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[KPas]

Setting

A free drifting moon (rogue moon) with an underground complex teeming with giant creepy-crawlies.
After a crash landing, you must enter the complex to save yourself.
While roaming the complex, you use the explosives of the decentralized self-destruct system to get rid of the creatures.
You also find out what purpose the prepared moon serves.

Genre

As with "Savage Vessels", I'm doing another Teleglitch-like. I'm not through with this genre yet. With "Creepmoon" I will get even closer to the original.
I will change two crucial elements: first, the enemies are huge vermin, some of which appear in large groups. Second, the player has no firearms, but you have to lure the enemies into booby traps.
Again, there is permadeath and few levels to unlock as starting levels. And there is no pause when rummaging in the inventory, but there is when opening the map.

Visuals

The game window is fixed at 1280 x 720 pixels, while the actual level works at 320 x 180 pixels and is therefore enlarged 4x to fill the window.
The ingame resolution is quite low because I don't want details. The details arise in the imagination of the player.
The menus work with the high resolution.
The field of view is limited by walls. Light sources are mainly used for confusion. The creatures work best in the shadows.

Sound

The creatures make distinguishable noises, sometimes even at a distance, so you can always assess the danger of the situation. But the environment also makes noise and partly covers the sounds of the creatures.
I don't know yet if there will be music in the levels this time. I would like some in the menus.

Physics

The creatures consist of rigidbodies that are moved by impulses and stopped by obstacles. Projectiles bounce off walls and smoke clouds are also more or less stopped by walls. There are moving objects like barrels that react to the shockwaves of the explosions.


Below you can see some of the more prominent creatures in a test level. There is no AI at work yet, I control them via WASD.
The GIFs show the entire game window, scaled down of course. The red dot is the player figure. There you have a size comparison.

[Ramos]

Very interesting design.
Strong feels and atmospheric value


 

[KPas]

Very interesting design.
Strong feels and atmospheric value

Hey, thanks a lot!
Some of this must look familiar to you. The atmosphere is probably not far from the one in Chromosome Evil. At least that's what I hope.

[KPas]

As mentioned in the introduction, the level layer only has a resolution of 320 x 180 pixels, while the game window runs at 1280 x 720 pixels. The menus and also the map run in the high resolution. In the part of the GIF where you can see the map, you can see the fine edges of the walls compared to the edges of the field of view.

Of course, the camera in the level should also perform movement, rotation and zoom in the high resolution so that it looks smooth. This was difficult (for me), but it seems to run now.

The light sources in the game can flicker. They can also be rotating spotlights. This is all for atmosphere and confusion.

And then there's the pause: as soon as you turn on the map, the level layer pauses with everything in it. This also seems to work.
 

[KPas]

The player takes out the enemy creatures with bombs or booby traps. So explosions are important.

I am mainly concerned with the following 3 elements:

• The explosion should dish out physical impulses that decrease with distance. If the player observes this, he can estimate the effect and range of an explosion.
• Smoke should spread almost abruptly and dissipate gradually. This keeps the player guessing for a few seconds and creates tension.
• Glowing pieces should fly away and bounce against the walls. This complements the first element. I just like it.

The video shows a few regular explosions that are simply triggered at the cursor position. After that you can see some explosions without smoke, so the physical impulses are clearly visible.

[KPas]

The AI in Creepmoon is - as usual - an interaction of navigation information and state machines.

The only interesting thing is how the spiders make sure that they don't get stuck anywhere. The spiders consist of physical bodies and joints. The legs are thrown forward or backward by impulses. In the process, moving objects are moved, or the legs bump against fixed objects. If a leg gets stuck, it reports this. The AI decides whether the spider has to go back. It also decides when the spider has to turn on the spot.

Here you can see how the 3 spiders sometimes struggle a bit, but how they always reach their goal anyway:



The video shows a compilation of several such shots:

[oldblood]

Those spiders are looking suitably creepy!

[KPas]

Thank you! I'm glad to hear that, especially from someone who has brought about something like Masochisia.

On this occasion, I realize that many people shy away from spiders. To reassure all those: I rather count them among the boss opponents, that is, they lurk somewhere, but not behind every corner. 

[PetSkull]

Logged in today, just to say "WAUW". This looks like another great game from your hand and mind. Looking forward to follow this one, KPas :-)

[KPas]

Thanks buddy

[KPas]

These large lizards actually walk just like the spiders. Lizards also have their legs on the side next to the body. The feet are a problem, though, and I'm not completely happy with them.

Anyway, I need some more big bugs. The large creatures - as opposed to smaller ones that come in hordes - will probably all be composed of multiple parts. The physics (bodies and forces) should make these creatures move with a believable naturalness.



In the video you can see some longer shots.

[KPas]

I was not satisfied with the lizard. Especially it moves faster now. She also got claws. The skin got not only different colors but also a texture.

In terms of speed, the animal can now keep up with the player. That's the kind of pressure I need: the player has to keep moving while thinking about which escape route is ok.

In the shot, you can see how the animal first has to get around a machine. Then it has a clear path to the player and gallops off wildly. In this wild phase you can see how the back and the tail really make waves.

[Schrompf]

The physics based motion looks amazing! Good work! I also dig the lowres look. I'm not keen about the rogue-like part of the concept, but well... that's just me.

[KPas]

Thanks! Every now and then you're happy to hear that it was worth the effort. Just the two aspects you like, I count among the core features of the game.
The genre is still a bit fuzzy for me, but so is the term rogue-like.

[mobilelast]

Great animation and disgustingly organic feel. Also a very recognizable style.

The lizard looks frightfully determined, and the spider is scary as well. Just like the one just walking on my wall.

[KPas]

@mobilelast
Thank you! Ideally, the creatures have something about them that makes the player really nervous at times. From what you say, it's going in the right direction.


I am currently working on processing hits and damage. Actually, the player should not get a weapon, but it is helpful for now.

Here, hits on the beasts are especially interesting. The blood splatters do not remain permanently on the ground, but they gradually turn black and then fade. This can be seen now, although the duration will be greater later.

The animals are momentarily stunned by hits and they are also pushed back by the force of the hits.

When they die, they simply remain as ragdolls, where individual parts may detach from the body. I plan to change the remains from physical bodies to mere images after a while, which may fade away. Let's see.

[KPas]

I had to change the lighting system. Drawing (soft) shadows with many dynamic light sources is expensive.
I could have done without hordes of enemies and limited the number of light sources. But I didn't want to do that.

The new system no longer draws any shadows at all. It determines the color and brightness of the light at the player's position and transfers that to the entire screen. You can call it subjective lighting.

Relevant data is the range of the light source, the distance to the player, and whether the player is in shadow.

I can't say if this is final yet, but in the context of a horror survival game I find it surprisingly usable so far.

[JobLeonard]

Nice solution

[KPas]

Thanks, I am quite happy to hear that!

[KPas]

I kept working on the explosions. Especially the spreading of the smoke is interesting here, I think.

The smoke spreads with a shock wave and stops at walls or is deflected sideways by the walls. You can see it billowing out of corridors and then spreading out some more.

I use a special physical body for this, which can slide along the walls. As long as it moves, it leaves smoke behind.

Walls or doors, however, do not keep the smoke out hermetically. You can definitely see some of it on the other side.



In the video you can see all this in more detail: