Hey Marines!
Yesterday, we pushed the last major update before the 1.0 release. We know that some of you have questions regarding the Campaign. As a reminder, the Campaign is still scheduled and will be added with the 1.0 version. On our side, we are still making good progress on it, and we really are excited to know your thoughts when it launches, and we think it's time to share our new updated roadmap until the 1.0 release! As you can see, we plan to release the game in July 2024, so be ready for the Campaign coming soon!
Now, back to today Dev Diary about the general mechanics of the squad management!
General Campaign mechanics
Squad management
The Squad Assembly screen you know from the preparation phase of a mission in the other game modes will be familiar, but with many, many changes that befit the new and changed mechanics of the Campaign.
One of the most important differences is that you have a fixed starting roster of 30 marines, including your avatar, the returning crew of U.S.C. Wraith (15 marines), and 14 (randomized) marines from your fleet. All of them have preset skills and ranks, with some spare skill points left, so you can start training them in the direction you want to from the get-go. Unlike non-Campaign games, units will gain Experience Points (XP) for all kinds of actions they perform and, with that, achieve promotions that give them new skill points and other perks. “Demoting” or re-organizing their skills will not be an option, nor will resurrecting the dead (yes, we are talking about permadeath!). Sometimes you’ll have to wait until you can re-deploy a marine (if they are seriously injured or assigned to a somewhat longer task or mission, etc.), so you’ll have to make sure you don’t only have an “A-Team” of 6 killing machines but more reliable individuals to send on missions.
The other big difference is how global inventory is handled. In the Campaign, all items are “status persistent”, which in this case actually means that if they’re gone, they’re gone. There are no “loadout configurations” that are reset after a mission, as every bullet you fire or medikit you use is spent forever; your inventory can change swiftly, and you have to work with what you have, not with what you’d think is optimal. You will, however, start with a great assortment of weapons, ammo, and equipment, as well as a good pool of crafting materials; you’ll feel powerful and unstoppable… until you realize that reinforcements are weeks away and your supplies deplete quickly. The time will come to clear the dust from those good old, reliable .44 pistols! Of course, you will be able to craft anything if you have the resources. And don’t forget, “status persistence” for items also means that what you pick up and bring home is truly yours to keep (or to disassemble for materials…)!
With that, “squad configurations” are also gone. For each mission, you can decide freely who to deploy. You can configure up to 3 squads of 6–6 marines in many cases. Having good intel will help you decide how many marines to bring and what equipment they should carry for a specific mission.
Missed our previous dev diaries on the Campaign? You can read them here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/3883854408804767159
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4211502692132648548
Stand by for more information about the Campaign and upcoming sneak peeks!
The USC: Counterforce team