v0.2.0 — Procedural world and crafting

Procedural world and crafting update.

Run from source with uv run main.py. uv creates the environment and installs the locked dependencies automatically. The Windows ZIP also runs without Python: extract it and open DarknessLiesAhead.exe.

Added:

• Seeded, on-demand 16 by 16 world chunks with houses, cabins, workshops, woodland, supply sources, varied encounters, rotated/mirrored layouts, and connected street borders.
• Optional world seed in New game. The same seed reproduces the generated world in this version.
• Basic crafting: cordage, bandages, wooden spears, and padded splints. Recipes show materials, tools, workstations, and time through native accessible controls.
• Persistent projects with reserved ingredients, work steps, cancellation, and save/load progress. Nearby loose materials can be used directly.
• Gather brush, dismantle chairs, equip weapons, drop items with D, and retrieve them with G. Enter remains the object interaction key.
• Enemy migration across chunk boundaries and time-based enemy actions during longer work.
• Backward loading of version 1 saves, preservation of visited areas, and atomic chunk writes that can recover from an interrupted save.

Validation: all 27 tests passed; native dialog/map/audio checks, uv startup checks, packaged executable checks, and GitHub Windows CI passed. A full manual NVDA gameplay playthrough remains pending.

This is still an early prototype. Cooking, farming, settlements, advanced crafting, and the full design catalog remain planned. Recorded audio and NVDA support continue to use the existing licensed assets and native controls.

v0.1.0 — First playable Windows prototype

First playable Windows prototype of Darkness Lies Ahead.

Download DarknessLiesAhead-Windows-x64.zip, extract the entire folder, and launch DarknessLiesAhead.exe. Python is not required. Start NVDA before playing; F1 opens keyboard help.

Included:

• New game, Saved games, Settings, Exit, and resume-current-game menus.
• Graphical tile exploration, walk/run/crouch/dodge/jump, doors, scavenging, inventory, and basic open-world melee/ranged combat.
• Native Windows controls, NVDA speech and braille events, readable event history, and inspection without advancing game time.
• Recorded surface footsteps, door/interaction/combat sounds, melancholy piano/synth music, layered wind and house creaks, positional effects, independent volume controls, and speech ducking.
• Independent persistent world chunks, multiple survivor saves, autosave, and atomic save manifests.

Validation: 10 engine/audio tests, Ruff checks, native UI/map-rendering smoke checks, and packaged executable smoke checks passed locally. Full manual NVDA gameplay validation remains pending.

This is an early prototype. Crafting, cooking, farming, settlements, the full building catalog, and advanced NPC/world simulation are planned. Credits and asset licenses are included in the ZIP and repository.