We're going to try to get into the habit of posting weekly progress reports here. These will come with a YouTube update, and then we'll get into a few more details here. First, the video:
Now that our core loop is stable, we're putting more thought into how to make each mission more unique. Instead of bringing tools or weaponry that you bought at the store, you'll now only be able to purchase wearable gear at the store. You'll need to ransack the randomly-assigned parcels in your dropship at the beginning of each mission to search for items of value. And critically, you'll also still need to deliver those items if you want to hit your quota! This new focus has led us to make a few changes, including:
- We've built a parcel template that uses weighted random values to apportion parcel contents to the player. This has unlocked the ability for us to embark on missions without bringing equipment (other than scanners, which are a special case). This really feels like stepping through a door that takes us away from conventional shooters and toward something a lot more surprising and fun
- We've added another layer to the system that assigns parcel destinations so that it doesn't ask the players to go an insane distance to the other end of the map. This adjacency system has helped mission flow considerably
- We densified the number of obstacles in the level to reduce the amount of running down empty streets with no cover
- We overhauled the monster spawning so that monsters now deploy from hand-placed spawn locations, rather than from randomly-selected doorstep delivery targets. Monsters now emerge from much more organic locations - dark corners, back yards, storm drains. It feels good!
- We messed around with parcel/item values, and more importantly, parcel/item weights. There are now some items (the minigun, the anvil) that are so heavy that the player has to drop other stuff to move the parcel around. Encumbrance continues to be a key player constraint - one that many future wearable items are meant to minimize or manage
- Water is now toxic, and damages the player. The floor is lava.
As seen in the video above, Dan's also got a very early version of an exciting new feature that in its final form will allow players to pay for onsite rush delivery of needed items in the field. Our current thought is to modify the scanner so that it has a PDA-style screen through which players can access a sort of Space Amazon (if anybody has ideas what this thing should be called, let us know). If your needed item is in stock, and you can currently afford it, a dropship from a competing delivery company will drop your new item down to you (along with some encouragement and/or discouragement). In the coming week, we'll be experimenting more with environmental obstacles and hazards that are meant to encourage use of this delivery system.
Thanks for your support, and see you next week!