DeviDiary #12: So, you wanna know a little bit about combat...

First of all, once again we have to emphasize that our game is not a hack and slash experience. We are doing our best to create an oppressive, dangerous, hostile environment for our player’s character. There will be levels where our hero may need to fight, however, the best possible options will be mostly running, hiding, and trapping enemies.

Melee weapons

Remember: You are not a soldier. Not a fighter. Just an ordinary maintenance guy. And this is a survival horror game. So your best friend may be a melee weapon - crowbar or pipe.

Crowbars and pipes may not be the most efficient weapons, but at least you can find them here and there. What’s even more important, using them allows you to remain almost completely silent. Remember that on our spaceship your enemies can always hear you scream…

The most efficient melee weapon will be the one used by some of your enemies - a medieval mace-like thing that can cause a lot of damage.

Melee combat

It works just like you may imagine. You have to have your enemy at arm's length and smash it - or click the mouse button. Keep in mind that such effort costs you more oxygen. It will also lower your stamina a bit.

Our advice? Crowl slowly to an unexpecting enemy and hit it hard once or twice and then retreat to a safe distance. This is more like a marathon, not a sprint. You have to be careful, you have to be patient and you have to be accurate. Missing the enemy is not an option in melee combat!

Ranged weapons Yes, there are a few ranged energy weapons, that will remind you of classical firearms.

You know that “Alien(s)” franchise is one of our main inspirations and you will see it also in “Cryospace” arsenal.

We have pistols, for example.

And rifles.

Shotguns.

All such weapons will make noise. This, in turn, may attract enemies. It is not always bad - you may use it as an advantage. Dragging the opponents into a trap sounds like a great idea after all, doesn’t it?

Ranged combat

There are no silencers in “Cryospace”, which means that every shot makes some sound. You have to aim at the enemy (we will help you a little bit in that area by special “lines” and “pointers”) and click. Range and damage depend, of course, on the type of weapon you are using. Sometimes one shot will be enough to kill the enemy. But mostly, you have to put some effort to eliminate advancing monsters… And remember that shooting also costs some effort - like stamina and oxygen.

Oh, we’re also planning on making one particular level where you will be able to experience some hack and slash commando mode :)

Other stuff

We have some grenades and mines in “Cryospace” also. They work the same as you may expect. With one important exception - low gravity. But we already told you the story about that one here;)

Environment

Remember that environment is also a weapon at your disposal. There are electrical wires that you may change into traps. There are doors that you should close to cut the enemies off. But mostly - forgive us for repeating ourselves - you just have to run and hide!

We will tell you more about the environment another time.

For now, may the ship survive with you!

Cryospace team