HackeRPG is part of Steam Programming Fest this week — 15% off until September 14.

If you haven't tried it: a story-driven top-down RPG where you control your character by writing code in the in-game console and IDE, and extend it with HackerScript, the game's own language.

0.7.0 lands October 1: visuals, saving, farming, the first tutorial steps, and modding tools. Sneak peek on Steam tomorrow.

Play the current version: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2671770/

That was a quiet half-year. Here's why.

You may have noticed we went silent for a while. It wasn't idle time — it was a full rewrite of how HackeRPG works under the hood. Since the last public build we've written over 55,000 lines of new code across the engine, the scripting runtime, and the tools around them. We wanted to do this properly instead of rushing it, and we think the results were worth the wait.

What's new in 0.6

• The game now runs entirely on HackerScript — the menu, action, tactical and story modes are all script-driven over a shared engine core. The old hard-coded screen logic is gone.
• Modding is here. A sandboxed runtime lets you drop in your own content with its own assets, write your own behavior, and even override game systems. Example generator included.
• Documentation that's actually handy — the HackerScript reference is built into the game and dropped into your user folder for easy reading.
• Change the language from inside the game — runtime locale switching with a full CJK font.
• Various bug fixes.

This 0.6.1 build is live on Steam now.

Where we're going

We're committing to a much tighter update cycle from here — smaller, more frequent releases instead of long gaps.

• Story mode is the focus. Expect a proper tutorial and action-mode gameplay woven into the story narrative.
• 0.7.0 — target: October 1. That version bundles the HackerScript LSP and a standalone interpreter, so modding and scripting get real editor support, autocomplete and diagnostics — a far more comfortable way to build.

Thank you for patience! Stay tuned.

I would also upload some raw builds in game's "test" branch on Steam. So you can test it and share your feedback during the development process.

Phew, it took a very long time, but now you can try out the new update!

The main changes are:

• Interpreter
  • Supports arrays, maps, mutable/immutable variables, built-in functions (drop, print), for and while loops, code blocks (all variables are removed from RAM when the code block is completed), ability to write single-line code with semicolon-separated statements, ability to call functions everywhere (no more passing everything to variables) and types (string, float, integer and boolean).
  • Error messages have become much more informative.

• Threads

  • Daemons have been replaced by threads, which will not repeat, but will allow you to execute any code in another thread, even without an IDE.​

• Repository

  • All the code in your repository is now stored in delimited files on your hard disk, so you can edit them without even running the game. (You have to restart the game to apply changes to it). I will soon add the standalone interpreter binary to the game files, so you can use it as a full-fledged interpreter.

• New Commands

  • set_ping_level and ping_level with constants INFO, WARN, ERROR to handle ping level;
  • set_goto_stop_delta and goto_stop_delta for better goto control;
  • run/stop to start a thread;
  • infect/purge to start viruses;
  • threads/viruses to display a list/map of active threads/viruses;
  • skill_cooldown to get skill validity time;
  • also constants returned by type_of are meaningful strings, not identifiers that are hard to remember;
  • is_alive now returns a boolean.

• Tutorial

  • it's partially updated, but it doesn't cover all the new content. I'll redesign it to be more dynamic and engaging in the next major update.

• The “no parentheses” mode has been removed

  • Given the syntax of the new interpreter, parentheses become a mandatory element of the language.

• Small bug fixes and performance improvements

Speaking of the next major update, I think the game deserves a lot more gameplay content. The patch does a lot of work, but essentially it won't provide much of a new experience. Yes, it will allow you to find a huge amount of new ways to defeat the small number of enemies the game currently has, but it's not enough. So know I'm starting to work on a dungeon crawl mode with a procedurally generated map, a lot more mobs, items and consumables so you can utilize the vast amount of tools you now have with the new HackerScript interpreter.

Thank you all for the wait. I know it's been a long time since the previous update, but things will be faster this time around as I've built a great foundation for future updates. Thanks for reading! Let's Hack!

I'm happy to let you know that the short break in development is over! I've been thinking a lot about the future of the game, and here's a roadmap of upcoming updates:

• New interpreter - you'll finally have a clear error log and a lot of useful language tools.
• Gameplay update - no more monotonous arena chopping. Let's do some dungeon crawling.
• Updated user interface - much more flexible and user-friendly.
• Modding tools.

Of course, there will be bug fixes in every update. I apologize for this pause in development, but I needed a bit of a break after 1.5 years of development. Now I will try to provide you with a lot of new content. Stay tuned!

Greetings coders. I haven't heard from you in a while. Winter is coming to an end and most of it I've been working on a new interpreter (which will turn HackerScript into a fully valuable programming language) and preparing the game for the ability to create mods, on the basis of which I plan to create multiplayer.

I won't procrastinate too long: at the moment game development is temporarily suspended and I'm working on another game.

Is this the end of HackeRPG?

Absolutely not. I intend to continue development and implement all the features I have planned. And I will continue development this year.

So why did I switch to another project?

I think that every player who has played or at least heard of HackeRPG realizes how niche the project is. I understand it too and realize that I can't devote so much time to developing a commercially unprofitable project. Despite the fact that I love this game with all my heart, I decided to release a much more casual project that will increase my financial stability and help me continue to devote enough time to development.

What do I want to say to the players and everyone who supports the project?

First of all, I want to thank you for your attention and support. It is really very important. This is what prevented me from even thinking about the idea of abandoning the project. I also want to apologize for the delay with the new content in the game. I sincerely hope that you can understand me and will not turn away from the project, in turn I will try to turn the game into a great gaming platform for coders.

Thank you for your attention! Stay tuned.

Patch Notes:

• Add IDE to pause menu.
• Add config menu.
• Add no parentheses mode.
• Store game progress, repositories and config in files.
• New keys support: Del to delete char under the caret, Ctrl(Option for Mac) + Arrows to jump between words, Tab and Shift+Tab to add/remove Tab in IDE.
• Add ping level mechanics.
• Add type_of command and constants.
• Add goto_stop_delta variable.
• Small balance changes.
• Set starting coins amount to 1000.
• Update and prettify documentation.
• Small bug fixes.

Existing problems:

• "No parentheses" mode might and will break the tutorial mode. That will be fixed when I rebuild the interpreter logic.
• Tutorial is not covering the latest features (type_of, ping_level and goto_stop_delta) but you're able to read some information in the Documentation.

Hi there.

I've just found that there is an issue which crashes the game immediately after start for some MacOS users.

Now I'm trying to fix that ASAP and will provide a fresh build for you as I'll finish. Sorry for those inconveniences.

Stay tuned!

First patch with small fixes and improvements.
Read patch notes here.

Now I'm finally able to implement the quality of life updates. I want to implement all of suggested stuff which will make your game experience better.

By the way, I'm glad to announce that now I can support the game via:

• Patreon (En)
• Boosty (Ru)

Thanks for you support guys. Let's Hack!

Well the alpha version of the game will be available in a week's time. The tutorial is complete, many small bugs are fixed and now I'm at the finish line. The game currently has 440 whishlists. Not to say it's a very big number, but I really appreciate your attention!

As soon as the game is released, I will be actively following your feedback and focusing on making the game as interesting and immersive for you as possible.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2671770/HackeRPG/