This video showcases some of the map art I've been working on for the past week or so. It's zoomed in quite a bit, so it doesn't spoil too much. But it should give you an idea for the type of city map that will be provided in-game.
I hope you like pixel art!
The trailer starts with the in-game skyline view of Detroit Mega City (DMC), and transitions to the overhead map view. The map pans west-to-east, starting with the sprawl outside the city. It continues over the walls, and covers some of the dense city blocks, power plant, and arcology. Ground traffic follows major streets, and some hover vehicles criss-cross the sky.
The music featured in the teaser is one of the newer pieces composed by Josh Culler. I think he's doing a great job of capturing the atmosphere of a futuristic city.
The map is a bit short on detail in some regions, but I'm going to leave it as-is for now, and start working on the individual location encounters within the city. Today, I was able to hook up some buttons on this map to trigger encounters, and started putting together some diner info.
It'll take a while to get the city filled with even a meager amount of stuff to do, but maybe it'll be enough to get at least a few services up and running, and release that as a new build. Then fill in more over time. Building a city is a pretty big task, it turns out!
Hope you enjoy the short video!
Holy ****, guys. 'scuse the language, but: This, is pretty much more than I could hope for with this game. Now, getting the DMC.... That'll probably never happen for me, as I seem to die MILES from the bright light, but hey.
Few questions: Will you be making the city in the hexagonal style of the main map, or are you going to switch up the gameplay drastically if you get to DMC? I don't keep up with anything other than Desura, so I don't know if that is common knowledge or not.
Another question I have is: How will you handle choice within the city? Is it pretty much going to be a REALIZE WHAT HAPPENS, THE END sort of deal, or are you going to greatly expand the game when you get there and have some sort of end game to it where you have to transition to daily life again? Okay, probably won't get an answer for that, but I'll try anyhow.
And lastly, and just as hopeful as the last question is, any hints you can provide in the storyline once you get there? Just a tiny little piece of information? Such as, does Detroit let you in, or do you have to sneak in? Is there some sort of oppressive regime (SkyCorp, I believe is the name you hear of the mercenary police?) in Detroit? How much influence will you have over your fate once you get to Detroit? That's sort of 4 questions in one, but, can't blame a guy for fishing for information on one of his most played games recently, right?
Good work on it, even if I still can't seem to recover from the most basic of wounds, or avoid them, ha. Definitely will be playing this one for years to come, well after release.
Thanks SpaceGoat2000! The DMC is meant to sort of be an early goal for the player, and a staging area for further exploration of the wilderness. It's a place to get a warm meal, maybe rent a bed for the night, or to patch up wounds, and head back "out there" to find more answers.
I've flirted with the idea of letting the player have an optional ending in the DMC, returning to a "normal" life. I haven't found a satisfying way to handle that yet, though. Otherwise, the DMC is more of a mid-game experience, and getting inside is up to the player (there are ways to get in).
The city will be presented in a special overhead map, without hexes. The teaser video shows a section of that map, and the player will be able to click destinations to visit them, kicking off encounters (e.g. the diner, the medicenter, etc.).
The player will be limited to a small area of the city, most likely, just because it takes forever to fill an area with content :)
Overall, I'm excited to add the city, and I'm glad to hear you guys are looking forward to it too. Hopefully, I haven't oversold it in the video, though!
That sounds fantastic. I actually made a character, and was like, 'Screw it. Just going to walk straight to the light, Metabolism, Tracking, Medic, Strong it up, no negatives. Go.', and managed to get there by hiding my tracks... Which made the game completely different for me... Even if I did still get tore up by a Dogman a few days after, haha. Up until then I sort of had resigned to make a base at the Cyrolab and survive as long as possible, which wasn't long at all.
Overall, I'm dammed excited by what you said. It'll make getting to Detroit really feel like an accomplishment and a relief, after you manage to get in at least. Have you considered a sort of, become croney for DMC main faction and eventually try to earn a place within their society/get a normal life back type of thing? If it was hard enough, it'd definitely be a satisfying ending to know you live your days out in peace after the hell you went through.
Anyhow, I don't want to be ridiculous about how much I type here. Thanks a ton for the response. As I said, I play this game almost more than any other right now (Which is remarkable, given all the AAA titles I still haven't touched), so the game clearly has hit a nerve with me. I probably play three games a day of it, and I've yet to get even remotely bored by it, so that's a good sign.
Again, thanks!
The first thing to try in the demo of the game was closer to the light and not being able, as I could buy the game just out of curiosity to see the civilization in the game, I could not really get in and if they could not in that version and that although the game is wonderful I have a big problem, language, my English is not very good and translate texts like the man who gives me the pass virtually impossible.
After congratulations and thank you for this great game I throw my question: will fit the possibility of future translations? because apart from improving my experience with it, give me the ability to share the game with several friends who would be completely willing to buy it, but only if it was in Spanish.
Hey LordVater,
Thanks for your feedback!
I would like to make translations available in the future, so that is a possibility. For now, the text is still being written, and it changes frequently. So I am waiting for the text to become more stable/finished before I investigate translation.
The big city is not finished yet, so the gates are closed right now. I apologize for the confusion. However, I am currently working on some locations for the city, so I hope it can be accessible soon.
Thanks again for your suggestion, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the game so far!
Looks intense. FEELS INTENSE.