Perhaps, if you have to describe Steel Hunters in a nutshell, you'd come to the following definition: it's a hero PvPvE shooter with giant mechs battling in squads of 2 on a post-apocalyptic Earth they use as an arena. One of the key elements of this formula is our deviation from the classic player brawl towards the possibility of interacting not only with each other but with the surroundings. This includes our famous (and very satisfactory) destructibility and the new enemy to face - the Drones.

This rendition of the Forge article will address the past creative decisions behind the addition of the 'third power' to the mix and how we're going to progress further with our small enemies.

The "flying boxes"

First of all, it should be mentioned that the whole PvE component is closely connected to the Game Mode workstream which is tasked with organizing the sequence of events in the match. The key objective of the game mode is to ensure players have fun during the gaming session. 

To achieve this goal, we utilize in-game scenarios that lead to large-scale PvP battles. However, in order to avoid pushing players into never-ending intense combat pacing, it was necessary to come up with something that would help players ease into the gameplay gradually. For this purpose, the PvE element was devised.

At the very conception of the game, we understood that we needed some mechanism that would fulfill three major objectives:

1. Provide a way for players to earn resources during the match
2. Fill in the pauses between enemy encounters and encourage players to move and change locations
3. Give a comeback mechanism for Squads

The logical decision that would satisfy the first goal came in the form of the Loot Crates. They were hidden throughout the map and should have been enticing enough for Squads to search and...well, loot. This idea later transformed into the well-known Supply Pods that appeared from the sky, becoming magnets for Hunters and a source for first enemy encounters. Searching for boxes should pose some challenge; this way the first AI enemy had been born.

You might think that the initial inhabitants of our deserted Earth were the harmless Scout Drones. But, quite the contrary: the first ones to ever be introduced to the world turned out to be the Guard Drones. They were tasked with securing the Drop Pod locations and opening fire on anyone daring to claim the precious Consumables. 

To make the map more lived-in and Hunter paths more purposeful, we have added small and harmless Scout Drones. They also act as an additional source of Energy and Hunter progression in the match. Thus, we provide players with the opportunity to approach points of interest more strategically and make each battle at the Drop Pod unique.

The second issue was born from the fact that our maps are of considerable size, which often requires players to cover vast distances from one point of interest to another. Running from point to point is, of course, not as satisfying as destroying something in the process and receiving rewards. Moreover, if the drones are organized in a chain from one drop pod to another, and the Guards protecting the Drop Pod are noticeable from a distance, players subconsciously break down the full path into multiple points 'from A to B', gradually increasing the strength of their Hunter in the match.

Lastly, Drones that appear during battles allow outsiders to catch up. Enemies can easily defeat unlucky Squads who are in urgent need of a Repair Kit. On the other hand, Rare and Epic drones help acquire stronger Enhancement Cores and energy in order to increase one's advantage before the final battle.

Even psychologically, Drones are necessary to provide players with a sense of dominance between PvP battles against real players, who can become formidable opponents at various moments in the match.

Game Mode and PvE are ever-changing fields we work on to ensure an exciting player experience. Inevitably, we have tried to dabble in alternative game formulas, which later led to the so-called "Hunting Ground formula". We wanted to upgrade the existing Drone type and make a much more powerful foe to deal with (more on that later). But, regardless of the type of Drone you are dealing with, one thing remains unchanged: we needed to make lifeless floating machines move and act - which brings the topic of AI (artificial intelligence) to light.

It's Alive!

After a couple of matches, anyone can notice that various Drones behave differently to the approaching Hunter. At first, we made our newly-born enemies simple enough: they had a certain area of alertness and either fled or attacked if anyone crossed the perimeter. If you pair it up with the sudden appearance of the drones, which led to situations that the enemy spawned literally behind players' backs and started shooting, you'll get a recipe for disaster. And if you are new to Steel Hunters, that spoiled the fun even more. Such short notice was hard for players to act on, therefore, we elaborated on the mechanic by giving the Drones a bit of time for recognition in the form of scanning. That put the ball back into the player's court, allowing Squads to think whether they want to engage or flee.

The next evolutionary step in Drone AI was tricky but endearing: we added the reaction to the sound. As Steel Hunters utilizes a very elaborate sound design system, namely depth-based audio, we tied it to the Drones themselves, which helped to enhance the previous AI logic and solve some of the existing systems. Now, any Drone might hear your Hunters from afar - or the sound of the gunshots and destructions and react accordingly: Scouts try to flee from the distraction and Guards will come to investigate the commotion. And they don't spawn behind your backs anymore as well ????

The Drone aesthetics

While reading this, you might start wondering 'But why the Drones tho?'. We had the same question posed in front of us when we started working on the PvE component. From the get-go, we knew we wanted to create flying entities so they don't resemble walking Hunters and can be easily readable from afar. Moreover, floating would relieve us from potential troubles with animation and interaction with the environment, not to mention getting stuck somewhere in the corner. Another supporting point for the flying Drone is that it is a very common Sci-Fi trope that we already support through the game setting.

From the game design perspective, there have been clear requirements for the Drones size: neither too big nor too small to make the interaction, such as shooting or aiming, easy and understandable. Another prerequisite for the visual design was a legible and understandable silhouette that would change depending on the states, meaning when the Drone is about to attack you, you'll see the guns coming out and when the AoE is deployed, you will notice the rocket launchers coming up in the air. For the Scouts, their screens with faces serve the same purpose - they are surprised, scared and flee, etc.

Experimenting all the way

Throughout the whole process of PvE development, we witnessed various concept stages and did a whole lot of trial and error things. Initially, we planned to make a great range of various drone types with a set of different sizes and functionalities in a long run: Scout Drones, Guard Drones, Mule Drones, Starfall Gatherers, etc.

We started with simple iterations based on the existing needs, and over time, all additional options got scrapped mostly due to the inability to implement the required gameplay (namely, different navigation systems, need to create different rules and interaction modes). It became apparent that it was very time consuming to create new behaviors or new types of AI other than the existing drones. In other words: the system and pipelines were suitable for floating robots, but they weren’t scalable. So, it all boiled down to the existing two options, which turned out to be the most versatile: Guard and Scout Drones.

Another idea that remains on the paper (but might come to fruition at any stage) is more elaborate interaction between PvE entities themselves. Just imagine a Scout Drone being spooked by the sound of the gunshots and running to the nearest Guard Drone for protection, then the latter attacking the offending Hunter right away. Or a Rogue Drone spawning a whole bunch of Guard Drones to help out. Such an elaborate AI logic is yet to be discussed and thought over.

But one of the cool feats that we have actually implemented and has been working behind the scenes for a while is a dynamic Drone spawn. It operates in a way, that the certain amount of drones of different types and rarities gets spawned on the map depending on the match phase and the position of the key elements - Extraction Zone, Hunting Ground places and Hunters on the map.

Hunt or be hunted

One of the most endearing experiments we carried out is the new Game Mode based on the PvE encounters - Hunting Ground. First mentioned in July 2022, it introduced the new game formula described as follows:

1. Instead of the Extraction Zone, a Hunting Ground timer and location will be announced.
2. Once the Hunting Ground is activated, waves of Rogue Drones spawn within the area. Your objective is to destroy the drones and collect the resources (Starfall) they drop. Hunters that have already collected Starfall can be killed to steal their resources.
3. Additional cover structures will deploy within the Hunting Ground from orbit and will significantly alter the tempo of engagement. Pay attention, as being hit by a falling orbital structure will kill you.
4. Avoid leaving the Hunting Ground, as you will lose all collected Starfall if you do not return within a short time.
5. As the Hunt progresses, the Hunter with the largest amount of collected Starfall will be marked on the Minimap for all players to see—you will be challenged!
6. The first squad to collect the target amount of Starfall or that has the most Starfall when the Hunting Ground's timer runs out wins the match. Of course, you can also win by being the last squad standing.

To pose a real challenge with this fresh match scenario, we turned Guard Drones into the Rogue Drones with more health, firepower and dangerous AoE attack. While the game mode had been scrapped in the end, some parts of it have been integrated into the existing Last Stand. Rogue Drones and their Hunting Grounds remained as the second stage of the scenario, and to heighten their importance in the grander scheme of things, the second appearing Drone on the map carried the Colossus Kit. But even this idea was bound to change, and the Colossus Kit got its own obtaining mechanism - Legendary Key.

Bigger and better

The current Drone array, of course, is not the final one. We still have plans to resurrect the idea of Drone versatility and already refer to the existing enemies as the 'Old Drones' while we have been working on the so-called Modular System for the past couple of months. We made the decision to switch to the more customizable and flexible solution, that will allow us to create interesting new types of AI that aren’t limited to the floating robots you’re all familiar with. We are close to reaching the final step, which is to transfer the old entities to the new system.

We’re also exploring new ways for you to engage in PvE combat; this includes new Missions in the Last Stand game mode and development of additional in-game events. While we can't go into any more detail than this right now, we'll definitely come back to you with exciting updates once the time is right! Thanks to a combination of your feedback and the new modular drones system, our team are more empowered than ever to design new PvE encounters. In the future, we hope to deliver a wider range of enemy types for you to battle with a greater sense of risk-reward.

Once the switch to the new Modular Drone system is completed, we will have more freedom to branch into more creative directions, experiment and introduce new types of NPCs in the world of Steel Hunters. So stay tuned!