Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: SALVATION: Inaugural (Halloween 2023) Update news

Hey everyone! And Happy Halloween! It's our pleasure to bring you the first standalone update for one of our spin-offs, with a progress update on Salvation! Expect the spin-offs to have smaller updates than RTBR given their more laser-focus scope – but we've still got a good spread of content for you today!

Level Art-Passing - Roads Not Travelled

With Salvation very close to fully playable end-to-end, we're in the process of gearing up for testing. Many new areas have sufficiently changed or experimental enough gameplay that we feel testing before committing to the art pass is the best way forwards, but there's also a few areas that we think are solid enough already to bring up to the same standard as the rest of Ravenholm. One of our new level designers, MIL260, has been using his penchant for strong lighting and detailing to bring life to these expansions on Ravenholm, and we hope they'll give you a fresh perspective on the town.

Assets - In The Shoes Of The Mad Priest

The model for Grigori in RTBR gives him a lot of unique personality, but of course, in Salvation, you're stepping right into his shoes. That means that new animations are in order for the weapons you'll carry, and a new pair of viewmodel arms that match the detail standard of the main game's suit arms. These viewmodel arms have been sculpted and textured with reference to the original in order to maintain consistency, but to a higher level of fidelity.

Meanwhile, the Annabelle has received the finishing touches on an updated animation set, showing Grigori's familiarity with his trusty rifle.

Lastly, we have an animation set for the nailmine approaching completion, wrapping up the small but versatile arsenal you'll have at your disposal, during your escape from Ravenholm.

Music - Melodies Of Melancholy

Now is time to reveal the project's namesake track: Salvation. With this latest track from the OST, I aimed to capture the culmination of Grigori's journey into sound through the fusion of triumphant, mysterious, and melancholic tones. Combining melodic piano with a haunting choir, and creating a blur to the boundaries between reality and imagination. Ultimately, this track is to reflect Grigori's feelings leaving his once beloved town behind to corruption and cleansing fire, to pursue a better life and finally find some respite from the horror.

Finishing Up

And that's all for our inaugural Salvation update! Progress continues very well on the spin-off, and we expect it'll be the first of our side stories to make its way into your hands. Naturally, Salvation is part of the RTBR family, and so we'd like to take this opportunity to advertise roles for the team we currently have available – your role might see you working on any project under the team's umbrella.

• Captain Vance – As blockout continues on Division 4, a Captain Vance voice actor is now our most hotly requested role. Please apply over on our Casting Call Club page to try your luck!

• Programmers – Additional help in the programming department will always be appreciated, especially if you have experience with NPC/AI programming

• 3D modellers – We're also always looking for more 3D modellers, mainly those with experience in hard-surface modelling, to join our cohort

If any of this looks interesting to you, reach out to Kralich/David on Discord (with the username kralich) to apply or on Casting Call Club to audition. That's all for now – happy Halloween, and we'll see you soon!