Hey! Just wanted to quickly run through a little of how ASTRALODE's Arcade mode works, as it's nice to have a more detailed written description of what's going on in screenshots and video :)
So an Arcade run starts by selecting your copilot from among those you've unlocked. Only a few are available from first launch.
Your copilot determines which power-up you start the run with, and they'll comment on your run as certain milestones are met. All ore harvested while running with a copilot contributes to their level, which results in an increasingly fancy badge displayed next to their name and a general warming up to you.
Once the run begins, you'll be presented with a randomized asteroid loaded with ore. Your copilot-determined power-up is here hanging out to the right of your mining vessel, and a preview of your first tool cluster is projected in the mouth of your vessel's tool generator.
The game plays out in a self-paced, quasi-turn-based fashion as you chip away at the asteroid, one generated cluster of mining tools at a time. At random intervals, the asteroid will rotate 90 degrees and you'll be presented with a new face of the formation to mine.
An asteroid is cleared when all of its ore has been removed, ideally by safely harvesting it rather than ruining it with misplaced tools! Ruined ore sticks with you and ruining 4 total will end the run. Similarly, casting tools into space will end your run if a total of 8 tools are lost, but unlike ruined ore, this count resets at the start of the next asteroid.
So that's the basic rundown of how a typical Arcade mode level plays out! This doesn't touch on ore upgrading, the power-up cycle, rare ore collection, performance bonuses, etc., but I'll be getting into more of that in a later post :)
Also, just wanted to provide a quick update on release date stuff! The Steam Game Festival is coming up in June and ASTRALODE will be participating in that with a playable demo. This has slightly gummed up my scheduled plans for Freeminers - I've decided to push its release until after the Steam Game Festival as it would be too confusing, IMO, to have a free version and a demo version out simultaneously when they'll pretty much contain identical content. Also, this will give me time to tidy some things up and incorporate more player feedback. I've gotten things set up such that your save file will carry forward from the demo, so any time put in there won't be wasted.
Anyhow, thanks for checking out ASTRALODE! Looking forward to getting the demo out there for everyone who wants to give the game a shot :D
- Drixxel