Tactical squad-based survival strategy game, based in a steampunk, rat-infested world.
Tactical squad-based survival strategy game, based in a steampunk, rat-infested world.
Lead the group of Survivors in the search for resources necessary to survive
Use cover and flanking mechanism to defeat the Rat Vermin in turn-based combat
Customize the appearance of your characters
Make your way through the remains of the Capitol and uncover its hidden secrets
Pay close attention to the sanity of your survivors, or face dire consequences
Rescue more team members and don't let existing ones perish
Upgrade your character's equipment and weapons
Experience a different run every time, thanks to the randomized nature of the game
Alpha 0.1 and 0.2
- Introduced the combat phase. Player needs to guide the characters to the exit point.
Alpha 0.3 "Shelter and Stress" update [coming 08.2020]
- Characters now have a Stress stat. Having too much stress reduces their performance and makes it more probable that they will acquire a quirk.
- Player characters can now enter a shelter at the end of the mission, which starts the shelter phase.
- In the shelter phase, player can heal, rest, reduce stress and craft items.
- After the shelter phase, there is a second mission (chosen automatically, as the map travel mechanics is not there yet) that ends when first enemies are encountered.
FUTURE RELEASES:
Alpha 0.4 "Map and XP" update
- Characters can gain experience points, level up and unlock skills. It means that some of the traits will be changed into skills (and class skills), whereas other will remain as random traits.
- At the end of the shelter phase, players can choose the next travel point on the map. There will be at least two possible choices, one of them having a new environment art.
- Added a sewers level.
- There will be two fully playable levels.
MORE FEATURES, NOT GROUPED INTO RELEASES YET:
- Players are able to customize their characters (by naming them, choosing their gender and looks).
- Weapons can now be upgraded in the shelter.
- Characters can carry trinkets that influence their skills.
- Team-level upgrades.
- Dynamic shelters (not every utility is available in all shelters).
- Poison effect and new enemy type, using poisonous attacks.
- New mission types: destroying vermin nests. Doing so allows to counter global events that are granting special skills to the ratmen.
Who is the author of this game?
Well, it's me! The name's Slawomir. I am a Polish programmer and a self-proclaimed indie game developer.
So are you doing all the stuff yourself?
I tried to, but luckily for the game I started to work with a freelance artist, Kurt Prieto who's doing a great job.
What about the music and sound?
Whilst I believe I am pretty capable of creating the sounds myself, the awesome game music is being created by Jessica Kelly.
Is it a hobby project?
Yup. I started working on Shardpunk in mid-2018. I am still having a full-time day job as a software programmer and am developing the game in my spare time.
When are you planning to release the game?
Hard to say, really. I'd love to have a full gameplay loop demo (or an Early Access candidate) ready in mid-2021. Still, alpha version of the game is already available - go play it now!
What is included in the tech demo?
A single combat mission. The group of survivors is making their way through the destroyed Capitol and are trying to find their way to the next safe place. It means that the demo will only focus on a small piece of the gameplay. All other mission types and whole strategic layer (which is basically about making your way out of a city flooded with enemies and plague) will still have to be added.
What's the "Darkest dungeon" part of the game?
Alright, this will be a longer one.
The overall game vibe will be around hopelessness. The Capitol has been flooded with the rat swarm, and a group of survivors wants to escape it - and possibly rescue some additional people, if necessary.
So that covers the similarities about the general theme/feel.
Now about the game mechanics: instead of having a central hub area, player characters will be travelling from a safe point to a safe point. They will have to gather resources in order to survive each day, heal themselves or upgrade their equipment.
It is up to the player whether they spend a lot of time on a mission or not. Sometimes it is worth staying a little longer, thus finding more loot, but exposing yourself to more enemies.
So the missions won't be of the "kill everyone and complete a timed objective" type (which is very common in XCOM) - they will be about making your way to the next safe place, and making sure that you gather enough resources along the way.
Additionally, I am planning on introducing a sanity-like mechanics. But this is also present in the latest XCOM game, so it is not a Darkest Dungeon exclusive.
Wait, didn't you previously mention about the game having an airship?
I did. I worked on the airhsip-as-base-of-operations mechanics after I released the 1st tech demo of Shardpunk. However, after some playtesting sessions, I did not find any fun in it, so I decided to scrap that idea. You can read more about it in this devlog post.
What platforms will it run on?
I am using the Unity engine for the game, so I will probably be able to port this to various platforms. Currently I am only aiming for creating a demo for PC.
Will there be permadeath?
Well, it says that the game will have XCOM elements in it, right? ;)
Where can I follow the development progress?
You can follow me on Twitter @bryquTheDev. I also run a devlog on itch.io, IndieDB and TIGSource forums - pick whichever suits you best.
Also, the game has a Facebook page - make sure to check it out.
