Welcome to the next installment of our semi-sporadic dev logs! I don’t remember the last time I made a dev log and I sure as heck don’t remember all the stuff that’s happened between then, but I’ll do my best.

The biggest change I made since the last time was the addition of randomized stats on loot drops a la Diablo, Borderlands or any loot-based game. The system we were using before had a specified amount of equipment drops. There was only one piece of a certain gear with specified stats and once you had it, there is no selling or getting rid of it. The new system allows for variety of stats in gear and player options in dealing with the gear. The stats aren’t completely randomized; when a piece of equipment spawns it will meet minimum stat requirements then add variation to those stats. A leather helmet piece will always at least have one dexterity, but with the update you could get a helmet with one dexterity and one vitality or a helmet with two dexterity etc. The introduction of this new system means a lot for both us as the developers and you the players.

Changing how the gear worked was like a domino chain out of hell. Outside of updating the gear system, the rest of my work was updating older systems and sprucing up the code and visual layout of some elements. The most dramatic change comes from the closet. It still functions the same, the player can change equipment, distribute stats and craft items, it just looks a lot nicer.

Looking ahead, I think the biggest thing I’m going to tackle next is probably introducing slopes. The RPG aspect of the game has been getting most of the loving and I think the platforming side could use a good old spit shine. If you look at all the past footage and screenshots of the game, you’ll notice that there isn’t a lot of variety in the shape of the stage. Everything is square and once you’ve stared at it for a billion hours it starts to become more and more irritating. Some games make it work, but only square terrain is not what I think when I think of Wenches and Loot.

It has almost come full circle for me. PAX was my introduction to the indie game development in town and with it, my intro to Wenches and Loot and the rest of the team. The differences between then and now is staggering and I hope to keep improving along with the rest of the team. Thank you for following us and thank you for reading to the end.

Particle Man