snugsound









Level 3 TOXICANT - rogue-lite survival horror [Steam Early Access] « on: October 09, 2016, 09:36:38 AM »



TOXICANT is an upcoming survival horror game that offers a unique twist on the survival horror genre, featuring procedural level generation and roguelike elements.



I started prototyping this in fall of 2016 and have since picked up the pace since the launch of my last title,



The basic premise is that you're trapped in a mine and need to find your way out. As you progress, you find journal entries that allude to something having gone horribly wrong, and eventually, come face to face with it.



My plan is to run a ~6 month early access campaign on steam, hopefully kicking off within the next few months, and use it to really help shape the final experience. (the way I feel early access was intended to be used!)



Here's a video and some shots from recent builds:







(right-click -> View Image for 1080)















































Links:

Steam store page

Website (old)

Presskit (old)



Edit log:

Apr 30/19: update to reflect name change from Undermine to TOXICANT

May 20/19: update with recent shots

Feb 8/20: update with latest trailer TOXICANT is an upcoming survival horror game that offers a unique twist on the survival horror genre, featuring procedural level generation and roguelike elements.I started prototyping this in fall of 2016 and have since picked up the pace since the launch of my last title, Operation Hardcore The basic premise is that you're trapped in a mine and need to find your way out. As you progress, you find journal entries that allude to something having gone horribly wrong, and eventually, come face to face with it.My plan is to run a ~6 month early access campaign on steam, hopefully kicking off within the next few months, and use it to really help shape the final experience. (the way I feel early access was intended to be used!)Here's a video and some shots from recent builds:(right-click -> View Image for 1080) « Last Edit: July 24, 2020, 08:06:37 AM by snugsound » Logged Explore the weird and wonderful world of Cosmocat Games

Thaumaturge









Level 10 Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #1 on: October 17, 2016, 04:09:20 PM » Interesting! ^_^



I have a few thoughts, if I may:



First, points for (as far as I see) not including a "battery charge" mechanic for the torch, and for the screen not being pitch-black outside of its circle of light. ^_^



As to the actual gameplay, right now it feels a little... empty to me, I think: there are several "rooms" to explore, but they're all more or less the same, and have little to offer. It might help to differentiate them visually, but perhaps more important, I think, might be to include some additional gameplay elements that add some purpose to rooms other than the entrance, exit, and the room that holds the rope. A few ideas, off the top of my head:

- You might follow traditional roguelike design and include a variety of items (passive or otherwise) that may or may not be found in various side-rooms.

- You might follow other horror games in providing optional backstory and lore. At their simplest, these might take the form of pages from diaries or lorebooks, or text/images on the walls; conversely, you might implement a mechanic of some sort into them (perhaps representing translation), adding risk to the counter the potential reward.

- There might be stationary objects that can interact with the monster--noisy things that catch its attention, or that release scents that briefly drive it away, for two examples. Logged

Traversal, exploration, puzzles, and combat in a heroic-fantasy setting

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snugsound









Level 3 Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #2 on: December 22, 2016, 10:41:51 AM » Quote from: Thaumaturge on October 17, 2016, 04:09:20 PM Interesting! ^_^

First, points for (as far as I see) not including a "battery charge" mechanic for the torch, and for the screen not being pitch-black outside of its circle of light. ^_^



Thank you



Quote from: Thaumaturge on October 17, 2016, 04:09:20 PM As to the actual gameplay, right now it feels a little... empty to me, I think: there are several "rooms" to explore, but they're all more or less the same, and have little to offer.



Agreed, the above video is a very early prototype that demonstrates the basic level generation, but not much more than that.



Quote from: Thaumaturge on October 17, 2016, 04:09:20 PM It might help to differentiate them visually, but perhaps more important, I think, might be to include some additional gameplay elements that add some purpose to rooms other than the entrance, exit, and the room that holds the rope. A few ideas, off the top of my head:

- You might follow traditional roguelike design and include a variety of items (passive or otherwise) that may or may not be found in various side-rooms.

- You might follow other horror games in providing optional backstory and lore. At their simplest, these might take the form of pages from diaries or lorebooks, or text/images on the walls; conversely, you might implement a mechanic of some sort into them (perhaps representing translation), adding risk to the counter the potential reward.

- There might be stationary objects that can interact with the monster--noisy things that catch its attention, or that release scents that briefly drive it away, for two examples.



Also agreed. The plan is to try to give rooms a more unique look/feel, as much as is aesthetically possible for a mine, and an early incarnation of the journal entry system can be seen in the video above. A few of the items I've been working on adding lately: minimap, beacons (used to mark a spot on the map, and also detect nearby enemies), pick-axe, barrels (can be knocked over to create a distraction).



Thanks for the feedback! I've got some new footage and screenshots on the way soon, stay tuned!



Thank youAgreed, the above video is a very early prototype that demonstrates the basic level generation, but not much more than that.Also agreed. The plan is to try to give rooms a more unique look/feel, as much as is aesthetically possible for a mine, and an early incarnation of the journal entry system can be seen in the video above. A few of the items I've been working on adding lately: minimap, beacons (used to mark a spot on the map, and also detect nearby enemies), pick-axe, barrels (can be knocked over to create a distraction).Thanks for the feedback! I've got some new footage and screenshots on the way soon, stay tuned! Logged Explore the weird and wonderful world of Cosmocat Games

snugsound









Level 3 Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #4 on: January 03, 2017, 08:42:05 AM »



























Video coming soon, just need to do a few optimizations and deal with a couple more obvious bugs first.



In other news, I upgraded my video card over the holidays (GTX 1050 Ti), and my Oculus Rift should arrive today or tomorrow; can't wait to do my first VR run of the game! :D Here a few shots from a recent build that show some of the new features (minimap, beacons, rudimentary HUD), and some of the new (placeholder) props that will tie into the backstory (barrels, toxic waste).Video coming soon, just need to do a few optimizations and deal with a couple more obvious bugs first.In other news, I upgraded my video card over the holidays (GTX 1050 Ti), and my Oculus Rift should arrive today or tomorrow; can't wait to do my first VR run of the game! :D « Last Edit: March 01, 2018, 08:43:48 AM by snugsound » Logged Explore the weird and wonderful world of Cosmocat Games

Keops







Pixellin' and Gamedev'n





Level 6Pixellin' and Gamedev'n Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #10 on: January 05, 2017, 02:11:02 PM »



Here's the severed foot of one of the miners. I'm quite rusty since it's been a while since I picked pencil and paper, but I suppose it's better to get some ideas this way before modeling anything. It's a nice change of pace.



Hey there guys. I'm going to be helping Snug make this thing scarier and juicier, so I figured I'd start by sketching some ideas for props to populate the dark corridors of the collapsed mine.Here's the severed foot of one of the miners. I'm quite rusty since it's been a while since I picked pencil and paper, but I suppose it's better to get some ideas this way before modeling anything. It's a nice change of pace. Logged Website - Twitter



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snugsound









Level 3 Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #12 on: January 16, 2017, 02:45:03 PM »



Made directly in Unity using ProBuilder, QuickDecals, and some Megascan textures (among others).



Working on some new prefabs to add a bit of variety to mines, and of course, build suspense. Bloody writing on the walls, a must-have in any survival horror!Made directly in Unity using ProBuilder, QuickDecals, and some Megascan textures (among others). « Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 02:57:47 PM by snugsound » Logged Explore the weird and wonderful world of Cosmocat Games

snugsound









Level 3 Re: Undermine - procedurally generated survival horror « Reply #16 on: January 28, 2017, 05:18:01 AM »



I'm now leaning towards some kind of watch or PDA. I'm thinking the player will look down, and possibly press a button, to view it. Going to inject a good dose of Alien Isolation and Fallout retroness for good measure.



On that note... introducing the MonPro 2000, the state of the art in vital sign and navigational monitoring! This particular unit in pretty rough shape from a nasty fall, but still works respectably well.







Other than that, I've been focused heavily on the apparently endless number of optimizations that are needed to get a decent framerate in VR. It doesn't help that the levels are generated from fairly small prefabs (2x2 units), and Unity seems to insist on drawing most of them via separate draw calls.



I've been experimenting with dynamic occlusion culling (via



The other thing I'm looking at is dynamically combining meshes to force Unity to do fewer draw calls. Not exactly exciting stuff but I figure it's good to get this outta the way early on!















So I've been debating how best to offer some critical feedback to the player in VR, specifically, health, some key inventory items, and the minimap. Originally I was toying with the idea of a helmet or visor, but I found it to be a bit too obtrusive. And besides, it doesn't really fit with the story.I'm now leaning towards some kind of watch or PDA. I'm thinking the player will look down, and possibly press a button, to view it. Going to inject a good dose of Alien Isolation and Fallout retroness for good measure.On that note... introducing the MonPro 2000, the state of the art in vital sign and navigational monitoring!This particular unit in pretty rough shape from a nasty fall, but still works respectably well.Other than that, I've been focused heavily on the apparently endless number of optimizations that are needed to get a decent framerate in VR. It doesn't help that the levels are generated from fairly small prefabs (2x2 units), and Unity seems to insist on drawing most of them via separate draw calls.I've been experimenting with dynamic occlusion culling (via InstantOC ), but am finding that it's adding a lot of CPU overhead, as well as some undesirable pop-up. May need to roll my own.The other thing I'm looking at is dynamically combining meshes to force Unity to do fewer draw calls. Not exactly exciting stuff but I figure it's good to get this outta the way early on! Logged Explore the weird and wonderful world of Cosmocat Games