We've heard your questions about when the Beta patch is going to come out so let me give you some clearity and oversight. As stated in earlier Devlogs: we're closing in on the Beta-stages of development, well I can tell you now that we're officially in the Beta-stages! Which also means that the development can and will shift drastically, so keep that in mind as we move forward with the game. We're not ready to release a patch yet and you can probably expect them to be further apart from each other moving forward but they'll be bigger as a result.
The place to find out about when and how is here on the devlogs that we put out, here we'll inform you about future plans and our progress. Discord is also a good place to seek info since we'll be posting the same info there plus you can even ask questions.
How can I play the game?
Sadly we've closed the Playtest for the time being, but don't worry there'll be more opportunities to try out the game. I suggest that you also keep an eye out for certain game-conferences as we might look to appear in one. As we do we might also open up for Playtesting during a short periodin tandem with the conferance. We'll ofcourse update you here and on Discord about things like this. When it happens we will guide you to how you can participate.
When will the game release?
Our aim was to finish the game in the first half of 2023, the release of the game itself could take longer depending on what's going on in the background. This is still the case though things could take longer than that. Nothing is yet certain and there's still a lot to do, so I'll leave you with this preliminary date for now and note that it could and probably will change.
Progress Insight
Here we want to give you some insight in the new things we've made that are not speculative but actually prototyped but note that these features/additions might not be the final version of them.
New Parts
Here are a sneak peek on some of the new parts that we plan on adding into the game. They're not fully finished yet but the concept and functionality is there:
Click on the images to see the full picture.
If you want, let us know what your thoughts are about them. And don't worry, more parts is on the way. We'll most likely be showing more sneakpeeks of them in future posts.
New Music & Sounds
Some new crisp sounds have been added to the factory. New sounds to the enemies and music to go along with it to make the factory the best factory possible. Sadly we can't show the new sounds and music here. You'll just have to trust me that the sounds & music are indeed evil and we are very pleased with it.
Devlog #6
New Patch
We will be rolling out a new Patch today with some of the things that are left from the Alpha stages. We have been focused on getting the last things done like Improvements to the hub room and other rooms. Soon we can proceed and move onto the next stage which is Beta. We're almost there and we hope you are as excited as we are for what is coming up next.
Design Ideas
To be perfectly clear, these are some of the ideas we've come up with or are testing currently, and they are subject to change. They are not in the game as of yet and we cannot say when/if they'll be. This is just to share some of the thoughtprocess we have and give you a chance to express what you think of it.
Challenge Rooms
Challenge rooms are a new type of rooms that would add some extra decisions in choosing which direction to proceed in. These rooms will be a bit harder to clear and and more rare than normal rooms. If you decide to enter a Challenge room then you should be prepared for a thougher fight. The incentive to take on these rooms is that they give different rewards that might be of interest to the player.
Once entered into a Challenge room, like a normal room you must clear the challenge in order to proceed further. These rooms challenges comes in 3 different types:
Elite Encounters - This type of room would feature one or more unique mini-bosses that is either a souped up version of regular enemies with some added extra tricks up their sleeve. Or completely unique enemies.
Wave Based / Survival - These rooms focuses on waves and survival based challenge. This could be waves of enemies coming forth and you'll have to defeat each and all of the waves to clear the room. It could also feature a great deal of traps instead or perhaps even both, hehe.
Break the Core (BtC) - As the name implies the goal here is to the Core(s). There'll be enemies and traps being spawned/triggered continously until all the Cores have been destroyed. These enemies do not grant any score with would incetify that you target the Cores. When all cores have been destoryed the room has been cleared and you can move on.
Circuit Rush
Circuit Rush would be the collective keyword for an event/trigger mechanic that requires you to do a certain action or accumulate a specific amount of a resource that would trigger a Circuit Rush.
What is the interesting thing about this then? This would open a multitude of different options to how you can play and how we could challenge you in a way that is intuitive, fun and you can react to. An example of this would be certain parts you can pick might only be activated during a Circuit Rush. Let's say you make a Perfect Dodge and that would be the trigger for a Circuit Rush, then those parts would be activated by that. Giving you an edge in combat or in a pinch, and perhaps it even becomes defining for your playstyle for that run and/or forward.
This could also be applied to Bosses, if you gave a part away to the boss that has a Circuit Rush effect then when you face it you need to manage that boss' Circuit Rush. Maybe there's a way to prevent it triggering a Circuit Rush or maybe it triggering it would be a good thing even for a certain situation.
The things we could do with a mechanic like this has us excited and would give parts even deeper dynamic.
Devlog #5
New Art-style
So there's quite a bit happening in the background for the game right now. After Gamescom we got a lot of posivite feedback from people which is always nice to see. But it has also made some things more clear to us, especially the about the current state of the Art-style has at the moment.
Regarding the art-style, you've seen a bit of what we're after with our current shader which had a massive impact on how people percieved the game and a lot of positive feedback with it. But we shall not stop there. There'll be an update to the art-style yet again for the game which will improve the feel and look of the game even more and get us closer to what we want the game to be!
If we're lucky enough we could even get another team that can be specifically dedicated to giving the game a new fresh look. So when the update comes with the new art-style, you should expect a whole new feel to the game. We will ofcourse update you on the progress of the art-style, so do keep an eye on both Steam posts and our Discord server.
Name Change
Along with some of the other changes that are in the process of happening, the name of the game will also change. We've known about the issues the current name "Clönk" has, that it can be hard for people to find since it uses a specific latter that is not available to everyone be default. So we'd like to come up with a new name to distinguish the game better for everyone.
So what does this mean for you? When the name Clönk will be changed we'll ofcourse let you know of it in good time and tell you what the new name will be. We might even involve our players in the process of choosing a new name. But when it happens that means all places related to the game will also change it's name, that includes things like Discord and other Social places. Searching for Clönk might therefore yield you other results after the name change. So keep that in mind when it happens.
Alpha Patch 1.5.5
A new smaller patch will roll out today aswell, with some bugfixes and balance changes. As mentioned in the last devlog we're nearing the end of the Alpha stages of development and are moving towards the Beta. The arrival of the new Art-style will probably mark the beginning of the Beta. So there'll be a few patches coming out still during the Alpha part, before the Beta stages.
Devlog #4
New Patch v1.5.1
As you may have already noticed there's a new patch available for the game, introducing some new mechanics and further improving the experience. You can look up on the list of updates/changes in the Patch Notes for 1.5.1 that'll come later.
This time around we focused more on some features that our players have been asking for a while now. We wanted to give the player more tools to work with, so we added a dodge function to improve movement/positioning, and introduced a map showing info on the upcoming rooms. We also updated the rooms changing and adding more to them. Even the boss behaves differently with varying attacks that are now more distinct and readable than before. Check the "How To Play" tab to learn about the new functions.
When you make a "Perfect Dodge" in action
We hope you'll try out the new stuff in the patch and tell us about your experience with them. We are aware that the current patch might not be very balanced at the moment, we will be balancing things as we go. We would like your help aswell to play and find the bugs and things that feel unbalanced, so that we can fix them and improve the experience as much as possible.
You can post the bugs and concerns in our Official Discord Server, we appreciate every and all help we recieve from you. Every little bit help us out more than you think.
Moving to Beta
That's right! The game has come a long way and gone through a lot of major changes that has flipped the experience on it's head for the better. So we feel like we've reached the end of the Alpha period with this playable version. Hence we are moving into the Beta stages of development, which means you can look forward to a beta version soon™.
So what will that mean for the game? On the surface there won't be much of a difference. There'll still be patches/content updates for you to try out. But rather a status indication or milestone if you will. To mark that we're moving closer to the full complete game. The focus of development will be more focused towards mechanics and content.
Gamescom
Gamescom moves ever closer and we plan to have the game make an appearance on the show. We're very excited to have it be shown for a bigger audience than ever and we hope you are aswell. Be on the look out for Clönk when watching.
Devlog #3
Exciting stuff on the horizon, you who have been waiting for a new update on the game won't have to wait for much longer. We will share a bit of our development process in these devlogs and if you'd like feel free to share your thoughts on these ideas with us.
Demo & Gamescom
Yes you read that right, we're planning on having Clönk making an appearence on Gamescom. Our goal is to have a new cool version for you to try out when Gamescom starts. We're working hard trying to change, fit and implement new ideas and your feedback into the game. We hope that we can show you some of the things we have planned for the game then.
The new version that we want to roll out together with Gamescom is what we want to be the Demo version of game going forward. So don't fret that the playtest will end. You'll have a Demo you can play to your hearts content. It'll feature more of the things we'd like the actual game to be.
Design Ideas
To be perfectly clear, these are some of the ideas we've come up with and they are subject to change.
Temperature Mechanic
There is this idea of having the machines overheat in certain conditions. It could be standing in lava, hit by fire or shooting too much so that your gun overheats. We saw potential to expand upon this, we imagine a temperature meter filling up as you get hit by heat increasing effects (such as fire, lava and other very hot things).
in this system If you overheat you'll be dealt a large chunk of damage. This could be a fun extra layer to gameplay we thought, but we didn't stop there. We then considered that maybe you'd want to increase that heat meter for an effect to trigger. What if when you reach the heat cap you'd trigger an effect or an upgrade that could for example cause a larger explosion in an area around you, or make you shoot fire bullets. certain effects could let you'd loose a chunk of the heat buildup you had so that you can build it up again.
Naturally this would also apply to enemies. It would mostly serve as a second way of killing enemies. Kind of like Sekiros poise mechanic where they essentially have a second healthbar but that healthbar regens back if you don't keep the offensive.
This is easily expanded upon we noticed. You could also have it go the other way and freeze the victim if they get too cold and have a different effect/trigger there. This thought would lead to the idea of Damage Types.
Damage Types
A feature like Damage Types would expand the way we approach both Upgrades but also Enemies to give them more depth. Different types would have different interactions for both you and the enemies, but also if combined with others they could trigger effects. Some examples of damage types we would like to add would be:
Fire
Freeze
Wet
Electricity
Explosive
Some enemies may have a certain reaction to a damage type that you the player can take advantage of. Some may explode if you shoot fire at them and others may burn from it. We'd like for this to also be a defining factor for the areas you're in. So when you're progressing through levels you could have an idea of what you can expect and perhaps utilize that knowledge and the tools presented in your strategies.
Boss Improvements
Not even the bosses are safe from our ideas. You're probably all familiar with the boss of the playtest, we've decided to make some improvements to the boss. So what kind of improvements you might ask?
We wanted to make the boss more fun to fight against. So we thought of making new attack patterns that are more defined and easy to identify for the player. The result of the these changes should give the player more breathing room to position and plan ahead as the fight unfolds. TorN as a boss is currently quite flawed with the old design that was an endless barrage of shots, but with these new separated attacks the fight should now feel more dynamic and fun.
Spin-Fire C Here's a sneakpeek
Devlog #2
It is hard to keep quiet about what you're working on, especially when it's about things you want others to experience. It requires a lot of patience if we're going to be honest. We have a lot of cool ideas and hopefully we will be able to share them with you soon but for now at least we can show you what we're thinking about.
So how about we show you an idea or two we've been talking about and give you a bit of a look into the development process?
Design Ideas
To be perfectly clear, these are some of the ideas we've come up with and they are subject to change.
Dashing & Dodging
So we've heard a lot of your feedback during our playtest, especially on Arctic Game Week and Nordsken. Dashing was the most requested feature and we agree! We've been thinking about how we could implement such a feature.
A normal dash was the first thought, like a quick sprint in one direction to avoid being caught or hit by a bullet or an attack. But we started iterate on the idea of dodging and a dash became a slide and even a jump. We thought that we could possibly have multiple different types of Dashing/Dodging tied to the character you're playing as well as interesting things happening if you time your dodge just right.
Second Area
The idea of the game is that you progress through the current area until you meet the boss and if you defeat the boss you get to progress to the next area. That area will then feature a new part of the factory that you'll progress through. That area will have some new enemies and have a different aesthetic to the environment you progress through.
Right now we're thinking of having the second area being The Orchard. A part of the factory tasked with creating and providing fuel. This place is going to be a mix between a sewer and an Aztec temple, featuring the crude stone architecture of the Aztec and sewer-like aqueducts. The place would also be overgrown with the toxic plants that are not properly tended to.
We also wanted the enemies and other machines to reflect the area they're in. Due to it being so incredibly decrepit, the machines there have somehow fused with the local fauna. Creating new and toxic behaviours amongst the machines.
Current Progress
We've come a long way since we've begun the big overhaul of the project source code. We're very happy with the progress and it is starting to take the shape we've all been wanting it to be from the very start. This will enable our work to become faster and more efficient as well as come up with new fun ways for things to act together. Such as new upgrades and even features to mechanics.
Devlog #1
Greetings everyone!
So where are we now? We have moved into a phase where we're fighting against the bosses of our ancient relic code and assets to make better and more shiny ones! This is in order for us to be able to work better and save ourselves a few more braincells. In other terms: an extreme overhaul of the project, which also comes with improved performance. It might not sound like much but we're excited to be able to move into the next stages in development which require us to do this.
New timestop icon yay!
Playtesting
We are glad to see that you've enjoyed the playtest #2, joined in on our social platforms and even participated in some friendly competitions. We appreciate every and all feedback we've gotten from you. For that you have our thanks!
While it has been great having you all play the game, we will soon be closing the current playtest for the game. But fret not, there'll be more playtests in the future. Future playtests will most likely focus on new aspects and content of the game that we'd like to have tested aswell as to recieve your feedback on.
Demo version
Other than that we will be making a Demo version that will be accessible for all to play and try out a bit of the game. We'd like it to be different from how the playtests are structured. While playtests are to test specific content the Demo is more to get a quick feel of the game.
Events & Competitions
We had superfun making the events and competitions so we'd like to do more in relation to our bigger updates. We'd like to have events not just for the playtests but maybe also for the Demo version. We will be holding these in our Discord Server so jump over there to participate.
We will keep you updated with our progress and future updates as we move towards things we can show you. You can also check out our Twitter page for more updates & YouTube for some trailers.
Patch Alpha v1.3.1
Hello everyone!
For you who have access to the Alpha Playtest we've come with an update based upon the feedback we recieved recently. The following is a list of what we've added/fixed for the patch v1.3.1:
Part: Scatter Muzzle - Now fires 5 bullets instead of 3 - Fire rate decrease reduced to -40%
Part: Wall Repellant - Decreased bounce amount by 1
Added splash damage to explosions
Reduced boss jank
Reduced HP on Sniper Enemy
Content Updates
Reworked UI to have better gamepad support
Improved part card text formatting
Improved shop UI
Icons for parts with missing icons
Added timer during gameplay
Control scheme now changes automatically
Improved visibility on destructibles
Bug Fixes
Fixed shop exploits
Fixed granade collision
Fixed some creates retaining it's color during Time Stop
Next we'll conduct some changes in our work strategy so it might be a while before there'll be a new version you can try and give feedback. If you'd like more updates and connect with us, you can do so via our Discord Community Server.
Best Regards Iron Evil Studio
Patch Alpha v1.3.1
Hello everyone!
For you who have access to the Alpha Playtest we've come with an update based upon the feedback we recieved recently. The following is a list of what we've added/fixed for the patch v1.3.1:
Part: Scatter Muzzle - Now fires 5 bullets instead of 3 - Fire rate decrease reduced to -40%
Part: Wall Repellant - Decreased bounce amount by 1
Added splash damage to explosions
Reduced boss jank
Reduced HP on Sniper Enemy
Content Updates
Reworked UI to have better gamepad support
Improved part card text formatting
Improved shop UI
Icons for parts with missing icons
Added timer during gameplay
Control scheme now changes automatically
Improved visibility on destructibles
Bug Fixes
Fixed shop exploits
Fixed granade collision
Fixed some creates retaining it's color during Time Stop
Next we'll conduct some changes in our work strategy so it might be a while before there'll be a new version you can try and give feedback. If you'd like more updates and connect with us, you can do so via our Discord Community Server.
