Ambitious shooter project Selaco has released a demo showing off the work on immersive world-building and AI that goes into its sci-fi shooting and run-and-gun setpieces. Selaco is a fusion of retro and more recent FPS designs, built as it is in the GZDoom engine and name-checking inspirations in Quake and Doom, yes, but also F.E.A.R.'s AI design and the broader theme of destructible environments.
This is actually Selaco's second demo, an updated run after its previous demo release earlier this year. It's more thorough than the prior, emphasizing environmental detail and AI behavior. You can definitely more feel the influence of FEAR, where AI seems to be aware of other AI's location and work in tandem with it.
Selaco's perhaps most interesting element is its use of an "old" engine in GZDoom, but it's also set in a sci-fi world that's intriguing on its own. In-world, Selaco is an "underground facility that's home to the surviving refugees after the fall of Earth" and is being threatened by a new, violent invasion.
GZDOom is a source port of the original Doom engine, and can be used to run the old Doom games but has gained increasing popularity as an engine to make retro-FPS and Doom mods in. It also has support for more modern lighting and graphical features. Much as one might use Unreal or Unity to make a modern shooter, GZDoom has done the same for retro-FPS enthusiasts.
You can find Selaco and its brand new demo on Steam. If you played the prior demo and want to know what's new, the patch notes are on Steam as well.
If you're interested in what other innovative development goes on with Doom engine GZDoom, check out this Portal-infused Indonesian FPS.
