Development Update – Verticality, Violence & Feedback
It’s been a long road so far — and there’s still plenty ahead. This update is partly me documenting the journey, but also a look behind the curtain at how Shadow of Nyx is evolving.
This month: Climbing Combat Revamp Game Feel & Audio
Climbing System – No Jumping Allowed
Erebion cannot jump. And that’s intentional.
Free jumping sounds simple, but it breaks level boundaries, exploration flow, and design control. I don’t want players “Skyrim-ing” their way up Olympus. But since the game is set in a mountainous, fictional Greece, flat levels weren’t an option either.
So the solution: a deliberate, puzzle-like climbing system.
Instead of climbing anywhere, you climb where it makes sense. Each climb is designed, not accidental. I took inspiration from older Assassin’s Creed titles — where you read the environment and choose your path upward.
Under the hood:
Fixed distances between climb points to reduce animation overhead
Cardinal + diagonal movement support
A custom Climb Path Tool to rapidly build routes
Auto-traversal that smoothly positions the player before climbing
Clean state transitions using Unity’s Mecanim
Climbing adds verticality, visual breaks, and suspense — you don’t know what’s waiting at the top.
This is Version 1, but it already feels solid.
Combat Revamp – Stun, States & Executions
Combat has gone through multiple rewrites. It was ambitious at the start — maybe too ambitious. But it’s finally becoming what I envisioned.
New Stun System
Every attack now builds hidden stun damage:
Small hits cause flinches
More pressure leads to staggers
Fill the bar → enemy becomes stunned
When stunned, enemies are vulnerable to executions.
The Cyclops execution animation has existed for years — now there’s finally a real system behind it. Executions:
Can trigger from multiple states
Smoothly blend in and out of combat
Temporarily make the player invulnerable
Use synced animations and cinematic cameras
Speaking of cameras — this was a battle on its own. Matching gameplay camera offsets with cinematic shots nearly drove me insane… until I split the final execution animation into a separate “Execution to Idle” state. Sometimes the simplest fix wins.
Game Feel – Heavier, Sharper, More Responsive
Game feel is everything.
I’ve expanded combat feedback systems so every hit feels intentional:
Improved hit reactions
Scalable event-based feedback
Camera shake refactored for flexibility
Steam Deck vibration support (basic for now, but extensible)
Enemy reactions now scale with recent stun damage, so fights feel more dynamic instead of repetitive.
Audio – Enter FMOD
I’ve started integrating FMOD for dynamic audio control.
Current implementation includes:
Ambient test tracks
Dynamic attack swings & impact sounds
Reactive footsteps based on surface type
Wind that changes indoors vs outdoors
Audio is still early, but the foundation is now flexible and expandable.
What’s Next?
Right now I’m tightening the combat loop and improving enemy reactions — essential for delivering a strong demo.
Next month:
Visual rework of the Hoplite enemy
Rig upgrades (including inverse IK chains for better executions)
Further combat polish
Thanks to everyone following the journey. Every bit of support pushes this project forward.
More soon.