Hostile Mars Devlog 16!
I've been continuing work grooming the new systems into the game to cooperate with the existing systems. I'm going to push a new build-up in a week, so let me know if you need a key to playtest.
Here are a few things done in the last couple weeks:
Sand Hider
Sand Hiders are a new enemy type that hides in the sand and pop-up when they detect any threats to alert nearby scrap bots. Take them out quickly before they attract more scrap bots to attack!
ScrapTown
Scrap Town is the first of many areas on the map for the player to explore outside of their own base. It will contain lots of items, puzzles, enemies, and a few surprises too.
Scrap Town was created by the legacy robots that were abandoned from prior terraforming attempts gone wrong. Little robots looking for shelter from the more aggressive ones will be hiding in their makeshift shelters.
There is also an Arena in Scrap Town. This will trigger a small mini-game where waves of robots come out for the player to destroy and collect more scrap metal.
Careful, a few traps and sand hiders are waiting there as well.
Cell Storage Drives
A major revision has taken place with how the core mechanics of the game work. Cell drives are now the main component of item progression for the game and you will find them from fallen enemy scraps. Decrypting cell drives will uncover new technologies and items for you to build to continue expanding and upgrading the structures in your base, player weapons, vehicles, armor, and more.
Wave Progression
I've thought a lot about how to improve the wave progression in Hostile Mars. Throughout playtesting I have received feedback that the prior system was a bit arbitrary or confusing. It was based on collecting the required materials to be able to upgrade to the next stage in which an enemy wave would spawn.
I've split the game up into 6 stages. Each stage will have a set number of Paragon (the main attacking threat in the game) waves. throughout each stage, there will be sub-boss waves and at the end, a boss wave.
I feel that this plays much better while shifting focus more on combat and base building vs just gathering resources required by the next stage. Item management and progression is still a core-mechanic of the game, but it won't be the focus of the enemy wave system.
This also allows the player to progress the specific items they want. So a player more interested in automating their base defenses can unlock items that will allow for better delivery automation, turrets, and traps. Another player more interested in exploration could focus on vehicles and companion robots to help them travel and carry items from around the environment. And a combat-focused player can unlock better weapons, ammo, and gear first.
A few other minor things that have been completed in the last week:
Capacitor Charge ECS System
A capacitor system has been added for certain items in the game like the Scrap Launcher, allowing for supercapacitors to charge up and release a high amount of energy at once. This ties into the power management system and is being used by the new Scrap Launcher Turret.
Scrap Detail Lines to Turrets and Traps
A minor change showing the player the current stats of a turret or trap:
If you would like to know more about the project, get a key for playtesting, or follow future progress, join the Hostile Mars Discord:
https://discord.gg/Xd88eF8Teg
Take Care,
-Jake