Honeycomb dev update #4 - Technology design - our journey so far đ°ď¸
Honeycomb: The World Beyond Demo ¡ published
Hi there, Explorers! đ§
Itâs been a while since we let you in on the latest in Honeycomb. Thatâs because weâve been toiling away like a bunch of busy bees! In fact, our Technology Designer needs a break⌠And would like to tell you about the fruit of our efforts and how we got where we are. Thereâs plenty to learn, so without further ado - letâs delve into the world of tech design and find out how one comes up with what trees should look like⌠You can also look forward to a small surprise that awaits you at the end of this devlog - weâre hosting some visitors from above, and itâs not what you think it is!
Tech design isnât all about numbers - technology has a feel and an aesthetic to it. We all know a chunky computer from the 80s gives a very different vibe than a MacBook - and video games are all about feeling. So we decided on a unique style from the get-go, and weâre working to incorporate it into every piece that appears in-game. A futuristic take on Art Nouveau doesnât mean just throwing in some sci-fi elements into existing designs, however. Our designers work in accordance with tenets of the art movement - putting emphasis on fluidity of lines, flowing and sinuous motifs, and floral shapes.
Our Technology Designer translates his ideas into 3D right away, no sketches required. Above you can see the effects of an exercise he did when we just started working on defining the style of our game.. He transformed the look of a typical chair from IKEA and designed its sci-fi and Art Nouveau counterparts, drawing attention to the most characteristic structural elements. The next step was to blend these extremes until he felt like he had the perfect model. After that, we had a solid base for any future designs and could just follow a similar workflow. Easy-peasy!
Above are presented a few stages of base development. You can read more about it in our previous development update.
FACILITIES
Soon after weâve created the base, we shifted our focus to base operation(s). All that tech (...and the bioengineer) has to run on something!
Silo consists of a water container and a power accumulator. Itâs how youâre going to conserve these precious resources for a rainy day. We tried to make it blend in with the base while also giving it a distinct look by drawing inspiration from the Tesla coil - you can see it in the glowing sphere on top!
At first, solar panels were supposed to look like ship sails but over time their shapes started looking more and more flower-like. In the end, they are very similar to blossoms. Solar panels will supply energy to your base⌠Talk about flower power.
Another one of our facilities is the Antenna. In this project, our Technology Designer used organic design motifs, which he considers to be a contemporary version of Art Nouveau. The Antenna will create a radiolocation area, allowing the players to use crucial mechanics such as the Drone Hive.
DRONES
A lot of mysterious places and valuable materials are waiting on Sota7 to be discovered by you. You need to expand your base to find them all! Thankfully you won't have to rely only on yourself.
Drone Scout is a companion which will support the Explorers as an extra pair of âeyesâ. With its help you can observe a diverse world of Sota7 from a birdâs eye view and explore uncharted territories. The design of this device is based on flexible and flowing shapes. Openworks structures and magnetic engines replaced conventional drive mechanisms.
Drone Builder is a gadget which allows the player to construct the base on a basic level. When working our Technology Designer was inspired by car keys. Drone Builderâs form is closely related to the style we used for the base.
Drone Engineer is the biggest and most functional drone in the game. It works in cooperation with the Drone Hive. Engineer lets the player construct a base in planning mode, while the Hive contains two smaller constructing drones that build it. A source of inspiration was of course the beehive. đ In a way, the Engineer is like the queen bee who orders the worker bees from the Hive around.
VEHICLES / MEANS OF TRANSPORT
Sota7 isnât just a planet - itâs a planet that needs to be thoroughly explored. You can go where your feet take you or sit back in one of your vehicles and enjoy the trip through remarkable areas.
Hoverboard is the smallest available vehicle. It allows you to move quickly from one place to another. Its construction was heavily influenced by organic design. We wanted to design something that would incorporate openwork elements, an electromagnetic engine and would still look like something that could be transformed into a smaller device. Thatâs how we landed on this branch-like model.
Buggy is a medium size vehicle with cargo space. During development the concept of the Buggy went through a lot of metamorphoses. All of this ultimately contributed to the creation of this vehicle with an electromagnetic drive and openwork supporting structure. Our Tech Designer disclosed that he looked at a lot of fish pictures while designing this thing. We decided not to question him further.
AN ASSORTMENT OF ODDITIES
If thatâs not enough to convince you that weâve been pretty busy, weâd like to show you some more odds and ends. We canât really put them in their own neat categories, but they are indeed pretty neat. Just take a look:
Vertical Farm is a device which allows you to breed plants in laboratory conditions. As for functionality, the concepts don't differ from each other. As you can see, this apparatus has a double structure and a UV lamp. Like the previous ones, this project was inspired by the base design as well, especially in terms of its supporting structure.
Shhh, itâs alright⌠Just sleep. Yes, this is exactly what it looks like. The injector is a tranquilizer dart gun. Killing or hurting the animals isn't part of your mission on Sota7, but that doesnât mean that youâre supposed to stay far away from them⌠or that theyâll always be friendly. Thanks to the injector you can obtain samples from dangerous species without harming them, or them harming you. Our Technology Designer considers it one of his favorites. He said this design went through a lot of changes, but he ended up really liking it⌠Which isnât always how it works out.
If youâre still craving more after all this excitement, you can take a look at our friendsâ devlog about their game, Aloft - a sandbox survival indie where you have to survive in a world threatened by an eternal hurricane.
Steam Base Builder Fest. As you might expect weâll participate in Steam Base Builder Fest. Look at the stream weâve made for this occasion! We hope that youâll like the new mechanics we presented.
KEEP UP TO DATE
Alrighty, thatâs it for today, Explorers. We hope that you found this devlog interesting. We are all looking forward to your comments! Your opinion means a lot to us.
Once again, we want to invite you to Honeycombâs Discord Server, because itâs important for us to stay in touch with you. You can also follow us on our social media outlets to keep up to date.
Finally, weâd like to encourage you to add Honeycomb to your wishlist and to follow the game, so that youâll be kept informed about future updates of the game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1510440/Honeycomb/?l