B0.6.0 New Abilities To Test, New level cap and more!
B0.6.0
For those looking for the customization and differentiation in game style aspects, I present to you the first of many abilities to come that'll allow you to designate your playstyle in whichever way you see fit. Understandably, two new abilities isn’t much, but it does show the progression that’ll arise from keeping interests high in the game. The new abilities also come with a further progression in the concepts associated with the game itself. How certain upgrades cost more points than others and require higher levels to attribute to. How different elements will focus on different styles of gameplay. With finals “finally” out of the way of progression, I’ll have more time to work on the gameplay elements of the game. All new systems aside, it's time to further progression in the story of the game and really create something the community would be proud to share. For those of you who have stayed with me for the year of development thrown on the store page, I really appreciate your consistency in attention towards the game and I can’t wait to show both old and new members of the game, what greatness they’ve been waiting for. I am still one person, but I’m one person dead set on giving you the experience you’ve ever so been waiting for.
Darkness and a Crowd Battle Royale
Just kidding… There will be no battle royale for the foreseeable future… HOWEVER. There is a new level cap that you can play around with instead.. So when prior you would be locked at level 9, it’s now level 20 that’ll cap you, in order to give you room to test out the new abilities, a little longer. The first one being the new Fire Explosion ability.
Fire Explosion
The fire explosion is a quick right mouse hold dealing more damage than you thought ever possible. A 1.75 multiplier to whatever level you are towards any creatures within range of your mouse. The only cost being 30 spirit points, the currency you originally could see on the bottom left of your screen whenever you broke an object. These are accumulated from varying things, useable for varying spirit controlled moves. Although pricey, keeping in mind what your current damage usually is, this is proven to be exceptionally useful.
Speaking of prices however, this also brings up the point in which. Spirit points are now lowered to only grant you 10 per pickup. Meaning it’s harder to accumulate them as fast as it was prior. However they are now littered throughout the map, both showing you how to get to certain spots and furthering the needs and wants to progress.
Tunican
Yeahhhhh… the name isn’t quite settled on yet. My first ever game was called Manexter or Man-ex-ter as you would pronounce it. Something about me just likes coming up with words that don’t exactly make sense or re-purposing words for different uses. Words are just fun to play around with.
Tunican is the ability that’ll be used to introduce triple jumping. Something about triple jumping kinda just makes everything feel much more fluent and well polished. If the triple jumping feature however turns out to break the game later on it will indeed be removed, but for now it’s nice to know it has the ability to exist and add just the smallest amount of more content in the game.
What else can he add!?
Well, now that you ask… There has been one very severe bug fix that changes the way many players have played previously. Before certain chat popups would interfere with fights, Now you can fight AND stare down that infamous speaker you ever so wanted to talk to… Just look at his taunting movements…
There was one screenshot claiming that the game had been beyond broken when the player was attempting to talk to his mouse while attempting to fight a creature. I believe they were stuck in the mouse chatting system and were not able to fight because the chat pop up would just get in their way. Now there's two different checks when previously there was just one. Looking for a speaker in the first check and looking for a fight in the second… It’s something small that should’ve been there all along but was just now recently added to prevent further frustrations with the game.
Concerns And Comments?
I try my hardest to pay attention to any and all concerns regarding the game and once they are brought to my attention I do everything in my power to fix them… regardless of how late it is that I do fix them. You’re all trying out my beta in the kindness of your hearts to help me fix anything and everything that needs to be fixed before I start actually charging people for this monstrosity of a game. (Just kidding.. My game is perfect <3)
Keep bringing these things up and I’ll keep fixing them! I love interacting with the community and I really do just want to make everyone happy enjoy the experience for what it is in the process. Thank you all so much for sticking with me and I can’t wait to see you in the next content update….
ALSO GOOGLE HAS A LITTLE POP UP FOR THE GAME! OH MY GOODNESS!!!!
Come hang out!?
Before everything closes however, I do want to mention, we now have an official Darkness and a Crowd website developed and a discord server where you can come and hang out with me or play some cool games with our plugins we just got installed! Come check everything out!
http://hoem.dx.am/Darknessandacrowd/
https://discord.gg/vSfP4c4
Thanks in advance!
Seth Albertus
B0.5.1 and B0.5.2 including recent Game Breaking Issues!
Mothers Day Update This Build was actually finished a while ago, Sunday the 14th, but I passed out before uploading anything. However that also means, since I'm not on as terrible of a time constraint, I can publish the update post and the update itself at the same time.
The Mothers Day Update is adding a small form of parenting into the mix in the game. First of all, Spickles have been made nearly permanently weaker than they were prior. I want Spickles to be the creatures that lay as an icon over the games head. Every update seems to Nerf them but I want this one to be a final Nerfing.
Outside of this, the update also entails a continuation of the missions, so player aren’t specifically told to close out of the game after beating the Spickle when more content is certainly imminent. The game will start to show off more and more features that’ll certainly be refined, but also re-used throughout the lifespan of the game. Afterwards, I’m going to start working on a clear cut story to the game so we’re not sitting here testing out different features for another eternity. But the new Storyline will be thrown inside of the next scene soon to come. So on the good news, repetition in the production of these maps can soon increase to a withstandable level. On the downside, the public beta is going to periodically be losing its continues updates. If new features happen to be added in its lifespan, they will be added. I might also allow one more level for payers to try out as well. But I want to focus on making this game a longer and more intriguing story that wont take forever to make.
Once the base story line is added, I can post it as an Early Access title. Preferably a 2 hour gameplay experience at the most. When all is said and done, it shouldn’t be too terrible to beat, but a second play through of the game should only take a maximum of 30 minutes after understanding all the systems and being able to predict previous enemies.
After we finish the main storyline, I’m going to start adding the features I wanted to add in the game from the start. I want to start adding a roguelike aspect to the game with scripted parts in between. But until then, I want to say the early access should be out by this Summer for people to FINALLY get their hands on the completed version of the game. It’s all just going to be repeated leveling up, solving puzzles and fighting creatures, but with a mixture of elemental plays in the mix.
What had happened? The last update on B0.5.2 unexpectedly had a game breaking issue that wasn’t clearly tested until after its released, while in its editor, the error wasn’t actually spotted.
Because steam is so closely integrated in the games programming, when steamworks client begins to fail, everything else does as well. The problem wasn’t necessarily Steams fault however but the Steamworks.net client implementation itself. Steamworks documentation wasn’t entirely the greatest and for some reason broke. I had to get the AppID implemented into the steamworks scripts so if you don't own the game, you can’t play it. But it also helps relate where your achievements are and where your scoreboard stats get saved online. With that broken, you don't actually get an achievement for killing your first spickle, and since you don't get the achievement, the spickle can’t die, because it wants to give you the achievement before it kills the Spickle and so on. I was about ready to eliminate achievements but that seems like a HUUUUGE part of the player base. It proved a difficult situation and I gave myself a break from working on it for a bit and cleared my mind. I got back to it and almost instantly figured out that it was an issue with not having strategically placed parenthesis -_-
Thus, B0.5.2
For the Future? I want to add a few more unlockables at different prices. That’s however going to be a big change in the scripts and take some time to complete. Just a few things like using the mouse to cause large amounts of damage to creatures surrounding it, or pressing down on the keyboard to launch your player faster towards the ground, making breaking the ground easier. And I want some of these to be unlockable at will, not forced like the first 3 elemental upgrades. These should come in future updates in the coming month.
I’m liking the 2 week pattern between updates however I can’t promise much. The first important implementation is the town however. Once the town is finished, and the new items are implemented into the scripts, I need to fix certain things that are actually a bit game breaking in the long run. A lot of the newer updates after this are going to be behind the scene implementations over future levels.
Have fun trying out the new update for those of you who weren’t aware there was actually more to test out. And for the others, there’s still a spawner at the very end to test your wits.
Update B0.4.1 Now Open!
With the previous update being B0.3.6, there have been a ton of new updates added to the then already exciting game.
If your missing the crazy, yet somewhat relaxing fights that Darkness and a Crowd has to offer, get ready because there has been an overhaul. If your missing the fun small puzzles that you occasionally come across as well, where there's a new system in place that you'll be seeing a lot more of in the future. And if you just simply miss reading my really long paragraphs, get ready because there's even more depth in the updates section after opening up the Beta.
I highly recommend when starting out the game again, to start it from a new save with the left click button as its the safest way to start out the game at any giving moment, especially after an update.
Finally after a couple weeks of working on this system, the greenlight system is finally put in place for testing. Each button you press will toggle a certain set of switches in certain positions, your goal is to make all of them green.
Now although this can be simplistic at first, I promise you when multiplied by even 2 or 3 more lights, it'll be more of a challenge than you'd expect. However for beginners purposes, I'm leaving it simplistic for the ideologies of "everyone wins" in current modern titles. Just wait until you get further in the game.
After completing the greenlight system, you'll next be faced up against an even higher leveled Big Spickles and two of its harder minions to face. However don't worry too much, your gained experience both in game and in knowledge should make these creatures much easier. Just don't forget to save.
After all of that, you'll be placed in front of a generator with a bunch of placeholder graphics, this is the next system I wish to work on. Generators will be made to shut down electrically reinforced locations, whether it be a locked door or a forcefield of some sorts, but there will always be more where those come from. The reason for generators importances while surrounding them with massive amounts of enemies is to give the player more incentive to actually defeat the harder creatures.
It's a weird style of gameplay, and it's quite repetitive, but at the very core, the game is a puzzle game. When you get to the end you should get a sense of accomplishment. I got the biggest sigh of relief finishing off the final level 6 Spickle. I want everyone to feel that. Upgrading your character will start to make you feel accomplished and over powered in some areas but worried in others. You can make yourself the strongest creature alive, but I dare you to get hit once by the larger and more leveled spickles.
I really hope you all enjoy the game, and by the way, I DID add another achievement, it just doesn't seem to appear after the games already been released, so the achievement hunters have finally won... this time -_-
Seriously though, have fun playing the Demo. It's free so there's no reason NOT to download it. And in the long run, no reason to pirate it either :guard:
I'm so proud of this and I hope you all see the amount of work going in to this. Good luck and have fun. Be sure to tell me if there's ANY bugs what so ever for me to fix in the discussions or just a simple screenshot. I stalk the pages CONSTANTLY.
- Seth Albertus
Closed Beta OFFICIALLY Turned Open
For those who wanted to play the game a tad bit early, the beta page should be open for everyone as of now, however I'm not quite sure how it looks. It should show up somewhere on the right side of the main page...
For those who are currently part of the closed beta, that'll be uploaded first before the open beta builds since I really do expect the closed beta to break on numerous occasions. But I want to used closed beta as an even more closed testing grounds before releasing to open beta to get information on what the community thinks of certain ideas, then fix the ideas giving by the community for the closed beta to test before releasing again to the open beta. Just like an infinite loop of PROGRESS.
Anyways have fun and tell me what you think of the art style and mechanics.
Saving
Before I go, saving is removed from this current build since it broke with the rest of the 3D objects. So as of now I'm quickly going to work out a saving function that goes with quests, leveling up and other common tasks. Using some sort of currency for using your moves and saving throughout the game. I'm thinking spirits.
Just try not to die.... I think it might be slightly broken... Or it just might be my end... Who knows?
Anyways. Good luck and have fun. Be sure to leave suggestions!!!!
IM STILL ALIIIIVE!
Happy Holidays!!!
I first of all wanted to start out by saying happy holidays to everyone and happy new years! It's been an outstanding year at the least. With the new year comes a time for change and a fresh start to arise. Still Im celebrating by putting new items everywhere in Darkness and a Crowd for you all to discover in the near future.
So what's new?
It's recently come to my attention that Slimes have not been introduced to the community, along with a ton of new ideas that are soon to be shown in the game come the near future. I have so many new ideas I want to explore upon and so many things implemented at the moment. But before going through that I wanted to elaborate on what slimes are and they're capabilities. However that's not to say not much has been added. A new puzzle idea is in the works that requires the player to stack blocks using the spirit that glides along with you.
Slimes
Slimes are grounded creatures only capable of launching themselves sideways and attacking the player at all costs. They don't tend to have much health but they're heavy hitters to say the least. Although they wont one shot the player, at two or three hits without further upgrades to health, you're doomed. However with their lack of further movement its easy to get at your advantage point and take shots at them without resistance.
What else though?
Well besides this, I'm working on a new toggle light system in which you have to toggle each light in an array connected to two power lines to activate certain electrical systems that otherwise wouldn't be possible. You'll be prompted with a set amount of GUI buttons with each altering a certain set of lights between on and off. I've done something similar in a separate project but I'm extremely excited to test this out. It's just one more puzzle aspect of the game that wont get players stuck but will add to the feeling of the game actually being of a puzzle nature.
Image of the power lines being used
I'm also planning on editing the powers ever so slightly to make it even more of an RPG game. By damaging creatures, you'll fill up a bar allowing you to use you're ability with certain set amounts. The maximum of the bar can always be increased and this just helps moderate when players are allowed the use certain moves. The only problem with that is I planned on having abilities only last for a certain amount of time but that would mean when there are no more enemies in an area and you've wasted your ability, you're trapped. So the other alternative is a waiting method that slowly regains your power points (PP for short... lol) and using creatures as a speed up, or just having abilities be permanently used. Or even better I can have creatures spawn infinitely in specified places where this could be a problem, but then the creatures can become a problem as well.... So I'll figure something out.
Mission Alterations
I've been brainstorming with missions a lot as well and I have a large document highlighting key elements that I want to test with as well. (Yes this is starting to feel like a longer project. I'll explain THAT in a bit lol) I have three core ideas that will be used in continuation with story in between to make the game much much less repetitive. There will be something for everyone and it'll aim for a much better experience. I'm so so so excited to test all of this out!
So anyways, there are about 6 different core ideas I've chosen to work with so far, until I come up with even better ideas in the future. I'm going to cover these in different headers so it's easier to navigate. :guard:
Protect the generator
Protect the generator types of missions will be spread out into two different methods of attack depending on the style used for the mission. You will be asked to get to a specified area within the world and protect the generator that took roots there. While protecting the generator, one of two styles of hordes will be released at the player.
Waves: As in most games, waves of enemies will be hurled in your direction as you face off against them with nothing but you and your powers (which will of course contain fighting moves in the near future). Waves will be separated by a set amount of creatures that continuously get stronger as the waves rage on. However in waveform they shouldn't get too overwhelming.
Time: Speaking of overwhelming, Time mode will be as it sounds. You will be set off to specified area and asked to protect a generator for a certain amount of time rather than for a certain amount of waves. This means there will be no break in between spawns and it'll be easy to get overwhelmed. However the enemies won't be too tough and crowd control abilities should be all you need in the long run.
This is a mission mode I'm really excited to begin work on but haven't yet. It's likely it'll be in the game but I can't guarantee much. So many glitches and bugs could get in the way of development. Which will ALSO be explained in the future along with my devious master plan to get it done and worked out.
Puzzle Solving
Puzzle solving is the simplistic puzzle solving aspects that you'll find in every day missions. Thrown in the real world like scenarios, you'll be asked to enforce magnitude and weight to specific objects in order to break through barriers, use your powers to open new doors, move objects to reach new heights or experience the green light button system being implemented fairly soon which requires turning all of the lights green in order to activate a form of electricity.
Fight The Wave
Just as it sounds, you’ll be faced up against waves of creatures and asked to survive through a certain amount of rounds, this also will lay the foundation of a minigame when the time comes but first the current system needs to be worked on and perfected before it gets to that point. However I can see numerous opportunities where this could be used in story situations.
Return The Item
However boring this sounds, this can be used to establish new powerful abilities that can be used in the future. Things that will propel your character to new heights could just now make their home in this game adding a new level of freedom with simple item returning quests.
Sabotage
Just as you have strongholds, so does the enemy, meaning they will need to be weakened in the long run if you wish to retake your lands. Enemy strongholds could be a cool new implementation that brings you into a new area where you’ll be forced to face off against new types of enemies. You’ll need to find your way to the center of each stronghold and destroy the core that turns all things corrupted. I think this would be fun however it’ll certainly require many deaths and learning opportunities to take advantage of the abilities you had learned in the past.
And now?
Well despite having all these plans, they have not been tested as programming continually throws new challenges in my way. Many bugs get me caught up or simply trying to deal with everyday situations and time management. When I get home from school I take some time to relax and soak up everything, I eat dinner, I work on homework or personal projects such as upgrading my computer, and then I work on the game. Currently I’m writing this a day late at 12 in the morning on a google sheet with a few set notes that I wish to talk about. I have had this announcement planned for two days along with working in between on the game and sending out emails to major companies asking for help or publicity. I had no idea how much work went into making a game outside of just making the game. But regardless it’s still great I just am really dying to get back to work on making it. The greenlight system is going to be so fun to program again but the texture and animations are going to need to be customized to fit the style of the game. As descent of an artist I might be, I absolutely HATE gui. However It’ll certainly get done before release which I’m now afraid to put another date on due to not accounting for numerous issues that have been popping up in codes. All the scripts are now so very unorganized due to the way I have the missions set up but I think after a bit of moving things around I can get back into the swing of things at much faster pace.
So Life?
This is going to be a portion where I talk about things not revolving around the game but still do affect the game itself in one way or another.
I mentioned receiving a GTX 1060 graphics card over the holidays, which has now finally arrived. This means my games can now include more crazy graphics scenarios that won't lag down the usual computer. This means I get to experiment with shaders and new types of systems, animations and pure gameplay aspects that I wouldn’t be able to in the past. My current graphics card is not applicable, or in other words, integrated. The 1060 will allow me to slightly compete with the bigger titles if necessary.
I also wanted to talk about a current change in the way I post these posts. I’ve been trying to talk more down to earth and not as if I’m a one man team relaying information. Looking back at these posts I’m proud of my accomplishments and understand my thought process much better than I did when I attempted to be the product I was selling. I’m not quite sure if it gives the same effect to other that read these but I do know how much it helps me. I am fully aware that the grammar is probably tremendous or a few of the sentences don't make sense, but I do get my mind across which is really the current aim. Things would prooobably be better if I wasn’t doing this half conscious and on the verge of falling asleep but that’s for another day.
I’ve also recently seen some advantages for taking my time to make the game and releasing the beta mode fairly early. It’ll help me gather a dedicated fan base. Ones that won't exactly play the game every day but come back monthly to see how things have changed and to input their opinions when necessary. Which is really something I’m looking for. Those who aren’t interested will play the beta once, say “this game sucks” and leave it at that. Which really isn’t bad because no one is dedicating any money into the game quite yet and are not able to post bad reviews that’ll affect this games success greatly if not allowed to be completed first.
I also wanted to elaborate on what my plans are to further work on making a successful game. Currently I’m attempting to contact a few amazing companies to help mentor my work along its process. People I can seek to for help if I come across a broken bridge. Code can be fussy sometimes and having some first hand experienced programmers at just an email away would be amazing. I’m not going to name any companies quite yet but if my plea for help is answered, they will be praised greatly for their help, by both me and our fan base. I know how amazing you guys are.
Am I done yet?
That’s about everything. I got through all my notes and for those who stuck through it to the end. I’d hope you found my current approaches interesting. I wasn’t prepared to scatter the entire page with pictures so I’m just going to re-use a few. :)
Thank you all so much in advanced. Especially those who read through my boring paragraphs. I’ll try to update the game as soon as the green light system is up and running.
Seth Albertus
Nominations are up!
Whats up?
I understand the game isn't released yet which is why I don't expect many of you to vote on the game or nominate it for an award but I'm posting an announcement for two reasons, first I wanted to remind others the game still exists in-case it's been forgotten and secondly, I wanted to update on what's going on with the whole demo build for all.
I wanted to start off by apologizing about the lack of recent progress as life is getting extremely busy. Today I have an essay to write in social studies and 10 chapters of a book I was supposed to read a week ago, like you all, I sometimes forget I'm just in highschool myself.
WHATS TAKING SO LONG!!
My mind tends to torture me when I don't get as much work done as I'd wish to have most days and in result I stay awake at night thinking what outlash the community will give me when December 14th comes and the game isn't exactly out. I promise you the game will come over time and it's certainly not going to be cancelled, but I do believe in the past I mentioned that school was going to slow down the process a ton when it started back. Come the second quarter I've found myself swamped in all of my classes and work. When I'm not at school I'm attending an FTC Robotics team (Bondbots 8527) as the lead programmer which even there comes with thousands of challenges. Again, I want to elaborate on this game is CERTAINLY not being cancelled. I'm going to delay the game until I have an accurate understanding on how much work really needs to go in to the game.
So whats the goal
My goal is to have a triple A title under the name of a 15 year old child. A title that I can brag to about colleges showing how accomplished and determined I am. However what I need to work on is balancing my time between both. As a normal sophomore student I tend to need a break from life and watch tv or work on side projects to clear my mind. I'm not going to lie, even doing this I feel as if I'm letting a lot of you down. However I'm afraid to tell you that at this point I don't have a full game ready to be released by December. What I will have by December is a decent beta test for all of you to know what you're getting into before you play the game. The chances are it won't be what you were expecting, but it'll give you at least an idea of what to expect.
In all honesty, I would have a lot more done if I didn't spend as much time simplifying and easing out the game in a way in which everyone could just pick it up and play it. A good few months were used in making the game more obvious than long and I'm still working on that to this day.
Whats up with the beta?
I've had a set date of releasing the beta build sometime around December 1'st, this friday. However at this time I thought I'd have more done. What you'll all be seeing is what I've shown many of my private beta testers throughout the last few months. It's nothing too exciting but you will get a sense of a lot of things I've been working on.
When releasing the beta, assuming steam accepts it, you will probably get a 5 minute experience assuming you play it slowly and try to get a feel for the game.
My number one hope is that you understand how early this is (and how badly I messed up the date), but also that you guys suggest fixes for every broking feature that's in this simple beta. Fixing it sooner, rather than later, will give me the pitch perfect assets to copy and paste in the later missions.
Also when you're playing this, realize that all of this is not just a small game but a bunch of systems and features that will never need to be implemented again. Once all of this is completed, I get to work on mission after mission and building a completed story.
My greatest fear
Again, I fear greatly that a lot of this will just come with outlash from the community but I’m hoping more than ever that instead of sending harsh remarks I'll get a series of harsh criticism on everything that needs to be fixed, along with the things that work and the things that need to be fixed. More then likely I'll be updating the beta build more so than anything else to get a clearer understanding on what it is people want from this came come release. Whenever I need to test new features I'll update the beta rather then the closed beta allowing me to see what you guys really want to see.
Other projects?
Earlier I also mentioned small projects that I wanted to work on outside of this to keep my mind clear and not as stressed out over everything relating to Darkness and a Crowd. I do have a few more private creations of mine but I'm working very hard on getting another project public. Of course Darkness and a Crowd comes first giving its progression and importance, but this other idea is so, so, so much more simple to work with. With this project I’m using a total of 3 scripts for simply just the gameplay, and it works beautifully to accomplish what I want, along with showing how much I've improved in programming over the years. The following will briefly describe Color Bust. While I explain the game, dont assume im procrastinating, because if I worked on Darkness and a Crowd non-stop, I would go beyond insane.... But if you're interested in other things I'm capable of and probably will be posting to steam in the future, I hope you find this concept interesting...
Color Bust
Copied directly from the itch.io page: ColorBust is a puzzle simplistic puzzle platformer turned into a nightmare. The gameplay and character elements most closely relate to that of super meat boy with its fast paced platforming strategies however its incorporated with a color system forcing you to switch between colors while jumping from platform to platform, avoiding all possible dangers along the way. Dangers from spinning objects of opposite colors or turrets shooting items forcing you to switch your gravity.
The game will have you screaming in anger yet still slightly amused and willing to try at it one more time to get past each individual challenge along the way.
What happened?
I hope this wasn’t too much and I can't stress enough how worried I am reviewing what I’ve said. I am still very excited to show off to the world what Darkness and a Crowd can and will be and I couldn't do this without you all supporting me every step of the way. I do deserve some bit of backlash giving I’ve had so long to get this done but honestly the marketing pitch was a simple physics based puzzle game that I’ve turned way bigger than it needed to be. Simply check the greenlight page lmao.
In conclusion
I’m excited to show the world what this will be and I can’t wait to hear what you guys have to say about what you want to see in the final product. Any advice counts and I’ll certainly award those who are active in the community. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for you all and I can’t wait to show you what’s to come.
I have an idea for a main city hub and a looting system, but we’ll see what happens and what the programming gods want. I don't want my first game to be a throw away and I'm certainly not going to publish something I’m not yet proud of or would play myself.
I have high standards for this game and I won't accept anything less than perfect.
Thank you all SO MUCH in advance!
Seth Albertus
Beta Build for all?
A chance to try out the beta?
For those who purchased the game early through deals such as Otaku or Groupees Im considering opening up a version of the game to be played.
This version would certainly not contain all of the game but a small sneak peak of everything highlighted in the second video from the store page. Not only would this allow the early players to get there hands on the game but also give the new players who are considering buying the game a quick look at what's to come and allow those who are interested, a chance to check out the game before buying it. If it's decided on, there will certainly be an announcement beforehand and a date near the middle of the month.
And...
I'm excited to show off what's to come to the world by December 14th (or later) and I hope you guys are too!!!
I wish there were more to comment on right now and show off but I'm afraid right now the majority of it is confidential. hehehehe...
Sorry for the short announcement!
Thanks in advance!
- Seth Albertus
New Video / First time look at gameplay!
Recently
I've been working very hard on Vegas Movie Maker 14 to make video editing much much easier for me now and in the future. I have many many more ideas for videos in the future but for now this will work out pretty well.
I find the new video pretty helpful in the fact that my fan base gets to see how the game works as of now and comment on fixes and suggestions. Possibly even tell me what they would love to see in the game after getting some more clear indication on how these few systems play out.
I tried my hardest to help give a better understanding on what I was shooting for and what I have now in terms of fighting, leveling up and a spendable point system.
There will always be more to be added in the future but the main goal hear was to show off the spickles and how regular combat will play out.
I really do hope you find the idea informative and ask questions about what you would like to see next in future updates and videos.
With that being said, I recommend you check out the video on the store page or over on the youtube channel Here.
I hope this has been slightly helpful and perhaps raise a few more questions about the game.
I really am trying to use my chance on steam wisely and I do acknowledge I am faaaar behind schedule. But it doesn't mean what I promised will not arrive.
Delay?
Although the ideas of a delay are indeed being considered.
I know those of you who bought the game are expecting something amazing, and I wish to deliver nothing less of that. When the game finally goes out to the public, it'll either be a disaster or a success. Giving I have on chance to make a stain, I'd rather go with the success option. In the future, with the thousands of game ideas I have planned, I can ensure you that there will be a completed build BEFORE announcing a steam page....
I'm really just learning the process and I am very afraid of widespread disapproval. You all put your hearts and wallets into this, I don't wish to let you down.
Thanks in advance!
- Seth Albertus
Saving for Build 0.2.0
Saving and how it works
For those who weren't aware, I was having some major troubles getting the saving function. Finally after some time I decided to google the answers online and get a few things figured out, which was really what I should’ve done in the first place but it wasn't my top priority. But thankfully I can say that saving is indeed a feature that has been implemented to the game itself and wont be an issue in the future.
I also managed to get some anti-cheating systems down by using a binary encryption to prevent people from going in and changing their save files.
It’s been implemented in with the beautiful VIDE Dialogues plugin made by my good friend Christian Henderson. Not to mention the thousands of other things Christ has helped me with over the years especially in programming, I can't thank him enough. You really should check out his plugins and other work that he does.
Right now
Everything seems to be primarily done and I can work on extending the game. Some small things I think I SHOULD work on are some sound effects for battles, fixing the animations so they always play when there supposed to, and maybe making a better walkthrough when I have more to show.
I think the biggest thing I should begin to put heavy construction on is more enemy types since currently it really is just spickles. I've been jotting down, idea after idea of creatures and bosses, mission/puzzle ideas, etc. The game really should be great. I might even work on a few savable mini-games as well.
Beta Testing
Currently, the process with getting beta testers to be able to play the game involves deleting the game out of your Steam Library and activating a seperate key for those who have played. There will also be a "Closed Beta Tester" extra with some cool new (un-decided) features that you will be able to check out and use when the time comes to implement it.
I love elaborating on the fact that these additions for playing the game in early access wont be huge but probably a small addition like making your health circle red or putting CBT: *Your name* instead of just *Your name* on the top of the screen as you play. Nothing huge but still pretty fun to brag about. And if you don't want the extras, just un-install the DLC that includes it, I don't actually think it'll change your save files what-so-ever. But your chances of being a closed beta tester are slim if you ask. I love seeing people just simply being active in the community. Asking questions (that don't revolve around beta testing) and helping answer others questions. Even the smallest comments like "I can't wait for this game to come out" sit nicely, deep in my heart.
(Really I just want you to suck up to me MWAHAHAHA)
I'll try to make an organized way to sign up for the game's CB in the future.
And Finally
I really can't wait to show off this game to the world and I really hope i'm doing a good job advertising to those who are interested. I'm not quite sure how many people are keeping up to date with the game but I'm extremely excited to show more in the future. If you don't understand why it's taken me so long to get to this point, I'd recommend you watch 2kliksPhilip's video on mid-development hell to get a better understanding. He's an amazing youtuber <3
Thank you so much for bearing through this announcement with me, and I hope to see some great and interesting feedback in the comments.
- Seth Albertus
Small additions, new posted update, contacting me, and player input!
Contacting
Before I begin, I just want to point out that I'm always active in the community and I try my hardest to stay in the Darkness and a Crowd group chat when im not busy.
Update
If it wasn't obvious to the beta testers already, Darkness and a Crowd has finally been updated and it's now playable with even more features. A whole new 2 more minutes of gameplay are available in the game. I just hope it becomes obvious that although there isnt "much" in the game right now. These are still ALL working features and bound to be grown into a much bigger game. Just try out the update and you'll find out
What's new
A main menu, cutscene, and terrible voice over await you in this new and improved version of Darkness and a Crowd!
Actually I think I'll keep the voice over because who better to talk over the game then the developer themselves!
I really don't mind the criticism as of right now, and I'm not sure how much of the game will differ from where it is at the moment. Perhaps a better and more dramatic cutscene, but right now I like the root its heading down and I plan to have major changes in the future before its release.
Also don't get the image in your head that it's some terrible audio quality from a tiny laptop... I actually got my own condenser microphone!
Player Input
Well what I reeeeally want to do and would love to see, is a harder, much more addictive version of Darkness and a Crowd. I don't necessarily want to make a game where everyone gets to win but rather a rewarding challenge.
With that being said, my life and game also revolves around the player. I want to know what you guys think about a very hard, challenging, yet rewarding game, keeping you on your toes at all times with fearful challenges, restarts, and so much more. Or do you guys want to play a story driven game with plot twists and diverse characters. That really is up to you as the player to decide. The comments below will help me decide which is more popular!
In all honesty I’ve already written all of this with more enthusiasm about 2 days ago. I’m just slightly annoyed that Steam got rid of it before I got to post. Nonetheless, the information still had to go out so here it is! Lmao
I really hope to see some awesome comments down there, I’m more than likely going to listen to any and all criticism and requests! Also remember I try to stay in the group chat and if i'm not there, just start a discussion!
