Today is International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of the women's rights movement and society's progress with gender equality. Video game development strives to create an atmosphere where everyone – regardless of gender – can bring out their best as a developer or player.
We're excited to see more and more women entering the game development industry. According to 2021 statistics, 30% of all game developers are women – the percentage of female players is also rising! And of course, there are more titles being developed and released with strong female characters who are three-dimensional in their characteristics and motivation.
We also have awesome women in Ragtag Crew, both in the team and the storyline!
Remember, don't be afraid to assert yourself and be yourself. Send our card to the women in your life and wish them all of the success in what they do.
Devlog №39: Find the key to a good relationship. Or fake it
Hello, everyone!
Is your Ragtag Crew slaying countless enemies during the day but fighting with each other at night? Do you want to stop their bickering before it drives you insane, or maybe you love the drama? Either way, we're here to help!
So how do relationships in Ragtag Crew work? At the start of your journey, your characters will be indifferent to each other. Well, except for the Lone Wolf, who doesn't trust anyone.
Your crew members may warm up to one another, showing Respect, Affection, and eventually Adoration; on the opposite end of the scale, they may grow cold with Mistrust, Contempt, and then Hatred.
The feelings of Adoration and Hate are so strong that no decision or event will ever be able to change the relationship.
And while Affection and Adoration are useful in combat, there is one caveat to these feelings...
Just like in real life, characters might not reciprocate feelings. From time to time, you will encounter a situation where one character holds the utmost respect for another but receives only contempt in return.
Is there a way to fix this?
First, have a look at the traits of your fighters – this will help you make the right choices based on their preferences. For example, avoiding a dangerous fight in an event will earn the respect of the Lone Wolf, but the Daredevil will consider you a weakling until the end of the journey. It's a double-edged sword.
Second, sometimes it's just not up to you. For better or worse, characters may act on their own. The Daredevil will charge mindlessly into combat, ignoring tactics, reason, and self-preservation instinct. And the Hermit will avoid all unnecessary fights, which will lead to them getting upset with the Daredevil.
Some personalities are better at dealing with people's emotions. The Center of Attention will quickly bond with the team and help to resolve internal conflicts. On the other hand, it's hard to earn the trust of the Lone Wolf, and the Egghead is known for giving a hard time to anyone that makes the smallest of mistakes.
That's not all! During battles, your characters will sometimes propose crazy ideas or issue challenges. The Center of Attention loves to be just that – the center of attention – while the Hermit tries to spare enemies that flee, and the Lone Wolf will aim to destroy a specific target first. If others in the team support any of their endeavors, the helper will earn some respect!
Now that you know more about the relationships in Ragtag Crew, you can nurture friendships, complete crazy challenges, and stay alert in the desert!
Devlog №38: Team moves
Hello, everyone!
Today, we're going to talk about character interactions and relationships in Ragtag Crew.
Your heroes don't exist in a vacuum. Their traits and characteristics will allow you to create a balanced team and may lead to relationships between each character.
Some of your characters may favor each other initially, but anything can happen during the journey. Some decisions can lead to respect, sympathy, and even adoration towards their fellow heroes! On the other hand, they can also seed discord, hostility, or conflict.
If characters do manage to get along and form friendships, they can provide additional assistance during battles. There are several types of team interactions:
Team-up attacks. Every time their friend is attacking, a character has a chance to execute a follow-up strike. It won't deal a significant amount of damage, but it can still turn the tide of battle by finishing off the wounded enemy.
Only characters capable of learning Elimination abilities can perform this move.
Protection. Each time a character is under attack, their friend will have a chance to save them by reducing the enemy's damage. The probability is even greater for lethal strikes.
However, only characters capable of learning Maneuver abilities can perform this move.
Inspiration. Characters have a chance to add Ability Power when they support a friend, receiving additional benefits.
As usual, only characters capable of learning Support abilities can perform this move.
Building a strong team of friends is essential to the survival of the entire group. But don't be discouraged if things don't go according to plan. The journey is unpredictable, which makes it even more interesting!
What makes the team click? How do you make your characters like each other? Find out in the next Dev Log!
Devlog №37: Mercenaries
Hello, everyone! Today we'll be talking about some more enemies. Time to look at some of the scariest monsters of them all — people! Not scavengers or lowly bandits, but powerful and dangerous Vapor Wave Inc mercenaries.
The first one on the list is the Exterminator.
Heavy armor protects him from bullets, knives, and boomerangs; an enormous gun fills enemies with lead. He'll make quick work of you... once the system charges up.
What does it mean gameplay-wise? He starts with 2 armor (takes 2 less damage from attacks) but has to skip the first turn charging up.
Dealing with heavy merc in early/mid game can be troublesome. Try to lower his armor with your abilities. Boost one character and make a powerful strike instead of multiple weak ones. Use the first turn to take care of his allies, who aren't as protected.
For example, this shady Merc.
His lazgun stings, sure, but lack of armor makes him an easy target. Kill him quickly and move on.
Or, don't. You see, this mercenary is just trying to earn some cash; dying isn't a part of the plan. If any of his teammates drop, he'll be gone in a blink of an eye.
Take a shady merc out of the picture quickly, or try to go for his beefier friends to get two-for-one? That's up to you.
Expect more mercenaries to pop up in a future update and stay alert in the desert.
New battle music theme!
Hello, adventurers!
We are currently working on the musical design of the game, and today we'd like to present to you a new battle theme created by our composer Zack Parrish:
[previewyoutube="oVgpx7D9scM;full"]
Devlog №36: Secret Abilities
Hello, everyone! Today we'll tell you more about backgrounds' secret abilities. You don't receive them at the beginning of the game, don't get them on level-ups, don't buy them. You won't even know what these abilities look like! They are not called secret for nothing.
Do not worry, though; we're willing to share. See the markers on the Rogue's skill progress bars? One pair blue, the other one yellow?
These are thresholds. If Rogue ever upgrades her Athletics to level three and Knowledge to level two, she'll immediately learn an ability called "Peak Performance". It'll dish out impressive amounts of damage, but only while Rogue is unscratched. "Peak Performance" synergizes well with Rogue's kit, supporting her "staying out of harm's way" playstyle.
Here's the catch: if your character learns one secret ability during the run, the second one is locked until you start a new journey. It means you'll have to choose early. Do you want an easy-to-get but weaker ability for an early momentum? Or the stronger one to make yourself a late-game powerhouse? That's for you to decide!
Want to try out secret abilities but don't know how to raise the skills? We got you covered! Learn from your own mistakes by failing skill tests or learn from other people's mistakes by paying them at Training Camps. Go out of your comfort zone!
Hopefully, this helps you survive the dangers of the wasteland! Remember to stay alert in the desert!
Eastern European Games event!
Hello, adventurers!
We are proud to announce that we are taking part in the Eastern European Games Steam event powered by Dev.Play! In honour of this event, we launched a stream: watch the developer play! We are waiting for you in the stream chat ready for any questions!
Good day! Today we are going to tell you how Ragtag Crew changes between runs, what can be opened, found and unlocked.
New classes and characters
Where can we go without them! The player starts with 5 classes and 5 characters, but that’s not all. You will unlock another 3 additional classes and 2 additional characters along the way, during adventures for significant achievements. And we plan to add even more after we release the game!
More content
It doesn’t matter whether it is victory or defeat, the player gains experience after each run. The more successful the run was, the more points will go to the box. You scored enough points - it added new content to future adventures. You cannot see the purpose of the new items immediately, discover them in the next game!
Alternative hard boss
Is the game too simple? Is the ultimate boss just a little trouble? Not a problem! If you complete the game at least once for each class and character, it will unlock a special secret boss, stronger and more dangerous than the previous one!
Endings
Depending on the chosen characters and personalities, items and decisions made during the run, the adventure can end in different ways. The game has 12 endings planned. Try opening them all!
Achievements
And, of course, achievements. For those who love to collect!
Next time, we will tell you about the “secret” abilities of each class, which can be unlocked during the races.
Demo v8 Update!
Hello! Today we've updated the demo with few fixes, QoL changes and major interface update:
The interface has changed a lot
The Mercenary is back, with sound effects!
Personality now affects the starting set of the character's abilities: it matters not only which personality is chosen, but also for whom
Hello, everyone! Time to tell you about the journey! Every time you pass through a location in Ragtag Crew, a text event will appear. In these events, you will face challenges, fight enemies, listen to crew banter, make decisions, and suffer the consequences.
These text events come in two forms:
Map events are "you against the world": escape danger, grab loot, make friends, and fight enemies.
Rest events only take place during the rest phase. They focus on the character's internal problems and relationships with the group.
Often, you'll be presented with a choice. We try to avoid "right" or "wrong" answers, so different options have different outcomes and are better depending on the situation. Scare off the bandits and move on without a scratch. Fight the bandits and gain loot and experience, but be prepared for them to retaliate later.
Many decisions require your characters to take a skill test. Sometimes one person is enough, sometimes the whole party has to make an effort. Skills range from athletic to persuasion and are appropriate for a variety of situations.
How can you improve your skills? Seek a challenge; step out of your comfort zone! Every time you fail a skill test, that skill increases! And if the test is difficult enough for the character, they will learn even after they succeed!
But wait! What if I told you that it's not always up to you to determine the outcome of the event? Your crew members are people with their own desires! A team member can approve of your decision or complain about it, and it will affect their morale. A character can bring their own solution to the table and expand their options. And sometimes a teammate takes over the event entirely and steers it in an unexpected direction, for better or worse.
This can happen because of his past, his personality, his relationships, his allies, or his items! This makes events highly replayable: Pick a different crew and see how it changes familiar situations!
What about the consequences? Not only do you gain or lose Zincreds, rations, or equipment during these events, but there's more! Your characters will receive permanent changes in the form of traits. You will be given quests to complete! You'll make decisions that can bite you in the ass later or even change the finale of the game!
