Hello survivors,
As we’re getting closer to release, I wanted to share a full breakdown of Dustline’s current gameplay systems — including locations, enemies, and items.
Dustline is a text-based post-apocalyptic roguelike built in .NET/WPF.
Each run is self-contained:
One run = one life. No saves. No mercy.
🗺️ Locations Overview
The world is divided into 10 zones, each unlocked by player level.
Every zone features random encounters, combat, and occasional shops to help you survive.
Early zones introduce basic enemies and resource management
Mid-game ramps up difficulty and enemy variety
Late-game zones require careful planning and strong builds
The final destination:
📡 Radio Tower (Level 10) Face the Signal Warden — defeat it to win your run.
👹 Enemy Progression
Enemies scale with your level, ensuring consistent challenge throughout the run.
Early enemies: low HP, simple damage patterns
Mid-tier enemies: higher stats, more punishing fights
Late-game enemies: high damage and survivability
⚠️ The Signal Warden (Boss) is a major difficulty spike:
High HP and damage output
Guaranteed item drop on defeat
All other enemies have a ~32% chance to drop items.
🎒 Items & Survival
Items are essential for survival and can be:
Found as loot
Purchased in shops
Item roles:
💊 Healing – restore HP instantly
💣 Grenades – deal flat damage (no counter-attack)
🔫 Damage boosts – increase your next attack
🛡️ Armor – reduces incoming damage passively
Your inventory defines your run. Lose the run — lose everything.
⚙️ Core Gameplay Loop
You begin each run with:
100 HP
12 base damage
25 caps
Progression:
Explore zones → fight enemies → gain XP → level up → go deeper
Each level-up:
+15 max HP (fully restored)
+3 base damage
XP requirements increase with each level, making late-game progression more demanding.
💀 Difficulty & Design Philosophy
Dustline is designed around:
Short but intense runs (~20 minutes)
Meaningful decisions under risk
No safety nets — death resets everything
🎯 Feedback Welcome
At this stage, I’m especially interested in feedback on:
Difficulty curve
Pacing between early and late game
Resource balance (items, drops, economy)
🔗 Steam Page
If you haven’t seen it yet:
Dustline is now live on Steam:
Thanks for checking it out — and good luck out there in the wasteland.