Vacation

Well, it is summer.

Next week I will be leaving on vacation, and will be gone for about a week or so. During this time there will be no updates. But! I will still be hard at work on the game, and will try to have a demo ready by the time I get back. There will certainly be another demo ready by July 10th.

Thanks for the support everybody, it really does mean a lot.

What's Next

Now that a demo's been released, what's next? Well, I had originally planned to finish adding the NPCs, and add some more disasters, and work on the spawning system. But it seems like people are wondering why they can't talk to the NPCs*. So, I'll be working on a conversation system. This will work on a node-like framework, combined with a check to see if the NPC is helpful or unhelpful. So they'll have a default response depending on if you're asking them something while they're helpful, asking them something while they're unhelpful, telling them something while they're helpful, or telling them something while they're unhelpful.
Then, of course, they'll have specific responses to particular subject. So, for example, if you're asking the Janitor about the strange plant thing, and he hasn't warmed up to you, he might just grunt. But, if you're friend to all undersea janitors, he might tell you where he last saw it.
Obviously, this will take a moderate amount of work to add in unique responses for stuff. Plus, I'm going to try to hit 12 different disasters by the next demo. So I'm thinking it'll be about two weeks before another one hits, but if that changes, I'll post it here.

EDIT: Turns out adding conversations was a lot easier than I had expected. Well, adding the framework was. I still need to write all the responses and stuff, but that just involves writefagging, not programming. There are now 2 (two!) backstories that can be uncovered by reading the right notes and showing them to the appropriate people.

Demo's Hot! Get it now!

Hey everyone! I hope your butts are prepared for the very latest in text adventure technology, THE PRESSURE TEXT ADVENTURE (Demo). Featuring monsters! Crew members! Notes! Weapons! Floods! Freezers!
And it can be yours right now.
How? Well, first you'll need an interpreter in order to play the file type. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of such applications, that will work on whatever device you may be using to view this page.
Windows
Mac
Li/Unix
Once you've done that, download the file here.

Now, open up that file. You should now be playing Pressure.

Now, understandably, you may get lost. You may even get killed! That's okay. Pressure is meant to be played multiple times, and this hold true to that idea. Some of the random elements include the disasters (When they happen and what they are), the crew members' names, the combat numbers and the locations of (and possibly existence of) certain notes and memos.
However, I don't want to throw you right into the deep end, so here's some help.

First, a map. The in-game descriptions should tell you what rooms are adjacent, but this gives you an overview.
Next, some commands:
numbers on/numbers off
Turns visible combat mechanics on or off. By default, they're off. You can switch them on if you want to see them though.
ready [weapon]
This will ready the specified weapon. You can't fight very effectively without one, so grab something and start whacking!
force/weld [door]
You need to be holding the crowbar or the welding torch for both of these actions. Forcing will open a locked door, and welding will close and weld the door. Neither have a guaranteed chance of success, so don't rely on them to escape a monster.
fix [machine]
You need to be holding the steel wrench to do this. This will repair a broken machine. (There's only one, the Air Filtration Unit)
Parry/Dodge
The two reaction commands. Parry is based off of your ready weapon's parry stat, whereas dodging is based on your personal dodging stat.

Post any other questions you have, and I'll answer them.