ITR DEV DIARY #5

The Anomalies

Hello, explorers!
The Pechorsk anomaly is full of dangers, and today we’ll shed some light on one of these you might encounter when venturing Into the Radius!

When heading out, explorers will face two types of lethal obstacles - enemies and anomalies.

Unlike enemies (which we’ll cover in a future diary entry) anomalies are always in a semi-passive state when you encounter them. This means that even though they respond aggressively toward the player, they do so automatically, regardless of “thought” or “intent”.

In ITR2 we use a more complex and systematic approach to designing the anomalies than before. Before generating ideas for potential anomalies, we first figure out how they’re meant to affect the player and what purpose do they serve in the game as a whole, keeping in mind their key differences and similarities with enemies.

For every anomaly we have certain rules:

• They mustn’t be something overly complex or large. To keep the game primarily a shooter after all.

• They mustn’t have a wide area of effect. The majority of threats at a distance should be caused by enemies.

• They must exist on their own. Neither following nor attempting to find the player. These roles are also for the enemies.

• The main way to interact with them must be done through probes.

In regard to everything else anomalies significantly stand out from one another. Their differences will depend on the situations and conditions in which explorers will encounter an anomaly. In the earliest stages of development it became clear that the game needs multiple types of anomalies, which differ not only in mechanics and visuals, but also design itself. And every type has a unique aspect to it.

In ITR2 we’re working on three primary types of anomalies:

• Global anomalies.

• Cluster anomalies.

• Moving anomalies.

Global anomalies can be seen in wide open ranges of the Radius. While heading from one specific location to the next, players usually keep in mind several factors: ammo amount, gear condition, potential enemies, routes to avoid, current goals and mission objectives. So these anomalies have to able to effectively make explorers aware of their presence, and punish those overconfident enough to miss or underestimate them.

Cluster anomalies are a group of multiple differently sized anomalies. They require a great deal of caution when encountered, and contain highly valuable and useful artifacts within. While engaging with clusters players will be more focused than usual, which is why they’re designed as less predictable and more complex than the rest. They require explorers to move especially carefully, and punish those who are too hasty or reckless.

Moving anomalies are a new entity, and in line with their name, are always in motion, either via specific routes or teleportation. Our internal tests show that the appearance of such anomalies (even in very simplistic forms) can greatly enrich and bring significant variety to the player experience.

Anomalies are seen throughout the game in different ways. Players can stumble upon separate isolated ones, fields containing multiple types at once, or the previously mentioned cluster anomalies which can differ in size.

From a visual standpoint anomalies in ITR1 were rather abstract and didn’t always leave a lasting impression. In ITR2 we’re trying to make the anomalies feel more materialistic. They are entities of the Radius, generated by it based on whatever objects and materials were affected in Pechorsk in 1987.

This was a general overview of anomalies in ITR2.

Maybe in the future we’ll go in-depth into each one’s design separately.

Let us know if you’d be interested in such more specific dev diary entries, and we’ll see you in the Radius!