The Oil Blue: Gameplay Journal #3
In the last gameplay journal we took a look at the Drill Rig and Pumpjack. Now that you know your equipment, it’s time to learn how to take proper care of it. A well tuned machine pays for itself tenfold, after all.
Repairs
At the start of each day, you’ll have some time to take care of business before you’re able to start up the drilling machines. This includes servicing any machines that might have a significant amount of stress.
You won’t use your mouse here…this is the only part in the game where you’ll need to whip out the keyboard and try to figure out how to repair those machines. There’s five standard ways of fixing a machine, with eight difficulty levels each. The difficulty is determined by how much stress the machine has. If you push your Pumpjack to the limit, be prepared for a significantly harder repair process. Likewise, if you take care of your machines and don’t get too much stress on them, the repairs will be a breeze.
Repairs are always randomized and not very puzzle intensive…just stuff that you’ll need to get done quickly, such as screwing a bolt across a wall while managing the locks, or figuring out the missing portion of a computer’s lightup sequence.
Upgrades and XP
Using your machine adds to the experience you and your crew obtain from it. Use that Drill Rig or Derrick enough, and you might find yourself upgrading it to level 2!
(click for larger image)
Upgrades come with an array of improvements, such as decreasing the pressure and stress of the daily usage, or adding new parts to make it faster and easier to obtain oil. There are twenty levels of XP in total, and you’ll find yourself wondering how the heck you managed with level 1 Groundwells after taking a spin in a level 15 one. Of course, with each new level you obtain, the next one gets harder and harder to get to…
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Well, that takes care of the underwater portions of the Oil Blue, and I haven’t even touched on the business side of things, including buying food for your workers, assigning them tasks, checking the oil markets, etc. Next week I’ll be showing that as well as announcing the price and release date. It’s getting closer to being finished! Woo!
Cool… there seem to be a lot in this game!
my goodness i am excited
it seems so awesome
I got dizzy reading the post and steam started coming out of my ears, so I think I’m going to stop trying to understand it and just play it when it comes out. My feeble artist brain can’t handle trying to put it all together inside my head. 🙂
I was wondering how you would find an interesting way to repair things because your player is only equipped with a mouse and keyboard. Also, you have said so yourself that your audience has limited puzzle fans, so that direction is somewhat restricted… Glad you figured that out!
Also I am very excited about the release of this game as I believe it is not only a sweet game but also a huge step forward in the direction you wanted to take Vertigo Games. I am actually glad it is commercial as not only does it mean you get paid for your hard work, but also that you can keep moving Vertigo Games in the direction that you want.
Just a question, is Vertigo Games a registered company yet?
Yeah, I definitely agree…this is the biggest game I’ve done yet. And VG will be registered once I get some more cash. 😀
Thanks for all the comments!
Is Liquisity 2 next? (Seeing as by not making it you would be ripping off a lot of the people that helped raise that money… 😆 )
It is absolutely next, along with another project. But Liquisity 2 will be easy to make.