1. Dash

The dash added to this build consumes a significant amount of stamina, allowing you to move short distances at once. The essential key binding of the dash is the space bar, and you can run in 8 directions in combination with the direction key.

Depending on the dash direction, running speed will determine the rate of the dash in proportion. The dash time is fixed, so the dash distance depends on the ratio by direction.

For now, dash can be used for two purposes.

The first is using it as an evasion tactic during the escape.

Your character will automatically use parkour if you interact with a closed-door (by bashing the door) or bump into a parkour-able object. However, since the function of automatic parkour, which was in the running from the old versions, has been transferred to dash, it is no longer possible to parkour just by running.

The second is using it aggressively, use it as combat distance control. Helpful in avoiding enemy attacks or narrowing enemy distance. Also, using a dash with a shield can make an enemy stagger for a short period if you bump into an enemy. This could lead to your advantage in engagement. Currently, you can't make that effect with your bare hands.

We are also considering ways to reduce the dash's stamina consumption by adding parkour or martial arts skills or make encumbrance affects the range of the dash in the future. Just keep in mind, the current build's dash is practically the best potential that the dash can produce, and the dash will be nerfed in the future by balancing.

2. Shield

The shield, which was dummy data, is now functioning correctly. Now, while right-clicking and staying still, the defense set on the shield is added to the character. There is also an advantage that the shield can avoid damage from other parts of the body by transferring injury to the equipped hand. So if you find a shield by actions such as searching through trash cans or robbing police stations, it could significantly reduce damage from the enemy. Combining with the knockback of the blunt weapons that we added this time, you can kill enemies without much damage.

Many tasks can be linked to these contents, such as stamina consumption and maximum gauge control, but we will deal with this part separately next time.

Due to the adding dash in a game, It's time to deciding the directionality of the game as an Action or RPG is just around the corner. Focusing on an Action can give players gameplay, but there will also be additional balancing for considering. On the other hand, focusing on RPG will be almost impossible to deal with high-level enemies only by your game control. This result is caused by the characteristics of the two genres often conflict.

Of course, Nearly Dead is a sandbox-type survival game, but it also has real-time elements, which naturally makes us look forward to the action section. First of all, we plan to emphasize the RPG part so the early part can be covered to a certain extent by game control, but you can not deal with it by only game controls during the end of the gameplay. But your opinions on the play are the most important, so if you have any thoughts about this, it would be constructive to suggest them to the community!

3. Wound treatment

Injury treatment has become more detailed and professional. In fact, the existing treatment for injuries was incomplete. So the efficiency of each treatment for injuries was almost the same, and crucially, the treatment efficiency of skills or tools was not applied. And only one item was supposed to be used to treat one type of injury.

Now, injury treatment is more detailed, consuming various items at the same time, and tooling items such as suture needles are needed. And the treatment efficiency will vary depending on the skill and tool level.

Although it has been stopped due to scheduling problems now, functions such as injury treatment causing another injury with a certain probability or getting an item during treatment will also be added.

Example 1: Infection wounds need to be treated, but there is no good tool, so burning with a heated knife can cure infection wounds but cause burns.

Example 2: If you pull out an arrow to treat an arrow wound, the arrow is pulled out.

This is the end of the follow-up devlogs. Look forward to what's coming!