Ravenfield (video game)

Last updated

Ravenfield
Ravenfield Steam Cover.jpg
Designer(s) Johan "SteelRaven7" Hassel
Engine Unity 2020.3
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
Release
  • WW: 18 May 2017 (early access)
itch.io: 3 July 2016 (beta)
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Ravenfield is a single player, low poly first-person shooter game developed by Swedish programmer Johan Hassel, who goes by the pseudonym SteelRaven7. It was released on 18 May 2017 as an early access title for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Contents

Gameplay

The game incorporates ragdoll physics with many options to give users the ability to control the AI, including a 'battle plan', which allows players to select different capture points for their ai teammates to focus defending or attacking. Other options include game factors such as AI count, with no hard limit, although higher numbers of ai quickly hurt the game's performance. There is also customizable loadouts for both teams where you can choose which vehicles and weapons are usable for the player and ai. Ravenfield consists of multiple team game modes that revolve around capturing flags on a given map, and gaining points by killing members of the enemy team. The game is inspired by other multiplayer first-person shooter games such as Battlefield and Call of Duty . Modding is supported via the Steam Workshop, with community members designing their own maps, weapons, vehicles and accompanying lore.

A second mode, titled Conquest, combines the pre-existing elements of large-scale combat with turn-based strategy, similar to the Galactic Conquest mode seen in Star Wars: Battlefront II . Game levels are represented by tiles on the map, and each tile can hold up to three battalions. The objective of conquest mode is to capture the opposing team's headquarters. [1]

The campaign mode has since been released. Multiple updates have been made since Beta 5, introducing a wide variety of features and bugfixes. [2]

Plot

While Ravenfield has no plot per se, during the 2019 Halloween Event, SteelRaven7 hinted at the possibility of an underlying plot in the game. It is speculated that more will be revealed in future updates to the Conquest game mode.

In July 2020, an update was released overhauling the Spec Ops game mode. It also introduced the first named characters, TALON team. TALON team is a 4 man special forces unit in the Eagle Faction's army. Later in December of that year 2 new characters were added: The Advisor, a second in command to the player character, and EYES, a reconnaissance specialist who assists TALON with avoiding enemy patrols and locates objectives, in newer versions (Update EA27 and later) there is a test mission created by SteelRaven7 revealing 2 new characters, TALON-1 (the player character) and Rick, although it's not finished yet.

In July 2023, another update was released, adding a Story Mission map to the game, which is currently a published work in progress. [3]

Development

Ravenfield started out as an experiment with ragdolls and AI. [4] The beta version was released on itch.io on 3 July 2016. [5] The game was posted on Steam Greenlight on 1 February 2017, and was officially released as an early access title on 18 May. [6]

The current Ravenfield version is Early Access 29.

SteelRaven has been open on the official Ravenfield Discord Server, [6] with updates on his work and features to see. SteelRaven recently introduced a WIP story mission which incorporates the usage of Navmesh and level succession for the first time.

Reception

Christopher Livingston of PC Gamer called the game "glitchy” and "fun". [4]

The game boasts an "Overwhelmingly Positive" review score on Steam, [Note 1] [7] and a 4.8/5 on itch.io. [8]

Nathan Grayson of Kotaku criticized Ravenfield as "glitchy" and "barely functional in some places", but noted its ability to support a high number of computer-controlled players and expressed fascination with its good reception by players on Steam. The game supports Steam Workshop, and creators from the community have added new weapons, vehicles, maps, and features that add to and expand the game's vanilla feel, which was well received by players. [9]

Notes

  1. 34,070 reviews as of May 3, 2021

Related Research Articles

<i>Warzone 2100</i> 1999 video game

Warzone 2100 is an open-source real-time strategy and real-time tactics hybrid computer game, originally developed by Pumpkin Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation, and is now also available for macOS, FreeBSD, AmigaOS 4, AROS, MorphOS, Linux, NetBSD and OpenBSD.

<i>Team Fortress 2</i> 2007 video game

Team Fortress 2 (TF2) is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 Team Fortress mod for Quake and its 1999 remake, Team Fortress Classic. The game was released in October 2007 as part of The Orange Box for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360, and ported to the PlayStation 3 in December 2007. It was released as a standalone game for Windows in April 2008, and updated to support Mac OS X in June 2010 and Linux in February 2013. It is distributed online through Valve's digital retailer Steam, with Electronic Arts managing retail and console editions.

<i>Interstellar Marines</i> 2013 video game

Interstellar Marines is a science fiction first-person shooter video game being developed by indie studio Zero Point Software. It was added to Steam Greenlight on September 3, 2012 and later released on Steam Early Access on July 2, 2013.

<i>Cobalt</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Cobalt is an action side-scrolling video game developed by Oxeye Game Studio and published by Mojang Studios. It was released on 2 February 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and the Xbox One consoles.

<i>GunZ 2</i> 2011 video game

GunZ: The Second Duel is an online third-person shooting game created by South Korean-based MAIET Entertainment. It is the sequel to 2003's GunZ: The Duel. Gunz 2 began its first closed beta test in Korea in early 2011, however it has yet to be released. Gunz 2 is currently greenlit on Steam via its Greenlight program, and has entered into beta testing on February 17, 2014 via Steam Greenlight. The Steam version of Gunz 2 is available for international players, mainly in North America. The European version of Gunz 2 was hosted during its open beta phase by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. On 15 December 2014 the licensing agreement between MAIET Entertainment and Prosieben ended where MAIET opened a Steam server for the European region.

<i>Unturned</i> 2014 video game

Unturned is a free-to-play survival game by Smartly Dressed Games, a studio consisting solely of Canadian game designer Nelson Sexton. It was released for Windows, macOS, and Linux in July 2014. Unturned allows players to create custom maps using an in-game editor. Cosmetics and mods can also be created using the game's Unity engine, which allows them to publish creations on the Steam Workshop. A retail version of the game was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One by 505 Games in November 2020.

<i>Verdun</i> (video game) 2015 first-person shooter video game

Verdun is a squad-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War I. It was released on 28 April 2015 on Steam, after more than a year in Steam Early Access. The console versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released between August 2016 and June 2021.

<i>Running with Rifles</i> Tactical shooter game

Running with Rifles is a top down open world tactical shooter game published and developed by Osumia Games. It was developed by Pasi Kainiemi in Tampere, Finland and Jack Mayol in Stuttgart, Germany, working under the team name Modulaatio Games. The game is primarily voxel-based, with the map texturing done using "splat map" texture layering, and with the modeling being done with typically low-poly or simple .mesh files. Because of this, the game runs very well on old hardware, making it more accessible to more players.

<i>Cossacks 3</i> 2016 video game

Cossacks 3 is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It is a remake of the 2001 game Cossacks: European Wars and is once again set in 17th and 18th century Europe.

<i>PULSAR: Lost Colony</i> 2021 video game

PULSAR: Lost Colony is a science fiction space exploration video game being developed by independent developers Leafy Games, LLC. The video game was greenlit on Steam Greenlight on October 3, 2013, and was later funded successfully on Kickstarter on October 31, 2013. The game was released in an Alpha state on February 25, 2014, and was later available on Steam's Early Access program following an official release on June 23, 2021.

<i>Rivalry</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Rivalry is an upcoming ragdoll-based sword-fighting hotseat multiplayer game created by Kew McParlane. The game was released into Steam Early Access in January 2016 after being previewed as a WebGL game at PAX Australia 2015.

<i>Midair</i> (video game) 2018 video game

Midair is a free-to-play first-person shooter by Archetype Studios. The game emphasizes freedom of movement with jetpacks and skiing, while also featuring large open maps and vehicles. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4, and was released on May 3, 2018.

<i>Whos Your Daddy?</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Who's Your Daddy? is an online multiplayer parody simulation video game created by Joseph Williams under the name Evil Tortilla Games. The game raised $1,500 through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and was approved for release on Steam through Steam Greenlight. An early access version of the game was released December 23, 2015. The full game was released on May 13, 2016.

<i>Police Stories</i> 2019 video game

Police Stories is a 2019 top-down shooter video game developed by Mighty Morgan and published by HypeTrain Digital for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game follows a pair of police officers who come upon a major conspiracy.

<i>Rise of Industry</i> 2019 video game

Rise of Industry is a business tycoon game developed by Spanish indie team Dapper Penguin Studios and published by Kasedo Games. The game sees players build and manage their industrial empires as they attempt to grow and expand in the early 20th century.

<i>Forts</i> (video game) 2017 2D real-time strategy video game

Forts is a 2D real-time strategy video game developed and published by Australian studio EarthWork Games. It was released on April 19, 2017. Forts started development in March, 2003, as a game originally based on early bridge building games. Forts had sold over a million copies as of March 9, 2022. In Forts, the player builds a base, defends it, and acquires weapons through tech trees in an attempt to destroy the opponent's reactor.

<i>Stormworks: Build and Rescue</i> First person life simulation video game

Stormworks: Build And Rescue is a simulation video game developed and published by the British studio Geometa. The game was released as an early access title in February 2018 for Windows and Mac and is receiving frequent updates through Steam. The game left early access on September 17, 2020.

<i>Amid Evil</i> 2019 video game

Amid Evil is a first-person shooter video game developed by Indefatigable and published by New Blood Interactive. The game's dark fantasy theme, action-oriented gameplay, and retro-inspired visual elements have earned it frequent descriptions as a spiritual successor to 1994's Heretic and 1995's Hexen. A version for the Nintendo Switch is planned for release.

<i>Maximum Action</i> Video game

Maximum Action is an 2018 indie first-person shooter video game created by American developer George Mandell and self-published by Mandell under the name Balloon Moose Games. The game features gun fu, ragdoll physics, and player movement inspired by Hong Kong action cinema.

<i>Dustnet</i> 2019 video game

Dustnet is a 2019 asymmetrical, action, sandbox video game developed by Canadian studio SCRNPRNT. The game explores the theme of "dying" or disappearing multiplayer video games and their player bases, with the gameplay being set around a copy of the Dust II multiplayer map, originally created for Counter-Strike in 2001.

References

  1. "Conquest mode & Finishing Ravenfield 1.0". steamcommunity.com. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  2. "Ravenfield - June EA26 Mini-update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. "Ravenfield - EA27 - Story Mission Update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. 1 2 Livingston, Christopher (7 July 2016). "Ravenfield is a fun and free single-player Battlefield-style shooter". PC Gamer. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. "Ravenfield (Beta 5) by SteelRaven7". itch.io. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Steam Greenlight: Ravenfield". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  7. "Ravenfield on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  8. "Ravenfield (Beta 5) by SteelRaven7". itch.io. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  9. Grayson, Nathan (10 April 2017). "Steam Users Love Ravenfield, Even Though It's Pretty Glitchy". Kotaku. Retrieved 29 March 2018.