SpaceWreck: postapoc space RPG inspired by Fallout

Continuing on the topic...

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If you are drunk when talking to an NPC, you get an additional dialog option - an insult.

While usually, this will close any future conversations with the person, it grants you a temporary confidence boost in form of a bonus of 5 maxHP. While it may not sound much, remember, some characters start off with 9 maxHP, so it's not nothing.

Why did we add this?
1) Look what you are saying - if you are drunk, your impulse control is lower and you may accidentally piss some people off. This is essentially it.
2) Sometimes you just want to say something insulting to another person. Because it's funny, because you can or because you hate the guy - does not matter.
3) This +5 maxHP mechanic might work well with certain character builds adding to the overall diversity.

P.S.
Of course, you have to be confident and not ugly to even get to a point where you spit out your insult.
 
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There are a lot of mechanics in Space Wreck but you don't have to use or even learn about them to enjoy the game. That's why there isn't really a tutorial for that. But I still wanted to at least give a hint to players what kind of options they have.

Because our loading screen was not doing much, I added a roster of Did you know… type of hints like many other games do. However, every tip has a nice, short clip (GIF) associated - over the years I've created quite a selection. I think this is subtle enough and sort of entertains you while the game is loading.
 
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Basically, with high FOCUS, your character can smell the bullshit from afar.

Lie detection is now automatic. And, yes, it sometimes opens new options to confront the NPC.

Context: previously detection was manual but it did not fare well in the testing, so we changed it.
 
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NPCs don't take it kindly if you barge in with a gun in your hand.

Be careful when meeting new people in Space Wreck - to show your friendly intentions better holster your gun, otherwise, they get all tense. Additionally, if you try to talk to someone while holding a gun in their face, you'll get a situation-appropriate reaction and options to say.

Also, note the "shoot" option. If you succeed in a FOCUS roll, you deliver a fatal shot from point-blank range. While that is an effective way to get rid of one NPC, you, of course, will become a faction enemy if there are witnesses.
 
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Once again we have reworked our UI, this time changing the layout so that all on-screen interface elements are grouped around the screen slate. This way all you need is in one place.

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If you step out in the vacuum of the space, your helmet's visor slowly fogs up.

This helps to identify change of the environment - which is important, considering that outside you need a space suit or you'll take damage. And, also, I feel it adds a bit of immersion. I have glasses and live in country with cold winters and the fogging up can be a real pain in the ass.
 
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Disabling security in Space Wreck is not just an ON/OFF option. After you pass the initial scitec check, you can

  • disable the bots right away
  • turn the robot friendly with an additional scitec
  • take over cambot directly with additional tools (Soldering iron) and component (R/C controller) and succesful tinker skill check

Each of these options has its own nuanced benefits. For example, if you disable the bot, you can scavenge it for parts. If you turn it friendly, it will attack your enemies. If you take them over directly, the bot actually is "neutral" and that allows you to scout an area ahead without engaging in direct combat.
 
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Thanks for noting the Linux version - I will add it to Steam eventually as well, just wanted to "soft-launch" it on itch.io first, there are fewer people and hence smaller impact if I screw up.
 
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In Space Wreck you get experience ONLY for completing todos (quests). That means combat is not a source of XP.

Quite often in RPGs, it is disproportionally lucrative to murder anything that moves, because it grants XP and thus makes your character more powerful. Sometimes it even prompts some meta-gaming. We wanted to avoid that and, also, escape associated XP inflation. No matter if your character is Rambo or Gandhi (non-Civ version), you'll have the same XP potential. (Well, sort of. Depending on your WORK attribute, your XP rate can vary very strongly - from 80% to almost 200%. But that's a different story.)
 
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Space Wreck is a non-linear game. It is short but full of content.

This star map shows some (but not all) of your decisions that form your unique story.

Note: this is still WIP.

TL;DR

We often have a problem with the game's length - people keep asking how long is the game and the honest answer is - it's short. We are speaking about 5 hours to complete the story. However, that does not mean that there are only 5 hours of content in the game, because it's non-linear, with self-excluding paths and very fringe subplots available only in certain cases.
To mitigate this, we created this star map which should better convey the real situation.

Few comments - the stars on the map are arguably more important plot (or subplot) points, many of them are the "ending slides". If they are small, it means this plot point has not yet been "explored", basically, not yet unlocked. Bigger stars - you have unlocked this story point at some time - it tracks this across playthroughs. And the line ("trek") is formed connecting the current save game's decisions.

This is a work in progress and currently represents, at best, 30% of the whole game.
 
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I wish I could ask money for it right now :D but we are still testing/debugging it.

Who knew non-linear almost-immersive-sim-rpg is a pain to debug?
 
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1.1.96 Starmap update

Decision map, character marks, weapon holster and many other changes.
While working on the full version of the game, many more minor and bigger improvements have piled up and will be released to the demo version in this major update. That includes:

  • Star map with your story decisions mapped out and visualized.
  • The new level-up system with positive/negative character marks.
  • UI adjustments - notifications, new inventory/looting interface layout.
  • New starting preset for "combat" char.
  • Holster/unholster weapon button to avoid weird hostile reactions.
  • Updated also some demo quests with additional options, particularly Finn Alley's arc.
  • Obstacle highlighting while targeting or zero-G leaping.
  • NPC behaviours in combat and as companions.

Here is the news post on Steam (with pictures!):
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1063540/view/3180116240854404477
 
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Junk items can be a useful distraction. Handy, if you want to lure unsuspecting NPCs to a more favourable position.

This is a small mechanic but it 1) makes `junk` items more useful; 2) gives you tools to manipulate character positions.

This, along with location design - small sandbox hub worlds with absolute freedom to explore, functional items - poisonable bottles, floor cutting tools etc., and many ways to approach the objective, multi-layered story structure - have been inspired by Hitman games.
 
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A new addition to the arsenal: a crowd-control weapon, shockgun. While it deals less damage per hit and uses unpopular ammo, it's a blast when you have a tightly packed group of enemies...

Also, on a side note, you are not the only one that can zero-G-kick people around...
 
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Meet the qtank - a small and deceivingly cute armoured drone on magnetic tracks.

Allegedly the company wanted a friendly security bot because the cambots - deadly metal spiders - were understandably freaking out a lot of people. Hence the name.
Still, don't let the cute looks fool you - qtank does pack a punch. In fact, the drone is equipped with a variation of Horsestopper gun which is specifically designed to knock the target off its feet upon hit.

Of course, engineer characters can obtain this weapon from the wreckage of a downed bot but it is not designed for humans, so there are skill penalties if you decide to use it.
 
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The game is out on EA for a while now and today we released our biggest update yet.

The biggest thing in it: based on the feedback from players, we introduce additional 5 manual save slots.

Originally game had just the autosave as to encourage "roll with the failure" gameplay because failed skill check in Space Wreck is not necessarily a dead-end. For example, some quests only start with a failure.

Still, providing more freedom and more options to players is a good idea anyways, so we added it.

Apart from this, we also have a lot of bug fixes and content updates all around.

Read more here:
 
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