Some extra info... news - Apocalyptic

A "World Demo R1" is waiting to be authorized. I'm starting to think that it was probably too early for a download, but can't take it back now... it's basically a stripped down version of the in development project, showing only a small portion of the city. It has no interactive elements, music, sounds etc- the only thing the player can do is wander about with the WASD keys and see the general style of the upcoming game. This version is NOT anywhere near the finished product, and shouldn't really be considered to be part of the "game" (the HUD isn't functional anyway). It also is missing most of the models used in the houses, so they will appear very... blank (textures for other models aren't finished either).

The Concept

Now, with my games I do not follow a strict plan. In fact, with most of them, I simply come up with an idea (Zombie survival, freeform space adventure etc...) and then figure it out as it goes along. This has it's downsides... actually, it mostly has downsides. But it's what works best for me. On the other hand, that means that the concept and direction of Apocalyptic is prone to change... a lot.

Ahem... on to the game. The game will begin with the player at a random spot of what will be a large city (large enough that it takes a considerable time to get from one side to the other). From there, the player must choose a building suitable for his Outpost. Once chosen, the player then places his Headquarters structure (a tent with a few addons) inside. Surviving is obviously a clear goal from then on, but the player must also protect that building and the structures within.

This adds a different angle to the game. The buildings in the game are damaged and tattered, and therefore unlivable within without more structures inside. The game is also divided up into "Days", but these are not defined by time. Rather, at the start of a day, the player is given a full bar of Fatigue, which slowly decreases as the player takes actions. By the time the bar is depleted, the player must return to the Headquarters to rest, and go to the next day where the city is regenerated with new events and the player's health and stamina is restored.

Daily tasks the player must perform include scavenging for wood, constructing barricades with the resources he finds, finding NPCs to recuit to help defend the Outpost, trading with other Factions and battling other Faction's Outposts. The final major part of the game I'll discuss here is the Daily Zombie Attack. Although the undead continually roam about the city during the game, every now again after the player Sleeps, the player will be awakened. The player cannot leave the Outpost, but must defend it from a massive amount of undead as they try to break into the Outpost and destroy the Headquarters. The player before hand needs to build barricades and place defences to succeed against these attacks.

Aaaaaaaaand most of that will probably change. But that's the main direction I'm trying to get Apocalyptic to go in. The only problem I foresee with Construct is the undead AI. A problem I have ALWAYS had with my top down games is AI when multiple enemies are concerned, as Construct seems incapable of telling between multiple instances of the same object and often they will ignore certain events. As crazy as it may sound, I'm leaving the AI till last so I have a nearly whole game to give me a reason to fix it without giving up...