Remaster? what, why ?
[p]In 2020 together with Wired Productions I released the Falconeer , my breakout solo developed game. And by all accounts it did really well, it even got nominated for a BAFTA and it was a Xbox Series Launch title.That last bit is important, cuz being required to Simship (that's an actual gamebiz word) Xbox and PC at the same time, during a pandemic isn't a Zen place to be. Every release is horror, but this one was pretty bad by every account.
And let's be honest the PC launch suffered in many ways, some my own mistakes biting me, some consequences of releasing a indie console launch title in a week where both Xbox and Playstation where launching their next gen.
But that is one part of this story, a chance at doing it better, the other part is that the Falconeer is a game about me, it is a deeply personal game related to mental health issues, burnout, conflict, anger and trying to escape the prisons we create for ourselves. You know, flying off into the sunset and all that... in 2024 I released Bulwark that was catered to steam, evolved with steam players over a year of playtesting and now nearly 18 months of solid post-release content and improvement.
But it also left me a bit burned out, dealing with the games industry in 2023, 24,25 isn't great, you open up any industry news and it's not been happy reading. In 2023 my Dad also passed which didn't help either. So in the evenings of doing my dreamjob of making videogames, I spend my free time making a video game... again.
I was relaxing by taking bits of Bulwark and sticking them into the Falconeer. Cuz that is my happy place. This has gotten a bit out of hand in '25 and at some point I was juggling two games and bringing improvements from Falconeer back into Bulwark and back and forth.
But damn if it wasn't good, if it felt like I was finally making the Falconeer that was stuck under all that stress and obligation.
And so here we are... and damned If I didn't have a deadline , the 5 year anniversary of the Falconeer in November 2025. [/p]
What is in this Remaster
[p]Well it is literally everything, I've ripped apart nearly every system. It's still the Falconeer underneath but it's also not. Lets look at a picture, cuz that tells one part of the story. [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36149018/e1d2ae1d91b290c215b0532f5161778e15f5e92e.jpg"][/img]Let's not beat about the bush, I am blazing with pride for this new Remaster, it looks insane. And it's been insane because not only did remake the warbirds and their animations, remade every location in the game, large and small... I also redid some of the core tech that is driving this textureless bonanza. There are now dynamic lights , you can see your tracer fire light up the environment, it's a proper spectacular game now. The Falconeer was one man striving 5 years to make epic from the ground up, the Remaster is one man taking 10 years of Solodev and pouring it all into making it epic. [/p]Pretty pictures aside, is it better?
[p]Well thats up to you to decide, but this Beta that starts today is also important cuz I need feedback. But to prepare for that feedback, here's a few things from the long list of what's been done.1. Improved flight controls, animations and collisions. Yes all that lovely detail required the already very coarse collision system to be reworked and deliver a flying experience where you can go thru all of those arches. At the speeds and size of the world, there are always going to be collision failures, but this area has received a lot of love and attention. Flying the bird should feel smoother than ever, faster and more responsive.
2. Balances and changes to escort missions and those idle downtimes. Yes escorts by en large are shorter and outside of escorts most sections allows fast travel. Chapter 1 fights especially have also been made larger and more epic, bringing you quicker into the good stuff. Enemy AI isn't as dumb and will try to avoid obstacles and fight lower if possible. More zooming thru the rocks where possible. The easy, hard and hardcore game settings have rebalanced hopefully giving folks wanting a quicker run of the game a good time. I will be listening closely to any mission sections that can be cut or cleaned out more. Balance feedback is my nr 1 request from this Beta.
3. A filled up world [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36149018/ff255e6adb50a817c38ed15951d8cd485b219c8b.png"][/img]Well the Ursee will always have its haunting and lonely moments, but when you hit upon those cities and fortresses, empty should not be a word on your lips. Bar any AAA outing , this should be the most detailed flying experience (featuring giant birds) out there. But there is a bit more news here.
4. Edge of the World content now included in the base game. [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36149018/ccfac9ae2d82343cae4dde43ddd97eed9b0378f5.png"][/img]The Edge of the World DLC that contained 3 new minicampaigns, pteron and fenix mounts/classes and some sidecontent is now rolled into the base game. And this content has also been brought up to the Remaster Quality levels (as you can see here with the Mogress Mawspring).
5. The elephant called MKB controls[/p][p]Let me be blunt when the PC version launched I initially did not want to support Mouse and Keyboard controls, this is and forever will be a retro style 'stick flyer' but I relented and made several options, some were liked (after post release improvements) some where not. I made mistakes here. Initially I was going to make the remaster controller only, but instead I chose to actually take the control scheme with the most potential and spend considerable time in crafting one single mbk control system (not 3 like before) and polishing it properly.
I am very uncertain about this, but I feel this is the best one I made and it gives more or less the same vibes as the controller system. Some of the jank with orbiting the camera and tracking targets have been removed and some the acrobatics split up with seperatea WASD controls for rolling/strafing left and right and diving and boosting up. I am very curious to hear if I fucked up or did good, is it super conventional? hell no, but it's got some the love and time it deserves.
6. New content? [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36149018/69e1a1a1f0e2f7258076434e8da76810d4c4b817.png"][/img]Well I am not going to make that mega breakdown yet, but there's a lot to see. The core game is identical, but there are now cosmetic armor sets to acquire for your bird, Wired Productions is in the midst of recording more Voice acting for the remaster and the locations you might have visited have all been substantially expanding. Some lore issues have been fixed and some lore has been ret-conned into Falconeer.
You will even see some settlements change a bit chapter to chapter. There are tiny details for the sharp eyed, new clues as to how and why things happened , dotted around the landscape. Take Northgate for instance now a unique place with a relic sized curtain wall, few things are as they were. That's all the tease for now, because anyone owning the game can go and try the Beta now. [/p]
The Beta
[p]Well I have been handing out the closed beta on the discord for quite some time, and I will be developing and improving right up and beyond release. the Falconeer can expect more work for the foreseeable future. But the next few weeks anyone can load it up that already owns the game, just go to game properties/betas and select the remaster. [/p][p]Thet beta will run up to november 5th when everyone can try and buy the Remaster as it will replace the legacy edition. The VR version is not (yet) getting the remaster but will remain as a legacy launch option. [/p]What's next?
[p]This Remaster is launching as a free update for every steam user. There will also be a promotional steam events around the 5th and the 10th, so if you don't own the Falconeer, hold off till then and be sure to get a good deal. But this does mean that this a pure passion project, it's not here to milk wishlist or run up the Steam Charts, it simply cannot do that anymore. It's here because I want it to be here, I want all my games and this entire universe to reach a certain standard and be a 'whole'. Not some sequentially released games, left to be abandoned and left to dust.So if you buy the Falconeer or Bulwark, you know they are good recent versions that have received love and care and your feedback has to the best of my limited abilities been heard, digested and often integrated. I have not even had the time to make any supporter DLC to support this release, it's just here a free update and the existing big DLC rolled into it. Try and supporting this franchise by leaving a supportive review or following my steam developer page [/p][p]https://store.steampowered.com/developer/TomasSala[/p][p]And let me know if you enjoyed the game, if you felt it sucked or could do better., I am here to prove that that your compliments and enjoyment keeps me going, and your feedback and warranted critiques keep me up at night. ;) ooh and all the sales of the Remaster that do happen, you can bet your ass, that money is going into keeping me aflioat, making the third game in this sequence a ship-design and open world adventure called "ancient waves" and more updates for Bulwark and Falconeer. [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36149018/7626e2794f03dcc33453f44a569905f6be8d54a6.png"][/img]Cheerio, Tomas.. [/p]
