Parts 1 and 2 layed out how we got here and why we decided to make a huge change to AirMech. This post will talk more about the current split plan which feels good to us but is subject to change based on what happens when the game(s) are released.
Over the years we have swung between wondering if we can figure out how to make F2P work, or if we should do something drastic like un-F2P the game. That second option felt like a death sentance for the game, as it is much more a F2P game than anything else at this point. So we continued on, trying to find a F2P angle that could work, always not quite hitting that sweet spot.
Then it occured to us--why not do both? As AirMech evolved, it continued to pull in two different directions. One was from the PvP crowd, the other from PvE and coop lovers. "More balance" called one side, and "more power" called the other. "Pay to win trash" called the one side "please let us pay for power" called the other. The only solution is to split the game.
Which means literally two games on Steam. Not one game, and DLC under it. Two completely seperate games on Steam, at least from the Steam side of it. Underneath, they share an engine (our own custom engine) and a backend, so you still have just one AirMech account with Carbon and lots of cool benefits due to that.
So follow our train of thought--if we have two games, are they both new? Keep the old classic AirMech around? No, "current" AirMech is a mess, it deserves to become AirMech 2.0, which we call AirMech Strike. Someone who has been away for 3 years, or 3 months, they come back and they are playing the latest and greatest version of the game. So AirMech F2P remains F2P, is renamed AirMech Strike, and launches out of Early Access.
The other game, AirMech Wastelands, takes what was hinted at with the campaign and warzone content, looks at it from the perspective of a paid game, and rebuilds it from top to bottom--and expands it. Parts are to AirMech what swords and armor are to Diablo--you can get them as drops, buy them in shops, or even craft them in some cases. They scale to become incredibly powerful, and you'll need that power. Later game content is overwhelmingly powerful if you aren't fully geared out. These are missions of war, not battling an AI playing by the same rules as you.
Wastelands features a 3D overworld map where you can see the areas yet to explore. You can see your friends and other players moving around the overworld. Special missions appear and can even move around. It is a framework that allows us to easily add more missions and content.
There is a lot to talk about in Wastelands and the rabbit hole went down in rethinking the game. However the core fun is still there--your mech, your units, the tactics of moving things around to getting your hands dirty, it's all there. It's exploded in terms of how much stuff there is in the game and it's only the start.
So if there's so much stuff in Wastelands, what is in Strike? When you launch the game you are in a 3D lobby, your mech in front of you all ready to go. Queue for matchmaking, Browse for a custom game, or create a custom game. Or do practice mode--all 12 original pilots are there with new custom AI behaviors to ramp up their difficulty with each one you defeat. Battle them on any map you want, against any pilot you have already defeated.
There's a brand new queue system. Previously, for PvP it would need to fill the entire game, both sides before you saw anyone. This was bad, as it often gave the impression no one was in queue. Now, it will match your team before it finds opponents. Other players appear beside you, and you can see their mech/skin as they pick it.
What we removed (or moved to Wastelands): pilots, parts, items no longer apply to PvP games. These things all still exist on your account, but they are not useable for PvP balance reasons. They are all becoming more powerful in Wastelands.
Unit picking now has a huge change--you can swap out units ingame for a small time penalty. And instead of picking units in the lobby, you pick them pregame, which has a very positive effect on the game. Now players can focus on just their AirMech choice, not their units and their teammate's units.
Benefits go beyond that: because maps are randomly chosen for matchmaking games, you might not have the right units previously. Now you can choose units after knowing the map. It also encourages more creative unit picks, intead of always having to go with a safe loadout. No longer do you have to feel helpless by having the wrong loadout to deal with an opponent. You also don't have to reserve precious slots for late-game units--just swap them out at that time.
Orders have been given a large rework. "Follow me" is now a core order that can be used from the air or ground and is a huge change strategically. Unit AI has been improved, much thanks to the VR version of the game.
I'll dedicate an update to just Strike soon and talk more about the gameplay nuts and bolts. There's a ton of exciting changes that are a mix between going back to the original PvP focused game's roots and new features to keep gameplay fast paced and allow a wide range of play styles.
AirMech Strike is currently available on the "beta" channel of AirMech for anyone who can't wait. We hope to do some larger scale testing in the coming week. As soon as we feel the beta version of Strike is better than the current live version we will switch it over and let the fun/chaos begin...
For those who have played Strike, is it better than the current live version? Why or why not?