There have been many critical bugs with the game right after it’s launch on Steam, some of which could actually break the game !
I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused by theses bugs, it is why I have been working hard these last days to fix them and I have now updated the game.
Here is a list of the all the bugs and problems I have fixed and some features I have changed in this update :
29.06.2015 UPDATE
Fixed the weapons and items which could be duplicated and stuck in the inventory if thrown very quickly or with the wrong button.
Fixed the event who wasn’t called when the player dies, resulting in not displaying the scores and preventing to get back to the menu.
Made possible to skip the intro scene using space bar so when you play the game again, you don’t have to bother with the intro.
Added a lot of tips to be displayed in-game to understand the gameplay mechanics.
Aliens’ ragdolls physics has been fixed, however it does still need to be improved.
Enlarged the collision behind the car.
Changed the controls so to drop you current weapon use RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON instead of “T”, and petrol cans can be dropped using both buttons of the mouse
You can now carry only one rifle or machine gun in your inventory, in addition of the pistol and the baseball bat.
Edited the tutorial screen displayed at the beginning of the game
The update should apply automatically to the game, if not, try to restart Steam or to use the “Verify Intregrity of Game Cache” feature. If you have a doubt about whether or not the game has been updated, the current BuildID is 675682.
So this will be all for now, the game will continue to receive updates, especially for the aliens and their AI, and I am also planning to add achievements.
But before this, feel free to play the game and to post your review !
To give a better idea of the game, I have added more screenshots to the store page. You can now see the “night mode” of the game, the fog which appears later in the game, the options menu to see the settings you can edit, etc…
After so much work and play testing I have finally managed to make it ! The Alien Wasteland has just been released on Steam and is now available for the public ! Get it now !
It should takes about 2 hours to complete the game. It is a single player action game with a wave based gameplay.
You basically have to defeat waves of aliens coming from the desert which will become stronger the more you progress in the game. After each time you defeat an alien wave, a better weapon and items will spawn in random places in the map. You will also have to find a petrol can and throw it in you car !
Sometime, you will encounter a boss alien before a new alien race makes their entrance, so be sure to find the new weapon !
Here are the main in-game screenshots of the game to show you how it looks like :
The action itself takes place in one map derived into two modes ; day mode and night mode. The day mode is is set during a sunny after-noon and is more easy to begin with. You can clearly see the petrol station and the aliens.
The night mode is much harder. It is set during a moonlit night and you have no HUD nor crosshair, so you always have to try to aim correctly and carefully use your ammo because you can’t see how much you have in stock ! It is actually the “expert mode” of the game which you may try after winning the day mode !
Here is the launching trailer with a lot of gameplay footage, similar to the previous one but less long :
So feel free to try the game on Steam and to post your reviews ! I’ll be very interested in reading them !
These last weeks, after being done with the trailerand the improvement of the graphics, I have finally started to work again on the game itself. I have managed to make some huge progress and I am now closer than ever to release a playable version of the game !
After finishing the map, the aliens, the weapons, the wave spawning system, the musics, the sounds, the items on the map you can grab, the HUD, etc… I am now polishing the game and here are quickly some features I have been working on :
The smog which appears the more you progress through the game, it is greatly enhancing the transition of atmosphere from the sunny day of the beginning to the desert storm of the end !
All cinematic of the game, from the introduction to the ending !
I have added a simple help screen at the beginning so you can quickly have an idea of the goals even if you don’t know the game.
And at the end of each game a score screen where you can have some stats about your playing skill and also a “rank” depending of the score you get, if you have any idea of funny ranks feel free to tell me about!
I though it would be cool that once you finish the game, you can try a “realism mode” where the map is set during the night and you have no HUD nor crosshair !
One obviously important feature was making the menu.
Also the config menu which took me quite some time to make it fully working.
Finally, here is how the game will appears during the startup !
And so ! The game being almost done, there is actually only voice acting for the character that still left. After that, it will be all about polishing the game, finding and fixing bugs and packaging !
While UDK has already a packager that creates an installation of the game, I would prefer to have a custom one made with Nullsoft or Inno Setup.
I also decided that I may not put any kind of DRM or serial numbers for the game, because I have been a player and I know how annoying it is, especially toward legit players ! My goal is before all to have this game being played by as much people as possible, and if possible to have some revenue of it.
And about that, I am very happy to announce that the game has been greenlit on Steam ! Big thanks to everyone who voted ! I will now be able to release The Alien Wasteland at Steam, Desura and on the homepage !
So this will be all, I really hope the next news will be about the release !
