Hey everyone,
Just a quick update so you know what I'm working on for Dread Protocol for the rest of the year.
As some of you know, I've been away from Dread Protocol for a little while to get Drown World over the line. I'm happy to say that went live today, so I'm back on Dread Protocol full time now.
I've got two updates planned.
Update 1: Visual Clarity and Lighting
Before the big content update, I'm doing a visual pass focused on readability.
The goal is to make enemies stand out more clearly from the environment, particularly at a distance and in darker areas.
The plan is to:
- Pull the enemy colours further away from the environment so they stand out more
- Add lit visors and weapon lights that remain visible when the outline and lighting aren't enough
- Rework some of the post-processing to give the lighting a bit more contrast
- Go back through some of the darker rooms and make a few adjustments
- Add an optional always-on enemy highlight in the accessibility settings
It's mostly a polish pass, but I think these changes will make the combat easier to read and give the game a bit more visual punch.
Then I'll move on to the bigger content update.
Update 2: Major Content Update - Star Map Encounters
The encounters I remember most are the ones where something happens that changes how the whole deployment plays.
The self-destruct timer. Getting your weapons confiscated. Rebels joining you in the middle of a corridor.
I want a lot more of that.
I've been working on the tools for building these encounters, and I've got a pretty long list of scenarios I want to try. The main idea is that they shouldn't just be another bit of dialogue. They should actually change what you're dealing with during the deployment.
The big new addition I'm working towards is multi-faction combat.
Stations won't always just be you against the Federation. A few of the scenarios I'm working on:
- A Gruber separatist mutiny that's already underway when you dock. You can back the separatists and have them fight alongside you, or stay out of it and let both sides wear each other down first.
- A rival crew who boarded the same station after receiving the same tip-off as you. Nobody is shooting yet, but that probably won't last.
- An outbreak where a Federation purge team, the infected and you are all fighting over the same corridors.
- A Sector 9 jamming field that disables your cybernetics until you find and destroy it.
- A Varangian champion who orders his men to stand down and challenges you to a duel at the Warp Core. Break the terms and the entire garrison comes after you.
- A commander executing a rebel prisoner every 30 seconds you remain docked. Kill the guards and the prisoners join you, weapons in hand.
None of this is set in stone yet, and I'm sure some of these will change once I actually start building them. But that's the direction I'm heading in.
Thanks for sticking with the game, and thanks to everyone who's been sending feedback. It genuinely helps.
And if you've got thoughts on any of this, come say hi on the Discord.