the 2D topdown shooter with the glorious working title "Zombie Smasherz" has not been abandoned.
After 3 years in the making, my 2D shooter project finally seems like to be getting somewhere else than the trash bin.
The engine improved a lot, also due the improvement of the HWA.
It now features things like motion blur, an advanced particle engine, weather effects, refractive surfaces, realistic lighting, smooth controls and gameplay, full xbox-controller/gamepad support, dynamic level loading, a basic character system (inventory, shops, skills and level-ups), over-the-top violence (), and in the end too much to count.
Right now I'm creating content. It already features 40+ weapons ranging from shooter classics to some really whacky stuff, 12 enemies and several minibosses.
In the end there should be 5 grand missions with around 10 levels each, as well as some secret levels.
2 minutes of gameplay:
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Update 14/11/2007: Added some renders. Look in the project forum.
Update 03/03/2008: After a delay, we've made more decisions on the game content and storyline. Also, the game title is revealed.
Still working on a playable tech demo.
Update 13/06/2010: Added a short gameplay teaser.
Update 28/06/2010: Added a map editor demo.
Update: 25/08/2010:
there's news from Schade-Studios' topdown 2D project.
Update: 14/11/2010
Official Trailer, for real this time! Check it out!
Cheers,
The Colonel (knows how to use a sledge properly)
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I decided to give some more detailed information about the gameplay:
As I stated earlier, there will be a 10 level demo in some days. Let me explain a bit more:
As the nameless anti-hero that you will steer through the game, you will visit all kinds of nightmarish places. There is no deep storyline yet, but it seems like your task is to bring down an (suprise suprise) mad scientist that somehow utilized occult powers to create all kinds abominations. So the range of enemies you will encounter is quite big: zombies, ghouls, mutants and even evil wizards and other kinds of bad guys that also would fit more in a medieval theme (think of a cult here that worships what is beyond reality).
The levels will be seperated in different areas, and it might occur that you visit some places several times, just for passage or because you need to go there again and find some stuff / kill some main bad guy. Between the action levels will be a kind of hub-level from which you enter a new area. In these hub level you can talk to NPCs that might have some hints or drag the story further, and also you're able to upgrade you character while buying equipment. Think of a something like a downgraded, more straight forward inventory of an RPG.
In The Rotten, your char can be equipped with:
-A primary weapon (that's a smaller sidearm, a fallback weapon like a pistol, a small submachine gun, a double-barelled shotgun, etc.)
-A secondary weapon. This has more punch than the primary weapon, but consumes more ammo and is more expensive in total. Examples here are an AK47, a big hunting shotgun, or a rocket launcher (you have seen these in the trailer)
-A melee weapon. When you run out of ammo, you can always fall back on your melee weapon. In early progress, they're quite [censored], like a rusty axe or a hammer, but later they can even trump the secondary weapon because you can get your hands on some mystic stuff like a scythe that harvests souls (and has lifeleech ability), or a plain but very effective chainsaw.
-Armor: Gives you protection from different types of damage (melee, bullets, heat, energy, and magic), as well as other benefits like a boost in HP, etc.
-Equipment: A variety of stuff that affects your accuracy, reloading time, movement speed, etc.
-Talisman: A talisman is a more mystical pickup that combines benefits of both armors and equipment, and can yield the most powerful effects for your character.
Each of these weapons / items has a certain quality. The four quality types are:
-Conventional (conventional items are purchased with cash)
-Uncommon (uncommon items are purchased with trinkets)
-Rare (rare items are purchased with gold)
-Unique (unique items are purchased with relic shards)
The higher the quality level is, the more benefits you obtain from an item, but the more expensive it is. Also the resources you need have more scarcity, for example the chance that a normal enemy drops a piece of gold is at 3%.
Hoever, during the game you are able to re-visit hublevels and after some farming can buy the item you were looking for.
As the game progresses, you will have to have a certain niveau of items, because the later enemies are really hard to beat without any bonus.
This is were I added some depth to the shooter concept. You can combine armor, equipment and talisman to achieve an optimal benefit out of the sum of your items. For example: +X% total health is added after +X HP. So if your starting health is 600, and you have a Medkit, then it's 650 (Medkit: +50 HP and regenerates 1 HP /sec), and then adding up a Cayce's Codex gives you +150 HP and 25% more health, this would be (600 + 50 + 150) * 1.25 = 1000 HP of total health.
Other combinations are also relevant, e.g. melee damage, and movement speed.
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Colonel Justice (Schade-Studios) 
), and in the end too much to count.
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