Ötzi

Hi everyone,

Let me introduce Ötzi, a survival simulation set in prehistoric times, the Neolithic, to be precise, the period right after the end of the last Ice Age.

Why this game?

The core idea is to take the concept of Project Zomboid and adapt it to a very different setting. It's a sandbox game with procedural generation, where the goal is for stories to emerge naturally from the environment and the player's choices.

My main inspirations are Project Zomboid and Don't Starve for the emergent simulation gameplay, Minecraft for procedural generation, UnReal World for the historical wilderness survival setting, and Stardew Valley for the pixel art visuals.

What's the gameplay like?

You play as a prehistoric man or woman, and your objective is to meet your physiological needs: eating, drinking, resting, and staying within a comfortable temperature range.

To do so, you can gather resources from your environment, pick up items from the ground, and craft your own tools from them. You can harvest fruit from trees,  apples from an apple tree, for example,  or fish near a river with a spear. You can also hunt wild animals for their meat and hides, and craft clothing from them to protect yourself from the cold and the weather.

Current features

• Simulation of the Earth and its ecoregions, based on the WWF's classification, including each ecoregion's average temperature, humidity, and weather. (For now, only the "Western European Broadleaf Forests" ecoregion is playable.)
• Day/night cycle affecting temperature and light levels.
• Dynamic weather.
• Procedural generation of the environment, plants, and items.
• Crafting system.
• Building system: construct structures by depositing items into a building blueprint.
• Physiological simulation of the player's needs, closely inspired by real science. For example, intense physical activity burns more calories and raises body temperature, while a high body temperature makes the player sweat, which regulates their temperature but increases dehydration.
• Solar radiation simulation. Sunlight affects body temperature, based on real scientific data. The perceived temperature can therefore differ depending on whether the sky is clear or overcast.
• Wild animals (only rabbits for now).
• Fishing.
• Visual adaptation of the character based on their temperature state, ranging from severe hypothermia to severe hyperthermia (they'll cross their arms when cold, sweat when hot, their skin will change color and blotches will appear).
• Multiplayer for up to 4 players (requires a Steam account).

I'm always looking for feedback to help me improve the game. I'm planning to take part in Steam's PvE Survival Crafting Fest in early September.

Thank you for trying out Ötzi.

Discord server : https://discord.gg/7jXbvwt2KA

Controls

• Use W, A, S, D or the arrow keys to move.
• Hold Shift to run.
• Press B to open the build menu.
• Press C to open the craft menu.
• Press G to toggle the grid display on or off.
• Press I to open or close the inventory.
• To interact with an object (like a campfire or a construction site), stand next to it and right-click to open the context menu.
• Press R to rest for a short recovery.
• Press T to sleep and recover over a longer period.
• Press Esc to open the pause menu.
• Time Controls:
  
  • Press F1 for normal speed.
  • Press F2 for double speed.
  • Press F3 for triple speed.
• Press 1 to interact with left hand
• Press 2 to interact with right hand