Topics

1

General Gaming - The Arcade / Space Engineers

« on: April 15, 2019, 05:36:42 PM »

Has anyone given this a go? I brought it a while ago in a Steam sale, but never got round to actually playing it. Now that I'm a poor gamedev, I'm actually dealing with my backlog :-) I was initially put off with the complexity and a rather scary looking UI, but at some point since I purchased it, there is now a really nice set of tutorial missions that helps you and walks you through some of the functionality.

It's the first time I've experienced the "oh wait, how has six hours gone by?" moment in quite a while. For those who don't know it, you are an astronaut who also happens to be a genius with a welding torch. And you need to survive by building everything from obscenely huge spaceships to even more hugely obscene spaceships (well, I'm just building little ones which are little more than a chair with some rockets - there is a lot to learn!).  It's very sandboxey with a variety of different scenarios to explore. The scale of the game is also pretty dang impressive, moving from space down to a planet and being able to explore both in a lot of detail. It can be played multiplayer (which would be a lot of fun) - but I'm having plenty of fun playing it in single player.

If you've already got and haven't played it in ages give it a go, if not it is one I really do recommend purchasing when you are able :-)

2

Computer Game Development - The Indie Alley / Fringe Planet - a survival simulator game inspired by Dwarf Fortress & Rimworld

« on: July 26, 2018, 02:24:27 PM »

Intro

Hey folks! I just thought I'd post a little bit about the game that I'm developing - Fringe Planet.  Fringe Planet is a survival simulator based in a Lovecraft inspired universe where both magic and science co-exist. Six strangers (called peons) awake in a frozen and harsh environment, with no memory of who they are or how they got here.  Through discovery and exploration they will gradually discover some of the mysterious of the place they are trapped in - and if they are lucky they may start remembering who they were in their previous lives.

The game is designed to be tough - AI story tellers throw events at the player that can change the game very quickly, turning a success into a failure.  The environment itself - a frozen and bleak floating island traveling through an infinite void - is incredibly tough to survive in.  Peons can freeze, starve and go mad very quickly. And even when they aren't just fighting the elements, you never know when a passing demon may possess one of your own.

Using both science and magic, the player can tame the landscape in multiple ways - extending the surface area by catching other floating islands (which may involve harvesting the arm of an ethereal creature that can drive you mad and sticking it in a machine) - creating whatever homes/bases they desire - or by setting up complicated factory chains of belts and machines to automatically craft items.

The game itself is fantastically lore deep - but a player can choose to ignore the lore of the game and just focus on survival - the game itself is very much aimed at being a sandbox that will allow players to tell their own stories.

Designed in mind with modding from the ground up, every aspect of the game can be changed - and I'm very keen to see what other people start to come up with for the game - sometimes it feels like I'm writing more of an engine than a game!

About me

I've been a developer for over 20 years, breaking my teeth on BASIC on a BBC model B many, many moons ago. I've worked professionally with many startups over the years, initially as a developer and then moving onto becoming a systems architect.  When one of the start-ups ended, I decided to start up myself and work full time on Fringe Planet - it's honestly a terrifying journey at times but it is the most fulfilled I've ever felt in my life.

Eye Candy

More Info

I tweet daily about the development of the game, so twitter is normally the best place to catch me : https://twitter.com/beebug_nic
On top of that, Fringe Planet has a website here : http://fringeplanetgame.com/ and you can find the development blog (new posts on Friday) here : http://fringeplanetgame.com/blog/

Thanks for taking the time to read this :-) I'm always happy to talk about the project so if you have any questions or comments just let me know :-) I'll keep this thread update as things develop :-)

3

The Welcome Hall - Start Here! / Hey folks :-)

« on: July 26, 2018, 09:54:15 AM »

Hi folks, my name is Nic and I'm and indie game developer from the UK :-) I was pointed in the direction of this forum by Tusky Games on twitter so thought I'd pop and say hello :-) Looks like a nice and friendly place you have here :-)