a great developer with a big heart. He never wanted any conflicts within the team, and every time there was a heated debate about some silly game design decision, he was always there to say something funny to lighten the mood. Mitchell never took anything too seriously and would do anything to make us laugh. He was a very deep and thoughtful person, and was the life of the party amongst our team. He worked hard making sound effects for not only Firearms: Source, but the multiple mods he has been a part of over the years, such as The Trenches, Insurgency, Golden Eye: Source, and Ham and Jam to name a few. He contributed some excellent work to the mod, and his drive to make his sounds perfect was inspiring. His work on the FAS team was always outstanding and he contributed some very immersive and awesome sounds that are beyond what most retail games can provide. He reminded us all the reason why we make games in the first place, to have fun. We will miss his laugh and his Text-To-Speech spamming on Mumble that would always make us crack up. He was a fun person to talk to and play games with. He had a bright future in game development ahead of him and he will forever be missed.

When one’s parents outlast their children, it is very tragic. With the high costs of funerals and the trauma of one’s child passing before them, Mitchell’s family is in a time of need. If you would like to lend a helping hand to his family, please feel free to donate to a paypal dedicated to their family. All donations will go to supporting the cost of the funeral and to help the family with grief counseling.

Additionally, if you were a dear friend of Mitchell’s and would like to write something to his family and to pay your respects, we are putting together a nice card to send them. If you would like to contribute please email your write up to cf.15094 [at] gmail.com. Your writing can be as short as a few sentences or as long as a couple paragraphs.

Today we get to show off one of the most critical skills in the Firearms: Source line up: Field Medicine. Before we get down to the juicy details however, a word or two about where we stand in terms of development. Under ideal circumstances we would love nothing more than to have already released FAS 2.0 by this point, but we want to make every effort to pack this Steam release full of top-quality features that improve the user experience and generally add a layer polish to the game that far outstrips our past versions. In addition to this we have been developing with a rather tight team as of late and could use more skilled hands to expedite this release. If you are interested in helping out, be sure to read the Help Wanted section below. With that being said, FAS 2.0 is nearing the point where we can finally bring in players for large scale stress testing. A few things are still pending completion so that the new testers can give us the feedback we need, but we feel that we can finish these tasks within a month or so. Rest assured that we will keep you all updated as to when we will be bringing in testers.

Stop and I’ll Treat You

The Medic skill has received quite a few interesting changes, not necessarily to the number of abilities a medic can use, but rather to the mechanics of how they are used. As we have disclosed briefly on the forums, “Treating” or healing a player has undergone significant changes since the last update. One of the more visible problems with the previous implementation of the skill was the propensity for medics to clump together in order to treat one injured player up to 100 health as fast as possible, presenting an incredibly easy target. In some cases a single soldier could be injured behind cover and as many as three medics might rush into the line of sight to heal him over and over again. Similarly, a number of players would grab the medic skill simply to heal themselves back to full health without any incentive to aid their team, conserving bandages for personal use only.

The new treating system now allows a medic to heal allies a single time for a set amount as in 1.0, but also applies a gradual regeneration effect which persists until they either take damage or reach full health again. Players with Field Medic can still treat themselves for the initial bonus as before, but will only regenerate if operated on by another medic. In addition to the initial point reward for healing an ally, a small amount of score is awarded for every point of health the target regenerates after the fact. This incentivizes medics to protect those that they have just treated in order to receive the full benefit for their bandages, and allows critically wounded players to eventually reach full health again without constant attention and expenditure on the part of the medic. It’s no longer necessary, for instance, to follow around seriously injured players, repeatedly bandaging them rather than completing objectives or seeking out new patients. The Hospice Flag is still present in 2.0, but now it also doubles the speed at which players restore health after treatment as well as the potency of the initial heal, making well-placed hospices a critical element in treating injured teammates back to full health and returning them to the front lines as fast as possible.

We have also altered a few of the mechanics of how bandages are supplied with regard to common confusions and awkward design inherent in the 1.0F system. For one, players unfamiliar with Firearms often didn’t know to load out with bandages and were loathe to spend their credits on something of unclear worth, so they would frequently bleed to death without grasping the importance of the item. Similarly, the individual bandage pickups used on many of our maps were only rarely available when people actually needed them, as a single player passing by could remove them from play for the next 30-60 seconds even if they had no real need for them. To fill this role more effectively, we’ve taken inspiration from our ammo crates and introduced the new medical supply crates that you may have seen in some of the recent gameplay footage. As this effectively grants players in the vicinity an infinite supply of bandages given enough time, we’ve reduced the overall number of bandages players can carry and removed them as a loadout item. All players now automatically receive 2 bandages upon spawn, with each level of Medic increasing how many you spawn with and can carry, capping out at a total of 7 for Medic III. For use on the front lines and in remote locations far from supply crates, Hospice Flags now slowly resupply bandages to players in their radius as well.

• Medic I
  • +1 Bandages
  • +20HP Initial Health Boost upon Treating Wounds
  • Health Regeneration upon Treating Teammates Wounds
• Medic II
  • +3 Bandages
  • +35HP Initial Health Boost upon Treating Wounds
  • Health Regeneration upon Treating Teammates Wounds
  • Treats Broken Legs
• Medic III
  • +5 Bandages
  • +35HP Initial Health Boost upon Treating Wounds
  • Health Regeneration upon Treating Teammates Wounds
  • Treats Broken Legs
  • Hospice Flag: Doubles initial heal boost and health regeneration speed. Resupplies bandages for teammates.

Bringing Back Classics

One of our main goals with Firearms: Source 2.0 is to improve the quality of all of our content, which includes updating our older weapon models to new higher standards. When it came time to touch up the existing Chang Feng (CF-05) SMG, it was apparent that the model would have to be recreated from scratch for any appreciable boost in quality. While this isn’t an absolute dealbreaker, if possible the time spent recreating it would be better rewarded elsewhere. It was apparent that we needed a different gun to fill the same role – one that could be made to our new visual standards without beginning from the ground up. For many Firearms veterans, the answer to this dilemma is probably already starting to take shape: “Bring back the Bizon!”

The PP-19 Bizon shares numerous parts and behavior with the modular AKM system that we have recently created for all of 2.0′s Kalashnikov variants, so the obvious choice was to fill in the missing pieces and bring back the old FA classic. Gameplay changes would obviously have to be made to accommodate for the Bizon’s 64 round helical magazine (a significant 14 more rounds per magazine than the CF-05) but this was helped somewhat by its lower rate of fire at 700 rpm as opposed to the Chang Feng’s 800 rpm. For those who enjoyed the CF-05′s unique style, you need not worry, as we do plan to bring it back after our initial release. For now, all praise the Bizon in all of its beautiful bullet-hosing glory, now featuring an optional suppressor and aimpoint courtesy of our attachment system!

Help Wanted

While we continue to chug along with the development of FAS 2.0, we could still use additional help in a few departments such as Programming, Level Design, and Audio Engineering. Most immediately we are seeking programmers who have a strong background with the Source SDK and C++ programming. We have a handful of remaining FAS features that need to be implemented, and you will be working alongside our existing programmers so they can help you get familiar with the code base. Level Designers should ideally have a few years of level design experience and be comfortable with Hammer 4.0. We have some wonderful environment artists that have been pumping out a wealth of beautiful content that is looking for a home in some FAS levels. If you are interested in helping us get FAS 2.0 out faster to Steam, please head over to our Jobs page.

Importance Of Particle Effects

If you look around while playing a game, you may not notice just how important particle effects are. The sand blowing across the ground as you cross a desert, the dust floating through a beam of light, or the smoke floating out of the barrel of a gun, while it may not be quite so obvious, particle effects are a major contributor to a gameplay experience. A game could have great models, maps, and sounds, but if the effects aren’t up to par, then the whole thing falls flat. Particle effects can give life to environments, enhance an atmosphere, and add impact and intensity to a player’s actions.

One major setbacks that a lot of Source mods suffer from is the lack of a dedicated effects artist. Either the developers underestimate the importance of particle effects, or they are simply too lazy to go out and look for somebody who’s good at making them. Usually they either use default source effects, or rely on another member of the team who has limited knowledge of the particle editor to make a few effects. This usually ends up with a mod that still can’t shed some of the Source engine’s 2004 look. Luckily, Firearms: Source will have a full set of brand new effects to replace all of Source’s dated defaults. New explosions, new muzzleflashes, new impact effects, and much much more.

Designing The Effects

Knowing how to use the particle editor is different than knowing how to make a particle effect, similar to how knowing how to use a pencil is different from knowing how to draw. Source’s particle editor is relatively easy to use, but if you don’t know what makes for a good effect, then you’re better off not using it at all.

When I’m given an effect to make, the first thing I do is look up reference. Starting a particle effect without any reference is just as bad as making a model without any reference. If the effect isn’t something that you can find reference for, then drawing up concepts and looking at inspiration is just as useful. However, unlike modeling, you won’t be making a perfect copy of your reference, and so you look more at the general picture of what the effect should be, rather than the finite details. You look at the most important and obvious aspects of what your reference, such as the general shape, how long it lasts, how quickly it moves, things like that.

Getting The Effects In Game

Once you know what your effect is, and what you want it to look like, you need to consider what kind of effect it’s going to be. The three big things you have to take into account are looks, functionality, and optimization.

You always want your effects to look good, but you might have to sacrifice a bit of visual flare in order to keep it functional and optimized. Functionality means that the effects serve the purpose that they were made for, in other words, you could have a muzzle flash that looks good and is well optimized, but if it blocks your view every time you fire, then it isn’t very functional. Lastly, if an effect appears very often, then you’ll want to make sure it’s well optimized, while if the effect is more rare or a one time thing, then you can add a couple hundred extra particles into it to make it look better.

Some other important things to keep in mind, you always want to make sure each effect is distinct and easily recognizable. Making a lot of unique effects not only helps you recognize what’s going on around you, but it adds a lot of visual excitement to the situation. You also want to make sure that the effects themselves have some nice texture to them. Giving it a lot of variety in the sprites it uses, having various ways the different particles move and interact with the world, it all helps to make the effect feel more natural and dynamic. One thing that can help you with this is to make your own sprite textures. A lot of the time I’ll see mods using nothing but the default sprite materials for the particles, and while some of them can be quite useful, you’re really limited with what you can make. One more important thing to keep in mind is that, especially when making quicker effects such as muzzleflashes, milliseconds can really matter. Sometimes, if you distance when a couple particles emit by a mere fraction of a second, it can really improve the feel of how the effect flows. Usually you can figure this out just by trial and error, pushing one part of the particle system to emit just a moment later or earlier can make a big difference.

Becoming An Effects Designer

If you have an interest in effects design, here are some tips. First of all, never be afraid to experiment. Even if you think you know your way around a particle editor, there can be many other ways to create effects that you would never think of. You can oftentimes find a way to make the particles act in a totally new way. Also, other games can be a huge source of inspiration. Take a look at a game with particle effects that you think look good and try to break down the effect, and see how they made it. Then, when you go off to make your own effects, you can try to replicate what worked so well in that game.

Lastly, always keep your eyes open. I often find myself simply staring at fountains in parks or clouds in the sky, asking myself how I could replicate that in a game. Just look at everything around you, because you never know what could inspire you from what you see.

I can’t wait till you guys get to experience these effects firsthand!

Howdy, loyal FAS fans! Excuse us for the extremely long delay for this news post but our only carrier pigeon got tangled in the barbed wire. More accurately, I think trying to get video coverage for each news post is simply too much overhead for us to handle right now when we also have to focus on developing the game. For the next few updates you can expect more pretty non-moving pictures with descriptions and we’ll save full videos for special occasions and features that make the best use of the format. Today we’ll be showcasing the Gunnery skill and a whole family of Sterling variants as well as giving a little insight into how these different versions behave relative to one another.

Gunnery 2.0 Changes

Among the benefits of Gunnery from 1.0f, we were quite happy with the faster reload speeds, draw times, and holster times, as these were a great help and to the player and effectively portray a proficiency in weapon handling. However, the deployable ammo cache granted by the third tier of Gunnery was an item that very few people were inclined to use. One of the difficulties with the Ammo Cache was that players had to be relatively stationary to retrieve ammo from it, and had to focus on the box while holding the use key to do this, leaving them exposed and defenseless. This didn’t prove to be as intuitive as we had pictured, and the spare magazine supply of the caches was rarely exhausted. Additionally, placing the box on the ground meant that players had to be within arm’s reach to supply one another – an awkward tactical misstep if ever there was one.

Taking these issues into consideration, we redesigned the Ammo Cache so that its FAS 2.0 incarnation is far more lightweight and mobile. The caches now automatically refill a player’s ammo when within their radius proximity for 20 seconds, and are thrown a short distance rather than dropped when deployed, allowing the user to lob them over cover or out of windows without exposing themselves. Even observed from our internal testing, the third tier of Gunnery has proven to be much more simple and effective to use, which naturally means it is used more often by members of a team as well. Even still, a common trend of players only using the first tier of the skill in their loadouts persisted from earlier versions, meaning the second tier wasn’t attractive enough to entice them. We’ve shored up the second tier benefits FAS 2.0 by allowing it to grant players an extra pair of magazines, which is all the more effective in light of 2.0′s lowered magazine counts on the majority of weapons – a step taken to encourage more diverse loadouts and better use of mechanics like ammo boxes and caches from Gunnery.

With all of these changes we believe that Gunnery can finally hold its own when matched evenly against the other skill trees. It mixes several very beneficial selfish skills with a critical team support ability for players who are constantly pushing forward and dumping ammo.

Gunnery I

• +25% Faster Reload Speed
• +25% Faster Weapon Handling Speed (Bolting & Pumping)

Gunnery II

• +50% Faster Draw and Holster Speed
• +2 Extra Magazines

Gunnery III

• Ammo Cache: Deployable ammo box to resupply ammo for 20 seconds

Sterling & Variants

While the more astute of you may notice that we have showcased a screenshot or two of the Sterling sub-machine gun in a past update, we’re finally able to dedicate an update to showing off the dynamics of its different variants: the L2A3, L34A1, and Mk.7A4. The L2A3 is the standard Sterling configuration, with a slow firing rate compared to other SMG’s and a higher magazine capacity of 34 rounds. It fires a 9x19mm Parabellum round, which paired with its lower cyclic rate makes for a very reliable, easily controlled weapon. The Sterling’s role in Firearms Source makes it ideal for medium range combat rather than the usual CQC, though it remains quite proficient for that as well. With a further effective range than any of the competition, it’s a weapon that you can count on to gun down those mid-range targets with maximum efficiency.

The L34A1, the Sterling’s integrally suppressed brother, operates very similarly to the L2A3. It shares the same ammo capacity and rate of fire but makes use of its internal suppressor to dampen the report of its subsonic ammunition, rendering it very hard to detect especially in the heat of battle. In order to keep a good balance between the L34A1 and the common Sterling, the damage output of the L34A1 is somewhat lower to compensate for its effectiveness as a covert weapon. Even so, the L34A1 provides for an ideal stealth SMG for getting behind enemy lines.

Alternatively, players looking for a cheap Personal Defense Weapon may be inclined to pick up the Mk.7A4 Sterling Para Pistol. The para pistol’s shortened barrel and low cost lends itself to a compact PDW role. It can be easily carried alongside an expensive primary and still packs a significant punch at decent range compared to the lower effective distance of other PDW’s. One the primary drawbacks to the Mk.7A4 is a smaller magazine, limiting the weapon to only 15 rounds, easily expended on automatic. While the Mk.7A4′s slow ROF helps to make every bullet count, its user will need the aim to land the majority of these in order to make the best use of it.

New Positions Available

The FAS Development Team is looking for a VGUI Programmer to help us code in our new and fairly complex User Interface. We have designed a custom “Armory” menu section for players to browse and choose weapons before entering a server to ease the User Experience of FAS. However, for this task we are currently down to a Gameplay Programmer who is still working hard on the mechanics of FAS, so we would like to bring aboard someone who can focus on the programming of our User Interface. The candidate must be proficient with C++ and the Source SDK. Knowledge of Valve’s Graphical User Interface is definitely a plus. If you are interested in the position, please check out our Jobs page.

In addition to the VGUI Programmer, we are also looking for an Environment Sound Designer. As an Artist here, you’ll create with level designers and sound designers in devising original soundscapes. Source Engine knowledge: Not Required.  Jobs page.

FAS is introducing a new gamemode for version 2 called Assault. Like the current Push game mode this game mode involves push points but the similarities end there. There is an attacking team and a defending team, only the attacking team may capture points and the defending team may not recapture lost points.

After set time intervals the attacking team takes a negative reinforcement hit for each uncaptured push point. This is intended to encourage the attacking team to attack because if they turtle they will lose from reinforcement drain. When the attacking team does capture a point, they receive a large reinforcement bonus, further incentive to keep pushing.

Obviously a scoring system alone does not mandate how the player will actually play the game. To do that you design your level with the intended gameplay in mind. I’ll share some considerations and tips that will hopefully help our community mappers author AS maps.

Layout and Spawn Placement

My philosophy when designing an AS map is to consider the map a series of mini levels. Each focusing on a specific conflict.

There should be ample focus on the point of conflict for each AS point. You need to make sure that both teams have a similar travel time to the current AS point so that it isn’t too easily captured yet isn’t a stalemate. This design consideration infers that progressive spawns are absolutely necessary. In fact I would go so far as to say a separate set of spawns for each AS point is required.

In the case of AS_Caliber, I’ve been tweaking the spawn positions each test by a few meters at a time to try to get the right feel of intense conflict at each AS point. I’m quite happy with the current results but every once in a while you do get a stalemate. Fixing this in the level design by introducing cover, new routes, and restricting positions the defending team can turtle from are all important but I’ve recently been considering introducing another tool to keep the game fluid:

I’ve been thinking about having 3 sets of defending spawns per point attached to a timer. For the first 3 mins the defending team spawns at the closest point which has a slight distance advantage over the attacking team. This is followed by the defending team spawning further away from the AS point at 3 mins then finally spawning even further away at around 6 mins. At that point the attacking team has a significant distance advantage (30-50 meters).

Here’s the Pros/Cons to doing this that I can see:

Pros

Prevents quick caps at the start of the game when teams are possibly not organized.
Prevents snowball capping (when a team caps then caps again while the defending team is just getting their bearings)
Should reduce long stalemates

Cons

It could be interpreted that this punishes the defending team for playing well.
If the defending team spawns too far away at 6 mins then they are practically giving away the point.

Further Thoughts

There are things I could do to alleviate the negative effects of the cons. The most obvious being that I need to make sure that the attacking team has a deficit on reinforcements if they don’t capture an AS point within the 6 mins it takes to push the defending team completely back.

Post comments regarding your thoughts on this system. I’m interested to know if you think this will help or hurt gameplay. I’m interested in both a public user and clanner perspective.

Conflict Point Design Considerations

When designing AS points try to keep a few things in mind:

Don’t provide a clear view for snipers or suppressive fire onto the capture point

If you do this, you are pretty much ensuring that a well coordinated team will dominate at that point. If they can snipe, MG, and throw grenades into the capture area all day then there’s little you can do besides try to cut around the side and clean out their nest. A well coordinated team will be able to prevent this from happening.

Don’t box in the capture point

On the other end of the spectrum is capture points that are too boxed in. Examples of this would be a small garage with 2 points of entry (the garage door and a small door somewhere else). This point is susceptible to many things including fragmentation grenades and flashbang grenades. The absolute worst culprit is the claymore. If you have limited access to the capture zone then the defending team can simply cover all entrances with claymores. The extra care you have to take to maneuver around them gives the defending team a large advantage.

Designing a point in AS_Caliber

Here is how I’ve set up the 3rd AS point in AS_Caliber. As you can see it is protected from sniper fire by being a fairly guarded building, that said the capture zone is wide open inside to prevent people from grenade spamming. There are too many places to hide in the capture room to be exploitable by grenade spam.

There are currently 3 major points of entry for the attacking team that split into 4 paths of entry into the capture zone when in the building. It’s quite possible that the defending team could put claymores on all the entry points and hold down the map too easily. I will be keeping my eye on this in our testing sessions. If this does make defending too easy I will be looking at ways to incorporate a wide entrance into the building that which would be more resistant to claymore exploitation.

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions on how to tailor a map to further fit the AS game mode post int he comments and let me know