Articles - Twisted Science

This update is mainly a graphics update, the entire update kept me away from gameplay development the last two weeks as I found myself head deep in shader development ( with the help of a very good shader developer known as havenphillip ).

The player will find a new Tv Channel Guide upon entering the game. From there the player may choose from many channels to tune into to. Each channel will carry it's own set of missions and adventures to undertake. Not all channels will be available to the player upon starting a fresh game. Most channels will unlock as the player travels deeper into the game. Some channels can only be unlocked by completing certain achievements.

The game will take the player on a wild ride, where he must capture or eradicate 100 mad scientists. These scientists are scattered throughout the world and the world is accessible via channels you tune into.

This alpha update started out as an addition to the weapons arsenal but took on a life of it's own. I'll briefly describe the new systems implemented.

• Powers ups
• Item pickups
• Buffs and de-buffs
• Supply crates
• New player action bar
• New player equipment: 'Breathing apparatus'
• New mode kill mode: 'Fallout Storm' ( explained below )
• New alt-weapon: Grenade
• Additional demolition conditions
• New way to kill your enemy ( fallout exposure )
• and more !

Fallout Storms

Let me start with Fallout Storms, every map is divided into 2x2 square feet tiles. Every square inch of the map is monitored for damage the environment takes through gameplay. Be it bombs, blowing up cars, destroying buildings or simply tossing a grenade at an enemy. Everything in the game that does damage either by you or by the invaders is accounted for. Once an area suffers 'x' amount of damage a fallout storm in that area occurs ( think of it as nuclear winter storms ). These storms are not permanent but while they are in effect they can be devasting.

When the player is in a Fallout Storm zone he will take on a Radioactive debuff, this buff will cause damage to the player over time. The debuff is not permanent. Likewise, any invader crossing into a Fallout Storm zone will take on the same debuff. The player has the advantage though! Purchasing a breathing apparatus from the city trader will allow you to move about freely inside a Fallout Storm without taking on the debuff. Your enemies don't have this privilege.

Action bar

Also in this update we have our Action Bar in place, when looting items from crates, or invaders the collected item will appear in your action bar. You can use the mouse scroll wheel or Alt key to highlight an action bar item and make it active for use. If you run out of slots to collect more items the collected item will be converted into cash. NOTE: You may also spend upgrade points to expand the amount of slots your action bar can hold.

Buffs and De-buffs

Throughout gameplay many different player buffs will popup. These buffs are always positive towards the player. An icon representing the buff type will appear to the far right of the screen, as well as a count down timer showing how much time the buff has left. Example of a buff would be 'heal over time', this particular buff will heal the player's health bar 1% every 1 second. You'll find many many types of buffs as you play through the campaign, some looted, some purchased and some appear by completing a certain task on the mission.

Debuffs act the same as buffs except for one major difference, de-buffs are negative towards the player. Debuffs could include such things as 'slow down movement', 'damage over time', 'lesser reaction time' etc.. Debuffs are also displayed by an icon to the far left.

Powerups and Pickups

Pickups are items you'll find throughout gameplay. Either in crates, boxes, or off invaders you kill. Pickups will appear in your Action bar when collected. Pickups do not carry over to the next map so use them while you have them!

Powerups act a lot like Buffs, but they are not registered to the buff bar instead they run silently as you play.

Conclusion

This article really just touches the major systems that have gone in this update, there's tons of minor systems and other things that went in to make these systems work as well. You'll have to discover them on your own!

Next Update : Bosses and Boss AI behaviors!

Steps to perform an electrocution:

1. Obtain the city-breaker box key* can be found in the random crates scattered throughout the city.
2. Train the 'Use City-Breaker Box' skill from the upgrade system [U].
3. Blow up some water mains so you have a good water current flowing through the city.
4. Knock down some Utility poles that are connected to power lines.
5. Return to the City Breaker box and turn on the power.
6. Watch your enemies dissolve into ashy dust!

Electrocution goes both ways ! Stepping on a live power line or a water puddle that's interacting with
a live power line will cause damage to you just as it does your enemies.

To rectify this, you can purchase rubber boots from the city trader or the surplus store ( prior to map selection )
Using the rubber boots will prevent you from being electrocuted.

More about this game at homepage - www.alienhead.dev

Included in this test are:

• Utility pole system, connected powerlines, live current to each transponder.
• Main city breaker box, each map will have a breaker to turn power on/off
• Water interaction with downed - live power lines.
• Player damage via electrocution
• Enemy damage via electrocution ( this makes for a whole new game alone ).
• Total city annihilation, buildings, streets, cars, EVERYTHING is destroyable!

The name is yet to be decided but for now I'm going with the call-sign 'Twisted Science', whereas others are referring to it as 'Twisted State', so if you see either of those names in my upcoming articles then you will know it's the same game.

The game revolves around a group of scientist experimenting on stuff they probably shouldn't be touching. The outcome; a plague of weird creatures being born and ravishing the cities around the world. A handful of activists formed a group to fight back, this is where you come in.

That's it for this week, next week I start working on upgrades, powerups and win/lose scenarios.

I had originally planned to release a HUGE announcement today regarding new features but I have decided to keep it under-wraps until I've had time to tidy up everything. As I mention earlier, I'm really taking my time with every aspect of this game.

I won't leave you empty handed though, I'll toss an easter egg out.

City wide demolition components make it to live code. I have nearly completed demolition code for every aspect of the city, including buildings, sidewalks, roads, mailboxes ... you name it - if it's on the map then it's destroyable. While the goal of the game is not to destroy the city, but rather protect it - this makes for some interesting scenarios. I have implemented a damage meter, the more damage, collateral or not, will ring up the bill. While it's easy enough to pick up a box of grenades and toss them at incoming aliens, you may want to think twice where your tossing them. Everything in the city has a hitpoint counter, and the more damage these objects take the closer they become to destructing.

With this new damage feature implemented - new doors have opened up as far as gameplay is concerned. Scenarios where you might need to destroy a city or perhaps a certain amount of damage allowed to a city before the scenario fails.. I'll get into that later as the game further develops.

The next blog will feature a 2 min video of me destroying a city, just for a stress test. :)

Stay tuned! I'm just getting cranked up. :)