Well, an attempt was made. I thought I’d surprise you guys with a demo update for Halloween, not that anyone cares, but it’s a nice arbitrary deadline to focus my efforts on atmosphere and gameplay. But I have too many other things to do this month, it would be too rushed and not good enough, and no one’s clamoring for it (although a few of have asked, which is awesome)… so I’ll take another month or two or three… as anticipated in devlog #25.

CHANGE LOG FOR DEMO 6 SO FAR:

GAMEPLAY & UI:

• Character Roster
• Combos: quick-change weapon/spell sets with up to 5 custom action bindings (LMB/RMB/Q/R/F or X/Y/LT/RT/??)
• Character and Inventory screens are now separate, with severals tabs each
• Basic spellcrafting / item customization WIP
• Quest system WIP
• Misc UIs: Map Viewer, Message Log, Time Skip
• Scripting console is now functional
• Settings: mouse & gamepad button mapping support
• Arena Mode improvements
• HUD: killcount/stats & performance metrics
• Font changed to Lato (a common sans-serif font)

ENGINE:

• Raylib version: 5.6-dev w/ custom mods
• Level/model loading overhaul & performance fix
• Beginnings of a proper shader & transparency system
• AI: custom event-driven behavior tree system

With the roster & combos, it’s beginning to look like the ARPG I first had in mind 10+ years ago before I even dreamed of making a first-person 3D engine. Don’t worry - we’re keeping it up-close-and-personal, first/third person, single player, single character, no companions, no base-building. I may be playing Kenshi but I am NOT making that kind of sim - this is strictly an RPG.

We’re also gonna have traditional savegames and a checkpoint/respawn system, with settings to use either or both if you want. You could cheat by using both, but it’s single-player so who cares! We love options. Options are a primary feature of this game.

Eventually, considering the effort involved in spellcrafting, I want a feature to exchange items/knowledge between player characters. It’ll be like finding an ancient sorceror’s laboratory, except you already know where to find it.

The new combo system resolves many design questions. Exact specifics are yet to be decided (after spellcrafting is fully implemented) but personally I like to have quick-use actions at my fingertips on the 1-2-3 keys (potions, torch toggle, etc) and use the higher number keys to switch weapons/combos (melee, range, vampirism, etc). It should be pretty flexible.

Combos also make multi-step vampirism possible. You can go with the traditional combo of seduction, mind control, grappling, biting, and feeding. Or if you prefer to be more direct, you can just add feeding to your melee combo. You don’t need fangs - if you get your teeth knocked out or deliberately break off your fangs to hide your true nature, no problem. Of course there’ll also be an option for classic one-step feeding, overpowered if you like (Demo 5 already has simulation settings for instant regeneration), although I like the idea of making it difficult and having to sleep all day in a coffin to regenerate (which my fellow Zomboid and Kenshi fans will tend to appreciate).

REMAINING GOALS FOR DEMO 6:

• FUN grind-loot-leveling loop
• Sound effects
• More music
• Lighting work
• Feeding animations & bleeding
• Day-night NPC schedule
• Basic cabins and beds for NPCs to sleep in
• Tomb and coffin for vampire to sleep in during the day
• Quests, Spellcrafting, Turnbased mode, Code cleanup…

PLANS

• Demo 6 in December +/-
• Shift focus from coding to artwork, maps/levels, and character/quest/scenario content
• Finish engine features (jiggle physics, collision, pathfinding)
• Demo 7 or early-access later in 2026
• Turnbased tactics sandbox?

I need to remind myself that this 1742 Colonial Vampire Sim was meant to be a low-effort sandbox RPG suitable for a custom engine, as outlined in Devlog 13 a little over a year ago. I’d like to spend another year on it, put it up for sale on Steam for a commensurate price (say 10 bucks) and see what happens. Then I’ll expand it and hire people if I make enough money, or probably do something else with my life. Obviously if western civilization collapses, it’s over. But if we just lose the internet (as many are predicting) I’ll probably carry on because I started without it, I’ve lived through some dark times in internet history, and the times when everyone is giving up are the best times for those who persevere.