Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since the last update, and we have been very busy during this time. Every single detail has been worked through from start to finish. This approach takes more time, but the final result feels completely different — which is crucial for the game's uniqueness.
And while there are many technical improvements "under the hood," today we will focus only on what concerns the combat system.
Tools and Weapons
The main innovation is that we have implemented operational modes for all types of tools. Every tool or weapon in the game can have from one to several work modes. You can simultaneously manage six types of tools, switching their modes without being distracted by menus. This adds dynamics to the game in complex situations where you need to react quickly.
You can configure your entire set in advance for specific tasks. For example, you can connect several beams for more convenient and faster terraforming and resource extraction, or choose different types of cannons to change combat tactics on the fly.
Let's take a look at some of the new weapon types:
Terraforming Beams. One of the "weaponry" types is beams. In this case, they aren't exactly weapons, though getting hit in the eye with one wouldn't be pleasant. Their primary purpose is to modify the landscape during expeditions when you cannot use industrial-scale structures. Beams have 3 operation modes:
Extraction — the beam drills into the ground and extracts resources from beneath the surface.
Leveling — the ground is leveled to the player's height; when filling, the necessary resource is deducted from the inventory.
Lifting — the beam uses soil from the inventory to build walls from it.
Assault Rifles. This is the main type of weapon: high damage, extremely fast projectiles, and a high rate of fire. This weaponry is indispensable for complex combat missions or dangerous expeditions.
Siege Weapons. Heavy weaponry for tasks requiring maximum destruction. For example, for clearing dense clusters of hostile creatures.
Less-Lethal Weapons. The most affordable and simplest type of weapon for self-defense in urban environments. Its goal is to give you time to escape from aggressive NPCs or other players, rather than trying to prove something to someone.
Important: All weapon types connect directly to the exoskeleton and consume energy both passively and when activated. You must monitor the charge closely during active use.
Bombs
This brings us to the core of today's update title! Bombs in the game are devices placed to destroy fortifications. Most interestingly, they don't just deal damage; they introduce significant changes to the landscape (in the case of powerful variants), which is extremely useful in mining.
All bombs are divided into two categories:
Remote — with support for remote detonators.
Timed — controlled directly and detonated by a timer.
You can set a PIN code on any bomb so that no one else can reconfigure or disarm it. However, this doesn't offer a 100% guarantee: the PIN can be guessed or hacked using a decoder.
Subtypes by power:
Small — simple charges for precision resource extraction.
Medium — a versatile option for destroying fortifications and digging deep quarries.
Heavy — this is no longer a miner's tool. Such a charge can wipe out an enemy base with a single blast and create a crater that later becomes a lake. The damage is so great that everything in the epicenter is completely destroyed.
Nuclear — for the most well-protected enemies, when you might need to demolish an entire biome. This charge has such a blast radius that you cannot escape the impact zone without fast transport.
The difference in power between classes is approximately 10 times. That is, the heaviest ones are 1000 times more powerful than the small ones, although even the small ones have a decent radius.
Other Improvements:
Rigging physics update: NPC movements in combat have become more realistic.
The skeleton now operates through the physics engine.
Updated tool management interface.
Added a new type of tool status notification.
This is far from everything! We will talk about other changes in the next devlog. Don't miss it!
And if there are too many words in the article for you — check out our video: