DEV BITES #04

Dev Bites - Issue Four

Welcome to our issue four of Dev Bites! In this issue, we are going to give everyone a peek at the brand new map section soon to arrive in Sanguivore: Twenty Below as well as several new UI improvements scheduled for the next upcoming update. We also discuss concepts for new game modes planned as well as outlining our intentions for using shards to unlock new characters.

Overview

• Section Three “The Town”.
  
• The Mine Yard
  
• The Mine
  
• The Market
  
• The Substation
  
• Main Menu Redesign.
  
• Game modes
  
• New Character
  

[h2]Section Three “The Town”[/h2]
With Section 1 (the Police Department) and Section 2 (the Houses) already established, we’re well into development on Section 3, a.k.a “The Town”. This next section will expand the world again, with four new escapes to choose from.



We’re really pushing the boundaries with these new escapes. The size of the area means each escape is almost a small zone in itself. Sometimes players may need to explore the wider area for resources and tools, but in many cases players will be able to choose to focus on an area with a view to completing a specific escape.



Section three really switches things up, before the main sanguivore “The Noble” would only interact with players in houses and the Sheriff’s Department. This time, he is free to wander the main areas outside where players must complete their tasks including:

The Mine Yard, the Mine, the Market and the Substation. This time it will not be so easy to evade death.

[h2]The Mine Yard[/h2]
The mines of this desolate Alaskan Town stretch deep into the cold stone of the mountains. Escape may be found through the gloom, but only if survivors can find a way inside. Outside the mine lies The Mine yard, an industrial patch used for transport and storage. Weaving in and out of the machinery is the only way to stay hidden while investigating the best way to open up the mine itself.



Maybe those generators might get things moving again…?



[h2]The Mine[/h2]
The old Mine along with the Mineyard outside are the first objectives to be almost complete. If you can figure out how to get inside, escape awaits down the oppressive passageways. For survivors able to outlast The Noble stalking his prey through the gloom, light is at the end of the tunnel. Maybe those old minecarts might see some action one last time.



Search the fallen miners bodies for parts to complete tasks to escape.



[h2]The Substation[/h2]
This area of level is a little different. It is not an escape in itself, but restoring power to key parts of the town can open up multiple new escape options. As long as you're careful not to touch anything live and can stay out of sight of the Sanguivore, restoring power at the substation might be a smart way to start.



Watch out for new ways The Noble has of getting about.



[h2]The Market[/h2]
The insides of the market are being worked on right now. What we can reveal for now though is players might find the supply door at the back a useful means of escape - if they can get to it. The Noble prowls the isles in here, uninterested in the toppled fruit and scattering frozen goods, but looking for his next meal.



The market will be composed of several main areas, including the shop front, employee offices and backroom storage. Navigating all these areas will be necessary in order to open the way out.



[h2]Rooftop Escape[/h2]
Crawling through claustrophobic mineshafts and unnerving supermarkets might not be everyone’s first choice. Another objective, also now mostly complete, dares survivors to navigate the various town rooftops. Although this solution may help you stay out of trouble with the Noble, finding the necessary equipment to zipline around and access rooftop vents may prove tricky. This escape is well suited to survivors who rely carefully on managing their inventory to have just the right tool for the job.

[h2]Final Escape Option[/h2]
There will be one more escape option added to the The Town section to complete the four total escape objectives. This objective is still being worked on, so we’ll be sharing more information when the time is right.

[h2]Main Menu Redesign[/h2]
We’re planning a small rework to some of the menus, partly to make them extra shiny, but also provide better support for SteamDeck users and players using a gamepad. We are aware that some of the font sizes can be difficult to read on some devices and setups, so we’re taking measures to increase text readability. Take a look below at the latest concept design:



Coming away from the Sheriff lockup scene in the background of the menu, we are opting for a completely image based UI, so it will fit with all the maps and Sanguivores planned.



Reworking how the lobby looks and works has been something planned for a while. With this new update we have added the ability to select the section of map you would like to start with, so if you have already played and completed section one and two (after this update) you will be able to use shards to start at section three or four (when available).

This will also include several new buttons for new game modes in being concepted:-

• ESCAPE: Coop Campaign - Up to four players battle their way through all four sections of a map.
  
• Vs. Coop PvP: Two teams of two players race to see who can escape from a single section first.
  
• Time Trial: Coop speedrun - Can your team beat the top score and time for a single section.
  
• 4v1: Play as the Sanguivore - Coming soon.
  

Also introducing new characters that can be unlocked using your hard earned Shards.



These characters will come with a number of perks and abilities selected from the perk and ability tree available to all characters that can manually be assigned (on release of the perks and ability functionality). Each character will eventually come with customisable outfits (purchased with Shards) and standard outfits for each map released.



What are Shards?
Shards are earned from every game played and are added to a player's Sanguivore account that is automatically created on first play.

Currently Shards have no use in game until the release of the character update, but are still earned from playing.


Work continues with getting Section 3, The Town, into shape. Most of the objectives have been designed and implemented with a few placeholders that need to be developed further. Most of the remaining updates involve level design and layout.

Naturally, we’re going to be doing a lot of testing, performance checks and tweaks in the coming days in preparation for the main release.

We will be working towards turning the Menu UI concept into a workable system for the game, with the ability to select your game character in the game lobby.


Our next update is expected to be a major update including the entirety of Section 3 (The Town). The update will release when it is ready, although as you can hopefully see from the screenshots, development is well in progress.

If possible we will also be working on implementing the new menu UI elements. This comes with the added bonus of making us eligible for being certified for compatibility on SteamDeck, a goal we are aiming to achieve as soon as possible.

Expect to see another Dev Bite before the next update.