NET.CRAWL News

All the changes below have been previously mentioned in the PLAYTEST patches.
There are no DEMO-specific changes, so if you are a playtest frog there is nothing new for you here.

[h2][0.8.0] - 20.10.2025 DEMO [/h2]
[h3]Added[/h3]
- Sisyph(core): consumes Data to move up, moves down at the EOT;
- Deep starts with 1 Crystal (that means you can buy 2nd Aspect right away);
- new "Heartworks" location;
- (core) replaces Split-5 as the final boss in the Demo;
- level setup animation speed-up (on any click);

[h3]Changed[/h3]
- map vision range +1 (test);
- Add Link location: Crystal options changed to 3 Link for 2 Crystals;
- Add Memory location: Crystal options changed to 3 Memory for 1 Crystal;
- Amber(core): Loses 3 Strength on reveal, accepts Data for Upload;
- Persefone(core): Changed to upload/refresh X nodes per Data uploaded;
- Plotter(core): Activation changed to Upload and move X times same direction per Data uploaded;
- Linda(core): added Convert all Data into callbacks at the end of turn;
- Cassandra(core): Spend 3 Data changed to Upload X Data;
- Equilibrum(core): Activation changed to "Spend 4 Data to set Trace, Firewall and Actions to 4";
- Fast-forward(node): changed to Express, move in the same direction once;
- Evesdrop(node): Express added;
- Data Leak(node): changed back to [End of Turn]: Collect 1/2 Data. Express added to both versions.
- MeercatDB(node): disabled for a rework;
- System Update(node): End the turn and Set Firewall to 0 removed, Limit added;
- Eraser+(node): Multiuse(2) added;
- Police report(node): Limit, Singleton base, Singleton only plus version;
- chkdsk(aspect): "this turn" removed;
- PLC(aspect): Changed to [Link Overflow X]: Gain X Actions and add X Trace;
- Edgerunner(aspect): Move only to active.
- restart button moved from the pause menu to the main screen (top right);

[h3]Removed[/h3]
- MeercatDB(node): disabled for a rework;
- Sunk Cost(aspect): temporarily disabled;
- Camera flash(node): disabled for another rework;

[h3]Fixed[/h3]
- Tesseract+(node): Multiuse didn't work;
- some issues with tooltips not hiding;
- dimmed express icon on some nodes after refresh;
- selection markers chained targets;

Playtest and demo builds are more than 90% identical, so reopening the playtest for the public isn't a huge deal. There are around 25 more nodes/cores/aspects in the playtest all with placeholder art. But it’s an important milestone because it marks a shift from demo-polishing and bugfixing back to actual design work.



The game is in decent shape right now. We’ve had more people playing lately (thanks to the Tiny Teams festival and a video by Indie Game Clinic). The play stats have noticeably improved, and I’ve finally reached a point where I'm comfortable stopping worrying about the demo.

That, of course, means I can start worrying about other things - like game balance and structure.

On the balance side, the game has become a bit too easy. Don’t get me wrong - it’s still very hard for new players because they lack game knowledge and can’t see the good lines well enough. But I had won the deep run with some absolute random BS-builds. I’ve even seen new players reach the final boss on their very first attempt without restarting too much. That doesn't seem right.

On the "structure" side, the game hasn’t really changed over the past 9 or so months. We still only have the deep run as the main game, with a single final boss. That’s enough for the demo, but it won’t be enough for people who are going to pay for the game. More importantly, the game doesn't give you a reason to play once you've completed the deep run a couple times. So far, I've been mostly focused on making the game wider. Now it's time to start making it deeper (okay, the time to make it deeper hasn't just come, it's always been there, but you get the idea).

The playtest reopening also coincides with me and my son moving to another city for his school. That should result in more "free" time than I’ve had in two years. I also might run out of savings by the end of the year - which is also motivating, although not in a pleasant way.

Anyway, to cut this short, here’s what you can expect from the playtest build in September:

• At least 15 new Cores (I have a shortlist of 20, but some are tricky to implement);
  
• A 2nd Deep Run (basic);
  
• Hard Mode;
  
• Scripts (non-consumable items that require Data to activate);
  
• More nodes and relics for good measure.
  

Anyway, that's the plan for now.
If you are somehow still here then you're most likely someone who might help us a lot by joining the playtest. You'd be surprised to learn how often the smallest comments lead to actual changes in the game.

PS: To join the playtest press "Join the Playtest" button on the store page.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this demo update was brought to you by Yogcast Games - organizers of the Tiny Teams festival. Without it, I'd still be stuck in the playtest branch making silly Cores that maybe seven people on Earth understand. Instead, we spent nearly a month polishing the demo, and Alex (being an artist he is) drew us the new capsule art:



On top of Tiny Teams, we got into Debut Festival by gamedev.ist - which, by strange coincidence, started the exact same day. You might think this doesn't matter much, but having two festivals coinciding gave us that perfect deadline pressure, which (in moderation) can be wonderfully motivational.

Anyway, huge thanks to all Steam festival organizers, big and small. For obscure indies at the bottom of Steam's food chain, these events are genuine rays of hope. And you need a lot of hope when working through "80% effort for 20% progress" stretch.

There are so many small changes that might not even seem necessary. But they occasionally look nice and that's something.



[h3]Status Effects[/h3]

Instead of bulk-showing all status effects on the edge of the screen, we now group them next to their respective stats. It’s easier to see them here, and since the game lacks a preview system, good visual cues are critical.



I should mention I’m not a fan of "status effect stacking" strategies (much like I dislike keyword soup in CCGs). Ideally, players would never see more than 5 different status effects on screen. That’s the design goal, at least.

That said, we need to start using status effects more to remind players of Core actions/special rules.

[h3]Dynamic Cursor[/h3]

The cursor change has been in the project for a month, but now Alex has cast his magic on them, and you can actually see the icons. It’s a nice little feature, that despite being small managed to introduce all sorts of pesky bugs. Just the way we like it.



More seriously, it works well, and I think it would be especially helpful for the new players.

[h3]Challenges[/h3]
Under the hood, you can now launch Challenges - custom runs with unique setups. I plan to use these as a refuge for content that plays well but can’t be a part of the full game. There are 3 very rough challenges available through the console.
To launch a challenge open the console by pressing ` and start typing

run.start_ch

and it should fill up the prompt with options.

• Lockpicker is a challenge where each level is a Codegates breaking level.
  
• Jetpack is a regular run with Jetpack as a starting aspect (lets you move to any node more than 2 spaces away)
  
• AllRandom is a regular run where each Data and System node is randomly generated, so there are no deck-building whatsoever.
  

[h3]Tutorial Rework[/h3]

This is barely interesting to anyone, but I removed the ATM level from the tutorial. The problem was that people associated Trace and Corrosion too much. Thematically, it’s not a bad connection—Corrosion is the reason Trace exists—but gameplay-wise, players need to focus on Trace. That’s hard when there are three spiky things on the board next to you.

Until yesterday, I thought this was the last tutorial rework we’d make. But after playtesting, Alex suggested explaining Reboot earlier by moving Maxwell to the 4th tutorial level (and potentially cutting Inverter entirely). As much as I don’t want to do it, it’s a reasonable change. I'd probably wait until the week is over to do it, though. And we might need another basic node that gives callbacks on activation to replace Address Book ([Exhaust] trigger won't work well in the absence of Inverter).



[h3]Playtest and Early Access[/h3]

Other than above-mentioned tutorial change I don't plan to spend much more time perfecting the demo build. So if you are reading this and can see yourself playing for more than 2 hours then you should consider joining us in the Playtest (which I'm going to reopen just in a few days after the peak from the festivals goes down but dm me on Discord if you want to get in now).

I think we are reasonably close to getting to a stage where the game would be an ok Early Access purchase. For me personally, the milestone here would be a system that would allow players to make 2 consequent runs without any Core played twice. With a single final bossб we are obviously not there yet. But we're pretty close.

FULL CHANGLEOG (v 0.7.10):

## [0.7.10] - 07.08.2025
###Added
- new Prologue TestRun selection window;
- new cursors;
- run Victory music;
- new animations for the level start and reboot;
- Morning Call(aspect) (Remote reach anywhere on the 1st activation);
- challenges (work in progress, available through the console only, press ` to open the console then type run.start_ch);
- new Signal Beacon interlude level on Stage 11 (refresh Beacons to gain permanent Link);
- new icons and placements for status effects;

###Changed
- TestRun-1 rework (ATM level removed);
- Nullifier(core) rework. Exhaust only the activated node;
- Chip (core) now loses strength when Cookies node gets transformed;
- chkdsk (aspect) changed to: "[After Move]: If moved over an exhausted node 2 times in a row this turn - reboot."
- Codegate(node) rework. Protected removed, "Lose X Link" added to [Exhaust]/[Transform] triggers;
- Eavesdrop(node) Signleton added. Data gain increased to 3/4;
- Self-Diagnostics(node) rework. Counter removed, refreshes adjacent nodes on activation (plus version restores Link per node refreshed);
- Inspirational Quote(node) changed to "Refresh up to 2 random adjacent nodes, then collect X Data (X = number of nodes refreshed)."
- Security Patch (node) Express changed to "[If Trace>0]: Express";
- Master Key(node). Base version Express and Limit added;
- Flash (node): changed to hide only active, then reveal all (up to 2/3 away). (Also disabled in Demo because it still sucks).;
- Tapped line (aspect) reworked. "Whenever you gain Callbacks - drop that much Trace. Whenever you spend Callbacks - add that much Trace."
- Stuck Button(node) changed to "Reboot 2/3 times";
- System Update(node) Express added (+ force Complete turn on the base version).
- Stack Overflow (aspect) changed to: "[Data Overflow X]: Drop X Trace and lose X Callbacks.";
- Freemium(node) changed: (60 cred, -3 Link) to (50 cred, -2 Link);
- Network password(node) rework. (Singleton. Restore 2/3 Link. No data gain);
- Code Optimization+, Call to Action+ and Overclocking+ all changed to base + Multiuse(2);
- Flash (node) reworked. (hide adjacent, reveal up to 2/3 away);
- starting credits increased to 50;
- item shop prices lowered to 25;

###Removed
- Voice recognition(aspect) temporarily disabled;

###Fixed
- Secret Dossier+(node) fix;
- Lighthouse+, Fire Extinguisher+ and Wire Burn+ bugs;
- Ayrton(core) no longer restores check points upon death;
- Moving into a hidden node (with Compass) will now reveal the node for a brief moment;
- something something sound compression;

[h2]Intro[/h2]
Before we begin, look at this poor quality gif of the main menu:



See those tiny particles flying up? The "up" part is important. When we first tried to implement this in our single-camera setup. they weren't flying up. And that eventually made us spend 20+ hours on a dozen camera related tasks, The worst part? All that work is completely invisible. There's no reason to tell you this. I just needed to tell someone, and you're here. Thanks for listening.

Oh, and you can now zoom the map in/out a little. Useless, but nice.



[h3]Level generation[/h3]

Another invisible rework: level generation. Nothing in the demo showcases this yet, but this gif explains what we can do now:



There's a Core in the playtest that pushes green nodes to edges and it's pretty fun. I don't want to overuse this feature, though. There's a moral gray area in manipulating randomness. For example, Fast Forward (move 2 same direction) would benefit from never spawning in corners. But it's hard to justify adding this into a tooltip, and hiding such tricks from players feels unfair.

[h3]Exit with Express[/h3]



This is all around a pleasant change that I should've made a long time ago but I was too in love with Free Rider and Homesick. I've played 2 runs with the new version, and running away on 0-Actions by using Callbacks or moving over Corrosion makes you feel like Indiana Jones, no less.

[h3]TestRun-3[/h3]

The difficulty jump from TestRun-2 to Deep Run is too big. TestRun-3 should soften the 2nd-hour experience because, let's be honest, losing in the game isn't fun. New players can easily screw themselves in Deep Run by ignoring early Trace reduction or walking into Nullifier with Refresh synergy.

We need to clarify that TestRuns aren't tutorials. They're real, content-restricted runs with some replayability to them. The open question: do we need TestRun-4? Probably, but all TestRuns need improvements to feel worthwhile. I was thinking about injecting lore pieces or coming up with a narrative arc to justify their (TestRun's) linearity. Not sure.

Anyway, the plan now is to keep all the TestRuns up in the demo as a prologue that you won't have to play in the full game if you feel you're hardcore enough. For "normal" people it should be good 3-5 intro hours that will expose the most basic ~33% of the game. I think we'll be able to add enough content to justify the purchase of the full game, so it shouldn't be a problem.


[h3]New content[/h3]



We didn't focus much on new content in May. The demo already has more than most players need, so it's hard to prioritize. But we still have gaps—like this basic Data Node I realized was missing just days ago:



I'm sure there are more "staple" nodes we haven't "printed" yet. That's an uncomfortable thought.

Overall, it doesn't make sense to make new nodes when we're still missing core features. One example is an Aspect Matrix for the 2nd Deep Run that removes already-used aspects:



[h3]Roadmap[/h3]

We still aren't in a position to make concrete plans. The game's shaping up well, but marketing performance is bad. The Steam indie market is oversaturated, and NET.CRAWL fits poorly:

Deck-builder fans say it's too puzzly.

Puzzle fans say it's too RNG.

Cyberpunk lovers say it's too whimsical.

Hardcore tile-officionados say it's too casual.

Everyone agrees it requires too much brainpower.

It's tough. Overall, it seems we won't be able to skip Early Access. Soon, we'll shift focus from demo/FTUE to delivering enough value for EA buyers—more content and logical arcs for a sense of completeness.

But EA needs marketing too. We can't release into nothingness. That would be too awkward to explain to my wife. So, as much as I'd love to make Cores all day, we need to do other things—like figuring out the new trailer. Or better, two trailers. And then find people who'd watch them!

Speaking of which,

It's Monday, but it's the first day of #TurnBasedThursday fest which will feature NET.CRAWL among some ~400 other games. The festival is packed with amazing games and I'm very grateful that NET.CRAWL was included.
It even motivated Alex to draw the new capsule art.



The most fun thing for me about this art is that Alex seems to be very unsatisfied with the way it turned out. It must be really hard to be an artist! I think it's gorgeous.

[h3]Outro[/h3]

Anyway. thank you for reading. If you haven't reviewed the demo yet - please do.
I wish I could tell you more about EA-release plans and whatnot, but it's all very messy. All I know is that we still have a lot of work to do, and even we do all the production work it still might not be enough because there are marketing and business sides to all this.

I'm hopeful, though.

Denis
ObsoleteOne

[h2] [0.7.9] - 01-June-2025[/h2]
[h3]Added[/h3]
- TestRun-3;
- Express added to the Exit(node);
- camera zoom in/out with the mouse wheel;
- Network password (data node): ([Activation]: Add 1 Data and restore 1 Link)
- misc (new nodes, new segments, new art, new sounds);

[h3]Changed[/h3]
- Ayrton strength lowered to 4;
- Escape pod buff: drop 6 -> drop 9;
- Data recovery reworked into "Express, Singleton, [Activation]: Refresh adjacent data nodes"

[h3]Removed[/h3]
- Homesick and Escapist (aspects). Homesick will most likely get a rework;
- Camera flash (aspect);
- turn limit from TestRun-2;

[h3]Fixed[/h3]
- Citadel End of Turn drop visual bug;
- Tapped line (aspect) callback gain when Link changed;