Shady Knight News

Hi everyone! First a small heads up.
[h3]The current demo will be taken down before release on September 30
[/h3]
If you haven't played it yet, you still have a chance! Just keep in mind that it's 1.5 years old :)

From all of my countless demos, this one was the closest to the experience I've always dreamed to make, but it no longer represents the final quality and is even misleading in some aspects.

• The Chained Dagger is now a separate button that can be used at any time and in combination with other weapons!
  
• A completely overhauled style system that now separates pure skill from lucky chaos, and takes into account your parkour moves like slide-jumping and wall-kicking during combat.
  
• Quality of life things like full controller support, UI mouse support, skippable cutscenes, screen shake and head bobbing settings, etc.
  
• ... and so much more.
  

[h2]The New Demo[/h2]
Once the current demo is down, no worries! I'm preparing a new one and it will be released shortly after the full release. The new demo is going to be almost the same content wise, but with the all the mentioned features and reworked tutorial and demo hubs ...and one small but special challenge, but that's for later...

See you soon, Knight!

Hi everyone!
Let's start with a fresh gameplay teaser straight from Realms Deep 2023!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
The gameplay for the teaser was shot in mid-summer, and it's already a little nostalgic for me to see things that have been improved or tweaked since then, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show something during this event.

[h3]A short recap for newcomers[/h3]
My name is Alexey and this is my passion project - a stylish first-person melee action full of improvisation and tons of addictive melee skills based on kicking, grappling, slamming, dashing, etc. The game has no locked skills or progression, you'll be able to pull off crazy combos as soon as you learn lots of moves and tricks that you can do with just a few buttons.

I've been working on this game for many years and it's changed a lot through several public demos and with the help of my amazing players. The latest demo was released earlier this year, check out this demo FAQ as some things will be massively improved in the full game which is still in development!



[h3]The game is coming 2024[/h3]
Development is going well and even though there is no set release date, I'm so close to finally locking down all the content and getting into the final stage of development where things should be a little more predictable. 2024 is my realistic target and I'm doing my best to finish the game without sacrificing the things that are important to me, as I really want to release a cohesive thing that plays to its strengths.

I would like to thank all my players and followers here and on my socials. I can't always respond to every comment, but I always read your thoughts and experience with the game.

Considering there have already been 3 public demos alongside the Humble Originals build from 2019, this almost feels like early access as your feedback has helped me improve the game in so many ways and kept me motivated throughout such a long development
Thank you!
Alexey 'cptnsigh'



Here's a bonus in case you don't follow me, a flawless SSS playthrough of a level from the second hub of the game!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hi everyone!

I really want to address some of the most frequently mentioned things about the demo, which might be interesting for many who missed my answers, as they are scattered across several chats : )

Let's start with something cool right away – The Grapple or The Chained Dagger to be precise.

[h2]Get Down There![/h2]
Is it possible to use the grapple while wielding a weapon?

No, it can be only used for parkour on grapple points when armed BUT
The chained dagger will be a separate key in the full game

I tried to fit it into my tight control scheme, because I'm a big fan of contextual abilities, where there's never a button that can only do one thing. Kick, slide, jump and other buttons are all used for both combat and parkour, and I tried very hard to fit the chained dagger into the throwing mechanic based on RMB.

But now I have even more awesome things to do with the grapple, and having it on a separate button not only helps with the consistency of your grapple point experience, but also opens the door to a new dimension of epic combos.

So yeah, +1 more OP mechanic to balance but this one worth it!



[h3]Parkour[/h3]
I can't remember a big enough question for this part, but I'm hearing all the feedback about inconsistencies in ramp jumping, weird rope physics and other little things.

Things will get better. After all, the flow is why we're all here, right?
[h2]Kick, Kick, Repeat[/h2]
The demo is easy, I need some challenge!

Yes, the demo is only the basics. It was really important for me to show the core of the game first and to let you have fun with the mechanics, because more challenging enemies might feel frustrating before you know how many options you have even without a weapon in your hands.

That said my goal is not to make a hardcore game to be honest, but each new enemy and especially their blessed versions will do their best to push you out of the box. I know how many OP mechanics you have, but even your trustful kick and grapple won't do much in some situations while some combinations of blessed enemies won't let you rest for too long.

Sooo it might get hardcore if you dare to SSS all the levels : )



[h3]Options[/h3]
Add a crosshair for better aiming!

You can turn on the crosshair during the game: Pause Game > Options > Game > Crosshair (None, Dot, Segments). You can make it always visible or keep contextual (only visible when charging an attack).

Also you can change your FOV or hide UI elements/tutorial prompts. There's a difference between in-game and title screen option menus that's not at all obvious. I'll unify the options for the full game to avoid this confusion, my bad!

[h2]Timeless Style[/h2]
Why there's no bonus for beating level quickly?

Shady Knight's ranking system is all about playing with style which goes strictly against time, as you have to think more about your position, the variety of moves you use, and even do some extra moves to create interesting combos.

Instead of encouraging only the fastest and the most powerful moves my goal for the ranking is to encourage this creative moment-to-moment thinking of all the abilities you can use without being repetitive or relaying on one wining strategy.

Yet time isn't completely out of the game as I'm planning on having leaderboards for both:

• The Best SSS Score,
  
• The Fastest Flawless Run
• "Flawless Run" is a new achievement that combines No Damage + No Falls + All Enemies are Dead i.e. this is your proof that you can beat a level without a scratch.
  

[h2]The Endless Question[/h2]
An endless arena and a simple in-game editor are planned, but I want to be honest that I still have a lot to do with the core experience and this is my main priority.

I wish I could do it all at once, but I feel that a half-baked game with a half-baked endless mode is still a minus, so I have to focus on the main game and think of these things as goals for the post-launch updates. Anyway the game is designed around high replayability and I hope you'll be busy with the exciting things I'm working on right now.

• UPDATED 30.09.2023: There will be an endless arena in the game, codenamed "Hundred Dead Knights". Reaching one hundred won't stop the enemies, but I'll count your mastery as proven : )
  

I guess this is all for now. Thank you all for your support and feedback. I'm so glad to have such a community as it makes the hardest times during development brighter.

Thank you!
Alexey 'cptnsigh'

Hi everyone!

Shady Knight has been noticed by this amazing game development magazine called 80 level. Although I'm not very good at formulating my random thoughts into a solid piece of text, I was more than happy to answer their questions about the game.

If you've ever been curious about the story behind Shady Knight, check out this article: [h3]Developing Shady Knight, a Solo-Developed 3D Platformer with First-Person Sword Fights[/h3]

Alexey

Hey everyone!

I've uploaded a small patch for the demo. The most interesting part is changes to the grappling mechanic so If someone struggled with accidently throwing your sword away let me know how it feels now.

New

• Improved crosshair that fades in only when charging any attack. There are two types of crosshair: dot and segments.
  
• The Skull cutscenes can be skipped by holding an action button.
  
• Target FPS option is now available
• note this option works only when vsync is off
  

Grappling

• Added more noticeable green flare for the pulling points when they are reachable.
  
• More forgiveness for grappling when armed. If you suddenly charge a throw instead of grapple, your throw will switch to grappling as soon as there’s one reachable point.
  

Bugs & Exploits

• Grappling through a breakable fence is fixed.
  
• Throw-Dash-Throw wall-climbing strat is fixed. Now it’s only possible to dash once in mid-air.
  
• Downward kick is dealing more damage to objects to prevent infinite barrel-jumping.
  

+ some other minor changes

And thank you all for the amazing feedback!