Hello fellow rats!
I have just updated the game with Road Map Update 5: HORDE MODE! This is by far the biggest update yet, it's basically an entire new way to play the game. And I know I said that when I added New Game Plus, but trust me, this is waaaay more so. In fact I regret even using that phrase with New Game Plus cause that doesn't even cut it now.
And of course I gotta start by saying thank you to everyone who's bought and played and enjoyed the game! It really means the world to me. And if you have been enjoying the game, please consider leaving a positive Steam review, it really does help! Not just with the algorithm but also helps other people decide if they want to try the game.
Anyway, let's dive in to the full patch notes. It's gonna be a long read so grab yourself a nice drink and settle in. Or just start playing right now and learn as you go!
HORDE MODE
This is the main addition of this update. A brand new mode, complete with a brand new map! In Horde, you are not on the attack this time. Instead, you must defend your base from BOTH sides as endless waves of TechnoRat terrors try to destroy it. Your base has 3 lives, and each enemy (not just Ratineers) that enters the base will remove 1 life. If your base lives reach 0, it's game over, and you have to start over. If you die however, you can continue from the last completed wave.
You do not have your regular Troops to recruit in Horde, instead, you have stationary defensive units that can be teleporatted in at specific locations. They can be healed, and it always costs half the CHz to repair rather than recruit, so try to keep them alive if you can.
In addition to these new Troops, you can also build walls, campsites and minefields, but instead of the usual Build Menus, you can only build them on specific locations called Emplacements. These are specific builds and you must hold down the Interact button to build them. Each one, including the Troops, takes a different amount of time to activate. So plan ahead as you have a limited amount of time between each wave. There will be a preview image of what it is that will be built when you enter the build area.
Each wave will spawn a certain amount of enemies that will come from both the left and the right side of the map. The number of enemies will increase with each wave, and after a certain wave more enemy types will come. Every 10 waves, all the enemies will increase in attack and health.
Once each wave has been defeated, you will have a brief time of rest called the Prep Phase and a CHz Chest reward will spawn near your base. The amount of CHz in this chest will increase with each wave cleared. You can use this Prep Phase to repair, build, resupply, gather CHz and loot and all that. I mean, you can do that stuff during the waves too, but you'll probably be busy trying to survive.
After each Prep Phase, all Gear left on the battlefield will be cleared, the cost of all Emplacements will go up slightly and a new wave will begin.
The game will track your Highest Cleared Wave depending on the difficulty you've chosen for your current Ratty. This will be shown both in the Horde Menu and in the HUD during Horde games (As well as the Stats book in the Shop) and will also be added to the Leaderboards once those are added in a later patch.
The game will also save after each successful wave is cleared, so you can continue later or if you die. Dying in Horde does NOT remove your gear. And you do NOT gain XP or new Blueprints while in Horde, but you can always return at any time after playing the other game modes to upgrade your Ratty.
There is a new HUD feature during Horde: The Proximity Meter. This will alert you to when enemies are approaching your base and from which side. There's 3 levels of warning, which show roughly how near they are.
NEW UNITS
There are two new units in the game: Machine Gun Teams and Mortarat Teams. These are exclusive to Horde mode and are recruited by using Emplacements rather than the Radio. The Radio is actually disabled during Horde. Machine Gun Teams are rapid fire, direct line of sight units. Mortarat Teams are long range indirect fire units that cannot attack when enemies are in close range, so plan accordingly.
These units can be upgraded via Terminals on either side of your Base in Horde. These upgrades do not carry over to other saves or game modes.
NEW MAP
There is a new Map in the game: Ratharan Desert. At the moment, it's exclusive to Horde mode, but I will be adding it to Skirmish in a later patch. I will also be adding more Horde maps with different layouts and enemy wave compositions at a later date.
Other
Just a couple bug fixes/QoL/polish in this update, as the bulk of my time was taken up with all the Horde mode stuff.
Golgus shots were not damaging Walls. This has been fixed.
TR Ratineers blood splats on the ground will now fade away after a time.
Added a Loading Tip
You can now go to the Shop at any time. You can go there via the Horde screen.
And that's it for this update! It's a massive one, I hope you all enjoy it. I actually find I like playing Horde more than the base game now haha. Although that's probably because I've played the base game for countless hours at this point. Please let me know your thoughts! As always I welcome all feedback, good or bad (as long as it's constructive please) so don't be shy. You can write in the Steam forums or join the Discord! Or message me on my social medias (wootusart)
Every time I add stuff to the game I think of even more stuff to add haha. I have so many ideas for Horde mode now, so stay tuned for more content in the coming weeks!
All the rat love in the rat world!
Regards,
Brian