Welcome back to our game! Today, we are excited to share the progress we have made since our last playtest. Over the past few weeks, we have achieved some major breakthroughs that we can now proudly discuss.
First and foremost, we have completed our game rewrite, and the desyncs should now be a thing of the past. We have tested extensively, including a 3v3 match that lasted 40 minutes without a single desync. Our solution involved making the game more resistant to desyncs by resyncing key events, such as unit and building creation and destruction, as well as target-setting.
We have also upgraded the avoidance system so that units can now move out of the way, significantly reducing instances of units getting stuck.
We have replaced the Upkeep system with a system that refunds players resources for lost units. This change should have the same effect of countering snowballing without punishing the winning player, instead providing a helping hand to the losing player. The economy should now be less confusing and more predictable.
As for our four pillars we discussed last time here are some of the updates regarding each one
- introduce more unique faction mechanics and push the asymmetry even further- we have introduced a new set of specialized units for each faction. Carpathia has a slow-moving AOE chemical tank, Vanguard has an experimental laser tech upgrade that can disable units from far away. EDU will get a new Stealth tank but we have yet to implement stealth in the game. Carpathia also received tech routes for its buildings, allowing players to choose between increasing build times or unlocking advanced units. We also did some initial stat adjustments to the infantry but we will expand on that even more in the coming months.
- expand the base building aspect a bit more- we introduced the concept of power plants powering building production as well as adding late game defensive turrets for turtling players.
- Infantry rework is still pending- our biggest feature will be adding entrenched stance which will switch infantry armor type as well as providing better range and alternate weapons at the expense of their mobility
- more on map objectives- is still pending. Garrison-able and capturable buildings still needs to be implemented
We also created a new map suited for 1v1 as well as 2v2. New decals have been added to our current maps as well as lighting adjustments and post proc effects We have overhauled all effects to increase their light values, resulting in flashier explosions and effects.
I attached below a link to our google photos gallery folder that includes 4k screenshots of the new graphical upgrades:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bnCQLefnKSruknv2A
Vanguard is now fully voiced and has it's own soundtrack.
We have added various upgrades and abilities and plan to expand on these even more.
Overall, the game is now much more enjoyable than before and a clear upgrade from our previous test. However, we are not finished yet. We are currently working on our first campaign mission, which will serve as an introduction to our universe and a tutorial for players to learn the new mechanics.
We are slowly but steadily making progress towards our early access release.