- CACTUS Demo - 24.9.23.0 Patch - 24 September 2024
Hello everyone, The last patch fixed a bunch of critical errors and made the demo way more playable. Yet there were, of course, still smaller issues that we had on our list or that were found by you guys. So, while we were working on the final product, we put some of the fixes into the demo. Additionally we made some slight balance changes and implemented some of your ideas: General Added 'Automatic Reload' to the settings. Turning this setting off will disable any form of automatic reload. Meaning, that if you shoot your last needle, you will have to reload yourself. Slightly decreased the vignette post-processing effect in the demo level Enemies Increased step height of all enemies, resulting in enemies not getting stuck on small ledges and steps as often anymore. Explosions now break dung balls from the dung beetle enemy, making it easier to fight the enemy, especially with the pear…
- CACTUS Demo - 24.9.2.0 Patch - 4 September 2024
Hello everyone, I like to present to you the very first public patch for our demo and, therefore, also for our game. A lot of people played the demo at the Gamescom convention and at home. We received a massive amount of feedback, criticism and love. And we are very thankful for that 🙏 We had the opportunity to spectate a bunch of people while they were playing, which gave us a good insight into how newer players manage to traverse through the demo level. This patch focuses on minor level and visual changes to make the demo less confusing at some places. We also changed a couple of tutorial prompts to hopefully better explain some mechanics. A couple of people experienced crashes, especially at the later part of the level. And we hopefully managed to fix these crashes - according to internal testers, they no longer experienced any crashes, which is a good sign, especially for me :D Add…
- INTERVIEW: Talking CACTUS with eSports.ch - 19 July 2024
New Interview Released As the next edition of Gamescom nears in, we're grinding it out. Still, we had some time for a chat with the folks at eSports.ch. We talked about the current state of the game and also gave some insights into our preparations for the big event in August. 📖 Check it out on their page : Read Here Have a great weekend! Oliver Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- DEVLOG 19: New Demo Soon! - 28 June 2024
Preparations Galore Hey folks! While our social channels were active, we’ve been quiet on Steam lately. That’s because we’re gearing up for Gamescom 2024. The event will mark the day we release our new demo, as well as other major announcements regarding CACTUS and the studio. To keep you in the loop, here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming Steam Demo and some info drops about our event schedule for the 2nd half of 2024. Let’s get into it! 🎞️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for regular video news: Watch on YouTube Steam Demo Going Public As of now, CACTUS can only be accessed through a closed Steam Playtest, or by visiting us at the booth during industry events. That’s going to change at Gamescom 2024, when the Official Demo goes public on our Steam Page, along with some other surprises we'll unveil in August. 🧑⚕️ Get early access to the Official Demo by becoming a Playtester: Request A…
- DEVLOG 18: Melee Unlocked - 1 March 2024
Landing Some Hits Hey folks! As February comes to a close, it’s time for our monthly roundup. This time, we’re coming at you with a much-requested, new player ability, fresh impressions of the 5th story level and a bunch of new enemies. With Speed Design, we also launched a new video format that gives you a relaxing glance behind the scenes. Oh, and there’s a hidden BONUS FEATURE at the end of this Devlog :] Here we go! Progress Report We've got so much to show this time, that we opted to spread out all the info into several smaller videos that are easier to digest. So keep reading :] Fists Will Fly You asked for it, we’ve built it: Player Melee is finally here! This was one of the most requested features amongst players and in hindsight, it’s obvious why. With fists covered in needles, you naturally want to deal some bloody noses. So, here we go! Using melee is a simple and effective w…
- VIDEO: CACTUS vs. LIZARD - 23 February 2024
New Video Released The sad truth is that CACTUS lacked a properly staged player death sequence for too long. So we opted to change this and introduce you to it by staging a CACTUS vs. LIZARD battle! Previously, the fail screen immediately appeared upon death (which was a bit of a bore). The new death camera now follows and zooms along, as the ragdoll body of the CACTUS bounces across the scene, hitting various objects in painfully smackish ways. One can only hope, that this ordeal numbens your pain of failure a bit. Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- VIDEO: Player Melee Unlocked! - 16 February 2024
New Video Released Due to popular request from you, we've now implemented a player melee attack! No longer will you have to run away from pushy enemies, instead you just smack their faces and move along. It's also good fun to catch attacking Kangaroo Rats in mid-air :] See all of it in the video above and please tell us your feedback in the comments. 📖 Want to see how this showcase scene was built? Check this! Watch Level Creation Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- VIDEO: The Making of Hideout [Speed Design] - 9 February 2024
New Video Released We're starting a new behind-the-scenes video format called Speed Design! This series gives you a glimpse at development through entertaining timelapses showing the creation and setup of level architecture, lighting, effects and gameplay logic. In this first issue, we'll have a look at Hideout, a small scene we'll use to showcase a secret, upcoming player ability. But don't worry: the video won't spoil the surprise, as it only includes level construction, but no gameplay :] 📖 Check out our latest Devlog to learn more about development: Read Devlog Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- VIDEO: Meet the Dung Beetle! - 2 February 2024
New Video Released This showcases introduces the Dung Beetle, covering: Intro teaser Description by the devs An intense combat demo 🎞️ Be sure to also check out our latest Progress Report: Watch Report Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- DEVLOG 17: Mastering Game Feel - 26 January 2024
A New Journey Ahead Hey folks! The whole team at Axon Flux wishes you a great start into 2024! As the team is rocking the lab again, we are planning our roadmap for the year, scheduling events, doubling down on video content and, of course, crushing through fresh levels, enemies and some cool features. Amongst these are a bunch of shiny new crystals that loosen up combat with some puzzles. Without further ado, let’s drill into it! Regular Progress Reports Apart from playing the demo or becoming a tester, creating videos is the best and closest way to convey game feel. So starting today, we’ll make our Progress Report videos a monthly format that also serves as an appetizer for each new devlog. In addition, we’ll also create short Enemy Showcase videos for each new foe we add to the game. And of course, you can submit questions to the team via our Discord server, which will then be incor…
- VIDEO: Progress Report - JAN 24 - 24 January 2024
New Video Released The first issue of 2024 covers: First trip to the dunes 2 new story levels 3 fresh enemies 1 automated killing device 📕 Next Devlog coming this Friday: Read Devlogs Get In Touch Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | | TikTok | Threads | Facebook For Players: Game Website | Discord | YouTube For Business: Company Website | Mail | LinkedIn
- DEVLOG 16: Xmas Special - 15 December 2023
Back To The Grind Our event-a-thon is over! (for now) After Gamescom, IFA, Hero Fest, Games Ground, Unite 23, Gamesweek and many stops in between, the team is back in the lab. But before 2023 comes to a close, we are putting our feet on the gas once more, creating story levels, adding new enemies, implementing vicious hazards and boosting our 2D art prowess with an exciting new internship. ⭐ Lastly, we also have a little Christmas surprise for you :] There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get down to it! Say Hi To Robert In the coming two months, our new intern Robert will create concept art for CACTUS. Since he studied at Games Academy with the founding team of Axon Flux, this reunion feels like a throwback to cherished times. Robert comes from a tech art background, but recently committed himself to drawing rather than coding. This is a challenge in its own right, but having previously…
- DEVLOG 15: Telling New Stories - 27 October 2023
To New Horizons Hey folks! Time seems to be flying lately! Against the background of a tumultuous year in the games industry and our autumn event-a-thon, we’re still diligently working on CACTUS. As a matter of fact, the game has recently entered the production phase, meaning we’re finally building the actual story levels you’ll get to play once the full thing releases to the public. Time to clarify some things and update you on our progress. Let’s go! Fresh Story Levels Our designer Jeremy stepped his foot on the gas regarding story levels. After all, the goal is clear: Design and create the complete story campaign as completable greybox levels. This ensures that each of them can be playtested and iterated on as fast as possible, enabling Pierre to apply his artist magic to them. The first level, called “Oasis” just reached this state, delivering a rudimentary proof of fun already. For…
- DEVLOG 14: Tearing Things Up! - 11 September 2023
After The Storm Hey folks! After a formidable event-a-thon, covering gamescom and IFA Berlin, we’re back in the lab. Although some of us caught a cold, we’re in good spirits to push CACTUS to the next level, meaning: it’s time to kick off the production phase and reach “content complete” status (Beta) by Mid 2024. Even though our excessive event hopping might imply that the game hasn’t received much attention lately, nothing could be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, we’ve made significant changes to the core loop, introducing a revamped active reload and heat system that encourages ability usage much more strongly. In addition, our next demo will be completed soon. It will showcase the capabilities of our custom Axon Toolkit with regards to dynamic level architecture and sophisticated event scripting. Let’s have a look at each one of these. New Heat System Previously, you wo…
- DEVLOG 13: Gamescom Incoming - 7 August 2023
Getting Ready for the Show Hey everyone! Only three weeks until gamescom 2023, the biggest gaming expo worldwide. As previously stated, we’ve got two main goals there: find a publisher and meet new players. That’s why we’ve focused our attention on getting our marketing up to speed. As a result, we now have a new gameplay trailer, landing page and (obviously) we are on Steam now. Meanwhile, Jeremy has run a user test during last weeks edition of the Swiss Game Hub monthly playtesting event, while Pierre is working on some fresh new enemies. You’ll get a sneak peek of them as well. So let’s drill in… New Gameplay Trailer The trailer highlights gameplay scenes and showcases player abilities, while also sprinkling little hints about the lore of the game universe. Luckily, we’ve received help from a community member with cutting, so thanks a lot once more. Also, our composer Alex has produc…
- Welcome to CACTUS - 7 August 2023
Launching Our Community Hey folks! We're building CACTUS, a fast-paced, unconventional FPS with a small team of dedicated indie developers. Starting today, we'll document our development process here on Steam. Time to tell you everything about it! You Are The Weapon Fight to save your planet in this fast-paced single player FPS. Shoot explosive needles from your spiky body to wipe enemy hordes with timed detonations, explore the desert, solve puzzles, find artifacts, unlock special skills and battle against the horde. A New Take On The Genre This is a first-person shooter with abilities instead of guns. There's infinite ammo, but reloading is a mini game. You're outnumbered, but your needles are explosive. It's fast like the classics, but will test your wits. Besides that, you're up against a planet full of aggressive creatures, lead by the ultimate overlord - the sun itself. With CACTU…
