Hello survivors!
There are only a few days left before the release of Dead in Antares and we couldn't be more excited!
We know some of you played Dead in Bermuda and/or Dead in Vinland (and we thank you for that <3). When we started to work on Dead in Antares, we didn't want to do "just" a sequel that was too similar to the previous games, even though we still wanted to keep the "Dead in" feel that our players love.
So, one of our objectives as we worked on Dead in Antares was to create THE ultimate survival/management simulation, that would take advantage of not only our experience from the previous games, but also from The Last Spell.
This is why today, we wanted to talk about some of the evolutions in Dead in Antares, compared to the previous "Dead in" games!
And we also have a surprise announcement at the end!
Less RNG
One of the main feedback was the RNG that was very present in Dead in Vinland, and the fact that sometimes, the game could really hit you with... "not pleasant" events and more!
Now, in Dead in Antares, you'll be able to see exactly what will happen to your characters, whatever the choices you make; this is true both while working at the camp and during explorations. That will allow players to have more control on their actions and what happen to them.
One other feedback we got from Dead in Vinland was the fact that some events could be a bit harsh to some players (yes, we all remember Eirik nearly killing himself while picking up wood).
In Dead in Antares, we still have events affecting your characters that can occur at the fringe of your grasp, but they are much more forgiving than before.
Combat version 2.0
Combats are back in Dead in Antares, better than ever! Not only did we improve the animations, and the whole system, we added a NEW feature: the power surge.
This ultimate ability can turn the tide in the battle, inflicting major damage, or nerfing your foes, and more! Each character has a different power surge, so definitely try them all!
We also expanded the combat system by adding battle passives (obtained by levelling up) so it's up to you to make the best characters!
And what's that?
That's right. By uprading your classes in the Laboratory, you'll be able to unlock new skills for the combat, making the combat in Dead in Antares more customized than ever!
Goodbye Fire! Hello Energy!
In Dead in Vinland, the fire of your camp was CRUCIAL. You not only needed it to boil water, but if it died down, it could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
In Dead in Antares, relying on fire would be not only anachronic, but it would also not be interesting from a design point of view, as the introduction of science in Antares meant having the possibility to use new mechanics that were not possible previously.
The Energy is your new crucial resource in Dead in Antares. It will refillevery night, but you'll also need to generate it during the day if you need some surplus, as some of the camp stations also require it: the workshop, the laboratory, the radar,... And you'll also need energy during the night if you want the temperature of the shelter to be perfect in case of extreme weather!
Exploration revamped!
Exploration has been completely reworked since Dead in Vinland.
Now, every day in the game, you'll be given the opportunity to send 3 characters on an expedition, only if you have enough water. At the start of the game, you'll only be able to explore one place each day, but that'll be improved as you make progress in the game.
That means that only one of the three selected characters will be able to interact with the entity you will find during the exploration!
This has two consequences:
You'll need to not only pick a good team for combat, in case you find enemies along the way
And that team will also need to be balanced for the entity you will find!
Fortunately, if none of your characters has good stats for the entity, you'll be able to come back later, but you'll need to do a new exploration, so this is far from being the ideal solution.
Let's do science!
In Dead in Antares, your characters will be living (mostly barely surviving) on an unknwon planet, full of dangers, but also of opportunities that could save them in the end.
Thankfully, this group of survivors have among them the best scientists on Earth, who will happily analyze items and resources they will find on the planet and how they can use it in the Laboratory! (And to be honest, they would rather spend their time in their lab analyzing weird stuff than being out in the wild meeting deadly creatures).
You'll also find a new resource: knowledge.
Knowledge will be obtained by identifying items in the laboratory and discovering areas using the radar.
This knowledge will be essential when using the workshop and upgrading your battle classes in the Laboratory.
A full crew of 10 characters
In Dead in Antares, you have a full crew of 10 characters that you will need to keep alive up to the end of the game. This is a very big change from Dead in Vinland where only the Family (the 4 main characters) needed to stay alive.
This allowed us to have way more control on the narration of the game and make it very different than in Vinland, as each character will play their role in the story.
We know some players liked the fact that each playthrough was different by the choice of which secondary character would join the camp.
However, that allowed us to be way more ambitious in another part of the game...
RELATIONSHIPS
In Dead in Vinland, most of the relationships were between member of the family and recrutable characters. We managed to alleviate this with one of the DLCs of the game, but it was very complex for players to watch all the scenes.
In Dead in Antares, one of the things we committed to was to have relationship dialogues between EACH pair of characters.
This is something we're very proud of, as the "Dead in" series has always been about "A group of different characters actually living together".
In Dead in Antares, we're very proud that each pair of characters will have a different relationship: great friendship, rivalry, romance... You name it!
Characters with a good relationship wil have more bonuses when working together, and the main gameplay advantage is that they will earn more XP by working together, so there are only great benefits to increase their relationships!
As Dead in Antares is a BIG game, you probably won't be able to see all the different relationships events in one run, so... it's up to you to increase the relationship of your favourite pairings!
Dead in Antares - Supporter's Pack
For fans of the game, we will also release a little DLC called "Supporter's Pack"!
This DLC will have:
The OST of the game
A special cosmetic battle skin for Amelia
And a very special robot that will join your camp
This very cute bot be unlocked during the first days of your adventure on Antares Prime. It's mostly cute and will bring you some happiness just by looking at it. (yes, it's very cute)
Yes, you can pet the bot.
And if you pet it enough, once a day, this bot will give you a little bit of resources. Not a lot, but it's doing its best.
This supporter's pack will be available to buy when Dead in Antares releases on Steam, on February 19th!
Dead in Antares releases next week, so be prepared!