While the big update is steadily percolating towards a freshly brewed cup of gaming goodness, I wanted to spend some time discussing the changes that are being implemented and how they will radically change the gameplay of Dice Trek (for the better!).
So I plan to do a series of update posts that each discuss a different aspect of how the game is being altered. This first entry in the series will be centered around CREW MEMBERS!
Your crew are the ones holding the ship together by the sheer force of their will. They carry out your orders and put their lives on the line for you. However, I don't think that you feel this as you are play the game right now. I want this to change.
Step 1
The Visuals
To begin with, I've added more variations to the faces, as you can see from the gif above, as well as actual bodies, so they are no longer represented as floating heads, lol. I've also added their portrait to their station during gameplay, so they now exist as ever-present reminders of who you have fighting alongside you on your ship.
Everybody loves Glornast!
But, as cool as these things are, they are just visual changes. In order to build rapport with your crew, there needs to be consequential gameplay effects to the crew you have on your ship.
Step 2
Crew Roles
Before the update, crew members were fairly generic. They had XP and tracked a bunch of different things that they could level up in, but in terms of raw gameplay, the only thing that really changed between crew members was how many pips they could add to a system when placed on it, or maybe they could heal another crew member a bit better. This was not a very exciting way to add differences between crew members.
To remedy this, I have add CREW ROLES. Each crew member keeps track of what they've been doing in combat (and outside of combat). The more they achieve, the more they learn. After awhile, they'll adopt a role. This could be a "Gunner", or a "Barrier Technician", or a bunch of other things. This is their primary role.
When they get a primary role, you'll be given a choice between two randomly selected abilities for that role. An ability could be "When placed on the same slot multiple times, chances of high die rolls increase", or "+1 attacks on die rolls < 3". As they level up in their role, you'll be given more abilities to choose from (amongst other things, but I will go into that in the next update post). This means that, not only will crew members gain different abilities from other crew members based on their roles, but two crew members in the very same role will be different from each other!
This will allow you to craft a well-rounded unique team of individuals that all have their strengths and weaknesses. Losing a particular crew member will mean, not just a loss of a die to roll, but a loss of strategical options available to you and a loss of a friend!
However that's not all.
Step 3
Synergies
Your crew members don't just attain primary roles and give up on their educations. They can also gain a secondary role. When this happens, you'll get a SYNERGY ROLE. A synergy role is a combination of two roles that have unique effects. Perhaps your "Gunner" also spends a lot of time dealing with "Life Support". They could earn the synergy role of "Biotech Tactician" and gain access to bonuses that deal damage while dishing out healing. Each combination of roles has a synergy for you to discover, with powerful effects locked behind them.
Step 4
More options
Finally, I've updated the Galactic Bazaar to allow for hiring of crew members. This means that, not only can you get new crew members from random events, but each time you visit the shop, you'll have a selection of crew members to pick from. Some will be more experienced than others and you'll be able to exchange them for under-performing members of your crew, if you so wish...
Step 5
And more to come
And that's that for crew members (mostly). There are a few tidbits I have left out, since they are related to future updates and I want to keep them in the pocket until then. Hopefully you'll feel a much greater sense of kinship and excitement when dealing with your crew after this update lands, which is as it should be. Without your crew, you're fighting a losing battle, and it really should feel that way!
The next update will be all about the changes to SYSTEMS, so stay tuned for that!
Until then, live long and prosper!
RefresherTowel