Movement is more than just transportation
As a core mechanic for Earths Edge, movement is more than just a way to get from one objective to another.
It is an important part of how you interact with the world around you, approach objectives and fight your enemies.
Instead of simply running towards the next objective, we want players to actively use their surroundings to their advantage.
Speed and Momentum
Speed is obviously important in a movement shooter like Earths Edge.
Every class in Earths Edge has access to the same basic movement abilities: Sliding, double jump, wall-run and -climb. The Assault also has Tactical Sprint as a passive, making him even faster on open terrain.
Especially sliding, wall running and double jumping increase your speed quite drastically, so chaining them together to maintain maximum speed is the preferred goal.
Parkour environment
While certain other movement shooters put very few limits on maximum speed, we’ve intentionally set maximum values to prevent players from simply speeding past everything on an objective map. We still want movement to be fast and rewarding, without letting it completely bypass the encounters and objectives we’ve designed.
Specifically, movement speed is not cumulative.
Instead, your speed gets reset when you land back on the ground and return to regular ground based movement. This is something we are still experimenting with, however.
You’ll hopefully be able to test these mechanics very soon in our upcoming playtest, and I’ll challenge you to beat our personal best time of 23.17s in the parkour.
Vertical Movement
We're trying to put an emphasis on vertical movement as well, giving players multiple options to reach high ground while outside of an EM-BR.
Wall-climbing allows you to climb up certain surfaces, but it is not unlimited. After around two seconds, you’ll lose your grip and have to find another way to continue moving up, e.g. by combining it with a different movement option.
The grapple hook
The Grapple Hook is by far the most effective tool for vertical repositioning. It allows you to quickly reach higher positions and cover large vertical distances, making it especially useful when you need to get somewhere quickly.
Maybe you can also use the grapple to damage enemies? Maybe there is a Steam Achievement for killing enemies with the grapple? Who knows..?
Combat Movement
While outside an EM-BR Unit, Scorchers can get overwhelmed by Lunomites if they are not careful and/or mobile enough.
Reloading while on the ground stops you from being able to sprint, unless you are already wall-running or mid-air, since you are assisted by the jump pack.
Stay mobile
The Lunom Brute is also extremely dangerous for Scorchers on the ground, being able to root you in place if you get too close and making you an easy target.
Thats where the EM-BR comes in.
EM-BR Movement
The EM-BR is significantly heavier than a scorcher, which is reflected in its movement.
While the EM-BR is faster in a straight line, changing direction or stopping takes significantly more time than a scorcher.
Impulse Thruster VFX in the testing env
While the base model does not feature any advanced movement modules, experienced Scorchers may equip their Unit with Jump Jets for vertical movement or Impulse Thrusters for horizontal repositioning.
See You at the Finish Line
Movement is a big part of how Earths Edge is meant to be played, and there is still plenty of room for us to fine-tune it. Finding the right balance between speed, mobility and control is something we will continue to work on as we get more players into the game.
With our upcoming playtest getting closer, you’ll soon have the chance to try all of this for yourself. And again, if you think you can beat our 23.17s parkour time, we’ll see you at the finish line.
Parkour finish line
Thank you again for your continued support!
Also check out our socials:
Website: Official TeaMug Studios Website
TikTok: TeaMug Studios TikTok
Discord: Earths Edge Discord