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Dev Blog #8 - Turn-based mechanics

Hello there inmates,

Here comes our eighth devblog that will focus on the turn-based mechanics you can find in your journey, or rather, the rules of the prison regarding fight among inmates, contraband and other illegal activities. We are keeping an eye on you, inmate!

[h3]At the beginning[/h3]

Did you know Space Prison initially had real-time combat? The fighting style was brawler-based and focused on dexterity. However, during several playtests, we received clear feedback from players stating that this type of combat didn’t fit well with the rest of the game’s mechanics. The players themselves told us that they would much prefer turn-based battles in the prison setting, and so we did!



We sat down and started by creating a paper prototype of the combat system. From the beginning, we wanted it to have a few core principles – it needed to be simple at its core, enjoyable to execute, and offer the potential for deep development. So the first four things we locked in were:
  • Small spaces
  • Fast brawls
  • Skills coming mainly from Gear
  • Party based

We added a few principles to better reflect the setting. We wanted to capture the claustrophobia of the prison, with its tight corridors and rooms on the space station, so we limited the arena to a grid of a maximum size of 6x3. Some players would prefer a larger combat field, but that’s not the point of short, intense skirmishes in the prison.


[h3]Hand-Crafted Gear [/h3]

We wanted the combat system to be as well-integrated with the other systems of the game as possible. After all, it’s the element that tests the player’s challenge, and other gameplay elements feed into it. Naturally, one of the most important limitations in prison is the ban on possessions, which is why crafting contraband plays such a crucial role. The primary items crafted by prisoners are weapons. Among them, there are various types of weapons in four basic categories: knuckles, shivs, whips, and blunts. Each category has its advantages. For example, whips can pull enemies closer, shivs are faster, allowing for quicker attacks and applying bleed effects, and blunt weapons can deal damage to multiple enemies at once.



Besides weapons, there’s an entire arsenal of armor and other protective gear, as well as countless utility items, ranging from simple tools like ropes or throwing knives, to grenades, pills that enhance prisoners' abilities, and even combat drones.

[h3]Team-Based Brawls[/h3]

Speaking of drones, I have to mention our party members. Among the prisoners (and players!) we have supporters of more natural companions, like rats, but also drones crafted by prisoners at their illegal crafting benches. Both types can be upgraded and equipped with various gear (eg. rat capes or tiny claws for your furry friends). Speaking of upgrade and crafting, spoiler alert : You can also get a Mech Rat !


However, the most important members of the party are the other prisoners. They can make the biggest difference in a fight. Every prisoner has their own set of special strengths and weaknesses. You can discover these to determine which prisoners suit you best depending on the combat.

Of course, none of them will join our side just because we want them to. First, we need to earn their trust and respect. And to do that, it's best to get closer to them and help with their personal issues. Everyone here has a goal, something they want to accomplish.


[h3]Bosses[/h3]

Combat is also a key challenge in the player’s progression. To advance in the gang, the player must not only earn the respect of other members at their level but also defeat a gang member who ranks above them in the hierarchy. It's a test of strength, survival of the fittest. This is where discovering the strengths and weaknesses of other prisoners comes in handy for the second time. Learning these helps us prepare for the fight against a mini-boss, such as prisoners from higher tiers. The enemy doesn’t like being pushed around? Then I’ll take knuckles with Push to the fight. Does the enemy use shivs? I’ll bring extra bandages to prevent bleeding from their knives. Weak lungs? I’ll bring an extra toxic grenade.



Combining all these systems and making the combat simple and fast while still maintaining depth was not an easy task. A key element was the introduction of preparation—discovering the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, assembling the right party, and finally equipping them with the appropriate gear crafted on illegal workbenches.

The prisoners themselves, umm... I mean the players, played a crucial role in shaping how our combat system ultimately turned out. They provided incredibly valuable feedback, helping us refine the elements that mattered most to them and for that, we are super grateful!

Hope you enjoyed this reminder of the prison safety rules regarding engaging with other inmates and illegal activities such as contraband and fighting among prisoners.

Stay tuned for the upcoming news about the game!

See you behind bars!
Wooden Alien Team

Major Update: Space Prison is playable on Steamdeck

Cheers inmates,

Today we can announce that we support Steamdeck version of Space Prison.



We are still actively working on the compatibility and we would love to hear your feedback on this version. You can share it on our Discord or in the Steam discussions, it would help us a lot to make the Steamdeck experience of the game the best possible, thank you inmates!

Have fun behind bars and stay tuned for the upcoming news!

Wooden Alien Team

Dev Journal #7 - RPG mechanics

Hello there inmates,

We are super happy to be part of the Steam Turn-Based RPG Fest with a -20% discount from today until October 7th! Come celebrate this amazing event with tons of game combining both turn-based mechanics and RPG aspects!


To accompany this event, here is our latest devblog where we will dig further into how we gave life to the secluded and dangerous world of an intergalactic prison and characters that shape the narrative of your sentence.

[h3]Creating an atmosphere[/h3]

One of the first things we knew when we began working on Space Prison was that we wanted to give players the fantasy of being locked with quirky alien criminals. The RPG element was sort of implied in this fantasy - meeting the convicts, learning their stories, choosing who to befriend and who to fight.
So we implemented gangs as prison factions, and, within them, a relationship system where you can build relations with every inmate in the prison and a few features that support it: quest system, gifts, encounters etc... Quests are the main way of getting other convicts on your side, but you can also find other ways to do that.



Space prison is a very potent ground for making a unique RPG featuring things that are possible only in this setting. It translates flawlessly into mechanics like prison gangs, gaining convicts’ respect, challenging other inmates for their place in the hierarchy, crafting contraband items etc.

[h3]RPG mechanics: to embody and to socialize[/h3]

The goal of the player character is to escape the prison and to do that they need to survive first and climb up the prison social ladder. In short - join one of the gangs and advance to the top. BUT every player has their own story and their own path through the prison.

To advance you need a certain amount of Respect from your peers. You get the Respect by completing their personal quest storylines. Therefore you choose which convicts to befriend and gain their respect and which ones to fight to advance in the gang hierarchy. And that’s on top of the gang that you choose. So to learn all the inmates and their stories you’d need to play through the game at least 4 times.



Working on the alien criminal characters was one of the most fun processes in making Space Prison. We wanted to make quirky criminals that are tough, but at the same time original and interesting. So each one is really unique with their story, their looks, the way they speak and so on. The setting is so potent in terms of what you can come up with. Here sky even isn’t a limit. So as an example, we have a space pirate with an identity crisis that’s looking for their new crew, an investigative journalist, etc...

All these characters were created by the cooperation between the narrative team, the art team and the design team. Some of their stories reference popular themes or structures like Rocky or Groundhog Day and we have a ton of pop cultural references with subtle winks at all types of geeks. Players should have a lot of fun finding references to their favorite movies, books, comics or games.



[h3]Combat as a prison-themed interaction[/h3]

Designing combat was really fun. We wanted to use this notion that weapons are a contraband, so there’s scarcity of tools to fight with. Gathering resources is a first step of preparing for combat. The second one is crafting - at the beginning you craft makeshift weapons, armors and usable items, but later on when you get your hands on more high-end workbenches you craft real beauties like battle drones that become your party members and exchangeable parts for them.



We also wanted to relay this experience of prison being a closed space, so we made the combat arenas claustrophobic. We used a grid base but limited its space, so positioning in this tight space and using the environment makes it more interesting.

There are two main types of combat in the prison. A regular combat with alien creatures infesting the station and with weaker inmates. And more challenging fights with gang members. These are mini-boss fights that you need to prepare too. Each gang member has their weapons and armors they fight with along with a set of special strengths, weaknesses and statistics. To learn them you need to uncover them by getting information. This is a preparation part of the combat.



Have fun during the event and try not to stir too much fight with other inmates (yes please do). Do not hesitate to leave us a review if you have not done it already or give some suggestions and feedback on the game. We will read them with pleasure!

Stay tuned for more insights and future events to cell-ebrate!

See you behind bars!
Wooden Alien Team

Space Prison Patch Note 1.0.8

Space Prison Patch Note 1.0.8


Hello, inamtes! The staff of this facility is working to make your living a bit more bearable. The W.A.R.D.E.N. told me to tell you about latest changes that has been implemented in the prison.

Thanks a lot to all of you who took their time to write us your feedback, suggestions and report issues in our discussions (https://steamcommunity.com/app/1865930/discussions/). It's thanks to you that we can improve the game further!

If you want to add some feature suggestions or vote on ideas that we already have, look here: https://spaceprison.featureupvote.com/


[h2]FEATURES[/h2]

  • Loading screen instead of just black when loading rooms
  • Gamepad: tooltip elements navigation and selection
  • Gamepad: pick up item smooth transitions
  • Steam Deck: Virtual keyboard on name editing



[h2]FIXES[/h2]

  • Fix: Item Threat from gang's boss
  • Fix: Cell numbers not visible
  • Fix: Combat warning tutorial popup translated
  • Fix: Medical Pod collider & interaction collider
  • Fix gamepad: Selecting party members with gamepad even if they are grayed out (fixing not being able to select further party members)
  • Fix gamepad: Added scroll on combat start party members list
  • Fix gamepad: Double intro slides skip
  • Fix gamepad: Take All button not selected fixed



[h2]IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]

  • Relation traits window readability changes
  • Steam Deck: Font resize, text adjustments
  • Removed resolutions lower than 800x600
  • Adjusted windows for 16/10 ratio



In the meantime, join our active community on discord: https://discord.gg/4THBwxFDyx. Stay tuned to the prison radio.

Wooden Alien Team

Space Prison has a -20% discount from September 23rd until October 7th

[h3]Buy the game 20% off![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1865930/Space_Prison/

Our Supporter Pack is also on sale with a -10% discount.



Survive the galaxy's toughest prison and rise to the top of a space gang! Explore, fight, craft, trade, and learn convicts' stories to escape the facility. Space Prison is a turn-based tactical survival game with deep strategy and social RPG elements.

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