Space Wreck - post-apocalyptic space RPG inspired by Fallout

[Technomancer]

Any cybernetic implants in this game? Or limited ways to permanently boost your inherent stats later (not drugs and items)?

 

[Kamaz]

Any cybernetic implants in this game? Or limited ways to permanently boost your inherent stats later (not drugs and items)?

Not at the moment.

I tend to think of the main attributes - PHYSICAL, PERCEPTION, FOCUS, CHARM, WORK - as defining your character's natural talents, abilities he/she is born with, and skills as something you have direct control over. I think it's kind of fun to have to deal with low attribute even in your late game - if you started with CHARM 1 you'll always be an ugly dwarf everyone despises even if you are deadly sniper or master manipulator. Kind of like in life.

Having said that, I was considering some minor alterations in the game. For example, LASIC eye surgery is something very commonplace in our world and it is a clear main attribute alteration - PERCEPTION + 1 . I think this is OK and fits well within the setting, however, when/if I add that, that should be behind some gameplay gate - something you have to put and effort to get.

 

[Abu Antar]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

That GIF reminds me of beginning of Space Quest II.

 

[Kamaz]

:D I was just posting it! Oh well, thanks!

For the context, though: IMHO pick-pocketing always has been a tricky case in computer RPGs. If PC succeeds, excellent - risk and reward, a spike of adrenalin, skill application. But what if the attempt inevitably fails at some point? Should NPC turn hostile? It seems a bit overkill (sometimes literally), plus, it may trash relations with the whole group of people. Players would avoid using this skill and that's not ideal - why have a skill which is useless?

Maybe NPC just grunts and shakes finger? That's how it was in SW before. Turns out, players do love to exploit that - repeating pick pocket attempts until success. I don't mind the exploits per se but in this case I think it robs the role-playing experience and immersion.

You could fix the roll (like we do in some cases anyway), you could reduce reputation, but in this case, NPC just shoves you away. Just that shove in zero-G can be more pronounced...

You also get bruised by a few HP (3) in this case - not much but enough to evaluate pros and cons for the next time.

Oh, and I think it looks funny so the player probably is not that disappointed about failure.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1063540/view/3035966163969541781

From pre-early to early access
Major UI overhaul. New gameplay options. Combat rebalancing
Thanks to the feedback of many players, the game has grown a lot over these few months. Here are only the bigger changes in the update:

Always-on screenslate

Your
screenslate
- the archaic-looking tablet with a monochrome display - is the single most central UI element in the game. It houses your character stats, inventory, handles dialogs, and interactions. It made sense to keep it on the screen at all times, ready to slide out when necessary and quietly logging background information in the meantime.

Visible weapons

In real life, it is clear what are you holding in your hand. Is it a gun? Or a device? Is it big, small, bulky, weird? Now you can see that in the game as well. Plus, handy stats and functionality.

New and user-friendly inventory screen

Based on the YouTube videos and streams it was clear that the inventory screen needs some polishing. Say hello to version 2.0 - utility shorthand buttons right by the item you select, a lot more space for item description in bigger font, a separate tab for a precise data table. Oh and it automatically compares these stats to the item you have equipped.

Character evaluator

In this game - like in most RPGs - you have to make probably the most important decisions
before
you play - when you are creating a character. With this version, you get immediate feedback upon creation and have a chance to step back and adjust things. It also flags you - e.g. that your scitec skill is so low, you may crash a computer. At the end of the day, it IS your call but now you know what you are getting into.

Low FOCUS affects your dialog too

Dialogs are affected by
speech
,
CHARM
,
PERCEPTION
and now -
FOCUS
as well. If it is too low, to be precise. Then you just don't have the patience to sit through and listen for long and boring speeches or read through daunting terminal entries - it's just
Bla, bla, bla...
to you. Why did we add this feature? Because it is a
ROLE
-playing game after all.

Combat balancing
It may not be visible right away but
under the hood
combat has been repaired, adjusted, and balanced quite a bit. There are some new things as well, see if you can spot new tactical options.

Adjusted endings and continuity
Players did some things we kind of did not expect and sometimes the endings they got did not exactly reflect what we wanted. Thus, we adjusted them and even added one.

Along the way, we patched some continuity bugs - when players do things in an unexpected order. We like it, by the way. Keep
sequence breaking
the game, guys - if it IS possible then it IS a legit solution.

Captain [COMMANDER]

In the past, companions were helpful but could get in the way. Now, they still can be a major pain in the ass but if you have high
CHARM
- and we are talking 4 and 5 here - you can literally command them. Not only you can tell them
where to go
, but also directly manage their inventory and even use their skillset - to pick a lock, hack a computer.

Oh, and you can now get rid of your companions at will. Sorry, it took so long.

...And there are smaller changes I won't even list here. This version contains probably the most changes since the launch, including some content additions.

Go on, take it for a spin!

 

[Kamaz]

Ah, yes, we released the biggest update to the game (DEMO) yet.
Major UI overhaul, new mechanics (e.g. lost FOCUS, failed pickpocket kick etc.), combat rebalancing, new items, and other bits of content - there are many changes.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Kamaz]

Destroyed robots are a good source for weapons and ammo but it requires at least minimal technical skills and a tool to extract them.

 

[mondblut]

Maybe NPC just grunts and shakes finger? That's how it was in SW before. Turns out, players do love to exploit that - repeating pick pocket attempts until success.

Block it for a time or apply a massive success penalty. Fool me twice, shame on me, as the saying goes.

 

[Kamaz]

Block it for a time or apply a massive success penalty. Fool me twice, shame on me, as the saying goes.

Yes, the timed block makes sense as well as an increased penalty. For now, there's kicking as it carries HP penalty, but I might add a timed block later

 

[Kamaz]

One thing that became clear from playthrough videos was that inventory management is a very substantial part of Space Wreck gameplay. To help with this, we added some new improvements that will definitely make life easier -

1) now item entries have small subtype icons associated;
2) there's a progress bar that clearly denotes how much carrying capacity you have left to spare.

 

[m_s0]

Yes, the timed block makes sense as well as an increased penalty. For now, there's kicking as it carries HP penalty, but I might add a timed block later

Escalation also seems like a good idea to me here: first attempt could result in a "the fuck you doing asshole", second could earn the player a shove, then a punch to the face, and if they keep trying after that it's a bullet between the eyes, because - clearly - that's the only way to get the message across. Something along those lines.

Would probably feel and work better if applied to an area as well.

 

[Technomancer]

For example, LASIC eye surgery is something very commonplace in our world and it is a clear main attribute alteration - PERCEPTION + 1 . I think this is OK and fits well within the setting, however, when/if I add that, that should be behind some gameplay gate - something you have to put and effort to get.

Makes perfect sense. Although LASIC is already generation three by now or something? Especially if you count derivative tech like ReLEx SMILE. Don't know how far SpWr is in the future but surely it will be obsolete by then?

 

[HoboForEternity]

So is this game gonna end up bigger than planned? Looks like it has gone trough a lot than last year's showings.

 

[Marat]

So is this game gonna end up bigger than planned?

We can hope.

 

[Kamaz]

Escalation also seems like a good idea to me here:[...].

Indeed, that feels somewhat natural and telegraphed.

Makes perfect sense. Although LASIC is already generation three by now or something? Especially if you count derivative tech like ReLEx SMILE. Don't know how far SpWr is in the future but surely it will be obsolete by then?

It's 2095. But there's a nuance - it matters not only what year it is but also where are you. Sure, we do have a Mark III LASIK these days around but ... only if you are in a civilized world, in a manner of speaking. There are still places - a lot actually - where tech and day-to-day living standards are those of decades ago. This was actually one of the inspirations of the SW setting - here the apocalypse did not really happen. It's just that the people and industry had to move on and left those unfortunate unable to escape. While the rest of the world (big cities on Earth) are enjoying kind of the future from movies, they are stuck 20-30 years in the past.

And even then - it is explained in-game actually - most of the tech that reached Belt (the mining colonies) is actually designed to last very long but also has a limited set of features. All these fancy things are nice but millions of km from Earth you cannot afford them to break down.

So is this game gonna end up bigger than planned? Looks like it has gone trough a lot than last year's showings.

Yes, the game has grown indeed. However, it often grows not in length but in ... girth? I mean, it still is short but there are more options and branches forming around.

Having said that, the current version is 2-3x longer than it was originally planned.

 

[Abu Antar]

 

[Kamaz]

The context for that picture is actually important - we are reworking the start of the game. Nothing is really removed, instead, content is added (including 1 new NPC), more problems to solve, and even more ways to solve them.

This is a sort of "Temple of Trials" situation but hopefully without all the negative aspects :D of that allegory.

 

[Twiglard]

Are the EGA colors intentional? What throws me off the most is the art direction. I hope this is programmer art.

 

[hello friend]

The art is lovely. Go home.

 

[Kamaz]

On space stations and ships, everything is cramped. There is not much space in ... errr... space.

This has been a great challenge in development as there are high walls, narrow passages, and a fixed isometric camera. And, considering that game's maps are riddled with "secret" maintenance access tunnels, it is not only decorative issue.

Recently we changed the rendering so that walls in front of the PC are dithered away, I think this looks better than the previous "empty block".

 

[udm]

Kamaz don't know if this has been asked already, but what's the estimated gameplay length of the full game?

 

[Kamaz]

Kamaz don't know if this has been asked already, but what's the estimated gameplay length of the full game?

Yes it is asked but you are right to keep asking - this does change .

The freely available and playable demo which is also kind of EA and the first "chapter" of the game, is roughly 1 hour of gameplay. However, that can mean many things - you can complete in 5-10 minutes, given the right character build and circumstances. You can spend around 1 hour playing normally, I guess. Or I've seen people play it for 3 hours on stream with various characters as quite a bit of content is locked away behind skill checks, sex checks, and in-game decisions. You are not supposed to access everything on your first play-through.

The full version should be somewhat 3 times larger, I gather. Hence you can roughly multiply the demo by three.

Here's pretty picture of that:

 

[Kamaz]

Good news everyone! Well, sort of...

First, we have a new start to the game - a sort of better version of Temple of Trials. On the other hand - unfortunately, (but, probably, unsurprisingly) - we have to postpone the release. I tried to sandwich this announcement in between E3 and Steam Summer fest but failed even that.

TL; DR

New beginnings

The very first area you start the game - KROGUS III Welcome Terminal - has been significantly expanded and reworked. Now it is your first quest - to get out of the terminal by any means necessary. I have counted 7 ways to do it but there may be more, some of them very simple, others - somewhat complex.

Explore the surroundings, meet a new character, scour the terminals, loot the containers, fight the cambots! You will get a taste of the whole game experience in the first 5-10 minutes.

Acting as a tutorial, this is effectively an escape room.

Item icons and inventory fullness indicator

With this new update, your items will have item type-specific icons, so it is now easier to quickly find, for example, a weapon in the mess of things. The same goes for sorting toggles which also now feature a visual icon instead of a letter.

The other important thing is the carry load indicator - a big, prominent progress bar on the bottom of the items list. It displays how full your inventory is visual - so it is now easier to "sense" the encumbrance coming before it becomes an actual problem.

Postponed release

Based on the generous user feedback we have received about our demo, the game has drastically improved over these few months. Unfortunately, our original estimates, made before the demo release, have turned out to be imprecise - there is still a lot of work to be done to rework the existing content more in line with the list of improvements discovered from the demo.

As a result, we have to postpone the release. There is no specific date this time because - turns out - it's hard to estimate these kinds of things.

Just a reminder - our free demo version is essentially the first chapter of the full game and we are treating it as Early Access.

If you have some qualms, please let us know here, on the RPGCodex messaging board!

Link to Steam announcement: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1063540/announcements/detail/2981927408930105373