Hi everyone,

In today’s Devlog I want to focus on two systems that have changed the most between B.I.O.T.A. Swarm and KTBAFTB – the modifier system and the brand new inventory. (Those took a lot of time to be researched, designed and implemented, taking up a good part of the summer),

Since I made the switch from B.I.O.T.A. Swarm to Keep Those Bugs Away From The Bomb I wanted to provide as much customization and modification possibilities to the players as I could think of. I’d love to see what you think about what I have come up with.

In B.I.O.T.A. Swarm each weapon or item used to have fixed attributes, which meant that their stats, like range, damage, and ratios, remained constant throughout the entire game. This simplistic approach lacked the depth I was striving for in gameplay.

And how does it work now?

I introduced a rather complex modifier system that allows various game parameters to be altered based on the items you equip, affecting both your hero’s abilities and the stats of the weapons and items you use. This system enhances the flexibility and complexity of the game as a whole. As the name of the system suggests, I wanted to let you… modify as many parameters as possible.

There are many modifiers, here is a list:

MODIFIERS FOR WEAPONS (ALL TYPES)

• Damage
• Range
• Fire rate

MODIFIERS FOR HEROES

• Jump height
• Movement speed
• Stamina (Health)
• Damage resistance
• Health regeneration

MODIFIERS FOR THE BOMB

• Bomb’s health
• Bomb’s health regeneration

LUCK MODIFIERS

• Medkit’s spawn chance
• Wrenches’ spawn chance (Wrenches are used to repair the Bomb)

MODIFIERS SPECIFIC FOR EACH WEAPON CATEGORY (METAL / FIRE / ELECTRIC / NUCLEAR)

• Damage
• Range
• Fire rate

It’s important to note that there is no strict cap on the number of modifiers an item can have, but I generally follow these two rules when creating new items for the game:

Items generally feature one or two positive modifiers, providing a slight boost, like a +2 to damage or +1 to the range for a specific weapon category.

In some cases, items may offer significantly stronger positive effects that greatly enhance the character’s combat abilities. However, these potent benefits are often accompanied by substantial drawbacks or negative side effects.

Take, for instance, the Nuclear Batteries – they grant a +1 damage boost to nuclear weapons, +1 range to nuclear weapons, and +2 damage to all weapons. However, great power comes with a great responsibility, that too, but in this case it comes at a cost. Nuclear Batteries have a negative impact on your Health Regeneration. This means that as you play, the health of your hero will be gradually siphoned away. But when you’re wielding such unparalleled firepower, the sacrifice might just be worth it, wouldn’t you agree?

As I already mentioned, there is no cap on the number of modifiers an item can have, allowing for the creation of super-items that can boost every statistic on the list.

What makes this intriguing is that players are now prompted to make equipment choices that align with their unique playstyle: a daring, high-risk approach with potent effects, or a more cautious, safer strategy.

In the original iteration there were three separate arrays: one for standard weapons, one for special weapons, and one for power-ups. To streamline and simplify the inventory, I decided to merge the weapons into a single category, eliminating unnecessary complexity.

In Keep Those Bugs Away From The Bomb players have two dynamic “arrays” at their disposal, one for weapons and one for power-ups. Initially, you can equip up to 3 weapons and 2 power-ups, with the option to acquire additional slots from in-game shops. Shops that use in-game currency. No microtransactions, of course 😀

I hope you get the general gist of what I have in mind when it comes to items and inventory in KTBAFTB. If you’d like to learn more about those systems, make sure to leave a comment below, or join the Retrovibe Discord, and ask a question in the KTBAFTB channel, I’ll do my best to share more insights!

I’d also like to shout out Hardcore Gamer for including Keep Those Bugs Away From The Bomb in their article featuring a selection of Bullet Heaven Fest games. It’s awesome to see my game among other fantastic titles.

See you in the next one,
Ivan