Hello everyone,

It's been almost a year since we've posted a devlog update here, but we assure you that our work on Autonomous Anarchy has not stalled!

We've done a lot of work on the game with the hopes to get it on Steam later this year. It would be hard to fit all of our work into one devlog, so this is part one!

Rainforest Rework:

After releasing the Scrapyard demo in winter 2022, we began reworking Area 2: The Rainforest Redoubt. This area had been shown off in 2021 and was playable, but we were never completely satisfied with its visual and level design. We felt it needed a little extra oomph to surpass Area 1 in fun factor, like a good second area always should. Check out the attached video to see all of the changes in action!

With that idea in mind, we overhauled most of the existing rooms, visuals and music track, and added more rooms, more enemies and a mid-boss fight. Additionally, we added three new abilities for your tank unlocked after defeating the rainforest mid-boss.

Level Design:

Previously, the Rainforest only had ten rooms compared to the Scrapyard’s fifteen rooms, but was similar in length due to most of the rooms being large and complicated. The first room was completely redesigned, while most of the others received smaller improvements to make them quicker and less confusing. 

The biggest change was to the old room 9, now room 14. Originally this room was the largest in the game, and the path to the exit was not very clear. To fix this, we kept roughly the same structure but added walls and gates to make the exit easier to find. 

We decided to add five more rooms as well as a mid-boss to bring the area in line with the Scrapyard’s recent rework. The new rooms are mainly shorter rooms designed to break up the action between the large rooms, and we also reordered the rooms to further improve the flow.

New and Improved Enemies:

To complement the new levels, we added three new types of enemies to wreak havoc in the forest:

• Spread Turrets: These turrets shoot multiple projectiles in a wide spread.
• Camo Tanks: Special tanks equipped with stealth technology, they can blend in with their surroundings and surprise you when you least expect it. Keep an eye out for their shots and remember, they can’t be run over.
• Chainsaw Spinners: Armed with two chainsaws, these bots dash towards you, blocking projectiles and dealing massive damage to anything in their reach.

We also improved many of the existing enemies:

• Choppers: We wanted them to be more threatening so they now sprint much faster but for a very short duration. 
• Buzz Saw Throwers: We found these guys to be a bit overwhelming, so they shoot slower and their shots bounce less.
• Snipers: We changed the visual for their aiming reticle to it’s easier to tell where they are.
• War Golems: We overhauled their attacks to be more threatening, and also improved the arenas they are fought in by adding walls to hide behind that slowly get destroyed as the golems move around the room.

Visual Reworks:

A large component of the rainforest rework was improving the visuals and atmosphere of the area. The early grassy levels had colors that were clashing and oversaturated, so we experimented with different colors of grass and we ended up deciding on a brownish dead forest aesthetic, complemented with new bushes and leaves. 

This change made the forest area have more distinct sections, transitioning from a dead landscape to a dense, lush forest. In the end we are very happy with the improvements, feeling Area 2 now surpasses Area 1 in visual design.

New Mid-Boss:

Just like the Scrapyard rework, we’ve added a new mid boss to the Rainforest, known as The Lumber Liquidator! This was our most complex boss yet, possibly even surpassing the Rainforest stage boss despite being only the mid-boss.

The Lumber Liquidator is a large golem holding a shield and log cannon that can each be destroyed independently. The log cannon alternates between shooting slow regular logs, rolling logs and electrically charged logs that are trickier to avoid. The shield is brought up periodically and will heal the golem if shot at, so don't be too trigger happy. 

The fight takes place in a large maze-like room with the boss chasing after you. Once both arms are destroyed, the boss gains a burst of speed and tries to run you down and fires rapid bursts of shots until it is destroyed. You'd better keep fueled on its speed power ups or you’ll be crushed!

Designing such a multi segmented boss that moves together was a challenge for us and ended up taking over a month to finish. We’ve very proud of this mid boss and are looking forward to hearing your experience fighting it once the steam version is released!

New Abilities:

After defeating the Lumber Liquidator, your tank unlocks three new abilities that can be selected at red consoles hidden around each level. These abilities slowly recharge on their own, but can be charged quicker by defeating enemies. 

• Dash: A quick dash in the direction you are facing. You gain brief invincibility during the dash. Short cooldown.
• Barrage: Unleash a barrage of homing missiles that annihilate anything and everything in your path. Long cooldown.
• Shield: Activate the shield to block incoming damage for up to ten seconds or until the shield is destroyed. Moderate cooldown.

Like the bombs introduced in Area 1, these abilities will serve you for the rest of your journey, giving you a way to develop your own playstyle.

Next Area Rework

After we completed the Rainforest rework, we took a look at Area 3, the Railway Rampage to see what changes it could use. Our work done on Area 3 requires its own devlog post, so stay tuned!