Under a Desert Sun: Seekers of the Cursed Vessel - Loot and inventory update

Overview

This milestone marks one of the largest technical and gameplay updates to date — a full overhaul of the loot, inventory, and item stat systems. From this version onward, every weapon and item in the game is dynamically rolled, stored, and managed through a unified inventory and loot framework.

Instead of making a long text I decided to make a devlog. Easier to watch/listen too and it gives nice footage of how everthing works!

For the nitty gritty, here are the patch notes ;)!

PatchNotes B3.72

Additions

Inventory System

• Implemented the complete inventory framework:

  • Players can store, equip, unequip, and drop items.

  • Items persist properly between sessions using a rebuilt save/load structure.

  • All previous saving paths have been unified into one logical system.

• Added a character stats panel integrated into the inventory UI, showing live player attributes.

• Implemented item slotting for weapons and other equipment.

• Added full support for dropping and destroying items directly from the inventory.

Loot System

• Introduced the new randomized loot system:

  • Items now roll stats, rarity, elemental effects, and item skills dynamically.

  • Each base weapon can generate hundreds of thousands of unique variations.

  • Added rarity tiers: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Unique (uniques = custom hand-made items).

  • Implemented a naming system that ties names to rarity, element, and skill effects (e.g. Shattered Frostbringer).

• Integrated elemental roll logic with rarity weighting:

  • Higher rarity = higher chance for multiple effects.

  • Added early effect set: Overheat, Life Leech, Ammo Drain, Reflect Damage.

• Item skills now roll per-item with rarity-based probabilities.

• Added visual loot feedback:

  • Particle colors reflect rarity (gray → common, blue → rare, etc.).

  • Small item names and optional rarity pillars appear nearby loot.

Weapons

• Added Garand, Revolver, Sawed off Shotgun and MP40 weapon types.

• Each weapon type now uses its own firing behavior and fire rate profile.

• Added distinct “last shot” sound for semi-auto weapons like the Garand.

• Prepared infrastructure for future armor and special weapon expansions.

Technical / Developer Systems

• Added loot cleanup system to automatically remove old drops and particles.

• Rewrote stat display logic into a modular component used across UI panels.

• Unified all weapon data handling for consistent saving/loading.

• Implemented hooks for future vendors, chests, and loot sources.

• Added developer debug tools to test roll distribution and performance under load.

Improvements

• Overhauled save/load stability to reduce corruption risk.

• Refined weapon icons for clarity and consistency.

• Balanced stat rolls and rarity progression for fair power curves.

• Increased rare/legendary drop rates for testing purposes.

• Integrated item stats directly into damage and combat formulas.

• Improved audio-visual feedback for pickup and equip actions.

• Enhanced tooltips to display full rolled stats, rarity, and effects.

• Adjusted XP and stat updates to reflect gear changes in real time.

• Streamlined item pickup to require a button press (no auto-pickup).

• Tuned stat multipliers to avoid extreme outliers.

• Laid groundwork for armor and additional item categories.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed inconsistent save/load of weapon slot data.

• Resolved dropped items not despawning after long sessions.

• Corrected stat mismatch between UI display and actual values.

• Fixed tooltip errors for rolled elemental and skill effects.

• Corrected pickup prompt conflicts when multiple items spawned together.

• Prevented negative stat rolls and invalid value generation.

• Addressed null references during heavy loot cleanup cycles.

• Fixed: Auto-rifles (Thompson, MP40, Shotgun) could have a delay on the first shot after idling. They now reset properly and fire immediately as intended. ✅

Performance and Stability

• Optimized loot entity handling to prevent frame spikes with large numbers of drops.

• Reduced VFX load via cap on active loot particles and scheduled cleanup.

• Improved determinism of stat roll calculations under heavy spawn conditions.

• Verified full compatibility under Unity 6.2 (2.8.1f) with preserved save data.

Developer Notes

“With loot, inventory, and item systems now fully tied together — drops, rolls, rarities, elements, skills, equipping, saving, and cleanup — the foundation for the game’s progression loop is finally solid.

Next up is populating the world with many more weapons and uniques to make that system shine. This update completely changes the game’s feel, and I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it.”

— Raymond, Revolving Gear Studios

Discord: https://discord.gg/g5fK7Df