For the longest time, Afro-Future Rising has been… peaceful.
A little too peaceful.
You could explore, gather resources, level up, and test mechanics, but there wasn’t much pressure. That changes now.
I’ve finally started implementing the first enemy AI and creep system.
Right now there are different enemy types that spawn throughout the world and serve different purposes. Some simply patrol areas, while others exist mainly to become experience sources and create risk around objectives.
The important part isn’t just that enemies exist.
It’s that they’re now connected to the progression system.
Every encounter now feeds into the bigger gameplay loop:
- Defeat enemies
- Gain experience
- Earn levels
- Unlock skill points
- Progress through the Skill Snowflake
- Become stronger for tougher encounters
This is the first time all these systems are actually talking to each other.
Before, XP was mostly a number going up.
Now it has purpose.
I’m also experimenting with enemy archetypes that will eventually belong to different factions. Instead of every enemy behaving the same, each faction will develop its own combat identity and abilities.
There’s still a long road before the AI is where I want it to be, but seeing the map populated with hostile units makes the world feel dramatically different.
For the first time, exploring carries actual risk.
And honestly…
That makes it a lot more fun.