Enemies in Squads
Until now, enemies acted alone, based only on what they themselves knew. Player spotting messages were the only exception. This often led to enemies walking toward player positions with little concern for survival.
I always wanted the AI to behave more tactically, and I finally had a chance to work on that. To make it both easier for myself and more logical for the game, I grouped all enemies into squads. Individual soldiers no longer make decisions. Instead, squads act as a unit based on commands.
The system still needs work, but some behaviors are already interesting. If some enemy squad members take heavy damage, the squad pulls back into a defensive position. If they lose too many soldiers, they may retreat entirely. On the offensive side, if one soldier spots a player troop, the rest of the squad moves to support and forms a line of attack.
Enemy squads moving in spread-out groups toward the player position.
Spotting Mechanics
HUD tracking boxes around ground troops have long been a challenge in gameplay design. On one hand, they are almost necessary for a drone or gunship game since tracking enemies is central to the experience. On the other hand, they can make the game too easy, turning it into a point-and-click exercise. I’ve been working to find a balance where the boxes are not always available.
I think I now have a system that makes sense and adds to the gameplay. By default, enemy troops are not spotted, so your gunship has no tracking on them. You must zoom in for the auto-detection system to recognize visible enemies and create a track. Zooming out or looking away does not immediately lose the track, but it slowly fades over time. This should incentivize players to zoom in occasionally to assess the situation directly.
I plan to expand the system so line-of-sight blocking shortens the tracking time. For example, if enemies use smoke or hide in forests, their tracking will be lost faster. Ground troops can also spot enemies for you, refreshing the tracking.
Enemy tracking box is now red and rotated 45 degrees.
What’s Next
I’ll continue refining squad behaviors and HUD systems. I want to add countermeasures against enemy AA and also start working on the out-of-mission gameplay loop. Resources, research and ammo manufacturing.
In September I also plan to upload a new build for private playtesting. If you want to take part in it:
What squad setups and sizes would you expect enemies to field?