Hostile Mars Development Update

Hello, Mars pioneers! Welcome to another development update for Hostile Mars. This month, we've focused on new traps, wave system improvements, bug fixes, and build mode enhancements. Let's dive into the details.

More Traps

We're excited to announce several new traps we have been testing, expanding your defensive options and strategies. These traps are designed to give you complete coverage over different enemy types and scenarios. (Please keep in mind we're still prototyping these traps using our finest 'programmer art' - Our art team will work their magic soon enough.)

Conveyor Trap

Continuing our prototyping of new traps, we're testing The Conveyor Trap! This ingenious device manipulates enemy movement by pushing them while they're stunned or slowing them down by shifting them to the side. Use it strategically to direct enemies into other traps or to delay their advance, giving your defenses more time to take them out.

Rocket Engine Trap

Another newcomer is the Rocket Engine Trap, a powerhouse that activates when enemies are in front of it. It thrusts them away with immense force, dealing serious damage in the process. This area-of-effect trap is highly efficient at wiping out large groups but consumes resources to operate and yields fewer resources from the destroyed bots. Deploy it wisely to control the battlefield!

Rock Crusher Trap

Crush those pesky small ground bots with the Rock Crusher Trap! This mechanical marvel pulverizes enemies that venture too close. You can upgrade it to process multiple bots simultaneously, making it even more efficient at clearing out swarms.

Acid Sprayer

Turn the battlefield into a corrosive nightmare for your enemies with the Acid Sprayer. This trap douses passing bots with acid, inflicting damage over time. It's perfect for weakening enemies before they reach your core defenses.

Acid Pool

Set deadly traps with the Acid Pool! Bots that are small enough will fall into this hidden pit, where they'll be slowly dissolved by acid. It's a satisfying way to eliminate groups of weaker enemies without expending additional resources.

Drill Bit Trap

Stop large enemies in their tracks with the Drill Bit Trap. A massive drill bit emerges from the ground, dealing increasing damage over time. It's especially effective against bigger bots that can't squeeze past it, allowing you to focus fire on other threats.

These new traps not only diversify your defensive arsenal but also open up new strategic possibilities. Whether you need to handle swarms of small bots or halt a giant mech, these traps provide exciting and effective solutions. Equip them wisely, and watch your enemies crumble!

Wave System Improvements

We've enhanced the systems controlling enemy waves to support multiple locations that can run waves independently. For example, a major outpost discovered through exploration could have its own waves and defenses. This allows for more granular wave progression or having the failure EMP only affect certain spawn points, so they can fail independently.

These changes are designed to test various concepts for base defense gameplay. We're considering different sizes for building spaces—such as multiple smaller buildable areas to spread defenses around, as opposed to having one vast open area.

We're also researching how much agency the player should have over progression—whether you should be able to control when to spawn new enemies or if the waves should impose their own rhythm.

Incoming Wave Information

One issue we've had with wave progression was that players would enter a new wave blind to what was coming. While this mostly worked with a slow ramp-up of the number or rank of enemies, the introduction of new spawn points or enemy types came as unexpected surprises that players had to deal with manually.

There could be value in keeping some of that information vague or hidden, but the potential for heavy consequences from an unhandled spawn point or enemy type felt unfair.

So, we're introducing a toggleable overlay that displays information on upcoming waves. Currently visible in-world, this might be changed to appear in a menu or look different in future versions.

Build Mode Quality of Life Improvements

Many enhancements have been made to the build mode this month! As we internally playtest, we're constantly looking for ways to improve this central mechanic to be as frictionless and efficient as possible.

Free-Form Selection: We've changed the selection from a grid-snapped box to a more free-form selection. This allows for finer control over what gets selected, making quick edits in crowded areas easier. We've also added incremental selection controls to add to or remove from the current selection when dragging a new box.

Grid Placement: Placing a grid of objects is now supported, making the construction of larger structures more straightforward.

Non-Grid Objects: Support for non-grid "free placeable" objects has been reintroduced. Previously removed to streamline interactions, we've brought it back for small items like decorations or utility objects (e.g., storage crates) that don't conform to the build grid. These objects also work with selection and copy-pasting!

Additional Tools: We've added a pipette tool to easily pick an object to place from the world and a deletion hotkey to quickly remove buildings.

Art

Props

Concept

That's all for this month's update. We’re incredibly grateful to have such a passionate community and excited to keep sharing our progress with you. To stay up to date with all the latest developments, join our incredible Discord community: https://discord.gg/Xd88eF8Teg

Take Care,
-HM Team