The combat UI is getting better

Hello hunters! Combat in Wayward Shadows is a huge part of the gameplay. No case is truly solved until the monster is put down for good. I want the combat to feel as smooth as possible and having a great and easy to use UI is a big part of that. Over the past couple of weeks lots of improvements have been made to the combat UI. Here are some of them:

• Improved icons for all action buttons
• All action buttons now have mappable shortcuts
• New bag mechanic to allow swapping of items during battle
• New highlighting states for buttons and UI sprites

When a hunter in battle is selected the player is presented with all stats, action and other relevant information. This whole part of the UI has gotten a big overhaul and is much less confusing to understand now. In addition to a lot of new icons, there are new tooltips, better highlighting and functioning shortcuts (finally!)

Swapping items in combat

One of the coolest newest features is the ability to swap items from the backpack.
This feature has been on the to-do list for a while and now finally made it into the game. The ability to swap the items in your hand with those from the backpack is a real game changer since you can now bring alternative equipment into combat. Swapping items doesn't cost any action points can be done quickly by clicking on the backpack and just dragging the items to where you want them. Large backpacks are hard to find but allow you to bring up to three extra items into battle.

More UI improvements are coming

The work on a better and more readable UI is ongoing of course and I have a huge backlog of things I'd like to add. Wayward Shadows is a UI heavy game and there is so much still missing, so this won't be the last UI focused update. After all there are a lot of other big-ticket items left to do, such as localization, full controller support, etc. Stay tuned for more updates!

[ 2024-08-31 16:11:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Gameplay Trailer

We finally have a new gameplay trailer ready. Whoo-hoo! So far we only had the short story/intro video on the page. And while that was a pretty cool little video, it didn't really provide much information about the gameplay. The game is still a bit away from being called a proper Alpha version but at least now we have enough gameplay footage for a proper gameplay trailer. You can spot a lot of new case solving and deduction gameplay in the trailer, as well as some new battle environments. 2024 is going to be a great year and there will be a lot more cool features coming! Thank you for your continued interest in Wayward Shadows! We really hope you like our new gameplay trailer!

[ 2024-03-04 22:44:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Feature Spring Cleaning

It has been a while since the last update, but a lot of things happened! Feature and code cleanup, rework of some of the older game systems and other un-sexy stuff. You wont really notice much difference just looking at the game, but things are much more stable and fluid now. There are some things though which are quite visible, such as an overhaul of the case stories:

Case Stories

We really wanted the cases to feel more like the episode of a TV show having a better arc. This is why most cases are now divided into three chapters, each with individual challenges. While the first chapter of a case might focus on identifying the victim and the cause of death, the second chapter might focus on how to find and kill a specific monster, and so on. There have also been a lot of improvements to the case solving UI itself: There are now new highlights on the drag and drop slots, more UI feedback, new tooltips, etc. All this makes it a bit easier to keep an overview of the case story.
As you can see in the above screenshot, a case story now has three chapters, each new one unlocked when the previous one has been solved. This allows us to craft better stories without overloading the player right away.

Localization

Localization is a big topic for us since we want to translate the game to as many languages as we can, and having a robust localization system is quite important. Wayward Shadows is very text heavy, and we are trying to manage text in such a way that we can easily update and maintain everything. We worked a lot on the localization code in the last couple weeks and now have a good system in place to set up and localize game strings. Not much to see or show though, since it all happens in the code.

Steam Page Face Lift

And last but not least, the Steam page has gotten a little face lift with new gameplay screenshots, updated text, etc. There is still no proper gameplay trailer at the moment, but I am hoping well have that ready soon. Stay tuned! 2024 is going to have a lot of great progress and much more cool stuff to show.

[ 2024-02-11 19:04:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Battle, Buffs, and Throwables

I am still quite a bit away from putting together a decent trailer showcasing the gameplay in one nice clip but there has been a ton of progress over the last weeks. The turn-based battle mode in particular got a lot of upgrades. I got the buffs/debuffs working and attacks can now buff/debuff units. A lot of cool stuff works now:

• Hunters and monsters can now get buffs/debuffs in battle that last X turns
• Hunters can get buffs buffs that last in battel and on the world map
• All equipment now supports on-use buffs debuffs
• World map actions, hustles skill-checks can now give buffs/debuffs
• Critical fail/success rolls from skill-check now give special new buffs.

And you can now also throw grenades and other things! Currently I only got the flashbang and a normal grenade working but the code base is done and now it is just a matter of creating more assets and effects.

Damage Dice

The damage dice also got a big upgrade and the damage type is now specific to the die and not the whole attack. Along with this the tooltips have been reworked and now show the exact amount of dice and the type of damage they do.
Now, monster AI and general behavior in the battle is still lacking but we are getting there. I hope I have some cool and functioning monster AI to show soon. Stay tuned!

[ 2023-12-01 21:31:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Small Town Living

The mysterious cases you will solve in Wayward Shadows take place in small towns all over the US. Each town is different, with a unique layout, buildings and environments. Each town you enter will have lots of buildings and locations to discover. As the case develops and you find new clues, new locations will become available to explore. Obviously traveling between locations in the town is important, so a lot depends on what vehicle you have chosen for your run. Traveling in Wayward Shadows takes time, and the clock never stops, which means you have to think and plan ahead where and how often to travel.
In addition to locations which are relevant to your current case, each town always has a couple of basic buildings, such as a motel for you to rest and heal or a pawn shop to buy and sell equipment. And you can always hover over a building to get more information before driving to it.

Look and Feel

Getting the visuals and the tech right for those towns has been quite a challenge. The town generation algorithm and the accompanying art assets have all been through multiple reworks. I have tweaked the zooming and panning on the map a lot so that it feels better, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Check out this screenshot of the current town map rendering taken from the latest dev build of the game vs an older version a couple months old.
Thank you for reading! I hope you are all looking forward to finally get to play this game as much as I am having have fun building it! Talk to you soon!

[ 2023-09-11 17:00:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

More than fighting

Monster hunting is more than just fighting and killing dangerous monsters. Gathering clues and interviewing witnesses is a big part of solving cases. Knowing what monster you face in battle and what strengths and weaknesses it has is going to be vital for your survival. While the turn-based battles in Wayward shadows are a lot of fun, the cases leading up to them are quite important too. You don't want to be unprepared and bring a wooden stake to a Werewolf fight! Your most important tool for solving a case is your journal. This is where you keep all the clues and information for the monsters that you found. Check out the work-in-progress screenshot of the hunter journal.

Procedurally generated mysteries

Each case you solve in Wayward Shadows is different. Not only will you be hunting different monsters, but the way to identifying and finding a dangerous monster requires a lot of detective work. Not wo cases are the same and each time you enter a new town to help out the people there, a new case is being generated with different challenges, clues and storylines. Even after hours and hours of fighting evil, each case will feel new and fresh.

Finding clues

New clues can be obtained by talking to witnesses and convincing them to share information with you. Once you meet a new character in the game you have the option to talk to them and get them to tell you more.
Check out the work-in-progress screenshot of the dialog interface above. Here the hunters just found an important witness hanging out a the local bar. The bottom of the location window shows a list of 'Location Action' buttons which allow you to interact with locations and people. What actions are available depends on the location, the people there, your hunting team and a lot of different things. We are still working on the character conversations and interactions and hopefully have a bit more to show soon! There are a couple of pretty cool skill-check based mechanics that we can't wait to show. Stay tuned!

[ 2023-05-22 18:11:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Items and Equipment

A big part of the fun of going on a new journey in Wayward Shadows is to find and manage equipment, weapons and armor to help you in your fight against the forces of evil. New items can be found in certain locations while you are working a case or, if you are lucky, you can buy useful things at the local pawn shop,

Limited Capacity

You cant bring everything, and space is always limited. Each hunter can carry two weapons, one piece of armor and a backpack. You have more space to store things in the trunk of your vehicle but only the equipment in your hunters inventory will be available during battle. Better make sure to pack your silver items before you face a Werewolf! And last month I finally finished work on the new backpack system which now allows you to use and manage bag items to gain more space. A simple looking feature but it was pretty tricky to implement. Once a bag is equipped it opens up additional storage slots for your hunter. Having a large backpack that allows you to bring more items is super useful, but also very hard to find.

Equipment Generation

Weapons, armor and other equipment items are not randomly generated but set up manually and can then be found in the world. This means you will not encounter any items with random names and values but only hand-tweaked items. This makes sure each item will feel unique and well designed. There is a lot of code and balancing that takes care of the drop rates, availability, etc. but this part is still heavily work-in-progress. I am looking forward to the first playtests to see how this works and if players like it. Stay tuned for more information. I am hard at work on adding more hunters, monsters and equipment and I hope I have to show more soon. Thank you and have fun!

[ 2023-03-13 18:25:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

How to build a hunting team

Its dangerous to go alone! Better bring a partner when you go monster hunting. At the start of every new run in Wayward Shadows youll first have to build your hunting team. That means picking two hunters and a vehicle to travel with. Once you have made your choice and started your run, this is it. You can not change your hunters or vehicle once you are on the road.

Pick Your Hunters

There are 9 different hunters to choose from, all with different stats, skills and starting equipment. This allows for a lot of different team combinations to support your favorite playstyle. Not all hunters will be available right from the start though and you have to unlock them by completing various challenging achievements. Each hunter starts with one unique skill and one weapon. You can of course find better equipment and even learn new skills later, but this is what you start with.
(The team selection screen)

Pick Your Vehicle

Every hunting team needs transportation. Which of the six available vehicles you pick for your run determines how fast you will get to your next case, how much you can transport and how comfortable the ride is. All those values play a role and depending on your playstyle you want to choose the right vehicle for your hunters. Just like hunters, most vehicles also need to be unlocked by completing achievements. And to make it more personal you can even name your vehicle!

Each Run is Different

All the different combinations of hunters and vehicles make every run unique and challenging. A big part of the fun is figuring out what combos work best and in what way to level them. Once you start solving cases and killing monsters youll get to level up your hunters and improve their equipment. Dual-wielding baseball bats? Extra bottles of holy water? It is up to you to build the best hunting team.
(Jing and Bronco are on the road!) Ill try and post more info on character stats, equipment and how the leveling works in future updates. If you like what you see, and would like to support the game please consider adding it to your wishlist. Each wishlist addition goes a long way! Thank you and have fun! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605680

[ 2022-08-17 15:27:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to the very first update for Wayward Shadows! Thank you for being here for this this great moment! Now that the Steam page is finally live, it is time to share a bit more information about the game and what is coming next. I am still hard at work on bringing the game into a playable state but things are looking great. Check back over the next couple of months to see how things are going. Ill be posting screenshots, videos and other updates here as the game is progressing. There are still a lot of things missing on this page. For example a great trailer showing some gameplay! The turn based combat in Wayward Shadows is a lot of fun but I want to polish things a bit more before I put out a full gameplay trailer. Hopefully in the next weeks I'll have a trailer ready to show you. Stay tuned!

[ 2022-08-07 19:00:04 CET ] [ Original post ]