Updated the Dev build on Steam with more in-progress work on the Combat Update.

This time I added Health Pickups (and by extension: dynamic physics objects) for the first time! I also rebalanced combat a bit to make it harder, so each encounter will do more damage.

Next up is an important behind the scenes improvement that will optimize FPS during combat, along with powerups and maybe a new weapon! (I’m not yet sure how I’m going to handle multiple weapons – in the long run I want to add weapon choosing to the HUD but it might be too soon for that.)

But I’m REALLY excited the thing coming after that – it’s a big secret!

I’m working adding Health Pickups to the game right now. It’s actually a surprising amount of work! For instance, up until this point Rodina hasn’t had any dynamic (generic) physics objects in the game! Everything was either static (like walls) or special cased (like characters and ships).

Also, given that there’s been no dynamic objects in the game, there’s also been no generalized gravity! Mr first version of the pickups just floated in place :)

After I get these things in for real (right now I hacked it so the gun fires them) I’ll rebalance combat so that each encounter is life or death, but you get enough healing to prepare you for the next one.

After that, I have some internal work to do, but I’m hoping to do another dev update to show it off very soon (a week?)

Updated the Dev build on Steam with a tiny preview of some new Xeno types!

This is a rough build – no balance whatsoever on the new Xenos, and I discovered that the weapon sounds aren’t working for some reason. Use this only to check some of the new work!

The Incinerator: Part of the Scavenger class, these Xenos are part of the cleanup crew – they strip everything of value and burn what they don’t need. They are large and slow but will try to close distance to use their flamethrower, which can also double as a fire-ball launcher when at range.

The Poacher: Another member of the Scavenger class, the Poacher’s responsibility is to strip target areas of all life and decide whether to eat it, breed it, experiment on it, or recycle it for resources. They use a weapon that tracks living things, and may eventually have an attack that slows you down.

Again, these are just rough drafts. I’ve got other plans in the mix – next up I hope to show you something brand new!

As always, you can access the Dev branch by going to Steam Library -> right click Rodina -> Properties -> Betas tab -> choose Dev from the dropdown. Remember to make backups of your mainline savegames so the Dev branch doesn’t ruin them!

Whew! Finally done with an upgrade to DirectX 11. Key changes:

* Upgraded to DX11 (shouldn’t affect support for older systems)
* Completely redone font renderer.
* Upgrade to SFML 2.3 for audio.

You can try out this update by switching to the Dev branch, in Rodina’s Properties under the “Betas” tab.

Please let me know if you see any glaring issues with the new systems! In particular, I’d like to know if the DX11 upgrade means that anyone with an older / lower spec system can’t run the game. We should be fine, but it’s important to make sure!

This update was a pain, and took a few days longer than I’d hoped – I’m eager to put this update behind me and get back to game code!

First of all, I’ve updated Rodina to version 1.2.3 with some fixes to a handful of bugs, including a nasty airlock-exit bug. This update also contains a major refactor to the game code, so if you experience new problems, please let me know so I can address them!

With that out of the way, the latest Community Vote is over. The ballots are in and the winner is… COMBAT! However, this vote had a twist – read on to find out!

First here are the binding Bossypants results:

* Combat: 54
* Interior Generation: 28
* Interior Editing: 36
* Bugs / Optimizations: 9

So that decides it – I will next be working on Combat features, including new enemy types, new weapons and powerups, planetary Xenos, optimizations and polish, and hopefully a surprise or two!

But, that’s not the whole story. Here are the rest of the vote results from Steam, Reddit and Twitter:

* Combat: 86
* Interior Generation: 56
* Interior Editing: 96
* Bugs / Optimizations: 19

Here we see that Interior Editing (and Multistory Interiors) won the vote! Now, if you add up all the totals, Combat still won, but these results show a clear second place result.

Since I plan to work on all of these features one after another, I can use ALL of your votes to establish an order! Combat first, then Interior Editing, then Interior Generation, and finally Bugs / Optimizations! I’m predicting that this will take me a bit into the New Year, but if I can be done before the end of 2016, that would be awesome! After that, I can proceed straightaway with the rest of the Roadmap!

Thank you to everyone who voted! The past few weeks have been amazing for the game, and your support has been incredible! On to the next stage!

It’s time for another Bossypants vote, where those who are in the Bossyypants tier get to tell me what to do! Just please sign into your dashboard to vote. You’ve got until Tuesday!

The goal for the rest of the year is going to be expand on the last update – better combat and better interiors. Each of these options will happen, but you guys can choose which you’d like to see first! Here are the options:

Combat

This last updated added FPS combat to the game for the very first time! Let’s expand that by adding more Xeno types, more weapons, powerups and health/ammo pickups! I’d also like to start peppering Xenos around the Zorica System- maybe at crash sites or maybe even just in locations on the planets!

Interior Generation

We’ve got procedurally generated rooms in the game – Wooo! But they are shapeless and empty – Boo! Let’s fix that by adding different room types, better shapes (and symmetry also), hierarchical zones, hallways, and entities (like furniture). It’ll all still be procedurally generated so let’s hope I can make it look good! :D

Interior Editing / Multistory Interiors

The interior map system was originally built around text input files, and as a result the editor is limited, doesn’t work well with the procedural generator, and is generally hard to use. Let’s improve it by revamping the interface so you draw rooms rather than toggle individual grid squares. Also now’s the time to enable interiors with multiple stories and tall rooms. Combat feels too limited in these small spaces!

Bugs / Optimizations

Over the months, the game has accumulated some hitches and frame drops. Of course I’m always thinking about these and addressing them when I can, but I like to have this as an option to get a feel for how the community is feeling about the game’s stability and performance. There’s no telling how much performance we might be able to squeeze out of this little thing!

That’s it! Again, all of these will be addressed but I’m interested as always in what YOU would like to see first! If you are not in the Bossypants tier, I still want to know what you would vote for! Have your say on Twitter, Reddit, or the Steam Forums!

Now that FPS combat is in the game, it’s finally time to update that Roadmap that guides us!

The key takeaways are that I’m going to spend the rest of 2016 building on this last update – mostly with better Combat and better Procedural Interior Generation. This will give Rodina some significant and diverse gameplay.

After that, I’m hoping 2017 can be about Content. Gameplay systems, challenges / rewards, and dozens (hundreds?) of procedurally-generated new Xeno Bases. This is where Rodina will grow up into a Real Game, ladies and gentlemen.

My fervent hope is to complete this process by the end of 2017, at which point, Rodina can finally come out of Early Access.

There’s no telling if the timing will work out as predicted, but at this point I’m extremely confident about the progress I’ve been making, and that this will be how things unfold. I’ve never been more confident or excited about Rodina’s future – for real!! Thank you all so much for joining me on this incredible journey!

Ok, so most of you already know this by now, but… I lied! Rodina 1.2.2 wasn’t just about Vanguard Ruins. It was also about… First Person Combat!

That’s right, for the first time ever, when players opened the doors to the Vanguard Debris, they found themselves staring face to face with Xeno Scum! The combat in the game is fast-paced and inspired by DOOM, so the rule is: keep moving!

Now remember, this is just a first pass on the combat. I actually squeezed it into this update as a surprise and as a challenge to myself, so it and Procedural Interiors are both sort of half done. Next we will hold a Community Vote to determine which of these features to expand and improve first. If you choose Procedural Interiors, then I will add better room shapes, hallways, diverse room types, and entity placement. If you choose Combat, then I will add more weapons, more Xeno enemy types, health and powerup pickups. I will also have a couple other options.

Of course, all of this is building to the big mid-term goal: Ship Boarding! I think this is a HUGE step in the right direction, and I’m very proud to be finally crossing this threshold with you all. This is a major milestone that I’ve been putting off until the right time. The time is now!

I’m very excited for Rodina to evolve over the coming months. It’s an exciting time – things are heating up! Purge Xeno!

It’s here! Rodina 1.2.2 has arrived and with it, new locations: the broken, dilapidated ruins of the Vanguard Ship, floating in space. These empty husks have long since been stripped of their valuables, leaving… what, exactly? Find and explore them to find out…

This update shows off the initial “Procedural Interiors” system. As I expand upon it in future updates, it will be used to create Ships and Planetary Bases to board, fight your way through, and take over.

I also added Guns to this update because shooting stuff is fun! Make sure your ship has a few scattered around (like the Fire Extinguishers). You can always bring up your gun with the R (“switch weapon”) button!

As always, you can also find this update in ZIP form, as well as on Steam. And you can see the full list of changes in the Readme.

It’s here! The update to Rodina that adds a Targeting system, so you can properly gauge how far away planets, ships, and terrain locations are! To target an entity, hover the reticle over it and press T (or X on the Gamepad).

This update also contains an Altimeter. Probably one of the most highly-requested features in the game. Rodina – now with much less smashing into mountains!

You can also find this update as a ZIP file. And of course the current version is always available on Steam as well. And the full changelist is in the Readme.

Next I’m working on a major feature: procedural interiors. This will allow me to create randomized interior spaces to play in. I’m not totally certain in what capacity these will be used at first, but in next year this will be the feature that allows me to generate Xeno bases.

After procedural interiors, the goal is to get basic combat with Xeno NPCs in by the end of the year!