Survival shooter, RTS and resource gathering in one persistent world. Here is how it plays and what is in it.
02
How a Run Works
Seven steps, repeated at a bigger scale every time.
01
Deploy
Pick a region and its settings on the deploy screen, gear up, and drop in.
02
Explore
Push through procedural towns and wilds. Every map is generated from a seed.
03
Fight
First-person firefights against AI factions and the infected, with your squad beside you.
04
Loot
Crack crates, search bodies, salvage clutter. Everything you carry is at risk.
05
Extract
Keep pushing or get out? Make it to extraction and the loot is yours to keep.
06
Bank it
Back at your HQ, everything you extracted goes into your stash and stays there.
07
Build
Build, craft and recruit, then deploy again stronger.
All images are real, unedited greybox captures. Final art is in progress.
IN THE BUILD: playable in the current greybox IN DEVELOPMENT: designed, being built ROADMAP: later phases
03
Two Layers, One War
RTS command and first-person combat aren't separate modes. They're two ways of controlling the same running simulation.
> FIELDFirst-person combat and aiming, with optional third-person for driving and walking around.
> COMMANDStep back into the HQ command view. Select units, give orders, manage production and logistics, then drop back into a body.
> MOBILE COMMAND ARRAYA crafted, carried item that opens RTS mode in the field. Better antenna materials extend your command range. in development
> LIVING WORLDAI factions recruit, build, move armies and take territory while you're away.
GREYBOX · ENTERING THE RTS HQ COMMAND VIEW
GREYBOX · A SQUADMATE GOES DOWN
04
Whoever You Play Is in Command
There's no fixed hero. The squad member you're controlling is the acting commander, so switching bodies is a core tactic: play your specialist when you need one.
> CHAIN OF COMMANDYou set the succession. If the leader falls, the next in line takes over, and the highest-level survivor steps up if the chain is empty.
> MORALESquads perform better under higher-level leaders. Lose the acting commander and morale drops, harder the higher their level.
> DEATH IS FINALA dead soldier takes their skills with them. The run ends only when everyone is gone.
in development Designed and approved; being built now.
05
Skills Grow From Use
No perk points. People improve by doing the work and through training facilities at your base. Nobody is ever locked out of a skill line, and mixing skills unlocks hybrid twists on top of the base abilities.
Hacking+Demolitions=Bomb Dronein development
Hacking+Firearms=Combat Hacker: Gun Dronein development
Hacking+Medicine=Med Dronein development
> HACKING SKILL TREE in development
Today, Hacking grows by claiming and powering facilities. Higher levels are planned to unlock: hacking AI buildings · unlocking doors without a charge · taking down drones · hijacking and redirecting enemy airstrikes · cutting a site's power · stealing money from terminals and trader safes.
That's 4 to 17 million guns for every star in the Milky Way.
The plan: 150 weapons and tools, 30 equipment types and hundreds of weapon slot modifiers.
That's why no gun in Black Swan is pre-listed. Each one is saved as a recipe and built the moment you craft it or find it.
IN THE BUILD · AMMO PRESS: FMJ AND AP ROUNDSIN THE BUILD · MODIFYING A COMBAT BLADE
In the build
Parts & materials
Choose the material for each part. Materials are designed as trade-offs, not straight upgrades. Condition runs Rusty → Worn → Fair → Good → Perfect → Pristine.
In the build
Real crafting stations
Ammo presses, field kitchens and workbenches, each with real recipes, real materials and real crafting times.
Chips in the build
Chips, gems & runes
Every gun gets a socket, and 7 tech chips already slot in, from Armor-Piercing to Explosive Rounds. Coming next: gems graded by carat, real Norse and Celtic runes that wear out with use, and up to three sockets on melee weapons and tools.
In the build
One fuse system
Nine fuse kinds: timed, impact, proximity, remote, tripwire, pressure, airburst, delayed impact, anti-tamper. Each explosive family gets its own set.
// NEW & INCOMING
Fresh From the Forge
New systems just landed in the game, and more are already being hammered into shape.
NEW · IN THE GAME NOW
NEW
Material Combiner
Fuse two materials into a brand-new hybrid at your base. Then fuse the hybrids.
NEW
91 First-Fusion Hybrids
One round of fusing alone opens 91 new materials. Go deeper and the list runs into the billions.
NEW
Marketplace
Buy what you can't craft and what never drops. Every part carries its own material onto your gun.
NEW
13 Gun Materials
11 forgeable, plus aluminum and copper from market and loot. From polymer and wood to titanium, carbon fiber and exotic alloy.
NEW
7 Tech Chips
Armor-Piercing, Target Prediction, Explosive Rounds, Rapid Fire and more, slotted right into your gun.
NEW
14 Guns, 10 Component Slots
M4, AKM, MP5, M249, P90, FAL, SVD, M1 Garand, Remington 700, RPG-7 and more, each built part by part.
INCOMING · IN THE FORGE
INCOMING
Attachments
Red dot, holo, ACOG, thermal, suppressor and grips, mounted in the field.
INCOMING
Gems
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Amethyst, Diamond and Skull/Onyx, graded by carat.
INCOMING
Runes
12 runes and knots, from Crude to Masterwork, that wear as you use them.
Every one of these multiplies the arsenal. The count only goes up.
07
Build Your HQ
Your private HQ is where loot becomes power, and it stays between runs. It's invite-only: nobody gets in or loots it unless you invite them.
> BUILDPlace workshops, depots, radio masts, troop centers and production buildings.
> TRADEA base marketplace to buy and sell, plus regional markets and traders out in the world.
> ATTENTIONHigh-tier factories put out smoke and draw attention. When the activity meter fills, raids come. in development
IN THE BUILD · PLACING BASE STRUCTURESIN THE BUILD · WORKSHOP AT THE HQ
08
A World That Fights Back
IN THE BUILD · PROCEDURAL WILDS
In the build
Procedural regions
Seeded worlds with towns, industrial sites, military positions, deposits and extraction points. Bigger multi-story buildings and megastructures are on the way.
In the build
Fog of war
Unexplored areas are black, explored ones go dark gray, and only what's visible right now is live. Radio towers push the fog back.
In the build
AI factions
Factions that move, fight, defend valuable sites and respond to you. No armies out of thin air: they're built from resources and production.
In development
The infected
Hordes are already in the field. Next up: distinct shamblers and sprinters, claw and bite attacks, and a horde mode.
