Devlog 3: Momentum, Impact, and Synergy

This update was all about pushing character interactions to the next level... both literally and figuratively. The tether system is fully functional, and knockback mechanics continue to evolve with every tweak. The battlefield is  an ever-shifting tool of destruction, waiting to be exploited.

Tethered Synergy & Chain Knockback Polish

Momentum is key in Lux Aeterna, and Void Tethers are now fully integrated into the system. Whether you’re linking an enemy to a crumbling barrier or tying two opponents together for a synchronized demise, proper positioning means devastation.

Meanwhile, knockback logic has been refined to handle even more chaotic interactions, ensuring that every collision, whether against walls, barriers, or other enemies, feels predictable. The more you play, the more you’ll recognize opportunities to turn the battlefield itself into a weapon.

Polish Pass: Layers of Feedback

Everything is still placeholder art, sounds, and sprites, but the bones are solidifying.

• A Title Screen and Loading Screen have been added to frame the experience.
• A Dynamic Camera System now ensures the action stays locked into focus, so you don’t lose track of a crucial impact or game-changing chain reaction.
• Animations and sound effects are slowly being implemented.

Combo Tracking: The Rube Goldberg of Pain

A new system is in place to track combos for a turn, rewarding synergy and tactical play. Right now, it's a barebones framework, but the goal is clear:

• Every successful knockback, collision, and chain reaction will feel like a grand orchestration of destruction.
• Expect visual and audio feedback that makes every chain reaction satisfying... mechanically and viscerally.

The goal? To make sure that when you set up the perfect battlefield-wide catastrophe, you feel every impact.

Next Steps

• Expanding visual feedback on combos and impact tracking
• Refining ability animations and sound design
• Continuing to flesh out the first battlemap with the newly acquired tileset
• Finalizing the Void Tether’s full potential and its interactions with other mechanics

Everything is coming together, piece by piece. Until then, here’s a look at the latest interactions in motion for those who feel the pull of the void.

Where light fades, The Void listens. Until next time.

Devlog 2: Lux Aeterna Progress Update

This week was all about expanding mechanics and refining interactions to make combat feel more dynamic and responsive. A lot of the groundwork is in place now, and things are really starting to click.

New Enemy in the Mix

I added a third enemy into combat scenarios to test out the juicy combo potential. I’m starting to see how push/pull mechanics create chaotic yet strategic moments. Watching enemies get slammed into each other and setting up chain reactions is exactly the kind of emergent gameplay I was aiming for.

Level Wall & Barrier Logic

• Level Walls: These are now fully implemented, ensuring characters can't be pushed out of bounds or get stuck in weird situations.
• Destructible Barriers: As promised, I introduced a summonable wall that can be used both defensively and offensively. It takes two collisions before detonating, adding an interesting tactical layer... do you block a path or smash enemies into it for the extra damage?

Portal Ability & Void Tether Updates

• Portals: These can now be walked through or pushed through, making for some crazy movement setups. Portals enable teleportation, but they also interact with push mechanics, opening up unexpected plays.
• Void Tether: While still being fine-tuned, the "snap" mechanic is now functional. If a tethered enemy is pushed through a portal, the tether breaks and snaps back, causing a collision. The full tether system is still in progress, but this foundational piece is working as expected.

Tile Draw System Overhaul

I reworked how tiles are drawn to make it easier to scale up new abilities. This update makes it smoother to introduce new mechanics without needing a ton of manual placement or adjustments, which should save time down the line as more abilities get added.

First Battlemap Tileset and Production Efforts

The tileset art for the first battlemap (and hopefully pieces of others), should be arriving in the next few weeks. Tileset work was purchased and is a definite.

The project has also sparked interest in people willing to help out with narrative work and cutscene stills, so hopefully there will be more details in that regard soon.

Next Steps

The next focus is finalizing Void Tether's full behavior, polishing movement interactions, and refining ability animations and the visual feedback on chaining a combo for the player. With these systems in place, we're looking at the first level of a fully playable demo in the next few months.

It’s all coming together. In the meantime, here's a quick highlight video of some of the knockback interactions and Void Tether in its simple form, as well as a few more pages to the Design Document.

Where light fades, The Void listens. Until next time.

"What if the battlefield itself was your greatest weapon?"

In Lux Aeterna, position is everything. Knockbacks, chain reactions, and carefully planned abilities let you manipulate enemies like pieces on a collapsing chessboard. A well-placed hit can send an enemy crashing into an unstable barrier or delayed explosion, creating devastating combos that turn the tide of battle.

Here's a quick look at how Lux Aeterna’s combat is evolving. Every new system builds toward a battlefield that fights back:

Each ability in Lux Aeterna has been picked from a much larger pool to ensure distinctiveness. Right now, only 4 abilities are implemented, but each one lays the groundwork for an expanding toolkit that gives every character their own identity.

Two new ability types are currently in the works, expanding the ways you can manipulate the battlefield: 

1. A dynamic tile obstacle  - Blocks traversal and doubles as a hazard. Be warned, too many impacts and it might detonate.
2. Tethering - A signature mechanic for the hunter archetype; the ability to tether enemies to objects... or objects to walls... or enemies to enemies... the battlefield is yours to control.

In the meantime, here's the beginning of the Design Documents I've started to onboard anyone who might find the project interesting and want to help COUGH COUGH.

Thanks for checking out Lux Aeterna and remember: where light fades, The Void listens. Until next time.

Hello! Depending on what you mean by cheap I may be interested.
`jauvil` on discord if you're interested in hearing details. I also have a post up if you'd like to take a look before deciding.

/t/4601325/2d-artist-composer-game-systems-designer-help-for-tact...

Just want to mention this is an ad for unpaid hobbyists. Sorry for anyone who might have thought otherwise.

Hello!

I have been a software engineer for about a decade now doing mostly web development. Ever since 2020, I have also been an avid DM/GM in Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire: The Masquerade.

In the past few weeks, I've had the bright idea to combine these passions and make a Tactics Battler.

Story Premise:

It's been 100 years since the first portals opened, since the void came. People believed it was natural. The laws of the world had simply changed, they said. The abyss had opened, and it was simply our time to suffer.

But it wasn't natural. No great reckoning, no divine punishment. It was the byproduct of men dealing with forces they should have never touched. The Aegis Council, great architects of the modern world. In their inhuman calculating, their cold logic, they believed they could control the unknowable.

Their hubris unleashed the Void. But their cruelty... gave them a return. Lux. With Lux as fuel, they forged a new world. Great cities, impervious to the darkness. War machines that held back the
monstrosities they themselves had set free.

Aegis, the great provider. The nameless men in white who supplied the Lahannen Dynasty with the power to keep civilization standing. The void is contained, push to the edges of humanity. There's the occasional incursion, or minor disturbance, but Aegis ensures the world remains bright, clean and orderly.

But how would they feel if they knew the truth? That Lahannen and Aegis aren't just the solution... they are also the problem.

This game will be a prototype and establish the world by following a group of 4 "Void Warriors," people who had the abilities granted by "Lux" before Lux was even a thing. So they know all power comes from the void while the general population does not.

Tactics Gameplay:

Low damage, high zone control. The void will "empower" squares that controlling will be integral to winning. Think abilities that have a delayed effect, unless used from an empowered square, creating an opportunity for a second character to use an ability to knock the enemy into that AoE if it is delayed. Right now I've scoped the game to 4 player characters, each with their own distinct feel. With help I might be willing to move that number. I'm hoping to have more unique win conditions than "kill all enemies" more often than not.

This is where a systems designer would be useful, but is also lowest on my needs, as I feel I can handle this area.

Hopeful Art Direction:

I'm hoping for lots of blues, golds, and purples that create an ominous, oppressive feel by combining steampunk and gothic victorian themes.

In need of basically all art, as I've just bought a large generic art pack to use as placeholder art. Besides direct game assets, ~40 color images will be needed for the 6 "Max Payne" style cutscenes planned for the game.

Music Composition:

I'm hoping for music that conveys ideas of the game subtly. Gothic and Baroque influence should convey the false majesty of Lux. Industrial steampunk percussion conveys "the machine beneath it all." Cosmic horror soundscapes that could convey the truth of the void. And then, for the protagonists, defiant and raw battle themes.

Sorry for the UFC audio in the background rofl, just mute.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

If you're interested in talking about the project, please contact `jauvil` on Discord.

Hey, bud. I'm in the early throws of a story-heavy tactics battler. I'd love to discuss the project with you and see if you're interested.

`jauvil` on discord if you'd like to chat.

Thanks,
Justin