Alpha System Remnant | Sci-Fi Platformer Shooter [Devlog] [4.7.17]

M

MrProg

Guest

System Remnant
A sci-fi action, shooter platformer with rouge-like elements and randomization. Follow an exploration droid that is trying to get home, exploring hazardous environments and defeating powerful enemies along the way. Discover altered locations, upgrade your weapon with an extensive amount of modules, but most importantly, survive.
Current Features:
  • Hub World
  • Dry Ice Valley Area
  • 4 Enemies
  • 20 Game-changing Modules
  • A Killer Vending Machine
  • Fully Functioning Menus
  • High Resolution Support
  • Keyboard, Mouse, and Gamepad Support
WIP Features:
  • New Area
  • More Enemies
  • Lootable Trials
  • More Modules
  • Dynamic Weapon System
Devlogs:
003 - Menu Mania (4/7/17)
002 - Creating Currency (3/18/17)
001 - Fresh Looks (3/4/17)

Play the Demo:
Latest Demo: v
0.0.2.3
Released on: 8-26-2016
Available here for PC

You can also help even more by giving feedback on the demo here:
https://goo.gl/forms/t89ff2PAsiOSypO02

Social Media Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook


Latest Screenshots:




Older Screenshots


 
Last edited by a moderator:

dannerz

Member
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FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event0
for object obj_conductor:

global variable pt_conductor(100037, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_obj_conductor_Step_0
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M

MrProg

Guest
_________________________________________
############################################################################################
FATAL ERROR in
action number 1
of Step Event0
for object obj_conductor:

global variable pt_conductor(100037, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_obj_conductor_Step_0
####################################################################
welp that's a problem, Ill look into it right away!

EDIT: For now, try going into the options and turning particles on

EDIT 2: Found the bug, uploading fixed build now

EDIT 3: Fixed build is now up
 
Last edited by a moderator:
M

MrProg

Guest
Here's a link to the original DevLog post: http://www.system-remnant.com/articles/log-0/

Dev Log 001 - Fresh Looks

It has been awhile since the demo update so there's going to be a lot to cover from the art, enemies, locations, and more.

So while there is a ton of new elements that have been added to System Remnant, there has been just as many changes to existing features. This mainly includes the new art style.

Artistic Concentration
So it's about time I've settled on one concrete art style and color palette because before I had a range of styles that were all conflicting in a way. Here's a picture of the old and new styles side by side.



As you can see things look generally brighter and colors don't blend as easily with each other. I'm hoping to have everything pop a bit more and I must give credit to the EDG32 palette for achieving that, as what I use is a slight variation of it. This will hopefully allow everything look to better by sticking to a consistent style.



Along with the new art comes some major sprite changes to the player. The player before looked like a generic space guy/robot that was mostly black and had a typical generic weapon.

Now the new player looks more like a droid and can distinguish itself from being human. I've also changed the weapon to be more of an arm-cannon Mega Man style. This way the exploration droid has more character than before just by changing how it looks.



While there have been many improvements, not everything has been converted to the new style yet but for what is done and I got to say it's looking pretty good.

The HUD
The style changes also includes the HUD (Heads Up Display), one aspect of System Remnant that has been constantly changing. Being the 5th iteration, this HUD will hopefully stay as I feel it is doing its job in a simplistic yet informative manner.


  1. HP/EXP Bar - This is where you'll see your current HP and experience progress.
  2. Ability Slots - Here are the two ability slots. One is the default 'dodge' ability and the second can hold another from a module. When used they will fade and the four frame pieces will flicker on one-by-one until it's ready to use again.
  3. Ammo Bar - You'll be able to see how much of your clip you have left.
  4. Scrap Counters - Here are the currencies and how many of each you currently have. More on that later.
Now it isn't perfect as it's still missing a bunch of features I'd like to add in later but for now I feel like it will work for the basic functions. I also want to had more "juice" to the HUD elements to make them more interesting. For instance, having an animation for the experience bar when the player levels up. But, that will come later.

The Crushtal and Scout
These brand new enemies are both a new type of enemy, that is flying. Both the Crushtal and Scout travel by air meaning they can get to you a whole lot easier.



The Crushtal's main attack is its pound/shockwave move, where if you're standing underneath one it will attempt to crush you. If that wasn't bad enough, you'll also get hit by the ice spike shockwave that follows if you're not careful.

Then we have the Scout, a member of the Guardians. This little metallic cube does not appreciate foreign entities on its planet and will take the precautions to remove them. That includes firing weak but plentiful plasma balls. These plasma shots won't stop when hitting a wall so taking cover won't do you any good in this case.



Tall Tree Top
This new leafy area is home to LogTrogs and abandoned construction sites. By being nested so high in the trees, falling would be a lethal mistake.



The new area is one I just started working on so a lot of the art/design may be temporary and will probably change as time goes on. I wanted to have more than one working area to show off and this brings me closer to that.

Along with the new area, a new way to travel the environment has been added in the form of ladders and rope.



These features will allow you to scale vertically a bit easier although you will be vulnerable to attacks without a way to fight back.

While there is plenty more that hasn't been covered, I will go continue to go over the new currency, the Gambler, and more in the next dev log. Thank you for reading and be sure to check in two weeks later!

Also be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest updates (@RobertTheJewell)
 
M

MrProg

Guest
Here's a link to the original DevLog post: http://www.system-remnant.com/articles/log-2/
Dev Log 002 - Creating Currency

This time we are still looking at a few more changes from the last update along with revealing some plans that should be coming very soon.

Scrap
So replacing what was a generic dollar currency before is the new scrap system that will consist of 4 new sub-currencies, each with their own purpose.


Screw - Metal - Chip - Crystal

While each scrap’s individual purpose is not quite final, they will be able to act in their own unique ways. For instance, the crystal might be able to either be saved for when the player may need reviving or can be used to purchase a legendary status Module. The choice is up to the player!

Loot Containers
Before there were just chests that could be looted and while fun to open, seeing them everywhere made them lose that special feeling. So now there will be a selection of loot containers to be found in System Remnant. From crates that you can shoot to gambling machines that can shoot you!


Crate - Most commonly found out of the containers, this crate contains a variance of loot from Scrap to Modules. Just shoot it enough to see what’s inside

Chest
- While not found as easily as crates, these chests can be found scattered throughout the land. Just open them up to get a chance at some higher-tiered loot.

Gambler
- Be careful of this one, while it can be an easy way to get a handful of powerful Modules, it can also easily drain your virtual wallets. Also just a fair warning, I wouldn’t recommend hassling with this machine...

This is just the beginning to a plethora of varied containers that can be found in the world of System Remnant.

Meet S.A.R.

Standing for Supply, Ammo, and Repairs this bot is the only other one to have survived the crash onto planet Kyrosi. As the name applies, he will help you rebuild, upgrade, and hopefully get home.

While there isn’t much more I can say for now, I can say there are big plans for S.A.R. and how he’ll play a major role.



Future Changes
Now that we finally finished covering everything in the previous build we can focus some time on what’s coming next.

So one of the bigger aspects that is being changed is how the levels will work. The plan is to rather than have them be setup in a linear order, you will be able to choose which area you’d like to visit based on what’s available.

It’ll work by having 4 areas being randomly selected from the available areas and with each playthrough you’ll have a chance at playing a completely different set of levels.

Along with that, I wanted to make the time spent in between levels more interactive so now instead of a menu, there is a HUB world that connects these areas.

Here’s a peek at what’s to come:


While that covers what I’ve been working on recently there is still a ton that has not been talked about yet. I hope you enjoyed this week’s Dev Log and come back for the next!

Also keep in mind that everything shown off, not only today, may change over time or even be replaced completely. The game is still in a state where anything and everything can change but what you see now should be a pretty good idea of what’s to come.

Once again be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest updates on my game and my pretty mundane life (@RobertTheJewell)
 
M

MrProg

Guest
Here's a link to the original DevLog post: http://www.system-remnant.com/articles/log-3/
Dev Log 003 - Menu Mania


Yet another Main Menu iteration has come and I'm excited to show you the new look! Along with that we have a new area to talk about, the Hub.

Main Menu
While a new menu system wasn't urgent, it was inevitable as the old one didn't really match the new art style of the game. But, I'm really proud of how this one turned out and I hope it's good to stay.

The Main Menu now has an overall neon-hologram vibe, fitting more with the rest of the menus in System Remnant such as the HUD. The new transitions additionally have a nice, fluid feeling to them expanding the user feedback when moving between options.

While looks was the main change to the menu, I've also finally added the ability to rebind the main controls for the keyboard! Gamepad rebinding is coming soon.

This is almost a requirement at this point, so I decided to finally implement the feature as I was already working on similar areas already. Rebind to your heart's desires!

The Hub
Quickly mentioned at the end of the last Dev Log, the Hub world is coming back with new gameplay choices in mind.


Here you'll be able to travel between each themed area while keeping your upgrades fresh and your progress saved. The Hub is designed to always have a safe place where you can look at your progress along with choose where you want to head off next.

You'll start off with four of these spires lit, and your goal is to deactivate them all by completing each level associated with each one.



How level progression will work is you'll start with two level choices and can choose which one to play first. Then once you complete those, two more options will open up and you can then again choose which area you want to tackle first. After you deactivate every spire, you will be be sent to a final area that will always be the same no matter which area you played before.



I'm still deciding what else you will be able to do in the Hub but do expect more to come in the future!

Screen Shakes
While the main focus has been on the Main Menu and Hub area, there have been smaller changes throughout the game.

One of these changes has been the redesigning of screen shake. Before, the screen shake only affected the HUD and not the camera view itself. So now it does the opposite by shaking the actual view inside of the HUD.


Here you can see the difference between no screen shake when shooting and the addition of screen shake when shooting. It’s something I’m still tweaking, but I feel like it’s a step in the right direction in giving the shooting more impact.

While there have been other changes made, most of them have been balancing tweaks to enemies and weapons.

Sorry for the late Dev Log this week, as the semester begins to conclude the work load increases leaving less time for System Remnant. But I am hoping to release another video Dev Log within the month to recap everything these written logs have covered. We’ll see how that goes.

Thanks again for checking out what's new this week and be sure to follow System Remnant on social media to stay the most updated!

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