Speakers discuss the gameplay elements and ongoing Kickstarter campaign for Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead. They explore the history, development, and involvement in the game. They also discuss the number of contributors and project size, GitHub coordination and design principles, resolving disagreements in game development, implementing bikes and vehicles, raising money for a full-time coder, and recent refinements and momentum in development.
The Kickstarter campaign for Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead aims to fund a full-time developer to add tiles, Z levels, and a mod manager.
The game offers the unique ability to modify vehicles, adding spikes and multiple engines to create custom zombie-smashing machines.
The game is cross-platform compatible and aims to reach a wider audience with plans to port it to Android and iPhone in the future.
Deep dives
Development of Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead
Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is a post-apocalyptic zombie survival game, developed as a follow-on to Cataclysm. The game involves infinite exploration, triphids, and various end-of-the-world scenarios. It has a dedicated technical lead and a history of community involvement. The game has evolved with the addition of features like driving vehicles. A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to fund a full-time developer for three months to work on adding tiles, Z levels, and a mod manager. Stretch goals include a scenario system and improvements to stealth, inventory, and the introduction of exotic biomes and zones.
Gameplay Changes and Challenges
Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead has undergone significant changes, including the addition of vehicles, changes to spawn mechanics, and a revamped weather system. The game offers the unique ability to modify vehicles, adding spikes and multiple engines to create custom zombie-smashing machines. The interaction between features like dynamic lighting and vehicles has been a challenge, but efforts have been made to improve performance. The Kickstarter campaign aims to bring further enhancements to the game's mechanics, including a stealth system, improved inventory management, and the expansion of the Netherworld portals.
The Importance of Full-Time Development
The Kickstarter campaign seeks to hire a full-time developer for three months to accelerate the implementation of new features and address long-standing bugs. Having a dedicated developer would allow faster progress and provide the opportunity to polish existing features, refine systems, and add requested options like a scenario system and mod manager. The community's support will enable the game to continue evolving and provide new and exciting experiences for players.
Stretch Goals and Potential Expansion
The stretch goals for the Kickstarter campaign include developing a scenario system, implementing a stealth mechanic, enhancing the inventory system, and expanding the Netherworld portals. The support will allow for greater flexibility in fundraising and introducing physical rewards in the form of exclusive posters. The team also envisions a future with additional features like dynamic weather, more stealthy enemies, and overlapping biome zones in the game's growing and evolving universe.
Improvements to the Interface
The podcast episode discusses the ongoing efforts to improve the interface in the game. There has been refinement and momentum in refactoring the backend of the interface, with a focus on converting menus to a unified backend. Several new menus have been added, such as the extended view menu that allows players to quickly scan and identify items in view. The episode also mentions plans to revamp the inventory system, making it more intuitive with the introduction of a menu system and drag-and-drop functionality.
Expanding Platforms and Future Plans
The podcast episode highlights the game's cross-platform compatibility and its dedication to reaching a wider audience. The game is currently available on various platforms, including Linux, Windows, and Mac, with ongoing efforts to port it to Android. The development team mentions the goal of making the game available on iPhone as well. Additionally, plans for the future include introducing graphics using SDL, providing animation for certain game elements, adding a mouse-based interface, and improving the NPC system. The team is optimistic about the project's future and confident that the game will continue to evolve and improve.
This is episode 75 of Roguelike Radio, where we discuss Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, which currently has an active Kickstarter. Talking this episode are Darren Grey, Kevin Granade and Kevin McKayven - both involved in the coding and project management of CataclysmDDA.
