What is Arcostate?

Arcostate is a sci-fi roguelike set in a post-post-cataclysmic earth still bearing the scars that led to its ruin. Heavily inspired by the likes of Caves of Qud, Brogue, Elin, and others, this game aims to bring a little bit of everything together. Explore a ruined planet holding technological marvels that once promised a bright future for humanity.

You arrive in a foreign land, your memories gone and only your skills to aid you. The earth is scarred and hostile, evidence of a great cataclysm found in the many scattered ruins. Across to the south, a bright blue dome dominates the horizon. Aathman, the last surviving arcology on the planet, seemingly stands as a shining beacon that defends against the many dangers in the wastes. Will you survive and uncover the secrets that led to Earth's ruin, or be one of many to perish in these unforgiving lands?

What is this game?

Arcostate aims to be a blend of classic roguelike gameplay and also bring in features of deep character customization and roleplay. It is turn-based, with elements of survival and exploration with simulation and emergent systems. Choose between a classic mode for true permadeath or roleplaying mode to save and load freely.

World & exploration

  - Overworld map you can travel across, with sector-based zones.

  - Hand-authored and procedural locations.

  - Caves that descend forever, with new hazards and stronger enemies the deeper you go.

  - A derelict monorail network beneath the surface, with a rideable car.

  - A drivable salvaged car.

  - Random encounters while traveling, on the map or on foot.

  - A bounty board with repeatable contracts to hunt down.

  - Day/night cycle, character aging that affects stats, and weather.

Home & building

  - Buy land deeds and claim a sector.

  - Build walls, floors, doors, windows, and furnishings, or dig down and expand underground.

  - Fell trees, mine rock, and salvage glass, then craft kits, furniture, and work stations at your own crafting table.

  - Hire guards and shopkeepers through a home terminal.

NPCs & simulation

  - Full daily scheduling for NPCs.

  - Faction system with grudges and witness reactions.

  - Companions/pets, wandering groups, ambushes, and squad behavior; enemies shout for allies when they spot you.

  - NPCs use cybernetics of their own, and augments can be cut out of corpses.

Character system

  - Points-based character creation.

  - 6 attributes, category-based, multi-rank skills with usage progression.

  - Cybernetics: installable augments gated by a compute-power budget.

  - Psychic powers: wield psychic powers and upgrade them through the skill tree.

  - Full character customization including appearance and age. Stats affect character description.

  - Player sprite that dynamically changes with equipment and appearance.

Combat & items

  - Tactical turn combat: percentage damage reduction armor and dice weapon damage.

  - Momentum physics: entities can be pushed via a force, momentum effects duration of travel and damage taken.

  - Stealth: sneak and crouch to slip past sightlines driven by each NPC's perception.

  - Over 400 items: 48 weapons, 107 armor pieces, 69 consumables, 46 cybernetics, 24 weapon mods, plus ammo and magazines, crafting materials, valuables, and gadgets.

  - Drug crafting with a full toxicity system: drugs give useful buffs and abilities with a possibility of overdoses and withdrawals.

  - Inventory and encumbrance, loot, and a codex: a permanent gallery of every item and creature you catalog.

Dynamic Equipment Sprites

Arcostate is proud to include a robust 'paper doll' sprite system! Every piece of clothing and weapons the player or other humanoid npcs can wear is shown directly on the sprite. While it was a challenge to balance the layering of sprites and keeping in style with the rest of the game, it was deemed important enough to the player's immersion to include in this classic roguelike experience.

DISCLAIMER

This game is currently in its early stages and not at its fully realized potential. While bugs are constantly being ironed out, please note that there will be bugs and if found, I would really appreciate reports. No AI was used in any artwork or music present in the game.

Please wishlist, and follow the game if you would like to see updates leading up to the demo release! The Steam Demo is planned to be released during Next Fest in October.

Please join my discord server and leave any feedback or reports there, I regularly post updates there with progress!