Devlog #3 — Co-op Progress Update: Making It Truly Cooperative
Hey everyone!
I wanted to share a quick update on how co-op multiplayer is evolving in Duelo — and things are progressing really well.
From Shared HP… to Fully Shared Boss State
In the previous devlog, I talked about a simpler approach to co-op:
- Each player fights the boss in their own instance
- Only the boss’s health is synchronized
That was the plan. But as development moved forward… things got more interesting.
I’ve taken it a step further:
Now, all boss stats are fully synchronized across all players.
This means:
- Any action performed on the boss is shared
- All Stat Modification, Auras and Curses are synchronized in real time
- Every player sees the same state of the boss
Real Cooperative Synergy
This change makes a huge difference in how co-op feels.
For example:
- A player running a Bludgeoning damage build manages to stun the boss
- That stun is now applied globally
- All players can take advantage of that window
Suddenly, you're not just fighting “alongside” others… You’re actually working together.
This pushes Duelo closer to the original fantasy:
A true cooperative experience where builds complement each other
Scaling the Challenge
The current plan is to support up to 4 players in co-op.
And to keep things balanced (and challenging):
- The more players in the lobby → the more mutators the boss will have
This ensures that:
- More players = more power
- But also = more difficulty
So coordination and build synergy will matter even more.
About the Multiplayer Build
There’s an important technical note to share. Duelo’s multiplayer is currently being developed using:
- Steamworks (via Facepunch)
- Steam’s networking architecture
Because of this…
It’s very likely that the co-op multiplayer build won’t be released on itch.io
Instead, the plan is to release it as a demo on Steam.
This will allow for:
- Better stability when testing online features
- Easier matchmaking and lobby systems
- A smoother overall multiplayer experience
What’s Next?
There’s still a lot to polish, but this is a big step forward.
I’ve gone from a “parallel play” co-op idea to something that actually feels like:
Players influencing the same battle together
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Does this direction make the co-op more appealing to you?
- Eduardo M.