Jeferson Silva, the developer of NULLPTR, trying to hack some servers in the game demo!
First of all, I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has downloaded and played the NULLPTR demo over the last few weeks! Since the release of the first version of the demo, I've received a lot of feedback and suggestions for improvements that I believe will make the game better and better, starting with the update I've just released! Let's see what's new: 1. The game has a slow start One of the points addressed in this update has to do with the start of the demo. Many people felt that the game starts very slowly and that the first few stages aren't that interesting. Based on this, I've changed the order of some stages, remade others and tried to bring some important lessons to some of them. A side effect of these changes is that you may have trouble unlocking the levels if you're still at the beginning. As a solution, I've left a command in the demo to unlock any level by selecting it and pressing the H key on the keyboard. If you prefer, you can also reset your progress and everything should work normally. 2. Quality of life Some people have suggested adding a sound effect to indicate when time is running out. As an experiment, I've added a sound warning when there are 10 seconds left and another when there are only 5 seconds left. These sound effects are synchronized with the visual effect of the edge of the screen and should help you keep in mind the right time to disconnect. Another request that I thought was valid and that has been added to the demo are the warnings about dangerous entrances. Whenever there is a risk of being hit by a sentry when you enter one of the server's ports, it will be marked with a skull icon. This doesn't stop you from trying your luck and entering through that door, but it does serve as a reminder that you probably need to reconnect through another door and try to find a safe solution. I'd like to take this opportunity to emphasize that all the stages have been designed so that you don't have to rely on luck to solve them. There is always a way to guarantee your success. Finally, when I watched some videos of people playing the demo, I realized that it's quite common for people to walk very carefully so as not to make involuntary movements that could cause them to lose a run. To help a little with this, I've added a command so that you can always walk one grid space at a time. You can hold down any of the [shift, space, control] keys on the keyboard or any of the shoulder buttons on the gamepad so that movement is restricted to step-by-step mode. 3. Adjustments to some stages I took the opportunity to make some small adjustments to some stages that required very fast movements. In some cases, this allowed for unforeseen solutions that eliminated the puzzle aspect. As an example, level 407 was a rather cruel level because it required the person to mentally solve a complex problem with many states and execute it in too short a time. What's more, in this level it wasn't possible to return to disconnect because of a trap that blocked the way back. The adjustment I've made here is quite small, but I believe it will make this level much less frustrating. If you've already played the demo, I invite you to revisit the levels and try out these small changes. Also take the opportunity to recommend the game to other people you think might like it!
My name is Jeferson Silva and I'm the developer of NULLPTR. This is a project that has been in my head for over 10 years and after all this time I feel very fulfilled to finally be able to make this demo public. I'm very much looking forward to receiving your feedback and making this game better and better. Talking about the demo, NULLPTR is an action-puzzle game involving a lot of planning as well as quick, precise movements. Most of the time you'll be able to manipulate the defense programs and also the elements of each server to make your job easier, opening up safe routes that will allow you to achieve the main objective: stealing all the data from the databases present on the servers. Once you know what to do, you can finish each stage in less than 20 seconds. If you're put off by the time pressure factor and the need for quick movements, don't worry. The game has an accessibility setting to adjust the speed. What's more, failing a stage only means losing a few seconds as you can replay a stage as many times as you like. If you find any of this interesting, I invite you to try out this demo and give me your feedback!
Demo features
- Learn how to find vulnerabilities in security systems in 17 tutorial levels
- Get to know the 4 megacorporations and their motivations by following the narrative
- Hack more than 25 megacorp servers and try to remain invisible
- Face the sentinel programs and find out how to deal with them
- Revisit the stages you've already completed and try to improve your time
nullptr
Jeferson Silva
Jeferson Silva
2024
Action Indie Strategy Casual RPG Adventure Simulation F2P Sports MMO Racing Singleplayer Multiplayer Coop EA
Game News Posts 3
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🕹️ Partial Controller Support
🎮 Full Controller Support
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1579650 
Hacking servers
You start each level disconnected from the server and must choose an open port to start your run. Ports are color coded and give you access to different parts of the server and also to different systems. Once connected to the server, you have the option to open more ports by installing backdoors that will give you additional entry points to attack the server.
Connection route
In order to download the server data, you must build a connection from an entry point to the database. The connection length determines the download time so it is wise to choose short routes. You will also need to evade security systems in your route, like firewalls that will block downloads. The route you take is also important to open gates in some servers. Data nodes included in a route contribute with their color to the connection profile that is used to match and open the gates.
Sentinel programs
Each server in the game is owned by one of the four megacorporations in the world of nullptr. In order to protect their data, each megacorporation has installed their own sentinel programs whose goal is to trace invaders and eliminate them. Fortunately, you are a hacker and once you understand how each program works, you can manipulate them by choosing specific routes or reprogramming the server using the stack memory.
- OS: Ubuntu 12.04+
- Processor: 2.0 GHzMemory: 2 GB RAMStorage: 100 MB available space
- Memory: 2 GB RAMStorage: 100 MB available space
- Storage: 100 MB available space
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