Hello itch.io. It's been a long time since I've posted anything here. Due to some recent changes, I will be cross-posting dev logs for SCAVENGER ZERO on multiple platforms. Steam, Patreon, and here! In this post I'll be recapping everything that has happened between November and-

... Wait, what's that?

OH GOD, AN ORBITER!!!!!

THE ORBITER has been added to the game! This is a SUPER heavy Automaton unit that appears on high difficulty missions, OR when you're taking too long in a lower difficulty mission. You REALLY don't want to be caught fighting one of these guys. They have rapid-fire lasers that will tear through even the heaviest of shielding.

Pictured: A reverse-joint mech attempts to avoid incoming missile fire from a HEAVY DRONE!

Social Media Updates

Patreon

Does the screenshot above look interesting to you? Do you want to learn more about The Automatons, some more behind-the-scenes development? Well, you're in luck... I recently launched a Patreon for SCAVENGER ZERO!

Daily Posts

Additionally, I've started making daily posts about the game and what I'm working on. You can see them on either Bluesky or Twitter or... What did they rename Twitter again? I forgot.

New Items

Some new items are being added to SCAVENGER ZERO this month. Here's a sneak peek at a few of the upcoming additions...

And here's one that's already been added!

Pictured: The Crucifix! It's an item that provides you with a 10% chance to just ignore damage.

I realized that, early on in development, I made a TON of damaging items. Maybe a bit too many damaging items. So, to rectify this, I'm starting to make some defensive and support items to enhance the player's ability to survive.

Expanded Hub World

You read that right! The Bridge Station, where the player stays in between their missions, has been getting a lot of love recently. 

Pictured: The player stands in the lobby of The Galactic Government's offices.

The Government

Recently (literally a few hours before writing this) I started working on The Galactic Government's branch on Bridge Station. It's a very stylized, corporate office space. If the player is in good standing with the government, they will gain access to the employees only sections!

There they can meet some of the major figures behind GalGov in-person. Not the president himself, but I've heard that a few soldiers from the legendary "Ultima Division" hang around here...

Pictured: The player standing at a BAR!!

The Speakeasy

The EXACT OPPOSITE of a corporate office space! Depending on the player's actions, they can get an invitation to The Speakeasy; an underground nightclub operated by a heavy metal band known as The Hellfire Maw.

The player can buy alcoholic drinks here, which were outlawed due to prohibition. There's a bit more information on this place in the post I made here.

Pictured: The player standing next to a huge aquarium in a casino.

The Casino

Heading deeper inside The Speakeasy, the player can find the casino! It's run by a group of rogue worker-class synthetics who deal in scrap metal. And before you ask... 

Yes, the casino IS functional. You can come here to gamble once a day. You could, potentially, make up to 480 scrap if you (literally) play your cards right!

Or you could have my luck and just lose it all over and over again for an entire run.

"Harvest" Planet Rework

Once again, mentioning something I talked about on Patreon. Seriously, go check that out if you haven't already.

The planet of "Harvest" has been reworked completely. It now has a much stronger sort of enchanted forest vibe. I'm very happy with how it turned out!

Pictured: The player standing at the edge of a cliff, admiring the view.

On top of updating the visuals, I took a bit of time to update the music for the area as well!

SCAVENGER ZERO OST SELECTION

Speaking of music, in case you missed it, I uploaded 6 tracks to the SCAVENGER ZERO YouTube channel! These are my personal picks for some of the best songs in the game. The full OST is well over 4 hours long, but this is a nice taste of it for those who don't have 4 hours to spare.

Check out the playlist here!

Development Update

This is very, very important for the future of the game. Especially the next few months.

After layoffs earlier in the year I embarked on a long job search, working on the game in my free time where I could. This job search was unsuccessful, so I've decided as of last week that I'm going to go all-in on SCAVENGER ZERO.

I'll be working on the game full-time in the short term, continuing searching for a publisher and also preparing a Kickstarter campaign for the game in the event that no publisher picks it up. SCAVENGER ZERO is my dream game and I am confident as hell in my vision for the project.

That's all I've got for now. I'll see you again soon!