Hi everyone! For this development update I'll be talking about Weapons & Ammo Types. This isn't a complete list of every weapon that's in the game, but it's more of an overview of how the weapons and ammo types work together and how they tie into the RPG aspects of the game.

Initially, I had intended on going with a Mk. I, Mk. II path of progression for weapons (finding better versions of the same weapon as the game goes along), but eventually, after playing through the game a few times, it didn't feel right. I ended up with weapons that no longer served a purpose, as I was able to find better, upgraded versions of them. After this experience, I wanted to make every weapon viable from the beginning to the end of the game. I wanted to ensure that if the first weapon you find in the game is your favourite weapon throughout the journey, then you should be able to use that until the very end. As a result, there are no longer any Mk. I's and Mk. II's in the game. With the extra time I allotted for the games development, I was able to add new weapons to the game. I set out to make sure every weapon can stand on its own. However, there still needs to be some form of progression for weapons, and that progression comes in the way of Skills, and Weapon Attachments.

Since this is an RPG, how effective your weapons are in your hands will be largely influenced by your Skill in that particular weapons field. These are the major skills that will govern how your character handles each weapon. This also gives you an idea of the type of weapons in the game.

Automatic Weapons: Determines your proficiency at using Assault Rifles & Sub-machine Guns
Explosives: Determines your proficiency at using Explosive Weapons, like, Grenades, and Traps
Melee Weapons: Determines your proficiency at using Melee Weapons
Ranged Weapons: Determines your proficiency at using Sniper Rifles & DMRs
Small Arms: Determines your proficiency at using Pistols & Shotguns

Improving the skill that you desire will reduce the recoil while firing the weapon, and increase the damage, as well as unlock some perks. Don't forget to add Skill points to them when you level up!

Weapon Attachments can be found while exploring, and they can be purchased from shops. There are 4 slots available for most weapons where you can equip different types of attachments. These are:

Optics Slot:
Optics slot will dictate what kind of Optics/Scope you will use on your gun.

In this GIF, I'm using the Recon Scope, which highlights enemies. This is especially useful when exploring at night. I also used the Time Dilation software so that I can line up the perfect headshot!
Muzzle Slot:
If you want to go with a sneaky route, make sure you equip a Silencer on your Muzzle slot. This will largely reduce the amount of sound that the weapon produces when fired.


Magazine Slot:
You can equip Extended Magazines on most weapons to increase its magazine size. This will allow you to fire off more shots before having to reload. Each ammo type has its own Extended Magazine. Example: If you find an Extended Magazine for Light Ammo, that Extended Magazine can be used on every weapon that uses Light Ammo.

This is where you'll select what type of Ammo you want your weapon to use. This slot is more complex than the others, so I'll go more into how it works.

When modifying your weapon, you can select the type of ammo the weapon will use. The type of ammo that you equip on your weapon plays an important role when encountering enemies. If you want to be efficient, you need to equip the correct ammo type for the situation that you're in.

There are 5 categories that ammo falls into, and they are intended for different groups of weapons. They are:

Light Ammo - Pistols & Sub-machine Guns
Heavy Ammo - Assault Rifles & DMRs
Sniper Ammo - Sniper Rifles
Shotgun Ammo - Shotguns
Tranquiliser Ammo - Tranquiliser Pistol & Tranquiliser Rifle

Regular Rounds:
Regular rounds are the standard variant that weapons use. These are mostly effective against organic enemies, and less so against armoured targets & artificial enemies.

Amour-Piercing Rounds:
Each ammo type also has an Armour-Piercing alternative. These are highly effective against artificial enemies, and less effective against organics.

You can also edit your weapons to alter their appearance, purely for cosmetic purposes. These allow you to personalise your weapon.

Charms:
Charms add a little bit of life to your weapon! These can be purchased from shops and also found throughout the world.

Weapon Skins:
If you want to represent your factions colours, or any other colour you want, you can recolour your weapon and select one that suits you!

I wanted to post this development update about two weeks ago, I apologise for the delay. This is the final major development update post for now, as I'm going to shift my focus to finalising some aspects of the game and then creating a new gameplay video. The game has changed so much since the last video was posted (almost 2 years ago now! Wow). I'm so excited to show all of you the improvements and changes, and get your feedback!

As always, I want to sincerely thank all of you for your patience while I'm creating this game. All of your comments are uplifting and motivating, and they mean more to me than you can imagine. I'll never tire of thanking all of you for spending your time checking out my game.

Thank you!!!


If you'd like to follow the game on any social network, here are the links:

Twitter
Facebook[www.facebook.com]
Instagram[www.instagram.com]
Official Website[www.thecosmosgame.com]


The game is in active development and things can and will change until the game is released!

Thanks again!!

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely March. The game continues to be developed, and as more systems fall into place and come together, the closer it gets to being the game that I was dreaming of making. Today, I'll be covering an important aspect of this game, which is, Stealth. Stealth touches on so many different aspects of the game, ranging from skills, perks, AI, weapons, etc. I'll be showing some Stealth features which overlap with each of these topics, and I'll also showcase some of the non-lethal options you'll have at your disposal.

Let's get right to it!

The "abilities" in the game have been re-worked and they're now known as Software. There are some Software that you can install which will greatly benefit people who are attempting to play stealthily. One of the Software that you can get is the:

CLOAK Software
I believe I've shown this before. The CLOAK Software will render you nearly invisible for a couple of seconds (the duration can be improved based on how you upgrade your character), allowing you to evade any enemies that are in your way, or allowing you to move closer to an enemy to perform a sneak attack.
To be able to really use your Software to its fullest ability, you'll want to upgrade your Sneak skill! There's no point of being cloaked when the enemies can still hear you! Improving your Sneak skill will ensure that enemies take longer to detect you, and that your footsteps produce less noise, thereby allowing you to effectively sneak up on unsuspecting enemies.
If you want to maximise how effective you will be while sneaking, you'll also want to invest some of your Perk points into some of the Sneak perks, some will allow you to do more crit damage while sneaking, or increase your crouch movement speed, or increase the chances of a malfunction on a trap that you accidentally set off.
When you feel confident enough in your sneak skills to takedown an enemy, you'll be able to sneak up behind them and perform a non-lethal takedown.
If you take down an enemy in a location where you're afraid that enemies will spot the body, you can pick up and move the body to a location where they won't think of looking.
If your sneak skill is high enough, you'll be able to successfully pickpocket people without alerting them. If you're pick-pocketing with a low sneak skill, there's a chance you'll be caught immediately, and you'll have to pay a fine or you'll be outright attacked.
When playing a game stealthily, you need to be cautious about how you take out or evade enemies. Observing their patrol route to time your movements is crucial, but if there's no obvious way around the enemy, you'll have to get a little creative. One way of doing this, as shown in the previous dev update, is by hacking nearby objects that produce noise, which will distract enemies and lure them out of the way.
Enemies also display a detection meter, which will let you know just how close they are to detecting your presence. How fast it fills is determined by your Sneak skill, your distance, whether you're cloaked or not, and whether you are standing or crouching. It is also determined by the difficulty you're playing the game on. When an enemy enters the Alert state, they will alert nearby enemies to your presence, so make sure you're not detected so you can avoid any unnecessary confrontations!
Aside from all the Skills, Perks, and Software you can upgrade, you'll also have some choices when deciding what weapons you want to use to suit your play-style. One very important part of playing stealthily, is having the ability to equip silencers on your favourite weapons. You can equip them on nearly every weapon in the game. You'll see how the silencer will affect your weapons base stats when you equip it. Using a silencer will greatly reduce the sound your gun produces when fired.
If you want to be non-lethal, you have some weapons at your disposal. You will be able to use the Tranquiliser Pistol, which will put enemies to sleep immediately if you land a headshot. If not, it will take a couple of seconds for them to fall asleep.
If you're a person who likes to take people out from afar, you'll be able to make use of the Tranquiliser Rifle, which works like the Tranquiliser Pistol, but at a much greater distance. Headshots will put enemies to sleep immediately, body shots will take a few seconds before the effect kicks in.
If you see a group of enemies that are too close to each other, using a Tranq. Pistol or Tranq. Rifle probably isn't the best idea. If you want to tranquilise them without being spotted, you'll be able to use Gas Grenades. Throw it near their location and the Gas Grenade will put enemies to sleep after just a few seconds. If you're infiltrating a location, and want to plant traps to take people out non-lethally, you can plant Gas Mines, which will only activate once someone gets near it. These gasses will affect you too unless you have the appropriate Software installed.
These are just some of the ways that you'll be able to approach situations in Within the Cosmos. There are some things I wanted to cover here that totally fit into these categories (like the Smart Tranq Pistol) but I'd rather leave some stuff strictly for the gameplay video that I'll be recording and releasing in the coming months. Please remember that the game is still in development so some things may change, and things are still being worked on, but I hope you like what you've seen so far!

I'm trying to post a development update (roughly) once a month now, and I hope you'll look forward to reading the next one next month! I will never tire of thanking all of you for your patience, understanding, and support throughout the development process. Thank you so much!


If you'd like to follow the game on any social network, here are the links:

Twitter
Facebook[www.facebook.com]
Instagram[www.instagram.com]
Official Website[www.thecosmosgame.com]

Thanks again!