Almost every day we see new Lumencraft maps in Steam Workshop! Firstly, the maps that you share with us are usually really creative. It looks like you enjoy our game, right? We realized that Lumencraft's community is able to entertain itself not only by chats on our Discord server, but also directly via Steam. Secondly, your work prolongs the game’s life cycle. It’s not easy to imagine Lumencrafts' life cycle just 2 weeks after the start of Early Access, because you're constantly exceeding our expectations…
When we’re writing these words, 69 maps are awaiting in the Workshop.
That's a lot. Our team played some of them and decided to recommend some of them to you. So, we're starting a new series.
Let the Maps Shootout #1 begins!
The order does not matter - we’re just sharing maps that we find interesting.
Map name: Missing in Action Author: StarGameRuby Direct link:Steam Workshop
To quote Ruby: “You've been sent out solo to explore tunnels near an old Mining Outpost. An escort team is MIA; their mission objective is way above your paygrade to know, but it is your task to find out what happened to them. However, you are on a time limit - the miners who used to man the base disturbed the local swarm and command expects heavy resistance. Find the missing team. Survive. Escape.”
Our thoughts: the first time we played on this map some of us felt lost, which is good - this is how a lone explorer should feel looking for the miners that went missing. Unexpected encounters with the swarm are inevitable.
To quote EsACE:”Find Lumen deposit. Don't look behind. Run!”
Our thoughts: it is what it is. If you don’t run, you’re dead. If you change your mind and make a wrong turn, you’ll be dead. Focus and sprint as fast as you can. What’s more, fighting the monsters will only slow you down. Trust us - every second matters.
Map name: The Vein Author: aPness.tw2 Direct link:Steam Workshop
To quote aPness: “Previous culture has left behind a defense system for you to take advantage of, you must reach the finish! Follow the Tunnels!”
Our thoughts: lots of Lumen to gather. This map is diverse and just really fun to explore. If you like to invest in your base, The Vein will provide resources. The gameplay becomes even more enjoyable when the Scout finds the defense system from the map’s description.
That’s all for today. Have fun playing these maps. Remember to write your thoughts about them on our Discord server!
Maps Shootouts will be published once a month.
Let’s see how many fantastic maps you'll publish.
If you enjoy Lumencraft, please share your opinion with others. How should you do it? It does not matter - the choice is yours. It’s just a friendly request - nonetheless, we will be grateful.
Remember: to help us survive in this unwelcoming environment give us a “follow” on Steam⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦
Hot Fix #2 is live on Steam! Thanks to your activity we've managed to fix several bugs. Here's the list of changes:
## [EA hotfix 2] - 2021-04-19 - VERSION = 5504
### Added
- Editor: added metal count setting to metal vein - Editor: added decorative objects: Lumen Mushroom, Glowing Coral - added info how to select items in inventory - added autosave. Can be disabled in game options - added simple hook to make modding easier (more details on Discord) - added a hint about Alternate Movement option - added a hint about scorecards (F2 in main menu) - added a forced windowed run mode. Use "windowed" command line flag to enable it
### Changed
- restored old Regeneration behavior. It now restores full HP, as stated in the description - the new regeneration (quick to 30%) is now separate tech: Auto Heal. Not available in Lab for now - Gate/Shredder are now interactable when not powered and give a No Power message - removed (DEBUG) from title bar - slightly tweaked player cursor appearance - improved building placement. Now it has a slight tolerance for terrain pixels - decreased volume of the rumble sound when spiders are breaking the ground - tweaked last enemy visual icon on minimap to be easier to see
### Fixed
- Saving: fixed Lumen Farm losing upgrades and mushrooms after reload - Saving: fixed reactor upgrade costs resetting - Saving: fixed workshop item queue being lost - Saving: fixed storage capacity not respected properly - fixed enemy marker on minimap sometimes showing on a dead enemy - fixed workshop layout broken with too long map names - added unlimited Repair Gun spawn to tutorial - improved game switching between keyboard/gamepad controls - fixed Storage typo - fixed misleading descriptions of some technologies - possible fixes for game starting bugs and crashes (please test)
Found something not right? Please let us know on Discord and Steam Community so we can investigate and fix it.
We are still working through the other reported issues. Fixing bugs is our number one priority, and we will not stop until the game experience is great for everyone.
Also remember our roadmap for what we'll be adding in future updates.
Stay tuned for more coming soon! 🚀
Remember: to help us survive in this unwelcoming environment give us a “follow” on Steam⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦
Join our fight! We need your drills! 2Dynamic Games
[EA hotfix 2] - 2021-04-19 - VERSION = 5504
### Added - Editor: added metal count setting to metal vein - Editor: added decorative objects: Lumen Mushroom, Glowing Coral - added info how to select items in inventory - added autosave. Can be disabled in game options - added simple hook to make modding easier (more details on Discord) - added a hint about Alternate Movement option - added a hint about scorecards (F2 in main menu) - added a forced windowed run mode. Use "windowed" command line flag to enable it
### Changed - restored old Regeneration behavior. It now restores full HP, as stated in the description - the new regeneration (quick to 30%) is now separate tech: Auto Heal. Not available in Lab for now - Gate/Shredder are now interactable when not powered and give a No Power message - removed (DEBUG) from title bar. - slightly tweaked player cursor appearance - improved building placement. Now it has a slight tolerance for terrain pixels - decreased volume of the rumble sound when spiders are breaking the ground - tweaked last enemy visual icon on minimap to be easier to see
### Fixed - Saving: fixed Lumen Farm losing upgrades and mushrooms after reload - Saving: fixed reactor upgrade costs resetting - Saving: fixed workshop item queue being lost - Saving: fixed storage capacity not respected properly - fixed enemy marker on minimap sometimes showing on a dead enemy - fixed workshop layout broken with too long map names - added unlimited Repair Gun spawn to tutorial - improved game switching between keyboard/gamepad controls - fixed Storage typo - fixed misleading descriptions of some technologies - possible fixes for game starting bugs and crashes(please test)
The first 7 days of Lumencraft’s Early Access passed
The results we achieved during this period exceeded our expectations. Firstly, we see how the game’s community grows on Discord – and that’s enormously satisfying. Secondly, we reached some of the milestones earlier than we expected. As 2Dynamic Games and Star Drifters, we would like to thank all of you for the trust you put in us. Cheers to that!
Speaking about numbers – we can finally share one of them. Let the meme speak for itself.
It’s hard to believe that we reached the 20 000 copies milestone in less than a week.
Once again: thank you very much. We believe that most of you enjoy Lumencraft. We know that our game is getting better every day.
There is other important news that needs to be shared. Today (April 20) marks the start of the Earth Appreciation Festival on Steam. To quote its description:
“the idea behind the event is to raise awareness of issues related to World Earth Day (April 22, 2022) such as pollution, overpopulation, rapid climate change, conflicts, and lack of sustainability. We're including games that show the Earth after things went bad (think: post-apocalyptic games) but also titles that remind the player that our planet is worth preserving (nature-focused games etc.)."
Celebrate Earth Appreciation Festival with us, buying the game with a -10% discount till April 26! Just a reminder – save 20% off 2 games by buying The Riftbreaker x Lumencraft Bundle.
Lumencraft (of course!) seemed like a perfect representation of the ideas and goals of the festival - people forced to mine tons of shiny minerals on a surface of a dark planet full of monsters can be read as a sad commentary on what the future may bring to humankind.
We hope that the situations you encounter in the game will always be just a piece of science-fiction. Everyone working on Lumencraft wishes our planet all the best – we’ll try to make it a place worth living repeatedly.
Last, but not least – we’re on our way to #PAX East 2022. Come to booth #15019 and say hi to the developers!
If you enjoy Lumencraft, please share your opinion with others. How should you do it? It does not matter - the choice is yours. It’s just a friendly request - nonetheless, we will be grateful.
Remember: to help us survive in this unwelcoming environment give us a “follow” on Steam⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦
Let the second week of Early Access BEGIN! 2Dynamic Games
Lumencraft Hotfix #1
Hello Scouts! 👋
We want to thank you one more time for the support we received from you! Thanks to your contribution, we managed to spot and fix some bugs troubling you during the gameplay.
Here's a list of changes:
## [EA -hotfix 1] - 2021-04-14 - VERSION = 5433
### Added
- when 100 or less enemies in wave are alive, the closest one to the player will be marked on minimap
### Changed
- tweaked one area in First Encounter to prevent player from getting stuck - added more metal to the tutorial - tweaked waves in First Encounter to improve performance
### Fixes
- fixed typo in a tutorial text - the hidden zoom feature no longer breaks UI - fixed tutorial becoming unwinnable when a turret is broken - fixed some enemies getting stuck in First Encounter - fixed empty waves in Blast from the Past - fixed exclamation marks appearing permanently over wave spawn points - (hopefully!) fixed enemies stuck in Flare Siege - fixed control scheme being too sensitive about mouse movement - fixed game freeze after splash screen (please test)
Found something not right? Please let us know on Discord and Steam Community so we can investigate and fix it.
We are still working through the other reported issues. Fixing bugs is our number one priority, and we will not stop until the game experience is great for everyone.
Also remember our roadmap for what we'll be adding in future updates.
Stay tuned for more coming soon! 🚀
Remember: to help us survive in this unwelcoming environment give us a “follow” on Steam⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦
Join our fight! We need your drills! 2Dynamic Games
Lumencraft Early Access launch is TODAY!
Scouts, assemble!
The time has come – we did our best to tweak the latest Lumencraft build. Now, we can finally share it with the world. Today, the game enters one of the most important stages of its life cycle. Early Access is probably the best way to see what works great, and what needs some tweaking. This stage is exciting for every team working on a project – we can see how the existing community grows bigger. It’s hard to explain how creative input from people enjoying the game affects developers.
We hope that Lumencraft’s community will be bigger than bosses attacking the base!
Lumencraft will enter Early Access TODAY, on April 13th (Wednesday), at 6 PM CEST/12 PM EST. Get your copy on Steam or GOG.com! and join to our community!
As we informed in one of our previous Steam announcements that Lumencraft is a unique mix of top-down shooter, mining, and tower defense game. We mentioned names such as Alien Breed, Darkwood, and Riftbreaker.
We are proud to announce something that we worked on together with EXOR Studios....
You can get Lumencraft and The Riftbreaker on Steam in a limited bundle, available now with 20% discount.
Local co-op with Steam Remote Play support for online sessions.
Steam Deck support.
If you enjoy our game, please share your opinion with others. How should you do it? It does not matter - the choice is yours. It’s just a friendly request - nonetheless, we will be grateful.
See you soon, now go dig for Lumen! 2Dynamic Games
Let there be light! - Lumencraft will illuminate on April 13th
Hello, Scouts!
Dynamite is the most appropriate mining tool for this job. In the future, the survival of humanity depends on a group of miners who venture into the bowels of Earth to extract a unique resource called Lumen, also known as the last hope of humankind. But digging equipment is not enough, as the dark tunnels are infested with swarms of nightmarish creatures. There will be no time to rest. Prepare to protect your underground base from the invasion of bloodthirsty creatures at all costs. Dive into the dark underworld and experience the struggles of futuristic miners on April 13th, when Lumencraft enters Steam Early Access.
Our game is a combination of a top-down shooter, mining and tower defense game. Dynamic lighting and almost unlimited environment destruction allow to build a unique atmosphere in Lumencraft’s survival and tactical gameplay. Fans of the classic Alien Breed or newer titles like Darkwood or Riftbreakers should feel at home in the dangerous mines of future Earth.
Watch Lumencraft’s EA date announcement trailer:
[previewyoutube="fAlbwCCsDCY;full"]
The year is 2221. The planet's surface became uninhabitable over a century ago. Today the remains of humanity struggle to survive without electricity and light. Dreams of a better future had withered a long time ago, but a recently discovered mineral brought a spark of hope. Lumen, a crystal of high energy potency, can be the last chance for the struggling civilization. This mineral can drastically increase humanity's odds of survival.
A team of Scouts, highly specialized miners, has ventured deep below the ground. It’s almost impossible to survive there. They established a settlement near the estimated deposits of Lumen. Their mission objective is seemingly simple: excavate and collect the precious mineral. However, getting back with it to the surface alive is another story altogether. And no one has lived to tell that tale yet… Impossibly hostile caverns have proven to be a nearly impenetrable barrier so far, but they hold the key to rejuvenate the fading civilization.
Game Features:
Dynamic lights and pixel-perfect interaction with a fully destructible terrain.
Atmosphere of dread created through impactful sound design and unique 2Dynamic lighting system.
Defending an underground settlement by direct combat and turrets.
Highly efficient and immensely satisfying digging mechanics.
Various futuristic technologies will allow to improve both your digging and killing potential.
Map editor and full Steam Workshop support.
Local co-op with Steam Remote Play support for online sessions.
Steam Deck support.
Lumencraft is now being presented during the European Game Showcase at GDC in San Francisco, CA.
Lumencraft will be available for all players in Early Access on April 13th.
Remember: to help us survive in this unwelcoming environment wishlist Lumencraft and give us a “follow” on Steam⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦
Join our fight! We need your drills! 2Dynamic Games
Playtest summary
Hello, Scouts!
None of us expected so many players to participate in the playtests. There were 1312 participants! It truly is a number beyond our imagination. Thank you very much. The feedback that you submitted gave us a new perspective on the game. Getting a fresh insight into Lumencraft's gameplay is always invaluable.
Today, it’s time to announce the winners of the MAKE A MAP, WIN A PRIZE contest! Before the end of the contest, 10 maps were published via Steam Workshop. Some of you shared more than one map! Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your creativity with us.
Our team had to choose 3 maps. Let’s remind you of the rewards in the contest: - creators will be honored in the game’s credits; - the chosen maps will be a part of the Editors’ Choice section in Lumencraft; - winners will receive Steam keys to previous games published by Star Drifters: Danger Scavenger and Driftland: The Magic Revival.
Without further ado 🥁: 🥉 “Area I sector 228” by Super57 🥈 “Lumen farm” by Guixix 🥇 “Lumen Hold” by SolarXD.
Congratulations 🍾! To receive the Steam keys to both games, please write an e-mail confirming your participation at the address: office@stardrifters.com 📧.
We can’t wait to see other players from the Lumencraft community having fun on these maps. They are enjoyable and made with love. What’s more, it always feels great when the studio provides the tools, and the community remixes something or makes new content entirely from scratch. The results surprised us positively. Now, it’s time to shape the game before the Early Access stage. We’ll do our best to prepare the best build possible.
Wishlist Lumencraft and give us a “follow” on Steam ⚙️, join our Discord 🎧 server and follow us on Facebook 👍 and Twitter 🐦.
Let’s wait patiently for the upcoming start of the Early Access! 2DynamicGames
Devlog 2: AI System
Hello, my Scouts! Long time no see, my Scouts! Forgive us for this disappearance, but we were super busy with Playtests and preparations for the big day. Yep, you heard that right! Early Access is coming. Keep reading for more juicy info! Now, without further ado… Welcome to the second volume of Lumencraft Devlog!
[previewyoutube="CnspGpXBNoY;full"]
Swarm and how it finds you Today we want to discuss enemies - you know, the friendly little bugs that totally aren’t annoying and totally aren’t destroying all your hard work. Currently, we have 3 different AI systems for enemies. Number one is your very favorite Basic Swarm - small, fast, aggressive.
Basic Swarm was introduced in the first publicly available build. It was the core of wave attacks and we quickly learned that the absolute top number that the game can support is 500 on the high end PC. When the tiny swarm was attacking your base every 10 minutes - this is it, that’s our AI. As you may have noticed, the behavior is pretty simple as those bugs have only one target, one purpose. Don’t expect them to suddenly do something super smart. If they do, it’s game over - for everyone, the AI is self-conscious and these sci-fi movies you like so much aren’t only movies anymore.
Jokes aside, the Basic Swarm has only 3 objectives:
go to the player core,
attack the player on sight,
attack anything the player constructed on the way to the core.
The Basic Swarm executes the plan by following these three simple rules: ( and Scouts hate them ;))
The Basic Swarm enemy is using simple Finite State Machine (FSM), meaning it can do the following:
IDLE - looks for target, finds a path, becomes leader, chill if nothing to do
LEADER - has no other swarm member directly in front, picks one of two attacks on the visible target, follows the target
FOLLOWING_LEADER - follow other swarm members that are close ahead, copies attack target from the leader
ATTACK_WALL - happens when swarm bumps into a wall or a gate
FOLLOWING_PATH - follows a path to the target (usually the player or reactor)
If you would like to imagine how much perception the swarm monster has, just close your eyes, plug your ears and imagine being pushed in a specific direction, you have your arm straight in front of you, and can only sense things that your hand is touching. Now imagine you are being pushed back to chase the player that is behind a wall you don't know the wall is there. Now you have to decide: how to avoid collisions, when to turn, how fast to go, and you have no idea the player has surrounded you with walls or napalm. Poor bugs…
The Basic Swarm is, or maybe we should say “was”, the main AI system that we created from scratch. Although the result has a certain aggressive swarm-like character to it, we weren’t 100% satisfied with the supported swarm size so we wrote another swarm.
The Bigger Swarm If hundreds of angry enemies are not enough for you, we also have another swarm AI.
This one is done following a well-established algorithm for flocking/boids introduced by Craig W. Reynolds: https://www.red3d.com/cwr/steer/gdc99/ If you are interested we recommend checking the article as it explains everything far better than we could do it here.
Swarm in Lumencraft is written as a C++ custom module for Godot. It allows spawning thousands of monsters that behave like ants. The biggest difference in the implementation was in integrating it with our world and letting monsters react to the terrain.
Lonely bugs We talked about the swarm, but what about the rest of the gross enemies? Well, they have their own system. Next AI is intended to be used for “Smarter” enemies that can support multiple different behaviors that are not swarm-related.
The AI for most standalone monsters is a combination of Finite State Machine (FSM) and Context-based navigation. We know, it sounds as scary as being surrounded by lava! However, it works miraculously on monsters' behavior. FSM has a set of states that the monster can be in, like: wandering around, following players, attacking in a specific pattern, flanking, jumping, running away, etc. Context behavior on the other hand is responsible for navigation collisions, finding the best target, and avoiding other monsters.
FSM is a well-established algorithm and we do not deviate much in the implementation. So each monster has a set of states and transitions between them. E.g. A monster can only enter an Attack state from a Follow Target state, or an Idle state can be changed to a Follow Target state only if the target is seen. You get the idea.
Context navigation is more interesting and is based on a paper “Context Steering Behavior-Driven Steering at the Macro Scale” by Andrew Fray. You can read a bit more in chapter 18 of Game AI Pro 2 http://www.gameaipro.com/
Anyway, let's talk about how it is done in Lumencraft. We have this test dude over here:
Context navigation So you can see vectors attached from his center. Those are interest vectors. The length of the vector is an information of how much the AI wants to go in a specific direction. E.g. Longer when the vector is directed to the player or destination. On top of that there is a copy of vectors that display danger. Usually the danger vector informs the AI that the direction will cause wall collisions, but can also inform environmental hazards.
Targeting and Decision making
Any decision the monster makes is defined by a state within the Finite State Machine based on information from other systems. Targeting systems pick targets and direct the AI on a world scale. E.g Go to the reactor core, chase players, return to spawn, etc. Context navigation informs the AI about its environment, targets around etc.. The FSM gathers the information and picks action according to the current state and options it has. Nothing much here to explain the biggest job is to make a functioning FSM and not drown in states and transition. Maybe one example:
Current state is follow_target
No collision ahead
Target in range of attack
Available attacks: Punch, Smash_AOE
Next state should be one of the available attacks. So the AI randomly chooses AOE_Smash, changing the state to attack_smash_AOE
And the result can look something like this:
Game Endeavor made an excellent video about combining various methods to create the most satisfying movement for enemies. We strongly recommend checking that one out!
[previewyoutube="6BrZryMz-ac;full"]
Bonus clip where after months of polishing just a day before playtest started, everything decided to stop working:
The Big Day We are super excited to inform you that Lumencraft will be entering Early Access around the end of March. The precise date will be revealed later this month.
Playtests
But! As we said many times before, we would love you to take an active part in every step. That’s why we would love to invite you to take part in playtests that we are organizing on Steam. Be sure to check out Lumencraft hands-on! Playtests are waiting for you and we are waiting for your comments. Your feedback will be super valuable. More precious than lumen!
That’s all we got for you today! If you have any questions, find us in our Discord and we’ll be happy to answer all of them. https://discord.gg/PCeTvgy4nZ
