THAAAAAANKS for a great 2017!
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However, 2017 can absolutely go tongue-bathe a gorilla, because 2018 is set to be an even bigger year for Streets of Rogue. This game has been in development for 4 years, and despite some gray hairs and the atrophy of every single part of my body, I'm still going strong!
My Goals for 2018
First off, please don't take this list as gospel -- these are GOALS and not absolute plans or promises, so keep in mind that I can't guarantee for certain that all of these things are going to happen. If you look at my list from last year, my plans don't completely match up with my accomplishments. But, I like to be transparent about the game’s progress, so here ya go.
This list is me saying "Yeah I think I can probably get this done, but hopefully I don't get a flesh eating virus or an especially bad stomach ache or something that just really puts a dent in my plans." For those that don’t know, I (Matt) am the only person working on this game full-time. So yes, a stomach ache could actually have that effect on productivity.
Launch of Streets of Rogue 1.0
The current plan is for Streets of Rogue to exit Early Access at some point in the summer of 2018, depending on how I feel about the game’s state at that point. But what does 1.0 actually entail? Basically, the game will be playable from beginning to end, and will contain enough content that I consider it a complete experience where no major part of the core game feels undercooked. However, I will not be ceasing development once the game has launched. Much like Binding of Isaac and other games of its ilk, Streets of Rogue could always benefit from more content. As a developer, I'll probably never be satisfied with it.
Uptown
The final major level variety in the game, spanning floors 5-1 to 5-3. I'm working on this right now. You can throw me suggestions in this thread.
Final Encounter and Ending
What form will this take? Who knows???... no seriously, I'm still not sure. I should probably get on that. Again, there was a forum discussion about this awhile back.
Big Quests
Long-time Streets of Rogue players will recognize the "Big Quests" space from the Character Select and Map screens. Each character class will be getting their own personalized mission spanning the whole game. It's not too late to contribute to that discussion either.
Mission Variety
Streets of Rogue's missions tend to be on the basic side, and that's the way I want to keep things. Most RPG missions boil down to "go here, kill a thing, steal a thing, escort a Wild Thistle Boar, protect a thing", and a few more. Developers gussy these up with flavor text and such, but the actual activities that the player completes are usually pretty similar. Streets of Rogue's missions leave out much of that flavor in the interest of streamlining and avoiding repetition. However, there is plenty of room for additional variety in Streets of Rogue's framework. For example, there's no reason that "flip 3 switches" missions have to appear so often. Those switches could be swapped out for destructible objects or something else. Just one wholly unexciting example. I'll be looking further into this.
Building Variety
There is too much repetition in building layouts right now. That needs to change.
Disasters
There aren't enough of them. I hate that. Seriously, it's one of my biggest pet peeves when playing through the game to see the same disasters over and over again. So, I'm gonna add more. There was an awesome Fortnight Discussion awhile back with plenty of great ideas, so I'll have no shortage of material to work with.
Existing Levels
I still have plenty of ideas on how to make the 5 different level varieties more unique and varied from one another. Expect to see plenty of changes both large and small.
Items
The selection of items in the game has been somewhat stagnant since the game entered Early Access. While there are loads of items available, I have a HUGE and growing list of items that I could potentially add to the game. These generally don't take very long to add in comparison to other pieces of content, it's just that "item variety" hasn't been an area of the game that I've felt has been half-baked in the way that other areas were. So, it hasn't gotten a lot of my attention. This will change, though it may not be until post-1.0 that I have the chance to REALLY start adding some crazy variety.
Traits and Status Effects
You can never have enough of these! NEVER!
Playable Characters
I will definitely get some more playable characters in the game before it hits 1.0. Eventually, I want to get ALL of those slots you see on the Character Select screen filled.
Additional NPC Behaviors
In one of my Fortnight Discussions awhile ago, I asked for suggestions on NPC behaviors. It's something I've been wanting to work on for awhile, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity in the coming months.
Mutators
I love these, and I want to add some more. They change up the gameplay a lot, and they're typically not very hard to implement. Well, except for Rogue Vision. In terms of bugs caused, that was the "Shapeshifter" of mutators.
Achievements and Unlocks
Yes, I know, you should get an achievement for killing the Killer Robot. Other stuff too. I'm on it.
Secrets
What secrets? Who said there'd be secrets???
Home Base Extras
I've got some ideas. Customization and expansion of the home base are possibilities. It's often hard to justify putting too much time into this when other more pressing areas of the game need my attention, but it's on my radar.
Leaderboards for Daily Run
I've been tinkering with this off and on, and will likely require a good bit of experimentation and player feedback before I'm satisfied with it. Basically, the biggest challenge is finding a way to effectively score the game without players exploiting it to death. It'll likely be measured by XP and time taken in a level, and possibly other factors. This may or may not hit before 1.0 as I haven't seen a lot of demand for it, but we'll see.
Bug fixes and Balance
Fixing bugs and making balance changes is a never-ending process. This is especially true when you have as many disparate systems interacting with each other as Streets of Rogue does. I spent a pretty large chunk of 2017 on this stuff, and while there's plenty more to do (especially on the online multiplayer side), I hope to spend less time in 2018 whittling down my bug and balance lists.
Pretty-fying menus, and other out-of-game aesthetics
This has never really been a priority of mine because, well... I'd rather work on things that actually affect the gameplay. But, I do recognize that people have bigger expectations of a completed game than the extremely basic looking work that I've done. So I'll try to improve things a bit pre-1.0. Hopefully. Well, if I have the time. We'll see?
Console Versions
If all goes well, Streets of Rogue will be available on multiple consoles at some point this year. "But won't this take away from development time on the PC version???" While it's difficult to say exactly how much time will be required of me, I will say that I already have the game up and running nicely on one of the major consoles, as a result of my optimization efforts last year. There is always potential for me to hit a snag or three, but porting Unity games to new consoles is not rocket science. Hair-pullingly frustrating at times, but doable. A second port is in development at tinyBuild right now. Could there be a third? I don't think I'm supposed to talk officially about which consoles the game is coming to yet, so let's just say Jaguar, Vectrex and Gizmondo for the time being.
Modding, Workshop
This will most likely happen post-1.0. Time permitting, I'd like to have something or other in sooner, but I also don't want to make any definite promises just yet regarding timing or the specifics of what sort of modding would be available. Clearly there is demand for this.
MORE
If you tried to read my list of things I want to implement into Streets of Rogue, you wouldn't be able to make it to the end. This is because you'd definitely die before you finished it. If it wasn't obvious, what I'm trying to say is, it's really long.
Vacation
Yeah I should probably do this at some point after 1.0 launch.
Loot Boxes
I know how much you kids love loot boxes, so for $6.99 real world dollars, you will receive a crate full of wonderful goodies! These will most likely be cigarette lighters and rocks and maybe a codpiece or something, so as not to unbalance the game too much, as game design ethics are very important to me! Monetization! User acquisition! Business things! Since I know someone out there is going to take this seriously, let me state very clearly that
---> HOLY CRAP I'M KIDDING <---
How can I help?
Keep sending bug reports and suggestions through the forums, Discord, Twitter, and the in-game form. Feedback from y'all has been incredibly crucial in making the game what it is today, and I'm always very appreciative of your efforts. Also, be sure to tell your friends about the game. While Streets of Rogue has been great success so far, it's still somewhat "under the radar" in most of the spots where I get my game-related news. If your grandma and her bridge group don't know about Streets of Rogue by the end of this year, that's a problem! So spread the word!
That's about it, happy 2018 everyone! Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puKRMGGUHMY