There are two things I want to show this time: first is the expanded information screen present in the shelter, which allows the player to access information about effects that will be applied to a character in the upcoming combat:
Besides that, I expanded the tutorials section. A lot. And I've added videos to tutorial entries:
This should take care of the "I did not always know what to do in the game" piece of feedback I got ;)
Besides that, I've been busy fixing a bunch of stuff. Every time I play Shardpunk I find something that I feel needs fixing/adjusting. At some point, you do need to tell yourself to stop though, right?
Still, there are some gameplay rules that I believe need adjusting - but I'm gonna write more about it in the next entry.
Devlog #127: encounters, interviews and gameplay changes
Hi! First and foremost, I've been recently interviewed for the FearFest festival that Shardpunk was a part of - you can watch the short interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYqJF5hYRg
It was a great experience getting featured among all the other interesting games there. Indie game development can get a little bit lonely sometimes - especially if you're working alone in a home office - so seeing all the other participants and listening to their stories was a nice experience.
Mental note to self: if Shardpunk is successful and you'll be able to work on another game, consider renting a desk in a co-working space; it might help maintain your sanity.
Anyways, I've been working on adding more minor encounters to the game. Here's one about encountering bodies of imperial scientists:
Also, here are some visuals for the sewage levers for another quest:
Besides that, I've decided to adjust one of the available weapon upgrades: the stun module. Initially, that module added a probability that a character might stun an enemy instead of dealing them damage. It turned out to be more often received as "annoying", instead of "a surprise, but a welcome one".
And I get it - if you are trying to one-shot that nasty big rat with your upgraded weapon, and in the end, it just stuns it, you're frustrated.
Therefore, I made sure that the "stun" upgrade gives the player an explicit control over the "stun shot" action, which has 100% chance to stun a target - assuming that it will hit it, of course.
Here I am, back with another update on Shardpunk's development progress.
In general, the work is going well. I am working on creating another build for another round of playtests. The previous round gave me LOTS of feedback that I was able to forge into actionable items, and I definitely want to repeat that.
To add some variety to the stuff the player can do, I've added more world interaction to the game. I tweaked the triggers/scripts code I've created for the tutorial level, which allowed me to use it for creating custom in-combat events.
Here's a minor custom event at the tutorial level - the character reaches a certain area which triggers a 'cutscene' in which they say something and receive stress points - which I then use as an excuse to show a tutorial about stress:
Here are the characters spotting a larger battle scene which can be investigated for extra rewards:
And here's the beginning of a quest about a bunch of civilians trapped in the sewers:
These special events are randomly added to a level, so they might vary between playthroughs.
That's it for this entry. If you want to make sure you don't miss out on the next round of playtests, do visit our Discord channel!
Take care!
Shardpunk: Verminfall at the Fear Fest: Black Summer 2022
Rats = kinda cute little creatures. Evolved, deadly, human-killing, post-apocalyptic rats = true horror! Pack your things and run.
Join us on September 6 right here on Steam for a fearful expo showcasing not only scary games but also those dark and gloomy.
All in all, Feardemic’s Fear Fest 2022: Black Summer Edition will be a celebration of games that make your heart beat faster and an unforgettable experience for horror fans worldwide.
So my holiday break is over, and I am back to working as hard as possible to finish Shardpunk!
And I actually have lots of data to work with, as a week of closed playtests of the game (announced on the Discord channel) has recently ended. I received lots of valuable feedback!
The most important thing is that the game is enjoyable and combat is fun! The players tend to like the game and they have fun. Great stuff!
Two key points that I know needed some attention are:
a) The game is pretty darn difficult,
b) The players had moments in which they were unsure how to proceed.
Here's how I addressed them:
Point a) was something that kept on appearing since the days of the first alpha demos, and I was hoping that I made the game easier since then. I adjusted the difficulty level yet again - hopefully, the game will provide a reasonable challenge now.
As for point b), I've introduced a tutorial level (which I mentioned about in my previous entry) and expanded the number of tutorial messages. Also, I've added many visual cues that will help the player with navigation. Here are some examples of the UI highlights:
Hint about unspent team skills - which are accessed from outside character details.
Information about the possibility to upgrade your gear and a new gear upgrades popup.
Food distribution screen is now actually saying what the lower right corner icon is all about.
There were a bunch of other elements that I've corrected/planning to correct in the upcoming weeks, and hopefully, I'll be able to write more about them in the previous entry. I'm gonna be wrapping this one already though, as I need to make sure I spend enough time polishing the game. I really want to release it this year!
Take care!
Devlog #124: Tutorial level and a holiday break
Gonna make this one quick as I'm on my way to a holiday break. I did want to showcase some gifs from the new tutorial/introduction level that I am working on though, so here they are:
Teaching the player about pickups:
Meeting the rest of the team:
Fighting some rats:
Spotting an injured technician:
Meeting the automaton:
Playing the tutorial level will be optional, but recommended in the first playthrough.
Anyway, that's it for this entry. However, do stick around the Discord channel, as a round of playtests for the latest version of Shardpunk will start soon! and you can opt-in via Discord.
Take care!
Devlog #123: Rat boomers are here
Let's talk about the new enemy type that I've been working on recently - the rats that actually explode.
The idea was to introduce a suicidal enemy type to the game. You know, to spice things up a bit, force the player to change their strategy.
Technically, the challenge did not appear tough - I simply had to make sure that the enemy can perform an AOE attack, which destroys them in the process. However, the enemy was also supposed to explode after being killed by the player.
Here are the early prototyping gifs (I was using a regular rat model, colored red):
And then of course, chain reactions should be possible:
Stuff worked correctly. Well, most of the time:
In the end though, I made it work:
The next step was to add graphics. My main pixel artist did a great job at creating the explosive-packed rat model.
Here are some final gifs. Enjoy!
That's all for this entry. Have a great day! Don't forget about the Discord channel!
Devlog #122: A chainsaw is always a nice thing
OK, so here's some info about another playable character - a combination of melee and heavy.
This guy - Julius - has a chainsaw attached to his heavy gun. Meaning that he is capable of using it for close combat.
Yeah, I know that he shouts the same text in both gifs. That stuff is random and is meant not to be repeated twice in a row, but these gifs come from different playthroughs.
To make this attack different from katana-based attacks of other characters, I made some changes to it. The first thing is that the chainsaw attack consumes weapon heat just like a regular shot - meaning that a weapon might need to be reloaded after such an attack.
The good thing however is that there's a 100% chance to hit your target. Period. Also, this attack can be expanded in two ways: first, by leveling up a correct skill, which gives you a chance that an attack will refund all your Action Points (that can actually be observed in the above gif). Additionally, the player can upgrade the weapon itself, which increases the damage and critical chance. Here are some combinations of upgrades for the "Shredder" gun that Julius is wielding:
I'm finishing earlier tonight, so I'm wrapping this entry up. Still lots of stuff needs my attention, but the finish line is closer than ever!
I am getting there. I am slowly making my way to the end content. It is indeed true that the most difficult thing is actually finishing the game.
Obviously, alongside creating new content, some old stuff gets revamped from time to time. Recently I've reapproached how status effects are displayed on characters. By status effect I mean things like "stunned" or "poisoned".
There's now a dynamic list of icons present above HP bars of characters.
What is more, I've introduced a "marked" status that makes characters easier to hit. Some of the existing actions (support bot's "intimidate" action) are able to apply these effects. A new character - one wielding a chainsaw, which I haven't talked about yet - can taunt enemies that will mark/stun them.
Also, on higher levels taunting can apply the "ruptured" status effect, which increases the damage dealt to enemies.
Additionally, rat snipers have the ability to mark a target. This will make them even more formidable.
And as for the chainsaw-wielding character, I will write more about it next time. And right now I'm back to grinding!
This resulted in the game being part of an online Steam event. What is more, I was able to present my game during the physical event that took place on 16-17th of May in Krakow.
In short: it was pretty awesome.
I managed to gather lots of valuable feedback from the players. In general, people who are into strategy games - which, obviously, are my main audience - had no issues with playing and feeling the game. It was a great experience just seeing how the players react to Shardpunk.
Laptop with the latest playable build on the left, and one playing the gameplay video on the right.
Me (on the right) observing the player.
Most of the issues I got from the feedback were related to smaller usability things: lack of tooltips, and the possibility to execute a melee attack action even if the mouse cursor was not hovering over a valid tile.
Aside from all the feedback, I was able to meet fellow indie game developers! It was an awesome experience, talking to other people who are in the industry and are creating all these great games.
Less than two years ago, I was a software developer dreaming of becoming an indie game creator; currently I'm attending conferences and showcasing my own game. The feeling is great.
Tune in two weeks from now to see more updates on Shardpunk's devlog. And do remember about the Discord channel!
