INURBIS DL-015 ∞ Live at Slime River

Howdy all, despite things melting down in the US at an increasingly troubling rate, I’ve completed a few more milestones for INURBIS. I am playing around with the idea of a subtitle for the game, ECO-PSYCHO-SIM - what do you think? I think I’ll skip it, but it’s fun to think about different ways to market the game, I guess. Is a title just a marketing element? I’ve always thought as games as doorways to their creator’s respective world. There’s something ritualistic about tapping into the flow of another reality that feels great to me.

I have completed implementing the sector power system against devices. Including the lights. I’m excited to create extremely dark scenarios, I have several character abilities planned that take advantage of, or manipulate ENRG.

Above is a test scene for the slime river. Because of the nature of INURBIS, it’s important that all factions can organically spawn into the gameplay area. Drones are fabricated when the City OS deems it necessary, usually to deal with threats. Many devices that would trigger this, though, no longer alert system-wide when they are tampered with if the power is out. The low-level green slime enemy is born from the liquid slime which will flow differently in an area depending on if the power is on. Slimes only care about food, and much of the plantlife in INURBIS had adapted to feed on ENRG. Certain food sources are only available when the power is on.

The next enemy I’m adding to the game only spawns in dark, and will be quite deadly! I really want something that embodies the elemental terror of the darkness swallowing you up. Most of the current elements of the game specifically introduce more dynamism when the power is on, so next I’ll be adding unique encounters for darkened areas. I hope players will have a fun time deciding whether they would prefer to navigate through a specific area powered or unpowered.

I still have a few elements to add between slimes and drones, so expect to see slimier slimes and more interactivity with devices coming up next.

I still don’t want to put a date on the playtest (sorry). I think the more time I spend up front the better the game will be. But I will definitely have something playable in 2026.

Thanks,
HHRRIISSTT

INURBIS DL-014 ∞ OFFHAND and Sector Power

Happy New Year.

Work on the offhand consumable / power system is complete. I have a big list of things to implement that I’ll be pulling from as I continue developing the rest of gameplay, and I’ll probably be adding a Kick ability next. I’ve struggled a bit with how to lead describing the game, but it is at its core an immersive sim focused on future tech built from present mistakes and the ecology that has sprung up from within the cracks of the megastructure. Maybe “mega” isn’t the right term, though.

Currently the STIM acts as a nice wound healing + buffing combo, putting your cloneling’s physical characteristics into overdrive. I’ve also extended the LIFE and HLTH gauges to provide feedback to USERs as the cloneling’s passive processes cycle through different modes. EXRTion and HEAL systems are complete and make up the cloneling’s strain and passive recovery systems, respectively. Special care and attention is needed to recover from wounds.

Additionally, I’ve finished the skeleton of sector power system. Local TS-ENRG devices must be sought out in every sector to turn the primary power on (or off). Sectors on backup power can expect lesser biological response from spurned lifeforms, difficulty opening doors and operating machines, and more darkness. They can also expect a lower level of City Security activity by default.

Sectors with power on become much more active, and new resources become available. I’m actively working on level design for the prologue / tutorial / demo portion of the game, and having a lot of fun developing various paths from one section to the next, and hope this system adds an extra layer of emergence to the gameplay.

Above is an updated gameplay snippet of powering up the first sector in the drone maintenance tunnels. I like the alpha version of the generator sound. I made it with the Serum 2 digital synthesizer. I had a good time setting up the pitch modulation of the power transition states.

Alpha completion is getting closer and closer, which will also mark the beginning of the closed alpha playtest. I’m excited to introduce several more core systems before that, and continue to flesh out the already existing ones. I’m not ready to announce a date yet, but it’s definitely narrowing down in my head.

I also want to speak to the system requirements and general performance information to give folks some expectation on what kind of hardware will run this game. Currently, the game is being regularly tested on Steam Deck, and beyond a few unoptimized spots (distant views) I still have quite a bit of headroom to hit my minimum goal of a rock-solid 30 FPS experience on Steam Deck. Personally, I like locking to 40 fps on the deck, so I’ll be seeing if that’s attainable. Part of this expectation is from considering that INURBIS is leveraging UE’s Lumen to provide it’s raymarched light and shadow visuals. Yes, I did just want to make a game with something resembling ray tracing that can run well on portable hardware. Currently you can turn Lumen off, but it looks like hot garbage, so please don’t!

I am still considering if I want to add true controller support before or after Alpha, but I would probably open up the playtest while developing that feature so I can start to get some more direct feedback on the game. Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest, and shared kind comments, likes, etc. I can’t do this without players, and I want to play too. Without players, there’s no point.

As always I appreciate everyone’s support, and I hope everyone can find some peace in 2026.

Almost forgot, I also did the Mori podcast (I was sick and missed the previous one) today. Here’s a link to their channel. It was great chatting about Inurbis and science fiction, got some great book recommendations from them!

Have a great January and I’ll see you in February,
HHRRIISSTT

Inurbis DL-013 ∞ Card System

Hello USERS,

Welcome to another Inurbis Devlog! Lots of stuff to cover today, but for now, enjoy this new C.H.R.O.M.B.U.S. redesign:

Chrono-Holographic Register of Memory, Behavior, and User Systems (C.H.R.O.M.B.U.S.)

I’ve been working with the wonderful André for a few weeks now! We iterated on this design a few times, and I think we’ve landed on a cuter version that’s also much more legally distinct from a certain creature-collector IP known for its aggressive litigation. We’re also laying the groundwork for the rest of the CHROMBUS UI, the operating system that allows USERS to log into the City and experience the wonders of Inurbis almost first-hand.

Most of my focus in November has been on building out scalable backend data structures and the core animation system that forms the backbone of the CARD system. This is my approach to streamlining RPG gameplay in a way that stays accessible while preserving the crunchy depth us old-school CRPG players expect. The CARD system unifies inventory, perks, skills, mutations, and high-tech cloneling implants into a single character-development framework.

For ALPHA, the implementation will be fairly minimal: players will be able to pick up and use primary CARDS, but customization will not come until BETA. Think of CARDS as the CHROMBUS UI for a wide range of objects, events, and conditions, giving USERS a clear way to parse their current cloneling status and loadout. In Alpha, the only exposed functionality will be choosing between currently equipped consumables and abilities during gameplay.

Everything is still in a very early phase, but I’m planning to showcase updated gameplay in the next devlog. For now, enjoy this short Vistas of Inurbis video, highlighting another location along the Great Sector Wall.

The third Vistas of Inurbis Video, showcasing the drone bay maintenance tunnels

I wanted to also speak to my overall health and development capacity. I am chronically ill / disabled and dealing with some spinal health issues that are making it extremely challenging to work on Inurbis at a consistent pace.

Currently I have to spend a few hours per day laying down in bed as to not exacerbate my symptoms and pain. I am also currently working full time in the tech industry and am a father and husband. Most of my free time is going towards development but I am human and can suffer burnout from spending so much time working at the computer.

Inurbis is a great passion of mine, and I plan to continue to work on the game for the forseeable future, but doing devlogs at the pace I have been (especially the gameplay videos) isn’t a smart way to use my time. So for now, expect a minimum of monthly devlog updates. I also post from time to time about Inurbis on my bluesky account and can be contacted there directly.

I was also invited to the Mori Podcast, who are some folks from the BLAME! discord doing an apparently vaguely megastructure oriented variety show. I’ll be there for a bit to talk about Inurbis, it should be fun! That episode should be airing at / around 12/08/25 at 1pm CST / 20:00 Amsterdam time. Maybe someone could show up and listen! Otherwise it will be posted after on the linked youtube.

Thanks for reading,
HHRRIISSTT

Inurbis DL-012 ∞ City Security

Oh boy, I made a website. Cheers?

I’m focused on a few larger pieces of design currently - CHROMBUS redesign and CHROMBos. My hope is that folks enjoy pronouncing these terms, because they will act as the other main pillars of gameplay, beyond just moving around and acting in the world. Most of the progress in the game so far has been the development of solid moving and fighting mechanics with a realistic physics based first person body. I did some polishing recently that I’m very happy with. Currently I’m considering whether I should have floor rubble interact (well, obstruct, really) with the way the player body moves across a surface. I like that the rubble creates an obstacle, personally.

Since above video, I’ve also started working on a security door - essentially a locked door belonging to the machine god (mg) faction - the first “device” that will interact with drones and the security status system. Currently, once you’re identified as hostile, there’s no going back. The mg won’t just forget about you. I’m hoping players will enjoy the different strategies they can employ around the mg faction. Like in life, cooperation is a powerful tool. In games, sometimes blasting stuff is more fun :)

Thank you,
HHRRIISSTT