Dead Underworld Release Date

02 Jun 2025Developer post

Demo version update 02.1.0

The demo update brings loads of gameplay changes. As this is a major mechanical update and some changes affect the ingame economy and power levels significantly, there will probably be some adjustments and fixes during the next week. Tasks: Introduced a new gameplay mechanic, you

The demo update brings loads of gameplay changes.

As this is a major mechanical update and some changes affect the ingame economy and power levels significantly, there will probably be some adjustments and fixes during the next week.

Tasks:

Introduced a new gameplay mechanic, you may now receive Tasks from a messenger of the four factions. These tasks are given when you visit Hubs.
You may choose to complete any of these tasks to gain rewards and faction reputation.
You may also opt to do only the task of one or two factions gaining better rewards and increase the anger of the faction that was not satisfied.
These Tasks are simplistic by design, the complexity comes from what you choose to complete.
There is also an option to decline the Tasks and their rewards. This will also be the philosophy going forward if there will be other major gameplay mechanic additions, though these missions have always been a planned feature.

Seeker interaction:

When you interact with random NPC Seekers on the map there is now an extended trade and talk mechanic option.
You can choose to trade your resources for different resources and helpful items. Now you can unload those surplus alloys for Smokes or Supplies.
You can also spend some movement to just talk and gain Spirit or info.
These seekers also have desired trades. Satisfying this desire rewards some Faction reputation.

Spirit and Melee:

All melee attacks now drain Spirit. You can always attack even though your Spirit is 0.
Nectars are now buffed and more accessible from the trade mechanic mentioned above.
Some ranged weapons can also have this Spirit draining feature.

Breakup:

The threat of party breaking up when at low Spirit is now revised.
As before, when the Spirit drops beneath 25 there is a chance that the party is in Conflict. Unlike previously you can now clearly choos your options before resting, no more quesswork when resting.

Armours:

Total rework of all armours and how they are handled.
Only one helmet and armour can be active at the same time.
Armour sets come in three classes: Light, Medium, Heavy.
Light armour sets all provide +1 Initiative and Escape and have their Defence bonus derived straight from Agility, which is lost if affected by Restrained.
Heavy armours all provide + Con Bns HP, -1 Initiative and increase Scramble min and max by 1.
All armour items now have upgrade slots, similar to weapons. This is generally only 1 slot, with highest tier items and Medium armours having more.
Instead of having upgrade items like weapons have, armours can be modified with most passive Gadget items (now known as “Equipment”). The upgraded armours effect is less powerful than the Equipment items and can change if upgrading helmet or armour.
Ex 1. Gas Mask would give +2 when attached to a helmet instead of +3.
Ex 2. Veteran's Armband would give +1 Handling for armour and +1 Luck for helmet.

Rare item variants:

All weapons and Equipment can now have random, more powerful variants.
There are up to four stages of higher rarity, each yielding more powerful bonuses.
This is the case especially for weapons which have more random bonus types.
All Equipment does not have all stages available.
Faction stores will also sell rare variants of their signature items when you have gained their favour.

Shard rework:

Shards now combine in your inventory into Bundles.
Bundles can be used to select what item it turns into.
This reduces quesswork in the field and provides some help in inventorymanagement as you have access to wide range of options while carrying a Bundle.

General Item changes:

New weapon tag: Swift. Weapon with this feature adds Initiative to the attack Pierce if first turn or enemy is Blinded. Added to following weapons: Throwing Knives, Strider Repeater, Short Sword, Cadre Blade
Added items: Scavenge type weapons: Scattergun, Rad Roscoe and Rad Caster
Added Upgrades: Swift Weapon Upgrade, Soothing Weapon Upgrade (reduces Spirit consumption)
Added Armours: Hunter Set, Barrage Set, Marauder Set, Leather Jacket, Combat Jacket

Map:

Added a new map feature: Keystone. Interact to gain +2 Phantom Anger and unlock the Exit after 2 Rests if staying near the Keystone. Found in all maps after the early game.

Damage Modifiers:

Damage modifier percentage handling slightly altered.
Proficiency bonus is now changed to 25% from 50%. Malus penalty is now changed to 25% from 50%. Weakness and resistances are unchanged from 50%.
Attack damage Proficiency is now slightly altered. There is now a possibility to have Proficiency for attack types, such as “Handguns” and “Blades”.
Fixed damage calculation to work properly for damage modifiers. The multiplier is meant to be applied after defences have been applied to the damage. Take this into account when weighing between Pierce and Damage.

Perks:

Akimbo: Now gives the Proficiency for “Handguns” when carrying two or more handguns.
Blind Fighter: Renamed to Harmony. The Awareness and Pierce bonuses in melee are now flat 2 OR (Agility + Intelligence + Charisma ) / 3, whichever is highest.
Pugilist: Now gives Proficiency to “Fist” weapons in addition to all the previous benefits.
Unarmored: Buffed the Defence bonus from 1 + Agi Bonus to straight Agility, as the armours are now a lot more tempting item choices.
Waste Walker: Buffed the Loot Rate bonus from 5% > 10%.
Tweaked Scavenger and Junkrat perks to show their damage bonus in the pre-attack damage calculations.

Swarms:

Swarms now scale more aggressively when the map limit is reached. They WILL overwhelm the player.
There was a minor error in Swarm escalation calculation which made them dealable in the endgame. This was accentuated by the fact that spawners were more rare/further away in the larger maps.

QOL:

Added range selector buttons in the inventory screen. Some items have different stats at different ranges. Now you can select the range to see these changes.

Bugfixes:

Fixed enemy Animosity related map screen crash.
Fixed Swarms not scaling properly.
Ensured that Swarms do not crash the game when reaching extremely high Phantom Anger levels.
Fixed a Medkit related crash.
Loads of minor fixes.

That's about that for now! Hope you enjoy it. This update was bit of a crunch. As stated at the start, I may need to maks some adjustments and hot fixes during this week. But I'm looking forward to it!

If you have an itch for some other turn-based goodnes check out TurnBasedThursday Fest

More news in couple weeks (hopefully)!

Original post

29 Apr 2025Developer post

Slow Cooking Update

I've been busy designing and implementing most of the mechanics discussed in the last update. There has also been some other minor and major developments. Development has been a bit slow due to past month being so busy personally. Most of the current developments are also heavily

I've been busy designing and implementing most of the mechanics discussed in the last update. There has also been some other minor and major developments. Development has been a bit slow due to past month being so busy personally. Most of the current developments are also heavily interlinked with other systems which makes testing and presenting them hard while incomplete.

Here's a sneak peek on some of the updates.

Seeker Interaction

You can now trade more freely with the Seekers you encounter. You can select what resources you want to trade and get options what you can receive. In addition to resources and most common consumable items, you can also receive information from the Trader. The Traders will also have preferences they want to trade for, satisfy these desires and you will gain favour with the Faction they represent. The costs and trade options are very dynamic, being affected by your reputation with the trader's faction and some other ingame events, more on them in the next update.

Armour Sets & Upgrades

Armours have received a major change. Character can now only equip one Helmet and one Vest at a time. Sets are also divided into three broader classes instead of named pairs. Each class also share distinct bonuses.

Another major change is upgrade slots for all the armours. Armours can now be upgraded with Equipment items. Some Gadgets with simple passive bonuses are now known as Equipments, such as Gas Mask and Luck Stone. You can use Altars to slot an Equipment in to an Armour. The process gives a weaker version of the Equipments bonus for the Armour. There is also one major change that affects Equipments in general, but more on that in the next update...

These changes hopefully make armours more interesting and desireable to use.

Spirit: Conflicts & Melee Attacks

As you can now more reliably secure Nectars from trading Seekers you encounter Spirit has also received some changes. A more major change is that melee attacks now drain Spirit. Each weapon has its own value ranging from 1-5. You can still attack even if spirit is 0. This makes spirit even more dynamic resource and with the trade changes gives melee builds something to do with the excess Alloys, as they can be traded for Nectars.

As of consequences of low Spirit, there is now a lot less quesswork involved when resting. The calculation for the party's Conflict is now done spereately from the Resting. You wil now be prompted with options to use Charisma rest or resolve the Conflcit when it occurs, no more confusing rng during sleep.

Plans

There are many other improvements not listed here. All of the mentioned above require heavy testing in the coming weeks, so I will be very laser focused on development. Expect more news in few weeks.

Dead Underworld will participate in the upcoming Turn Based Thursday Fest with an updated demo with changes mentioned above!

Personal Notes

Experiences and hardships in the past year have been exhausting and the drain has crept up so development has been bit too sporadic to my liking in the past couple months. Steady progress is being made and the plans are clear.

Unitil next time!
-Iiro

Original post

16 Jan 2025Developer post

Gameplay Overview Part 2

Here is the second part of gameplay overview for Dead Underworld. Part 1: Characters, Exploration, Resting, Combat Part 2: Items and Resources, Stats and Upgrades, Enemies and Factions, Progress Items and Resources: After battle players can loot the items of a downed enemy, all i

Here is the second part of gameplay overview for Dead Underworld.

Part 1: Characters, Exploration, Resting, Combat
Part 2: Items and Resources, Stats and Upgrades, Enemies and Factions, Progress

Items and Resources:

After battle players can loot the items of a downed enemy, all items cannot be recovered, but most enemies carry other trinkets to collect. Each character has a personal inventory, and the party has a shared inventory that is not available in combat. Some items can be used actively in or out of battle, others offer passive benefits based on situation. Most weapons can be upgraded with upgrade items at certain locations, some items can be combined in these locations to get rare items. Party also carries Credits that are currency for shops and character upgrades and Alloys that serve as universal ammo consumed by most ranged weapons. The party collects a special currency known as Soul Coins from defeated enemies and few other sources. Party also has Spirit that must be kept at a high level or suffer the penalties and potential party breakup.

Stats and Upgrades:

The player can upgrade the five main stats of characters in many ways. Most common way is drinking an Elixir that offers a stat upgrade or by upgrading a character with Credits. Credits are sparse and upgrades are only accessible in this way when the party has accumulated three Soul Coins. Soul Coins can also be used to unlock party wide upgrades. The party is accompanied by a Guide, represented by the character seen on the map. This Guide provides helpful information and the aforementioned unlocks. Guide unlocks range from extra inventory slots to resources to stat bonuses. These unlocks persist, even if the player’s party composition changes during a run.

Enemies and Factions:

The enemies belong to groups that accumulate anger towards the player, if the player trespasses on their territories or attacks them. When anger reaches certain thresholds the enemies gain upgrades to their abilities and stats. To counter this, you may optimise your builds to counter certain enemies or fight against a more diverse set of opposition. The Seekers also belong to one of four factions that change their opinion on you based on your actions. Factions favor players that fight against opposing factions and bring them rare artefacts to buy. Factions offer unique benefits to players when you gain their favor. Factions can also become strong enemies when angered.

Progress:

The game has no roguelite like persistent metagame progression, but you can unlock a number of gameplay options to customise your runs. Firstly you can unlock custom difficulty settings that can be mixed and matched to generate a run that suits your tastes or proves an unique challenge. Custom difficulties have a points system that determines whether you can gain achievements and other unlocks. Other progress options are unlockable Guides. All Guides have a distinct set of party upgrades and their own passive effects that alter runs greatly. Finally you can unlock starting Seeker builds. Most builds are attainable through picking a random start, but this reduces the headache of rolling the dice. Additionally there are a set of tailor made Seekers with completely unique options not attainable in any other way.

That just about covers it. A lot more could be said. Game revolves heavily around combat, inventory management and decisions where to allocate resources and travel time. This all boils down to a challenging game, but testers have enjoyed the grind greatly!

“Dying is fun as starting a new run is so quick.”

Original post

14 Jan 2025Developer post

Gameplay Overview Part 1

It is time to shed some light to the most prominent mechanics you will be interacting with in Dead Underworld. This will be a two part series covering all major components in the game. Part 1: Characters, Exploration, Resting, Combat Part 2: Items and Resources, Stats and Upgrade

It is time to shed some light to the most prominent mechanics you will be interacting with in Dead Underworld. This will be a two part series covering all major components in the game.

Part 1: Characters, Exploration, Resting, Combat
Part 2: Items and Resources, Stats and Upgrades, Enemies and Factions, Progress

Lets begin!

Characters:

You command a party of up to two characters known as Seekers. You start with one Seeker and can hire or convince another to join you. As survival is tough and resources scarce, you should pick a partner that complements your first seeker. The game is not lost if one of your Seekers perishes to radiation, bleed or enemy battle axe. You can always get a new companion. If your party composition is not to your liking you can also betray your partner while battling another Seeker. No one likes a backstabber that substitutes his friend (of three maps) for a more seasoned Seeker down the Underworld, but there are build options dedicated to such playstyles.

Exploration:

You move your party in the game world in a similar fashion to the Heroes of Might and Magic series or the more recent (and very excellent) Songs of Conquest. Your goal is to find the exit to travel deeper into the Underworld. Your stats and items determine your movement points available per rest. You can gain more movement, and other resources, by collecting treasures on the map. On the map you can also discover other interactable features such as stashes that contain items and shrines that are mini events that provide some lore and benefits. Once you reach the exit you choose your next destination on a branching map. Your choice dictates the terrain and special features of the next map. At certain intervals you reach a hub area where you will always find shops and options to upgrade items.

Resting:

When you run out of movement you must rest and choose a camp style for the rest. Different camps offer unique bonuses and effects. During rest your characters recover lost hit points. As you rest you drain your Supplies, if you possess no Supplies you may only rest in a very rudimentary camp. When you rest the enemies and other NPC get their chances to move. Hostile enemies will attack the player when nearby, so choose your resting location carefully to avoid a fight or to gain a benefit from terrain.

Combat:

When an enemy attacks you during a rest or you enter a zone controlled by a hostile creature you enter combat. Combat is fought in a turn based manner, starting with the side that has rolled the highest initiative. Battle ends when the other side is defeated or the player escapes. Battles are fought in three ranges long, medium and melee. Characters can advance as they please, but backing away is reserved to special items and abilities. Characters may use items in their inventory or a handful of universal actions such as melee strike or take cover. Combat is quick and very punishing, but fair. Stats, items, resistances, effects, perks and terrain affect the outcome of combat. The player has the extra option of swapping between their characters, essentially doubling their options in combat. This comes with a drawback with increasing “Scramble”, a stat that affects incoming and outgoing damage. Most enemies and player builds revolve around certain stats and concepts like Scramble, success in combat is determined how to best navigate strengths and weaknesses of changing situations.

That's all for now. Part 2 coming in two days!

Original post

09 Jan 2025Developer post

Journey continues

Last year did not go as planned in any shape or form. A little update before we talk about games. Life stuff Last year started with high energy gained from graduating and the start of a dream career. That energy was quickly drained away by unexpectedly hitting the concrete wall o

Last year did not go as planned in any shape or form. A little update before we talk about games.

Life stuff

Last year started with high energy gained from graduating and the start of a dream career. That energy was quickly drained away by unexpectedly hitting the concrete wall of the broken Finnish bureaucracy. Even worse, two sudden serious health issues in the family shadowed the entire year. End of the year was extremely tough for all but we are winning on the health side, there is no need to go deeper into the subject. On the front of the bureaucracy, no idea how the battle will end.

In the Finnish system there is a government grant given to new entrepreneurs to help them start and succeed with a new business. I did my homework and planned carefully to apply for the grant. I did everything by the book. What I did not expect was the arbitrary decision making and incredible inefficiency of our system.

Unexpectedly, I was deemed as an entrepreneur based on my game development activity, even though I do not even have a company. In Finland this is like a financial prison. The main reason, apart from being totally exhausted, for being silent about my game's development for the longest time is the uncertainty of what I can and can not do under these rules. The officials have been known to dig through several years old social media posts, to gain leverage against people in the similar situation and ruin their lives.

During the past year I have gotten several contradicting and highly illogical decisions on my status. I have tried to revert these decisions through all available official channels, a process that could be considered a full time job. I could write (and have done so) several pages worth of text detailing the convoluted process and blatantly unlawful handling of my case, but that is for another time and place. In the end an appellate court will decide my issue, but this will still take months. Now for the game related update.

Game stuff

Despite the difficulties I have the means to continue developing and releasing the game. All major components are done and what remains is the process of polishing and testing the final product.

As you read this there is now a brand new combat focused teaser trailer available for your viewing pleasure. In addition you may notice that you can now apply to join playtest from the Steam store page. The current playtest will be limited in player count.

Genre loyal members of my elite cadre of testers (friends) have found many hours of joy from the playtest version. One of the pre-testers describes the game: “This game felt a bit like a weird but satisfying combination of Nethack, Fallout 2 and Darkest Dungeon.”

After last year, I’m hesitant to give any promises on the progress of development. There will be two gameplay related blog posts next week, these are already written and scheduled, no amount of red tape will block them so stay tuned! Barring any catastrophes during this brief playtest period and life, a demo should be playable sooner than later. Future plans depend greatly on how the next month goes.

Thank you for reading and sticking around this far. Life of a solo developer has its benefits and downsides, notably life itself. Hope you have a happy and productive year!

-Iiro

Manmachina Games

Original post

Updates & announcements

Tasks:

Seeker interaction:

Spirit and Melee:

Breakup:

Armours:

Rare item variants:

Shard rework:

General Item changes:

Map:

Damage Modifiers:

Perks:

Swarms:

QOL:

Bugfixes:

Seeker Interaction

Armour Sets & Upgrades

Spirit: Conflicts & Melee Attacks

Plans

Personal Notes

Patch Notes:

General:

Gameplay:

Bugfixes:

Gameplay:

Bugfixes:

General:

Items and Resources:

Stats and Upgrades:

Enemies and Factions:

Progress:

Characters:

Exploration:

Resting:

Combat:

Life stuff

Game stuff

New Beginnings

Q: What is Dead Underworld?

Q: When will Dead Underworld be released?

Q: Who is Manmachina?

Q: What's next?