Steel 'n' Gold
Bandits are invading the peaceful town of Copper Bend. Are you going to join their rows or are you going to arms to defend the town's riches?
Steel 'n' Gold is a Western-style PvP game world, created by VRChat. It originally launched in July 2017 and was remastered using Udon in February 2023.
Overview
In Steel 'n' Gold, players can choose to be on either of two teams: Bandits, or Sheriffs. Both teams are armed with revolvers with limited ammunition that can be reloaded. The objective for the sheriffs is to prevent gold ingots from getting stolen; sheriffs can return any ingots stationary on the group by clicking on them, and warping them to their original safe. The objective of the bandits is to break into buildings and crack open safes to retrieve gold bars. Copper Bend features stationary and throwable explosives, tunnels on each team base, and stage hazards.
Win conditions
A sixty-second 'overtime' countdown will initiate, on the condition that the timer runs to zero while the remaining bar of gold is in the bandits' possession. The sheriff will win the game if they return the gold in overtime, or if the overtime clock reaches zero before the bandits bring it back to their base. The timer will continue to count down if the ingot is dropped with nobody touching it. Bandits must deliver the gold back to their base to win during overtime.
Sheriff team
- The sheriff team will win by defending the gold, and if the bandits fail to succeed in retrieving every bar of gold in the allotted time.
- Sheriffs can also win if all bandits are placed in jail using lassos, however this win condition is difficult to achieve!
Bandit team
- The bandits will win the game only if every bar of gold is taken to the safe inside of the bandits' base within the time limit.
Stage hazards
Stage hazards for Steel 'n' Gold include stationary containers of explosives that when shot at, will frag anyone within its blast radius. A fast-moving train runs a straight line down the middle of Copper Bend, which will frag anyone in its direct path; the freight also has containers of explosives, which can be shot at to frag those nearby. It's a good idea for players to maneuver in a way that avoids any explosives.
Strategies
In addition to the Sheriff being able to use their revolvers, sheriffs can capture bandits at close range using a lasso, which will warp the bandit inside of a jail cell which stalls time for the opposing team members to steal gold. Bandits can break out of jail by picking the lock to the door by clicking and holding onto the door; or if another bandit outside of the jail detonates an explosive to destroy the walls of the jail cell, freeing everyone inside. When the train goes by the jail, lining up a shot with the crates of explosives will blow a hole in the wall of the jail.
Explosives can strategically be lobbed at the opposing team, but players also risk detonating themselves and their allies. They can be used to break open safes, with the time it takes to open a safe being based on its health. One explosion can reduce the safe's health by up to 50%, halving the time it takes to open. A second explosion can then fully open the safe. only explosives can damage safes, Explosives held by enemies can also be shot at, causing them to detonate in their hands and instantly fragging them.
When a player loses all their health points, they will respawn back at their team's base. Both team bases have a trapdoor that can be used to bypass an alternative route, instead of exiting from any of the regular base exits. This promotes strategy and reduces spawn camping or puppy-guarding.
Perching up on a roof or a high place, such as the church steeple, or treetop can be advantageous for either team occupying the zone.
Trivia
- The overhead announcer for Steel 'n' Gold was voiced by Ron, VRChat's former Chief Creative Officer.
- "Copper Bend" is likely a play-on-word for the term coppers, an old slang word for 'cop' or sheriff.
- The name of the freight train running through town is called the "Copper Express".
- Steel 'n' Gold has a "cousin" called Miner Dispute, with identical gameplay and mechanics, and a different map layout.
- The spectator platform was once the spawn area for the original Steel 'n' Gold world.
- The original version of Steel 'n' Gold used C# scripts for all functionality. It did not use the VRChat SDK.
Resources
- Steel N Gold Returns! on YouTube
- Official Steel'n'Gold VRChat Group - SnG.0000
