Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar: SALVATION: 1.0 Release Update news

Hey, folks! Just two months ago we were giving you an update on the direction of Salvation; now, we're excited to announce the mod is fully released! If you're ready to step into Grigori's shoes right away, you can do so by downloading Salvation from the ModDB page (though please note that you also need a Division 2.1 installation from the RTBR page). If you'd like to learn a bit more about what awaits you within Ravenholm, stick around and follow along.

A Journey Of Faith

Salvation sees the player take control of Grigori immediately after bidding Gordon farewell following the quarry holdout. Whilst his journey continues forwards, Grigori must now work backwards in an effort to not only leave Ravenholm behind, but cleanse it such that no parasites remain. You'll tread familiar ground made unfamiliar by the effects of Gordon's path through the town, combined with the riled-up zombie hordes out in full force, and new pathways Grigori will take to complete his exodus. Pyres will deliver some of Grigori's once-friends to a better place, and also play their part in igniting a flame that will sweep through Ravenholm. By the time you've reached the end of the mod, the entire town will be up in flames and scorched by your actions.

A Trial Of Fervour

Grigori doesn't have an entire arsenal at his disposal, nor a set of power armour; only his faith, wits, and will. Your trusty Annabelle, improvised nailmines, and a well-honed kick will be the only weapons you can use to clear the way; but ammo is sparse, and the enemies without number. Surviving this exodus will mean picking and choosing your battles, scavenging corners, and taking calculated risks. Salvation has three difficulty modes – Normal, the default; Hard, where supplies are less plentiful and enemies tougher; and Deathless, where one death or loading a save made on this difficulty will reset you to the beginning of the run. Salvation is an experience intended for RTBR veterans, one to be replayed and mastered, to craft the perfect run, and perhaps earn a reward for succeeding on the Deathless challenge...

A Raising Of Dead

With zombies and their subtypes once again in the spotlight for Salvation, we decided to – within the scope of the mod – expand on details for the undead. Fast zombies now shiver menacingly when idle, whilst ordinary zombies, in addition to idle finger movements, have a host of new scripted animations. Their arms can poke through walls and provide an additional environmental hazard to players. The Zombine has also received a special boss variant overrun with Xen growths similar to those seen in Half-Life: Alyx; and numerous zombies & subtypes have been optimised, so that whilst their numbers may be more numerous than ever, performance is not impacted.

An Atmosphere Of Dread

Salvation differs dramatically from RTBR in tone. Where in RTBR you're the One Free Man on a warpath to free humanity, Grigori's tale is much more personal and bitter. The Archangel of Ravenholm has seen his friends & his loved ones claimed by the town, and he is haunted by his guilt for surviving where none others did. This guilt will manifest physically in the mod – in a way you will have to see for yourself. Meanwhile, the soundtrack of Salvation is contemplative and melancholy, with an emphasis on choir as an instrument, as a representation of Grigori's faith being stretched to its absolute limits. This tale can only end one way – with Ravenholm reduced to ash.

A Refresh Of Ravenholm

To facilitate gameplay and visuals we wanted in Salvation, some retcons had to be made to established maps in Division 2. Whilst we won't be carrying over all of the various changes we've made to Redux over the last year (since those will be intended to ship with a future Division 3 release), we have modified a handful of Division 2 Ravenhom maps to account for the changes we made and to make sure it remains consistent with Salvation. Note that whilst you do need a Division 2.1 installation to play Salvation, you do not have to redownload the version now on ModDB which updated these maps; any Divison 2.1 installation will function just fine.

Finishing Up

And that's it for our release announcement of Salvation! Grigori's journey is coming to a close, and revisiting his character for the mod was the fulfilment of many months of hard work. Whilst we plan to support Salvation going forwards as we do the main mod, most of us are now turning our focus back to Redux, and to that end, here's some roles we're still looking for on the team:

• 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 the team

If any of this looks interesting to you, reach out to Kralich on Discord to apply or on Casting Call Club to audition. That's all then, folks – master Ravenholm, beat the Deathless challenge, and we'll see you in 2024 for more. Happy new year!