Xeno-Horde Roguelike Dereliction: September 13th progress Update

Hello everyone, this is SALT_. I have another update on the progress of Dereliction. So. I have finally figured out what is going to be actually in the demo.

Here’s a list:

• 4 levels, 2 themes
• Roughly 10 non unique rooms per theme
• 4 enemy types
• 6 weapons, each with an upgraded version
• A few upgrades
• A few items (grenades, keys, stat buffs)
• Current objectives of the demo would be reach the end. Nothing more atm.

It’s got a half solid gameplay loop. There is a bit of stealth and planning. The player needs to get to the exit. There are locked doors that need keycards. The player gets the cards to get to the exit. If they make too much noise or are seen the bugs attack / move to where the sound came from. Otherwise they wander around, slowly filling up the level with enemies.

Later levels require better items. So the player can break open boxes for currency. They can spend this on upgrades for themselves or their weapons.

Difficulty scales with enemy variety and amount. Not extra health. As well as in the future more parts visibly given more armor.

So that’s it, and it’s almost fun! I know I am being a little critical of it, but that’s better than not pushing so hard and saying it’s good enough already.

Filling out the world:

Since I have set a scope of 4 levels 2 themes I can now make sure all of the art, rooms effects etc. Are unique and polished. It isn’t just a matter of getting it working, I’m glad I’m past that. The main area theme, even it’s it’s just derelict rooms and office spaces (see what I did there?) that the player has to move through, they all feel different, yet hard to completely predict or memorize. But also yea, it’s pretty clear keycards are can be on desks and items are in boxes.

I am also able to add some cost effective effects, like the fog. It gives the levels a bit more thickness and weight. A little hard to explain, but it feels better.

Below the main area theme is more of an industrial style theme for storage and fabrication. It’s not complete yet, but it’s going well. Tho some of the textures would prolly give me tetanus.

Things to do:

I eventually need to add in all of the stuff like, a pause menu. A death screen. Main menu stuff. Settings. Oh, and keyboard controls & mapping. Ugh.

The weapons need their upgrades and art for that. As well as balancing them all.

All in all it’s feeling better. Everything is more clear and the goalpost has been set. It’s just a bit of grunt work getting there. I hesitate to set any dates for it to get done, except for as soon as when it’s ready. And it’s a lot of work for me to do, but progress feels fast.

Thank you for reading,

~SALT_