It's been a back and forth with realtime and turnbased concepts. Turnbased strategy games are by far my favorite and I tested this for Frost Protocol in early stages and it simply didn't work well. Why? Because it was a different game several months ago. I implemented so many concepts and mechanics since then that the game became much closer to the vision in my head. But in the end, it always felt... weird...
The first change was to switch the homebase from realtime to turnbased. It make everything clearer, every decision more readable and more impactful. It made the code easier and it just felt right.
The next logical step was to (at least try to) change the expeditions. They were in realtime and I thought this was necessary since monsters that attack you in realtime increase the pressure very naturally. But I always wanted a second layer: not just pressure but "making tough decisions under pressure". This wasn't possible in realtime, at least not the way I built it.
So... I changed it again turnbased. And this time it works like a charm! My mind is flooded with ideas and everything is coming together!
Changes:
Robot Upgrades / Customization
Customize robots:
1 Chassis slot
3 Ability Modules (combat abilities)
3 Chip Modules (stat bonuses)
1 Specialization slot (Hacking, Mechanic, or Bio Analysis)
Each item must be found during expeditions and can have multiple bonuses. Applying pending changes is a task at the homebase. Items are not destroyed when removing them. This means the player can experiment but it costs time.
Expedition tasks
Movement - Action points
Each robot has 2 action points per turn. Tasks can cost multiples APs as well as picking up or putting down objects.
Characters
Going back more to a survival feeling here. This means each character has its own Fatigue and Hunger value.
+1 Hunger and +1 Fatigue on each new day. Plain, simple, readable.
Eating costs 1 Food and removes 1 Hunger. Sleeping costs 1 turn and removes 1 Fatigue.
Being an operator during the night creates Operator Strain. Each character has a max Operator Strain so that the player can't use the same character over and over for expedition.
Traits were changed to fit this new system, such as:
Loud Operator: +2 aggression per robot per turn
Silent Operator: -2 aggression per robot per turn
Navigator: +10% movement distance
Inventory Manager: +1 inventory space for each robot
Command Link Incompatability: -1 Max Operator Strain
Hacker: Hacking tasks do not reset when being aborted
Station Upgrades and Research
The mechanics are implemented to build upgrades for each station and research as well. These either give bonuses at the homebase (+1 energy per day) or bonuses for expeditions (+1 max damage for all robots).
Items
Looking for items on expeditions is a part of the gameplay. With limited inventory space, the player needs to decide what to pick.
MECHANICAL_COMPONENTS,
ELECTRONIC_COMPONENTS,
REPAIR_KIT,
FOOD,
MEDKIT,
STIMULANTS,
BIO_MATERIAL,
HELIUM3,
NUTRIENTS,
POWER_REGULATOR,
THERMAL_CONTROL_UNIT,
CONTROL_CIRCUIT,
AUTOMATION_MODULE,
CHEMICALS,
MEDICAL_SUPPLIES,
Events
Events include multiple options. Some options require that your character have specific traits. Others require resources.
Next
ALPHA TESTING - Never ending story. I pushed the update yesterday and the inner circle is testing. After that, I'll be looking for more testers.
Now it's time for a 7-day holiday break!
Check out my Discord: