This update introduced the first indoor area and new damage effects to the game. The office building can be reached by driving a tank through the outer wall.
The office area will be important for a couple of quests and randomized events.
Welcome to the Workshop Map Highlight #47, Initiate.
Your next assignment is “Cold Embrace”, a custom level created by Tahazzar. This level is built with a lot of verticality in mind, so be sure to practice your landings. As well as that, the level has a focus on a mysterious weapon of unknown origin.
The level disregards narrative and instead focuses on gameplay alone. Due to its vertical design, you should expect to be using both stairwells and ledges frequently to navigate, along with windows and even a ventilation system that will allow you to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
Given the circumstances, you will have to exercise great caution and pick your targets carefully. Intel suggests that, while incredibly lethal, the aforementioned weapon has a limited ammo pool, and the majority of enemy operatives in the area will not drop their weapons when eliminated.
When taking the intel into account, the level indeed appears to be difficult, but the Moderator and his assistant found it enjoyable enough to be worthy of being covered here, as the level enforces practice in ammo management and strategic planning.
Today we’re releasing Aseprite v1.2.12, a minor version with some bug fixes and a way to restore files closed by mistake:
New Ctrl+Shift+T (⇧⌘T) keyboard shortcut to reopen last closed file
Now edited files are kept between sessions just to avoid losing information if something goes wrong (can be disabled unchecking Edit > Preferences > Files > Keep edited sprite data option)
Restored default brush center behavior
Fixed eyedropper when zoom < 100% (reported in several places, e.g. report on Steam forum)
Fixed brush cursor on paint bucket/gradient tool
Fixed File > Repeat Last Export command
Fixed bug where the zoom level in the status bar wasn’t updated correctly when switching between sprites
Fixed crash with invalid grid bounds configuration
Hey everyone! While I haven't been posting updates here on the Steam page, rest assured that development of Ghost Grab 3000 is in full swing and coming along very well.
Alpha
In fact, I'm very happy to announce that the game reached its Alpha milestone today!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, Alpha basically means that the game is 'feature complete' and contains at least a rudimentary form of every element that's intended to be in the final version.
Some of those elements still need work, some are still using placeholder graphics, and there are still bugs to be squashed, but the important part is that you can have a complete experience that closely resembles the final game.
New feature: Robot Mod Shop
A big new feature that I implemented over the last couple of weeks is the Robot Mod system. You can equip your robot with a variety of components that modify its abilities and performance in different ways. There are 3 different types of mods, so you can combine them in different ways to create a build that works for your play style.
All of these can be bought and equipped in the Robot Shop, where you can spend any coins you've collected during your struggle. It's all in-game currency of course... no micro-transactions here!
The rest of development
I'm very happy with how the game is progressing and I hope to reach Beta pretty soon.
Early access to pre-release builds is available through my Patreon. There are some very generous folks supporting development of the game there. If you want to play Ghost Grab 3000 before its full release on Steam (plus a bunch of other prototypes and more) that's the place to go!
From time to time I like to ask fans of the game what they think about the story presentation and if they have suggestions for making it improved. Though--- I have found that most of them seem afraid that their suggestion might change the story itself via infection. First of all, you don't have to worry about that. I already have the important parts of the story figured out. It's just that I sometimes get a bit disappointed when watching youtube videos when players seem to be unaware of things that are not intended to be secrets that require critical thinking to understand. For example. Sometimes players seem mix up the identities of the workers of the Factory. But the one that really bugs me is that I have only ever seen Japaneses players make the figure out that the First monster that you find after loosing your wings used to be Salty. See- that's not supposed to be a mystery, and I don't feel like saying that much should be considered a spoiler. -------
Recently, a thought crossed my mind. I think that this could be fun, and a way to maybe expand the culture and lore of the fantasy.
I had this idea where, for example, all of the letters and diary entrees would come with a stamp. The idea is that every person in this fantasy has their own unique set of at least 6 stamps. And whenever they write a letter or diary entree, they will stamp the letter with one of these. In-universe, the stamp is meant to help orient the reader into understanding the tone which the letter is meant to be read.
From the players pov though. These stamps would appear next to the text, and function somewhat similar to an 'avatar icon' for whoever is writing. This should make it easier to keep track of what character is talking and give the player a better idea of what is going on in their heads.
It can add a level of art, culture, and world building as well as personalization for style of the designs of the stamps for each character to help distinguish them.
We’ve received some great news ahead of announcing our launch date!
Eagle Island was on display for a record-breaking attendance at MomoCon 2019. Over 39,000 gaming and animation fans made their way through the convention centre to play titles including a brilliant lineup of indie developed projects.
YouTuber Jesse Cox hosted the 5th Annual Indie Games Showcase recognising 20 indie titles on the showroom floor. The judges, Rami Ismail (Vlambeer), Mike Fahey (Kotaku), Chris Carter (Destructoid), Austin Wood (PC Gamer), and Janet Garcia (IGN), gather to select the top 5 games at MomoCon 2019! Amongst the standouts, Eagle Island was named an “Indie Winner!”
It’s an honour to be awarded and include with other great titles.
We’re really, really excited to get the launch Eagle Island. Stay tuned - launch date will be announced very soon. 😁
