Shardpunk 2 News

[p]It's time for another round of playtests! As usual, let's start with instructions: [/p]

1. [p] Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam[/p]
2. [p] Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section[/p]
3. [p] Press "Join the Playtest" [/p]

[p]You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This new version, along with a bunch of improvements to the combat phase, gives you a glimpse of what’s going on outside of combat.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You start with pre-leveled characters with available skill points. You can spend them in any way you like. Then comes the combat phase, which contains a single mission.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The main goal of this playtest is to get your feedback on the first iteration of the skill system. I have my own thoughts on how it plays so far, but an outside perspective is invaluable - so please consider filling out the survey linked in the game. You can also join our Discord and post the feedback there.[/p][p][/p][p]If all goes well, the next update should arrive in about a month. It will introduce new parts of the game and improve the ones already there.[/p][p]
Looking forward to your feedback!

Take care!
Sławomir “bryqu” Bryk[/p]

[p]Wow - the amount of feedback that I've received after the first playtest went live was huge. When planning my work on the second playtest version, I clearly underestimated the amount of time necessary to dig through all the information. Great stuff, and I thank you all for that![/p][p][/p][p]Also, the great friend of indie game developers, Splattercat himself, posted a vid of his playthrough of the first alpha - how awesome is that?![/p][p][/p][p]The upcoming second alpha will give access to a small set of features related to character leveling, so that you can see and give feedback on the first iteration of the character skills system.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As for combat, there will be some changes to it yet, based on your feedback. I have implemented QoL improvements, like a working side scroll in all directions, or the ability to see enemy movement range. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]There will also be changes to movement/attack ranges: the issue with too little character mobility was raised many times, so I decided to increase the movement range to the one from Shardpunk 1 (which was 4 tiles per action point), and the weapon ranges followed naturally.[/p][p][/p][p]I do know that the playtest does not do a good job on highlighting some of the keyboard shortcuts and UI stuff. I am confident that in the end, a good tutorial/introductory mission will solve this. Right now I've put some of the info under F1. That being said, too many of you did not know about the % to hit preview which worked in the same way as in Shardpunk 1. However, I did switch its default key from Alt to Shift, so it's me to blame. From now on, both Alt and Shift will do the work.[/p][p][/p][p]The combat in second alpha will use the same set of maps, but there will be a new enemy type present. This, combined with the possibility to level up the characters on your own will give more replayability - and more combinations to test.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I am almost ready to release the new version. It will probably go live in the last week of February due to winter holidays I am having in the upcoming week. Man, I do need a break from programming.[/p][p][/p][p]Take care![/p][p]Sławomir "bryqu" Bryk[/p]

First of all many thanks for everyone who has already posted their feedback for the playtests! If you haven't playtested the first alpha yet, go to the game's Steam page - everyone's invited!

This devlog entry will be about the Resolve gameplay mechanics.

In first Shardpunk, characters had HPs and Stress Points. When the stress reached maximum, the character was panicking - meaning that the player would lose control over them for a couple of turns.

One of playable characters was able to gain some benefits (free Action Points) by increasing their Stress Points, making Stress an interesting combat resource. I wanted to reiterate on this idea in the sequel - and that's when Resolve appeared.

Every character has a number or Resolve Points (RPs) at their disposal. There are actions that cost RP - like the "Rush It!" action, available in the playtest.

("Rush it" action was present in the first Shardpunk, but it had a cooldown instead)



When character's RPs drop to zero and the player does nothing about it, a character will panic at the end of the turn:



There are multiple ways to restore RPs. For example, hunkering down:



Scoring critical hits (or multi-kills) can also restore RPs:



Resolve-based skills, combined with the possibility to restore RPs through various actions might be a nice alternative to cooldown-based skills. I'm having a blast with them, that's for sure. I'm not saying that skill cooldown must go away completely though - but a nice combination of both mechanics might work pretty nice.

And just imagine having an enemy that can clear/reduce your WPs in combat! A mass panic generator (or just an interrupter for your WP-based attacks)!

Take care everyone!

[p]Here we go - the first alpha version Shardpunk 2 is available for you to try out!

Instructions:
[/p]

1. [p] Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam[/p]
2. [p] Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section[/p]
3. [p] Press "Join the Playtest" [/p]

[p]You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. [/p][p][/p][p]I will be keeping a slow but steady tempo of content updates for these alphas. My goal is - same as with the first game - to gather feedback as soon as possible. This first version focuses on basics of combat, with all its new features like directional overwatch. It features a single mission.
The game has a survey link - please use it to post your feedback. You can also join our Discord and share your thoughts there.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Take care!
Sławomir “bryqu” Bryk[/p]

Aaaah, 2026 is here! A year in which Shardpunk will have its third anniversary, and a year in which the very first demo of its sequel will be released! Expect the demo to be live in few weeks.

That being said, I want to talk about weapons - and shotguns in particular, as I've decided to test a different approach to how they work. Regular ranged weapons require the player to pick a single target which then gets attacked. Here's how it looks for assault rifles:





In first Shardpunk, shotguns were also single-target weapons. This will change in the sequel: shotguns are short-ranged AOE weapons:



They pack quite a punch, but you need to come really close to make it worth spending the APs. Luckily, there will be ways of adding more Action Points to your characters - but I will talk about it in future devlogs.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the first alpha demo is approaching. I am planning to release frequent demos, gather your feedback and reiterate on it. This approach worked pretty well when developing the first game, so I will stick to it.

I wish you all the best in 2026, and I'm already looking forward to your feedback from the first demo!

Take care!