- Happy Next Fest everyone! - 18 June 2021
Hive Quest has featured in Next Fest this week and the support from Steam players has been very strong. I'm so grateful - thank you everyone. There has been a lot happening behind the scenes here with coding & development, trying to create a smooth gameplay experience and just keep on top of things. Sometimes the going isn't smooth but with the support of fans, and knowing that people like what I'm creating here, it really keeps the energy and inspiration flowing! Lately I've been working on how the hives grow with the number of drones growing by a big chunk for both player and enemy hives. You can see the results below: Naturally this has caused some frame rate issues so I'm toiling away to get a solution so stay with me! :) Also players can now see enemy drone expeditions far off in the woods when you take control of one of your own drones (you have to switch to bug vision for this -…
- Heck, I've missed this place! - 4 March 2021
Hi Folks, It's been a while since the last post here & lots has happened. After a few setbacks at the end of last year I needed to take a step back and re-assess where things are going. Since its beginning things have come such a long way for Hive Quest and the game demo (see below) shows only a fraction of the whole experience. The world is rich in back story, content and flavour and there are some very cool game mechanics in there. It's also (I am reliably told) a lot of fun to play, so work has to continue! Please take the time to download & try the free game demo from Game Jolt right here: Hive Quest free demo (Game Jolt) I will continue posting development updates here as well as on my https://twitter.com/RodatGHG Also, please consider supporting Hive Quest on Patreon and spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter & other social media. Thanks to you all for your amazing support!
- New features & game dev progress! - 11 March 2020
Hi everyone, It's been a little while since the last update so here's a bit of news about some exciting new additions to Hive Quest game play. The past few weeks I've been bringing together the 'Book of Hive Lore' - a useful interactive tool that players can use to manage their tiny kingdom. Introducing this new game play element is really going to help illustrate to curious folk how the game play actually works. It ties together many of the core layers of the game into one handy reference that is visually interesting and simple to use. Currently there are four main sections- - A list of the drones belonging to the player's hive - A list of all the resource sites the player has claimed (food, gloop & nectar) - A handy reference for keeping track of the current pet creature the player owns. - The game's main menu. You can see those pages in the attached vid. Further details have been add…
- Fun with the new insect swarms! - 3 November 2019
Hi everyone, time for a new dev update! INSECT SWARMS With a name like 'Hive Quest' you'd expect the game to have lots and lots of insects right? Swarms even. Buzzing around causing lots of mayhem all over the place. Well now it does! Since the last game dev update this little worker bee has been implementing game mechanics for summoning insect swarms. Big clouds of drones the player can call to their side and then fly off to find something worth attacking or claiming for the glory of the Hive Queen (bless her antennae!) Drone swarms are a very important strategy element in Hive Quest, providing the player with the opportunity to thwart the plans of enemy hives using sheer force of numbers. (See my previous article about building strategy into hive quest). Fighting battles like this can be a costly business. Every one of a player's drones is an individual with a name and particular tale…
- The latest Hive Quest game dev & Real Time Strategy insights! - 18 October 2019
Hi everyone, While working on Hive Quest I've recently been creating basic RTS mechanics that will promote sustained player enthusiasm and provide tension during the game play cycle. I wanted to share a few thoughts. So here's my current and personal bullet list of three RTS toolkit 'concepts' - Resource types - Too many resource types can confuse players and too few can instill a lack of dynamic depth to play. I originally had two - food & gloop (a building material), but decided on three for now, by adding Nectar, a special food the hive queen needs to lay eggs. Nectar is the scarcest resource and scarce resources are great for motivating players to act, prompting them to take greater risks to obtain it. This might involve the investment of substantial resources or drive direct conflict between players, especially if the resource has a time limit. These three ('two basics & a special'…
- Hive Quest is becoming the real time strategy game it was always meant to beee! - 26 September 2019
Hive Quest is a real time strategy game, among other things, so recently I've been working like crazy on providing the player the tools they need to micromanage their teeny empire. Lots of new user interface features are being introduced that fit smoothly into the flow of the game and provide lots of options for players to interact with their environment. The book of Hive Lore is the single biggest addition, providing a central place to go for lots of info on your hive and even individual drones! The big book of Hive Lore Capture the gloop shrooms! Resources are an important feature in the game too. Food, gloop and other things are gathered at sites across the map. New UI features have been introduced here as well, at each site, to enable the player to manage who works there. You have to make sure you own it first though, as other hives can sneak in and claim the site for themselves! Bl…
- Dev Update Sept 2019 - 6 September 2019
Hi Everyone, After I nervously released the pre alpha Demo a few months ago players have provided lots & lots of feedback about the look, feel and content of Hive Quest. So I've been taking all the comments on board and have been busy making adjustments and improvements that include: - better models for trees and bushes - snappier game play - better lighting One of the biggest gains here has been the switch from Gamma to Linear lighting, taking things from a cartoony appearance to a softer more realistic look. New strategy elements are also being included that weren't really there in the demo version, along with options to micromanage your hive more. Choosing which eggs to hatch is a new micromanage feature - after the Queen lays them, you can scope each egg's individual traits to make sure you only hatch the best drones for your hive. If you find yourself in a pinch however, you might…
- Try the latest Hive Quest Game Demo - 26 June 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32896087%2F6696417372da088210fb79ada2d2b483303bae40.png Hi Everyone, It's been a while since the Steam page was updated so here's a look at what's been going on. The Hive Quest demo has been undergoing extensive play testing among the twitter community which has really helped iron out bugs and improve game play. Things are at the stage where I feel ok about announcing the demo here on steam so feel free to grab the download right here on gamejolt. HIVE QUEST demo (Gamejolt) The demo is also available as a download from IndieDB here: HIVE QUEST demo (IndieDB) And there's even a Linux version - HIVE QUEST demo (Linux version) Any download problems drop an email to : rod goldenheartgames com The demo will also be available for download here on steam shortly. Lots of cool things have been added to the game recently including f…
- The Hive Quest FREE DEMO is on its way - 6 March 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32896087%2Ff4d9eb733245520b9384df4d8e1f45e37c818124.png Hi Everyone, Things have been super hectic around here of late (normally things idle at just 'hectic') . And what, I hear you ask, has been the cause of this manic flapping, keyboard tapping, late night coffee chugging lunacy? The new Hive Quest DEMO! Woohoooo! Yep - very soon there will be a free version, a sort of Beta edition, available for folk to download and try out for themselves. When it goes live I'll post about it here, and all over other Hive Quest social media channels, so keep a good look out for when that happens :) On top of that, there has been a whopping great big load of voice acting going on, to bring the many characters in the game to life. All this has rendered my voice, and the voices of several others, raw and croaking with all the effort. Which…
- News from the Wild Woods - 19 January 2019
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32896087%2F95539609edb8ec92f26122106eb439251be81004.png Hi Everyone! So lots has been happening to Hive Quest the past couple of months, and yours truly has been working like an overly caffeinated chimpanzee to get everything done in a timely manner. There's so much been going on it's difficult to know exactly where to start. New areas have been added to the Wild Woods for players to explore along with fun things to muck around with and intriguing puzzles to solve. Gameplay has been tightened up and the pet creature AI has had a huge update which makes them a lot more interactive (and downright helpful). They do need to be looked after though, otherwise bad things start to happen and they'll get ill. There's nothing sadder than a Shrublet wandering about with a dose of the Fungal Glumps. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/ste…
- Game Dev update 1 - 1 September 2018
https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32896087%2F5d0e03c7bd18f4c6a37138ae5f102d0cad144736.png Hi Everyone, Quick update on how the world of Hive Quest and the characters within it are coming together. The game is really taking shape to be a special mix of exploration, discovery, story telling, puzzle solving and real time strategy. Mixing all those elements together might sound a little crazy but the ultimate goal is to create a unique, memorable and pleasing experience. Here's a few screenshots featuring some of the latest developments in the game :) First off, Nora the Hedgewitch, a horrid old lady who spends her days combing the hedgerows for strange creatures and faeries that she can capture and add to her grim collection. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32896087%2Fb82038bd14a2c5cc0b9ee8de04cebf947893939e.png And there's al…
