I'm back with possibly the last dev diary before launch... Christian here, and you can't imagine how long I waited to say this.
Development Status
Since the last post, there have been some changes that made the process of finishing the game slower. The reality of being an indie game can be complicated at times, but we've reached the stage where we're starting to add final translations to the game while doing the necessary revisions to make sure everything is running smoothly.
We're fine-tuning mechanics, fixing bugs, and making some changes to the game art. This allows us to move on to the next stage, which is inviting you to fill out the form HERE for a closed test (we will select about 20 or 30 people only). We hope it will be one of the last tests before launch. I have to warn you that people who support us or supported us at some point on Patreon have a separate reservation for the test and will receive a key via DM on Patreon. So there is no need to fill out any forms for them.
But that's not all. When we launch this closed test in the coming weeks, we'll also be updating the demo, which remains free for everyone. As I mentioned in the previous post, this will be the final update to the demo, but it will include all the changes and adjustments we've made so far.
We hope that the feedback we receive during testing will be enough to make the final adjustments and announce a concrete release date.
It's been a long road, and we're finally reaching the end.
And after the launch... what?
So, what are our plans after launch? Several ideas and content have been left out due to a lack of funding. Our plan is to continue adding content through continuous updates, for example, by adding more gameplay options and modes. Also, possible story DLCs, with mechanics or content not included in the initial launch version.
So there will be more content after the launch. We're also already thinking about what future project to pursue next. We have several options: finishing projects we've started and prototypes that exist, or starting a completely new project. We're not sure yet, so I invite you to follow us on our social media to stay up-to-date.
And that's all for this dev diary. Remember to join our patreon or buy our minigames if you want to help us with the development.
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Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
Beacon of Neyda - Demo update
As we announced earlier this week here is the new Demo update.
Gameplay: - Improved upgrade menu, UI changes for better understanding when an item is purchased. - added improvement to the recycling menu, now it can be opened at any time and automatically takes the building that needs to be recycled. - Improved player and drone repair time. - Adjusted +4% chance of scrap drop from enemies. - Added immediate objective notifications for better player guidance. - Added loading screen tips in multiple languages.
Minor visual updates: - Minor general adjustments. - Innocent robots have the on-hit effect now. - Improved fusion core explosion. - General animation timing adjustments. - More subtle creation and destruction transitions.
Experimental: - Added Italian and Turkish as selectable languages.
Sounds: - General sound balancing.
Bugs: - Fixed possible crash when using the roof cannon. - Fixed drones not positioning correctly. - Fixed power line connection glitch. - Fixed phantom grab of an object. - Minor performance bugs.
And that's all for this demo update.
Beacon of Neyda Dev Diary #11
After a couple of months, I'm back with a new development diary. My name is Christian, and I'm here to share the latest updates and a special announcement at the end.
Last Months of Development
That's right, we’re finally in the last stage of development. This means we are focused on balancing the game, testing the different levels and mechanics. We're also fine-tuning various art assets and working on a small introductory animation for the game.
This was reflected in our participation in LevelUY and CONAVI, an event in Uruguay where we reached the finals in several categories.
The Demo As we mentioned in the previous development diary, the demo is not a priority since all our efforts are directed at finishing the main game. The demo will receive two more updates: the first one will happen this week to integrate some visual and translation adjustments already present in the main game. The second update will include the game's introductory animation, making the demo complete. Outside of these two scheduled updates, the demo will not receive further support, at least until the game’s release.
Introductory Animation
What are we showing in this intro? The beginning of all the problems, the passage of time, and the call to save humanity. Yes, quite a lot, but we can sum it up with focused art, smooth transitions, and a voice-over. The game's lore is important to us, but we want players to discover it on their own if they're truly interested and willing to explore. If they simply want to play without worrying about the story, we want them to have that option. For this reason, we believe a light intro is the best solution.
Below, you can see a couple of screenshots of what you’ll be able to see once it’s finished.
Key Giveaways and Contests
The year is almost over, and you can feel it. Months of continuous work, lots of stress, good and bad things have happened, but we’re now in the final stretch of development. Two final announcements: First, don’t forget to follow us on social media, especially on our Discord server. During Christmas, we’ll be giving away some keys for our mini-games and Beacon of Neyda. That’s right, winners will have their keys reserved for delivery on launch day. Second, we’re participating in the IndieDB Top 100 Indie Games of the Year event, and your support would mean a lot! If you visit this link, you can vote for Beacon of Neyda to be part of the list. You can vote until Tuesday, December 10.
And that's all for this dev diary. Remember to join our patreon or buy our minigames if you want to help us with the development.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
Beacon of Neyda Dev Diary #10
It's been a while since the last dev diary, Christian here I am to clear up some doubts and announce a few things.
Let's deal with the elephant in the room first. So yeah, we did a Kickstarter and the game didn't meet its goal.
Does that mean the game isn't going to be made? Of course not, the production and development of the game continues as we had planned. But some extra things we would have liked to have in the game at launch aren't going to be present. Maybe we can add them later via updates.
Not meeting the goal means there is no audience for the game? Again, no, the failure of the Kickstarter is due to several factors, the main one being the poor publicity it had, since not having a marketing budget for the game and not being able to reach more people was very likely to end with that result. Another important factor is that we couldn't give all the time necessary to be behind the campaign, since we had to continue with the development of the game.
But what will be the future of the game? Development continues, the feedback we had on the demo from the wonderful people who joined our community, helped us to fine-tune and improve many things. So the game will be released in the coming months, the date will be announced after securing certain development milestones,
Announcement: Steam Deck and Linux support
This is something we had in mind for quite a while now. We hope to be able to come out on day 1 with full support for Steam Deck and Linux (SteamOS is based on Linux so support for one extends to the other).
The biggest challenge at the moment is that we don't have the necessary hardware to test all its functions so we depend on other equipment that uses Linux systems to emulate how it works.
Currently our demo has support for Linux and is working correctly on Steam Deck according to users who were able to test it on this console.
Development Status
In terms of development we are moving forward at a good pace, despite having some delays in terms of art, but at the programming and design level we are doing well, we are going to start testing the new levels to see if the mechanics of each new level work correctly.
The demo will be updated the day after this dev diary is published, which brings with it some reported bug fixes, visual corrections and balance adjustments.
And that's all for this dev diary. Remember to join our patreon or buy our minigames if you want to help us with the development.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
A little history about the rusty ones
"When the Artificial Intelligences tasked with terraforming the desert world rebelled against their creators, the world’s settlers were forced into war with the machines. With all communications lost with Earth, the people of Neyda fought alone to reclaim their world."
Who are the rusty ones?
For decades, various models of robots played crucial roles in the terraforming and construction of Neyda's first city, and you’ll find them in the game.
The most widespread and numerous model before the great disaster was the humanoid robot, designed primarily for service tasks. These robots were integrated into every aspect of life in Neyda with different variants of which we can find some in the game, because not all of them worked connected to the main network, thus avoiding infection of their systems, allowing them to continue their original duties even decades later.
Another prevalent model is the heavy-duty robot, built for construction, mining, and other hazardous tasks that demanded durability and strength.
For tasks requiring greater precision and agility, light work models were employed, effectively completing the basic workforce lineup.
These robots were produced in large numbers and serve as basic enemies in the game, often attacking the player or their base. However, underestimating them as the only threats would be a grave mistake.
Among the most dangerous models is the security robot. During the early stages of Neyda’s terraforming, there was a very hostile fauna on the planet, so different specific robots were created to deal with them. While most of these models were discontinued after the threats were neutralized, some persisted through the great disaster. The security robot, with its speed, saw-equipped arms, and powerful attacks, was once plentiful and remains a formidable foe.
Another significant threat comes from advanced repair robots. These maintenance units, although heavily corrupted, pose serious challenges to players. They have the ability to reactivate fallen comrades and repurpose them as suicide drones, making them a critical threat to base defenses.
Lastly, excavation robots, similar to the heavy-duty models, are incredibly resilient, heavy, and extremely dangerous, making them a top-priority target for players.
From a gameplay perspective, these last three robots are designed to create scenarios that require active player intervention. The security robot is a direct threat to the player's character, the advanced repair robot endangers the base’s defenses and resources by using dropped enemy resources to create more threats, and the excavation robot is a constant menace to the entire base, ignoring the player to focus on attacking structures.
I hope this blend of lore and gameplay insights has sparked your interest.
Gameplay Possibilities for Beacon of Neyda!
After our recent exclusive update for Backers in our kickstarter campaign, many of you expressed a keen interest in learning more about the gameplay possibilities of our game. Today, I am excited to share some additional news and insights.
The Player
Firstly, there are several ways to alter the gameplay, with the most basic being through changes to the player's abilities. For example, we are introducing a new special weapon that functions almost like a portable cannon. This weapon, like all others in the game, adapts to the type of ammunition used, offering different effects depending on the ammunition type.
Progression Trees and Resource Management
Another significant aspect is the progression trees for each structure. In the demo, resource management is designed to be straightforward, but in the final version, resources will be more limited. Therefore, you will need to strategically decide where to allocate these resources for upgrades and improvements.
Enemy Variety
The variety of enemies will also have a profound impact on gameplay. In the demo, there are three basic enemy types with similar roles. A well-planned defense can handle large waves without much player intervention. However, in the final game, there will be more specific enemies designed to harass the player or the defenses, requiring different strategies to deal with these threats. I will discuss these new enemies in a future update.
Unique Level Challenges
Lastly, the levels themselves will present unique threats and peculiarities that affect gameplay. For instance, one level might be influenced by terraforming machines, causing periodic sandstorms that reduce visibility, limit the use of allied drones, and even damage structures or the player if they are unprotected. This is just one example, with more to be elaborated on in future updates.
That’s all for this update. We have much more to share, but we wanted to give you a general idea of what the game will be like. We hope to have your continued support to make this game a reality. Don’t forget to join our Discord community!
Beacon of Neyda Kickstarter now LIVE!
Hi everyone! Christian here! One of the big days has arrived, our Kickstarter campaign is now live!.
First of all, from the following link you will be able to go to the Kickstarter campaign. Remember that if you share and spread the word, it also helps us a lot.
🌟
What about rewards?
Rewards range from Early Bird discounts! to access to our previous versions of the game or the current versions with exclusive access. You can also leave your mark or messages within the game among other rewards.
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Why Kickstarter?
If our Kickstarter is successful, we will be able to carry out the base vision we have for Beacon of Neyda, without major worries. But once our base funding goal is reached, any additional funds will be used to expand upon the base game through stretch goals. These come in the form of additional features that will enrich the gameplay, giving players more to experience, expanded lore, enhanced art and sound design, and additional modes that we wouldn't have the means to create otherwise.
If the kickstarter fails, the game will still be made but with less content, reducing the players' experience to a certain extent and we cannot guarantee its presence on consoles other than Xbox.
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
Play Beacon of Neyda Demo as part of PixElated Festival!
We love pixel art games, and we know you do too. So, let’s celebrate together 🎉 We’re super excited to share that Beacon of Neyda joins PixElated Festival next week! This festival is featuring some of the best pixel art games on Steam. From retro-style classics to contemporary indie gems all in one place!
There will be ✨ discounts ✨ live streams ✨ art contest ✨ demos✨ developer chats ✨ all centered around your favorite games.
Don't forget to follow us on our Kickstarter, which will be launched in a few days.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
Demo available now!
Hello everyone! my name is Christian and I am going to tell you about the Beacon of Neyda demo... After a few hectic weeks, I will answering some questions that you have asked me these days.
Why now?
Although the demo was published after our game participated in LAGS 2024 (a couple of weeks ago), it honestly did not come out in its best state and we had to make several adjustments to polish the experience, it is still somewhat rough but I think it has improved enough to be an acceptable demo, that's why we announced it now... also preparing a Kickstarter campaign alongside the demo affected us a lot, the good news is that the demo will be available until August and maybe longer if the campaign Kickstarter has good results.
What now?
As for the demo, you will receive some more updates, to continue improving your experience (something that thanks to the feedback and opinions about the game that you, the players, give us, we are achieving). The next production phases of the game are still underway, such as new levels, enemies, missions, etc. (things that we will begin to share in the following development diaries). Although there are many factors, I can timidly anticipate that the game will be ready by 2025 and remember that it will be for PC and Xbox.
Can I help?
Yes, of course, your opinion and feedback on the demo is valuable, try the demo and share your experience with us, follow us on social networks and help us spread our content. But if you're really feeling generous you can give us a hand when we publish the game on kickstarter or help us with our Patreon.
That's all for now, stay tuned, we will be participating in several events this month, and we may have some big announcements to make about the game.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
Latin American Game Show 2024
As part of the Summer Game Fest 2024 we were selected by The Latin American Games Showcase!
A platform that strives to increase the visibility of the video games being developed in the LATAM Region and Latin Americans in the World.
What can you see at the showcase? Over 70 Games, world Premieres and exclusive trailers that you can see in the following link starting JUNE 8TH, 10AM P.T. TIME
Don't forget to follow us on our Kickstarter, which will be launched in a few days along with a demo.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Follow us in our Discord community for more news and development progress.
