Hello everyone! We had planned to do a small update before we went into the game balance. But something went wrong... As a result, here is a brand new environment design! It is much brighter and more fabulous. Our team really liked the new version. What do you think, is it better? We haven't changed the main page yet, but below is an example of how the same level looks with different environments: day, night and rain.


Thank you for your attention and stay tuned! There's a lot more news to come! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2024-06-13 15:17:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi, everyone! We were wrong! The last demo version was boring. We delayed battles too much. We released new units too late. We made many mistakes in the game balance. We apologize and sprinkle ashes on our heads. The main changes in this demo version are balance related. The detailed list of changes is below, but for now I will list the most important ones.
First of all, the combat time has been significantly reduced. This was a big problem with all the old builds of the game. Now you get to an island, figure out its tactics, and win. Or die... Either outcome will happen quickly, and you won't have time to get bored. Second, we are giving out the first three squads for the first five levels, which greatly expands the tactical possibilities in the game. It's a shame that we didn't realize this sooner and instead focused on items and objects in the level. And third, we've redesigned the items. We've significantly reduced the number of healing potions, and we're giving out more dummies instead. And in the future, we will focus on items that enhance tactical abilities rather than just buffing squads.
A full list of game changes: 0. Difficulty levels do not work! No matter what you choose, you will be playing on "Normal" difficulty. 1. Old saves will be deleted! 2. Performed a complete rebalancing of levels in the direction of reducing the battle time. 3. Reduced the number of active enemy spawn locations to 2 (sometimes up to 3). These locations are highlighted with purple light. 4. Significantly reduced the health of decoys, but added an item to buff them. We now advise against fighting under decoys at all times. 5. XP rebalancing. Towards the end of the demo, units should have passive abilities. 6. New passive abilities for mages and hunters. 7. Now mages can't fight in melee. Books are poor melee weapons, as Jason Bourne confirms. 8. Mages projectiles now ignore low obstacles and fences. 9. Squad UI has been updated to provide more useful information. 10. Credits dialog has been added, come in to meet us!
We hope you will enjoy the new version of the game! We are always waiting for your feedback and suggestions in the comments. Thank you for following the news about our game! Good luck and health to you and your family. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2024-05-15 11:08:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! We have prepared a new demo version. We can say that this demo version is the final version of our experiments. This is the direction in which we will continue our development.
And this is what we got in the end:

• We have decided to abandon map exploration, we simply do not have the time to implement this functionality.
• Completely redesigned UI.
• 2 new tabs are available: Storage and Barracks
• In the Storage you will find all the items available for equipping.
• In the Barracks you can manage your squads and equip them with different items.
• Battles have been significantly reworked.

Read more about what's new in combat:

• Three unit classes are now available: Paladins, Hunters and Mages. Mages have high mobility and AOE damage.
• Try to fight near bonfires, as your stamina will regenerate faster in this area.
• Altars gradually heal wounded warriors.
• Cauldrons significantly reduce damage from poisons.

Now for the RPG part of the game:

• As you progress through the levels, you collect plasma, which is distributed to your squads at the end of the battle and increases their experience.
• The more experienced a squad is, the more members it will have and the more skills it will be able to use.
• You can also upgrade your squad with different outfits and equipment.

We'll have more news later, but that's it for now. Thank you for your attention, and enjoy the game! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2024-01-18 13:12:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Last time we showed new game objects that were added in the latest demo version, passed all available levels, looked at the abilities of different types of warriors and enemies, and survived!

[ 2023-10-14 17:06:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello to all fans of tactical games! We will show the new game objects that were added in the latest demo, go through all the available levels, look at the abilities of different types of warriors and enemies, in short just try to survive:) Join us! [previewyoutube=yeckcM-7uoc;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2023-10-11 06:58:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! We made a new demo version for you with some changes that will greatly affect the gameplay. We've adjusted the balance a bit, making your units more durable. We've also added two extra dummies, so now you get three instead of one. But the decoys have become weaker, protect them!
Two new active objects have appeared on the field: altars and cauldrons. Altars heal your units but do not bring back the dead. The squad's number can only be restored by using a healing potion. Cauldrons cure poisoning. Simply stand beside one for its effect.
We are currently concentrating on creating levels and battles for the game while still working on developing the map and main menu. Once we have the chance, we will display the outcomes of our work. Thank you for your attention, and enjoy the game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2023-10-02 16:46:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello! Today, we have released a new demo version of the game. This time, the changes are mostly cosmetic and not very significant. However, we are making progress towards the final design, which is great to see. The most important update is the complete overhaul of the player's units. We have introduced new swordsmen and replaced archers with a skilled bounty hunter. This new character excels not only with a crossbow but also with daggers in close combat. You can see them in action in our new video. [previewyoutube=yeckcM-7uoc;full][/previewyoutube] Additionally, we have made changes to the enemies. The skeletons have been replaced by mutated sectarians who have an increased attack range but reduced damage resistance. The poisonous mushrooms have been swapped for slugs, which lack a long-range attack but have significantly improved physical damage resistance. The death heralds, being the most dangerous adversaries, remain unchanged, except for a slight reduction in their resistance to stabbing damage. Be cautious in close combat with them, as it will likely result in death.
In the Linux version of the game, we have resolved the issue with the running application icon. Furthermore, we have fixed numerous bugs and introduced several new ones across all versions of the game. lunar2019grinningpig We eagerly await your feedback and bug reports. Stay tuned, as a new update will be coming soon! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2023-09-21 11:00:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, Exciting update! We have just launched the demo version of our game for linux. It might also be compatible with Steam OS, although we haven't tested it yet. Additionally, cross-platform saves should function properly.
In the future, we are aiming to make all demo versions and the full game available for linux as well. However, there may be a slight delay as building and testing require time and effort. If you encounter any issues on this platform, or if you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out on the game forum! And stay tuned, we plan to update the demo soon. lunar2019grinningpig https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2023-08-31 12:00:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi! We are excited to announce the release of a new gameplay video for our upcoming game. This video showcases some thrilling and action-packed elements of the game that we can't wait to share with you. [previewyoutube=v6-wV4JNG3w;full][/previewyoutube] We are committed to regular updates and improvements, ensuring that your gaming experience is nothing short of exceptional. Your support and feedback play a crucial role in shaping the future of our game, so please share your thoughts with us. Together, let's make this game a masterpiece. Stay tuned for more exciting news and updates in the coming weeks. Thank you for your continued support! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/_/

[ 2023-08-23 11:05:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good news, everyone! We are thrilled to finally release the demo for Eternal Mist. We poured our hearts into this project and hope that you will enjoy this small taste of what's to come in the full version. Eternal Mist takes you on an immersive journey to a fantasy post-apocalyptic world where you must lead a group of survivors in a battle against hordes of malicious creatures. Combining elements of strategy and combat, you will face challenging missions that test your tactical decision-making skills and survival instincts.
We want to warn you that this is an early build of the game and a lot of things are not done yet and will be finalized. We plan to periodically update the demo version of the game with fixes and new features. In the full version of the game you will have three classes of fighters under your command: swordsmen, rangers and mages. Each class will have one passive ability and one active superpower ability. In this demo version, a set of heroes for each mission is hardcoded. Naturally, in the future you will independently plan operations, select the team and its equipment. We plan to expand the list of available items, and we also want to make their various modifications. For example, what do you think of the idea of a dummy freezing enemies? At the moment there are inactive objects in the game: bonfires, cauldrons or treasure chests. In the future, all of them will affect the gameplay, improving the characteristics of your fighters or weakening the enemies. Proper positioning of your team will allow you to finish the battle with minimal losses!
So, if you're ready to exercise your strategic prowess and try yourself in intense real-time tactics, download the Eternal Mist demo! Prepare for an exciting adventure, where quick decision-making skills and clever tactical maneuvers can mean the difference between victory and defeat! Stay tuned for further updates and announcements! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/

[ 2023-08-21 10:27:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! We finished working on the level generation, yay! There will be more work on different environments in the future: sands, rocks, winter, etc. We'll think about foggy waterfalls. But the main part of the work is completed, the tiles are formed and we can generate game levels. Which brings us closer to the first demo version!!! A small example of how the levels are generated now, you can see in this video: [previewyoutube=Zq10Mwv391U;full][/previewyoutube] We have also begun balancing our characters. We haven't prepared the final art for them yet, and we're taking it from public assets. But now it's more important for us to evaluate the gameplay. To see how diverse battles and battles can be. In the game units differ not only in the number of units, but also in their level. The higher the level, the more powerful weapons the warriors carry. And they also unlock new abilities, such as the charge attack. In this video, you can see the growth of the efficiency of the squad as the level increases. [previewyoutube=45mOUb54OQI;full][/previewyoutube] There will be levels for both your characters and monsters. Also, monsters will have resistance to certain types of damage. For example, skeletons have good resistance to stabbing weapons, which makes archers ineffective against them. [previewyoutube=WFZeQ45TdG8;full][/previewyoutube] We also experiment with powerful enemies. And how you can defeat them. At the moment, the best tactic is the tank rush. :) [previewyoutube=hvCmFGY1s9A;full][/previewyoutube] That's all for today, but there will be more news and interesting stories to come. So don't forget to subscribe and add the game to your wishlist! And subscribe to our reddit channel. It's interesting there, too! https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Thank you for reading. And see you next time! Take care of yourself and your loved ones! rionix team https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/

[ 2023-03-24 10:20:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Long introduction.

In our last game, The Unexpected Quest, level development took about three months, including design and cinematics. Now we are making a tactical strategy game called Eternal Mist and we have over 100 levels planned for it. Naturally they will be much smaller and simpler, but even spending a few days on one level will take a long time to develop. "Better to lose a day, then to fly in five minutes!" we decided and set to work on automatic level generation. We ended up with this: [previewyoutube=Ff0tXzaMpvU;full][/previewyoutube] I want to point out right away that we don't plan to dynamically generate levels in the game itself. Therefore, on the one hand it became easier: there are less demands on stability of algorithms (in case of error or unsatisfactory result you can always generate the level again) and their performance. On the other hand, additional tools for the developer: debugging and visualization of bad moments, UI for the editor, etc. Right now, the process of working on the level looks like this: [previewyoutube=MU-0c_02fxU;full][/previewyoutube] From the title of the article, it is clear that after exploring the possible options we settled on the Wave Function Collapse algorithm. It is quite simple to implement and still can produce very interesting combinations. Moreover, the game we were inspired by Bad North: Jotunn Edition, also used this algorithm for generating levels. At the end of the article I added a link to a lecture by its creator about the WFC algorithm. I'm not going to go into details of the algorithm itself, as there is a lot of material on the web on this topic. I will add some useful links at the end of this article. Just to remind you of the basic principle:

• a level is built from tiles,
• each tile is a visual representation and a list of possible neighbors for each side,
• the whole field is divided into slots, and at the beginning of work, each slot is filled with all possible tiles,
• at each step, one slot with the lowest entropy is chosen (simplistically, with the smaller number of tiles inside) and "collapsed" to a single tile,
• from the remaining slots, the tiles that cannot be adjacent to the collapsed slot or its neighbors are removed (the "wave"),
• the algorithm is repeated until all slots have collapsed or an error occurs.

Implementation features

The usual list of neighboring tiles is not enough to determine which tile may be nearby. Simply because as the number of tiles grows, these lists will also grow. And very quickly and confusingly. So instead of storing tiles, we store edges. This list is much smaller and easier to keep track of. Since the tiles can rotate, we still need to develop an agreement to dock the edges. In the video below (time-linked link), everything is explained in detail and we did the same: [previewyoutube=2SuvO4Gi7uY;full][/previewyoutube] In addition to the "white lists" of allowed tiles (the edges lists discussed above), it is highly recommended to have a "black list" of forbidden tiles. Already without the indication of edges. But simply as follows: on this side of the tile so-and-so cannot join. For example, in terms of joining edges, the example below is acceptable, but visually it looks unnatural.
It is highly recommended to make at least some kind of dump of already registered edges and in which tiles they are used. The visual format is ideal, but even the text format will be very useful in the later stages of development. The top flight, to think through the system of edges so that they can be generated automatically, we, unfortunately, have not reached this level. It looks like this:
One more important point about edges and tiles. The success of the WFC algorithm and the realism of the generated levels largely depends on how you implement the tiles and how you dock them. It took us about three tries to find the right fit. Our main mistake was trying hard to reduce the number of possible edge types, which resulted in a small number of variations for the algorithm and consequently ugly and unrealistic results. At first, it's best to start with a set of tiles from some examples where you like the results. Performance. The algorithm is slow, with increasing the number of tiles, running time increases significantly, and you have to think about optimization right away. We have thought about it right away, cached something and didn't get there at all... So my advice is: you should optimize the thin places of your algorithm at the development stage, you most likely don't know about them. In our case UE4 internal profiler helped us and studied all suspicious places (everything that is called in loops). We put WFC_SCOPE_CYCLE_COUNTER around and around, and then checked what most of it costs us time. But we should definitely pay attention to handling lists of edges and tiles: merging, crossing and checking if one list contains another. This will be called a lot and often. Error debugging. Finding a set of tiles where the algorithm can always generate a level is very difficult. For a large set of tiles, it's unrealistic. Therefore, at the stage of development, it is extremely important to understand why the level was unable to be generated and what combination of tiles led to the error. We have it like this:
The red sphere indicates a slot that has no tiles left and can't "collapse". This is most often caused by not having enough tiles to connect nearby slots. Which slots need to be connected is shown in the log below. In addition to this, the log displays the iteration number at which the error occurred. And for detailed debugging, we made it possible to stop the algorithm not only at any moment of iteration, but also at any step of the wave, i.e., when all adjacent slots update the lists of possible edges. This is the panel on the right. Without this kind of functionality, it would be extremely difficult to pick up a working set of tiles, and we recommend that you worry about it right away. If you are planning a game with automatic level generation, in case of error, it is necessary to rethink the system of level generation (it may take a long time) or a fallback system and continue level generation, but with new random numbers (this should work faster). Fortunately, it was not needed for our tasks.

Useful Links

[olist]

You should start with this video: https://youtu.be/2SuvO4Gi7uY

An excellent lecture by Oskar Stlberg about his game Bad North and his implementation of WFC: https://youtu.be/6JcFbivo8dQ

An article about generating infinite 3D levels with WFC: https://marian42.de/article/wfc/ And a link to Unity algorithm itself: https://github.com/marian42/wavefunctioncollapse

There are ready-made plugins for Unreal Engine, but I'm not sure about their quality: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/easy-level-generator https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/procedural-environment-generator-wfc

There is also an experimental WFC plugin in Unreal Engine 5: UE5_FOLDER]\Engine\Plugins\Experimental\WaveFunctionCollapse Unfortunately, I couldn't find any documentation on it. [/olist]

Thank you for your attention!

We will be very pleased if you add our game to your wishlist and keep an eye on the project. We will be happy to answer your questions. We promise to write new articles, notes and post interesting materials about the game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/Eternal_Mist/ And we look forward to seeing you on our Reddit page. https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Best wishes, Rionix team.

[ 2023-01-14 09:43:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

[previewyoutube=8r7kOms7VFA;full][/previewyoutube] We're almost to the point of a full gameplay video! There is no sound at all. The UI is almost non-existent yet. Characters from free assets. Only one type of enemy. But, you can already "feel" the gameplay in person and "pass" the level. The feeling is inexpressible, after more than half a year of development! Compared to the last gameplay video there are a ton of changes. Decoys have appeared and, accordingly, there is at least some incentive in the game. Namely, to kill monsters and extract protoplasm and protect traps so as not to lose it. By the way, at the end of the video funny explosion of the decoy. The archers appear. And archers, they're not just valuable fur. With them came a cool bug-feature. It turns out they "see" the monsters under the fog and immediately begin shooting there. So you can tell where the next squad is coming from. Also fog, rain, and post-processing of the picture. I don't know how well the video conveys this, but when you play in full screen and without the "blur" from compression, the experience is very pleasant. The atmosphere of the whole thing is just great. And subscribe to our reddit channel. It's interesting there, too! https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Take care of yourself and your loved ones! See you all soon! rionix team https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300/

[ 2022-12-24 09:39:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, everyone! Today we want to tell you about the goals of our squads. You didn't think they were fighting monsters just because of their suspicious appearance, did you?
The mist impregnates and poisons all creatures that live in it. Some die. And in some, the concentration of the mist reaches a certain limit, it is transformed into ectoplasm. From that point, the creature is not subject to the fatal effects of the mist, but its mind... We won't talk about it yet. Mages have learned how to extract ectoplasm from such creatures and process it into energy. Special decoys have been created for this purpose. These are devices that attract infected creatures to themselves, and then draw the ectoplasm from the murdered ones. When we came up with the appearance of the decoy, we wanted to make a few points: it had to be portable, it had to store the ectoplasm, and most importantly, it had to somehow represent that plasma.
The first rule: if you don't know what something should look like, start with a sphere. Then we add noise to it. And then distortion: the bright vertices moved farther away from the center, and the dark vertices moved closer. A little tweaking of the HUE and you're all set!
We put the whole thing in a glass ball (see the first rule). And we attached it to a portable stand, where usually put the torches.
The finishing touch: some particles and a purple light around. The decoy is ready! Naturally the gameplay trivia was left out of the picture: hits make cracks in the glass, the accumulated ectoplasm grows over time, and the like.
And this is an example of what the flight of ectoplasm from defeated enemies into the decoy will look like. Naturally, there will be more polishing of materials and additional effects, but we already like the result. And in your opinion, did we succeed in making the decoy or should we change something? We would be grateful for any feedback and suggestions! https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Write, comment and subscribe. We'll have lots more news! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2102300 Best wishes all and see you again! Rionix team.

[ 2022-12-16 15:40:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, everyone! Today is a great day! lunar2019grinningpig This is the first time we've been able to really play our game. Yes, so far only one type of squad, and one type of enemy. There are no objectives of any kind. But, it still feels like a game! We couldn't help but share this with you, so I invite everyone to watch a recording of one of the battles. And yes, it has a surprise at the end, we did not expect this when we recorded the clip. lunar2019shockedpig [previewyoutube=ZqHvac2iAKg;full][/previewyoutube] By the way, recently released another video about the movement of the squad. It's not as easy as it seems. For example, if one squad runs into the cage with another squad, what should they do? So, we have a set of rules for when squads give way, switch places, and things like that. Read more about them in the clip below: [previewyoutube=NQCb4R0uFJU;full][/previewyoutube] This concludes this week's devlog. Thank you all for your attention! And subscribe to our reddit channel. It's interesting there, too! https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Take care of yourself and your loved ones! See you all soon! rionix team

[ 2022-11-27 13:57:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

[previewyoutube=MU-0c_02fxU;full][/previewyoutube] Hi all! Thank you for reading our news about the game. This time we will tell you about how we generate levels for our game. We are planning quite a large number of levels in the game, at least one hundred. The player doesn't have to pass them all. But we need to make them all, and with enough to spare. Manually creating each level is very long, so we decided to use the Wave Function Collapse algorithm to generate them automatically. We create levels in the editor, that is, during the game, there will be no new levels. On the one hand, this reduces the variety. On the other hand, we test and verify each level. Levels are also automatically generated, but we will tell and show this in future news. But we place key objects manually. That is all for today. Thank you for your attention! And finally, some tests of our squad system: [previewyoutube=xCk0gyXJUlo;full][/previewyoutube] But more about that later, too! Don't forget to check out our Reddit channel, there's a lot of interesting stuff there, too: https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/

[ 2022-11-11 14:16:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

[previewyoutube=eazi-b_ODHA;full][/previewyoutube] Hi, everyone! We're slowly starting to talk about our new game, Eternal Mist. It's a tactical strategy game in which you control several units and have to complete a series of tasks on small maps. And since we are planning a large number of such maps, we needed a way to generate them very quickly. The Wave Function Collapse algorithm helps us with that. There is a great talk about it by Oskar Stlberg on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JcFbivo8dQ In the video at the top, we show an example of how this algorithm works in our game. You can read more about the game on Rionix's Reddit channel: https://www.reddit.com/r/RionixGames/ Thanks for your attention and see you soon!

[ 2022-11-04 14:49:19 CET ] [ Original post ]