Hi guys!
Just a quick update. It takes so much time posting daily on Bluesky, Twitter, YouTube and Tiktok (and learning how to make the content better) that I didn't bother with a new devlog but this here is not for community building but rather to structure my thoughts, ideas, and give you more insights into that. So here we go!
7 weeks into development.
New Features / Changes:
- New title: Frost Protocol
- Cinematic Trailer
- Tutorial mission
- Base layout
- Job system in base
- Task UI
- New combat abilities + UI updates
Details:
- Frost Protocol: There is a TV show and a novel titled "Station 11" so I decided to change the name of my game
→ Steam art rework. What do you think?
- Cinematic Trailer
→ Check it out! It's on the steam page and should give you a feeling for the atmosphere I'm going for in this game.
- Tutorial mission
→ The first mission should immediately show you what this game is about. Robot abilities for example are limited but they are not that important at the start. Sacrifice and tough decisions are!
- Base layout
→ Basic base layout is finished, but unpolished yet. But now I know (more or less) what stations I will have in the game.
- Job system in base
→ Each job is categorized into one of the skills (Engineering, Physics, Biology, IT / Computer) and requires a certain amounts of points to be finished. Assigning a crew member costs 1 AP and adds the skill level of the crew member to the progress of the job
→ This needs more detail since I'm not really happy with the system so far.
- Tasks UI
→ Updated the Task UI on expeditions and added sound effects. Tasks are skill-based but depending on the skill difference between the crew member skill and the task requirement (soft requirement) there are chances for Failure (no progress), Success (+1 progress), and Crit Success (+2 progress).
- New combat abilities + UI updates
→ Added a cone attack for the tanky tank. Close range but high damage. I also added visual indicators for the Line Attack (need a better name for that...) and the Cone Attack
- New combat abilities + UI updates
→ Added a mine that can be triggered in the player phase (Apparently, monsters hate explosions and die...)
Design Decisions:
- The combat system needs a rework on the conceptual level, which is what I was working on in the tutorial mission. "Only" defending is too boring imo so the map design needs to be in a way that it forces the player to move. It should be:
→ START: control the spawn points for a few turns but enemies will overwhelm you eventually
→ This gives your crew members time to finish tasks close to the spawn points
→ Retreat to tasks further away / Finished tasks open doorways to new areas
→ Repeat
Whats next?
Highest priority: I really need to start early alpha playtests! I replayed the first mission so often that I lost all objectivity and can't tell anymore if it's interesting to play or not.
Conclusion:
Social Media is a HORRIBLE GRIND! But the (very few) interactions and conversations with the viewers were worth it! :)
For more gifs and images or videos, check out social media stuff (I'm posting daily):
https://www.youtube.com/@FrostProtocol
https://bsky.app/profile/station11game.bsky.social
https://x.com/stonewakeStudio
https://www.tiktok.com/@stonewavestudios