Hello friends!
Sorry for going dark for a while! Exactly one year has passed since the last update.
There was a lot of uncertainty after original release plans were upset in 2020, let me tell you. So I decided to disconnect and focus on the game’s very core - its concepts and essential mechanics. At the same time, I began to re-assemble the team.
Now I can finally say that I have good news on both fronts: the game's core has been rewired, the team - re-assembled (and so has my gamedev brain)!! The work has resumed on the project since September and already we have something to show.
(This here is a cinematic shot from a boss arena we're working on)
So this year has been fruitful, but not quite in the way I expected. Indeed, one thing led to another and I ended up changing *a lot*!
The main change is the game's format and the way you - it's now a "Roguelike Campaign"! I'll explain just below, bear with me :)
Other changes include:
- Separation of combat and exploration into arenas and “puzzle-zones”
- A lot of DnD-inspired elements found their way in - save checks, die rolls
- Combat now involves defending a soul-prism crystal - failing to do so will lead to unpredictable and mostly dire consequences... But never fear, best defense is still the offensive!
- Fleshed out the "shapeshifting" mechanic for our hero - the Eidolon Lord! On the screenshots here, you will notice the Eidolon Chain and Soulforce pool on the top left. In short, we alternate between True Form and Eidolon Form, with Soulforce value going like a pendulum between 0 and 100.
- Non-combat gameplay is packed into tough roleplaying scenarios plus optional danger-free exploration of atmospheric locations.
- The story has been cut into layers that you will unpeel gradually as you make runs
- Advanced gameplay features and content is similarly structured - start with basics and unlock things as part of ‘meta-progression’ (doesn’t really give you more power, only options).
- Finale is two-fold - a power-check ‘barrier’ fight and a point-of-no-return finale that lead to victory or demise (resets everything you’ve unlocked, back to basics!)
(A common combat scene, WIP!)
Looking over it all, I realize it's far more than I can write in a single post - so I will start a series of monthly posts about these changes in 2022!
For now, let’s focus on the main change - it will explain many of the other changes too, I hope! It will get a bit abstract, but if you're looking for a gaming experience to look forward to, I think it's worth a read! Also I hope that you know what a Roguelike Run is - otherwise please do play Slay the Spire a bit :)
Netherflame "Roguelike Campaign" format
(Preview of a Mirror-Isle screen where most of our adventuring happens)
- “What’s Eidolons anyway?”
- “Eh, it’s like playing DnD with six extra-character sheets at the ready, which you can swap out when you feel you’re not at the best of your abilities (or when you die ːsteammockingː). Yeah, the campaign is short but it keeps getting weirder until you nail it - or not.”
TL;DR - each game slot (Lord) will gain soft meta-progression and 'degression' (like Chaos Level) with each Run, making them (1) more diverse and (2) less predictable or otherwise harder. Once you make a good enough run, you will get to the Real Finale, and the outcome will be either victory or Lord's demise.
*There is a chance you might never get there, but you can have 4 Lords at a time.
Now for some detail:
My goal was to make sure that each Run has meaning and leaves you with a sense of satisfaction: even when you are defeated, you have made yet another circle up the spiral. At the same time, I wanted to make it feel *real* - so that there is a fair incentive and risk of failure.
I've put a lot of thought into how to bake defeat into the game loop so it creates not pain but meaning. What I've come up with is the Chaos Progression system!
Each run is made up of several Mirror-Isles, each with a Lord as boss. The isles may come up in any order, or even repeat (it’s never the same anyway). A run can have between 3, 4 or 5 Isles - short, standard and marathon.
Then comes the “Barrier” - a boss fight that scales in power for every short-term gain* you had to grab (“tapping into Netherflame”). To put it simply - if you had to ‘cheat’ during the run, you won’t get thru this barrier. But if you do - it’s the Final Boss for you! A chance to uncover the story’s meaning - or lose all of your meta-progress as your Lord succumbs to Netherflame at last...
*shady deals with secret Vendors, using extra re-draft options, dying between Eidolon shifts, letting your soul-prism soak up enemy attacks rather than facing them etc
Chaos Progression System
(Boss fights are a whole separate topic, but I'll get to make a breakdown on that soon!)
...In here, Power and Chaos are inextricably linked - like Flame and its Shadow.
I know, I know, what the heck is Chaos Progression? Don’t we already have a lot of unique and confusing systems?? Well, you don’t have to understand what’s inside car to drive it! ːsteammockingː
TL:DR -
> All run modifiers are baked into this system - a common roguelike practice, but with a twist: you can’t really undo some of it, it’s flexible in each single run, but not globally.
> It follows your mastery curve: at first you will gain a lot of CL and quickly expand your options and scope of random; later you will slow down and start making cleaner runs. Then at some point you will *have* to make a clean run or Chaos will turn fully against your Lord (just start fresh I guess!).
> Dummy’s guide to Chaos:
- Unlocks randomness quirks - ?
- Unlocks power perks - Good!
- Increases Barrier-boss power - Bad!
- Flows from Combat to Run to Global scope - good in long-term, bad for THIS Run.
- Eventually becomes Corruption Level - fatal in very-long-term, i.e. you can’t just win by making endless attempts, there’s a window in which your Lord can achieve victory.
How does it work?
1) There are 3 scopes on which Chaos Level (CL) exists - Global/Lord, Run and Combat.
2) Each game slot starts with 0 Chaos Level. When Global CL reaches 12, it’s midnight hour and you start to accumulate Netherflame Affliction (your Lord’s ‘corruption’). The latter makes your life increasingly harder, BUT it also softens up the Barrier - so it’s now or never with that clean run for victory.
3) CL has a way to propagating - from Combat to Run, from Run to your Lord.
You accumulate Chaos Level in fights* (mostly by blunders) and some of it transfers to your Run. Similarly, at the end of the run some of its CL transfers to your Lord.
* also in non-combat areas, then it goes directly into Run CL.
4) When you gain Global CL, you have to unlock a Chaos Quirk*, but also a Lord Perk (e.g. more hero draft options at start, or “reverse eidolon chain once per combat”) - Q/Perk for the pair
*These quirks could be "transform all chests into fire traps" or "all units get a random Impulse for up to 1 round" or something much more devious.
5) When you gain CL in your Run, you have to draft Q/Perks from your Lord’s pool that will be potentially active in future fights.
6) When you gain CL in combat, one Quirk and one Perk is randomly picked from your Run’s pool to enact. Beware - if you reach CL of 12 in a fight, Netherflame will end it prematurely and further increase your Run’s CL.
*If you have no Q/Perk options, there are the defaults - random-range increase for Quirks, and Eidolon respawn speed increase for Perks.
For example, if you have CL of 5 in your Run, you will have a pool of 5 Chaos Quirks and 5 Lord Perks from which a pair is picked whenever you gain CL in combat.
So why this design? It’s all about motivation: on the one hand, you want to have as little Chaos Level as possible if you want to get to the Finale. But then, if you see that things are going south and this isn't your Victory Run, you can embrace Chaos - and still have a lot of fun while adding to your Chaos-repertoire (which *does* make a clean run more likely to succeed - you've more tricks!)
So it's really a bit like a balance between the 'training run' vs 'final run'. The adrenaline when you realize you might just make it! And the consolation of working towards the big day otherwise :)
Now let’s do a quick overview of other notable changes. Much of it is already reflected in the new game description, though it’s WIP! :)
Combat & Exploration separation
The separation of game content into combat and non-combat allowed us to make our arenas with much greater visual fidelity.
Explore areas are vast spaces where you can find a lot of hints about the lore, and a few secrets that will give you an edge later on - such as hidden merchants that offer peculiar deals. These areas are optional, so there'll be no hand holding!
The Visuals
The game is strictly 2d at its core, but we’re adding some 3d elements to please the eye without interfering with the grid’s readability and ease of navigation.
I'm very excited about the new levels, but of course these new visuals is one of the reasons why it’s taking longer to make content ːsteamsadː
Round Units
We're smoothing *some* edges after all! It was decided that Circles will stand out more on the square grid - so all units are now kind of bargaining chips on a table :)
Finally, though details are being worked out yet, I’ve come to see that Facing Direction (“tank controls”) has to go - at least for Eidolons (enemies could still be using it, perhaps...?)
See, for me, this is like euthanizing an old and beloved canine companion! But alas, I see that there’s no way to make it work without full-3d, and that’s not an option now.
But a lot of interesting abilities (as well as Vision system) were designed around the concept of facing and using turn-actions. I also liked the realistic concept beneath it - surely only god can can have 360 degree vision?!.. Let me know if you share my feelings about it :)
The Plans
Right now we are a team of 3 people working after our day jobs. Although this means a slower development pace, it also means more sanity (much missed hitherto) and creative freedom. Yes, the Wyrmring Teamis alive and well, and we even have a secret website... (to remain secret until it’s polished and updated, except maybe this short story )
This new roguelike format allows us to extend the game naturally - we’ll start off with relatively sparse content base and add to it, increasing the maximum length of a single run.
We intend to release a small free demo prior to EA to give everyone a taste of what we’re cooking.
However, the deadlines won’t be prioritized over quality (I do secretly empathize with the notorious “It’ll be done when it’s done.”) .
Here is an approximate roadmap for the project:
- Private Tester Demo - April 2022
- Public Free Demo - June 2022
- Early Access - September 2022
- Full Release - 2023-24
If you wish to participate in the Private demo and become a tester, you are most welcome to join our Discord - just drop a line in the main chat and I'll PM you :)
Addendum: why all the nuance?
The mission of this project as I see it now is to realize the potential of a proper hybrid between a classic cRPG and a modern roguelike. To be an experience that is dynamic but not shallow, immersive but not costly or obsessive (I do believe in gamedev ethics).
I have long been attracted to these two ideals - the immersive depth of RPGs and seductive flow of Roguelike. And also wary of their dark sides - as a bloated time-trap or shallow hamster-wheel!
My approach was as follows - create a detailed RPG core first, then wrap it in systems that cut or make optional things that might dilute or encumber the experience as a whole.
These system seem to be best generalized as “roguelike” ones - it’s the drafting, the clean-starts, the no-bs approach to loot and inventory and of course, lack of manual saves to keep you guys focused on slashing :)
It’ll take time to find the right balance between these two poles, such as with drafting vs. customizing, but if indie gamedev has taught me anything so far, it’s patience :) Like a japanese proverb says, it takes Time to really sharpen a blade. Or did I hear that in a FromSoft game?
That's all friends, thank you all for reading! I will be happy to answer all of your questions right after the holidays!
And of course - Happy New Year! ːsteamhappyː
Yours,
- Alexander Kamen
