Transmute is now Rebel Transmute! The game is still the same, but this new name will both help reflect the story element of the game (Moon's and the worker's rebellion against Foray) and give the game a more unique and recognizable identity.
New Trailer
To help show off these new elements of Rebel Transmute, there's a new trailer! Check it out at the link below, and share wherever you can!
In other news, the first area of the game is completely finished, and will be playable in a new demo that will be publicly available VERY SOON!! A huge list of features and systems were completed in order to get the Foray Surface Labs zone in this final state, so I'll go over a few of the more exciting ones.
New Shop System
The shop in the Surface's Shipyard has gotten both a UI and functionality update! Shops can now scroll, allowing me to put more items up for purchase at any given time. I've also added a neat system to unlock more items in a shop, but you'll have to play to find out how!
Maze-like World Design
I went over every room and connection in the Foray Surface Labs zone to see if there were logical connections, shortcuts, or secrets that could be added. This has resulted in a much less linear layout, and hopefully will give players a sense of discover and wonder when they stumble upon something cool that is completely optional! This has also resulted in backtracking being more enjoyable as there are often multiple routes to any given location.
Platforming Challenges
I added in some timed lasers and some non-tile conforming platforms to add some interesting but fair platforming challenges to the first area. Some of these are in the critical path, while more difficult ones will be for secrets and optional items.
I should have some big updates for y'all next month, but in the meantime spread that trailer around and spread the hype!
March 2022: A Story!
Hi everyone! Evan Tor here for another dev update on Transmute. I've had a very busy last few months, and progress is coming along well! This ~month's update will focus on the story in Transmute, and how it'll tie into the Metroidvania aspects of the game. If you want absolutely no story spoilers, I'll put a clear NO MORE SPOILERS later in the post you can jump to to read up on other happenings. Alright, let's dive in!
Story Time
(A work-in-progress look at one of the shots from the opening cutscene. Lights flicker as Moon sits at her ship's flight console.)
I like to work in chunks. I'll start on one aspect of a scene, then jump to another, then circle back to polish it up. This allows my curiosity and creativity to drive my workflow. Above you can see the first pass on a shot of Moon's ship, The Space Urchin, getting knocked offline by an EMP blast.
The story in Transmute will follow Moon Mikono, an anti-imperialist space scrapper who starts to unravel a wild conspiracy when she investigates a factory explosion that killed her mother on a distant planet. This planet, Terra 6, is one of a few bases for Foray MGC's terraforming and research facilities. I'm putting in a lot of effort to make sure the story doesn't take away from any of the sense of discovery, and there are a few story moments that can be done in various orders, so each playthrough is still somewhat unique.
Another way I'm tying story to exploration is robots. The planet, much to Moon's surprise, is populated by various sentient robots upon her arrival. These robots all have various personalities and backstory. Some even sell goods, offer quests, or have journeys of their own. But you won't have a 'quest log' and these aren't just fetch / collection quests. They'll be discoverable and rewarding the same way typical Metroidvania elements are.
(A group of bots that inhabit a renovated launch pad on the planet's surface. The bots are made of rust covered metal and are very cute.)
The past two months I've written over a dozen main story cutscenes, as well as 4 complete side quest lines. These side quests are in the same vein as Hollow Knight's or Dark Souls' character stories, and each focus on a different unique character. They can be found in various places of the station, as they go about their own business and attempt to achieve their own ends.
One character I can talk about is the Peace Scavenger. A morally questionable space imperialist, these scavengers have legal rights to explore, map, and take 'artifacts' from any unexplored or 'uninhabited' planet. Obviously these rules are in place to benefit those that made them, and it's quite a thriving business. It's up to you as a player how you interact with this Scavenger, and what becomes of their journey.
I should also quickly mention the still image glimpsed at in the event preview / header is of Moon's mother, Wendy, interfacing with some sort of tech. So much fun to draw stuff like that!
NO MORE SPOILERS
As for the rest of what I've been working on:
Transmute now has a much more configurable save system, which will allow for cloud saves, sharing of saves, and save compatibility with any future updates or DLC.
There is a new UI to show off your inventory and upgrades! Check it out at the bottom of this post.
Fixed lots of bugs found by the playtesters over in the Transmute Discord. If you want to help out with finding bugs / balancing the game, join up and let me know!
Implemented 2/3 of the Main Story. It's definitely more work and will take longer to implement than anticipated, but I think it'll add so much charm and backbone to the game that I know it's worth it.
Designed and implemented gameplay puzzles / challenges at key points in the story. These also give me some framework to make more traversal puzzles / challenges throughout the various rooms.
Reworked a major upgrade so it has a clearer and more powerful use. Spoilers for a mid-game upgrade, its a Swim Boost that allows you to keep momentum gathered while falling to quickly dart through water and break through barriers. It's so much fun! Very physics based but hopefully not too finicky.
That's all, see y'all soon with another update!
January Dev Update: Start to Finish
Hi everyone! Evan Tor here for another dev update on Transmute. Between dealing with the harsh realities of Covid, attempting to stay sane, and finally going full-time on Transmute, 2021 was a doozy. But I've made good progress and am excited for the future! Transmute is looking better than ever :)
Critical Path Complete!
First of all, this month I've finally gotten the critical path for Transmute finished. That means the game can be played, start to finish, in the most basic sense. All major abilities, bosses, and rooms are in the game. As it's a metroidvania there are still quite a few optional rooms, bosses and abilities to implement, but this is a great milestone, and means I can really get a feel for how the game flows and what needs work.
Recent Progress
Other major improvements and progress over the past few months include:
Reworked many of the earlier areas based on playtester + demo feedback to make the world more interconnected.
Designed + added in a completely new major ability.
Added in many optional areas and reworked the overall map layout to allow for more open-ended exploration.
Added in additional Augments.
Improved controller + keyboard rebind support.
Added localization support.
Added cutscenes and new NPCs.
Added new dialog and side quests.
We're Going to Need a Bigger Map
Here's a preview of the new Map Overview screen where you can select different areas at a glance. This was much needed after the size of the world continued to grow and it was taking longer and longer to pan the map around.
What's Next? (Spoiler, Story is Next)
Looking forward, February is going to be all about getting the Main Story implemented and polished up, along with all the locales, NPCs, and cutscenes that are needed. In addition, I hope to get all planned Augments (optional abilities) added in some form or another.
That's all for this update, I'm going to try and post another update next month but no promises :) In all seriousness updates here have been few and far between, so I truly do want to try posting more regularly. I also post smaller updates on my twitter @evan_tor and in the official Transmute Discord.
Oh and Wishlist if you haven't yet!! Thanks for reading!
Transmute Next Fest Stream + Demo
Hi everyone! It's been a while since my last update but progress is strong and ongoing! For anyone that doesn't yet know, I have officially moved to working on Transmute full-time!!
In other news, I'm going to be streaming the game and answering questions live at 2PM PST on October 2nd as part of the Steam Next Fest event! Click "Set reminder" on the sidebar to be reminded when the stream goes live.
In addition, an impressively sized demo has been 'soft-launched' ahead of Next Fest. Tweaks are still being made, with the hope the demo will be exceptional by Friday. Feel free to give it a play, see if you like it, and leave feedback on the pinned discussion page. If you haven't wishlisted yet, now would be a great time to do that as well.
Thanks for the ongoing support and I'm so excited to get a chunk of the game into your hands finally!
-Evan
March Dev Update: Fiery Foes
Hello everyone! This is Evan Tor, solo indie dev working on Transmute.
I want to start giving monthly updates here, so this is the first of many to come! This past month I set a roadmap for the remainder of development, and began in earnest finalizing each area of the game.
First up was one of the last areas in the game: Mining Operations. This area is all about harvesting Sparkblood and other minerals from the alien planet. Think fiery pits, conveyor belts, stone crushers, rogue flames, and a whole host of robotic and lava dwelling creatures. Below are a few screenshots of finished rooms in the area.
Lava and... More Lava!
Here we see one of my favorite kinds of rooms, wide open and full of lava. The lava is rendered through a shader, allowing it to be more fluid and animated than if it was tiled. There is also lava falling from the ceiling, which turns these rooms into dangerous timed-platforming challenges.
A Hazardous Facility
Environmental hazards are a large part of the Mining Operations area. Conveyor belts transport cooled magma to be crushed and harvested,
A Living Ecosystem
One of my goals going forward is to make more 'enemies' that aren't hostile, but rather live in this world and react to their surroundings. The lava gliders, shown flying through this image, are one example. They can also be used by clever players to help reach higher places. The fire mites, seen crawling on the center platform, similarly go about their business, but curl up and emit flames when they sense danger.
Roundup
A quick roundup of the rest of my recent accomplishments: - Added all remaining rooms to the Surface area (the starting zone). - Added multiple shops to the Surface area. - Polished the world map to allow for more shortcuts and interconnected paths. - Added a slew of enemies to the Mining Operations area. - Added a new upgrade: the Hazard Suit. - Added a new item: Fuses.
Finally, since this is the first of many, let me know in the comments what you are interested in hearing more about! And don't forget to Wishlist if you like what you see!
