Back again!
I took a break from all updates regarding the game and focused on the game itself.
A publisher reviewed Frost Protocol (and decided not to go further with it), which actually gave me a big boost in reworking the game. I took a step back and looked at the game to find current flaws instead of adding new mechanics, resources or something else.
One single question helped me realize how to think about any and all mechanics and systems of the game:
What is the one word that best describes what the player has to do in the game?
I had the answer immediately: PLANNING
This game is not about luck, agility or perfect micromanagement. I want you to come up with a plan based on the information you gathered and then execute it. Still, there will be random events or unforeseen problems but your plan should always accommodate them.
Based on PLANNING, I went through the game, changed or removed systems and now, I will slowly and carefully add new systems with this one goal in mind:
Is a new mechanic or system readable enough for you to incorporate it into a plan?
Which information do you need for planning and how do you get it? What disrupts you from getting / having information?
Major changes:
Base management is turn-based now instead of real-time.
Expeditions are on smaller maps with more mission / objective character.
Reworked character conditions (hunger, fatigue, stress, etc...).
Robot progression
Base Management
It's no surprise that turn-based systems allow for more strategic planning.
Previously, the base management part of the game was in real-time but the optimal way of playing was always to stop time when a task is finished, reassign the character, and then continue time. In a way, this already had some character of a turn-based system.
Now there are two phases during the day: a Morning phase and an Evening phase. In each phase, a survivor can work on one task. When all survivors are assigned and you move to the next phase, a short animation is played.
Some tasks are performed better by certain survivors. For example, Robert has the "Physicist" trait, which increases the energy created by the "Increase energy output" task by an additional point.
If survivors are too tired, they cannot be selected for tasks and they must sleep.
After the evening phase, you select a robot operator for the night. Depending on their traits, an operator can receive bonuses or penalties (for example +1 or -1 fatigue when selected as an operator). You select robots (which cost energy based on their current loadout - strong abilities cost more energy, so you need to PLAN ahead) and a location. In time, you reveal more locations and find more robots.
In general, switching from real-time to turn-based changed the following systems:
Energy: Costs are based on tasks. Output is generated each morning (can be increased by upgrades) or by a specific task during daytime. This actually might be the biggest gain in terms of readability that allows for easier planning regarding your energy (which is basically the main resource).
Pathfinding: Deleted! No more walking from one station to another. This always annoyed me because walking actually took WAAAAAY too long because every 2 real seconds equaled 5 in-game minutes. Walking from station to another shouldn't take one hour...
Balancing: A task takes 1 turn. Very simple and very easy to plan / balance. There will be longer tasks as well (for example research tasks) but still, this is much easier to balance than having multiple survivors actually walking through the base with each task taking different amounts of time...
Dev bonus: Code base has gotten MUCH smaller because of the change, which is a big bonus for me as a solo dev!
Expeditions
I always had multiple maps in mind but I planned many visits (~5 or even more) per map. But revisiting the same map so often is problematic and map design becomes an even bigger challenge than it already is. The biggest problem: Progress was kind of invisible because you slowly crawled forward and the objective wasn't even that clear. The mission said: "Do that and then that...", which is bad map design paired with bad mission design on top of bad expedition design. At least, that was my takeaway after playing the map again and again more than 100 times.
Therefore, I created two new maps that are designed with clear and simple goals per map (in addition, they act as tutorials and include story beats). However, the main concept remains: some maps can be visited multiple times (3-4 max), others are one-time only.
On the first visit, you might need to scout the map to find available tasks and paths, analyze where enemies are coming from and take as many resources as possible before returning. The more information you gather, the better you can plan your 2nd or 3rd visits.
Live information during an expedition is based on vision and enemy movement.
Threat scanners show you when the next enemy wave attacks (Upgrades will show you enemy composition and attack direction)
Recon scanners increase vision in a large radius by removing Fog of War.
Many maps will have a main power grid powered by a generator that you can activate. Without energy, many systems like door controls or scanners will not work. Other systems are powered by energy capsules (portable energy that can only be carried by Defenders). You can create energy capsules during daytime or find them on expeditions.
The main reason for expeditions is Helium-3 (besides story), which is used to power the fusion reactor in your homebase. Mining stations across multiple locations must be secured, activated, and defended.
Mining and certain other loud tasks (for example any kind of explosion) increase enemy aggression. This means that oftentimes it is up to you how much aggression you create. Aggression persists, which means that once you increase it, it remains even for later visits.
(Effects on aggression levels are not final)
Map design
Most maps should have different paths based on:
robot composition (Defenders can move heavy objects / Strikers can jump small distances)
loadout of robots (Explosives can be used to open new paths but increase aggression and cost resources)
tasks (certain tasks like "Repair and use terminal" can open new paths but may cost more time and energy)
Weather must have a unique effect on the environment:
Ion Storm: The main power grid becomes inactive because the generator at the location does not work during Ion Storms. Only systems powered by energy capsule are active. This leads to situations where Threat and Range scanners are inactive and the expedition becomes more dangerous.
More are planned
Early on, you will unlock a weather station to predict weather. The goal of the weather system is to introduce an obstacle for your plans but it must not be something that renders your plan completely useless. Expeditions will always be possible but they might not be as effective.
Events will be short maps with one single goal (for example a rescue mission to receive a new survivor). They are only available for a limited time.
Character conditions
Hunger, fatigue, stress, injury, relations between characters, skills... Sounds nice in theory, but in practice, I couldn't make it work. At the beginning of development, my vision included a detailed, human-centric gameplay that largely focuses on the base management and the characters (similar to This War of Mine). By switching to turn-based, the focus shifted much more toward expeditions. Base management is still an important part of the core loop, but it now focuses less on detailed character simulation and more on planning (more similar to XCOM).
And even before that, when it was all real-time, all these conditions felt like a system that only increased complexity without any actual actionable decisions. For now, I stripped everything to the core. The main thing that survived is fatigue.
Fatigue increases by 1 each time, a survivor performs a task. Sleeping reduces fatigue by 3. Being a robot operator increases fatigue by 2. Traits may affect these values (for example: Insomnia: sleeping reduces fatigue by 2).
Again, switching to turn-based heavily increases readability (action -> consequence), which enables easier and better PLANNING.
Per-survivor-stress was changed to a crew-wide value called Crew Pressure. Crew Pressure can increase by overworking survivors or events. If it reaches a threshold, a dangerous event occurs (for example a survivor has a mental breakdown and cannot work for an entire day).
Robot loadouts / progression
If expeditions become more important, then so do robots. With XCOM in mind, the robots become the squad, and the progression of the game centers around them. This will be the main focus during the next weeks.
Two archetypes with distinct identities:
Defenders are tanky and slow. They can move heavy objects to open new paths, carry energy capsules and stand on the front line against the enemy. Their combat abilities are focused on crowd control and defense. Large resource inventory.
Strikers are fast and agile. They have a special storage unit for explosives, which means that only they can carry explosives. They can jump over small distances and reach routes that Defenders cannot. Their combat abilities are focused on high DPS and kill shots. Small resource inventory.
Additionally, each robot has a Utility slot that defines their role on expeditions, for example Repair Module or Hacking Module. Combat Abilities and Utilities may have energy costs that increase the energy cost of the robot for expeditions.
-> The strongest setup might not always be the best because it costs a lot of energy.
Passives are flat upgrades, such as increased armor or lower energy cost.
Each of these slots requires an item (combat chip, repair module, armor, ...) that can be found during expeditions. I want to allow experimentation but also, I don't want you to change the loadout all the time without any cost. Managing your robots should be long-term planning.
Health system
Based on structural integrity of your robots (health points), you should decide if you want to take the robot on an expedition. HP should be regenerated automatically (something like 20HP per day). Otherwise, mistakes during an expedition lead to lower HP, which leads to even harder expeditions (classic downward spirale).
In addition, certain subsystems of the robot can be destroyed:
Vision sensors: decreased vision range and attack range
Mechanical issues: decreased movement speed (Strikers cannot jump anymore)
Core defect: 1 or more combat abilities unavailable
...
Subsystem repairs require a Repair Kit to repair.
The health system should support PLANNING. This means that most of the time, you can plan around damaged robots by choosing an expedition over another. Even a barely functioning robot can still carry resources but maybe you shouldn't choose the most dangerous expedition or one that you know nothing about.
Enemy design
One of the previous melee enemies was changed. Now, it is a slow but tanky giant that explodes when dying. The closer your robots are to the center of the explosion, the more damage they receive.
Closed alpha tests
Soon, Frost Protocol will be open for closed alpha tests. If anyone is interested, tell me in the comments.
A few screenshots
