Vindictive Drive 2 News

tl;dr: Made the game more friendly for new players, killed bugs and added some polish to the stealth mission mode as well as death voice clips. Downside is, nothing was added in terms of expansion to gameplay, sorry about that, I will give you a very generous playable content expansion next update.

[h3]Changes:[/h3]

• Game feel: Added sound effects, transitions and made the current stealth missions more intuitive and easier to get into as a new player. The helper drone moves around much better now. Added a Death Screen with options to make it feel smooth instead of just warping you into action again.
  
• Learning: Simplified tutorial, only four screens, you can also now skip it. I was scared players would get severely stuck without it, but with the current system plaeyers can sort of learn on the go.
  
• Programming: Reprogrammed the whole system for the stealth missions to make it better, easier to develop and less prone to bugs, this erased some of the old movement bugs as well, this will make game development much faster. This also reduced lag and updates will come more often.
  
• Arris Fern's voice clips: I included voice interactions from Arris reacting to her death while in the Death Screen, they are funny to make and I like them, for now there are only 11, but I wanna add lots more with every update.
  

[h3]Here's the transparent image used for this update, it's an Arris update so it had to be her:[/h3]


[h3]Coming next! Possibly very soon![/h3]

Here's great news, what I did this couple days in terms of polishing the engine, will allow me to give you faster updates, next one will contain:

• Maidbots: Zyrenette and Taikavoran.
  
• Enemies: Undetermined new number of enemies/bosses, as many as I can.
  
• Map update: NE Zone, Natural Reserve into Beluga Lake.
  

Thank you very much for playing! I'm really excited to hear your feedback, remember I take your comments seriously and will change the game into a better direction, tell me the good and the bad, I'll work on it, promise.

-Bal

Also by the way, in case you're curious, that voice is mine, very modified, I wanna have VA join the project in the future, but I'll need to be careful with costs, I'll keep you updated.

If you have suggestions for Voice Actors, let me know, I wanna find the perfect fits.

Thank you very much for supporting VD2! This has been an exciting first 24 hours of Early Access, there's so much to talk about.

[h3]Here's some of my thoughts on the feedback I received so far, from Steam, Twitter and Discord.[/h3]

I really want to expand the city, add Maidbots and continue with the story, but there are some things that need fixing first. Mostly the stealth parts of the game are in need of some polish, I'm going to tackle those issues before I move onto next patch, so here's the order I will do:

What needs to be done before adding more content:

• General improvements to stealth-mission areas.
  
• Improvements to sound and control.
  
• Bug fixes
  

Content coming after that:

• City expansion(NE Zone: Natural Reserve into Beluga Lake)
  
• Maidbots: #7 Zyrenette and #8 Taikavoran, both playable
  
• Maidbots: #9 Ophelia and #10 Amaranth(Preview only, will be unlocked after specific future story events)
  
• Story: Chapter 3 with new stealth mission, Hong rescue
  
• Auriga: Two new characters will be added to the bridge, one of them will let you change your Battle Frame
  

Overall, I am aware that the part people enjoy the most is the Maidbots and boss hunting, but that starts in Chapter 1 after the prologue, game needs to be enjoyable for the whole duration of it, I'll work hard on fixing the issues you brought to my attention.

Your feedback is necessary and will be used to change the game in the direction you all prefer. Feel free to talk to me and tell me what you think:

General development thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2641420/discussions/0/3879348064930130347/

My Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/boukensha_bal

My Discord:
bal_dev

Thank you for reading! Here's the card for the newest Maidbot to be added soon, #8 Taikavoran! The volcano snail.

Today is a big day, Vindictive Drive 2 is finally live on Steam!
About the game:
In this game players will be able to take on two game modes, either progress in the story with stealth missions or explore the city in an action shooter mode with lots of enemies and enormous machine bosses to hunt down with the help of your loyal Maidbot.

Hunting down bosses rewards the player with materials useful to build new powerful Maidbots to collect and fill the archive, some of which will be a necessary asset for the challenges ahead.

Graphic Novel:
The story itself follows Arris' quest for redemption as a fugitive for a crime she did not commit, she now finds herself in the receiving end of revenge, being hunted by a grieving cop who lost her girlfriend in the tragic beginning of a dark story in the merciless depths of a devastated New Noir City, all of its story told in Graphic Novel format.

Changes and development:
Those who played the game during the Alpha stage will notice some changes and improvements that I made after hearing their feedback. Now there are some quality of life changes such as hints which are accessed through the inventory, prompts added to key features, and balancing adjustments during progression, the city map was also extended, there are more areas to explore now. Make sure to visit the Maidbot Archive to read more about your favourite Maidbot.


I'm a solo developer and it's an important time for me as this game hits Early Access stage. I will update the game regularly, updates will happen anywhere from one to three weeks depending on the features that are most wanted or needed.
Always let me know what you think about the experience. I will take all your feedback in consideration to build the game into a better direction.

There is a special launch discount of 10% off full price of the game, but it only lasts for one week from release so don't miss out!

Hello Steam! In this post I will share with you a lot of details about the direction of the project, what you can expect and more.

[h2]The plan:[/h2]
I intend to publish updates every 2-3 weeks, I am working on this solo, and I dedicate 6 to 8 hours a day to game development, except saturdays, I still dedicate some time to it on saturdays though.

I want the game to have 10 story chapters, and 100 Maidbots, I also want to expand the city with enough enemies to produce materials to craft all of them, that means, a much bigger city.
Judging by my progress during the Alpha stage I think I am capable of delivering as planned, if this were to change, I promise to keep you updated and be transparent about it.

[h2]Lorebook:[/h2]
Halfway in development, depending on how steady things are, I wanna make a large lorebook with characters, terms, everything, it'll be free.

[h2]Coming next regarding development:[/h2]
In order to make progress in the story and add more stealth missions, the city needs to be bigger, events in the city are tied to the plot, so, the first updates will be more city areas and Maidbots.
If you are already familiar with the game, to put it simple, before I move onto chapter 3, I need to expand the Biokernel Infected zone, add variety to the city design, a natural reserve behind Freija HQ, and Beluga Lake.

[h2]Uncertain: Voice Acting and original song[/h2]
I'll be direct, those are two things I really want to have, but it'll all depend on the money I make.

[h2]What I need the most:[/h2]
Feedback, do you like or dislike something? What is the direction you would like the project to take? How to improve it? Any suggestions or ideas?
Information is the most important asset for me, really, whatever you have to say is important, the whole point of Early Access is moving the game into the direction players want.

Thank you for your support!