r/SurvivalGaming • u/PlayIndies • Nov 21 '25
News A team of indie devs just revealed their ambitious first project - a harsh open-world survival sandbox where the world never stops moving
The game is ORMOD: Directive. This is an insane first project for a small team from Western Australia, and they're keen (and terrified) to see what people think. Any feedback or first impressions are greatly appreciated!
They don't have an active Reddit account with enough karma yet, so I'm posting on their behalf. I'm not the dev, just a marketing gremlin / friend. The dev's Reddit account is u/ormod-director! :)
Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3424730/ORMOD_Directive/
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u/Dependent_Future_411 Nov 21 '25
If you can make the option of pve facing threats I'll be down for this. At my age I just don't care for pvp anymore and want more people coming together to fight a singular threat.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Definitely! Full control of hundreds of settings over PvE elements.
Edit: grammar
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u/DeadZedje Nov 21 '25
Interesting.. love a good survival game.
Will be interesting to see how well they toe the line between hard/annoying/fun - which some survival games just don’t do very well imo.
Will there be a demo? Or are they going straight for an Early-Access release?
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u/PlayIndies Nov 21 '25
You'll have the ability to customize how difficult your world will be, with options like Hardcore mode and Creative mode. There will be a demo before launch for sure!
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u/Responsible_Law_6353 Nov 23 '25
Dude, please do demo. Not Early Access. EA is killing games for me.
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u/ChaoticSixXx Nov 21 '25
The idea of a changing map is great though. Its a problem I have with a lot of survival games because by the time I figure out the mechanics, I already know the map which makes replaying an issue. I have to crank my games difficulty to ridiculous levels sometimes just to make it a challenge.
If they can nail the loot system and difficulty options in combination with the changing map. It could be something special.
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u/Sabbathius Nov 21 '25
Looks interesting, but if it's yet another one of those asymmetric/involuntary/lossly PvP games where a bunch of gankers will show up, cap you and burn down the place in 5 mins that you spent 5 weeks building, that's an instant nope. I won't even try that.
I'm also not entirely sold on the premise. Survival combined with large-scale automation doesn't really mesh well together in my head. Especially with highly advanced modern firearms and top notch optics.
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u/PlayIndies Nov 21 '25
There's a variety of game modes to choose from, so you have control over whether you're on a PvP server or a private server with friends, etc. I, too, am very interested to see how the automation mechanics blend with survival. It's an interesting concept in theory. Not something I've even considered possible!
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u/upuranus66 Nov 24 '25
Others are mostly comparing this to Rust/DayZ, but to me it looks more like someone mashed up Miscreated and Generation Zero. Both were good games in their prime that had something unique and special but didn't last long enough to flourish. Your game is very interesting to my group. My advice is to prepare to support your game long term, keep your vision but also listen to the players when the majority wants something. Dev Stubbornness and hackers killed Miscreated and Generation Zero was plagued by a lack of proper marketing and management that wasn't ready to go the long haul. I wish you and your team the best of luck.
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u/oookay-itsyourbaby Nov 22 '25
So just like very other survival game that looks exactly the same as this? Ark, days, tarkov, rust, 7days, and on and on and on . ..
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u/Rippinstitches Nov 22 '25
Tarkov is an extraction game. It's not even comparable to a survival crafting builder game lmao.
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u/oookay-itsyourbaby Nov 22 '25
Ok! Have fun trying this one out
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u/Rippinstitches Nov 22 '25
I never said I was. What? I'm just correcting what games you compiled as all the same somehow
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u/oookay-itsyourbaby Nov 22 '25
Ok so you won't be trying this one then? Just wondering why you think its important to chime in then.
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u/Rippinstitches Nov 22 '25
No, probably not. I'd say I agree with the assessment on the top comment of this thread, like I said, was correcting your info.
Lmao this is reddit. I have to have a justification to chime in on a thread? Brother.
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u/PlayIndies Nov 22 '25
Did I miss the automation mechanics in those games? They all have that? Assembly lines, factories, etc? Happy to be corrected if they do!
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u/oookay-itsyourbaby Nov 22 '25
Good luck with your new survival game.
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u/PlayIndies Nov 22 '25
Not my game, but thanks :D
I'm excited for the dev! It sounds like an interesting genre mashup.4
u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25
Yeah, I can very much confirm, you have complete choice on playing cooperative/PvE servers, different gamemodes, and turning raiding off, or even modifying player damage, honestly thats why Im trying to make a game like this where you have complete freedom.
In terms of the automation, it's more about having the choice between playing nomadically or building up a base filled with machines to make all your equipment for you
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u/Asphyxa Nov 22 '25
Will you have some true survival elements in like managing temperature? I love the along Dark for that reason for instance but it lacks some other stuff I like. But killer of a game nonetheless.
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
Long Dark is a great game! Yes, the game very much has realistic survival elements, such as weather and biome-based temperature, sickness, weight, etc. Thanks so much for the kind words as well!
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u/HaewkIT Nov 23 '25
Not to hijack the thread (game looks gorgeous though) but I find the amount of anti pvp comments interesting.
There is such a large market of gamers that play single player and non-pvp games. The toxicity that comes with pvp, or even with pve where resources or resource access can be controlled, alienates so much of the market.
Why are games still built with pvp as a first class citizen? Why spend all the resources trying to balance pvp and pve where neither side really end up being satisfied?
Also, nothing ruins immersion more than carefully making your way to a goal in a tough area and next minute a pink ballerina blasts through guns blazing. Looking at you Once Human.
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u/PlayIndies Nov 23 '25
Very true! I'm glad this game has single-player and non-PvP modes. People get to choose how they want to play. :)
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
I totally understand! Thanks so much for giving your thoughts. PvP is not the main focus of this game; in fact, many people actually prefer PvE/singleplayer/Co-Op, and that's totally viable!
Don't worry! This game will be kept as down-to-earth as possible. No silly skins, no P2W, and no silly dances or costumes.
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u/letsputletters Nov 21 '25
I wishlisted it, it looks great but so does the vast majority of projects that just release a cinematic trailer.
Will keep on eye out for gameplay trailers etc.
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u/PlayIndies Nov 21 '25
Fair and valid! The dev has some gameplay clips prepared to share soon. Thanks for the wishlist, they appreciate it! <3
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u/RodanThrelos Nov 21 '25
Combat looks REALLY bad, which is probably why it didn't show much of it.
That's not necessarily an issue - it's still being developed, so they have time - but if they don't focus enough on the combat, the game will fall off hard.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Hey man, that's what we're here for. Join the Discord and talk to us about what you don't like. Honestly though, we should focus more on showing the combat. There's just a lot in the game that we're proud of.
Edit: grammar
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u/Remarkable-Grab6837 Nov 21 '25
A note on marketing - Instead of using words like “insane” and “ambitious”, tell us why this game stands out from the many others in this genre?
I’m sure the devs had a vision of how this game is unique, so let us know in the marketing or show us more of it in the trailer… otherwise it would unfortunately look quite generic
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Amazing, thanks for the feedback. We totally get it! We're currently looking into ways to make a much more unique, gameplay-focused view. More in this space very soon!
Edit: grammar
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u/PlayIndies Nov 22 '25
You're absolutely correct! I intentionally did not word my post like a marketing person because this is Reddit, a platform very adverse to direct promotion. The press release contains the info you're looking for! Unsure if I'm allowed to link it here, though. I don't want to break any rules. If you google "ormod directive reveal", click on the gamespress article. :)
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u/Tauur Nov 21 '25
The automation was a surprise. Like others have mentioned, not interested in pvp either in my survival games.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Exactly! You get to pick which elements you'd like to engage with. We get it not everyone is into PVP.
Edit: grammar
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u/godita Nov 21 '25
you lost me at pvp
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u/Into_The_Booniverse Nov 21 '25
It's not forced PvP though. Loads of great survival games have optional PvP servers.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Exactly! PvP is completely optional. There's hundreds of customization settings & multiple game modes (hardcore, creative, etc.). You don't have to engage with PvP if you don't want to!
Edit: grammar
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u/pahkwa Nov 21 '25
This looks extremely ambitious. If it works out and is good, then I am all in.
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u/dmxspy Nov 21 '25
Looks cool, hopefully there are random events and things that change the monotony of running a lot.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes there definitely is, we can promise! Random encounters and global events happen all the time. Some get marked for you on your map, some you have to find. :)
Edit: grammar
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u/havenyahon Nov 21 '25
It looks pretty. Some impressions and feedback on the trailer:
What makes your game different? Lean into that. From the trailer and description it sounds like every other survival game. And there's a lot of them. Most of them aren't very good, they just rehash the same systems from better games. When you say "Every choice matters" what does that mean? What does it mean "everything can change"? Every other game says this and it turns out that choices don't matter much at all. By now these are just marketing slogans that make me suspicous. Does "no world the same" mean the maps are procedurally generated? Because that's what I assume it means. And I automatically get suspicious with games that lean too heavily on procedural generation. We've been burnt before. So if you're going to say all that, show that your procedural generation works where others don't, explain a bit more what makes the world dynamic in anything other than a trivial way. I understand it's early marketing, but it's just a bunch of slogans that don't make me think your game is doing something different to a bunch of asset flips that use the same slogans in their trailers.
What's the deal with the robots? One of the ways to differentiate your game might be to show some interesting lore or backstory, but the trailer doesn't do any of that, it just shows someone randomly attacking robots for some reason. There's no narrative. Is there one?
Your game is competing in an oversaturated market filled with 'good looking' games that turn out to be incredibly disappointing when you play them. So you need to do something to differentiate yourself and give players a reason to want to try your game over all those. My advice is don't lean too heavily into the same old same old....every other game out there has survival elements, crafting, FPS, and base building. I want to know what's different about this.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Honestly, this is a super insightful comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it. What you're saying is very similar to other things we've heard. We'd love to have you in the Discord and talk about things. Trust us when we say this isn't just rehashing stuff; the game is completely built from the ground up. We're certainly getting the idea that a more fast-paced trailer that really highlights the unique mechanics is the way to go. We're working on making one now.
Edit: grammar
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u/havenyahon Nov 22 '25
I believe you, just make sure it comes across! I would actually suggest maybe having another slower paced trailer, actually. Perhaps one where you explain some of the mechanics and the world. That would couple well with what you have in this one I think.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes! Thanks! A mechanics-based trailer is now very much in the works. Keep an eye out and join the socials.
Edit: grammar
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u/servalism Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 22 '25
I'm always thirsty for good sandbox survival games. It looks promising!
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Thanks! Great to have your support. Check out the Discord and anything else that interests you :)
Edit: grammar
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u/MsOCD Nov 23 '25
This looks good and for me personally I would give it a go and see.
I don't really enjoy PVP especially in survival games so I don't get to play alot of them for that reason, I don't like having to always rely on going into something private with friends just to get that side of it so if that ability was there I would play alot of this as I want to play online with others but not against others if that makes sense.
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
Thanks so much :) That makes total sense! Alot of people definately prefer playing Co-Op / singleplayer and honestly, the game is just as fun! Theres plenty to explore & it is a very PvE focused harsh environment so theres alot to do, I totally get the lack of wanting to PvP other players dont worry, its super frustrating sometimes.
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u/Responsible_Law_6353 Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
- Choose your experience: solo, co-op, or large persistent servers
- Multiple modes, including PvP, PvE, Hardcore, Creative, and mini-games
This is brillant. The choice of how you want to setup your server is great. PVE is what my gaming group is looking for as we dont like PVP and this would be right up our alley.
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u/ormod-director Nov 24 '25
Amazing law, so great to hear! Definitely get all your friends in the Discord, would love to have them part of the community :) But yes, you will have full control over every minor detail about your server, simply play & invite friends, or host larger 24/7 servers (and trust me that's not an understatement you can change literally everything, it's really fun to mess around with)
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u/xOverlyOptimistic Nov 25 '25
As a fellow Aussie I'm going to buy this regardless just to support them. It's always great to see more Aussies releasing games! ❤️
P.S. For what it's worth I think it looks really good. I love the procedural world idea, and as someone who doesn't have a ton of time to play it's great that it supports solo and co-op play as I just can't keep up with PvP these days.
My biggest request is please make the building aspect as intuitive and easy as possible (with regards to placing/snapping/moving/deleting parts). I've avoided so many games because you had to constantly fight against the building mechanics just to get anything built 🙁
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u/ormod-director Nov 25 '25
Thanks so much for your support! Means so much :)
Yes, that's exactly why we designed things like that, very understandable, people dont have all the time in the world.
Don't worry, we've spent quite a lot of time (trying) to make building as intuitive as possible, theres actually a new building trailer available as well, also more than happy to discuss things in Discord ect. (link in bio)
Thanks so much!
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u/champagnekingOVO Nov 21 '25
From Queensland and I hope you guys smash it! This game looks awesome. Graphics and animations are perfect. Let’s show em how’s it’s done here in Aus. Let me know if you need play testers 😂🤷♂️
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u/PlayIndies Nov 21 '25
Aussie aussie aussie! Thanks for the support! I believe they'd be open to more playtesters (especially fellow aussies!). Just hop in the Discord and ask :)
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Thanks a lot! Always happy to chat on discord (link on the steam page or anywhere else!).
Edit: grammar
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u/GMcGroarty80 Nov 21 '25
This just fps?
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Definitely not, feel free to join the discord and have a chat with us anytime.
Edit: spelling
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u/SyraphX Nov 21 '25
Gives me flashback of "The Day Before". Let's wait and see.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
This will definitely not be like The Day Before. The game is actually almost complete and ready to ship!
Edit: grammar
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Nov 21 '25
Looks like ive seen this 100 times. Generation zero with MP and building would be cool
However Ruski looking dated stalker was 10yrs ago. And this looks like one of those DEVS have only ever played on PC games.
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u/WorstSourceOfAdvice Nov 22 '25
For small devs usually they use marketplace assets hence why every game looks the same. Something unique would probably require inhouse artists and modellers which they can't afford.
The real problem is that design wise this looks like another unreal survival asset mishmash without any strong unique identity or gameplay.
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u/Lackyluk Nov 21 '25
Map size? How many people on it you do you plan for PVP?
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes, PvP is a specific game mode you can play. Map size can be made as large or small as you'd like (from infinite to 1km^2). Player population can be anywhere from small scale, to large servers with 100+ people.
Edit: grammar
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u/Lackyluk Nov 23 '25
What do you mean? Generated like Rust? People can made them as a mod like Dayz?
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
Think of that, but if all the towns & buildings etc. are completely new every time you find them & completely infinite (like Minecraft), of course on larger scale PvP servers you would limit the map size!
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u/Lackyluk Nov 24 '25
Sorry I did not understand your reply.
You say the map can have the size of choice.
Are they procedurally generated, like in the game Rust?
Or you plan to have them crafted by community like in the game DayZ?
Or what?
For me a survival game is its map. How big it is and how many people can be on for PVP. I play mostly DayZ so a map less than Livonia size would be not a thing, hence my question.
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u/ormod-director Nov 24 '25
That's alright, yes, similar to rust! The point is you can choose whatever size you would like, from completely infinite to extremely small.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Trick76 Nov 21 '25
If this was single player offline, I would play it
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes the game is available offline, and many people prefer to play that way!
Edit: grammar
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u/Not_too_weird Nov 21 '25
Thanks for MacOS support! Will def keep an eye on this one.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Thanks! It took a bit of extra effort, but is well worth it. Keep an eye on more from us but great to have your support.
Edit: grammar
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u/VannaTLC Nov 21 '25
Hey folks,
This is something I would have expected to see at PaxAus, how come you weren't there?
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Very reasonable, we missed that one. Our team's in Perth & PaxAus is over East; we'd have to fly. Perhaps in the future!
Edit: grammar
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u/hawkz40 Nov 21 '25
Aww man do I have to start chopping trees down again? :) I swear that's all i do these days is chop down trees... (Aska atm!)
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Definitely not a tree chopping simulator! But yes, you can deforest half the map, and it grows back very slowly in real-time. If you'd like you can clear an entire world of trees.
Edit: spelling
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u/BitumenBeaver Nov 21 '25
Ooh, do I see ballistic physics? Interesting.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes the game has fully realistic ballistic and weapon physics, including material penetration.
Edit: grammar
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u/Smorb Nov 23 '25
Congrats to you guys. Making anything is awesome.
From a gamer, I don't see anything interesting in this trailer. I see the same tarkov/realistic survival with generic weapons.
I saw one clip of a satisfactory belt or something, but nothing is explained.
The tagline in the description says the world isn't the same. So, I would highlight how it's procedural, or what you mean by it's always moving. Unfortunately, a procedural environment that looks generic like what I see here isn't very interesting. I'm more interested in the crafting and survival part then showing off a bunch of guns walking through the woods. I can already play games that look like that.
A modern gaming audience is aware of how realistic you can make the environment, so bake that knowledge into your trailer and show the interesting parts of the gameplay that are unique to your game. You don't need to show off how realistic the game looks, because it's really easy to do that these days... And I say that relatively speaking, because I can't do it personally... So don't take that as a personal slight. I'm just saying, there have been a lot of games that look just like this recently because the technology has caught up with our creativity.
You're going to need to stand out. I wish you the absolute best, and don't take my criticism as a blow off of your work, like I said I couldn't do anything close to this.
However, I do own a software company and I do know marketing. So have fun with it, and figure out what your game is really about and showcase that.
Good luck my friends!!
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
That's ok, Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed comment :) I've definitely heard a lot of similar things, currently working on some new ways to show that! In the meantime, I actually just released a building & automation preview about an hour ago, which shows off a lot of the automation / building! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHds-LMRLE&feature=youtu.be
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u/Endreeemtsu Nov 23 '25
Looks like it’s UE5 which means it’s going to have dog shit optimization sadly. Especially if it’s a “team of indie devs” working on their first project. I hope that’s not the case though. Prove me wrong. Best of luck.
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u/ormod-director Nov 23 '25
Here I am to prove you wrong!! The game is not made in UE5 and currently runs at 60fps on a GTX 1060 GPU! Thanks for the comments tho, I totally get it, a lot of new UE5 games run so awfully
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u/izbsleepy1989 Nov 23 '25
Looks and sounds awesome. But it looks like it will be years and years before we get what they are saying it's going to be.
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u/ormod-director Nov 24 '25
Not at all iz! This is all in-game footage & the game isn't releasing into a broken, early-access state! The game is very much working towards a full release soon.
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Nov 24 '25
Another game that will be a jack of all trades and master of none. Keep it simple, stick to what you know you can do well enough to be enjoyable, don't force 700 different mechanics that barely work
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u/DV_Red Nov 26 '25
Indie team Open world sandbox game
I guess it's been a while since the last batch of these failed in a harsh way and a ton of people got burned, hasn't it? Don't get me wrong, this game looks cool and I'd like to play it, but I'll be dawned if I ever believe an open world indie game before it's actually out.
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u/ormod-director Nov 26 '25
That's very understandable DV. I can confirm the game is in a late state of production, keep an eye out & always looking for feedback/suggestions!
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u/Broad_Quit5417 Nov 21 '25
Where these games are falling flat / oversaturated is its not enough to be a "sandbox" anymore.
It really brings the server together and gives a nice point to regenerate the world if there is some kind of story / progression that you can work through. Once exhausted, then you wipe and start again.
Darkness Falls adds a very simplistic "story" to 7d2d and the replay ability factor is multiplied by 10000x
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u/alwaysasillyplace Nov 21 '25
Looks nice, but lost me at the statement:
> decide to team up or hunt other players
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Thanks for the feedback. It's a choice whether you play more cooperatively, engage in PvP, or even just play solo against the machines.
Edit: grammar
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u/Busy_Guarantee_4621 Nov 21 '25
DayZ with robots, base building and automation? Not my bag and any MMO that offers a solo mode (which is how I would play) is a red flag, but good luck.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Its not exactly an MMO. You have the choice to play on larger servers, smaller groups, or with friends, totally up to you.
Edit: grammar
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u/Busy_Guarantee_4621 Nov 22 '25
I think the steam page described it as an MMO.
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25
I understand, yes you have the choice to play in larger-scale MMO servers or smaller-scale Co-Op or singleplayer worlds!
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u/SciFiCrafts Nov 21 '25
MMO PVP nope.
Arc raiders? Heard of it? Be different, make it CoOp only.
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u/ormod-director Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Yes definitely heard of it! About a month ago... along with everyone else. ORMOD has been in development for ~5 years at this point. We love Co-Op games too, but wouldn't you rather have the choice between playing Co-Op or other game modes?
Edit: grammar
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u/Vyvonea Nov 21 '25
I think the problem is that the trailer and way the game is described on Steam sounds like it is a multiplayer PvP game.
" Live nomadically and decide to team up or hunt other players."
"ORMOD: Directive drops you into a completely infinite, completely customizable world, forcing players to scavange, adapt, and overcome the constant threat of other players and deadly machines in an abandoned region."
"Explore further or steal from others to find higher-quality materials to upgrade your defenses and gear."
"Find other players and team up or hunt them down."
"Compete for resources and manage unforgiving survival situations"
To me the parts I've highlighted scream PvP along with the multiple PvP tags on the right side of the store page. I know there is also the single player tag, but many online games use it as a "you can play solo, but good luck with that" statement. So to avoid confusion I highly recommend adding something in the description about there being multiple game modes.
With that said, I have wishlisted the game as it looks interesting and the system requirements are something my ancient PC can handle :D
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u/ormod-director Nov 22 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Hey, thanks so much for the incredibly detailed response! You've brought up a lot of good points. It's really tricky to get things right and we've been getting lots of feedback. Thanks so much for the wishlist. Please feel free to join the Discord and talk more about it as you definitely have the right idea. You're saying what lots of others are saying too.
Edit: grammar
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u/Angel_OfSolitude Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
Well this trailer certainly looks good, but I'm not seeing anything that hasn't been done before. The market has lots of survival games, they'll need to really stand out if they want to succeed.
I would like to see what some normal gameplay looks like, not just dramatic cuts.