Shardpunk News

Hi! Here's a short list of recent gameplay changes that I've introduced to Shardpunk based on all the feedback I received:

Burst shots

Machine gun rats now can perform a "burst shot" action, which deals AOE damage. This will make them even more deadly!




Poison that... heals

Poison mortar rats can now target their allies, which will apply healing effects to them:



That lead to a nice "feature", when the poison mortar rats were healing themselves:



And despite it looking funny, I actually removed that self-healing behaviour from the game as it was too annoying.

Stun grenades!

Grenades can now be used in an alternative way - if the player purchases a certain team skill, the characters can use them in stun mode. This will make the combat even more interesting.



I believe that Shardpunk is shaping up nicely, and I can't wait to finally release it! Take care!

Oh yeah, and don't forget about the Discord server!

There are two things I want to show this time: first is the expanded information screen present in the shelter, which allows the player to access information about effects that will be applied to a character in the upcoming combat:



Besides that, I expanded the tutorials section. A lot. And I've added videos to tutorial entries:



This should take care of the "I did not always know what to do in the game" piece of feedback I got ;)

Besides that, I've been busy fixing a bunch of stuff. Every time I play Shardpunk I find something that I feel needs fixing/adjusting. At some point, you do need to tell yourself to stop though, right?

Still, there are some gameplay rules that I believe need adjusting - but I'm gonna write more about it in the next entry.

Take care! And the Discord server is right here!

Hi! First and foremost, I've been recently interviewed for the FearFest festival that Shardpunk was a part of - you can watch the short interview here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYqJF5hYRg

It was a great experience getting featured among all the other interesting games there. Indie game development can get a little bit lonely sometimes - especially if you're working alone in a home office - so seeing all the other participants and listening to their stories was a nice experience.

Mental note to self: if Shardpunk is successful and you'll be able to work on another game, consider renting a desk in a co-working space; it might help maintain your sanity.

Anyways, I've been working on adding more minor encounters to the game. Here's one about encountering bodies of imperial scientists:



Also, here are some visuals for the sewage levers for another quest:



Besides that, I've decided to adjust one of the available weapon upgrades: the stun module. Initially, that module added a probability that a character might stun an enemy instead of dealing them damage. It turned out to be more often received as "annoying", instead of "a surprise, but a welcome one".

And I get it - if you are trying to one-shot that nasty big rat with your upgraded weapon, and in the end, it just stuns it, you're frustrated.

Therefore, I made sure that the "stun" upgrade gives the player an explicit control over the "stun shot" action, which has 100% chance to stun a target - assuming that it will hit it, of course.



That's it for this entry. Have a great weekend everyone! And as always, the Discord channel is right here!

Here I am, back with another update on Shardpunk's development progress.

In general, the work is going well. I am working on creating another build for another round of playtests. The previous round gave me LOTS of feedback that I was able to forge into actionable items, and I definitely want to repeat that.

To add some variety to the stuff the player can do, I've added more world interaction to the game. I tweaked the triggers/scripts code I've created for the tutorial level, which allowed me to use it for creating custom in-combat events.

Here's a minor custom event at the tutorial level - the character reaches a certain area which triggers a 'cutscene' in which they say something and receive stress points - which I then use as an excuse to show a tutorial about stress:




Here are the characters spotting a larger battle scene which can be investigated for extra rewards:




And here's the beginning of a quest about a bunch of civilians trapped in the sewers:




These special events are randomly added to a level, so they might vary between playthroughs.

That's it for this entry. If you want to make sure you don't miss out on the next round of playtests, do visit our Discord channel!

Take care!

Rats = kinda cute little creatures.
Evolved, deadly, human-killing, post-apocalyptic rats = true horror! Pack your things and run.

Join us on September 6 right here on Steam for a fearful expo showcasing not only scary games but also those dark and gloomy.



All in all, Feardemic’s Fear Fest 2022: Black Summer Edition will be a celebration of games that make your heart beat faster and an unforgettable experience for horror fans worldwide.

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Check out the full event lineup here!

See you here (or in hell)!