[NOTE: all the screenshots on this post are content coming on our next update]
Hello all! Dani here, Game Director at Killsquad bringing your development update.
It’s been 2 weeks since we released Genesis, our last update. I wanted to tell you how it went, and what comes next. Lots of goodies, so stay tuned!
As we announced, our focus for 2020 is two game areas: VARIETY and PROGRESSION. Variety as in “more stuff to do and discover”, progression as in “and my hero grows and evolves”. As we announced, we are tackling variety first (so you get a richer game ASAP) and progression will come afterwards. Here is our roadmap:
- Feb: Genesis (reforms all of recruit, already out)
- April: Vet 1 (reforms 8 contracts of Veteran, those taking place in our existing planets)
- June: Vet 2 (reforms 4 more contracts of Veteran, all taking place in a new planet, Skua)
- June will complete the variety updates. Then, all the second half of 2020 is Progression updates, more on this in a bit.
in the lair of the Vasperiaths
Of course when we released Genesis we got some negative reviews from the players who would have wanted us to tackle progression first. Still, as new players began discovering
Killsquad and entering, they began saying nice things about the update. Our recent reviews are actually really good (vast majority of the last 10 days of reviews are positive, thank you so much guys!), and the traffic we had for the Genesis release was as high as the Christmas Break one, so that’s great as well. It seems we're making real progress in delivering a cool game world full of places to visit and stuff to do.
So, now that Recruit is working much better, let’s move to Veteran, where we are going to double down on the content. You guys are gonna love the stuff we’re working on.
Veteran is going to consist of 12 contracts, 8 of them happening in our 3 initial planets, and 4 more happening in a brand-new world, Skua, which is the home of the Federation Army. As Veteran is a big section of the game, we’re splitting it in two updates.
the plague extends
On Veteran1, expect to visit new areas of our world, such as the Vasperiath nests, go on weird new quests such as one about collecting Queen Moggoth larvae, and many more. If you’re a classic Killsquad player, here you will meet the Nightbringers (which are gone from Recruit, if you noticed it), the Feds (same story), and the Omens of the Plague. So Veteran is gonna feel super distinct and unique.
So again expect more quests, more unique locations, more Momma (she’s a blast, isn’t she?). And of course being Veteran, this is all going to come in a more challenging form factor, so get your gear ready: crossing one of these contracts is not gonna be a walk in the park.
Oh, I am happy to announce that following many requests from the community, we’re also working on an all-new boss, the biggest one we’ve done yet. She’s related to the Plague, so expect an epic boss battle. I don’t want to show anything yet, I want to save the surprise for you guys. But expect a very challenging boss with some really cool mechanics that feel fresh and old-school at the same time.
more plague mayhem
We expect Vet 1 (which is still missing a commercial name) to drop second half of April, and of course about one week sooner for Beta members, so make sure you sign up.
Giving you a sneak peek of what comes afterwards, you're gonna fly into Skua, our 4th planet. Turns out, you’ve only met the light infantry of the Federation Forces. Skua is their battlestation, full of heavily armored robot soldiers. This is going to bring more content into Veteran, and a high-challenge zone.
So as you can see we’re gonna make sure each and every contract feels special and unique. We want players to get a rock-solid game world full of hidden corners to explore.
Progression will come post-June. I don’t want to get into too much detail as it’s still under discussion, but suffice to say we’re listening to you guys. We feel our current approach has some pros, but also lots of cons: you get the feeling heroes don’t grow, no sense of true progression. And we want to give you guys the solid hero journey you desire and love. A journey where your hero becomes stronger, gains new skills, and finds loot along his quests. We will move into this area once we can guarantee your hours of gameplay are filled with content and variety, so expect a more “classic RPG” system that keeps you coming back to earn new loot and skills.
a mechanized bridge crosses Kemmekh
So as you can see we DO have a plan. It seems, based on reviews, that the plan is making an impact on your perception of the game, so we’re confident we’re on track.
All we need from you is three very basic things:
- First, be patient. We all want games here and now, but this is a live development, and we can only progress so fast.
- Second, support us. We love to read stuff on forums. We love positive reviews. We love Twitter followers. Being indie is tough. But you guys make it all worth it.
- Third, tell your friends about us. We feel we’re beginning to turn the tide, Killsquad is growing day by day. And we need you guys over there pushing us and motivating us.
That’s it for now! Gotta go back to the trenches. See you in the Outer Reach guys, Dani out!