Welcome to the frabjously fraujuless weekly update!
We have screenshots again!
Also, today we answer your burning and sore DETOUR questions to provide, cool, soothing relief. Warning: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. Sandswept Studios is not intended to treat or cure any disease or condition. We just make fun video games.
Shinier Stuff Ahead
Geoff has been working hard to get the website working nicely and running more smoothly than it has been. He’s wearing a HAZMAT suit and up to his knees in the shambles that was the old website right now. But, after doing some digging, he was able to recover some DETOUR screenshots for you! Don’t let anyone ever tell you that Thomar doesn’t keep his promises to the community when he takes credit for other peoples’ work!
You can see our screenshots by clicking on this link. (Hey, is that some sort of box art on that page?)
We’re not really sure what this is, but you know when the design director is acting like a giddy schoolgirl, something cool is going on and you should heed his words. His… Giddy schoolgirl words.
Thomar’s FAQs Machine
…where “Frequently Asked” means “asked once or twice by random forum members in this forum thread that you should ask your DETOUR questions at.”
John Brown - How long can we expect an fierce multiplayer game to last?
A fierce multiplayer battle against another player or several players is the core of DETOUR. However, we have a lot of different gametypes to choose from. For example, the survival modes will last forever if you and your friends are really really good at the game. The type of gameplay we’re focusing on and that we want you to get addicted to is the head-to-head truck scoring. You try to get three trucks across the board, and prevent your opponent from doing the same.
Our playtests have shown that with default settings, the average head-to-head game is about 10 minutes. It’s not long enough for you to get bored. And it’s not so short that you can’t get down to some serious trash-talking. Some games can go a lot longer, and some can end a lot sooner, depending on who you’re playing, how you play, and how much caffeine is in your system. For any sort of matchmaking or ranked matches (i.e. non-player/custom games), a time limit would likely be enforced.
Entropius - So… when can we expect release? :D
We’ll be announcing a release date soon. We can only say “soon” for so long until soon actually rolls around. DETOUR will be completed this year.
Chiswyck - What is the maximum amount of players in an intense multiplayer match?
The default multiplayer mode is two (2) to four (4) players (henceforth referred to as “players”), for very good reasons (i.e., just trust us on this one.)
One good reason is space. The board is square. There are four sides to a square board. We know from long, personal experience that most gamers are inherently selfish. Therefore, you probably don’t want to have to share your side of the board with an opponent. It doesn’t leave much elbow room.
Another problem is how chaotic it can get. With four players, a game of DETOUR is crazy. Things get blown up. Trucks are launched with nary a hope of making it across the board. Beautiful architecture is marred. People cry (I didn’t cry of course.) If we let 6 or 8 players in a game, DETOUR would be sure to spark a civil war or two.
Vokes - Do you think there’s going to be a sequel to DETOUR?
Short answer: No, not really, no.
Long answer: Actually, [-sweep!-]
Maybe in another weekly update…
Vokes - How long do you think the main campaign is going to be for DETOUR? Are there going to be online co-op modes? Are there going to be certain difficulties?
DETOUR’s singleplayer is broken up into 27 Challenges. One purpose of the challenges is to teach you how to play DETOUR. The primary purpose of the challenges, however, is to captivate you, shock you with awe, and take you through the emotional rollercoaster that is the road construction slash truck delivery slash competitive corporate combat business. You may cry. I can’t remember if I did or not the first time I played through them.
The challenges are structured so that they get progressively more difficult as you play them. This gentle learning curve (WARNING: CURVES AHEAD) lets you learn DETOUR at your own pace. You hone your skills against computer opponents on simple maps, so eventually you’re ready to face other players online and make your own awesome maps in our map editor.
Vokes - Is there going to be a multiplayer feature where we can actually invite specific friends/people and set-up our own custom games?
Yes! DETOUR is all about customizing the way you want to play! We will be expanding on specifics later, but we can assure there will be a good deal of ‘tweaks’ you can make to ensure the game plays the way you want it to play. This allows for those who like to goof around with crazy rules to play all crazy-like. On the flip-side, it also will allow players who think we didn’t make the rules ‘hardcore enough for hardcore players that are hardcore’ to get in their share of… hardcore.
Along with that, the map editor lets you create your own maps that you can play and share with your friends online (or locally, or across a LAN connection). If that’s not enough, you can always start up a game against AI opponents any time you please, or throw in AI opponents for you and some friends to beat up on or team up with. (Or in my case, get beat up by.)
So, thanks for all your questions! Keep asking with those inquisitive minds of yours, and don’t forget to follow our twitter account. Oh yeah, and keep on posting! We love you. Really. <3
Pardon our dust!