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Kickstarter trailer | Gameplay teaser | Story intro
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Download the pre-alpha demo here
Keep in mind that the pre alpha demo is more a proof of concept, after some months of dev with a super small team. Eat, drink, chop trees, destroy stones and kill enemies. Enjoy an endless procedural terrain with 30+ chunk types (desert biome only yet). Fight hunger, thirst and diseases. The number of crafting and consumption items is limited, as the core engine is/was more important. A real pre alpha.
A SCIENCE FICTION SANDBOX ROGUELIKE
Proven Lands is a unique game about exploration; about being alone and lost in an unknown sci-fi world without super powers or rocket science. Your spaceship crashed on an uncharted planet and it seems that you are the only survivor: you face a hostile desert environment, fear, hunger and thirst alone. You check your dwindling oxygen supply and survey the wreckage of spaceship parts scattered across the region. You are not a scientist, nor a soldier but a simple working class hero or heroine with a rather strange past. In the beginning you don't even know how to use most of the electronic devices that have survived the crash, but you'll learn - and soon be able to craft new ones.
We are a bunch of independent science fiction freaks. PROVEN LANDS is our dream game. Explore a unique, vast and beautiful science-fiction sandbox roguelike, procedurally generated and studded with an AI storyteller.
We've been working on PROVEN LANDS with a super small team for some months now, creating a game in you become an explorer - not just another sandbox item collector. Packed full with the real mysteries of physics, biology and chemistry, plus tons of (hopefully) reasonable science-fiction, influenced by Star Trek, Don't Starve, Project Zomboid and ASCII Roguelikes.
Starting with a backdrop of endless, procedurally generated terrain, PROVEN LANDS combines 3D, SCIENCE FICTION, SURVIVAL, SANDBOX, ROGUELIKE and RPG elements with an AI-driven META GAME - like a game master - and on top of all that: MODDING!
For Windows Q1 2015, after that OSX and iOS, then Linux and Android. PS4 and Xbox One, depending on our Kickstarter.
WHAT MAKES PROVEN LANDS UNIQUE?
We think that a lot of science fiction games and movies feel like sailor soaps with pirates and monsters that just happen to be in space. If you know a few things about real black holes or pulsars, you probably get why. Assume the role of an explorer and learn about real science (like about history in Sid Meier's Civilization), within reason for a sci-fi game. Also, in the future drones are far more important than in most sci-fi stories.
Overall said:Procedurally generated
Endless and seamless procedurally generated terrain with different biomes on different planets. So far we have desert, forest, river, mountain, hill, swamp and lake biomes but we hope to add many more. In addition, the stats and names of plants and creatures will be generated each new game. We removed it as its confuses without a wiki.
Modding
We love mods! PROVEN LANDS was designed with mods in mind, from the get-go. Every planet consists of chunks, chunks consist of modules, and modules consist of items, quests, creatures, aliens, villages etc. etc. Imagine your own fantasy game realised with this engine!
One more hour
Most survival games are not known for chill time: you are a laboratory mouse, always in a rush, starving or defending. So, we're working hard to give you more time for exploration and archaeology, or just for being cool. The goal is to make PROVEN LANDS a game you want to play 'one more hour' even after a tough day.
Expand a lore
For each of the 5 episodes there will be a short illustrated novel by us, Rafael and Jeffrey.
Mechanics said:Classes and no super powers
PROVEN LANDS has some RPG elements. Everyone starts as The Forklift Driver with no super powers and a broken heart, and as time goes by new classes unlock: The Medic, The Pilot, The Engineer, The Soldier, The Scientist, and The Android. See stretch goals for new classes.
Moods and ambitions
A mood and trait system makes your character less predictable. A wound left unattended might lead to fever, which could in turn lead to mental instability or death. See demo, as it is already implemented. An unfulfilled Ambition might drive you to depression. Ambitions are quests with a deadline, chosen by you or randomly assigned by the AI meta engine, similar to Crusader Kings 2.
AI meta game
The AI is not only responsible for combat and movement. The AI is the director of your unique story based on custom quests, ambitions and events - like a pen & paper game master. Defend against animal herds, smart alien raiders, slavers and villagers, from time to time. And do not underestimate the Fungus flora!
Combat and noise
Fight wild animals, alien raiders, slavers, or... ? Each item has up to 3 actions. Close and long range weapons. Defense items. Small defense buildings, even vehicles. Some item actions depend on your level of knowledge. Animals engage you on sight, but are also attracted by noise. If you get sick, you see less already.
Alien races and eco system
In PROVEN LANDS aliens participate in a simple eco system. Trade with a tribe or village, if you have something desirable, similar to Don't Starve. Many NPCs have roles to perform in their region. So far, there are 3 intelligent alien races. We don't like to spoil things, but one race is as advanced as humans, the other is at an industrial level and the last is rather mysterious.
Building, housing, farming and eco system
Craft automatic ore mines, water drills, energy and oxygen generators to make your life easier. Give the Food Extractor and Energy Generator a try in the demo. Build farms, attract animals and kill them without flinching. PROVEN LANDS is not a sim, but there is a small eco system, influenced by an older game jam prototype called LOST UTOPIA. Be a modern guy and not another Robinson Crusoe. Building, housing and farming more like Project Zomboid and Don't Starve than Minecraft.
Skills
As we are huge ASCII roguelike fans, PROVEN LANDS comes with permadeath and item-based skill progress. Basic skills like condition, endurance, willpower, strength. Scientific skills like biology, physics, engineering, ehemistry and xeno sciences. And item skills like blunt weapons, laser weapons or drones (depending on your knowledge). Each skill with an own small skill tree. See demo. Yay!
Faction allegiance
Do you like to be the good or the bad guy?
Alien companion
Intelligent and non-intelligent NPC companions. Start with the space cat from your first spaceship.
Environments said:Flora and fauna
From grass, berries and mushrooms to Firefly and Fungus trees, to big root things with tentacles and teeth! From cute blue strangers to insects, birds and cow-alikes, from flying predators to epic 30 foot tall quadruped friends!
Weather and biotopes
From rain, dense clouds and sand storms to ion storms and earthquakes, meteorite showers and unique events depending on your current planet type. If you chop down a whole forest the wind might get stronger in that region! If you kill all the animals in a biome, it might have a knock on effect...
Day and night
Sleep is so overrated! At night some animals see and hear better, which makes the night reasonable dangerous. As always, no monsters, no magic just natural behavior.
Technology said:Tools, devices and weapons
From a shovel to a scanner, from a navigator to generators and small factories! Aliens have their own devices and tools too. Weapons: from an axe to a laser, to shields, to bombs, to ... you'll see! From close to long range, from savage to advanced and deadly alien creations!
Vehicles
From tamed animals to scientific cars, to octocopters, to... submarines? By the way, check out the underwater stretch goal!
Spaceship, jump gate and space travel
Travel to other planets as soon you've a jump drive or gate. Your spaceship is not a ship, it is more jump gate in the orbit with a few special modules, dictating where your next journey starts. Each jump gate gets useless after a jump. In order to jump to the next planet, talk to aliens and gather resources. This way we keep focussing on the planets. Contacts, the movie?
Items, resources and item modules
From food to wood to stones to water and megalomaniac butterflies. Each item can be analyzed from level 1 to 3. See demo. Item dependencies will be rearranged each new game, within reason. Activate the scanner to add new items to your knowledge database.
Archaeology and technology
Explore uncharted regions, unknown items and creatures, lost civilizations and artefacts. Your character progresses not only through skills, but through item and artefact knowledge. You do not develop revolutionary physics after a few nights, instead, you gather knowledge in order to become a specialist. Dismantle alien devices for undiscovered resources! See ASCII roguelikes as Dungeon Crawl or Cataclysm.
Outposts and camps
You're not a camper with a huge bagpack. An outpost is for the long-term, with generators and storage. This is whEre your pets, friends and allies are and will meet you. A camp is a camp fire or tent in the desert. This makes it a little different to many survival games. But, you are able to move your outpost any time, just keep in mind that you probably need a few vehicles to do so.
Airlock and natural organism
Thirst, hunger, insanity, oxygen deprivation and energy consumption. On some planets you need an airlock to eat, drink and survive. Check out the demo for this!
Power supply
Sci-fi devices depend on energy. You'll need a power source if you've an oxygen generator or ore mine.
Spaceship artefacts
Sometimes you'll find useful spaceship parts scattered around the planet.
Crafting
Analyze your environment and craft new items, tools and weapons. Alter old weapons, based on a simple module system (like Alpha Centauri). Each item, weapon, tool, vehicle, drone and building has 7 modules: a base module (type) plus 6 extra modules. Extra modules for armor, power cells, shielding, special abilities, incredients or decoration. For instance, a potion: food base + strawberries + water; or a knife: tool base + short steel blade; or a bio scanner: tool chassis + biology level 1 scanner; or a M1 Abrams tank with a scanner: car base + kevlar-uranium armor + smoothbore gun + turbine engine + bio lvl 1 scanner. Aliens craft items depending on the planet's resources. Dismantle alien items to discover new modules and tech. In this way we might end up with 10k combinations (similar to Skyrim's recipe system)!
Stretch Goals said: