Developer posts and news about this game.
Spotting & Accuracy One of the biggest issues infantry has had in Drone Sector is dying too quickly. In some situations that makes sense. They aren't super soldiers, and if a shell lands next to them, they will probably die. The problem was broader than that, though. In infan
v0.2.1 - HUD & Vehicle Improvements Improved unit tracking and HUD readability, alongside better vehicle driving and collision avoidance. Added Unit type icons now appear when zooming far out, making it easier to see what enemy types are where. Icons of the same unit type mer
This is the first update since launch a month ago that brings larger gameplay changes rather than mainly fixes and improvements. Vehicle transport had been in my plans for a while, but player feedback pushed it to the top of my gameplay priorities. Bugs and the worst pathfinding
v0.1.6 - Anti-Air & Weapon Balance Hotfix I originally planned to move straight from v0.1.5 into the larger v0.2.0 update, which is mainly focused on vehicle mounting and dismounting. However, after quite a few reports about anti-air balance over the past week, I decided to p
v0.1.5 - Combat Systems Update This update reworks several of Drone Sector's underlying combat systems, including projectile damage, explosions, and weapon configuration. Explosions can now use separate near and far damage areas instead of relying on a single explosion radius, pr
v0.1.4 - Pathfinding Update This update reworks the tactical pathfinding and vehicle movement systems, alongside several map, balance, and UI changes. A new previous-version branch is also available on Steam. This allows you to return to v0.1.3 if the latest update causes problem
v0.1.3 - Minor Update This update improves text readability for Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Korean players, adds Steam Cloud support, and includes several smaller content and balance changes. Added Added Steam Cloud support for save files. Added a fourth music track. Change
In the previous post, I covered what Drone Sector includes at its Early Access launch. This time, I want to look further ahead and share my current plans for the game. This roadmap is not a fixed production schedule. Priorities may change based on player feedback, technical chall
v0.1.2 - Hotfix This hotfix addresses several objective detection issues and makes additional early-game balance adjustments. Fixed Improved unit detection within capture and extraction zones. Improved collision around river bridges to reduce units falling through or off them. Ba
v0.1.1 - Launch Hotfix This is a small launch-day hotfix addressing early balance and localization issues. Balance Increased Warhead Materials rewards from several objectives. Increased infantry movement speeds. Fixed Fixed an issue with resource reward calculations that caused s
Drone Sector launches into Early Access on July 21. I wanted to make this post mostly as a practical overview of what will be included in the Early Access version at launch. The demo showed the core shooting and battlefield support gameplay, but it hasn’t showcased the larger str
Demo Mission The new demo has a more focused mission structure, built around the new player experience. Instead of opening with the full weapon and ammo selection systems, the demo gives a pre-defined loadout and puts the focus on the in-mission gameplay. Scout the area, blow up
Vehicle Avoidance System For a while, one major issue with vehicles was that they could drive full speed into each other and get stuck. The problem was fairly simple: vehicles were not really aware of each other. Static map geometry is easier to deal with. Roads, buildings, slope
Tracked Vehicles When I started building vehicles for Drone Sector, I assumed tanks would be easier to implement compared to wheeled vehicles. Mainly because their AI doesn’t need to worry about turning radius. Tanks can rotate in place. In practice, both approaches have their ow
Overview This is the first demo update since late October. The most noticeable changes are with thermal vision contrast, HUD readability and the new map. Beyond that the game might look similar, but it should play a lot better. Clearer objectives, more reliable AI, better control
New gunship design (XAQ-1B “Blackout”) Work on the new gunship design started in late November 2025. MicroProse is helping with art, but the broad direction and constraints were on me. I wanted it to feel futuristic, but still semi-feasible. Old school AC-130 style is not viable
Anti-Air I got another iteration of the enemy AA gameplay loop done. Instead of only mobile SAMs, there are now also flak guns. They’re less precise, but apply more consistent pressure. AA without countermeasures would be boring, so I added two additional layers. Both currently a
Mission Pre-planning I worked on the mission loading systems to give more control over how missions are generated. The most visible part is the ability to pick a spawn point for ground troops. Later this system should also provide hints about objectives and enemy locations before
Weapon Ammo Split For a while now I have been wanting to add finer control over the weapons. I didn’t go full sandbox, but the new setup adds plenty of flexibility. Previously, each weapon had multiple versions based on what ammo it used. Now every weapon can load from a list of
Enemies in Squads Until now, enemies acted alone, based only on what they themselves knew. Player spotting messages were the only exception. This often led to enemies walking toward player positions with little concern for survival. I always wanted the AI to behave more tacticall