Dave Pottinger
@dcpottinger.bsky.social
Last Keep CEO (Fleetbreakers)
Side Project (Dynamic adventure game)
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Ex-Ensemble Studios (OG Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Halo Wars), Ex-BonusXP (Stranger Things).
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Husband/Dad. Prog/Designer. Lego Nerd.
Side Project (Dynamic adventure game)
.
Ex-Ensemble Studios (OG Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Halo Wars), Ex-BonusXP (Stranger Things).
.
Husband/Dad. Prog/Designer. Lego Nerd.
WIP partial tech tree for new @lastkeep.com faction. Showing the fine code that displays the name of the techs if we don't have icons yet. Very useful during dev.
We've got new PLAYTEST/DEMO (not with this faction ofc) out: store.steampowered.com/app/2929040/...
#indiegames #strategygame #indiedev
We've got new PLAYTEST/DEMO (not with this faction ofc) out: store.steampowered.com/app/2929040/...
#indiegames #strategygame #indiedev
October 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
WIP partial tech tree for new @lastkeep.com faction. Showing the fine code that displays the name of the techs if we don't have icons yet. Very useful during dev.
We've got new PLAYTEST/DEMO (not with this faction ofc) out: store.steampowered.com/app/2929040/...
#indiegames #strategygame #indiedev
We've got new PLAYTEST/DEMO (not with this faction ofc) out: store.steampowered.com/app/2929040/...
#indiegames #strategygame #indiedev
Welp. This was a LONG day of data wrangling to completely replace all our unit enhancements (rolled buffs on each squadron instance). This was after 4 days of building techs and relics😂
I'm am officially gassed on buffs for this week.
@lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #strategy #roguelite
I'm am officially gassed on buffs for this week.
@lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #strategy #roguelite
September 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Welp. This was a LONG day of data wrangling to completely replace all our unit enhancements (rolled buffs on each squadron instance). This was after 4 days of building techs and relics😂
I'm am officially gassed on buffs for this week.
@lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #strategy #roguelite
I'm am officially gassed on buffs for this week.
@lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #strategy #roguelite
So many little numbers to fit in such a small space. Still trying to get it all in 😆. Rollover (not shown) does make it a lot more parseable obv. @lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #roguelite #strategygame
September 16, 2025 at 7:57 AM
So many little numbers to fit in such a small space. Still trying to get it all in 😆. Rollover (not shown) does make it a lot more parseable obv. @lastkeep.com #indiedev #indiegame #roguelite #strategygame
Check-In Explainer Day 19: We made the PDCs and Drones inherit the buffs their employer received. While awesome overall, this caused a bunch of invalid/unintended buffs for said PDCs and Drones. Now fixed. #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike @lastkeep.com
June 23, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Check-In Explainer Day 19: We made the PDCs and Drones inherit the buffs their employer received. While awesome overall, this caused a bunch of invalid/unintended buffs for said PDCs and Drones. Now fixed. #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike @lastkeep.com
#roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike @lastkeep.com Check-In Explainer Day 18: Adding better explanation text so folks know tradeoffs if they "accidentally" blast through preface dialogue. Story or not, it's critical for folks to know what their choices will do. And, um, ignore the typo😀
June 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM
#roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike @lastkeep.com Check-In Explainer Day 18: Adding better explanation text so folks know tradeoffs if they "accidentally" blast through preface dialogue. Story or not, it's critical for folks to know what their choices will do. And, um, ignore the typo😀
Check-In Explainer Day 17: Another long awaited UI fix: Showing the delta values when a squadron has cost buffs/debuffs. This immediately makes the econ relics pop as so much more valuable. Don't get credit for buffs you can't see! @lastkeep.com #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike
June 18, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Check-In Explainer Day 17: Another long awaited UI fix: Showing the delta values when a squadron has cost buffs/debuffs. This immediately makes the econ relics pop as so much more valuable. Don't get credit for buffs you can't see! @lastkeep.com #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike
@lastkeep.com Check-In Explainer Day 16: MOAR FPS. Some simple removal of needless calls for things that can't ever move and a redo of how some distances are calculated. Now minefields run much faster. Oh, yeah, now we have minefields turned on again😀 #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike
June 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
@lastkeep.com Check-In Explainer Day 16: MOAR FPS. Some simple removal of needless calls for things that can't ever move and a redo of how some distances are calculated. Now minefields run much faster. Oh, yeah, now we have minefields turned on again😀 #roguelite #strategygame #indiedev #roguelike
#roguelike #strategygame #indiedev Check-In Explainer Day 15: Adding a new station to build: Bombard Turret (though it will get a fancier name at some point). Good for shooting the stuff in the back of an enemy attack and taking out bunches of little ships with its AOE damage. @lastkeep.com
June 13, 2025 at 6:06 PM
#roguelike #strategygame #indiedev Check-In Explainer Day 15: Adding a new station to build: Bombard Turret (though it will get a fancier name at some point). Good for shooting the stuff in the back of an enemy attack and taking out bunches of little ships with its AOE damage. @lastkeep.com
Check-In Explainer Day 14: Adding a new relic: Mirror Finish. Chance to reflect damage back to attacker based on the amount of armor. Works great, but not too jazzy yet with just the programmer VFX and text flyoff 🤣 @lastkeep.com #roguelike #strategygame #indiedev
June 11, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Check-In Explainer Day 14: Adding a new relic: Mirror Finish. Chance to reflect damage back to attacker based on the amount of armor. Works great, but not too jazzy yet with just the programmer VFX and text flyoff 🤣 @lastkeep.com #roguelike #strategygame #indiedev
Check-In Explainer Day 13: #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame Finally getting some cleanup on a few options settings. This one is good for SteamDeck battery usage as it throttles down framerate when we're on main menu. Woot. @lastkeep.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Check-In Explainer Day 13: #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame Finally getting some cleanup on a few options settings. This one is good for SteamDeck battery usage as it throttles down framerate when we're on main menu. Woot. @lastkeep.com
Check-in Explainer Day 12: After some extended play on @lastkeep.com, we decided to make some perf fixes for Next Fest build. We haven't needed many specific perf fixes yet (due to some decent tech planning perhaps?), so there was some easy low-hanging stuff #roguelike #indiedev #strategygame
June 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 12: After some extended play on @lastkeep.com, we decided to make some perf fixes for Next Fest build. We haven't needed many specific perf fixes yet (due to some decent tech planning perhaps?), so there was some easy low-hanging stuff #roguelike #indiedev #strategygame
Check-in Explainer Day 11: Final build notes for Next Fest build. We'd made our prelude easier to help noobs get through it, but it turned out it was TOO easy. The enemies died too fast to see how combat worked. Fixed a little crate frustration, too.
#roguelike #indiedev #strategygame @lastkeep.com
#roguelike #indiedev #strategygame @lastkeep.com
June 5, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 11: Final build notes for Next Fest build. We'd made our prelude easier to help noobs get through it, but it turned out it was TOO easy. The enemies died too fast to see how combat worked. Fixed a little crate frustration, too.
#roguelike #indiedev #strategygame @lastkeep.com
#roguelike #indiedev #strategygame @lastkeep.com
Check-in Explainer Day 10: @lastkeep.com This was almost a terribly embarrassing bug. More than a week ago, a bad XML merge got pushed that deleted some important text data. Even with all the testing we do, just randomly found as we were 2 bugs from ZBR. Whew! #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
June 5, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Check-in Explainer Day 10: @lastkeep.com This was almost a terribly embarrassing bug. More than a week ago, a bad XML merge got pushed that deleted some important text data. Even with all the testing we do, just randomly found as we were 2 bugs from ZBR. Whew! #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
Check-in Explainer Day 9: More polish on the attack facing stuff. Here's an early version that shows that attacking over the asteroids will raise the figure 8 pattern for the scouts (the faint upward lines). Obv not enough yet, but we'll get there. @lastkeep.com
#indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
#indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
June 3, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 9: More polish on the attack facing stuff. Here's an early version that shows that attacking over the asteroids will raise the figure 8 pattern for the scouts (the faint upward lines). Obv not enough yet, but we'll get there. @lastkeep.com
#indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
#indiedev #roguelike #strategygame
Check-in Explainer Day 8: MOAR NextFest polish!
A much needed Nexus (ship inventory) improvement: Sorting things by rarity within the various buckets (ships, mothership abilities, relics).
#roguelike #strategygame @lastkeep.com
A much needed Nexus (ship inventory) improvement: Sorting things by rarity within the various buckets (ships, mothership abilities, relics).
#roguelike #strategygame @lastkeep.com
June 2, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 8: MOAR NextFest polish!
A much needed Nexus (ship inventory) improvement: Sorting things by rarity within the various buckets (ships, mothership abilities, relics).
#roguelike #strategygame @lastkeep.com
A much needed Nexus (ship inventory) improvement: Sorting things by rarity within the various buckets (ships, mothership abilities, relics).
#roguelike #strategygame @lastkeep.com
Check-in Explainer Day 7: #roguelike #strategygame We are starting the last week of polish changes for Next Fest!!! @lastkeep.com
We have a 'Victory Mode' after each mission so you can mop up resources, collect any crates you missed, etc. Jason (cofounder/AD) riffing on how FX look in that mode.
We have a 'Victory Mode' after each mission so you can mop up resources, collect any crates you missed, etc. Jason (cofounder/AD) riffing on how FX look in that mode.
May 30, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 7: #roguelike #strategygame We are starting the last week of polish changes for Next Fest!!! @lastkeep.com
We have a 'Victory Mode' after each mission so you can mop up resources, collect any crates you missed, etc. Jason (cofounder/AD) riffing on how FX look in that mode.
We have a 'Victory Mode' after each mission so you can mop up resources, collect any crates you missed, etc. Jason (cofounder/AD) riffing on how FX look in that mode.
Check-in Explainer Day 6: @lastkeep.com #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame We have perm upgrades in our roguelike. We were hiding it to streamline start of game. After some feedback of "where are the perm upgrades?", we're turning the button back on from the start. Feature still locked at start tho.
May 29, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 6: @lastkeep.com #indiedev #roguelike #strategygame We have perm upgrades in our roguelike. We were hiding it to streamline start of game. After some feedback of "where are the perm upgrades?", we're turning the button back on from the start. Feature still locked at start tho.
Check-in Explainer Day 5: Polishing up our attack facing. The scout squadron attacks in a figure 8, but you can spin it around the target to control the direction. Timothy's been at this new feature for a while. Coming online just in time for Next Fest! @lastkeep.com #indiedev #roguelike
May 28, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Check-in Explainer Day 5: Polishing up our attack facing. The scout squadron attacks in a figure 8, but you can spin it around the target to control the direction. Timothy's been at this new feature for a while. Coming online just in time for Next Fest! @lastkeep.com #indiedev #roguelike
#indiedev #roguelike Check-in Explainer Day 4: Jazzed up sector map with a few extra zones on top & bottom. These usually get colonies (investment/unlocks for the run), which helps differentiate the rush vs. boom choices during a run. Obv needs re-layout for "You Are Here" text. @lastkeep.com
May 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
#indiedev #roguelike Check-in Explainer Day 4: Jazzed up sector map with a few extra zones on top & bottom. These usually get colonies (investment/unlocks for the run), which helps differentiate the rush vs. boom choices during a run. Obv needs re-layout for "You Are Here" text. @lastkeep.com
@lastkeep.com Check-in Explainer Day 3: We don't unlock resource extractors for a bit, so we added some 'compensatory' resource crates until extractors are unlocked. But that broke a very cool econ relic. Added a couple of extra effects to fix that. #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike #strategygame
May 23, 2025 at 6:49 PM
@lastkeep.com Check-in Explainer Day 3: We don't unlock resource extractors for a bit, so we added some 'compensatory' resource crates until extractors are unlocked. But that broke a very cool econ relic. Added a couple of extra effects to fix that. #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike #strategygame
@lastkeep.com Check-in Explanation Day 2: Going through the game adding rarity colors on all the places they should be. With our roguelike base, it's very useful to know which relics are better than others, though obv you still need to pick smartly for your current run #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
May 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
@lastkeep.com Check-in Explanation Day 2: Going through the game adding rarity colors on all the places they should be. With our roguelike base, it's very useful to know which relics are better than others, though obv you still need to pick smartly for your current run #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
@lastkeep.com check-in explanation Day 1/1
This is a change to our Scout unit special ability... We're changing how their attack pattern works, so knocking ships back with their special is actually detrimental (QA's word not mine). #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
This is a change to our Scout unit special ability... We're changing how their attack pattern works, so knocking ships back with their special is actually detrimental (QA's word not mine). #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
May 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
@lastkeep.com check-in explanation Day 1/1
This is a change to our Scout unit special ability... We're changing how their attack pattern works, so knocking ships back with their special is actually detrimental (QA's word not mine). #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
This is a change to our Scout unit special ability... We're changing how their attack pattern works, so knocking ships back with their special is actually detrimental (QA's word not mine). #indiedev #gamedev #roguelike
Here are some key dates in our Steam NextFest plan:
May 19–23: Play our Alpha demo on Steam
May 30: Press preview
June 9: Exclusive Steam Next Fest demo
Wishlist & follow @fleetbreakers on Steam now! #steamnextfest #indiegame #strategygame
May 19–23: Play our Alpha demo on Steam
May 30: Press preview
June 9: Exclusive Steam Next Fest demo
Wishlist & follow @fleetbreakers on Steam now! #steamnextfest #indiegame #strategygame
May 20, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Here are some key dates in our Steam NextFest plan:
May 19–23: Play our Alpha demo on Steam
May 30: Press preview
June 9: Exclusive Steam Next Fest demo
Wishlist & follow @fleetbreakers on Steam now! #steamnextfest #indiegame #strategygame
May 19–23: Play our Alpha demo on Steam
May 30: Press preview
June 9: Exclusive Steam Next Fest demo
Wishlist & follow @fleetbreakers on Steam now! #steamnextfest #indiegame #strategygame
Enjoying some post-house hunting drinks with K out in West Seattle.
November 16, 2024 at 1:55 AM
Enjoying some post-house hunting drinks with K out in West Seattle.
Side project finally got v0.01 version of casting for the NPCs. The campaign XML uses match tags for players/units/etc. Overworld finds overlap (removing dupe casting for now) and then spawns the units. Zones ref those overworld units by tags when they need to spawn them. Not jazzy, but a start.
October 22, 2024 at 6:25 AM
Side project finally got v0.01 version of casting for the NPCs. The campaign XML uses match tags for players/units/etc. Overworld finds overlap (removing dupe casting for now) and then spawns the units. Zones ref those overworld units by tags when they need to spawn them. Not jazzy, but a start.