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Post news Report RSS Development Diary #3: News and progress!

Third part of my Development Diary series for Year Zero.

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Hello everyone, this is the third part of dev diaries. It's not too long ago when I just wrote one, but lots of things have happened since and I found it useful to inform what has been going on lately.

Progress:

• I've managed to progress neatly. The library level is only missing a hint of detailing and scripts later on, and the start map is now 100% complete.

• Storyline development is finally going well. I have the plot already thought of, and I have good plans how to make the story.

• Development of three new maps is about to begin within a few days.

News / Ideas for the future

• Perhaps the most noteworthy thing so far: upside down crosses added as a gameplay element. These crosses differ from the wooden crosses seen in few of the images of the mod by a degree - these crosses will be more scarce and instead of being just a prop, they're an important part of the story. So far, I have planned to include four different crosses to the mod, with each having their own benefits and roles. A picture of the crosses is provided within the images section.

1) Blue cross

• Important elements for the story itself. Interacting with one such will either trigger a flashback, give you a hint of the past or focus on the current happenings of the castle. These crosses are easiest to find and as they're as important as they are, you will not be missing them and hence you won't miss any of the story. Their presence is also hinted with a flashing blue light.

2) Yellow cross

• Rare sight in normal circumstances - this yellow prop will give you a little powerup when found and interacted with. They also have the ability to adapt to the current situation - i.e if the player is injured, you might receive a health powerup. It might also give you items, or other marginal increases in the performance of the player. The powerup will be random with the exception of health ones.

3) Black cross

Incredibly rare - these crosses will never be found without very careful exploring. These will never be visible straight to the eye - in fact, it's totally opposite. To find these crosses, you will need to think outside the box and attempt to reach areas perhaps not even meant to access.

These crosses are similar to Yellow ones, but their power is far superior to them. The powerup will be very beneficial, and I only plan to implement five of these crosses to the mod.

4) Red cross

Well following the theme of red being a colour of the devil - the red cross in an indicator of danger. It might not always mean a threatening entity however - it might also refer to environmental threats. To conclude - when you see a red cross, something bad might be happening soon. However, at times, the red cross will only be there for distraction and will not always mean a risk. Also, some of the red crosses indicate danger which can be avoided, depending on the player's actions.


• I've decided to give map detailing and lighting far more time than I've given within the last mods of mine. My plans for Year Zero is to detail every area richly. Quite a few areas I've made in Conquest of Life have been lacking details but this time, that will be different.

• New collectible: Quincey Mansion lore books. Quincey Mansion was supposed to be the setting of Conquest of Life. I thought it would be a good way to show some love to the cancelled mod. There will be a fixed amount of books to find, dependent on the map amount - all books will go through some sort of a subject related to the mansion. For example, one book will be about the mansion's history, and other about the pandemic occurring at the time etc.

Achievements - though relatively scarce. A majority of them will be regarding things such as finding the aforementioned crosses, other easter eggs or similar.

This is everything so far. Make sure to write down any question or comment which might be interesting regarding the mod.

~Shyrtexx~

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astroghost
astroghost

This really sounds like its gonna be a hell of a mod! I always love when a mod developer adds something special and super original to their mod that nobody else has done, so I'm really excited about the use of the crosses! Can't wait to see more :)

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