Death Trash - edgy post-apocalyptic isometric action-RPG - now available on Early Access

[agris]

This looks great.
Whats the status on the early access version? How far off is Real Release?

This is updated very regularly, which is a good sign. They're still adding maps though, so not feature complete.

Based on the last roadmap, sounds like mid-2023 is reasonable.

State And Roadmap
Some words about our current situation and the road ahead
Hey, everyone.

We're a few weeks past the Early Access release day now and would like to say a few words about our current situation as well as the road ahead.

Feedback
Suffice to say, the 'Overwhelmingly Positive' feedback on the Early Access version of Death Trash has exceeded our expectations. We got lots of incredible messages about the game through Steam reviews, the forum, social media, e-mail and private messages. Thank you so much for writing them.

Through our in-game feedback tool as well as the other channels we also got a lot of feedback on what's working good, what's not so good, and what could be added.
The most common negative was "not enough content yet", which should of course be improved over time. Most of the other concerns should also be met with improvements in the future.
We've updated the game a few times now since release, fixing technical as well as gameplay issues and will try to keep this flow of improvements.

Financial Situation
Good news: Death Trash has sold enough now that it made back its development costs and we can finish it on our own.
Apart from that we we'll have to see how it continues long-term. So no change in plans for now regarding team size, for example. But we're very happy that we can finish Death Trash according to our own vision.

Roadmap
Let's take a look at what's ahead for Death Trash.

The most common request and also our main development goal is of course "new content", but due to its nature and potential spoilers we'll be a bit tight-lipped here.

Content
Story Chapter One (Early Access Start Content)
- continue main quest through southern world map locations, improve temporary ending
- improve current dialogue and add more player decisions, add more depth
- revisit a few locations and improve level design, add more environment details

Story Chapter Two (During Early Access)
The Perished One, Steel Waste

Story Chapter Three (For the full release of the game)
Woundland, and more

Gameplay and other improvements
Gameplay Improvements
- expand mind items gameplay
- rebalancing the existing content regarding difficulty and economy
- add player stash / bank
- reorganize stats, add more usage for non-combat stats, more combat values affected by combat skills
- more detailed info through area overview map (e.g. on mouse hover)
- update crafting recipes

Combat Improvements
- add different type of energy weapons
- more animalistic, mutant and machine-based enemy types
- more advanced humanoid NPC combat behaviours for higher ranked enemies

NPC improvements
- reacting to scene events (e.g. door getting opened by player in stealth mode)
- better gameplay faction handling, not being able to easily exploit making them hostile to each other
- make them remember player actions

Support for community translations
- add simple modding system, including Steam Workshop, for text import / export
- add support for multiple fonts

Technical Stuff
- investigate and fix a few types of crashes for individual users
- local co-op bug-fixing and polishing
- add better user communication and support opportunity through in-game F1 tool
- fix level collisions, especially rolling into small spaces and getting stuck
- improve controller support by implementing Steam Input
- add more accessibility options

This list is not in chronological order. We’re a small team and will work on these tasks step by step, dynamically prioritizing, including community feedback. For the same reasons we’re also not dating any updates. We might finish this list in 2022, but if it takes more time then we'll take that time.

Onwards
Again, thank you so much for all your support and feedback. I know that much of your support is related to the promise of being able to experience the final version of Death Trash, and we're doing our best to bring that to life.

 

[None]

There still isn't enough in this game to recommend it to anyone here. Maybe in due time, but after a year of updates I'm not exactly impressed with the results.

The story and setting can be summed up by this line from Terry Bisson's "They're Made Out of Meat":

"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?"

During character creation you get lots of visual choices. The real choices are what stats and skills you level. Stats control what weapons/skills you have access to and can offer some other bonuses, like more health or crits. Skills are divided into the categories of Social, Combat, and Trickery and generally just let you be better at certain things. For example an increase in a combat skill makes you do more damage. Everything except combat and sneaking/lockpicking should be ignored as they are all largely useless. Occult and Cybernetics can be useful, but trying to play a smooth talker with high Empathy, Bartering, and Animalism will result in seeing less use than if you played a character with high Doctor in Fallout.

Combat is fairly simplistic despite possibly appearing deep. It's a standard twin-stick shooter with a dodge roll. Melee enemies can be easily hit between their attack animations, which are easy to weave in and out of. Ranged enemies can be tough, but basically every fight can be won before it begins with the use of stealth and the shock ability, both of which you get right away. This doesn't always work for larger groups, but that just means you'll have to use your own ranged weapons to finish off the stragglers. Combat stopped mattering after 3/4's of the way in when I found an energy gun that dealt ~50 damage (my maxed out bladed melee strikes did like 20) and pierced through enemies. I think I would have been fine without it, encounters would have gone from essentially nonexistent back to trivial. There are also some odd balancing decisions, for example a shotgun blast will deal as much damage (4 pellets, 4 damage each = 16dmg) as a rifle (also 16). Distance is generally your friend with ranged weapons so I don't know why you'd close in to deal the same amount of damage.

C&C and dialogue is bare bones compared to other RPGs. The game will let you kill anyone and anything, but that only works because 99% of the NPCs ingame may as well not exist given the amount of interaction you can have with them. The only interesting character is the floating cyborg skull and aptly named Fleshface who wants to explore the world with you. You end up letting a giant meat octopus eat Fleshface.

Art is good, everything looks hand drawn and I didn't spot any reused assets outside of simple things like walls or trees. Individual assets may not be the best but the color palette is phenomenal.

Exploration is also good. There is an abundance of areas that are unrelated to the main story for you to go explore, but most are unfortunately not that interesting outside of a source of experience. Level design sucks though with tons of superficial areas and some extremely annoying locations (Godhunter prison).

In conclusion:
5/10, this game is the cooking equivalent of a chef who knows how to expertly plate and present his food, but the only thing he can cook is mashed potatoes. I'm not even sure I'd consider there to be gravy with these potatoes. It is a fairly average game that looks like it may be more than average. It is not.

 

[None]

But at least the game lets you vomit on command

this is the game's mana system by the way
skill usage builds up infection, vomiting clears infection
not once was infection build up an issue

 

[orcinator]

Stuff

Yeah that's how it felt when I played the demo; another game that's basically following the generic RPG design checklist with little thought as to how to make something 50 different games didn't do better.

Exploration is also good. There is an abundance of areas that are unrelated to the main story for you to go explore, but most are unfortunately not that interesting outside of a source of experience. Level design sucks though with tons of superficial areas and some extremely annoying locations (Godhunter prison).

Are you sure it's good then? If all you do is mindlessly mow the fog of war until there's nothing left but the road to the main quest then the game might actually have bad exploration.

 

[None]

Are you sure it's good then? If all you do is mindlessly mow the fog of war until there's nothing left but the road to the main quest then the game might actually have bad exploration.

In a subjective way, yes. If someone enjoys slogging through this game then they'll be delighted to know that there is plenty of slogging to be done. Personally, I'd rather have too many locations instead of not enough.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Still In Early access after seven years? If things keep going this way, they'll break Kenshi's record.

 

[Agame]

But at least the game lets you vomit on command

Finally the anorexia simulator I have been searching for.

 

[luj1]

Game looks fun honestly but this kind of shitty low budget visual presentation makes everyone puke (pun intended) by now

 

[luj1]

Also everyone is calling this a scam because of how short it is on content

I heard about this game long ago, can't believe it's still in EA

 

[jackofshadows]

This thread dates back to 2015. St*neshard vibes. Short on content is fine for such an indie but this shit needs to come out asap already. I imagine actual release will be 1.0 label SLAP! on it with some roadmap *adjustments* and further development for some time post-"release".

Personally I won't buy it untill read some reviews. Had a little bit of fun with the demo but that's not enough.

 

[Dhaze]

While the subject is on tardy games, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention Secrets Of Grindea, whose Early Access debut is dated July 2015, and whose assiduously updated dev log dates all the way back to... November 2011! I think even the not-literally-but-almost-definitely-a-scam Sui Generis/Exanima hasn't been worked on that long.

I imagine actual release will be 1.0 label SLAP! on it with some roadmap *adjustments* and further development for some time post-"release".

As has almost become rather common, these days. Kickstarter -> prolonged Early Access -> v0.8 disguised as a momentous v1.0 release -> 1 or 2 years of 'roadmap development'; and in the end features promised years ago are still missing.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

And I bought it? DANDY! Why don't I get fucked a lil more and buy Subverse next? I still have hope Stoneshard completes.

 

[toro]

The current version contains only 33% of the entire planned content.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/941460/discussions/0/3825284144454613732/#c3825284144455825276

It's still about a third. We added a bit during Early Access, but not much yet. Our focus was elsewhere first, and we have been busy, that's why the version number increased continually.
Version numbers like 0.8.7.8 are in no way to be seen as a percentage of final completion. Version numbers could for example increase from 0.9 to 0.10.
That being said, while the main story implementation stagnated a bit unfortunately, the game progressed a lot in other things. (We're two developers only and can't take care of all things equally.) Many elements, behind the scenes as well as in the actual gameplay at hand progressed more towards final release quality.
I'm currently working on the main story and the rest of the locations.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I still like the art. At least devs communicate. I wonder if they have a discord like skald?

Edit---
YEP! From here.

 

[Diggfinger]

Game looks fun honestly but this kind of shitty low budget visual presentation makes everyone puke (pun intended) by now

It's probably so the PS4 can run it!

Lesson learned from Cyberpunk, quality dev right there

Spoiler

Coming Soon:

XBox One | Xbox Series X|S

Playstation 4 | Playstation 5

Nintendo Switch



Release Date

Spoiler

to be announced

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

The current version contains only 33% of the entire planned content.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/941460/discussions/0/3825284144454613732/#c3825284144455825276

It's still about a third. We added a bit during Early Access, but not much yet. Our focus was elsewhere first, and we have been busy, that's why the version number increased continually.
Version numbers like 0.8.7.8 are in no way to be seen as a percentage of final completion. Version numbers could for example increase from 0.9 to 0.10.
That being said, while the main story implementation stagnated a bit unfortunately, the game progressed a lot in other things. (We're two developers only and can't take care of all things equally.) Many elements, behind the scenes as well as in the actual gameplay at hand progressed more towards final release quality.
I'm currently working on the main story and the rest of the locations.

This guy took a peek at Yandere Simulator and said yes, this is how I have to proceed

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

He wrote that it's just a matter of time at the end. That made me think, is the guy lurker here or even codexer?

A lot of codex phrases or memes are just versions of general internet lingo, so I wouldn't count on it.

 

[toro]

This means the game is in development hell.

 

[Gromoer]

Stumbled upon it on Steam and I think I may have been keeping an eye on it like ages ago on Tumblr… I’ve completely forgotten it exists since then. Did it have some other title before?

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

I've tried the demo for 45 minutes and I think it may be fun, would probably buy release version, but I couldn't remember when was the first time I've seen the thread about it on the codex and so I've searched for it. My memory was 2018 maybe 2019 or something, which ok I can see how an indie project can take this long. However this thing has been in development for 8 years now, they claim there's about 60% of the content left to be done and after checking their patchnotes and some of their discord I conclude that them porting the game to Xbox One, PS4 and Switch was probably preemptive, because the release will come maybe around 2025 at the earliest.

quick look at how the development is going

For instance from update 0.11, just last month:

• We are currently trying to find ways to increase the visual variety of indoor scenes, especially for the upcoming city levels. I am in general very happy with the visuals of the game, but the gridlike pattern we use for many indoor scenes could use a few breaks or alternatives here and there.

Meaning they haven't finished scene design and(maybe) assets.

Version 0.10 mentions new enemies being added, again 8 years of development and they haven't finished that kind of stuff.

Scrolling even further down it becomes even more ridiculous though. While(monthly) updates from September until now increase the version number by 0.1, so we've had 0.9, 0.10, 0.11 and I suppose in December(assuming they even work in December) 0.12, the previous updates are Grimoire development jokes tier, for instance December 22 - version 0.8.7.6, January 23 - 0.8.7.7 - I'm just waiting for the nanoissues counter to pop up. Out of interest why have they changed the way they've updated it(from an uneven rhtyhm of updates that shifted from weekly to bi/tri-monthly to monthly and the version number changes, also updates have "subtitles" like Serenity) we can read the following in the last update with the old scheme - July 2023, update 0.8.7.10:

3. The team is growing. Cäcilia is joining our team from this month on and she will take care or help out with organization, publishing, communication, marketing and more. All those extra tasks that need to be done, especially when self-publishing. This was mostly done by myself so far and the idea is that I will have more time for the game itself from now on. (I will keep being active in discussions, of course.)

So they've hired someone to reduce the backlash from being so late on the development and that's the reason for that change. She did a reasonable thing and concluded that if they can't finish it in 91 months from the time of her hiring then they won't ever finish it(it would bring the dev cycle up to 15+ years) and there will be no point in anger management.

It's kinda sad because I like twin-stick shooters and RPG's and it's kind of a mix of both, I liked what I've seen in the demo as well but this shit just isn't going to be released anytime soon. I just wonder where do they get money for development, is the lead dev/founder just spending his family's hoard on it? To quote the first steam update:

So one day I left my job, took my savings, moved to Berlin and began working on computer games. It was the most exciting thing I ever did in my life.
For getting a job in game development I figured I needed a portfolio, but since I didn't even know what to specialize in, I learned design and art in addition to my programming and began making a lot of smaller games on my own. Eventually even one game a week for a dozen weeks.

Berlin is an expensive city to live in even if he was working on the game from his(rented) flat(and his big portfolio building game is Death Trash just in case, I don't want to copypaste entire paragraph). He evidently started alone but got some people to join in over time he probably has to pay them too. I assume that as long as he was working on it alone he probably had to do some contract work in-between, otherwise I have no idea how did he manage to sustain himself.
After reading some of the early posts I've also noticed the following:

Most importantly, the game is running good on all target platforms (Windows, Mac and Linux) with all base features in place.
(Also on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, by the way.)

What is this update from?

NEWS
POSTED
Thu, July 2, 2020
Technically ready, but needs a tiny bit more time

The technical readiness refers to Early access which was supposed to happen in early 2020 and in the end ended up being released in August 2021, the first new dev comes in on august 2020, at which point I assume this guy has to start paying him as well. The later updates also mention that the game aims at 20 hour playtime while EA is about 5+. Now they claim lots of replayability so maybe it does take this much time but that's an update from December 2020, so about 3 years ago and they were working on "main story content" and if you look at the updates 3 years later they're still working on main story content, in August 2021 they've released EA which allegedly had 5 out of 20 hours of content they're planning, which is 25% and they've claimed they've made additional 7% by April 2023.


Here's some cool outdated roadmap from just a year ago:

Spoiler

Roadmap

This is our work in progress roadmap. No fixed dates.

0.8.8 - The Perished City
- new locations and quests

0.8.9 - Northern Wasteland
- new locations and quests

0.8.10 - The Machine
- new locations and quests

0.8.11 - The Watcher
- final locations and quests

0.??? - Inbetween those updates
- updated skills and stats usage
- improving combat
- adding more NPCs and quests to existing locations
- improving existing dialogue
- updated active abilities
- adding Steam Input

0.9 - Last Quality Check
- bug fixing and polishing

1.0 - Official Release

1.1 etc. - Post-release support
- bug-fixes and other improvements

Optional goals, not sure when, or even if:

??? - Modding: Level Editor

??? - Improved gameplay for mind items

They claim to be still working on the city in update 0.11.

Now I can understand why this is moving so slowly, because apparently they keep fiddling with systems and have to work on the content while there's only 2 developers(since 2020, previously it was one) and the PR lady(plus a contracted audio guy but he's probably done by now). Obviously their guesstimates of "we've made 25%, 33%" etc aren't worth the bits of storage they take up on some server, but it also shows you that they have no plan or idea of how much work there really is for the game to be finished. It seems the hiring of the additional developer helped with making a bunch of tooling because updates start mentioning it couple of months after his hiring(probably when he realised he's not getting out of this project if he doesn't start working on them), which exposes Stephan as a rather overambitious person(total amateur tried to make something relatively complex, way above his abilities) if that's what was happening but it also seems to me that for the 5 years he was trying to make stuff for it, he must have spent quite a lot of it gooning to porn or trying to pickup trannies from some kind of weird hipster Berlin indie dev scene that fails to produce any games instead of actually working on it.

So yeah, the demo is fun, I suspect the EA version isn't horrible either, but I don't see this game ever releasing.

 

[Infinitron]

It's the final roadmap: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/941460/view/4186732260752603133

Roadmap

Welcome.

This is the roadmap for the final phase of the Death Trash Early Access.

We have avoided communicating concrete dates in the past. Working as a small team on a complicated game has been notoriously difficult, especially in regards to timely estimations. The Early Access took longer than we initially anticipated. For that we are sorry.

But during the Early Access we have improved the game and, equally important, our tools, workflows and knowledge. We are more confident now about handling the rest of the game and what time we’ll need for that.

Note: These dates might still change. If one of the milestones takes longer than anticipated, all the later dates will be influenced by that, too, of course. And at the end of the day we won't call it final (1.0) if we are not happy with the state of the game and will instead put more work in. But the important thing here is, I hope, to see and to know that the end is actually in sight.

Milestones

Steam Input implementation
Current target:
soon on the beta branch


The Perished City
Current target:
mid-2024 on the beta branch

New locations and quests.

Improving item economy
Current target:
fall 2024

This is about the range of items available in the game, inventory size, item balancing etc.

Northern Wasteland
Current target:
end of 2024

New locations and quests.

Improving existing locations and gameplay
Current target:
spring to mid 2025

This is in general about adding more depth to the game, both to the narrative parts as well as to the gameplay.

The Machine and the Watcher
Current target:
mid- to late 2025

Final locations and quests.

Full release
Current target:
mid- to late 2025


Post release
We will continue to support the game, of course. And as this game is very dear to us, this will probably happen for a long time. We haven’t decided yet if the next project after this will be more directly connected to Death Trash or be a different take.

Console versions
Current target:
end of 2025

We have no final decision on whether we follow through with publishing these ourselves or partnering up for that. Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch versions are playable already but need more work.

Localization
Current target:
unknown

We still don't know how much budget we'll have for additional languages. Production-wise it might make sense to have the localization added later than the 1.0 release so they can be done from a finished game instead of a still changing one. (If we had more experience we might try to have it all ready at once for the 1.0 release, but since our experience and resources are limited, we might rather approach this step by step.)

Level Editor
Current target:
unknown

Mainly intended for users to create their own standalone adventures with the Death Trash gameplay and art assets. We might extend the functionality later on.

Extended mind item gameplay
Current target:
might not happen

We have more gameplay ideas for Death Trash. But, realistically, we can’t tackle all of them and have to shelve some of them for later. Enhancing the gameplay around the mind items might be one of these cases. We will revisit these ideas in the future.

Thank you

Thank you so much for your feedback and support so far. Death Trash has already become a much better game during Early Access and we couldn’t have done that without you.

- Stephan

 

[agris]

2026 it is then

 

[toro]

2026 it is then

I don't understand how a developer can work on the same shit for 10 years.

 

[jackofshadows]

I don't understand how a developer can work on the same shit for 10 years.

A side job possibly? Who knows. Passive income/this as a hobby, basically.