Hi Fleetbreakers!
We promised to give more details on a new combat feature we launched in our last demo update, Attack Facing. At a high level, Attack Facing is designed to give players the ability to control exactly where their squadrons attack from, while retaining the fluid combat movement that we love in Fleetbreakers.
Squadrons can be given a direction to attack from (press and hold the attack button and then rotate the facing). This will not only change the approach angle of the squadron vis a vis their target, but also determine the anchor point for the subsequent attack movement. Figure 8 Patterns are now offset from the target to support the directed attack facing. Orbit Patterns are now "Arc Patterns". For example, Tanks will swing through a 90 degree arc and then ping pong back and forth.
There are a few different scenarios that this helps enable, giving players better control of how their units behave in battle.
Field/Obstruction Avoidance - By being able to manually set approach angle, players can avoid fields that squadrons would have flown through during attack patterns.
Enable Flanking and Multi-side Engagement - Players can now choose to attack enemy units from multiple angles. This can set up exciting one-two punches when fighting enemies with multiple squadrons.
Enemy Engagement - When laying siege on squadrons or enemy bases, players can now set the approach so as to avoid fire from turrets or trigger some types of enemy squadrons.
Give Attack Facing a try and let us know what you think of this feature. It’s still in an early stage of development. (For example, improving and making the feel of rotating snappier)
We are also going to look at lengthening combat out a little more to allow for more player response, which will also make this feature more interesting, too. But that’s another blog!
Let us know in the Community Forums or join us on Discord.
- The Last Keep Crew