Dereliction December update: I need your feedback (is it fun yet?)

Hello everyone this is SALT_ I am updating now on the progress of the Dereliction demo. It is going well, as far as I can tell. I feel that the progress I am making is solid, and at a quick pace. I am 90% filling in the missing bits I hadn’t gotten around to till now, and the rest is fixing existing errors.

  Artwork:

I’ll be honest and say I’m still learning all the tools for the art. There are so many channels I need to ensure are not only created correctly, but set up in engine correctly.

I have gone over I would say 60% of all the existing art I’ve created and made certain their metal channels, roughness, normals, etc were decent. And yes I found some glaring issues and just general placeholder art. Which was fine at the time, but at this point I felt it best to polish everything up. I really like the results so far.

I’ve also been researching lighting theory and have taken time to fix up the light placements, brightness, falloff, etc. Results are better, but I have more to do.

Weapons:

I added two new weapons so far. And I need to add a dozen more. Eventually. I am glad that the level system for the weapons adds an extra layer of player choice and weapon variety. However it doesn’t feel like a Roguelike yet. Fortunately all weapons are competent and personally enjoyable to find / use, so it hasn’t been more of an issue than just me being bored of the same weapons.

I’ve also been tinkering with the melee. The saw is louder, narrower hit, and more damage than the kick. Blocking will negate 99% health damage vs 100% (to actually make health stations useful) and just generally more fluid for the players combos and ways they can interact with everything.

Additions:

I created and added some much needed cabinets to the game. Currently they are only for the first area (art theme wise) but I’m sure I will get the others done soon. The cabinets create a half random amount of mostly useful items for the player.

I’ve added more item boxes. Not necessarily just different art but a different style too. The first one is kinda like a briefcase and only give credits. So I guess the player will know what to expect. I’ve made it very obvious with particle effects and Im happy with the result. I will be creating grenade only boxes I think. Similar reasons for different results.

That’s about all that comes to mind that’s new, but I’m sure I’m missing a few additions. Oh well.

Now, I really need some help!

So I need some feedback. I need critiques. Ideas. Anything. I’m obviously terrible at getting the word out that the game is in development. Or knowing if the game is fun or not. I am too close to the project and I just want to know. Maybe it’s boring, too hard, too easy, ugly, runs poorly. I can and will fix those. And, if some REALLY needs fixing, I will REALLY fix it!

I’ve spent this year trying to hold onto my original ideas for the game, and add in everything that is needed for that goal. The process has honestly been brutal. I purposely try not to think about how nearly every day this year was spent working. And I don’t even know if the game is good yet or not.

I will know when the festival happens. I would like to know before tho. It’s a plan for the worst hope for the best type of scenario. And everyone runs faster scared. Maybe that’s why I’m writing all this at 3am.  Thank you for reading. Please check out the latest Demo, and please please let me know how it went. I would sincerely appreciate it! Cheer,

~SALT_