Recapping 0.7.0
Accessories was a very ambitious system that we knew would take a lot of work to perfect, thus we waited until this late to introduce the system, and by word it seems to spark much joy and creativity in you all even with all its imperfectness. We've seen something we never thought we would see in your creations and some of them things made us go "wait can the system even create something like that?"
With that said, we've finally reached the final hotfix of 0.7 at 0.7.6, higher than expected and yet there's still so many things we wanted to work more of it. Last week we've asked for your feedback on it and we're glad to receive so many. We'll continue working on more accessories and changes to the system in the future.
What's next for 0.8.0
With 0.7.0 being the "art" update, we'll now move on to focus the "gameplay" update in 0.8.0. There are quite a lot of things we would like to improve in the "game" part of M.A.S.S. Builder but we've always deferred them towards the future as we are certain we'll change it. This is the update we will put our full into working to get a lot of problems fixed, a lot of underused mechanics changed, and introduce new ones into the game to spice them up. Without further ado, here's the preview of everything we're working for 0.8.0 with tl;dr at the bottom
New Armor Set
0.8.0 will come with a new armor set, which means there are three variants making a complete set. How will it look? We're not revealing them or giving any information about it yet. Some might have already guessed the theme of it in our discord, but don't be sure as things can always change.
Missions
We will be starting Chapter 3 of M.A.S.S. Builder's stories in the coming update. With no updates at all the 0.7.0 in new missions, we think it's a good time to do so before we have another big update in 0.9.0 that might prevent us from continuing the storyline. In 0.8.0, we'll have
- A new challenge as well as a new tileset
- New Story missions
- Maybe a hunting grounds as well
We're also reworking NPC M.A.S.S. units with the help of accessories system as they will show up in a good part of the upcoming story missions. Here's a preview of their new appearances.
Quarks
With new missions, we're also adding in new Quarks to the fray. As we've mentioned in earlier patches, we're moving to create more Quarks with more interesting mechanics and designs and these ones coming in 0.8.0 will reflect that design choice more.
Bullet Launchers
While we mentioned in our Roadmap before that we'll be working on Energy Launchers rework here, we'd like to also add some new bullet launchers:
- SALVO
- CLUSTER
to accompany them. And with accessories system framework, we'll also be adding something to the bullet launchers' customization options. We'll also be working towards improving bullet launchers visual effects. The goal is to provide more visual clarity (and more smokes). Here's some preview of the upcoming changes.
Energy Launchers
Now, the big rework coming in 0.8.0, energy launchers. Energy Launchers have always been something looked over and they feel like they add very little to the experience. It's only just there without players knowing about them much, and their toggle usage has not deliver a noticeable increase in combat prowess. It's like they're just a supporting tool that does almost nothing with no visuals to show thus making them a negligible existence. We'd like to change that.
In 0.8.0, we'll be changing the current "SNIPE" type of energy launchers into something we call "ECHO" and introduce three new types:
- BEAM
- SLASH
- PHOTON
to match their numbers with Bullet Launchers. Our goal is to make these new types of Energy Launchers distinct and they must make an impact to every playstyle. It must feel extremely pleasing to use and see with visuals that awe players as much as explosions from Bullet Launchers. Before, it was a turn on and leave to its own device and we'll work to change that into something actively used in situations favorable for them. They'll still be drones flying alongside you though, since changing that means a total scrap and rework and it'll effect too much of everything. Also, players who liked the old "SNIPE" type fret not, we're sure to incorporate some elements of it into "ECHO."
For their in-depth functions, we think it's easier to show than tell, so we'd like to ask you to stay tuned until we're ready to release their visuals and effects. Hopefully that will be soon enough!
Combat Improvements
Now this is another "lots of work to do" that was not mentioned in our roadmap. M.A.S.S. Builder combat has desired a lot of improvements for a while now. Ranged players would infinitely kite back and be safe against enemies. Melee will always have that high-risk yet low-reward feeling attached to it. Even when we buffed their damage or defenses, it's still not up to par with how inconsistent in pumping out damage numbers they can be. Payers would suffer not being able to retaliate with how enemies hitting them for 1/3 of their shields even with tankiness specced into their builds.
With those factors blaring and a lot of suggestions circling in our feedback hub, we'd like to bring in more mechanics and changes to the game. The goals of these improvements are
- Make close combat playstyle up to par with what ranged playstyles can provide.
- Make combo attacks, including extended and heavy be more valuable to use through game rhythm refinement (tuning everything).
- Fulfill more niches and do a sweeping balance changes to either numbers or functionalities for uninteresting and underused ones.
- Make armor a more valuable status (do you know that armor helps reduce incoming damage by a flat amount as well?)
- Make boss fights become more than "anyways I started shooting" meme as of the current gameplay.
- Also make boss fights feel less frustrating (boss shields regenerating anyone?)
With those goals in mind, do not worry about us nerfing your favorite shooters, our game design philosophy will always be "if everything's OP then nothing's OP." And since these are something of a design choice, we are able to provide details on some of the mechanics at this point in time for you all.
First, we'll be introducing a new mechanic on enemies that will allow you to combo them further rather than applying a hit-and-run tactic. This mechanic will allow players to chain combo, if they preferred and are skillful enough, from start to finish without ever getting retaliated from the enemy they're facing. We've been presented a choice of whether a rhythmic attack and dodge playstyle or full on brawl playstyle would fit better with the game and looking at how fast pace it is, the latter was the choice we selected. This does not mean a rhythmic or dodge/block counter playstyle is gone, those are still able to be played with some nodes wink Saintess Bulwark wink but our design focus for "no node" close combat will be taking and retaliating attacks wildly.
On bosses, we know there's seething hatred against some of them that just don't provide enough window to attack or bring down their shields, and to see them regenerate to full after downing them is discouraging. We'll be introducing a new mechanic that reward players that are risking their lives using close combat, as well as providing a more dynamic approach to fight against bosses for both close and ranged combat. With the new mechanic in play, we will now be able to slow down bosses so they don't hop around the fight area all the time. We'll see if it makes bosses too hard or easy to deal with, and adjust their status values accordingly so expect a difference when 0.8.0 gets released.
The last thing we'd like to mention about is M.A.S.S. enemies that are extremely different in difficulty to Quarks. We're taking a look at them and how to apply the same changes that we're making to them, and we hope to tune them down a notch so all playstyles can have fun battling against them. While we are unsure of how things will be yet, if a mechanic is set in stone, we'll be sure to discuss them with you all in the discord for sure.
tl;dr
- More updates to accessories system and more accessories
- New Armor set
- New Story, Hunting Grounds, and Challenge Missions
- New Salvo and Cluster Bullet Launchers
- Reworked ECHO and new BEAM, SLASH, and PHOTON Energy Launchers
- Underused and underpowered nodes improvement or changes
- Overall combat experience improvement for both close combat and ranged
Discord: discord.gg/quS7E46
Feedback Hub: bit.ly/3wpWofe