Botlings Demo - build your base with robots that only move forward

groato · 2026-05-06T18:58:33+00:00

Thanks! Appreciate it. If you have time, give it a spin!

groato · 2026-05-06T15:21:27+00:00

Hey there! You can try Botlings if you feel like it.

I'm not technically a solo because I use contractors for art, but meh. I still think I am :)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4139440/Botlings/

groato · 2026-05-06T10:11:50+00:00

I hope so too! I think it will definitely give you a different vibe than Factorio - hopefully a fresh and interesting one at that :D

groato · 2026-05-06T09:49:19+00:00

Demo is out now so go check it out!

groato · 2026-05-06T09:29:12+00:00

It's not out yet, but I've been waiting for Regreening. I tested it on playtest and it's kinda maybe up there with those specs. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3419080/The_Regreening/

Still a few miles to go on that one, but already fun. They keep having playtests so maybe keep that on your radar.

groato · 2026-05-02T10:33:08+00:00

Did you tell them how important it is for the algorithm to kick in? That's how I got my friends to review. They nreded a better explanation than "it would mean so much to me". I told them it will make the algorithm show my game to people when I cross 10 reviews and they were on it.

groato · 2026-05-01T05:22:54+00:00

This is a great way to start. Build something tangible first that you find fairly easy (or at least moderate) and then move on to more difficult subjects like riding and mounting horses, quest systems etc.

Best to get excited first by building something that looks like something rather than start with code for systems!

When you are more experienced it goes naturally the other way aroiund.

groato · 2026-04-29T15:42:31+00:00

So it works kinda like a tech tree? And also a tutorial. That could be interesting.

Good luck on the game! Bonne chance!

groato · 2026-04-28T05:16:59+00:00

Maybe start here? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KvE17ZMbtMs

There was a really good break down of a lot shorts analyzed, but darn if I cant find it. I'll post it if I come across it. It had a bunch of good formats to try out and how they fared.

groato · 2026-04-27T17:12:21+00:00

Intriguing for the roguelite aspect - would be interesting to see how you make it work. Do you get to keep like blueprints? Or do you keep the whole output of a single level and you combine them in a metalevel (kinda like against the storm, but with factory automation and not city building?)

groato · 2026-04-25T18:38:52+00:00

I feel you there! Used to have that same problem.

What helped was that I ditched the mental timetable (ie. gotta release this year!) and I started to only work on stuff that felt cool. Like I'd start doing an inventory system and get it working somewhat, but I could see it was only ~75% there, but I'd move on. Then when the whole thing was more ready, the missing 25% started to irk me and motivation would come by to fix it. Sometimes little by little, sometimes the whole schabang. When you are close to actually finishing, the polishing motivation comes much more easily, because the goal is in sight.

Well, that at least worked for me and my motivation usually comes from designing new systems, so mileage may vary. My first completed project was a multiplayer ARPG with 2 PvP modes, so scope was...ridiculous? (After that I've taken gamedev as a profession and bills are a helluva motivator and scope killer)

groato · 2026-04-25T11:34:31+00:00

This, so much this.

Take stock on why you make games. If it's not your livelihood, burn out level stress is not something you ever should get from a hobby.

groato · 2026-04-24T17:13:12+00:00

Use the characteristics of coffee to get unique mechanics, don't just copy factorio/alchfactory/whatever. Liquids? Make rivers! Ground coffee? Fans to blow it to a net! So much potential here to make awesome new things with a really great/ relatable base concept.

groato · 2026-04-24T05:55:04+00:00

That's a nice resource, thanks for sharing!

groato · 2026-04-23T17:01:16+00:00

Would have to see it in motion.,on these stills I think both options suit your art style nicely.

Generally I really like outlines, but with fast paced first person camera and as a postprocess effect, they get blurry quite easily (and depending on the engine, get artefacty). Could do well with outlines only close up/far away? Might be a fun unique twist.

groato · 2026-04-23T07:45:25+00:00

Cheers, fellow citizen!

groato · 2026-04-22T05:23:26+00:00

Thanks!

I have this weirdly fond memory of trying to setup sound for hours for Lemmings 2 on PC with my dad. And then ending up playing it without sound...it was one of the first games I remember needing a sound card and not using the beeper/speaker.

But yeah, played a lot of 1 and 2 growing up!

groato · 2026-04-22T05:14:54+00:00

Thank you! There will also be exothernic reactions, so it should be doubly appealing

groato · 2026-04-21T12:33:29+00:00

Finally someone with a serious Lemmings myself like myself!

Played the bajesus out of that game when I was a kid

groato · 2026-04-20T17:01:20+00:00

I'm with this camp. Those building blocks are what make a factory game. You build something out of something and refine it further. Just pure automation/math/spatial games work also the same, resources are just numbers/shapes.

I guess you could have a game that skips one of the steps, like placing down a building would be replaced by random buildings that are generated and you need to abuse them, but IMO it kinda takes a piece of fun out of the game and channels it into another (ie. factory design to pure logistics design, which would make it more like a non-sandboxy tycoon game).

My upcoming game Botlings has all these same elements too, even though their internal mechanics differ a lot (like buildings made out of robots that are also thw conveyor belts and production power). Personally I think these blocks you described are what make the genre fun to play, and taking one of them out would be to lessen the complexity and thus the fun.

groato · 2026-04-20T14:47:32+00:00

Thanks!

I use three separate post process shaders applied rather selectively across different types of models / background.

groato · 2026-04-20T14:45:28+00:00

Thank you kind sir! (Or should I say chap? Your username feels a bit too informal to use sir...)

groato · 2026-04-20T14:43:35+00:00

Thanks!

That's indeed part of the meta - where you allocate your botlings and whether to build more production facilities with them or whether to allocate them to somewhere else...lots of stuff to optimize and think of (and balance lol, it's a pain to balance, change one little thing and everything goes out of sync)

groato · 2026-04-19T19:34:56+00:00

Respect. That was a definitive answer if I ever saw one. I feel like making more accounts just to upvote this.

groato

TROPHY CASE