Katyusha first english interview in Indie Game Picks (+new screenshots)
Check out the scenario and the Katyusha Rocket Launcher reveal!
Dear comrades,
Loresoft is proud to announce the first english interview in Indie Game Picks!
Following our announcement about the Chapter 2 which will conclude the Steam demo, we had a nice invitation from the Indie Game Picks website and decided to accept us.
Katyusha's Game Designer Manos Gryparis, talked about the scenario, our goals and revealed some exclusive screenshots, including the Rocket launcher from Level 2!
Please keep in mind that the screenshots do not represend the final version of Chapter 2, as we have just entered our internal stable alpha version. At this point we need to: - Finalize graphics (background, interior part of the buildings and several Lyudmila Pavlichenko animations). - Add crafting and test it. - Do a full cycle testing.
Just a note, for the records, Katyusha's first interview was in Russian, from GameGuru in White Nights Moscow, where we presented the prototype version of our game, which was made during one month.
We can not give an exact date of when the Steam demo will be ready but we definitely want it to be done during the next weeks and surely before the end of the year.
In the meantime, stay tuned for our new gameplay videos and Chapter 2 song!
Thanks a lot for your patience.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko in Katyusha
Dear comrades,
We confirm that historical sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko will be featured in Chapter 2 of Katyusha (Battle of Odessa), which will be included in our free demo.
Pavlichenko was among the first round of volunteers at the Odessa recruiting office, where she requested to join the infantry. The registrar pushed Pavlichenko to be a nurse but she refused. After seeing that she had completed multiple training courses, they finally let her in the army as a sniper. At the end of World War II Ludmila had 309 confirmed kills and is considered the greatest female sniper of all time.
Stay tuned for future announcements…which will include more famous WW2 heroes!
Katyusha stable alpha version and new features
Dear comrades,
Loresoft is proud to announce that a stable alpha version for Katyusha (v.0238) is currently into development.
We are glad that we are exiting our early alpha version, with unexpected delays in our development schedule. That is the reason why during 2019 we stopped co-operating with our main developer. Our new developer started working on the project since Q1 2020. He created the code from scratch, solved all the important bugs, adjusted the A.I. and during the last months we are working on both level 2 and new features.
Our new developer is Marios Stinis, creator of Colourless, an addictive Platform on Steam.
Summary of work being done
Alpha v.0.237 patch notes (internal)
Code – Rebuilt the whole game code with the new Unity engine – Optimization so that Katyusha can run even in PCs with low specs – Adjusted the levelling system so that Katyusha doesn’t become OP in every level up
Bugs solved – Enemy A.I. is realistic and not falsely aggresive – Enemy animations are being properly displayed, including fixes for shaking and ragdoll. – Katyusha being stuck when hit, killed or when she comes out of bushes. – Enemies being stuck inside the environment – Katyusha being stuck when trying to grab from the ladder. – Floating items – Rain is not freezing below dungeons
New features implemented up to v.0237: – Level 2: Odessa: Starting location – Climbing animation and mechanics: Katyusha can now grab from ledges – Barracks – Crafting station for weapons and armor – Crafting station for vehicles – Settings menu with options to adjust music and sound effects volume and turn them on/off
Upcoming features: – Completing Level 2 background and scenery – Crafting (will be presented extensively) – The ability to disassemble objects and use items for crafting – Historical World War 2 figures as NPCs – First Katyusha truck – New weapons – New armor – Quests and rewards – Limited bullets – Encumbarance – The ability to read previous letters by pressing “L” (each letter will be probably removed when used for checkpoints). – Karma: There is an internal discussion on whether we should include a “Karma” feature or not, ie. what you decide through dialogues and through your actions will determine whether you will be Good or Evil, but this is subject to discuss.
Summary We appreciate your feedback and interest so far. Loresoft is a small development team with no funding support. Please be patient for our next updated demo version.
At the moment we are also looking for another 2D pixel artist which will help us speed up the development process. If we fill the position during the next 2 weeks then we could reach our target in releasing an updated demo during Q4 2020.
Thank you for your interest and stay tuned!
Merry Christmas with level expansion!
It's Christmas but in Loresoft we are still working in Katyusha, so now we are proud to announce the expansion of our demo level in Katyusha early alpha v 0.218.
With our new update the demo level has been expanded.
Here are the version 0.218 patch notes:
- Bigger level: Double the size, double the experience. You can now loot more animals and enemy soldiers, while more loot will be added to the next patch.
- Free roam areas: You are now able to loot as free roam inside each level.
- Bridge: A new environmental element has been added: Bridges.
- Misc: Various elements, such as caves and surprise traps have been added.
The next patches will focus in loot, crafting and quests.
Merry Christmas everyone and happy new year!
Thank you for your support!
Katyusha v0.217: Random loot. armor and crafting - December upgrades
Greetings,
We have just updated Katyusha to v2.017 which includes the random loot system. Here are the patch notes:
- Random loot: You can now kill enemy soldiers and wolves for random loot. You can collect those items by pressing the Action button (E).
- Placeholders: You can collect 5 items in crates at the beginning of the level, using the action button. Those are just placeholders at the moment and will be removed in a future patch.
- Materials that you get from loot are used as armor, weapons and crafting materials. For example snake skin is used to make skin boots. Currently beside cotton used as crafting material for first aid, there is no active crafting for the armor and weapon materials. We are thinking of adding them either for direct crafting through inventory, or using crafting stations. This is under consideration/discussion with the community.
- Dynamic weather changes.
- Several improvements in A.I.: Increased visual detection and attack speed in some enemies (bear 1 at/sec and soldier 0.5 at/sec)
In the next December update we will add:
- Expansion of the first level so that it has a form which will be close to the one of the final version.
In future updates we will add:
- 2 levels (the final version of demo will have 2 levels).
- Plenty of items to find in random loot, such as armor, weapons and mods.
- NPCs and quests. Grandfather in the first level and various NPCs in the 2nd level will give you optional quests. Katyusha can either complete levels straightforward with only her quest to find her boyfriend or also do secondary quests.
Thanks for your support.
Please also support us in Loresoft.gr.
Katyusha alpha features #1: Dynamic weather/camera, Advanced A.I./Stealth kill system
Road to alpha has officially begun!
Loresoft is proud to announce the new features of our current alpha version, which are now live on Steam!
The new Katyusha demo provides:
✓ Dynamic weather
✓ Dynamic camera
✓ New environment for the first level
✓ Vastly improved A.I. in enemy soldiers.
✓ Advanced stealth kill system.
✓ Sound effects for all characters and environmental sounds.
Watch our new gameplay trailer with all the new features.
Dynamic weather Our dynamic weather system which is still in progress, will allow you to have a different experience each time. There are specific weather conditions for each level (sun, rain, snow or combinations of them), which occur randomly (in terms of both place and duration) as you play.
Advanced stealth kill system Our new stealth kill system allows you to kill an enemy and do damage to him according to the accuracy that you have by pressing the use button ("E"). Loading the bar between 50-75% will allow you to do a single hit. 75-90% does critical hit while over 90% does instant kill. This applies to all soldiers in the game, as the wild animals (which mostly appear in the first level and pretty much less in the others) are getting killed more easily.
A.I. improvement In the first demo of Katyusha the A.I. had a standard behavior. In the new early alpha version enemy soldiers are more aggresive and efficient. They have a random behavior when walking, while when they detect you they shoot way more often and constantly. The same goes with melee attacks as they become very aggresive when you are close to them, while at the same time they chase Katyusha. They will even shoot when they are next to you, so beware. The new A.I. mechanics will make the game more difficult but using stealth you can kill or avoid enemies by hiding in the environment.
The new early alpha demo (v0.21) is available now on Steam.
Katyusha early alpha demo patch 0.2
Greetings everyone,
We are excited to let you know that patch 0.2 is live. Here are the patch notes:
Gameplay - Added the Favorites tab. You can add an item to favorites by highlighting each item then pressing the corresponded number in your keyboard.
Sound - Several implementations of new sounds in both Katyusha and enemies.
Fixes - Bears can be killed with the rifle
- Fixed rock collider from box to polygon to match graphics
- Fixed sprite - graphic for bear to match ground level
- Fixed UI to scale correctly on different screen size
(In-dev version) - We have added and testing blood/hit effects to enemies.
- Eagle levelling system with skills.
- We will add an Advanced Stealth System which relies on 75% and 95% hits as well. Harder enemies like bears and soldiers will need a higher percentage, thus you will be able to do stealth kills. Otherwise you do a single hit like now.
Nordic Game Discovery Contest Loresoft will take part in Athens Games Festival 2018 at Helexpo Marousi, Athens (booth A8). We are also nominees for one place in the Nordic Game Discovery contest. Among the 80 games of Athens Games Festival, only 3, one of which is Katyusha, will compete for a place in the Nordic Game Discovery. Katyusha is also nominated for the People's Choice Award of Athens Games Festival 2018.
Katyusha Demo now available on Steam
Loresoft is proud to announce that the free demo of Katyusha is now available on Steam!
Join our Steam profile and download the demo.
Key features of our game:
– Freedom in gameplay: Play either full action or going stealth by hiding from your enemies. Stealth attacks allow you to hit with critical damage once the stealth bar overpasses 50%.
– A.I.: Enemies have an improved A.I. Wild animals, which will occur only during the first level of the game, need you to stand still and hit them, while enemy soldiers require that you either time your shots or hit and run when using melee.
– Historical facts: Meet real-life people from World War II and learn historical facts that occured in the Soviet Union. They will train you and they will show you how to survive in battle.
– Checkpoints: Find real-life World War II letters from both Russian and German soldiers. Use them wisely in checkpoints in order to save your progress.
– Levelling system: Katyusha levels up and spends attribute points in Strength, Dexterity, Vitality and Intelligence. Strength increases her melee attacks. Dexterity increases ranged attacks. Vitality increases the health bar and finally Intelligence gives boost to the eagle (mentioned below).
– Emotional: Communicate with NPCs and live emotional moments, while also discovering easter eggs as well.
– Eagle: Use your pet to attack enemies. It levels up as well, while at the same time it has a cooldown for every usage.
– Crafting: You can use cotton, leather, iron and other materials that you encounter in order to craft armor and items that will assist you in battle.
– Boss fights: Encounter bosses from World War II and face them into immersive battles (not available in early alpha).
– Trading: Loot enemy corpses and trade the items in NPCs (not available in early alpha).
About this demo:
You will play the first level of Katyusha, which is going to differ in the final version of the game. The enemy soldiers will not be included in that level, as they are placed for demo purposes. You will be able to test all basic gameplay mechanics, including our stealth system, the A.I., the first crafting material (cotton to bandage) and the first puzzle (a mine, placed outside the second house). Also, the levelling system is live for Katyusha, while the eagle will also have one later on. In this early alpha bersion there are no historical persons and facts mentioned. Also, the trading system is not available at the moment. Most likely we are going to add a vendor at the end of the first level, just for trade and a crafting station.
Known issues:
- The bear has several A.I. issues which are going to be solved, including invulnerability to bullets.
- Some enemy soldiers do not receive the bullet at the right moment when they turn their back on you.
- Rare animation bugs when dying while moving, in 95% of cases you will be fine.
- Several A.I. tweaking needed on the soldiers when you hit them from very large distance and when they are attacked by the eagle.
- Eagle animations when Katyusha is moving are not finalized.
- "X" key gives xp, which means that you can level up if you have a hard time (only available for the first build).
Stay tuned and fοllow Loresoft for more information about Katyusha.
Katyusha is being developed for PC. More platforms will be announced in the future.
Katyusha UI and screenshots update
Happy new year everyone!
This is our first update for 2018, as we have completed most of the user interface for Katyusha.
As you can see in the updated screenshots in Katyusha profile, the UI will include a health bars for Katyusha and her eagle, as well as xp bars.
Both Katyusha and her eagle will gain xp and level up. You will be able to spend attribute points upon Katyusha's level up, as well as unlock new skills (currently under construction). Her eagle will be also able to level up and gain new skills which are going to be revealed later on.
The inventory is not final, as some stuff are still placeholders. The game will include a Favorites horizontal bar (currently not implemented in this version) where you will be able to quickly access your weapons and healing supplies. Katyusha will also be able to craft stuff. The first craftable resource in this prototype version is the healing gauge. Katyusha grabs cotton from trees and two cotton pads can form one healing gauge, which heals more than...apples and pears.
The user interface also contains info about the main mission objective and quests. You can also see the cooldown timer on which the eagle will return so that you can use him again.
Stay tuned for more info and thank you for your support.
Katyusha is being developed for PC. More platforms will be announced in the future.
Facebook page. ► FB.com/Katyushagame
Add us to your Steam Wishlist.
The official announcement of Katyusha will be made during 2018. We are finishing our prototype level while at the same time we are in talks with publishers.
Thanks for your interest.
