Sep 11, 2020

Introductions, Trinkets, and Other Tasty Morsels

Tenderfoot Tactics - badru

Meet the Team

Hi!!

Badru: code, art, writing, design

I'm Badru, writing this. I'm an artist who's been making games since the hallowed Flash days of 2009 or so, though most of that work is bad and no you may not see it. I found a voice in games leading the team making Eidolon, a massive, exploratory hiking, survival, and archaeological narrative game we put out in late 2014. I actually started Tenderfoot right after that, if you can believe it! But I took quite a few diversions between then and now, including working on several other indie games (notably Viridi, which people On Here seem to really love!) as well as doing some short programming gigs for big tech, banks, and other vampires. Good Lord I'm glad to be back doing games! I do a lot of the work on Tenderfoot, including all of the code, all of the models and colors, much of the design, much of the team organization, and some of the writing. I love to read (lately obsessed with Ursula K Le Guin) and draw and paint, and also to smoke weed and watch dumb bullshit on youtube (ah, the duality of man). Lately my go-to games have been Battle Brothers (after work) and Fae Tactics (weekend mornings), with the occasional late night foray back into Overwatch.

Actually, much of the rest of the team worked on Eidolon and Viridi too! Isa, Zoe, Michael. Madison first worked with us as far back as the Viridi Steam trailer!

Michael Bell: sound and music

Michael Bell, our musician and all around sound magician, is an attic-dwelling professor from the misty coastal town of Bellingham. Once advisor and now good friend and collaborator, Michael has worked with me since Eidolon. While his affinity is strongest for the chaotic noise of analog synths and distortion pedals, his range shows itself in soothing sounds the beloved Viridi OST. There's room for both sorts on Tenderfoot, and the amount, and quality, of music he's produced for this game is truly incredible. Plus, he knows just which poems to send me when I'm in a deep despair and need a wise word to pull me out.

Isa Hutchinson: writing and design

Isa Hutchinson is an old friend of mine, and truly one of the best. He introduced me to Catan and then a whole world of modern board games back in the early aughts, and continues to be a great game design influence. Isa is my link to the world of soulslikes, multi-hour spreadsheet eurogames, and other cruel and decadent playthings. Isa does much of the writing and a significant amount of game design on Tenderfoot.

Taylor Thomas: ux design

Taylor Thomas is a new collaborator for me (what a thrill!!) and hails from the world of product design, where she's worked on Real, Physical Objects for many years. She brings to Tenderfoot her extensive experience with designing for human interaction, and was crucial to the huge UI/UX redesign we did after the Foreverlands prologue. She's also possibly the most gamer of us all (big respect), plays CoD, watches twitch, and frequently informs me of major gaming trends I should really have heard of already.

Zoe Vartanian: graphic design, voice

Zoe Vartanian, (Borat voice) My Wife, has worked with me on probably everything? But most importantly was the creative lead on Viridi. On Tenderfoot she's done a lot of editing and feedback and uhhh emotional support incidental to living with me, but more importantly and officially, she's done all of the UI work (to Taylor's specs) post-Foreverlands. By day Zoe's the graphic designer for the University of Washington's College of the Environment. By night she's a painter and a cook and a dog enthusiast. She's beautiful from afar but smelly up close. Just kidding she smells nice too. Also, she voices the goblins in the game, mostly!

Madison Pathe: video editor

Madison Pathe, who I've known as far back as elementary school, has made a career as an editor for television, and is applying those skills to help us with our various video needs for Tenderfoot. You'd be surprised how much work it is making trailers and other videos for a game! We're so lucky and grateful to have someone who actually knows what she's doing there. She's a lover of modern board games, and moody videogames, and has a long history with Nintendo games especially, I think, though lately she's been trying to get me into the Witcher III (maybe when this videogame is out I will have time to play a videogame).

Player Two PR

And lately, we're so grateful to have some PR help from Charlene Lebrun and her amazing team at Player Two PR (🙏 Chris Patrick and Adolfo Aguirre 🙏). PR is not a thing I ever wanted to do, but it's so important if you want to survive out here. I can't say how glad I am to have these excellent people fighting for us.

A Brief Development Update

Okay okay, so that's us! Now then - a little update on where we are with development:

We just had our first couple beta testers finish the game (well, reach the ending scene), with each having played 40+ hours! (And they're both still playing!) I believe that's having restarted to try out different builds and playstyles, and a very focused critical path run could probably be more like 10-15 hours, but it's hard to say, and I'm very pleased that the game is holding people's attention so long.

The classes breeds all have solid builds, though we're continuing to shift skills around and hone things in. All of the planned dungeons and towns and artefacts are implemented. Still got some bugs and some vfx to work through, and I'll certainly be refining the systems, but the game is coming together fast!

This is always one of the most exciting times of game development, but especially so for this one, given it's been such a long trek, and has really defined my young adult life. I'm turning 30 next year! Feels like the end of an era, a major accomplishment of my 20s. I barely knew what I was doing when I started this game. Nowadays I'm so powerful I'm practically a God!

Trinkets and Other Things

In the realm of delicious new Tenderfoot media for you to consume, here's a freshly minted deep dive where Isa talks you through some of the interesting special modifiers on trinkets, showing how they let you customize and complicate even the simple abilities of early breeds in the game.

And another new and exciting thing: weekly dev streams! Every Thursday from 4pm-6pm PST, I'll be streaming some live dev work, mostly VFX work for high tier classes, I think, with Isa hanging out with me in chat. The first couple weeks have VODs up on my twitch, where you should most certainly navigate and smash that follow button: twitch.tv/badru

If you somehow missed it, here's our announcement trailer! The game's releasing October 21st! Mark it in your calendars!

Also, we've been posting some breed previews, among other things, to our various social channels. Check it out:

twitter.com/tenderfoot_tact
facebook.com/TenderfootTactics
instagram.com/icewatergames/
discord.gg/B82BDEv

Okay that's all for now! Remember to call all your estranged friends and family and tell them to wishlist our game! Ok bye!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1061610/Tenderfoot_Tactics/

Sep 11, 2020

Version 1.1 and Going Free

In Extremis - LNDFRR

Hello everyone, hope you guys are doing well. I come today with some big news. First, INX finally reached it's 1.1 version, with hundred of fixes, big and small, most notably the end of the dreaded slowdown that plagued the game since its launched, as well as several other improvements, new achievements, leaderboards, and visual adjustments.

As for the other big news, I took the decision to make the game free, no strings attached, both here on Steam and also in https://lndfrr.itch.io/in-extremis, where you can also make a donation. Making this game free was always an intention, and a year before launch I seriously considered releasing it as a freeware title, since it uses so much Creative Commons and public domain artwork and music. My hope is that it would inspire people in the same manner free indie games from the 00's inspired me to become a game developer. Making it commercial, in retrospect, limited its reach and appeal, as it always as an art project as much as a true-blue arcade game. The transition to free will be live as soon as Steam allows it (should not take longer than next week), and i'll give a further notice when it happens.

I understand some players might be bothered with this, specially the ones that bought it on the last sale ; because of that, I am going to give keys for my next game, a Breakout-inspired arcade game called Things That Bounce and Explode, to be released on Steam early next year to everyone that feels that way. You can sign your email and username on this form here if you are interested.

Also of note, Steam Cards won't be available anymore; the only way to free games to give them is through extra transactions, so I am considering selling a making-off e-book in the future, which would include some of the short fiction I wrote for the game too; I am too fond of the little stories in the Steam cards to consign them to oblivion (selling the soundtrack is no option though, considering I don't own the rights to any of the game songs).

Now, onto the patch notes; but before that, I also have to apologize for not including the TATE mode I promised before. Due to how the game was coded, turning the screen vertical broke several sections of the game, the menus, how weapons and enemies worked, and much more; a vertical disposition would also need to recode almost the totality of the game, something that would not be feasible for me as of right now. This was a very large project, started in 2013 and is still going on today, so changes like that can be far more laborious than they seems.

On to the fixes:

Updates
-New Achievements: added achievements for each of the 3 secret endings, as well as a previously cancelled achievement for seeing all of the final midboss attack forms.
-New Steam Scoreboards: added a new section of Steam Boards for the Full Loop Mode; this came with a cleanup of previous scores, but highscores should be uploaded as soon as players play any run again.
-You can now have up to six lives on Easy difficulty.
-You can now pause and quit during the Epilogue.
-You can now toggle blinking bullets to aid visibility on the Options Menu.

Bugs
-No more slowdown. Really.
-Fixed several bugs regarding achievements not unlocking, including Vanguard, Sage, Wanderlust, Elevation Through Self-Destruction, One With the Universe and Tchurunarublaze. All achievements should be working properly now.
-Fixed a rare bug that made Venus in Furs second form not appear.
-Enemies on the fall section in stage 3-1 now leave the screen properly
-Fixed movement trails on most enemies not displaying properly
-Several smaller fixes to visuals and gameplay.

I would like to thank all players for supporting the game, even with all its bugs and technical instability. INX is still a pretty special project for me, and I don't see myself quitting support anytime in the near future. As usual, feedback is very much appreciated.

Sep 11, 2020

PTS Game Update: September 11, 2020

PlanetSide 2 - jgolenbo

A new PTS (Public Test Server) patch for the upcoming PlanetSide 2 game update, The Shattered Warpgate, is coming to the Test Server today!

This is our second Test Server update in anticipation of The Shattered Warpgate heading to Live Servers (patch notes from the first PTS update are available HERE). We'll continue updating the Test Server over the next few weeks to ensure we're able to focus our testing on different areas of this massive update.

We're also hosting two playtests tomorrow, Saturday, September 12, on PTS during the following windows:

10am PDT - 12pm PDT (7pm - 9pm CEST)
2pm PDT - 4pm PDT (5pm - 7pm EDT)

The time slots are intended to accommodate our EU and NA communities, but anyone is free to join either playtest (or both) regardless of where they're playing from. Many of our Outfit Leaders are helping organize around the 2pm PDT playtest, so please join us so we can truly test out the new continent of Esamir at scale!

Test Server installation can be found here: http://launch.daybreakgames.com/installer/PS2_Test_setup.exe

Read on for full patch notes!

The Shattered Warpgate (PTS Update 2)

While on PTS, you'll find an interactable object next to the new campaign vendor on Sanctuary handing out FREE STUFF. Interacting with this holographic Flash will provide you with currency and certain campaign items for testing purposes.
Campaigns will be disabled in this initial update, and a limited pool of missions will be available to test.
Esamir (and all continents) will be unlocked 100% of the time during this update.

This weekend the following playtest schedule is in effect:

Saturday, September 12 at 10m PDT (7pm CEST) & 2pm PDT (5pm EDT) - A group of community members are coordinating a large-scale playtest between multiple outfits, and we'd like to see how the continent performs at scale during this event.

Mission changes

We've added three new mission types to the normal pool.

Supply Convoy Delivery - A rendezvous location will be placed at an allied Warpgate periodically where Sunderers/ANTs will gather. The mission will then determine a contested base to bring your convoy vehicle to, alive. This mission has an internal completion time limit that we'd like to surface in the UI in a future update.
Supply Convoy Protection - Earn completion by destroying or damaging enemy vehicles while near a Convoy vehicle.
Supply Convoy Disruption - Convoy vehicles are flagged with a special indicator. Earn completion by destroying Convoy vehicles.

Adjustments and fixes have been made to the following missions.

Cortium Run - Now shows a waypoint indicator on the nearest allied Silo.
Transport Pilot and Transport Stormbound - Updated description.
Mining Elysium - Updated visuals on mining drill. Completing and starting a new Mining Elysium mission will no longer instantly complete it.
Message Courier - Progress should no longer get stuck after relogging or traveling to a new zone, and will instead reset progress.
Surveying the Land - Fixed some of the NPCs related to this mission on Esamir.

Environment changes

Shattered Warpgate Shallows - Two "shallow" areas have been added to bridge the thawed river, allowing vehicles to cross without being destroyed by falling into deep water.
Mattherson's Triumph - This base now moves all three capture points into the mid-field between the two towers, and has received additional cover. Sunderer no-deploy area is currently bugged, but in a later update attackers will be able to deploy a Sunderer within the western tower.
Eastwake Harborage - This base should be closer to a finished state now, and has received additional cover and base turrets. Some cleanup, and changes to the capture point building still need to be made.
Eastern Warpgate - Changed the facing direction and spawn locations of aircraft. Now has a large no-construction zone that is visible on the map. Fixed visual distortions with the Warpgate shield.
Eisa Tech Plant - Made cover adjustments around A and B capture points. Containment shields surrounding Skylance can now be walked through, but not fired through.
Excavion DS-01E - Fixed being able to clip into the pit, added Sunderer and ANT no-deploy/no-construction zones, and no longer says "Wodenrest" on the minimap. Still needs additional work.
Saerro Listening Post - Minor adjustments made around A and B capture points. Removed lattice connection to Jord Amp Station.
Echo Valley Substation - Fixed capture point placement issue, made additional cover and flow changes, still needs cleanup.
Genudine Gardens - Some additional cleanup done here, but still needs additional work.
Jord Amp Station - Jump Pads and vehicle terminals should work at this base now.
Untapped Reservoir - Should once again be capturable.
Nott Amp Station - Can no longer see inside the geo.
Ymir Ruins - Now correctly uses vehicle capture points.
Mani Processing Plant - Now shows name correctly on the minimap.
The Shattered Warpgate - No-construction area has been made much smaller, allowing for construction throughout most of the area.
Cortium Spawns - Adjusted Cortium Spawns across the map to make more sense with the updated terrain, and added more to the Shattered Warpgate area.
Esamir Sky - Reduced harsh contrasts at night and during dusk/dawn.
Various cleanup of reported bugs.

Known environment issues / yet to be completed bases.

Northern Shattered Warpgate shallow needs cleanup, and drops too low beneath the water plane in some areas.
Water kill plane is too low and functions incorrectly.
Grey Heron Shipping door collision is still too low to crawl beneath.
Jaegar's Fist trench entrance is too small in some areas.
The Traverse will likely be moved on to the bridge again with some additional changes.
Untapped Reservoir and Tapp Waystation will be getting hard spawns like BL-4 Recovery Point and Vidar Observation.
BL-4 Recovery Point is missing a spawn room shield.
Andvari Ruins will be converted into a 3-point base, similar to Ymir Ruins.
Excavion DS-01E needs spawn room pain field and vehicle terminals.
Eastwake Harborage is missing a jump pad and needs cleanup.
Genudine Gardens needs additional work.
Echo Valley Substation needs additional work.
Snowshear Fort remains unfinished.
Nott Communications remains unfinished.
Some abandoned bases still need snowcap covers.
Indar's Ceres Hydroponics is missing some assets in the capture point building.

Electrical Storm and Derelict Vehicles

Drastically reduced movement speed of the Electrical Storm.
Bastion Interceptors will now be affected by the Electrical Storm's handling penalties.
Electrical Storm's performance hit severely reduced as of last weekend's hotfixes.
Fixed an issue causing Tempest to accumulate even while outside of an Electrical Storm.
You no longer receive navigation warning spam while piloting a Bastion in the storm.
Derelict vehicles that have been reclaimed with a Neutralizer Device are now called "Reclaimed" vehicles when spotted.
Reclaimed MBTs now have faction-specific top-guns.
Reclaimed vehicles are not affected by the handling penalties of the storm.
Reclaimed vehicles of all kinds now have a unique AoE damage ability that disperses storm build-up.
Reclaimed Sunderer can now deploy.
Reclaimed vehicles can no longer be shared between opposing factions.
Players can no longer (safely) use the Neutralizer Device on a derelict vehicle when they already own a reclaimed vehicle.
Observer Camera can no longer be targeted by an Electrical Storm.
Using a Lightning Grenade on your own Lightning Arrester no longer grants experience.
Lightning Grenade now displays the proper icon when purchased.
Energy Geysers now cause similar shield damage and overload buildup as an Electrical Storm while near them.

Black Market

Havoc Rocket Pods (ESF)

Converted Havoc Rocket Pods into Havoc Missiles, this item is available from the Black Market equipment vendor.
This weapon has been converted into an air to air lockon weapon.
Reload Speed and Ammo Capacity upgrades should now work correctly for all factions.
This should be considered a prototype for testing purposes and may receive additional changes/skill lines in the future.

Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions

Fixed an issue where Bastion construction could get stuck with the new update if you already have certain components constructed.
Reduced the performance impact of many UI elements.
Cleanup on various particles and mesh issues related to the Shattered Warpgate.
Removed outdated information from the Membership panel related to earning levels.
Fixed decal visibility on Old War armor set.
Adjusted camo tilerate on Armadillo Sunderer cosmetics.
Made adjustments to Instant Action in an attempt to target more balanced fights.
Fixed various Mission Tracker issues on the HUD, and refined visuals.
NSO faction now has its own Heavy Assault Shield effects, visible when they are not assigned to another team, like when they're used in Sanctuary.
Removed "Open War Effort Page" hotkey, as it was redundant.
Fixed a typo shown while dying to an Energy Overload.
Updated audio for various elements of Esamir.
Fixed a floating NPC in Sanctuary.
Added new visuals for Representative Foster, located on the Sanctuary Observation Deck.
Fixed a typo in the air vehicle render distance description of the graphical settings menu.
Fixed a skinning issue with the NSO Cold-Weather Gear helmet.
Fixed an issue causing vehicle HUD overlays to be rotated for a frame before realigning themselves.

Sep 11, 2020

Devlog #79: XP and levelling

Shardpunk - bryqu

Welcome to the next entry of the bi-weekly devlog of Shardpunk! Despite the start of a new school year (we have two children - aged 8 and 10) I managed to spend some time on the game, pushing it a little bit closer to the next release.

The next demo will be named "Map + XP", although gaining experience and map travel won't be the only new things present in the game.

Anyway, I spent some time working on the experience gain mechanism. Here's what I got so far:

Characters gain experience points after each combat mission. Each survivor receives a number of XP just for surviving. Extra points can be received by killing more enemies or healing yourself/others during combat.

When reaching a new level, characters gain a Skill Point that can be used to unlock skills.

(you do see that a lot of icons is missing at the moment)

I did a major rework of the skills/traits system, and separated ones from the others. I've ended up with:

Class-specific unlockable skills (example: "sword slash" skill which is only available for rogues). These skills have level requirements, and will always appear in the same place in the skills tree.

Universal unlockable skills: they also have level requirements, but can appear for every character. Example: "hard to hit", which makes it more difficult to become hit with reaction fire.

It is possible for a skill to be universal, but also be present in the "fixed" skill tree - of course for different classes, as it would not make much sense for a skill to appear twice for the same character.

Next, we have traits. These can be either positive or negative, cannot be unlocked (they're pre-rolled for a character), and some of them are only obtainable when the stress level is too high.

So for the XP, I have the core mechanism in place. Obviously, the skills will change as new gameplay mechanics will be introduced. Also, right now the UI only shows stuff up to the 3rd level (level 4 is a placeholder). Depending on the length of the game, the level cap will vary.

Besides the XP stuff, I spent some time tweaking the UI in general, making sure it is more readable. Here's how the combat UI looks like:

As you can see I moved some stuff around, made the current character's stats more explicit, and moved the weapon heat indicator closer. I've also un-cluttered the top parts of the screen (you can still toggle objectives and common inventory display).

The side details are now only about displaying the effective % to hit.

As for my future plans, I want to introduce some quality-of-life changes to the game (and change few systems, based on player feedback). Then I will be off to the map travel thing.

Take care, and have a great weekend!