Development update #4: Weapons and Enemies

Development Update #4: Weapons and Enemies

Hi!

For those who don't know me, my name is Armin Ibrisagic and I work as a game designer at Coffee Stain Studios. Today I’ll be talking about weapons and enemies in Sanctum 2!

When we first set out to design the weapons in Sanctum 2, we knew that players would spend a lot of their time shooting at things. On one hand, we wanted to include some classic Sanctum weapons that our players loved such as the REX, but on the other hand, we also wanted to include new and unique weapons that haven’t been seen in any game yet such as the Voltaic Hand Cannon.

Early on in the design process, we felt that secondary fire should be more than just a slightly different way of doing the same thing with the same weapon. Because of this, skilled Sanctum 2 players will need to actively switch between weapons and firing modes to adapt to their situation, and the best players will adapt their maze layouts to the kind of weapon they’re using.

For example, the Voltaic Hand Cannon’s primary fire shoots an orb of lightning that pierces enemies in a straight line. This makes the weapon work great when used in synergy with a maze that encourages enemies to walk in long, straight lines. Its secondary fire shoots bigger orbs that are magnetically drawn to enemies, and works great when used against enemies that are fast and good at dodging your primary fire, but it lacks the penetration that the primary fire has. This gives the weapons in Sanctum 2 a deeper strategical purpose than they’ve had before, and it opens up for many exciting strategies.

Enemies – what’s new?

The biggest difference between Sanctum 1 and Sanctum 2 is that enemies are actually dangerous to the player now. In Sanctum 2, there will be both passive and aggressive enemies. Passive enemies will behave just like enemies did in Sanctum 1, and will run towards the core at any cost. Aggressive enemies however, will also run towards the core but will get very angry if you shoot at them, and might hold off attacking the core and instead chase after you and try to bash your head in. This will force Core Guardians to be more mobile, and will make players fear big mean enemies much more than before.

BOSSES!

In Sanctum 1, we felt that boss enemies were cool, but we wanted to make them much more badass. The bosses in Sanctum 2 are now absolutely terrifying. The Walker Patriarch boss for example, will shrug off bullets like they’re nothing, will crush you into pile of goo if you get too close, and, if he feels like it, he might smash the ground with all his force, creating a shockwave that instantly kills you and your allies. Boss encounters are rare in Sanctum 2, but when you actually encounter a boss, you’ll know that shit’s about to go down.

I’ll finish this update with another environment screenshot; this one is from the Rocky Fields area in Sanctum 2!

That’s all for this week, tune in again for more updates!

Kisses,

Armin Ibrisagic

@Arminposts