Containcorp News

Originally posted by Friday

Hey Readers!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Forensic Friday has been dormant because development has been exhausting, and honestly, writing these blogs on a Friday has been the last thing on my mind. The longer I put it off, the harder it became to catch up—so here we are. Instead of covering every change in the past two months (because there are too many), I want to focus on one major shift: The Great Rebranding.

[h3]Why Are We Rebranding?[/h3]
During Steam Next Fest, we realized that the game was struggling with first impressions. People kept comparing it to Rimworld and Prison Architect, sometimes even assuming it was a Rimworld mod or a clone. That wasn’t the reaction we wanted. While we originally thought the familiar art style would be a plus, it has actually worked against us.

Beyond that, as our game’s identity evolved into a corporate science dystopia with absurd anomalies, the art style we started with no longer fit. The game needed to look like the experience we were trying to create. To fix this, we’re making three major changes:

• The Art Style – Moving to a “Corporate Memphis” aesthetic with flat colors and a grungy pencil texture, ditching Rimworld-style borders and shading.
  
• The UI – A complete overhaul to distance ourselves from Rimworld and create a unique, distinct interface.
  
• The Storytellers – Storytellers, as they exist now, are too tied to Rimworld. Instead of removing them entirely, we’re reworking them as Administrators who influence contracts and unique events rather than direct story generation.
  

[h3]Finding Our Identity[/h3]
This is bigger than just an art overhaul—it’s about defining Containcorp as its own thing. We’re also changing terminology:

• Architect Mode → Build Mode
  
• Grants → Contracts
  
• Storytellers → Administrators
  
• Story Events → Incidents
  
• Raids → Invasions
  

Even the branding is changing to move away from Rimworld-like associations. We’ve removed the storytellers from our marketing, refocusing on the game’s absurdist corporatism and anomalies.

[h3]Injecting New Influences[/h3]
Instead of just Rimworld and Prison Architect, we’re drawing from Severance, SCP, Loki’s TVA, Dune, WALL-E, and more. For gameplay, we’re taking inspiration from Resident Evil, Half-Life’s Black Mesa, Portal’s Aperture Science, and Evil Genius.


Ultimately, this is about making Containcorp stand on its own. We don’t want it to be “like Rimworld” or “a Prison Architect mod”—we want people to recognize it as Containcorp...

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Originally posted by Friday

Welcome to the 78th Forensic Friday! This week was mostly about fixing bugs (a lot of them!), but we’ve got some cool updates too. We’ve been revamping our Steam page and making some big changes to our storytellers.

We’ve updated our storyteller lineup, scrapping Machiavellian Morgan and Arcane Aurelia (no magic in the game yet, oops). Now, meet Natural Natasha and Hasty Hayden! Natasha’s all about balance, providing a mix of challenge and breathing room. Hayden? He speeds things up, pushing you into fast-paced action.

We also gave Serene Sophia a new personality, making her the “chill” storyteller for those who just want to build in peace. Oh, and Raging Ragnar finally got his sprite, showing his silent internal rage.

We’ve cleaned up our Steam page, showcasing the actual features and cutting anything too far out of reach for now. We’ve got fresh screenshots, and we’ve reworded things to avoid the whole “AI” buzz (our storytellers aren’t powered by ChatGPT, promise!).

We’re diving into Kickstarter soon—honestly, we’re figuring it out as we go! Expect rewards like early access or getting your name in the credits. We’re also working on a trailer (cinematic and gameplay-focused) but want to optimise performance first.

I’ve been drowning in bugs this week—fixed 50 already! But we’re getting there. Once I’m done, it’s closed alpha testing time, then public alpha testing. Exciting times!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Lots to look forward to as we head towards Kickstarter and a potential release!
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Originally posted by 6zQRySEvPNE;full

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Welcome to Forensic Friday 77! This time, I've put most of the content into a short video where I showcase some of the sound design work we've been doing for the game. We've added tons of new content, and things are looking great! Containcorp is feature complete for pre-alpha, and now we’re just polishing and optimizing. A bit more work, and it'll be good to go.

In the game, we’ve added two new events: the monthly financial report and the facility director’s death. The financial report is pretty straightforward, but the director’s death? Well, it’s game over if you don't choose a successor. There’s also a new graves feature where characters can be buried, but unless you're a perfect player, you probably won’t need it… unless something weird happens. 👀

The land generation has improved too! We've added caves and mountains, making the terrain more interesting, and stone from mountains is a great building resource, though it's ugly. Plus, there are minor tweaks like experiments showing results for some added humor.

In terms of content, we've really fleshed out S-0033, our first anomaly. The Medusa Helmet, which helps defend against anomalies that require a line of sight, and Reversed Engineered Concrete, which has some risks you’ll have to discover, are new additions. There’s also a fun new tool—the Debarreller—that helps fill containment cells with tar.

On top of all this, we've introduced two new science types: psychology and engineering. There are even some aesthetic changes like chairs, anomaly reticles, and tutorial improvements (we’ve got 62 tutorials now!).

Things are really coming together, and I’ve been enjoying playing the game myself. We’ve revamped our website, YouTube, and even have a press kit now, so things are feeling official.

That’s all for now, but I can’t wait to share more soon!
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Originally posted by Friday

In this update, we've made significant progress across various aspects of the game. We’ve finalized all the gameplay stories, bringing the game much closer to a fully playable state. Our research system has been revamped to focus more on anomalies, adding more depth with different research types. Researchers will now give unique suggestions based on their experience, making each playthrough feel fresh.

We've also given offices a functional purpose, where NPCs like researchers and doctors can carry out tasks such as writing reports and conducting research. We’ve added new lab objects like particle accelerators and gene sequencers to enhance research specialization and gameplay.

Beyond that, we’ve tackled several small improvements, such as fixing bed sprite issues and implementing a career menu for NPCs. NPC productivity is now influenced by their surroundings, and we’ve added security levels to respond to containment breaches, with lights turning red during emergencies to heighten the atmosphere.

Our fire system has been overhauled, making fire spread more realistically, heating up tiles and igniting objects nearby. NPCs now react more intelligently to fires. Combat mechanics were also redesigned, improving both group and small-scale fights. New weapons have been added, including gas-powered SMGs, sniper rifles, and pistols. While large-scale battles are promising, balancing survivability is still a work in progress.

On the technical side, we developed a custom 3D line algorithm to solve issues with bullets passing through walls. This new algorithm makes projectile interactions more accurate. We’ve also polished visual and sound effects for ordnance, adding more immersion to combat. The OSTF, our security faction, now has custom outfits with gas masks and vests, which will be crucial once gas mechanics are reintroduced.

We’re excited to announce that the game is now fully savable and loadable, a major milestone that took 50 hours of intense coding to achieve. The construction system has also been revamped, allowing objects to require multiple resources, which balances the economy and enriches gameplay.

We’ve added over 50 new dynamic storyteller events, ranging from sinkholes to staff strikes and research breakthroughs, all designed to add complexity and surprise to the game. Finally, we’ve implemented three game over conditions: nuclear failure, employee deaths, and bankruptcy, increasing the stakes for players!

Exciting stuff!
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Originally posted by Friday

Hey everyone!

We’re making great strides as we approach our pre-alpha build deadline on September 13. The game is starting to feel more like a game with each update, despite the usual bugs and time crunches.

Development Highlights:

Vertical Building: We’ve added ladders to help with multi-floor construction, which has simplified the process significantly.
[h3]Timetables: [/h3]
We’ve revamped the timetable system to three predefined schedule groups for different worker categories, which should be much easier to manage.
Hiring System: Our new hiring mechanic is a gamble. You can reroll candidates for a higher cost each time, adding a fun strategic layer.
[h3]New Regions:[/h3]
Recreation Region: NPCs now socialize using Utility AI. They’ll soon use new social items like sofas and vending machines.
Reception Region: We’re implementing a system where staff interact with reception to manage their ID cards, streamlining their daily check-ins.
[h3]Gameplay Enhancements:[/h3]
Category C Onboarding: We’ve simplified the onboarding process for Category C, reducing it to one region and making things more efficient.
Anomaly Management: We’ve introduced a new menu for managing anomalies, complete with warnings to prevent accidental releases.
Grants System: Grants now encourage players to explore different game features by offering financial rewards and logistical challenges.
Experiment Handling: We’ve revamped how experiments are handled with new methodologies that affect outcomes based on your choices.
[h3]Additional Features:[/h3]
Case Files: We’ve developed “Casedown,” a markup language for anomaly case files that lets us display them in-game efficiently.
Experiment Dynamics: We’ve shifted from random failure chances to event chances, making experiments more interactive and influenced by player decisions.

We’re almost at the finish line for pre-alpha, and it’s thrilling to see everything coming together. Thanks for following along, and I hope you enjoy the new updates!

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