Devlog - Level Design Update + New Enemy
over 1 year ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 02:48:17 PM

Hi all,

Welcome to the August backer update! It's peak summer here in The Netherlands and despite some incredibly hot days, we've made a lot of progress on the level design. Of course, this is an ongoing process, but today we'd like to show some parts of the levels, without giving away too many spoilers.

Below you can see a part of the Dim Hollows, a dark cavernous area filled with enemies, traps, and other things. 

Inquisitive players might also discover a wandering ghost down there.

Eastwick Grove is a forest area that leads to other parts of the woods. One of these parts is the Darkwoods, which is separated from the forest by 'The Twisted gate.

 Just like in the Prologue, we'd like to give our level a bit of an "entrance". That way it really feels like you're entering a dungeon (as you can see below).

We really like it when video games alternate between fast-pace combat sections and other more quiet parts. Below is an example of how we try to implement that in the game. The small puzzles will test both your platforming capabilities and your problem-solving skills.

The journey of a warrior is a lonesome one, but occasionally you'll meet some other characters. Friends or foes? Or maybe the answer is more nuanced?

New Enemy

The tree warrior is one of the new enemies you'll encounter in the forest.  Due to it's long arms, this enemy has a decent range of attack. It also has the ability to burrow underground and come up behind you, which makes them especially dangerous in groups.

That's it for today! We'll be updating you again when October starts. Until then, have a great summer, or winter (if you're on the other side of the globe)!

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - progression update
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Jun 03, 2022 at 02:56:09 PM

Hi all,

It's summer in the Netherlands, time for another update! We want to update you on our planning, our progress, and updates on the backer rewards.

 Planning update 

Beta postponed until Q1 2023

Now that it's June, we'll soon be entering the third quarter of 2022, when we had planned to release the beta build to backers. Reviewing our planning, we must conclude that we need more time to finish the beta. We want the beta to at least contain the opening section, the village,  the Arena, and two bigger quests, but we haven't made enough progress yet. Therefore, we're delaying the beta to Q1 of 2023.

We’re sorry about this. Kickstarter campaigns often come with delays, but we really wanted to be the exception to the rule. We were partly delayed by personal circumstances beyond our control, but also the arena took more time than we had anticipated. Now with the arena mostly done, we can use it to improve the quality of combat throughout the entire game. With that in place, we are determined to make Unsung Warriors a game of the quality you expect from us.

Early access

We've also reconsidered our plan for Early Access. Games with a high replayability factor - such as strategy games, rogue-like, or survival games - are very suitable for Early Access. For a game like Unsung Warriors, this approach makes less sense. And with the combined funding of Kickstarter and the Midgame fund, there is no financial necessity for us to release in Early Access.

Therefore, we've decided to skip public Early Access. We want to limit the impact on backers of this decision. Backers who have pledged for Early Access will be granted closed access to the game, probably not long after the beta release. To anyone reading this who is not a backer: we have to ask you to wait for the release of the full game, which is still scheduled for 2023.

Game Dev Update

In the past month, we've been mostly working on the village quests, opening sequence, and level design. We'd like to share some of the progress with you!

Small puzzles

As with any proper adventure game, your progression will not only depend on your fighting skills but also on your ability to solve small puzzles that gate your progression.

The great hall

This location is where the town assembly takes place. It's a warm and cozy place, where the villagers discuss hot topics such as how to deal with recent attacks on the village.

Time of day

Although our game doesn't feature a real time day-night cycle, some progression in quests will cause the time of day to leap forward.

 Backer rewards

In the last two months we've made progress on the backer rewards. Below are two pieces of art that can be found somewhere in the world of Unsung Warriors!

That's it for now. If you have any questions or remarks, feel free to let us know. We'll update you again in August!

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - Gameplay Video, Speedrun
about 2 years ago – Tue, Apr 05, 2022 at 12:40:37 PM

Hi all!

We're approaching spring in the Netherlands, so time for our bi-monthly update. This time around we have written less text, and instead, spend our time on creating a video.

Arena gameplay video

Here you can see a video including commentary of us playing the arena. Please mind the following while watching:

• What you've seen is still subject to change, incomplete, and not bug-free.
• The arena is a side activity in the full game, but is rather important to us now to finetune combat mechanics.
• We've posted the full, unedited video in the backer's section of our Discord server. Not on Discord? Send me a message via Kickstarter, and I'll share the video with you.

Enjoy the video!

Prologue speedrun

Below you can see another video, by backer Abendix. He was able to beat the Prologue in 7:22, which is an astonishing achievement!

That's all we have for you today. We've currently shifted our focus from the arena to creating levels. We'll be posting another update in two months.

Cheers,
   Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - Enemy Design, Combat & Steam Deck
about 2 years ago – Thu, Feb 03, 2022 at 01:00:42 PM

It’s time for another Dev Log! Welcome to the February update for Unsung Warriors!

For the last few months, we've made some significant improvements to the combat mechanics. We've worked on implementing new enemies, improved existing enemy behaviour, and updated some of the enemy designs. You can read all about it below.

New enemies

2 new enemies have been added to the skeleton army: 'The Warlock' and 'The Brute'.

Warlocks float around the levels and hurl energy balls at the player.  The player can attack the warlock directly or deflect their energy balls back at them.

The Brute can do some serious damage with their attacks. Unlike other enemies, their attacks cannot be interrupted.  Especially their mid-range attacks are something to look out for! 

Enemy Design Update

Skeleton Warrior

Based on the initial design of the Skeleton Warrior we've made some graphical improvements. The new sprites are more detailed, we've improved the readability, depth, and overall quality of the design while keeping true to the original concept and aesthetic.

Goblin Spear Warrior

Below you can see the design for the Goblin warrior.  We weren't satisfied with the old version so we completely redesigned this enemy. Hopefully, you like the new version.

The Goblin has rabbit-like qualities. They're fast and able to do jump attacks as well as attacks from close range. Although they're small in size, the reach of their weapons (the spear) more than makes up for this.

Bats

Remember these little buggers? They used to fly around the level in a ∞ shape. They will now chase the player and will try to attack you when you are close. Other than attacking them with your sword or ranged weapon, you can also hurt them with your shield.

Steam Deck

We've tested Unsung Warriors Prologue on the new and upcoming Steam Deck. It seemed to be running great which bodes well for the full version of our game.

In our next update, we'll tell you more about the arena, which is something that we are working on right now. It's coming along quite nicely although it's a bit too early to include that in the current update.

That's it for now! We'll be checking back in with you in two months. Meanwhile, stay safe and don't mess around with Goblins!

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - Interface design, business announcement
over 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 03, 2021 at 08:53:55 AM

Hi all,

It's December, meaning it's time for our bi-monthly update! Now that Ramon is also working full-time on Unsung Warriors, we've kicked up the pace and got some interesting things done in the past two months!

Midgame fund investment

We're starting this udpate with a business announcement. Unsung Warriors was in the fortunate position to receive an investment from the Midgame Fund! This brings us two advantages. Firstly, the extra funds allow us to explore features that were previously out of reach, such as hiring a composer and/or adding possible console releases. We'll inform you when we've decided about this. 

On top of this, the fund is run by game devs. The expertise and network within the fund has already proven to be of immense value, and will continue to do so until long after launch!

The terms are incredibly developer-friendly (you can get an idea here), so this won't lead to us being pushed to rush the game or anything. We're convinced this is going to raise the quality of Unsung Warriors. We know our successful Kickstarter campaign has really boosted our odds with the fund, so this makes us even more thankful to you, the backers!

New enemy

A new enemy has been added to the roster. The Bandit Bombthrower. A mid-range enemy who gets a sadistic satisfaction out of blowing things up.

UI Updates & Improvements

For the past few months, we got a lot of work done on the interfaces of Unsung Warriors.  The UI has been given a graphical overhaul and we've added new functionality. The result is not yet final but should give you a hint as to what we're aiming for. 

We were pretty satisfied with the Inventory from the Prologue, so we use that to build on. But the full game requires more interface than just the Inventory, so that's why we've introduced a tab system so that you can switch between the Inventory and the new Quest Log and Skill/Abilities menu.

Player Inventory

The design quality of the Inventory has been improved and we've added 3 inventory slots and with the new design. it's also a bit easier to compare different items.

Quest Log

A quest log has been added to the player menu, where you can keep track of your progress.

Since we want to prevent people from having to open the quest log too often, we notify people when quests are added/updated. You can see the system in action below.

Skills / Abilities

A skills/abilities menu has been added to the player menu.  We haven't made any definitive choices yet, but the idea we're going to test first is that you have different types of skills:

•  Passive Skills - Skills that are always active
•  Active Skills - Skills that are only active when equipped

Active skills can be configured by the player. Equipping the right skills at the right time can give you an edge in battle.

That's it for now. We sometimes get questions about when we'll be posting a new update. Know that you can always find this at the bottom of our latest update. We'll be posting the next update in late January/early February.

If you have any questions or got something else you want to share, feel free to contact us. And know you can always find us on Social Media.

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon