Oh No! It's THE HORDE! is a traditional roguelike tribute to a cult-classic favorite of my childhood, The Horde. The Horde was groundbreaking for its time, and while it shows its age today, the mix of town-building and action mechanics still stands alone.

This devlog marks the first publically posted version of Oh No! It's THE HORDE! I started this project about two years ago, as a way to focus large-scale roguelike ideas into a small, shippable package. However, since stopping and starting development a few times, I've found the space in my personal life to commit to developing the game to 1.0.

Oh No! It's THE HORDE!

At the end of each season, the horde will come, ravenous in hunger.

In Oh No! It's THE HORDE!, you will take control of a wayward lad named Sir Chauncey, who has been tasked by the king to defend a town in the Toshim Plains. You have a number of turns to orient yourself, build, and hire before hordelings begin to attack the village. If they hordelings are successful-- if all of the villagers are killed-- your life is forfeit.

In order to defend the town from the ever-growing horde, you must build walls and traps, hire mercenaries, and train your own skills. However, these things aren't free. You will need to successfully defend your townsfolk and their possessions to earn enough gold.

The king isn't altruistic, either. His only interest in the town is the tax money that it provides- so you will need to set aside enough gold to pay your taxes each year, or you may find yourself wishing The Horde had gotten you.

0.3.0 - Archery

This release is a core gameplay loop featuring a seasonal cycle, raiding hordelings, basic combat, and a growing village.

It includes a couple of new features beyond the (unreleased) 0.2.0 version:

• The player can tap f to select a visible target hordeling and shoot them, up to five times.
• Juggernaut hordelings, a slow but very strong enemy, spawn occasionally.

The Roadmap

I have a small roadmap for ONITH!, although, the specific order of features is subject to change.

0.4 - Arboriculture

• Plant saplings to grow trees
• Harvest trees for money
• Seasonal events

0.5 - Agriculture

• Fields
• Crops
• Pirahna hordelings

0.6 - Geology

• Rocks
• Dig holes to alter the landscape
• Fluid mechanics

0.7 - Civil Engineering

• Construct walls to block movement
• Roads spawn in town
• Hordeling pathing improvements

0.8 - Ranching

• Place Cows, a significant but vulnerable investment
• Place Haunches, a distraction for hordelings
• Hire Knights to protect Cows

0.9 - Geography

• Starting biome selection
• Mountain biome
• Forest biome
• Swamp biome

0.10 - Economics

• Value rebalancing
• Market phase occurs

1.0 - Toshim Plains Release

• Aesthetic improvements and polish