Hi everyone!
Wanted to post this sneak peek slightly later to gather up more juicy content to show, but due to the influx of new players (Seriously, guys, huge thank you, and thanks to Splattercatgaming for playing the Colony 37), have to write a couple of words right now. Sorry for not posting sooner—I had to make a couple of video lessons for my main work as a teacher (thank god they are done now :D).
Currently I'm working on a full addition of creatures for each biome and implementing an NPC Spawn system. It is a bit of a tricky thing to do because adding things with claws and teeth to a cave exploration game... well... apparently can transform this game into a pure horror experience quite easily. I know, who would've thought? :D. But I'd rather keep exploration and character upgrading as a main focus of the game rather than go completely full into "horror game territory."
But, that being said, so far so good and I even have a couple of screenshots to show :)
Fauna/Creature Overhaul
Each biome will have 2-3 types of creatures that will spawn dynamically. Some of these creatures are hostile (bite, explode, and shoot missiles); some of them might be just straight-up annoying (honestly, one of the creatures I've already added is the most annoying I've ever seen), and some of them will actually be really helpful towards your mining experience. Each creature will have its own drops (a unique resource and a 10% chance of a unique item specific to a creature). You can check just a couple of them in the screenshots down below.
Now, how will they work?
Their "pathfinding AI" is extremely bare bones, and honestly, I want to keep it that way (don't want another "Cave dweller" from Minecraft). BUT! I've implemented some sort of an "aggression system." If a player gets too close to a hostile creature, it will let the player know that it is dangerous by a distinct sound/animation cue. Staying for too long near a hostile creature will aggravate it even more, and it will attack (attacking will immediately aggravate them).
Some creatures, like I said previously, are completely neutral, so even if you'll smack them with a pickaxe, they will either not care or attempt to run away.
Not all of the creatures will attack in melee range; some of them are... more prepared.
Hopefully this mechanic should make them less of a "scary jumpscare" but more like a part of exploration of underground locations. Of course, the number of them on the map will be strictly limited to not annoy a player too much (except one biome with awfully a lot of eggs in it). You'll be able to increase the spawn quantity of creatures with consumables and, if you don't like them, completely disable them by turning on the "Peaceful" option in the settings (it is already in the game).
Accessibility & Bug Fixes
My number one priority is to add the following features:
- Hotkey rebinding.
- Invert X/Y mouse input.
- Widescreen optimization.
I'm planning on releasing those things as soon as possible (Hopefully in two-three days). Creatures will come a bit later. Apologies that it is not already in the game; it really is an oversight on my part.
Other notes
Of course it's not the only thing that will come in the upcoming update. Just need to cook it a bit more in order to show it.
Honestly, thank you guys. For me it is an absolute blast to develop this game. There are so many things I want to add/improve, and honestly, probably I'm only halfway there (living on a prayer), and it would not have been possible without your support. It is already mind-blowing how much this project has grown compared to its early September access release (Seriously, you have to watch the first version of the game; it's... well... something).
So, thanks again; I'll go make a cup of coffee right now and keep on working. to provide the best mining experience I can :)