Hive Quest has featured in Next Fest this week and the support from Steam players has been very strong. I'm so grateful - thank you everyone. There has been a lot happening behind the scenes here with coding & development, trying to create a smooth gameplay experience and just keep on top of things. Sometimes the going isn't smooth but with the support of fans, and knowing that people like what I'm creating here, it really keeps the energy and inspiration flowing! Lately I've been working on how the hives grow with the number of drones growing by a big chunk for both player and enemy hives. You can see the results below:
Naturally this has caused some frame rate issues so I'm toiling away to get a solution so stay with me! :)
Also players can now see enemy drone expeditions far off in the woods when you take control of one of your own drones (you have to switch to bug vision for this - see below)
Hive Quest really needs your support, please help by spreading the word on social media and consider contributing a dollar on my Patreon account.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Rod
Heck, I've missed this place!
Hi Folks, It's been a while since the last post here & lots has happened. After a few setbacks at the end of last year I needed to take a step back and re-assess where things are going.
Since its beginning things have come such a long way for Hive Quest and the game demo (see below) shows only a fraction of the whole experience. The world is rich in back story, content and flavour and there are some very cool game mechanics in there. It's also (I am reliably told) a lot of fun to play, so work has to continue!
Please take the time to download & try the free game demo from Game Jolt right here:
Hi everyone, It's been a little while since the last update so here's a bit of news about some exciting new additions to Hive Quest game play. [previewyoutube="Xkl8BA6l9g4;full"]
The past few weeks I've been bringing together the 'Book of Hive Lore' - a useful interactive tool that players can use to manage their tiny kingdom.
Introducing this new game play element is really going to help illustrate to curious folk how the game play actually works. It ties together many of the core layers of the game into one handy reference that is visually interesting and simple to use.
Currently there are four main sections-
- A list of the drones belonging to the player's hive
- A list of all the resource sites the player has claimed (food, gloop & nectar)
- A handy reference for keeping track of the current pet creature the player owns.
- The game's main menu.
You can see those pages in the attached vid.
Further details have been added to the level design as well, to improve the depth and richness of the environment - from tiny weeds found scattered across the ground - to magical cave paintings inside the Hive.
[previewyoutube="OTyt_XRiJdA;full"]
Currently I'm working on the next Hive Quest demo, which involves lots of voice acting, cut scenes and refinement of the controls as well as a bunch of bug fixing. This demo has many improvements over the previous one released last year - better graphics, streamlined game play and more options/ features during play. Further news about that coming soon.
With a name like 'Hive Quest' you'd expect the game to have lots and lots of insects right? Swarms even. Buzzing around causing lots of mayhem all over the place.
Well now it does! Since the last game dev update this little worker bee has been implementing game mechanics for summoning insect swarms. Big clouds of drones the player can call to their side and then fly off to find something worth attacking or claiming for the glory of the Hive Queen (bless her antennae!)
[previewyoutube="Itsh6kMsWVk;full"] Drone swarms are a very important strategy element in Hive Quest, providing the player with the opportunity to thwart the plans of enemy hives using sheer force of numbers. (See my previous article about building strategy into hive quest). Fighting battles like this can be a costly business. Every one of a player's drones is an individual with a name and particular talents. Each one that dies is a tragedy that brings tears to the compound eyes of her royal insect-ey highness.
Drone swarms face-off
OTHER NEWS
Also, Hive Quest will be hitting Kickstarter again so I am working on the new page right now. Please support the game & VISIT THE NEW KICKSTARTER PAGE (it's still a WIP mind you!) don't forget to hit the little 'remind' button with the green heart to be kept up to date on when things go live, and also please give feedback on anything (and also earn my eternal gratitude and possibly attract fairies to your garden...phew!).
@RodatGHG User interface in Hive Quest is subtle so as not to interfere with the nice view :) Some angry yellow drones Um...teething problems...all fixed now
The latest Hive Quest game dev & Real Time Strategy insights!
Hi everyone,
While working on Hive Quest I've recently been creating basic RTS mechanics that will promote sustained player enthusiasm and provide tension during the game play cycle. I wanted to share a few thoughts.
So here's my current and personal bullet list of three RTS toolkit 'concepts' -
Resource types -
Too many resource types can confuse players and too few can instill a lack of dynamic depth to play. I originally had two - food & gloop (a building material), but decided on three for now, by adding Nectar, a special food the hive queen needs to lay eggs. Nectar is the scarcest resource and scarce resources are great for motivating players to act, prompting them to take greater risks to obtain it. This might involve the investment of substantial resources or drive direct conflict between players, especially if the resource has a time limit.
These three ('two basics & a special') resources are the 'resource foundation' upon which much of the game's strategy revolves. I know many RTS games have a larger resource foundation group but, as a solo dev, three is just perfect for now. (Cont. below...)
Info hub
My current aim is to empower the player with tools/ options to strategize the use of their resources efficiently as they progress through the game in a way that runs a fine line with game play tension.
To do this many RTS games use a method of centralising info (an 'info hub') about the available resources so the player can see at a glance what is available & make decisions based on the scarcity/ abundance of these resources.
In its most basic form it can be a UI info bar on one edge of the screen or in more ambitious games an entire seperate set of screens that the player must learn how to navigate.
In HiveQuest this 'info hub' is a magic book that can be summoned with interactive pages detailing the number of drones or how much food etc. the player has.
The ability to interact with the info hub at a glance is also a great way of streamlining play & saving the player the frustration of tracking down individual units in the game level manually, while providing a level of individuality to each one (listing name, skills etc). (Cont. below...)
Info hub - the book of Hive Lore
Tension & conflict
This one is the most esoteric. The way tension & conflict are handled can make for great player engagement & thrills. But handled poorly, player attention will wander & lose focus.
Recently during play testing I've encountered several mechanics that at first appeared to be 'must have's' but weren't. Bear with me and I'll explain one -
One place to gather resource is a patch of flowers. I built in the player's need to 'claim' a resource site in order to use it & prevent the enemy doing so.
After watching for 5 mins and realising both hives were for some reason sending drones over & collecting nectar. I thought 'great! So players can steal resources out from under each other - a cool mechanic to play with!'
This turned out to be a bad idea, as the opposing drones would fight now & then, creating a 'low level' of drawn out attrition that was quietly sapping each player's hive of drones rather than an exciting big confrontation that could be planned & set in motion.
This gave birth to the idea of swarms, which, to my mind, are the opposite of attrition.
The point is, what at first appears to be a great strategic mechanism may not be after closer scrutiny.
Building the mechanism in first to see what happens seems necessary though, and then being prepared to alter it if it's not contributing something cool. Also (no brainer ahead) I've found the way other RTS games handle resources to be a great inspiration & experience when it comes to new ideas. :)
I'm not going to keep going on here - as you're short on time & the RTS game dev journey for Hive Quest is still very much moving forward - there are many things still to consider.
Thanks for looking. I'll get more info out soon :)
Hive Quest is becoming the real time strategy game it was always meant to beee!
Hive Quest is a real time strategy game, among other things, so recently I've been working like crazy on providing the player the tools they need to micromanage their teeny empire.
Lots of new user interface features are being introduced that fit smoothly into the flow of the game and provide lots of options for players to interact with their environment.
The book of Hive Lore is the single biggest addition, providing a central place to go for lots of info on your hive and even individual drones!
The big book of Hive Lore
Capture the gloop shrooms! Resources are an important feature in the game too. Food, gloop and other things are gathered at sites across the map. New UI features have been introduced here as well, at each site, to enable the player to manage who works there. You have to make sure you own it first though, as other hives can sneak in and claim the site for themselves!
Blue, sticky gloop comes from gloop shrooms That rotten apple won't hang around for long!
Eggy Goodness And lastly, news on the Hive interior! The Queen's chamber is a place to obtain info & organise new eggs. The Queen, with the help of her hand maidens, will keep laying eggs for your consideration, but only if you look after her. Below are some shots of work on the inner Hive & user interface for the player's eggs that provide useful options for fine tuning your tribe's population.
It gets busy in there! Eggy interface things
Annnd finally... I'll have some news on the combat system & how two hives go to war soon, so look out for more special news here on Steam.
Also, if you like the look of the game, pop over to the Discord chat & say a big Hellooooooo!!! to everyone else there. You'll get a warm welcome for sure :)
Thank you for all your awesome support!
Rod ;P
Dev Update Sept 2019
Hi Everyone,
After I nervously released the pre alpha Demo a few months ago players have provided lots & lots of feedback about the look, feel and content of Hive Quest. So I've been taking all the comments on board and have been busy making adjustments and improvements that include:
- better models for trees and bushes - snappier game play - better lighting
One of the biggest gains here has been the switch from Gamma to Linear lighting, taking things from a cartoony appearance to a softer more realistic look.
New strategy elements are also being included that weren't really there in the demo version, along with options to micromanage your hive more.
Choosing which eggs to hatch is a new micromanage feature - after the Queen lays them, you can scope each egg's individual traits to make sure you only hatch the best drones for your hive. If you find yourself in a pinch however, you might just have to make do...
At this very moment I am working on making the sites where resources are obtained as strong sources of conflict between Hives. This is a core piece of gameplay that guarantees the need to strategize and prioritize how you grow your Hive and use your drones.
You can get involved & meet new fans of the game on the Hive Quest Discord
Or even consider checking out the Patreon too where you can gain access to new, exclusive info and even scope my 'orrible fizzog :P
I'm Rod btw, the slightly unhinged solo dev behind the game. Nice to meet you :)
More news on its way soon - many thanks for looking!
Try the latest Hive Quest Game Demo
Hi Everyone,
It's been a while since the Steam page was updated so here's a look at what's been going on.
The Hive Quest demo has been undergoing extensive play testing among the twitter community which has really helped iron out bugs and improve game play. Things are at the stage where I feel ok about announcing the demo here on steam so feel free to grab the download right here on gamejolt.
Things have been super hectic around here of late (normally things idle at just 'hectic') .
And what, I hear you ask, has been the cause of this manic flapping, keyboard tapping, late night coffee chugging lunacy?
The new Hive Quest DEMO! Woohoooo!
Yep - very soon there will be a free version, a sort of Beta edition, available for folk to download and try out for themselves. When it goes live I'll post about it here, and all over other Hive Quest social media channels, so keep a good look out for when that happens :)
On top of that, there has been a whopping great big load of voice acting going on, to bring the many characters in the game to life. All this has rendered my voice, and the voices of several others, raw and croaking with all the effort. Which is great because now we can go on to do the bad guy's voices, as they always sound better with a gravelly throat.
Meanwhile, here are a few more screenshots from recent game dev ;)
Bloop!
News from the Wild Woods
Hi Everyone! So lots has been happening to Hive Quest the past couple of months, and yours truly has been working like an overly caffeinated chimpanzee to get everything done in a timely manner.
There's so much been going on it's difficult to know exactly where to start.
New areas have been added to the Wild Woods for players to explore along with fun things to muck around with and intriguing puzzles to solve.
Gameplay has been tightened up and the pet creature AI has had a huge update which makes them a lot more interactive (and downright helpful). They do need to be looked after though, otherwise bad things start to happen and they'll get ill. There's nothing sadder than a Shrublet wandering about with a dose of the Fungal Glumps.
Here he is again, looking happy & talking to a sapling. Definitely no Glumps.
Personally, I don't get it, but I don't speak 'plant'.
Also, the first ever Hive Quest game dev VLOG is now live on YT so if you're interested in finding out a little more about the game then check it out right here:
I'll be doing another one fairly soon so keep an eye out :) In the meantime here's a bunch of tasty, low calorie screen shots from the latest happenings to keep you going until the next announcement.
Find out more about me, the slightly unhinged solo game dev working on Hive Quest in these places -
