TimeSplitters Rewind is a fan-made remake of the multiplayer from the cult FPS franchise, TimeSplitters. The game, a "labor of love" being created during the developers' free time, will enter into closed beta during Q1 2014.
Development
Due the uncertain future of TimeSplitters 4, which had been in hiatus since the closing and buyout of Free Radical, fans had clamored for a return to the game's development and release by its current holders, Crytek UK. Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek, had stated that while the company received a strong outpouring of supportive responses, vocal support for the franchise's future "[wasn't] high enough yet." This led to the creation of the Facebook page, "100,000 Strong for TimeSplitters 4," which currently retains the goal of getting both TimeSplitters 4 and an official HD collection of the trilogy to be released.
Sometime in November of 2012, "100,000 Strong" got permission from Crytek UK to create TimeSplitters Rewind, a remake of the franchises' multiplayer, after an "informal Facebook conversation" with the company. The group has been allowed the use of references from the franchise and free reign to recreate everything from the first three games, but they are not permitted to use assets created by the original development team. The game is produced during the developers' free time (shooting for 5 hours a week, minimum) and financed through the sale of other projects. The game was officially announced on March 7, 2013, in an interview with Cooking With Grenades.
Confirmed Details
The remake plans to recapture all of the familiar qualities of TimeSplitters' multiplayer and challenge modes, with "extremely little" change to their design. Currently, the game appears to be online-focused; no offline gameplay choices have been announced. Because of the subtle differences between TimeSplitters 2 and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, server admins would be allowed to choose between two gameplay styles: Classic (TS2) and Standard (TS:FP). Every game type from the trilogy is planned to return, as well as the game's bots.
The developers have promised that all of the playable characters from the trilogy will return. Fan favorites will be available in the final version, but due to the massive amount of characters, the additional cast will steadily be reintroduced through patches. Due to the number of characters, the developers have stated that they have no intention of creating any original characters.
Currently, no maps have been announced, though due to the goal of the developers, it may be assumed that all the franchise's maps will return. The status of Mapmaker is also unknown, though the developers have stated that custom maps made with CryEngine 3's SDK will be made available for download.
The game was originally announced as PC exclusive and is currently planned to be made available as a free download through mirrors and torrents. Upon Crytek giving the project their blessing, it was announced that TimeSplitters Rewind will be arriving on PS4 in addition to PC. During this announcement, it was also declared that cross-platform play between PS4 and PC and split-screen multiplayer on PS4 will be supported. Microsoft's discomfort with cross-platform play was reported as the reason the game isn't being developed for the Xbox One.
Also announced were plans to eventually include the single-player campaigns from each of the original three games.
External Links
"100,000 Strong for TimeSplitters 4" - Official Facebook
Eurogamer Story - Confirmation of PS4 version
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