Oblivion Override News

With Oblivion Override getting closer to Early Access, we’ve been able to cover in our previous dev blogs many elements of the game such as weapons, level design, and in-game progression. Today, we’d like to talk about something players are likely most interested in – playable content.

Creating a content-rich game with high replayability has always been our goal, as this directly affects whether or not the game is worth buying.

While the combination of repetitive stat boosts and asset-recycling NG+ may be fairly common for many Early Access releases, we don’t believe that this is in the best interest of players and can hardly justify it ourselves. Therefore, our team has put a lot of effort in enhancing the replayability of Oblivion Override:

• Every enhanced enemy comes with redesigned attack patterns, animations, visuals, and attributes, etc.
  
• Additional weapon traits for hardcore players to further explore and expand on gameplay.
  

[h2]Alert Levels[/h2]
The Alert Levels in Oblivion Override can be interpreted as the difficulty slider in the context of NG+. At the end of the first playthrough, players can bring back a mysterious NPC from the Dulce Base capable of helping them unlock the Alert Control panel at the Dulce Base teleporter. By manually adjusting the Alert Level, enemies in the world would evolve and challenge players to greater extents.



This form of difficulty evolution goes beyond simple numerical adjustments; as the Alert Level increases, corresponding Medals are generated which introduce additional benefits such as new NPC interactions, resource drops, and further upgrades to your shelter, etc. These will make the experience much more rewarding as players take on higher levels of challenge.



[h2]Enemy Evolution
[/h2]
“The enemies in Oblivion Override are more than just lifeless machines. They will evolve on their own in the face of danger and threats.”
Even the weakest repair bots will start to carry larger wrenches in numbers to block incoming attacks as threat level increases.



In NG+, these enemies undergo more than just a change in appearance or increased attributes. They possess faster movement methods, larger bodies, and even brand new, more threatening attack styles. Everything will feel familiar, but everything will be different.

[h2]Enhancement Medals and New NPC Events[/h2]
When you reach certain Alert Levels, corresponding enhancement medals will be activated to boost your reputation within the base. This will in turn unlock more meaningful NPC interactions beyond just dialogue and storyline. These interactions could even stand on their own as new objectives and quests during NG+, as we hope for subsequent playthroughs to offer more than just a repetitive experience, but also an opportunity for players to uncover additional narratives and storylines along the way.



At the end of the day, we just want the NG+ of Oblivion Override to bring to the table something different and worth the challenge. It’s certainly not the easiest thing in the world to try and stand out from the abundance of roguelike games out there, but the effort is well worth it. We plan to continue making improvements to NG+ and adding new content to the game after Early Access. And if you’ve got any cool ideas or suggestions, feel free to join our Discord and hit us up. We’d love to hear from you!

The above shows off some of the cool things that you’d be able to pull off with Nanites - if spent wisely! While we’ve mentioned many times before that Oblivion Override aims to offer a raw and exciting action game experience, we did also put a lot of energy into designing the roguelike elements of the game. So today, we’d like to shed some light on the inner workings of the elaborate evolution system, which serves as the vehicle for progression in Oblivion Override.

[h3]Compound Evolution[/h3]
As you eliminate enemies in the game, you'll earn Nanites, a valuable currency for acquiring Evolution skills. Think of these skills as uninheritable power-ups, akin to the mechanics found in many roguelike games. However, in Oblivion Override, there's no need to search for designated rooms to obtain these abilities. You have the freedom to access the evolution menu whenever you desire, granting you unparalleled flexibility.


*The evolution menu

[h3]1 + 1 > 2?[/h3]

As depicted in the screenshot above, each skill is accompanied by an icon on the right, indicating its designated category known as the Speciality. This introduces the most important aspect of our evolution system: the accumulation of skills within the same Speciality grants you exclusive bonuses. These bonuses offer enhanced upgrades to your build, and the more skills you gather within a Speciality, the more potent the bonus becomes. Therefore, prioritizing skills from a compatible Speciality that aligns with your play style becomes paramount for a successful run.


*Specialties would light up as you stack more skills


*Cause more pain with the leveled-up spike core

[h3]Choices, Choices, Choices…[/h3]
There will be a total of 13 distinctive Specialities available in the Early Access version of Oblivion Override. Each offers bonuses that would benefit you in different ways. It's crucial to experiment with various Specialities so you can find one or few that resonate with your play style or chosen weaponry.


*Some available Specialities and bonuses

The majority of the Specialities will be inaccessible in the beginning, as they need to be unlocked through diligent exploration of the stages and triumphant encounters against certain enemies. Once unlocked, an entire suite of skills within the Speciality will grace your evolution menu, enabling you to venture forth with expanded horizons and forge a character of unparalleled creativity during your runs!


*Crimson acquiring a new Speciality from our BFF - the Electric Erich

[h3]And More…[/h3]
By mixing skills from different Specialities, you'll have a chance to be met with Integration Skills. These skills pack a powerful punch by combining the strengths of the two Specialities you're working on.


*What an Integration Skill could look like

For all you adventurous souls who bravely ventured into our Steam Next Fest demo back in February, you might find these tidbits quite familiar. But now, let's dive into the updates and changes we've made to the evolution system that you can expect to see in the upcoming Early Access!

[h3]Changes to the Evolution system[/h3]
We've taken it a step further by adding enhanced versions of every skill found in the 13 Specialities mentioned earlier, including the Integration Skills. This means you'll have even more options as you delve deeper into the game, and no more wasted Nanites when your evolution slots are full early on. There's always going to be something exciting for you to discover!

An enhanced skill will show up as an upgraded version of the skill you've already equipped. These enhanced variants generally provide a more potent effect without introducing any new functionalities. For instance, if you had a skill that increased your maximum health by 20%, the enhanced version might elevate it to a formidable 30%. It's all about fine-tuning and maximizing the power of your abilities as you progress through the game.


*Take Surging Belligerence for example, the enhanced variant gets a 15% stat boost compared to the original



Allow us to delve deeper into why we added these enhanced skills. The intention is to provide players with more options that inspire interesting decision-making during the latter stages of the game. These options serve as avenues for refining your build, enabling you to adapt to the ever-evolving challenges and enemies as you venture deeper into the fray. By embracing these enhancements, you can fine-tune your approach and thrive amidst the ever-shifting landscape of combat.

We are super excited to see the different builds you come up with once Oblivion Override enters Early Access on June 14th! Your creativity knows no bounds, and we can't wait to witness the imaginative combinations you concoct. Stay tuned and please continue sharing your feedback with us!

It’s been a hot minute since we first announced Oblivion Override last September, and during this time we’ve gone through 3 rounds of testing, plus a public demo during the Steam Next Fest in February - thank you all again for your feedback and suggestions!

The game has now undergone some pretty substantial changes to the point where it’s quite different from the early prototypes. For example, we’ve basically completely redesigned the movesets and traits for over 23 weapons, as well as adding enhanced variants to every enemy unit…

We mentioned in the April update that development for Oblivion Override had entered the final stretch, and now with great pleasure, we’re confirming that the game will be released on 6/14 into Early Access!

We get it - nobody wants another one of those boring, rushed-out-the-door games, right? But hey, delaying things isn't exactly our style either 😉

To help you better visualize some of the changes, we even made a new trailer to showcase them:

[previewyoutube][Trailer][/previewyoutube]
We welcome all questions and feedback - join our Discord and let us know your thoughts!



We’re 100% aware that Oblivion Override still has a long way to go before it can even compare with the games that y’all know and love, so over the next 3 weeks, we’ll continue putting out dev blogs to share more about the game. Stay tuned!

• Dev Blog #5 | Discussing Maps of Oblivion Override - Theme Design, Level Gameplay, and New Map "Spoilers"
  https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1952370/view/5264189392004778243
• Dev Blog #4 | Weapons in Oblivion Override Vol. 2 - New Weapon Design and Energy Mechanics
  https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1952370/view/5388035836607888766
• Dev Blog #3 | Weapons in Oblivion Override Vol. 1 - Weapon Preview, Redesign, and Recast System
  https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1952370/view/3681168325286579000
• Dev Blog #2 | Oblivion Override Dev Progress - Next Fest Content, Weapons, and Evolution Features
  https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1952370/view/3648514058651466961
• Dev Blog #1 | First Gameplay Reveal and Initial Design Concepts from Our Team
  https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1952370/view/6926004339894588765

Hello again adventurers!

So far, we've given you glimpses into the diverse weapon selection in Oblivion Override, and there's so much more we'd like to share! While combat is the heart and soul of this action side-scroller, we believe and value that creating an immersive and thoughtful level design is just as important. In this dev blog, we will be diving into some of the initial thoughts and ideas behind the maps and levels. We’ll also share a sneak peek of the undisclosed 3rd level.

While each level in Oblivion Override is designed with an independent philosophy in mind, we try to keep the narrative cohesive during development so that all levels align well with the overarching theme - the AI takeover of the post-apocalyptic wasteland.



[h2]Abandoned Factory[/h2]

As our first map, the Abandoned Factory serves as a deep dive into the radical technological background of our game's world and the negative impacts that come with it - presented in a captivating diesel-punk visual style. The level is characterized by massive and rumbling machines powered by electricity and fuel, abandoned manufacturing stations, and empty, desolate workshops. Together, they create a palpable sense of decay and desolation, reinforced by a consistent color palette of sandy yellows and scattered metallic debris throughout the level.



The conflict between mechanical oppression and rebellion is embodied in the setting of War Factory, which includes the design of both the background elements and the enemies.



[h2]Mutant Greenhouse[/h2]



The greenhouse map is densely filled with shuttle pipe designs inspired by Metroid, which are intended to create a sense of crisis and enclosed escape, reminiscent of a laboratory or sewer style. Throughout the scene, the extensive proliferation of vegetation can be seen, with various animal skulls and bizarre plants soaking in the incomplete biological vessels, and walls adorned with a variety of biohazard labels.



To enhance the sense of biological invasion, we incorporated a ‘biological parasitism’ element into the throwing-type robots - their heads are covered with a cluster of twisted mushrooms. Enemies with headlamps metal pipes were also influenced by the accident-prone sewer setting.



[h2]Tie-in with Gameplay[/h2]

Like many side-scrolling action games, we inevitably had to draw inspirations from the classic Castlevania series in many ways. However, Oblivion Override is more of an action game: apart from the exploration, we also added mandatory arena fights that are familiar to action game players.



In addition to the essential teleporters, the exploration also retains the classic setup of secret areas, waiting to reward adventurous players with a potential core, a great fortune, or even catch them off guard with deadly monsters lurking in the shadows.



That’s not to say we didn’t want to present something unique, which is why we designed the abandoned factory with spacious platforms and towering walls, allowing adventurers to exploit their movement capabilities such as wall running and dashing. On the other hand, the cramped and narrow terrain of the mutant greenhouse limits mobility, replacing high walls and stairs with winding pipes that force players to traverse between different areas.



We also incorporated some traps into the game in line with the style of each map to enrich gameplay and also difficulty. In the abandoned factory, players must jump and dash around the electrified contraptions scattered throughout the level like a parkour expert. And in the second map, the traps would evolve into spikes that protrude from carnivorous plants on the walls, which require much more accurate maneuvering skills around these narrow spaces.



More than just obstacles, these traps also offer interesting opportunities. For example, players can knock enemies onto electric traps and spikes for an instant kill, or take advantage of the indiscriminate delayed attacks from carnivorous plants to add strategic depth to intense combat.



Action game players might be already familiar with the mandatory arena fights. In addition to conventional enemy types, we also added a wide range of different enemy types to provide a differentiated combat experience through randomly generated terrains and traps.



Certain levels may restrict the room for players to move around while requiring them to dodge bombs dropped from all directions in a limited time. Others generate moving lasers that challenge the player's both combat and evasion skills. Furthermore, some rooms feature many bidirectional pipes, through which ranged enemies can escape and disrupt players’ attack flow.



Oblivion Override is still a roguelike game, so we hope to provide a unique experience for players through the randomly generated levels. By taking clever advantage of the different terrains and available mechanics in combat, players can strategize and enjoy the game in different ways.

[h2]A Little Spoilers[/h2]

Finally, as promised, let’s have a sneak peak at the 3rd level once you get past the Mutant Greenhouse - the Data Center. This might be the most futuristic representation of the AI sci-fi theme, with octopus-shaped robots, brain-computer interfaces in the background, and artistic designs reminiscent of neural circuit boards.



Of course, we also put a lot of effort into designing the arenas. In addition to the motherboard-like background, the layout of the entire arena changes after each wave of enemies. We use retractable mechanical walls, data stream platforms, and movable laser traps to create dynamic and challenging levels that are constantly evolving.



That's all for the map and level design of this dev blog! For more info, discussions, and latest updates on Oblivion Override, join our official Discord!

Recent development progress for Oblivion Override has been consistent, and with each passing day, we’re getting more excited and anxious about the full release! But not to get ahead of ourselves, because there’s something that we want to discuss, which is the next community challenge!

We ran the Boss Rush challenge along with the public demo and received over 30 submissions!
We were very impressed by the level of creativity and skill with the different weapons and build combos. Case in point:

Here’s @connor_amon dominating Electric Erich with the Cerulean Spear after hours of practice:


Then @OblivionOEnjoy survived the whole fight with only his charged punches:


Our personal favorite was @pandaguins’s sweet, sweet execution with the Sawpop:


What would you like for the next Oblivion Override community challenge to be? And would it be as exciting as the imminent release of the game? Do keep in mind that what you saw from the demo was far from the full experience, as there are other bosses that would surely challenge you in different ways… Potential is limitless within the parameters. And if we like your idea, we might just challenge everyone to do it!

Since Boss Rush, we’ve been making changes based on your feedback while also developing new content and gameplay mechanics for the next challenge to spark joy in your circuits! We’ll have more details to share soon so stay tuned, but make sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Join our official Discord:
https://discord.gg/49C4wSYDph