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.
| S&box | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Facepunch Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Facepunch Studios |
| Designer(s) | Garry Newman |
| Programmer(s) | Garry Newman |
| Engine | Source 2 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Sandbox |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
editSandbox 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
editIn 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
editAn 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
editThe 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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Hackweek Feb 2024 - News". sbox.game. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The First Steps". TF: Source 2. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ "Team Fortress 2 Fans Are Rebuilding The Game With Latest Tech". Kotaku. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Newman, Garry (27 April 2020). "Back Online". s&box. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ "New Engine - News". s&box. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "s&box". s&box. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "April 2021 - News". s&box. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "The road to Dev Preview 2". Facepunch Forum. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Dev Blog 2 - C# - News". s&box. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ 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.
External links
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