**Planning mode**
Planning mode comes in very handy. It allows players to handle more complex, multiple character actions, and even synchronize them.
See, you often encounter multiple enemies. For example. two soldiers are having a conversation; if you kill one, the other—unless they are particularly self-centered—will immediately notice his interlocutor missing ;) In planning mode, you can synchronize your characters' actions to execute them both at the same time.
But there's more to it. Planned actions can also be triggered separately for each character. So, imagine there's another enemy looking at those two guys talking. You can use the planning mode to queue one character to distract that newly discovered enemy, execute this action first, and then trigger the previously queued kills simultaneously.
Last but not least, it has extra utility. In single player, planning mode toggles slow motion, so players have as much time to plan their actions as needed. But in multiplayer, each player has their own planned order queue, so planned actions can be even more complex.
**Dynamic action mode**
We still aren’t sure if Combat Mode in its current form was a good idea. The team was very split on it, actually. Letting players completely switch the control of the game in play was a risky decision. Having the possibility of shooting everyone in a game based on stealth mechanics is also risky as hell.
The goal of this mode is to give players an opportunity to shoot themselves out of problems or simply erase some small part of the level if stealth becomes burdensome.
We're looking forward to your feedback and opinions on this! :)
**Gameplay variety and replayability**
As a real time tactics game, War Mongrels features puzzle game elements. The entire level is like a big puzzle and that puzzle is separated into smaller chunks - we call them "arenas". Basically, each level consists of smaller, separated areas where if a player gets past a certain "checkpoint" they can consider everything behind them solved and can focus on the rest of the level.
Our goal was to make sure that each arena in a level has multiple approaches. As a rule, for each chunk of the map there are at least two different entrances as well as two exits. This means that some chunks of the entire level are optional and the player gets to decide which parts they feel comfortable dealing with and attempting to complete.
Now, to solve these puzzles, players get two types of tools.
The first is the skills of the mongrels they control. Each hero has their own set of skills. Some of them can climb high walls and buildings. Others can brute force their way through a locked door and so on. Levels are designed around those skills, so the player gets to choose solutions for each conundrum they encounter.
Secondly, levels can sometimes provide their own tools in the form we call "environmental hazards".
For example, a level can feature a big stack of barrels that the player can push down on unsuspecting enemies, or, if they are inside of a dark building, disable lights so that enemies will see much less with their viewcones reduced. So, when it comes to the mechanics of the game, there are a lot of different ways you can experiment with.
See you in the game!
Add “War Mongrels” to Wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1101790/War_Mongrels/