Hunt: Showdown 1896

Simon Verrelst

This post outlines my contributions across several Hunt: Showdown updates, from 1.9 (Serpent Moon) to 2.2 (Post Malone's Murder Circus). My role involved owning features, implementing gameplay systems, designing weapons, refactoring core mechanics, and addressing balance challenges using data driven approaches.

1.9 | Serpent Moon

Contributed to event gameplay design for the Serpent Moon event:

  • Snake Baskets: Designed and implemented logic, including scripting behaviour and animations for the snake basket event prop.
  • Snake Altars: Implemented interactable altars, where players could sacrifice their collected snakes into event points progressing their battle pass.

1.10 | Stalker Beetle

  • Weapon System Onboarding: Learned Hunt's weapon systems to prepare for designing weapons in update 1.11.
  • Bug Fixing & Support: Addressed bugs in codebase and visual scripting, solving long existing workflow issues with some of our internal tools.

1.11 | Devil's Moon

Served as feature owner for multiple weapons and contributed to event gameplay design, introducing the Pacts system.

  • Pledge System & Ballot Boxes: Contributed to event design, implementing Ballot Boxes for players to pledge to Pacts and gain unique traits.
  • Soul Traps: Designed and implemented collectible Soul Traps event prop.
  • Springfield 1892 Krag: Owned design and implementation, a balanced high fire rate bolt action weapon, focusing on smooth multi-bullet reloads.
  • LeMat Mark II Carbine: Adapted existing LeMat pistol logic for this rifle variant, balancing versatility with increased reload times.
  • Martini Henry Ironside: Balanced this repeating rifle via a slow, visually distinct reload process.
  • Winfield 1876 Centennial Trauma: Implemented this blunt melee variant, adding a unique heavy attack and adjusting damage to fit intended balance.

1.12 | Gator Frenzy

  • Lootable Saddles: Led design and implementation of lootable saddles, including saddlebags and weapon holsters, requiring logic for attaching items to animated entities.
  • Centennial Variants: Implemented the Centennial Shorty and Shorty Silencer, balancing stats and implementing weapon logic and animations

1.13 | Tide Of Shadows

  • Event Gameplay Feature Owner: Extended the event system to support multiple traits per Pact. Redesigned the event collectable turning it into the Ship Altars.
  • Ammo Resupply Rework: Overhauled ammo resupply system to fixed amounts per type, using data analysis to drive balancing.
  • New Items & Weapons: Implemented deployable Tool Box & Medical Pack. Designed and implemented The Drilling. This weapon required striking a fine balance and its damage output and fire rate.

1.14 | Tide Of Corruption

Focused on future content for tide of desolation while implementing these pieces:

  • Vetterli 71 Karabiner Cyclone: Owned design and implementation, balancing high fire rate against reduced ammo count and damage.
  • System Onboarding: Onboarded other technical designers onto the event gameplay systems.

1.15 | Tide Of Desolation

  • Weather System Refactor & Ash Bloom: Refactored weather system allowing for seamless weather transitions; implementing the Ash Bloom weather condition.
  • Drilling Variants: Designed and implementing Drilling Compact and Hatchet variants.
  • Progression Rework: Collaborated on merging existing traits and designed a trait deprecation/refund system with backend engineers.

1.16 | Desolation's Wake

Engine Migration: Served as a Technical Designer for CryEngine 5.11 migration, handling and initial feature development on the new engine version.

2.0 | Scorched Earth

Major overhaul update with large systemic changes and new gameplay features:

  • Fall Damage Refactor: Led rebuild of fall damage system for improved consistency and design flexibility.
  • New World Elements: Implemented Beartraps, Bats and Cows.
  • Engine Port Support: Continued support and bug fixing during the engine upgrade.

2.1 | Harvest of Ghosts

Introduced a new game mode and extraction system improvements:

  • Bounty Clash Game Mode: Co-owned design and implementation of bounty clash game mode, developing core game mode logic and tools for level designer iteration.
  • Extraction System Refactor: Overhauled extraction system to support bounty clash and future mechanics.

2.2 | Post Malone's Murder Circus

This update introduced a large-scale event and gameplay features:

  • Balance Changes: Contributed to general balance adjustments on AI ang weapons.
  • Enhanced Ear Ringing System: Worked on expanding the ear ringing system (more triggers, varying intensity, bug fixes).
  • Shredder & Event Content Support: Supported implementation of the Shredder event weapon and assisted with other Murder Circus content.

This period was a dynamic phase in Hunt: Showdown's development, involving a wide array of game design challenges – from implementing intricate event mechanics and numerous weapons to overhauling fundamental systems, navigating a major engine upgrade, launching a new game mode.