Hey Netherholics!

How was your week? Did you like our first update? Well, were glad to say that once you read this second one, youll be totally catch up with the current NetherWorld development! Today well talk about 3 more scenarios, the teleport system, a new boss, a new minigame and more! Shit wait, disclaimers coming...

WARNING:

NetherWorld is still under development, and this is a recap. Most footage and information shown here may be outdated or may change in the future to guarantee the best quality and fun.

WARNING 2:

GIF compression quality is worse than in-game real footage (sorry!).

WARNING 3:

Keep reading... and ENJOY!
Enough introductory blah blah blah. LETS START!

SCENARIOS (II)

1. Mordisco Desert

Just like Deumanville, the desert scenario has experienced important changes during the development. Two of the main reasons were the color contrast problems and excess particles of its first design. Heres how the new version looks:
"Why the fuck is this gif not moving...?" The inspiration for this scenario was clearly Sergio Leone's spaghetti western movies ("A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"...). We're huge fans of them (especially Dan, our programmer), and we're deeply in love with their incredible OST composed by the ethernal Ennio Morricone (R.I.P.). Our amazing composers Rogue Sonics have created an original soundtrack with these western vibes too. Can't wait for you to listen to it! Mordisco Desert is also one of the largest scenarios, and includes different sub-scenarios youll be able to explore as well:

• The Nachos Hideout

A western-inspired scenario is not complete without outlaws riding horses. But who are they? Lets dip into The Nachos!
Guacco, Cheddy, Ketch and Mayo will be the first people youll find in Mordisco. Maybe they can help you coming back home
This is why Cheddy goes on a cart. Medoo will find them during his hangover walk through an infinite hot-as-hell desert. What do you think about their hideout?
Youll be able to explore the inside too.
This place is special for us due to many reasons:

• Its the first place youll discover important NetherWorld lore.
• Its a moment to tell and listen to stories, to delve into each character background And to drink, obviously.
• Weve put a lot of effort into the illumination and sfx to make the place feel comfy and real.

• Saloon

We're happy to introduce you one of the many NetherWorld bars to play drinking minigames, ordering stuff to get drunk alone or just talking to weird people. It has evolved from a squared 3D zenithal view to a 2D side-scrolling view. Why? Time and resources, basically It was impossible to make all the bars following this design. Bye, Old Saloon:
Hi, New Saloon (WIP):
And heres how the Saloon looks like from outside:
Hmmm Something makes us suspect these guys are not from this town.

• Sheriff Office

No description needed. Sooner or later, Medoo will end up there...
...because Sheriff Westwood, aka The Fucking Law, will make sure of that.
As you can see, we changed his design to look more badass. After all, he's the bigwig of The Puke, Mordisco's biggest town.

• Ammoizing Gun shop

Besides obtaining weapons through main story quests and as rewards, youll be able to purchase new ones talking to the correct NPC.
Howdy, stranger! Wanna get some shotguns?

• Wormpink Chapel

This old chapel was built long ago by Wormy Olesva to spread the word about Wormpink and the Great Abbess, and includes a cemetery inside. Oh, boy Youll remember this place.
Wormpink Chapel from outside.
Wormy Olesva.

2. Fornus Forest

We wanted Fornus to be a creepy, dark and more mysterious version of a "Princess Mononoke" forest. However, we had a handicap: Medoo was completely black, and although he'd have a torch to walk around there, the scenario needed more illumination. So yeah, Fornus Forest hasnt escaped from improvements neither (were still working on it tho).
Fornus Forest before / after some improvements. Not all the elements in the scenario are just decoration. Feeling down? Get high with those purple mushrooms!

TELEPORT SYSTEM: Wormholes

One of the main mechanics in the game is a fast way to travel between scenarios. Portals? Nah

Wormpink and teleport worms first sketches. Legend has it that Wormpink, the Life Puker, The Soul Eater, created everything. Its basically a holy giant two-headed pink worm.
Maybe you wont know if this god exists, but youll find normal (?) palindrome worms in most of the scenarios you visit. The mechanics are simple: One head eats something somewhere, the other pukes it somewhere else, and vice versa. Now replace something with YOU.
But where do all these surface worms lead to?

• Into the Unkworm: Neil's Cave

The Worm Cave, obviously! More than 5 worms are waiting to be unlocked using different items.
Were still testing the eat-and-puke mechanics (the worm of the picture is not final!), so hope in the following updates we can show you all the teleportation stuff. Trust us: The waits gonna be totally wormth it!

• Meet the Zoontist

You won't be alone in the Worm Cave. Its a scientist? Its a creepy animal lover? No, ITS BOTH!
Neil was the first Netherwolian to survive wormhole travelling, but at a high cost. After more than 20 years trapped in this cave, hell see Medoo as the help he needs to finally complete his research.

BOSSES (II)

Mordisco Desert has its own threats, including this friend below.

• Keranukk

Run away from a giant fast-as-fuck creature while throwing everything you find in the desert: rocks, barrels, babies
Run, Medoo... Run!

MINIGAMES (II)

In the last update we introduced Tick Joe rogue-like dungeons. This time well show you one Mordisco minigame: Shooting stuff while horse riding like an outlaw!
As you can imagine, the game wont be that easy.

MECHANICS IMPROVEMENTS (II)

• Multiple Question System

Besides normal dialogues, youll have the chance to ask multiple questions to some NPCs (not all), or answer them in two different ways. The enigmatic Oraculactus will be one of them.

• Object Picking, Throwing & Drinking Systems

We wanted NetherWorld to feel more real in terms of how Medoo interacted with items (not just clicking and adding them to inventory automatically). To do so, we combined the Picking Objects System with the procedural pixel arms algorithm explained in the first update. Now Medoo can physically grab most of the objects before adding them to inventory.

This led us to new and interesting functionalities. While developing Xenus boss mechanics, we created the Throwing system, so Medoo would be able to handle tough objects and throw them wherever he wants. It's used in the Keranukk's boss fight too.
The toughest material we found was Alberts head, our writer and communication guy. Finally, the Drinking System was born. This would allow you to grab a beer, drink it in several sips and throw the glass on the floor.
"Casual" Drinking System working. Drinking minigames will have different mechanics.

GRAPHICS IMPROVEMENTS (II)

• Infinite Parallax

To optimize resources and time, we also developed a never-ending parallax system that only generates the background needed for whats on screen when the player is moving.
Run all you want, Medoo MUAHAHAHA! Regarding to Deumanville, besides the background elements we decided to make visible only the on-screen grass. This has been key for properly optimization too.

• Particles

We love realistic details, and particles like rain, gas or sand help making the scenarios feel truly alive. Adding rain to a scenario is easy with Unity, and sand too; however, recreating how these particles behave in contact with other objects is what we enjoy the most.
Adding sand particles to a desert house. In this case, by hand.

ONLINE FEATURES

Wait... Is NetherWorld an online game? Are we gonna play a Battle Royale? WTF NO. NetherWorld is still a single-player game, but we wanted to add some cool and fun online features, like worldwide leaderboards and what we call the Intruders System.
Imagine that you and 200 other players are getting drunk in The Puke's Saloon at the same time. Wouldnt it be great you could see each other? NetherWorld Intruders System is still in alpha tests, but its basically a representation of other players in the shape of an NPC based on their in-game location. You wont be able to interact with them, but youll see them in a funny (or creepy) way.

Aaaaand thats it!

We hope you enjoyed this two-part development recap, and feel free to say anything you think or wanna know about the game!

...that's it?

Now you are truly up-to-date Netherholics, well continue posting brief development updates here We must satisfy the nosy old lady we all have inside, don't you think?

Wait a second...

You haven't added NetherWorld to your wishlist, or joined our Community Hub? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420 Thanks so much and see you soon with new updates! Hungry Pixel team (Oh, you can stalk us below too, including Facebook!)

[ 2020-09-25 17:46:41 CET ] [ Original post ]