New Game Steam Page - Drones & Ruins - Release Date 4/10/18
http://store.steampowered.com/app/782650/
Link to new website, you can sign up to the newsletter if you like there as well.
https://www.threadedpixelstudios.com/drones-ruins
DESCRIPTION
Drones & Ruins is a dynamic top down twin stick shooter where you become the intelligence of a security drone that has agreed to assist an ally pilot reunite with a loved one. You will need to fight hard and anticipate the enemy's next attack so that you can glide into cover before you go up in smoke. Now is the time to showcase your best evasive maneuvers as the enemy attempts to flank, corner and pursue you. Human derived A.I. vs synthetic derived A.I, who will win?
https://youtu.be/vQAtwcLjWB8
Drone & Ruins Features
Single Player Story Mode
Includes 6 areas (4 - 5 levels per area)
Explore rocky caverns dodging lasers and enemy projectiles
Engage with dynamic AI
Vibrant visuals and particles effects
Play to an engaging soundtrack
That is all, thanks for all of your support! :)
Top Down Shooter in Development - Short Video Available!
Same World, New Perspective
As promised, a short video of the new standalone game in development. Title TBA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvvd9PeiQ_A
More details here if you missed the previous post.
http://steamcommunity.com/games/dronezerogravity/announcements/detail/1596955106475685782
Top Down Shooter in Development
Same World, New Perspective
WHATS NEW Hi all, I wanted to let everyone know that I have been developing another drone game however this will be a new standalone release. I entertained the idea of a top down shooter version of the game a while back but never executed it. Development for the new game started around May/June this year and I can't wait for the community to play it. I will let everyone know once the new store page is up for the new game.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS STATUS A huge amount of work has gone into it already so I believe it may be completed before spring 2018. This time around it has been easier because I have a decent amount of knowledge regarding how the game engine works. Although I am always learning, I am able to spend more time developing. If I had to give a percentage of how much is done, I would say roughly 75%.
Here is a list of what is currently on my plate (in no particular order):
Music
Sound Effects
Boss Battles
Finalize AI
Finalize Controls
Finalize Weapon System
Additional Optimization
Testing
Settings/Options Menu
Story Elements
POSTMORTEM I learned a great deal after getting feedback from you all and I appreciate all the support. A huge lesson was learned from the last game and I want to share that insight with you. For my first game, I thought that difficult games were what people wanted after seeing success from other difficult games at that time. Although this is very true, I interpreted this the wrong way with developing a difficult game. The entire time I was looking for ways to trick the player however you can't do that and have other underlying fail states to cause the player to start the level over. I feel like my mentality was all wrong when I made Drone Zero Gravity and it all boils down to the angle I should have come from as a developer.
When creating a difficult game world, I was more focused on how to deceive the player in a difficult world instead of how to empower the player in a difficult world. One mechanic that made the game more frustrating than fun I believe was the energy fail state. I believe that this hindered players from exploring because the energy system acted as an artificial timer without having an actual timer. That was not my intention but looking back at the system in place I believe that is what it became. Not that this could be entirely a bad thing however special care could have been taken if realized earlier. It is extremely difficult to change a game mechanic once it is in place because the game revolves around it. Some aspects you can change but integral parts will break your game in more ways than you can imagine. Imagine taking the original Mario Bro’s and decreasing how fast Mario can run because someone feels he is going too fast, now you run the risk of jumps that can’t be made and levels that can’t be beat.
I became an artist first, then a game developer, and as an artist I don't want to have a wall that blocks the player from exploring new areas because I want the player to see those new areas. The ability to overcome obstacles is what gaming is all about. I want the player to visit a new world, feel like a badass and forget about any other problems that might be on their mind at the time.
This game will still be challenging but not in a deceiving way. This shooter will require some patience and a little bit of thought regarding which enemy should be taken down first. This doesn't mean I won't throw in a surprise or two to mix it up for the player however tools and progression will be in place for the player to overcome those challenging obstacles. If there's going to be a challenge, I have to increase the fun factor so if a level is repeated a couple of times, it's still worth the players time.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW This is a completely new build of the game with an updated game engine. Below is a list of some differences from the last game.
Consistent Energy Draining System No Longer Exist - Game focuses on the players ability to take down enemies while avoiding incoming fire and explosions
Boss Battles
New AI System - All AI will not just chase the player down in a single line, more cat mouse play than before, AI will defend areas as a group, flank and advance the player if in cover near the enemy drone's stronghold positions
Varied Enemies - Varied enemies will create more challenging ways to take down drone strongholds on the map
Environment Effects for Increased Immersion - Thunder/Lightning, Shadow Casting Clouds, Time of Day, Fog, Trees, etc.
THAT'S ALL That's it for now, might have a video up next week for everyone to check out and possibly a very short demo in January for those in this group to play as well.
***UPDATE 12/28/17: Short video available to see the new game in action***
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvvd9PeiQ_A
Later. :)
GUESS WHAT
Drone Zero Gravity Expansion Is Available To Play
One year later but it's complete.
Hello all,
Hope everything works ok, if not let me know. I cleaned up the install folder a bit since there is more music. Each album has it's own folder. Maybe later I will add some wallpapers.
Well, this was a long journey but it is complete. I'm a little tired right now, talk to you all soon.
Here's a video if you like to see the gameplay for one of the levels.
https://youtu.be/ocajv2qx_W4
UPDATE REPORT
Drone Zero Gravity Update
What to expect once the update is available?
AUDIO
Fixed issue with SFX and MUSIC sliders not saving position and volume
SFX mix improved overall - mid to low frequency build up lowered
Adjusted projectiles SFX
Tamed issue where some SFX (i.e. mines) stacked causing an overload in volume
Added additional SFX overall
Added 8 additional instrumentals to soundtrack in expansion
ENVIRONMENT
Included some daytime levels in expansion
GAMEPAD
Added rumble feedback - work in progress
Added input detection (keyboard or gamepad) for screen prompts
GAMEPLAY
Added 10 additional levels
Created an invincibility state for a short duration so the player can’t die immediately after respawning if another enemy deals a deadly blow
Added some skip buttons for certain scenes – still in progress
Revised interactive tutorial on gameplay basics and added a video tutorial on how the two checkpoint systems work for the first release and the story expansion
Improved some balancing
Added some new enemy types
GRAPHICS/SETTINGS
Fixed bloom issue related to skybox that varied in brightness between lower and higher graphical settings
Added additional experimental setting “Snazzy Effects” that adds additional post processing effect to add some artistic flare
Added ambient occlusion
HUD/INTERFACE
Added a subtle visual cue to the bottom of the screen when an attackable enemy is in range
Improved style cohesiveness throughout HUD and menus
VFX
Improved art for projectiles
Improved players lamp
Tamed camera shake on some events
Added additional snazzy effects to enemies when destroyed
OTHER
Added some additional Steam Achievements
MUSIC IS COMPLETE
Hi,
The music is done and I invested in getting it mastered by an audio engineer. I used the same guy as last who is very helpful.
I also fixed an issue where the audio wasn't saving the music volume and sfx volume. It worked in the game engine but wasn't working on the final build for the player.
I'm touching up a few things and hope to have the expansion released this week to test out.
:)
Thanks
Isaac
Expansion Complete
Hello all, just a quick announcement. It's been about a year now but all the levels for the expansion is complete. It's nowhere as long as the full game but hopefully still fun. The last thing I am working on is the music. I have about 7 new tracks and I am working on two more ambient tracks. I will include the final songs into the soundtrack so you can play them anywhere, anytime. The expansion will be included with the game as an update-no extra cost.
That's all for now, will keep you posted.
Bye.
GAME EXPANSION PROGRESS
IT'S BEEN A WHILE, WHAT'S UP? When I decided to make this expansion, I figured it couldn't take that long...right? Well I have realized no matter what you work on in game development, it's going to take some time. This expansion may not have as much content as the full game but it sure felt like I was working on another full game. :) Other than that, the usual 9-5 job-go to work, come home, work on the game, sleep. Repeat.
ANY PROGRESS? There are currently 10 levels completed that could use a few more tweaks here and there. Depending on how the story wraps up in this expansion there may be 1 to 2 more levels.
ANYTHING NEW? This is why developing the expansion took a little longer than expected. I didn't overhaul the game but I took a different approach for the expansion. I figured this would be the best time to explore other ideas. Here is a list of the major updates.
Many of the levels in this expansion have forced side scrolling action (you may remember this mode from chapter 4 in the main game). Due to this change, I had to rethink how the checkpoint system worked. After some time I came up with a solution that I believe should work and get the player back into the action faster.
Since the game primarily took place in dark areas, I decided to focus on more daytime levels. There are still dark levels but the focus switched this time around.
Lastly, I added some tutorials to the game to hopefully get the player up to speed quicker. I even have a video explaining the two checkpoint systems in game.
SO, CAN I SEE IT? Yes you can. Here is a quick video of some work in progress.
https://youtu.be/X-s7kAWw3cg
WHEN CAN I PLAY? I hope it is complete sometime May 2016 because I am eager to start on my next game.
Talk to you all soon.
:)
Isaac
Free Expansion Coming Soon.
In this expansion "The Beginning" learn more about what happened before you became the only drone who wasn't affected.
"The Beginning" expansion will feature...
<*>More to explore
<*>More music
<*>More to play
<*>More to learn
Release date TBD 2016
Physics Update
Recent update addresses physics objects in game.
-When using impulse to "push" and "pull" objects, objects travels at a slower speed for quicker reaction time.
-When pulling an object, a well timed "push" should stop the object from hitting the player.
-The destruction crystal bounces off of space ice at a slower rate, should also minimize the amount of times the crystal flys back at you at incredible speeds.
