Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall News

[p]Hi everyone! As you may know, I have been planning for a possible Early Access or Beta release for the very end of March.[/p][p]I have decided it will be a Beta. [/p][p]What’s the difference?[/p][p]Both Early Access and Beta are incomplete versions of the game. For me, a Beta is more about testing the core systems and technical aspects, and Early Access is for testing content, balance and bugs. The main difference here is that it will not be available for sale yet as Early Access on Steam.  [/p][p]I only have two computers for testing, so I can’t ignore the wisdom of going through a Beta process first. [/p][p]Who gets access?[/p][p]All crowdfunders will get access to the Beta, including everyone who pledged at the level of receiving a copy of the game (35 USD) on Kickstarter, and all Patreons with a lifetime support of the same. This was not a listed benefit of your pledge tiers, but I am deeply grateful to my backers and this seems like common sense. [/p][p]If you are not a backer I am considering ways to open up the Beta, possibly through Patreon like I did with Memoirs. I would certainly welcome more people testing and playing the game. Your support, whether financially, through feedback or just general enthusiasm, is very vital to development. And to me. [/p][p]Is Early Access still planned?[/p][p]Yes! [/p][p]I’m aware that some of you are concerned about the erotic/adult nature of this game and whether it will be allowed into Early Access. I should say I have not run into any problems, and I don’t expect to under the current listed policies, and will be submitting it for Steam's approval.[/p][p]I am still planning for an Early Access launch after the Beta. How long this takes will depend on feedback and whether the game is ready. If all goes well, this can be as little as the time it needs to pass the approval process. [/p][p]Bad launches can kill games. I want Vampire Syndicate to be the best it can be, and this means taking care not to eject… er, release it prematurely. [/p][p]Is it still planned for the end of March?[/p][p]Also yes! I am currently doing a lot of content work and it looks on-track. Unfortunately, the speed of development means I can’t tell until the month of its release. If it slips, I will of course let you know.  [/p][p]Thank you! I’ll have more news about how the Beta will work soon, as well as a look at the new, more polished combat system.[/p][p]- ManlyMouseDan

A sneak peek at a combat map in development[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[p]Hi everyone! In this dev update we’ll look into character progression and skill trees. [/p][p]Vampire Syndicate is a relatively traditional RPG, with character levels that are gained from earning experience. The most common way of earning exp will be from combat, depending on the enemies you defeat and how difficult they are. Other ways to earn exp include completing quests, certain dialogue options, and maybe even mechanics like downloading magic kungfu directly into your brain (TBD), etc. [/p][p][/p][p]Upon gaining a new level you will receive skill points for that character (for now it's 3, the exact number will be subject to balancing). You can spend skill points on whatever you like inside your skill trees. [/p][p]All characters will have at least three personal skill trees. The first will allow you to upgrade basic stats such as max HP, your movement pool, action points, initiative, etc. This will make the character stronger in combat, and the effects will be very noticeable as you stack them on.[/p][p][/p][p]Many of these upgrades are designed so that early investments cost less skill points than later ones, hopefully encouraging build experimentation. Speaking of which, a respec option will be available, although I’m unsure when it will be ready.[/p][p]The second skill tree is for the attributes, which are some of the most important stats in the game. These are the primary scaling stats for weapon damage and abilities, including the effectiveness of status effects and their turn durations. They are also the stats used for attribute checks and dice rolls in dialogue. [/p][p][/p][p]Attributes have hard caps in the skill tree, representing the limit where training and conditioning can get you. You can surpass these limits by becoming a vampire or augmenting yourself with technology. Another way depends on your class, which also allows the upgrading of specific attributes.[/p][p]Class skill trees offer new abilities that relate to the role of the class. They tend to be very powerful, such as the Tactician class being able to restore all item uses for themselves. Players will be able to take more than one class. I’m currently undecided on what the max for this is, or whether companions can multiclass. One of the many things I’ll listen to player feedback on. [/p][p]That’s it for now, I’ll be working on an update that covers inventory and equipment/loot next! [/p][p]Also here's a little test gif of a mag-dump ability in action. I'll probably have a more... balanced version in the game at some point.[/p][p][/p][p]
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[p]Hi everyone! Hope your holidays have been going well. Since it has been roughly 1 year of continuous development (the project was funded November 2024), I thought I would give a quick summary of what happened this year for Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall. [/p][p]I am very happy to announce that as of December 2025, all major gameplay systems are functionally working and awaiting player feedback. Most minor systems too.[/p][p]That means these systems are ready for an Early Access release and will be adjusted and fixed according to feedback over the Early Access period.

In very basic terms, the framework for the game is finished. There’s a list of the systems further below if you’re interested in reading through them. Development was greatly accelerated by several powerful template assets, but even those required a lot of customization and integration work. I ended up building a lot more from scratch than I initially expected, but this helped me become more familiar with the engine and “think” more like a programmer.  [/p][p]What remains is content and optimization. Much of the content has already been added, but there is still lots to do. Character models needed to be ported, quests scripted, animations set, etc, etc. I am still planning on Early Access for the end of March 2026. Frankly, I’m not too worried about content as that is the part of development I’m very experienced in. Still, my pace is very fast and ambitious, so these plans are not set in stone. [/p][p]As I look back on the past year, I am filled with the confidence that if development goes at the same rate, something quite special will be made. I often repeat the fact that I started this project as a RPGmaker dev with no UE5 experience and an education as a novelist. This is in the hope that it will communicate how much commitment and personal investment I have in this project. It is, unequivocally, my pursuit of a lifelong goal.  [/p][p]Thanks, as always, for being with me on this journey. I wish you and yours a happy new year. [/p][p]
Sneek peek for weapon tooltips in your inventory. You've probably seen it before but I adjusted the size. Also there will be various weapon categories for both ranged and melee weapons, which I'll explain in a later post.[/p][p]
Sneek peek for skill trees. Each character will have several, including trees that impact personal stats, like attributes as well as for weapon handling, and class-specific trees as well. Look forward to a post soon that talks about this. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Big things done for VS in 2025:[/p][p]
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• [p]RPG systems[/p]
  • [p]Homemade leveling, stats, class and skill tree system[/p]
    • [p]I am pretty proud of this as it is a synthesis of what I personally like from RPG progression systems[/p]
  • [p]Systems that support a party size of up to six characters (including the player)[/p]
  • [p]Party inventory and individual equipment[/p]
  • [p]Attribute check system with dice[/p]
  • [p]Character creation[/p]
  • [p]Visual character customization [/p]
    • [p]I expected this to be one of the most difficult parts to implement, and it kinda was.[/p]
• [p]Combat Systems[/p]
  • [p]A turn-based, initiative-based tactical combat system with homemade rules[/p]
  • [p]Numerous different skills depending on character progression, equipment, etc[/p]
  • [p]30+ combat stats per individual unit, most can be upgraded[/p]
  • [p]Randomized combat map population[/p]
  • [p]Damage types, status effects, a lot of the usual staples[/p]
  • [p]I basically just made my dream combat system[/p]
• [p]Technical highlights[/p]
  • [p]Toggle between first-person, third-person, and an experimental isometric camera [/p]
  • [p]Day/Night cycle for overworld[/p]
  • [p]Custom worldstate, faction and NPC system[/p]
    • [p]This is actually the most difficult system, and it can be expanded further[/p]
  • [p]Repeatable, randomized contract system[/p]
  • [p]Flexible, powerful dialogue system with an appearance toggle[/p]
• [p]NSFW stuff[/p]
  • [p]A completely custom system for 3D, fully animated, multi-camera position, sex scenes[/p]
    • [p]I’m also proud of this and will be putting this on my resume regardless of the eyebrows raised[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p][/p][p]As promised, here's a video version of last month's devlog:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]