Ho-ho-ho, colonists!
Today we're introducing the latest update of this year for Colonies Online! We have worked tirelessly to be able to lay a solid foundation for complex and interesting combat system in the game with the release of this update.
List of changes:
The combat system
- We've redesigned the shooting mechanics – now DPS of guns are not so dependent on their rate of fire. From now on we offer a choice for the players – to use a rapid-fire weapons with reduced damage of each released bullet or to use slow siege types of guns, which low rate of fire is compensated by the high level of damage of every bullet;
- Armor rating now has a working gameplay effect – you will be able to see a really big impact of armor rating on how much damage you incur when fighting enemies. Armor rating has a numerical grading, as well as the weapons rating – for example, an armor with combat rating 3 will significantly reduce the damage from weapons which combat rating value is below 3;
- We've changed some health stats for the players, buildings, monsters and their relationship to each other – we are actively working on improving the balance of the game!
Professions and abilities
We have added the first version of the professions in the game – now every colonist can acquire skills, make professions out of them and improve them while fighting alien monsters!
Please note, the development of professions and skills has only just begun – with future updates we will be adding new skills regularly to make your professions unique.
- Professions are now available to every colonist in the new interface tab, in which you can make professions and track the progress of their leveling. Profession is a tree of 7 cells, in which you can put any skill you have acquired. The higher the numerical rating of the cell, the more powerful will be the ability that you'll place in it. Rating of the cells increases downwards from weakest to strongest.
- Abilities – with this update we begin to test samples of abilities for the characters. Here are the first two – "Recharge" restores the capacity of your Shield power, and "Extra Clip" instantly recovers a certain number of rounds in your current weapon. You can purchase these abilities from the vendor at the Outpost Delta. To start using the ability, put it in the profession tree and go fight some monsters – this is how you will be leveling your profession and unlocking those pre-installed abilities. If you install multiple abilities in a row, they will be unlocked in order one by one. The efficiency of an ability depends on the rating of a slot in which it is installed.
Combat levels
From now you'll gain experience by fighting monsters, which will be getting you new combat levels. When you will gain enough experience, you will be taken to a new combat and get points that will allow you to enhance the various parameters of your character!
After receiving combat points, open the corresponding interface for their distribution and improve your skills – in this version of the game you can spend points to enhance toughness of your character or to improve shields your hero. However, those two skills won't be the only ones forever – stay tuned for next updates!
Bug fixes
- Fixed some minor bugs.
Colonies Online is in Early Access state – a lot of things are yet to be developed, we’re working on improving the game every day. If you encounter some serious bugs or technical issues, let us know about them on the forums of the game or via e-mail: [email protected]!
We wish you a Happy New Year! Go get some rest, you deserve it. Good luck and see you all in 2015!