Red Lift
Released
A brutal co-op horror FPS where every move tightens the world's hands around your throat.
RED LIFT — v001
October 10th marks Red Lift's Initial prototype release and my birthday.
RED LIFT is my spiritual Half-Life mod turned 1–6 player co-op survival horror FPS. It’s a code-heavy prototype, an experimental sketchbook, and now something you can actually get your hands on.
I wanted a high-consequence shooter with some Fallout: New Vegas, Killing Floor, old F.E.A.R., and the kind of Source-game freedom that lets you do stupid shit because the systems allow it. You know, the good shit.
What’s shipping- Hedron City, Mars: One large urban map with streets, stores, rooftops, interiors, bunkers, shortcuts, and questionable escape routes.
The Pulse Director: Escalating enemy pressure, supplies to chase, and bunker windows to recover. You have enough ammunition to start the fight. Finishing it takes movement, planning, and probably some bad decisions.
Manhunt AI [MaI]: Reds react to evidence, with different levels of awareness and different responses to what they notice. Some are sleepy idiots. Some are frighteningly sharp.
Seven active Red types: Different threats to learn and survive. Animation and combat readability still need work.
13+ weapons: A growing collection with a fondness for Vietnam-era hardware.
Weapon handling [WIP]: Persistent recoil, movement inertia, procedural sway, and independent dual-wielded weapons.
Terminal Chaos Model [TCM]: Simulated penetration, fragmentation, tumbling, and terminal behavior for supported ammunition.
Anytime Limb Separation & Dismemberment [LSD, early implementation]: An initial example is included on one Red. Broader implementation remains unfinished.
Persistent blood field: Impacts stain the environment, and wounded Reds leave bleeding trails. Blood history can also serve as evidence for MaI.
Player body and physiology: Height, weight, inertia, stamina, encumbrance, injury, blood loss, heartbeat, breathing, coughing, and wheezing.
Six RPG disciplines: Gunfighter, Bulwark, Tracker, Mule, Chaos Increaser, and Medic, with distinct body characteristics and skills.
Physical supplies and equipment: Ammunition, medical gear, explosives, and other things worth risking your neck to retrieve.
Physics and ragdolls [crude WIP]: An early foundation with plenty of room for improvement.
Original music: By me and friends.
1–6 player dedicated-server co-op.
Doors. Weldable doors. Harry Dresden is gonna love these.
The Pulse Director: Escalating enemy pressure, supplies to chase, and bunker windows to recover. You have enough ammunition to start the fight. Finishing it takes movement, planning, and probably some bad decisions.
Manhunt AI [MaI]: Reds react to evidence, with different levels of awareness and different responses to what they notice. Some are sleepy idiots. Some are frighteningly sharp.
Seven active Red types: Different threats to learn and survive. Animation and combat readability still need work.
13+ weapons: A growing collection with a fondness for Vietnam-era hardware.
Weapon handling [WIP]: Persistent recoil, movement inertia, procedural sway, and independent dual-wielded weapons.
Terminal Chaos Model [TCM]: Simulated penetration, fragmentation, tumbling, and terminal behavior for supported ammunition.
Anytime Limb Separation & Dismemberment [LSD, early implementation]: An initial example is included on one Red. Broader implementation remains unfinished.
Persistent blood field: Impacts stain the environment, and wounded Reds leave bleeding trails. Blood history can also serve as evidence for MaI.
Player body and physiology: Height, weight, inertia, stamina, encumbrance, injury, blood loss, heartbeat, breathing, coughing, and wheezing.
Six RPG disciplines: Gunfighter, Bulwark, Tracker, Mule, Chaos Increaser, and Medic, with distinct body characteristics and skills.
Physical supplies and equipment: Ammunition, medical gear, explosives, and other things worth risking your neck to retrieve.
Physics and ragdolls [crude WIP]: An early foundation with plenty of room for improvement.
Original music: By me and friends.
1–6 player dedicated-server co-op.
Doors. Weldable doors. Harry Dresden is gonna love these.
What to expect:
There’s a lot of placeholder art, unfinished presentation, and rough behavior. Performance varies, and optimization is ongoing. Multiplayer, enemy routing, doors, pacing, and long-run stability need more real-world testing. This is version 0.0.1. There’s a game here, but there’s also a lot to be desired, repaired, and expanded upon. Not particularly fond of the Reds character designs and gun feel.
Red Lift is a passion project, and a difficult, overwhelming one at that. As a solo developer, there’s something terrifying about trying to make a game that can stand beside the ones that shaped you. Killing Floor, F.E.A.R., New Vegas, WaW., etc, games which left huge legacies. I wanted to make something worthy of what they gave me, and I honestly don’t know whether I’ll ever get there.
I don’t know what the future holds. It could take years to get this where I want it. It could stay rough, or eventually become one of those abandoned projects someone stumbles across and wonders about. I can’t promise a timeline or a finished masterpiece. But I made it this far, there’s a game here, and I’ll keep working on it as I can.
The immediate priority is hardening what’s already here. No new content push is planned right now. Optimization, bug fixes, reliable multiplayer, clearer combat, and making the existing gameplay loop hold up through complete runs.
Thanks for stepping into the sketchbook.
AI serves the work.
Work feeds human.