Sandbox (video game)

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For other uses, see Sandbox.

S&box
Developer(s)Facepunch Studios
Publisher(s)Facepunch Studios
Designer(s)Garry Newman
Programmer(s)Garry Newman
EngineSource 2
Platform(s)
Genre(s)Sandbox
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Sandbox (stylized as s&box) is an upcoming sandbox game developed and published by Facepunch Studios. Regarded as a spiritual successor to Garry's Mod, the game provides players with a platform from which to develop and play different user-created gamemodes.

Gameplay

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Sandbox is a physics-based sandbox game that, in its base game mode, has no set objectives. The player is able to spawn non-player characters, ragdolls, and props, and interact with them by various means. Unlike Garry's Mod, Sandbox has been built with the core philosophy of providing a platform for user-created game modes rather than incorporating those game modes alongside the existing framework. Example gamemodes include Melon Racer, Prophunt and Trouble in Terrorist Town. Much like its predecessor, Sandbox provides a platform from which user-created content can be shared among the playerbase.

Unlike Garry's Mod, which expects the user to mount content from other Source engine games, such as Counter-Strike: Source and Portal, Sandbox provides a standalone experience from which players can participate in user-created gamemodes, and the original Sandbox gamemode has been de-emphasized by the developer. Garry Newman, founder of Facepunch Studios, has expressed hope that both Facepunch and the community would be able to use Sandbox as a platform to build and export standalone games for sale on Steam.[1]

Opium

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In order to demonstrate the new scene system, several Facepunch Studios developers built Opium, as a "PSX-style" first-person experience inspired by the Condemned game series and combining melee combat & weapon scavenging with basic puzzle-solving. A short experience, Opium places the player in a crack house and faces them against violent "crackheads" with "occult undertones".[2]

Team Fortress: Source 2

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An unofficial remake of Team Fortress 2 within the Source 2 engine was initially developed under the title Team Fortress: Source 2 (alternatively abbreviated as TF: S2), with the first development blog post released in August 2021 by the team, Amper Software.[3] Work on the remake continued into 2024, with the developers providing frequent updates and undertaking community beta testing;[1][4] however, as of January 2024, the project has been cancelled, following a takedown request by Valve Software and impending changes to Sandbox itself.[5]

Development and release

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See also: List of video games derived from mods

The predecessor to Sandbox, Garry's Mod, was first released in 2004 by Garry Newman as a mod for the game Half-Life 2 and, by extension, the Source game engine. In late 2015, Newman stated Facepunch was working on a Garry's Mod sequel with a focus on virtual reality.[6] It was formally announced in 2017 as being developed on Unreal Engine 4,[7] but development was paused in 2019 and later shifted to Valve's Source 2 engine in March 2020.[8][9][10] A public release was planned for the second half of 2021,[11] with a select group already having received early access to its closed beta,[12] while further waves of developers have been provided with keys on a first-come, first-serve basis. In Sandbox, players can pick from many gamemodes similar to Garry's Mod.[13] The game uses C# as a backend for user-created content.[14] Newman has stated among the improvements are entity physics, lighting, and water effects.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Park, Morgan (9 August 2021). "If Valve won't remake Team Fortress 2, these modders will". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  2. ^ Newman, Garry (10 February 2024). "Hackweek Feb 2024 - News". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. ^ "The First Steps". TF: Source 2. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. ^ Walker, Ian (12 August 2021). "Team Fortress 2 Fans Are Rebuilding The Game With Latest Tech". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  5. ^ Andy Chalk (10 January 2024). "Fan-made Team Fortress 2 remake using the Source 2 engine shuts down for good after receiving a DMCA notice from Valve". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  6. ^ Iwaniuk, Phil (9 September 2015). "Garry's Mod 2 is in development, won't be called Garry's Mod 2, will have VR support". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. ^ Donnelly, Joe (5 September 2017). "S&box could become Garry's Mod 2 but is 'nowhere near that yet,' says GMod creator". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. ^ Livingstone, Christopher (24 December 2019). "How a 'total accident' led to Garry's Mod's funniest feature and 15 years of twisted success". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. ^ Newman, Garry (27 April 2020). "Back Online". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  10. ^ Newman, Garry (27 October 2020). "New Engine". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  11. ^ "about s&box". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  12. ^ Newman, Garry (30 April 2021). "April 2021". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  13. ^ "The road to Dev Preview 2". Facepunch Forum. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  14. ^ Newman, Garry (8 September 2017). "Dev Blog 2 - C# - News". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ^ Bolding, Jonathan (31 January 2021). "Garry's Mod successor Sandbox is looking lit in new development update". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
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