Raising the Bar: Triumph mod for Portal

Hello everyone! Welcome to a very exciting update for Raising The Bar: Redux! Today's the day we officially unveil the next big step for RTBR – an expansion of the universe we've been building to cover new perspectives on this strange and frightening world. This is a great time for the team, not only due to our recently revealed involvement with Half-Life 2 RTX, but also because we can finally reveal something we've been working on for a while. But working we have been – not only on these side stories, but on the main project and mod, which remains our ultimate priority. Without further ado, let's dive into Division 3 and beyond!

(Special thanks to Half-Peeps for the wicked video intro, Triumph video intro, and finalised Triumph logo!)

Antlion Worker

Antlions will form a core part of the enemy repertoire in Division 3, and as with the Hunter, we've decided to leverage the episodic enemy types instead of expending resources trying to mimic them. The Worker, then, gives the Antlions some much needed ranged capability, with two unique skins – one themed after a sort of “termite” colour scheme will only be seen on the surface or very close to the surface; the other more recognisable bioluminescent variant will be seen deep in the hives.

Powerbox – Kilowatt Meter

Continuing with our gradual remodelling of many common world props, this powerbox – actually a kilowatt meter – was loving researched and recreated by Joseph. Electrical boxes are a bread-and-butter for adding detail to grungy and industrial environments, so these will get ample use and, throughout existing levels, uplift the existing art pass.

Prison Soldier & Shotgunner

The depot is an analogue for Nova Prospekt, if not an outright replacement, and with that in mind we decided to inject some extra personality into the soldiers in this part of the Wasteland. These skins, also by Andy, are inspired by another cut colour scheme and feature interpretations of other cut insignia as well. With these coming out very nicely, we might pursue alternate skins for other “divisions” of the Combine throughout the rest of RTBR.

Depotyard

normaizbieniy is a new art passer on the team, whose past experience involves inspired Source Engine remakes of locales from Disco Elysium. We decided to assign him straight onto Wasteland maps given his interests and he's already doing a great job with some of the opening sections of Depotyard, a map which features both inside and outside environments, as well as an immense storage area yet to be revealed.

Depot01

Depot01 continues to come along well, with Suxar plugging away relentlessly to get one of the oldest Depot map in the line-up up to scratch. Featuring the return of Alyx and as an ally alongside the player this time, it's a solid chance to do some awesome mixing of old Human and new Combine architecture.

Powerbox – Ridged

This remake of another venerable power box prop was done by SirMars, and means we've almost round-out the full set. Little remakes like this might seem small in isolation, but when taken as a whole, levels will generally feel just that little bit more unique and polished – and future levels will benefit with minimal work having to be undertaken by the mapper to do so.

Depot02

The depot, serving a similar narrative role to Nova Prospekt, is nonetheless also trying to serve a different architectural goal; as an abandoned human naval base now overrun by the Combine, it won't be purely prison focused. Nonetheless, any substantial off-shore base will need somewhere to keep prisoners, and the Combine have repurposed this as a VIP holding facility; that same facility will be up to Alyx and the player to break Eli Maxwell out of.

Depot03

The last of the mainline depot maps is a mad dash to cause as much mayhem as possible to open up an escape route for Eli and Alyx. But you've an advantage – a pheropod that will mean the antlions, once your foes throughout the chapter, will even the odds. We've designed this map to take advantage of Antlion Workers as part of your squad of fleshy allies, and also leverage them for solving progression problems in interesting ways. This is the most Combine-dominated portion of the entirely facility, and the architecture will reflect that appropriately.

Chumtoad & Animations

And now, for a fun one – the Chumtoad is a fan-favourite critter cut from Half-Life, but reborn in the expansions and now, in RTBR, by Andy. We already have on easter egg where you can find this critter, but we plan to slip him in elsewhere and his bouncy idle animation, created by Lambda, means he's just too cute to pick up and throw.

So – you've heard from the team how Division 3 is going – and it remains our priority – but now, it's time to shed a light on some secret projects we've been working on – Salvation, and Triumph.

Raising The Bar: Salvation

Premise

Raising The Bar: Salvation is aiming to be a chilling, challenging mod with the terrifying atmosphere of Ravenholm turned up to eleven. Step into the shoes of Father Grigori, Archangel of Ravenholm, after having delivered Gordon Freeman through the hellish town. Your goal is to bury the town you once called home beneath ash and fire. Resource management will be key; and playing as the mad priest, you can't always trust what you see.

Salvation01

Salvation is an experience inspired by the Doctor Mode from Cry of Fear, and as such you'll be fighting your way backwards through difficult odds in familiar yet changed environments. Salvation01 is the introduction to the mod, the aftermath of the climactic battle at the quarry. Bodies litter the ground whilst every zombie within a half mile radius was itching and clawing to get in on the action. You'll find previously blocked pathways have been smashed open by desperate denizens, whilst the Church yard has been consumed by out-of-control fire. Enjoy the relative calm whilst it lasts – from here, it only gets tougher.

Salvation02 – Church Remaster

Whilst Salvation01's relatively calm introduction meant we could already pursue art passing, future maps in the mod will receive much more prominent changes to gameplay and thus are being blocked out first to solidify new systems. However, the Church has been totally remastered by Sordid, complete with all new lighting, pews, pulpit, balcony, confession booth, and candles graciously provided by Amicus, to prepare for the player's journey ahead; their last chance to take stock before the storm.

Nailmine Remaster

For Division 2, we modelled a nailmine inspired by the weapon cut from Arkane's Return to Ravenholm. Now, around two years after that nailmine was first modelled, we've overhauled it with new materials and details...just in time to be factored in as a viewmodel weapon for Grigori (not pictured here, as the weapon itself is still being animated).

Kicking Barriers

With little ammo left in the town, the player will have to rely on their aim and careful rationing to dispatch foes. For simpler obstructions – wooden boards, weak brick walls, and lowly headcrabs – Grigori's iron legs will be his best asset to conserve ammunition.

Haunting Tones

The soundtrack Amicus is composing for Salvation will differ greatly in many ways from Gordon’s journey. Incorporating gregorian chants, choir, church bells, and more traditional instruments paired with more industrial sound. We want Grigori’s soundtrack to be a reflection of his religious nature, while keeping with his darker personality.

Salvation is a relatively small experience that we think will reward replay and mastery, as well as help close the chapter on Grigori's story. Building Ravenholm for Division 2 was a huge undertaking we are still very proud of. In Salvation, it'll be time to tear it all down. In addition, when Salvation releases, any Ravenholm-specific improvements that were made to facilitate the submod will be ported into the main mod for a future release update. That's all we have to say about Salvation for now – so let's dive into the next submod we are announcing!

Raising The Bar: Triumph

Premise

Raising The Bar: Triumph is our vision of Portal – seen through different eyes. Aperture Science has been taken over by Combine forces, who left no stone unturned in the aftermath of the Seven Hour War. Where once a rogue AI ran the facility with impunity, now the Combine have it shackled for their own purposes – to determine the science behind the Portal Device, and replicate it for their own use. A less pristine Aperture awaits, with more prototype technology than anything guiding your hand.

Chamber 1 - Waking Up

The introductory chambers will bear some similarities to those seen in the original Portal, but with a totally revised art direction taking inspiration both from Old Aperture in Portal 2, and the Nova Prospekt era of Portal's development. In a word - “grunge” can be used to describe our direction with these chambers, making them seem repurposed for dark, sinister means. Note that in the long term we plan to have our own interpretations of many core Portal test components like buttons, cubes, and doors. Old Aperture props are only being used as a fitting placeholder for the time being.

Chamber 2 - Buttons & Portals

As the player gains their first general command over portals, the chamber will widen out, and more artistic elements will be introduced. We are currently utilising an older era of the portal design, and have chosen the light-teal blue and royal purple colourations to define the mod. Chamber 2 is also the last chamber to follow the original Portal very closely – further chambers begin to change up the formula. Still, we intend for Triumph to be accessible not only to Portal fanatics, but also people who may be less practised with the games, and we will be keeping a similar difficulty level to Portal throughout.

The Portal Device

Of course, the highlight of Triumph – and perhaps this announcement update – is our design for the Portal Gun. Inspired by a mix between RTBR's unique art style and also an original, much less pristine looking take on the device, many details are up for show, like a monitoring device mounted by the Combine to keep track of the tests; or an older rendition of the Aperture Science logo from Portal pre-release content, marking the Portal gun itself as belonging to another era.

Ambient Tunes

Entity's goal for the soundtrack of Triumph is to not only replicate the isolating feel of Portal, but infuse it with a darker, more sinister tone. With Aperture in the hands of the Combine, we will not only feel isolated, but we will feel the constant stare of a darker set of eyes. Ambience will be used heavily throughout the mod, accompanied by many familiar rhythms and tones that we all know and love from the original Portal OST. While the darker embrace of the Combine ensnares Aperture Science, you may also hear slightly lighter tones throughout the soundtrack, symbolising what was once a series of promising breakthroughs for humanity, to now being but cogs in the Combine machinery.

Triumph will be a fully-fledged Portal mod, with a substantial set of new chambers and a new story to tell. We're having a lot of fun developing something very different from what we're used to, but it's paying off with the ability to put our own spin on the game and try something brand new. Plus, we now have our own Portal Gun – and that's almost worth it on its own.

Finishing Up

And that’s all for our announcement of the future of RTBR! We hope you're as excited as we are to explore two new perspectives in RTBR's world – and take a look behind the curtain at how Division 3, the mainline journey of Gordon, continues to come along. Before closing up, here’s a few more roles we’re still on the lookout for, and bear in mind now that recruitment to the team may well mean assisting with this supplementary projects:

• Competent level designers – We’re still open to having both additional support in the art pass and blockout departments. In addition, we may have special room for someone with a passion for Portal puzzle design to help guide our efforts in Triumph

• 3D modellers – 3D asset work is always important to the mod's execution, so artists with expertise in hard surface and texturing workflows would be much appreciated

• Programmers – With the amount of custom content coming in Division 3 and the spin-offs, additional resources in our programming department would be ideal

If any of these roles look good to you, please add me on Discord with the username kralich. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for individual devlogs for Redux, Triumph, and Salvation in the future!