Hey. So, I've been working on Soldier Of recently, and I'm pretty happy with where it's going. I wish I had a devlog video this time around, but it'll have to wait a bit. I've been working on a lot of things, mainly polishing the game, adding items and maps, and working on the music for the game.
One new thing I've added are ammo containers.
Ammo containers increase the capacity of your ammo for each of your weapons by 10% (right now). They'll be scattered around the landscape, much like Health Containers, and will count to a global amount. Collecting them will be required to get a 100% clear rate for the game. Getting that might net you a cool secret in the end, so be sure to really explore the game world when you get a chance.
I've also added a couple of maps to the destroyed theater. I think I could use to add some more rubble-like objects to help convey just how much the city's been destroyed. Also, I want to implement some dangerous platforming to the game - perhaps running along pipes over a bottomless pit. One that actually kills you this time, of course. ;)
I think I mentioned this before, but didn't actually show them - buttons are now working.
In the picture, Simon is standing in front of a button. They're switches like cranks, but don't require you to sit and fire at them, which is good for puzzles where you need to be somewhere else on the map while a block is moving. Simply hit them once to activate them, and hit them again to deactivate them.
Something else that I wanted to mention is that while I'm using group instances for block placement, and they have identical core code, I can change the values on a per-block basis, which should make for very interesting puzzles. Don't expect all blocks to act the same. :)
So, I've been thinking about how to release this game - how it would best be put out there. Releasing the game via incremental updates like MineCraft would be nice, but I think that it would stagger the story too much. I wouldn't be able to develop the story every update, and the game might become a bit stale to people. Maybe it wouldn't - I need some feedback on the idea.
I currently think a good method would be to release the game episodically - every so often, I would (hopefully) release an update to the game that would add a new episode to it. This could be provided free of charge, as well - I'm not sure if people should have to pay for additional content. It would also make it easier for me, since I would only have to update a single game with bugfixes. However, the price of the game might go up a couple of bucks for each major update that I make (i.e. $5 before a new episode, $6 after it), so be sure to grab your copy early! What do you think?
I am thinking about implementing multiplayer into the game, but it's looking pretty complex, and the game's already established to work in single-player mode, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to implement anything like that after all. I need to do a little more research into how online features could be added.
Anyway, I've made some more background music tracks for the game. They're still WIP, but I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. First up is Aqueduct 2, and then Furnace. Both songs are based off of the original Aqueduct theme, with similar instruments and chords. You'll really feel the fire on you with Furnace's style more tense style, and Aqueduct 2 will really chill you with it's slower, more lonely pace. Of course, if you don't want to hear either and be surprised by the music when the game comes out, feel free to skip listening to them. :)
Oh, yeah, and I hope the next demo release will a bit more cross-platform than the first one - I'll see what I can do about that. ;) If you want to keep up on updates to the game, feel free to follow me on Twitter or at my homepage at SolarLune Games.
Anyway, that's all of the updates for now. Thanks a lot for reading, listening, and watching, and thank you for your constructive feedback in the past few months. I really appreciate those who are fans of this one-man game effort.
~ SolarLune
Awesome to see things coming along so quickly, and I love both pieces of music, the second one especially.
Keep up the awesome work my friend. ^__^
Thanks a lot!
Woa, really really nice :D Wasn't expecting a progress blog today.
Thanks, and keep it up ^^
No problem - I'll try to keep it up.
Looks really good, I don't think multiplayer would work In this game as an rpg especially if you wish to add in puzzles. I think as this game is very story driven It would not be wise to make monthly updates but to release it fully. Good work, nice music.
Really? Maybe I'll hold back on the multiplayer, then. It's a pretty complex subject, and I'm not sure if I'm up to the task of implementing it into an already-developed game.
Also, I didn't say monthly, but rather regular updates, so I would release an update once a new episode was finished, for example. TellTale Games comes to mind as a developer / studio that does this with their games.