Ashes is a Post-apocalypse themed total conversion for the GZDoom engine. It combines old school build style level design and Doom style action with a twist of Stalker and Fallout.

Post news Report RSS Announcing Ashes: Hard Reset

Officially announcing the latest entry in the Ashes series, Ashes: Hard Reset. Also some news about Episode 3, and other misc. thoughts from the Ashes team.

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Greeting scavs,

It's been a bit, hasn't it? While we've trickled out small pieces of news on various discords and forums, it's been too long since we've dropped a good and proper official update. Herein we'll compile the various fragments we've teased into a cohesive whole, add some new stuff, and just generally do some rumor control.

First off, the main event:

Ashes: Hard Reset

TTLERSET

Art by Snordix


Hard Reset (HR) is the prequel expansion for Afterglow and will be a linear campaign in the style of 2063. Take the role of the veteran scav Walker as he guides a team of elite soldiers into The City. As events spiral out of control Walker finds out that a long forgotten foe has caught up with him... and that not all injuries are of the flesh.

Planned features include:

  • 7 new weapons, including the stealthy suppressed Police Pistol and Xbow, the stylish Lever Action Shotgun and the highly versatile Modular Rifle.
  • 9 new enemies: trade fire with the Black Water Bandits and their immortal chief, flee in terror from the Cannibal Gladiator, and learn that even your own eyes can't be trusted when encountering the Possessor Worms.
  • 12 maps, including entirely new locations and some that might be familiar to you, from the backwater town of Junction, into the irradiated concrete and glass canyons of The City.
  • New ammo, new items, new music, new voices, and more.

HR is spearheaded by team member RetroMuffin34, and at this point in time there is no release date. When It's Done, but hopefully SOON(tm).

Have some screens (WIP!):

HR1

HR2

HR3

HR4

HR5

Episode 3 Update and Afterglow Post Mortem

Episode 3 remains in pre-production as we hammer out the details of the story and test ideas for new game mechanics. In a way HR will serve as a dry run for some of these ideas, and quite possibly not all of them will survive outside contact. Development is going to remain glacial as most of our attention will be on getting HR out the door, but rest assured Ep3 is not canceled or abandoned.

We've talked internally about what worked and didn't work in Afterglow, and what aspects are worth bringing forward. We closed in on a few sore points and I want to lay these out here:

  1. Too Much Dialog - We believe that talking with NPCs is an important feature, and we aren't going to cut it just because some people are proud of being illiterate. That said, we agree the amount of mandatory dialog in Afterglow could be a bit much, especially in the 2nd hub area. We plan on paring down the amount of talking you need to do to progress the main path, while still offering side content and world building dialog should the player choose to engage with it.
  2. Unclear Progression - We aren't going to simplify progression or put quest markers down, so don't worry. However there are a few things in Afterglow that were incredibly obtuse and poorly communicated to the player (again, especially in that troublesome 2nd hub). There's no magic bullet that will fix this in all cases, but it's something we will consider much more carefully in the future.
  3. The Bike - We know it's jank, and it seems our improvements in handling for Afterglow weren't nearly enough. I believe half of this is a level design problem, and the first part of Sigma in Afterglow was an attempt to relieve some of the issues. It seems even that wasn't quite enough. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we don't know if the bike is going to make the cut going forward. If it does expect another attempt to improve the handling, and more open bike levels with fewer blind corners and sharp turns.
  4. The Mutants - From the midpoint on most of the combat revolves around fighting mutants. If you like that, cool, but from a combat variety standpoint things get very stale. Another problem with no magic fix except to be more considerate in our future designs.

Some have said that certain parts in the back half of Afterglow felt rushed, and in truth they were. Our deadline was self imposed, but it was driven by real world commitments and a desire to stop the release from slipping far into 2022. Thus a lot of things didn't get the iteration they needed to be truly polished. We have a better understanding now and a pretty good idea of what not to do, so hopefully we can avoid these pitfalls for Ep3.

Do you have thoughts on this? Is anyone still reading? Does Randy Pitchford deserve the hate? Feel free to leave a comment.

The Question Of Money

We still aren't taking money, and have no immediate plans to start. You could say that's insane or stupid and yeah you're probably right. We appreciate the people offering to line our pockets, but for now if you want to help us out sharing Ashes with your friends is more than good enough. Spread the word.

One day maybe we'll clean up the complete series and throw it up on Steam for a few bucks, but that day is far in the future if it comes at all.

The Team, Such As It Is

Lastly, a quick plug for various team members and also an explanation of where our time goes when it's not being spent on Ashes stuff. If you're allergic to shameless shilling, feel free to bail now.

Retromuffin34 has a youtube channel here. She does a lot of weird Sonic/FnF/Madness Combat stuff so if that's your bag then check it out.

Primeval continues to crank out sick tunes, check him out here. Most recently he made the soundtrack for Dread Templar. But I will once again shill the excellent Ashes soundtracks here:

TDG, our writer, continues to toil away thanklessly in the word mines when he's not ranting about how much Fallout 3 sucks or how garbage modern Star Trek is. He occasionally pens articles for NMA, so if you like complaining about how shit modern games are on a forum that's probably older than you are check them out

Vostyok, the main man himself, can be found here. His time is split between Ashes and his work alongside Zan developing a "Sexy Goblin DLC" for Hedon. Yes it's really truly real and not a joke. He also recently had a bike accident where his face lost a contest with the pavement, so wish him well.

Lastly, I (RefomedJoe, the dude writing this) also have a shitty youtube channel here where I very occasionally post stuff I'm working on. Most recently I was engaged as a level designer for Selaco.

Until next time scavs, stay safe out there.

Post comment Comments  (0 - 50 of 95)
ZbmAuron
ZbmAuron - - 8 comments

OMG! This looks sick af. The best DoomII TC IMHO. Thanks so much for such masterpiece. Congrats to all the team involved in the project.

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ReformedJoe Author
ReformedJoe - - 194 comments

Thanks for the kind words.

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

DEAR JOE,
To our small but very active discord community we would be very happy if you dropped by just to say hello! Discord.gg

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

You can discuss more about this in Discord Ashes community -->>https://discord.gg/Bad4EZ3wNN

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Bielow8686
Bielow8686 - - 9 comments

Woow! what a great news :) thanks for that wonderful Ashes info RefromedJoe!

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ReformedJoe Author
ReformedJoe - - 194 comments

You are very welcome :)

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LuistheDoomMarine
LuistheDoomMarine - - 182 comments

HOLY SHIIIIIII

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

You can discuss more about this in Discord Ashes community -->> Discord.gg

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Vostyok
Vostyok - - 121 comments

Many thanks to Retromuffin for all her work putting this together, and an additional plug for Snordix who designed the awesome title art:
Artstation.com

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

High artistic skill he got!

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Guest
Guest - - 693,885 comments

Sorry to hear about the accident, get well soon! As a side note: may I plead with you not to cut the bike levels entirely, even if you now have a personal score to settle with motorbikes?

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Vostyok
Vostyok - - 121 comments

I'll see what I can do. Other Vostyok is apparently pushing for them to stay. We'll see if we can reach a compromise.

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ANDROIDFERRET
ANDROIDFERRET - - 1,144 comments

Awesome !!! ( The announcement )
Is it sure you gonna use my song somewhere ? Would be absolutely amazing

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Vostyok
Vostyok - - 121 comments

I asked Retromuffin and she says it's cool so yeah. We've got a spot it can go already.:D

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DarkKnightGareth
DarkKnightGareth - - 259 comments

Good too see you here ^_^ This is Viewtiful Joe from YouTube. Good luck Scav.

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

VERY HYPE

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SweetRamona
SweetRamona - - 5,121 comments

Looks good as usual!

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prazola
prazola - - 8 comments

Holee ***! Love this

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_origami_
_origami_ - - 208 comments

Too fu**ing cool! :-)

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KALLEKANNIBAL
KALLEKANNIBAL - - 61 comments

Thank you for making this article, I much prefer to get news about ashes and other stuff this way compared to some tweet or post on some forum that you could miss!

A few questions and thoughts:

So hard reset will not have a hub system?

Please don't dumb down the writing and the quests! I get from a game design perspective it's best to design your game so that anyone could play through it, but you already kind of do that by releasing a sterile version of the campaign. People can play through this without the reading if they want to. And you are not an AAA studio, you can get away with unconventional stuff like the bike and unvoiced dialogue trees. The expanded dialogue and story was the most exciting part of this for me. It understands how to flesh out a world without being annoying about it. Just some mention about "men in suits" or "The blooming" or whatever is very exciting and makes the world feel alive. I just really enjoyed reading all that.

Also not to insult anyones intelligence because you have all probably thought about this already, but you better start making original assets and textures from the third episode. I don't know how much is used from other games but I did recognise textures from Hexen and stuff. It will probably be a herculean task to swap everything out to original stuff without changing the artstyle too much so better earlier than later.

Also Fallout 3 is pretty cool if you use the TTW mod and ignore the main quest :P

Cheers!

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ReformedJoe Author
ReformedJoe - - 194 comments

No, HR will not have a hub system. Ep3 will.

We aren't going to dumb down anything, don't worry. But we are going to ensure things you need to progress the main quest aren't deeply nested in dialog trees and that quest progression is clearly communicated to the player. The best example of both issues is the Roamer Junkyard where there are easily missable dialogs you need to progress and badly communicated environmental progression things (ie, the bombs).

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

wistles blowers talks about a linear game structure a bit more focused on shooting/fighting. Plus a bit of "horror" taste added.

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Spop15
Spop15 - - 14 comments

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am that you folks are working on not one, but two new campaigns! You really should consider charging for this mod at some point. It's much higher quality than many zdoom-based engine games that are out there already. Just amazing work from your small team. I'm still shocked at how much fun I had playing through all of Ashes, and I really can't wait to jump into this world again. Thanks for everything you all have contributed to this community.

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armitom
armitom - - 135 comments

This made my terrible day so much better!
I love you guys! :D

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

well you can turn your days better joining the ASHES discord community -->> Discord.gg

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Cyclone-Sama
Cyclone-Sama - - 90 comments

Hell yeah, finally some good news for me

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Kyle_K_ski
Kyle_K_ski - - 1,017 comments

.
Whoop! I can't wait to get my mitts on anything that you all end up releasing.

I love the new artwork, by the way.

Thank you for all of your hard work and generosity. It's people like YOU that have me holding out SOME hope for this insane and deranged world.

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🦇Pachira🦇
🦇Pachira🦇 - - 490 comments

That Stoner 63 looks sweet, that gun needs to be in more games.

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Guest
Guest - - 693,885 comments

Well maybe the second hub was a bit rushed (it is seen in levels in comparison with city levels and especially with 2063) BUT its the real RPG thing. Dialogs are cool, decisions are cool and even the RADIO WITH THE CODE TO BRIGADOR ROOM IZ COOL. If New levels will be covered in trash (erased) in details as in 2063 and the life system will be complex as in Prosperity, this will be not the gold but diamonds covered in platinum.

And please dont cut the bike! He has charisma and style!

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Muleke_Trairao
Muleke_Trairao - - 251 comments

Now that's some great news! You made my day!

Wish you guys a smooth and healthy development!
Played both Ashes and the expansion. Those are the best GZDoom games I've ever played, so I can't wait for HR and Ep3. :)

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Gaxleep
Gaxleep - - 42 comments

Since the days of the first Doom I have had the opportunity to experience everything, but nothing reaches the level of your work, you deserve all the tribute (for now moral) you are receiving. I can't wait to return to the world of Ashes you are preparing, thank you.

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NertyNert
NertyNert - - 71 comments

beautiful

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Kills_Alone
Kills_Alone - - 121 comments

Great stuff, you guys never fail to impress and inspire.

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ApornasPlanet
ApornasPlanet - - 4,122 comments

Epic!

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Guest
Guest - - 693,885 comments

The ashes saga is one of the best fps games this generation

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FlippedOutKyrii
FlippedOutKyrii - - 3,529 comments

Absolutely stoked, lads! Afterglow was my favorite gaming experience from 2022 and Hard Reset will be a great appetizer before we get Episode 3!

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Zorro_de_la_noche
Zorro_de_la_noche - - 562 comments

Awesome news.

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GDI_Amiya
GDI_Amiya - - 208 comments

I really like the works you and your team have brought to us, and hope to see better sequels in the future.
As a non-English user, the in-game text fonts are a struggle for me to read. While I know it's hard to make other language versions, I really, really hope there are other languages supported.

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

You can discuss more about this in Discord Ashes community -->> Discord.gg

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Mavryo619
Mavryo619 - - 4 comments

I'm ecstatic at this announcement! The level of detail, atmosphere, music built in the first 2 episodes was highly commendable. You guys made my 2022. Looking forward to the next chapter!

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Guest
Guest - - 693,885 comments

Personally I like the bike and wish to see more with it

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cerwacer
cerwacer - - 1 comments

Waiting for the continuation of the ashes with all my heart :) good luck to the developers.

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PsyWarVeteran
PsyWarVeteran - - 1,893 comments

You should absolutely put it up on Steam, I'm sure many would gladly buy it. If you guys don't want to monetize it that's fine too, just complete the mod so that people can play it from start to finish freely, and those who want to support you can buy it on Steam.

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Guest
Guest - - 693,885 comments

First off thanks for everything you all have done!

I thought Afterglow was a big improvement over 2063. I loved the larger areas and the hubs and the connectivity between them. I also loved the combat encounters even more and the weapon upgrades.

I don't really care for the bike much. It reminds me of the vehicle levels in Half Life 2. The levels are fun when its time to get off the vehicle and explore and fight.

As for the increased mutants in the second half, I agree that the variety was lessened. Although each individual mutant I find interesting and fun to fight. Perhaps if fights could be mixed with mutants and human raiders, that could be interesting.

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Deadza
Deadza - - 99 comments

love that this is a full "series" now and such a good one at that

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

nice! you can found this new episode and many other arumentation and curiosity in the Server -->> https://discord.gg/Bad4EZ3wNN

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punk0x29a
punk0x29a - - 619 comments

YEAH!

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

ASHES Fan club Server GET on board -->> Discord.gg

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naryanrobinson
naryanrobinson - - 636 comments

This is the second full-size Ashes 2063 total conversion, right?

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ErikDS
ErikDS - - 60 comments

You can have all infos about ASHES univers in discord fan base Server -->> https://discord.gg/Bad4EZ3wNN

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