Alpha version ready!

After nearly 7 months of development, I finally finished an alpha version!

Here's a 37min uncut gameplay video:

[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/U7apCZwwUjw"]

So... really should create these DevLogs more often because this is going to be a very big one again...

But I try to keep it short.

New Features / Changes:

• UI remake. Changed the whole style

  

• Crafting: Removed it in an earlier version, but now it's here to stay!

  

• Enemies: Monster nests / infestation / contaminators / Patrol guards

  

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• Characters: Fatigue / Hunger / Stress / Crisis / Animation / Behaviour / Barking / Traits

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Outpost: Map design / Task Redesign / Building Menu / Energy System / Resource System

New Features - Details:

Enemies

Monster nests spawn smaller less dangerous groups of monster very often. In Addition, larger waves appear in regular intervals (2-3 min).

Contaminators spread Infestation, which infects the ground with a dangerous bio-material. Walking on infested ground damages your robots. Using a DEcontaminator, the player can remove the infestation but the contaminator renewes it in regular intervals (15s). Tthis time window can be used to destroy the contaminator. However, patrol guards are alerted when a contaminator is attack. This armored guard might pose a considerable risk so based on the state of the robots the player might choose to ignore a contaminator for now.

Characters

Refined the stress, hunger, fatigue system:

Now, Hunger and Fatigue are managed simpler. There are 4 levels ranging from 0-4, for example 0 = not hungry up to 4 = starving. 1 point is added at the beginning of each day.

Eating a ration of food decreases hunger by 1 point. Sleeping at night reduces fatigue by 2 points. Sleeping during the day reduces Fatigue by 1 point every 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Waking up earlier creates a small penalty.

Stress is a value between 0 and 100 and is calculated each tick. Based on hunger, fatigue, temperature in the base, and other factors, stress is increased faster or slower. Stress can be decreased by taking Stress Relievers (which can make the character a pill addict), sleeping, and eating.

If hunger, fatigue, or stress grows too high, a crisis event can be triggered, which makes the character unavailable. A task ("Help") is created, which must be performed by a different character. There is a chance that this task fails and must be repeated. A crisis event can only occur once per day per character.

Animations are adapted based on the how bad a character feels: Running -> Walking -> Slow / tired walking.

Following traits were added to the game:

• Robot Specialist: +15% speed for all jobs in the robot bay

• Green Thumb: +20% speed when planting or harvesting

• Nerves of Steel: -20% stress increase

• Insomnia: Sleeping at night restores only 1 fatigues instead of 2

• Empathetic: 75% chance of helping someone during crisis instead of 35%

• Pill Addict: +25% stress increase when taking a stress reliever pill at least every 3rd day

• Physicist: +10% more energy output when optimizing the generator

I implemented a "barking" system that allows characters to show their needs based on priority, for example hunger, stress, or the fear of running out of energy.

Crafting

The crafting system is based on a resource cycle including the outpost and the homebase.

Mine (using a mining drone at the outpost):

• Ore -> Refine into mechanical components

• Crystals -> Refine into electronic components

Use mechanical and electronic components to build:

• Explosives - blow stuff up

• Repair Kits - repair stuff at the outpost or in your homebase

• Building Kits - build new buildings at the outpost or in your homebase

Robots can move building kits and repair kits to the outpost.

Outpost

Reworked the outpost in general:

• Characters are no longer sent to the outpost - only the robots. Instead, 1 of your characters will become a robot operator during the night. The character will not be able to sleep (no fatigue regeneration) and stress will be increased by 15 points. In future versions, operators will have specific abilities as operators (for example more attack speed / damage or less energy consumption)

• Redesigned the task system: Now, robots perform all tasks. Robots are divided into 2 archetypes (fast, mobile Strikers and slow, tanky Defenders). Some tasks can only be performed by Defenders (picking up crates, destroyed robots, moving objects). Some tasks (for example repairs) are divided into multiple parts. There is a chance that a task part fails. Robots can gain specializations in future version that make them better at certain tasks and increases their success rate (for exmple hacking or repair tasks).

• Building Menu: Currently allows to build 5 buildings

  1. Mining component: Automatically mines ore and crystal each day

  2. Rocket launcher: Long range, high damage (can be built but functionatlity not impelmented)

  3. Transformer: Increases energy output of the solar module at the outpost

  4. Weather station: Enables a weather analysis task at your home base that shows you the weather type for the next day

  5. Defensive laser floor: High damage laser system. Costs energy when activated but deals high damage to enemies walking over it.

• Energy and resource system: The outpost has a separate eco system. Energy is created once per day as well as other resources (ore and crystal if the mining component is built).

• Crates can be found by exploring. Crates contain all available resources (except ore and crystals). Crates can only be picked up by Defenders and need to be carried to the home base where they can be opened. Similar to this, destroyed robots can be found and brought back for repairs.

• Better map design: Outpost doesn't feel as empty anymore.

Events

Random events can occur at the home base. I basically implemented a building block system, with which I can easily create new events to make the world feel more alive (and dangerous).

There will be 3 types of events:

• Info events: Something good or bad (most likely bad...) will happen. Click continue and go on. (currently implemented)

• Multiple options: Choose between multiple (equally horrible) options

• Character select: Choose a character to gain a positive or negative effect, perform a task, or... something worse...

The outpost will also have events. Currently implemented is an event on day 3 where an SOS signal shows at the helipad leads to a cryo capsule. Return the capsule with a Defender and the player receives a new character. The character will need treatment in the medbay.

Research

Added multiple research stations. There is no single research. Multiple stations, multiple areas, and the characters might be better at one type of research than the other.

Prototypically implemented:

• Energy research: Increases generator output by 20%

• Alien research: Increases damage by 12%

Minor changes

• Implemented a simple narration system

• Implemented a tooltip system

• Implemented a simple temperature system (cold, neutral, warm) that affects stress increase

• Implemented a notification system

• Implemented localization

• Implemented a main menu, start character selection, short introduction and "cinematic"

• Implemented a lot of bugs

• Fixed a lot bugs

Next

ALPHA TESTING!