Controller Support Released

Pick up your gamepads and give the little creatures a whirl! They feel so different with a controller; opens up new dimensions in everything from from Flight and camera to smoother turning for caterpillars. Your feedback is essential in getting this right, so please post any issues you run into and they will be addressed quickly :) --

DoN's Gameplay Evolution - "From Simulation to Symphony"

The goals of a Simulation are often very different from the goals of super-fun-over-the-top gameplay and so far the game has veered towards the former, often sacrificing rich gameplay possibilities at the altar of quasi-realism. In many cases features that were meticulously crafted over years or ground-breaking technical achievements (DoN's 3D-pathfinding system is capable of powering an entire flight-based racing game!) have been vastly under utilized.
The current Survival mode was always meant to be a stop-gap arrangement until full lifecycles (Mating/Reproduction/Egg-laying) would open the floodgates, but until that happens, the serious issue of DoN's gameplay being hamstrung into a small fraction of what it could (and should) be, cannot be ignored. And rest assured, it hasn't been ignored: --

Enter: Challenge Maps & Leaderboards

Challenge Maps, powered by Steam's leaderboards are envisioned as maps with simple and fun objectives for players to enjoy and master various gameplay mechanics while competing with each other for best scores. From Jumping Spider quick-reflex wizardry to Dragonfly aerial acrobatics to Butterfly-Bee pollination flight-athons, the possibilities are endless. Conveniently, they're also trivial to implement compared to the staggering complexity of DoN's actual game world, so this won't hold back development of the core game by any means. The first challenge map: a lake scene agility challenge for the Jumping Spider is coming up soon! More to follow depending on feedback, reception, what not. --

Build v1.2.4 Notes

A number of bugfixes, camera changes and visual improvements have gone into this build along with Controller support. Random map generation has been improved, Depth-Of-Field reworked. Here's a few images of the new visuals:


More visual improvements are on the way. Random map generation may be sidelined in favor of traditional hand-made maps if necessary too. --

The road to Multiplayer

Ultimately, this is the road to multiplayer support. Instead of tacking multiplayer on as a plain addon to the existing product, DoN's entire gameplay is being reimagined to ensure that Multiplayer and Co-Op (both are now confirmed features :)) have a solid foundation to build upon - i.e. richer gameplay and game modes that are fun and worth your time. That's it for this update, but the blistering race to the next one is already underway! Forward March, Drunk On Nectar! With ❤, - Venugopalan Sreedharan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: Special news!

Thanks to coverage by Youtubers, DoN has received a massive boost in the past two weeks! Here are some videos that significantly boosted the game's market performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpgx_p90x_s&t=2s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8RlnvcrQ1Y&t=7s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOTsxOpaTY8&t=1s My thanks to these individuals for their help! Please tell your favorite youtubers about Drunk On Nectar. It's working :D
~~Fin~~!

[ 2017-03-11 17:51:22 CET ] [ Original post ]