Soot & Steel: Between Iron and Ice
A high-pressure cooperative survival roguelite aboard a speeding iron train in the Siberian wasteland. Risk of Rain-like progression and bullet modification systems combined with the panic and chaos of Overcooked.
Visuals & Atmosphere
Pixel-art aesthetics combined with high-contrast dynamic lighting, particle soot, blizzard effects, and high-stakes multi-station co-op layout.
Current Feature State
Built and released as part of the Game Programming Lab at ETH Zurich. Every feature listed below is fully implemented, balanced, and playable in the current release.
1. Train Operations & Survival
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Manual Engine & Coal Fueling: Players retrieve coal from the rear wagon and shovel it into the furnace to maintain heat. Neglecting the engine causes cabin cooling and eventual freezing death.
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Speed Lever & Travel Modes: Speed adjusted manually via locomotive lever. Controls trade-offs between coal burn rate, stage completion time, and enemy encounter density.
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Temperature & Freezing State: Furnace is the primary heat source. Cold exposure from dead engines or wall breaches triggers frosty visual overlays and movement/action penalties.
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Hull Breaches & Wall Repair: Enemy attacks breach exterior train walls, letting arctic blizzards in. Players must manually patch breaches under fire.
2. Combat & Modular Crafting
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3-Part Ammo Crafting: Assemble custom ammunition at workbenches by combining Projectiles, Casings, and Propellants.
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Component Upgrades & Chaining: Chain modifiers like Scatter (20-pellet volley), Homing (in-flight trajectory nudge), and Heavy Propellant (speed for damage/size) via an internal trigger/lifecycle system.
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Train-Mounted Turrets: Cannons must be manually manned, aimed/rotated, and loaded with crafted ammunition rounds from the rack before firing.
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Enemy AI & Progression: Horseback riflemen shoot train walls, damage interior equipment, and stun players with procedural difficulty scaling.
3. Station Hub & Customization
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Between-Stage Hub Screen: Arrive at safe stations between runs where unburned coal is automatically converted into spendable credits.
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Shop & Upgrade Purchases: Spend credits on station redundancy, base resources, and bullet component upgrades from shop NPCs.
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Grid-Based Interior Customization: Physically rearrange workbenches, ammo racks, and equipment on the train car grid to optimize cooperative workflows.
4. UI, Audio & Visual Polish
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Onboarding Tutorial: "Learning-by-doing" guided intro sequence on a moving train teaching furnace maintenance, speed control, wall repair, crafting, and gunnery.
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User Interface (Gum UI): Speedometer, track progress/distance bar, pause menu, controller mappings, post-level reward screens, and post-death statistics.
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Dynamic FMOD Audio: Dynamic rail whine, cabin rattles, and wind scaling with speed, plus comprehensive SFX for crafting, doors, repairs, and breaches.
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Custom Particle System: Speed-dependent snowfall, locomotive chimney soot, wheel sparks, crafting bench sparks, weapon firing effects, and snow footprints.
The Commercial Vision
Transforming the proven prototype into a polished, high-replayability commercial hit with modern engine architecture, online co-op, and deep roguelite progression.
🛠️ Engine & Online Multiplayer
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Godot 4.x Port: Migrate from MonoGame to Godot 4.x for rapid iteration, superior particle systems, and streamlined cross-platform builds (Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck, future consoles).
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1–4 Player Online Netcode: Full online co-op multiplayer supporting Steam Lobbies, Steam Remote Play, Discord rich presence, and Twitch streamer integration.
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Re-architected Core: Decoupled systems for seamless online synchronization, latency compensation, and robust host migration.
🗺️ Roguelite Loop & Win-State
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Slay the Spire Branching Map: Replace endless survival with structured runs featuring branching track nodes, varied biome environments, elite encounters, and climactic final bosses.
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Meta-Progression & Character Classes: Permanent perk trees, starting loadout customizations, and distinct playable character classes with unique perks (inspired by Risk of Rain 2).
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Framing Narrative & Secrets: Narrative lore framing the journey through the wasteland, unlocking new secrets, stations, and lore across runs.
💥 Combat, Crafting & AI
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Expanded Bullet Upgrades: Vastly expanded pool of bullet modifiers with game-breaking synergies and hidden unlock conditions (inspired by Rounds).
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Diverse Enemy Roster & Counter-Play: Varied enemy archetypes (shielded riders, boarding raiders, mortar carts) that force players to adapt their crafted ammo builds.
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Adaptive Run Difficulty: AI systems that dynamically introduce specialized threats based on the player crew's dominant strategy.
🚂 Train & Off-Train Mechanics
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Holistic Train Customization: Unlockable wagon types (cargo, armory, passenger cars), engine variants (steam, diesel, nuclear), and persistent exterior armor plating.
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Off-Train Actions & Track Switches: Mid-run disembarking mechanics to scavenge abandoned outposts, rescue stranded engineers, and physically switch track junctions.
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Run-Building Economy: Build and expand the train's physical structure dynamically throughout each run.
Workload & Time Estimates
Granular breakdown across 8 core workstreams, calculated for a full-time 4-developer engineering team working at 42 hours/week.
| Workstream | Minimum Hours | Maximum Hours | Core Deliverables |
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| 1. Engine Migration & Re-architecture | 200 hrs | 400 hrs | Port MonoGame to Godot 4.x, rendering pipeline, FMOD integration, input mapping |
| 2. Netcode & Online Multiplayer | 300 hrs | 600 hrs | 1–4P online co-op, Steam lobby syncing, state serialization, latency compensation |
| 3. Roguelite Metagame & Run Loop | 160 hrs | 320 hrs | Branching node map, win-state, bosses, permanent unlock tree, character perks |
| 4. Combat, Crafting & AI Expansion | 160 hrs | 320 hrs | Expanded bullet components & synergies, new enemy archetypes, adaptive AI |
| 5. Train Customization & Off-Train | 160 hrs | 320 hrs | Wagon types, engine variants, armor, off-train resource scavenging & track switches |
| 6. Narrative, UX & Polish | 160 hrs | 320 hrs | Framing lore, dialogue, UI/UX redesign, tutorial refinement, visual polish |
| 7. QA, Network Testing & Hardening | 160 hrs | 240 hrs | Multiplatform testing (Win/Mac/Linux/Deck), desync stress tests, bug triage |
| 8. Optimization & Bug Fixing | 160 hrs | 240 hrs | Profiling, memory optimization, release packaging, store integrations |
| Total Estimated Workload | 1,460 hrs | 2,760 hrs | Full commercial release scope |
| Workload in Weeks (@ 42h/week) | 34.8 wks | 65.7 wks | Cumulative solo developer time |
| Team of 4 (x3 Parallelization Factor) | 11.6 wks | 21.9 wks | 3 to 6 months full-time development |
Budget Estimate & Ask
Transparent cost breakdown reflecting Swiss development reality, shared studio space, and comprehensive legal/marketing provisions.
Developer Compensation
4 full-time developers @ CHF 4'000/mo net + 20% Swiss social security and insurance (health, pension/BVG, accident). CHF 16'000/mo for 3–6 months.
Studio Flex Desks
Planned rental of 4 flex desks at Swiss Game Hub Zurich (@ CHF 680/mo) for a dedicated workspace, peer review, and integration into the Swiss indie ecosystem upon funding.
Marketing & PR
15–20% allocation for key launch marketing: creator outreach, key distribution, trailer production, and Steam Next Fest campaign visibility.
Operations & Reserve
Unforeseen expenses buffer, legal fees, Swiss GmbH company incorporation (capital & notary), software licenses, and hardware costs.
Price Model & Break-Even
Low-risk investment with an exceptionally achievable unit sales threshold in the booming co-op roguelite genre.
Unit Waterfall & Deductions
- Gross Retail Price 100.0% (CHF 15.00)
- Steam Platform Fee (30%) -30.0% (-CHF 4.50)
- Estimated VAT / Regional Taxes (12%) -12.0% (-CHF 1.80)
- Refund & Chargeback Allowance (3%) -3.0% (-CHF 0.45)
- Estimated Net Revenue per Unit ~55.0% (~CHF 8.25)
With full initial recoupment to the publisher, break-even requires fewer than 20k copies sold globally—a highly modest benchmark for online co-op Steam titles.
What We Offer & What We Seek
A collaborative, mutually beneficial publishing relationship built on transparency, technical rigor, and clear commercial milestones.
What Vorp Studios Offers
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Elite Engineering Caliber: A team of well-educated developers from ETH Zurich with professional software industry experience.
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100% Initial Recoupment: Publisher recovers 100% of invested development financing before profit splitting begins.
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60/40 Post-Recoupment Split: Fair 60/40 revenue split in favor of developers after full cost recovery.
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5-Year Exclusive Rights: Exclusive publishing and distribution rights for 5 years post-release, reverting to the studio thereafter.
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Right of First Refusal (ROFR): Non-exclusive Right of First Refusal on future projects or expansions relating to Soot & Steel.
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High Transparency: Bi-weekly sprint demos, milestone builds, and proactive, open communication.
What We Seek From a Publisher
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Commercial Launch Guidance: Production mentoring and release schedule planning for our debut commercial title.
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Marketing & Next Fest Strategy: Influencer/creator outreach, press relations, Steam Next Fest positioning, and festival submissions.
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Milestone Financing: Production funding (CHF 87.5k – 158k) linked to agreed development milestones.
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Licensing & Store Operations: Platform store page management, regional pricing optimizations, and ratings/licensing support.
