I know I was quiet this LD (to the point of forgetting to make an "I'm In" post, whoops), but I feel obligated to say: I didn't make it this time.

I learned my lessons back in '38 and '39 that shipping unfinished LD entries just isn't worth the pain, and I don't even have a win condition implemented yet for this LD's project. So...yeah. Nothing released in time for '41. That's not to say it's been a bad jam, though.

I decided to make a game using Unreal 4, and it's been incredible for learning the engine. Though I didn't reach my goal (a fully-fledged non-violent survival game), I did make a polished and functional basis for creating the game post-jam.

My goal was to make something that's ostensibly a walking simulator with endless survival elements; you'd basically be living off the land, in harmony with nature. No modern tools or technology - you gotta live off the land. Taking leaves & branches off trees to create makeshift shelter, making a flammable wrap around a stick to get a torch, that sort of thing. Very "wilderness survival show", but with less drama over food and drink - motile beans don't need such trifle things.

Where I actually wound up getting was what you can see in the photos - a basic building system, inventory, stamina and a defunct health bar, multiplayer, and some other goodies, like the ability to save/load your game (persistent inventories, even in multiplayer!), and a relatively fancy menu system.

In spite of its lack of content (or, to some extent, gameplay), it still feels like one of my most polished Ludum Dare entries ever. Saving and loading? Smooth multiplayer? A relatively large and relatively pretty world? A proper menu system, HUD, and pause screen?! Those sorts of things don't even appear in my UNITY titles that often, let alone for Ludum Dare!

So, with all that in mind - I'm glad I partook of this Ludum Dare, even if I wasn't able to submit anything for it. To the rest of you lovely jammers, good luck with your projects! I hope to be playing and rating some of your games in a few days.

(Postal note: The trees and such aren't mine! The only assets I created are the actual Blueprints used in gameplay, and the UI textures - everything else is either the Starter Assets, or free goodies from the Marketplace/Forums. Pop over to the Free Foliage Starter Kit page on the Unreal forums to grab the trees - when imported right, they'll look way better than they do in my project.)