Shardpunk News

What a time to be alive!

#TurnBasedFest has just started, and I'm proud that Shardpunk can be part of it along with many awesome games! I'm sure I will be playing or at least checking out many upcoming titles in the genre that I am a big fan of (otherwise I would not be creating my own turn-based game, would I?).

Speaking of playing games, here's the big news: I have released a brand new demo of Shardpunk: Verminfall!



Go check it out, as the game went through LOTS of changes since the previous demo, including new enemies and combat mechanics, more progression options, and numerous quality-of-life improvements. As always, I will welcome all the feedback from you, so come into Shardpunk's Discord server and share your thoughts on the game.

Along with the demo, here's the latest gameplay trailer to give you a glimpse of the full game!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Does it mean that the game is close to being finished and released? Well, yes and no.



I know that I am almost at the finish line, and I am pretty excited because of it. I also know that the last 10% of the development is the hardest part. This is why I decided to push the release date to Q1 2023.

This extra time will allow me to make a better, more balanced, and optimized game. I’ll probably spend it mostly on playtesting and tweaking. You’re all invited to participate in this process on Discord too!

The amount of ideas we're bouncing off each other there is amazing! I would never have thought that I would be getting that many responses and reactions to the game I am making. It’s humbling and very motivating.



I hope you watch the new trailer, play the demo, wishlist the game, and then join me on Discord as I’m preparing to release Shardpunk: Verminfall.

Have a great day!

I'm happy to inform you that Shardpunk will be featured during the #TurnBasedFest (December 8-12)!

I'll share a few big updates during the event and join kormakrtv on his Twitch channel to talk about the game. He'll also play the latest build to give you a sneak peek into the game.

Be sure to drop in on Friday, December 9, at 3 PM CET / 9 AM EST / 6 AM PST here: https://www.twitch.tv/kormakrtv.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Another round of Shardpunk playtests is currently in progress. I am gathering lots of feedback. This is awesome.

Such an iterative approach is one of the key things that get me going. Developing a game as a solo programmer does leave a mark on my sanity, but feedback from people who found the game interesting gives me hope that pushing all the way to the finish line makes sense.

Instead of writing about new features, here are some gameplay gifs from one of my test playthroughs:







Have a great day everyone!

It's Independence Day here in Poland - so I am planning to play more and work less today!

Still, here's the latest progress update on Shardpunk: I'm tweaking the in-game mechanics to improve the fun factor even more. Here's what I have for you in this entry:

UI changes

You can now access the tutorials - which have been rebranded as "Codex" - from the main game screen so that you don't have to open up the pause menu. The same happened to the unlocks screen.



Overwatch triggering indicator!

Yes! You will be able to see where the enemy overwatch reaction shots will get you.



Combat tactics

You will be able to discover combinations of actions during combat that will grant you special bonuses. I don't want to spoil them, so here's a screenshot of one of them being activated:




As you can see, this tactic is about performing two overwatch actions with characters who are standing next to each other. This grants you some accuracy boost. Things similar to these are hidden in the game, waiting to be uncovered (and then used frequently) by the player!

That's all for this entry. Take care! See you on the Discord server!

Wow, the "last 10% of the project taking 90% of the time" thing is sure real! The awesome community in the Discord server gives enormous amounts of feedback, and I am constantly busy tweaking the game based on that.

The things I want to showcase today are the features implemented to counter the "game being too punishing" remark.

#1: Auto-healing mechanism

When character's HPs reach zero, they enter a "bleeding out" state. Another character can then approach them and use the "revive" action on them, which will bring them back to life.

Sounds fair. The thing is, sometimes it's not possible to reach the other character in time, or without exposing your other characters. Or you might not have any other characters left.

That's why it turned out that characters in Shardpunk are equipped with personal CPR units, that can be used to self-revive them! Well, you need a Fusion Core to make it work, but I believe it's a fair tradeoff. Also, the game has now extra usage for Fusion Cores!



#2: Close calls. And retaliation attacks!

It seems that Shardpunk characters have started to be luckier recently - there's a chance that they can avoid a lethal blow coming their way using the newly added "Close Call" mechanics. Every time a Close call is triggered, the probability of it happening again gets reduced.

What is more, there's a chance that after a Close Call a character will trigger a retaliation attack, which is an always-hitting, enemy-interrupting move. Even if you don't manage to kill the enemy with it, they will lose the ability to perform any other actions this turn.





#3: increased cap for revivals

Up until now, the characters could enter the "bleeding out" status only once in combat - so after they've been revived once in, the second time their HPs go down to zero they insta-die.

I've increased the number of allowed "bleeding out" states to two (at least in the easy difficulty; the normal difficulty has it still at one). This should help the players out!



Peace out! Have a great weekend!