The Grandiose Master Plan™

[Blue]

In this thread, I want to outline my bigger plans for Dimension Drifter. These are short and long-term goals and additions I'm sharing so they can be discussed in advance. This plan is not meant to show every little balance change that I'll do every now and then, so please keep that in mind.

Anything that has been added to the game might still be subject to changes. Just because something has been added or has been outlined here doesn't mean it's the final thing.

This Grandiose Master Plan(™) is divided into different phases. This is for you to have more transparency and clarity to see in which direction the game is currently headed. It does not indicate a priority or timeline in which these phases might be added.

PHASE I *ACCOMPLISHED WITH UPDATE#02*
- Slower Player Movement (-20%)
- New Dash Ability (3 charges, 3 sec refresh time, boosts you in current direction with 500% speed)

PHASE II *ACCOMPLISHED WITH UPDATE#03*
- More objects and props in the rooms
- More variety of rooms
New Rooms are an infinite goal to always increase the variation of the maps with each update.

PHASE III
- Male Player Character
- Different Outfits to mix and match
- More customization

I know a lot of players prefer to play as a male character. This is of great importance to me and I'll get the male character done as soon as possible. Finally players don't have to look at these bouncy breasts anymore ;)

Also every outfit is designed to be of a top and bottom part. These can be mixed and matched by players to create individual styles. I will add more and more outfits so the player can create their own unique looks.

The player will be able to change hair color, hair style, skin color, eye color and all outfit colors. Different player heads are also planned, but may come a bit later on.

Some players have mentioned they find customization useless in a single player game. I personally love the customization aspect of games like Fallout4, which is also a single player game, so I do not share the opinion that customization should only be possible in multiplayer games.

PHASE IV
- More Enemies that are NOT UNLOVED!

I've heard it time and time again that there is confusion and dislike of the use of UNLOVED monsters in Dimension Drifter. Look. The UNLOVED monsters were kind of meant like a tribute or an homage. Right now they are pretty much the only monsters in the game, giving it this weird feel. But they will be a minority once I add more original monsters. Currently I have around 15 monsters planned.
Maybe it was a mistake to purely go with UNLOVED monsters in the beginning, but they are easier for me to model because I have clear references.

These 3 monsters are the only UNLOVED ones, I promise. There will be a few GunGirl 2 monsters as well, but the rest will be all new enemies never seen before anywhere else. Okay? Promise :)

PHASE V
- Hub Area

This game needs context. I've planned a little hub town for the player to give this game a better atmosphere and personality. This hub town will feature a few buildings like a gun smith, a Mystery Meats, a subway station, a training arena and a few more places. Each location has a distinct purpose, an NPC that the player can talk with and get quests from to advance the story in multiple ways.

If anyone remembers GunGirl 2, this is kind of what I'm intending for this game as well. A somewhat minimal rpg quest based storyline with a few npcs and the rest will be all about the action. The story will feature multiple choice dialogue with all the NPCs. Over time, the player will unlock more weapons, items and locations through these storylines.

FUTURE PHASES
There might be more phases I'm currently thinking of for the future, but I won't outline them here quite yet. Sometimes, it needs time to think ideas through and I don't want to rush things.

[Sonnenblume]

It's cool to see you provide a roadmap so that players can understand what your future plans are. I can't wait to try out that dash ability!

Can I ask when we can expect additional level themes? Right now there's not a whole lot of variety with just playing through the one theme that we have over and over.

[potterman28wxcv]

Sounds good!

[Blue]

Originally posted by Sonnenblume:

Can I ask when we can expect additional level themes? Right now there's not a whole lot of variety with just playing through the one theme that we have over and over.

I want to get the first theme right before I start with additional themes. As soon as the first theme is there, players like the look and gameplay, I will move on and get the rest of the themes in.

[oXYnary]

Speaking of themes. To me, your whole game is screaming for an Inception /M.C. Escher vibe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity_(M._C._Escher)#/media/File:Escher%27s_Relativity.jpg

I realize this would make the procedural rooms even harder/

[Blue]

This is what the dash looks like right now. It turned out to be better when it's much quicker and only a very short burst of speed, similar to how Tracer moves in Overwatch.

Here's a short demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjUhPWjiwXo

I've also increased enemy fireball speed by around 75% to make movement more important for the player.

[potterman28wxcv]

The lightning might be a bit too flashy when you dash forward (i say might, because i'd have to see in game how it looks), but otherwise it looks great :)

[oXYnary]

Originally posted by Blue:

This is what the dash looks like right now.

Is it a double tap on any of the WASD keys like Unreal Tournament 2K4?

You can't unsee this once I tell you, but it looks like she is farting fairy dust. ;)

[Blue]

Originally posted by oXYnary:

Is it a double tap on any of the WASD keys like Unreal Tournament 2K4?

For keyboard it's the shift key. On controllers I don't know - is there a common dash button for shooters?

[oXYnary]

I would test using double tap. Less keys to combine and shift/run toggle isn't usually used for such short micro blips.

Controller, unknown. I still have to set up the input in emulated mouse/keyboard my end as it won't recognize a controller. Again, using Linux Steam Play, but other Unreal 4 games input work fine.

[Sonnenblume]

That new dash ability looks great! I'm glad you went with the tracer-like burst of speed instead of your initial temporary +100% speed modifier idea.

[OZINI]

Dash is good change! Faster fireballs good change! Decrease player speed good. Personally I liked more previous player speed but balance is balance. Update grow up DD rep +++

[MrsSnoreJuice]

mystery meats, eh?

[Celendrin]

This game is awesome (top 5 best 'steam' games ever made (Meaning not available elsewhere and unique to steam)) --

I hope you continue working on this whenever you get a chance and every gamer reading this who sees what a gem it is please spread the word and gift and buy it for your friends !!!

Blue needs to see this game as viable for selling - more potential he sees it selling more he's likely to work on it !!

Keep up the good work !