Greetings everyone. I’m writing this post while I still have a chance, as in personal news I have a new baby coming very soon.
The demo for SOS: Forgotten Planet a survival horror game where you learn Morse Code is now updated to 0.6!
The 0.6 Update introduces fabricators, completely rebalances the purchasable upgrades, and hosts a bunch of visual improvements. I've really found these changes have made the game a lot more interesting to play for longer and currently have a near 4 hour save going on this build alone.
Fabricators
Fabricators are unique rooms that will act as a sort of repeatable mini game that will test your Morse code skills. You’ll be able to pick up to three options that each increase the difficulty of the fabrication but also give you more loot should you succeed in the challenge. You’ll be able to use a fabricator once each day so make sure to make note of where they are and revisit them every day.
Purchasable Upgrade Rebalance
With the influx of a bunch of new materials from fabricators, I went back through the upgrade store and added many more purchasable items and also added more levels to existing options. This let's you tailor your setup as you try to survive the labs.
Yet Another Visual Overhaul
As is sort of typical of this development, I’ve gone and adjusted a lot of the post processes that are in the game. The main thing you’ll notice is that colors generally will be more distinct and that faces will look a lot better than in previous releases.
Also Clara’s model has gotten an overhaul so she now looks less soldier-y while still maintaining the best parts of her previous model. I'm very happy with both how the character model turned out but also that color visuals are now looking really unique while not losing out on any important details.
Looking to the future
Like I mentioned at the beginning, my life in the next few weeks is going to get pretty busy with a new baby, so I might not be as active for the next little bit. I did however want to give an insight into what my next few releases will be and what the plan is going forward. There’s no set timelines for these but this is the order going forward.
Monster upgrade system. As the player evolves so should the monsters. Right now SteV3 has a very basic progression of below level 5 he doesn’t smash doors and after level 5 he starts to smash. The design of this going forward will be that monsters will periodically(likely at set level breakpoints) get upgrades that will either do a minor thing like increase damage/move speed or give them a major upgrade that will give them a new mechanic ie smashing doors. The upgrades may switch every level or be constant throughout a playthrough(I haven’t decided yet) but goal is to keep players on their toes and give some variety to the gameplay.
The First Director. This will be adding in the first boss fight into the game along with an advancement of the story line. This part will introduce the true ending point for the demo(it will still get updated, just will have progression locked from going past this point). Should be a pretty exciting fight with usages of Morse code and lots of panicked running in order to defeat the first director.
The Next Area. After setting up the monster and boss systems up, I will be transitioning to creating brand new areas for the player to explore with new monsters and a new boss fights. The plan for the next area is to make the void spaces that I’ve been hinting at in some of the found notes. They are little pocket dimensions where the scientists built labs and housing but their key feature is the endless darkness that surrounds them. I’m sure there will be nothing hiding out there in that endless black, right?
That’s the road map set out for likely until the end of the year as there's a lot of stuff to be done and life is crazy. Hope you’ll all be along for the ride and enjoy this next update!