itch.io

Thanks for playing the update and all the feedback!

the 120mm explodes on random obstacles frequently, meaning I will be aiming at a unit and the shell explodes on some random car between is.

I've since changed the smoothbore cannon quite a bit, in the next build it'll have actual building penetration, and it goes through all cars without stopping on top of being able to 1-shot tanks.

I know the LOSAT carriers are pretty tough right now. I considered giving them limited ammunition so they actually run out after maybe eight to twelve shots. I suppose if I had selectable difficulty I could decrease their firing rate on the lower settings. I'll see about maybe adding an extra lock-on warning too.

If this was a 20€ game and had like 20 missions I would buy it instantly already. With a finished intel ledger and maybe an artbook pdf I might even spend 40 on a deluxe edition. Straight up would print the intel ledger and keep it as a little folder, the black and white look is super clean.

Thanks for the kind words! There's still a ton of artwork to do, and I intend to have full-color pieces eventually instead of just the black and white ones. An artbook would be very fun, but the illustrations have to be kind of small in order to fit in the 960x540 size of the game. Still, I might make a digital artbook with some of the concept art in it someday. We'll see what happens.

Finally I have some suggestions for weapons: High penetration and velocity 40mm autocannon, fire rate maybe 120-240RPM. Self-targeting 20mm autocannon turret as a secondary or in the GL slot (for all our single missed Grub killing needs). VLS top-attack missiles that go up and fly over cover.

I'll keep all of these in mind. Top-attack missile salvos are being experimented with currently, and I do want to have automated turrets as well, that's a must for grub missions.

Thanks again! I'm working on putting together the next progress report and will have some new things to show off soon.

I had it on a quarter charge minimum, but I might have had it less and too little to shoot.

Possibly. If you don't hold the charge long enough, it'll just spit out a cartridge on the ground. I'll look into it further though.

Thanks for playing!

I feel that the missiles should get a buff like being able to kill helicopters in one or two shots

I agree.

more health,

There will be HP upgrades in the future.

there is a bug where the railgun will not shoot even though it took ammo.

I'm unaware of what causes this glitch, can you please tell me a bit more about how it happens?

 Good game however and I wish you luck in making it, I will be coming back to this game.

Thanks again!

Fun idea, maybe there'd be some kind of grenade that takes control of enemies and pits them against each other. Killing enemies for more health is planned, it might be a type of armor kit.

Hello. You can contact me on Twitter, @sysmainframe

Thank you for playing again!

I'm more of D to C player but it still engages me to try out all the levels and try out new strategies. That is so much fun with how many routes to success you can choose! It's like in the old games where you really had to punch threw and weren't given a hand if you failed. Git gud in a sense. 90's aesthetics on point even in that department.

I'm really happy to hear that, I was hoping people would experiment with different routes and do things in their own way; I hope to expand on that even more, sort of like a top-down immersive sim.

Will you have friendly AI working with the MC in the future. Will there be heartbreak?

Definitely. There will be some missions where you have support units fighting alongside you. As for heartbreak... we'll see.

Will you have soldiers/people in the game? Maybe even a evacuation mission where you have to save/kill as many as possible. Maybe even go the bad/good route kinda stuff.

Evacuation mission definitely, but visible soldiers are pretty hard to do at this scale since they're basically 2-3 pixels on screen. I might still give it a shot, but I don't think they'll be roaming around levels normally since they're just too small to be readable without some special context. I might have multiple endings too, I'm not sure yet.

So many ideas for your platform. Impressed either way.

Thank you! I appreciate hearing them.

I don't think it will really work for the gameplay loop and weapon system in the game, but I could definitely see an enemy or two with that 86 esque railgun configuration. We'll see what happens.

Your game holds a really special place in my heart I wish you the best of luck in coding it.

That means a lot, thank you kindly!

Hello. By mech customization, do you mean paint schemes and other parts?

R u going to add soft and hard kill protection?

This is actually what I've been working on right now, particularly hard-kill APS as an upgradeable shield. I think instead of soft-kill APS you'll be able to choose an ECM jammer in place of it that will behave a bit differently.

And can u add E.R.A.to the mech?

Eventually. It might show up as just more armor layers that unlock.

In the future, for now I'm keeping the player sprite mostly the same since I'm still tweaking details on it every once in a while.

I am looking forward to seeing your project progress :3

Thanks!

Hey, thanks!

Hey there! I do remember you.

Really appreciate the offer, if I need some additional help with the coding side I'll definitely reach out!

Sorry, I can't give any ETA at the moment. I know the updates are quite infrequent and the page is pretty quiet right now, but please rest assured the game is being worked on.

I fully agree. Looking back at the art I drew, the laser was actually supposed to be the small dome with a circle mounted on the right side of the turret, I messed up calling it "coaxial" while rushing the descriptions due to time constraints. I will be revising all of the art and writing over time, I'm not happy with it.

There's also going to be some much heavier tanks in the game later on that'll be almost twice the size, featuring both APS and laser weapons to stop the player's missiles. They probably behave sort of like a hybrid between the K41/Minotaur and the C-RAM turrets

Not yet, currently there's just the default ones you start with in the demo. I'm still not sure if I'll actually include more at this point, but I'm experimenting with them currently.

Thanks for playing it again!

- EMP grenades that stun mechanical enemies but not organic ones

This could be useful for disabling special targets like the command centers, I'll see about adding it.

- a new powerplant/engine, specializing specifically in overdrive but lacking in every other stat

Admittedly I'm currently considering removing different powerplant options since I don't think I can make each of them distinct enough, but I'll see how that effects gameplay.

- a new melee weapon that is effectively the laser, but you dash when you attack with it and has a cooldown, like a lance if you will

Something like this is planned, a "plasma lance" weapon.

- after some testing, the current melee has too little range and is hard to use effectively, so maybe make it slightly longer in range

It's supposed to be super close range for cutting down buildings and mostly acting as an emergency weapon, but upgraded versions with further range will come later.

- a funny idea, add a preset or anything along the lines of a tin can going at 300km/h because why not

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean a super fast movement option?

(edited) i used the spider bomb a few times, but for some reason it bugs out sometimes, specifically it goes away from the crosshair instead of towards

A few people reported this glitch on the seventh mission as well. Its pathfinding is super basic so you need to keep the reticule close, I do plan on fixing it.

Thanks again!

Eventually, but it's very low priority right now. A lot more needs to be added and refined before anything like that can be implemented.

Didn't quite plan for it, but I'll see what I can do.

Thank you!

Thanks for wishlisting it on Steam!

And I also wanted to ask about 4:3 and 21:9 support, not sure if you already got this but would be nice for CRT users and ultrawide monitors. Being able to enjoy the game on many displays is always a huge plus if it doesn't take very long to implement!

It's a little bit difficult to implement due to the unusual resolution and pixel art, but I do plan to have support for 4:3, even if it means having some black bars. Ultrawide would require a lot of changes to the UI and how things are being drawn I'm afraid.

It should be DirectX9, but if you can run the current version on your device with the patch in the description everything should be fine.

Thank you for playing and the kind words!

There will certainly be more weapon options, both primary and secondary as well as melee and grenade options. I'm aiming to have roughly 15-20 primary ones, but as I'd like them all to be relatively distinct I might end up reducing the number.

I'm not too sure about puzzles in missions, but I have a few ideas for ones where you'd have to use the environment to take out a boss. There will definitely be a few more missions where you have to drag a crate to an extraction point though.

Thank you!

That is planned, eventually.

I don't really understand what the problem is, but if it's related to the game's settings, you can go into the %AppData folder and delete the settings .ini file to reset it all to default.

Thanks for playing!

I think maybe the old reliable autocannon has become a victim of power creep(?) though, maybe a buff in damage is in order.

It'll probably be the starting weapon in the game so I think it's okay that it's kind of weak. Later on you'll actually be buying the weapons in your arsenal after missions, they won't all be unlocked like in the demo.

120mm cannon is also underwhelming, even the little Mantis can survive a near miss

This weapon is going to get a major buff since it's definitely the one people have the most issue with. Next update it'll have increased damage plus building penetration.

To dev/other players, what's the secret sauce for ranking A-S on mission 7? Laser/Spider/Smoke got me from D to C but I feel like I'm missing something.

Someone on YouTube uploaded this video of them S-ranking the mission using the laser and smoke grenades. They used it to tunnel through a section of the environment and make a swift escaoe, it's a bit cheap but very impressive.

Appreciate the feedback and following!

It would be perhaps interesting to tweak the strength of the towing cable in mission 7, the box has a tendency to catch on corners and it can be a bit frustrating having the cable snap constantly. I suppose it wouldn't be much of an issue if it is a gimmick confined to this mission, but I believe it should be modified slightly if this becomes a recurring mechanic.

There probably won't be too many missions like the seventh, maybe just one or two more where you're towing a crate back. They'll most likely be set in more open levels too, so the snagging will be less of an issue.

What's more, it would be nice if more of the environment was destructible through collision, or if it was destroyed quicker, mainly the smaller and mid sized trees as well as the crates stacks in mission 7

I intend to eventually have an upgrade where you can boost into buildings and destroy the larger ones. Keep in mind you can also use the slash attack to destroy buildings or the crates instead of driving through them.

Having said that, I find this game truly great, I love the addition of multiple types of environment!

Thank you! I'm working on more.

I'm still somewhat undecided on it. I could see being able to leap over buildings being fun. I'll need to do some tests to see how it changes the gameplay and if it breaks it.

Thanks for playing again! I appreciate it.

Please download the DirectX patch linked in the description above.

Sorry, currently that isn't really planned.

Hello. Thank you for playing my game and the feedback.

Sandbox Mode: Introducing a sandbox mode would allow players to experiment with various weapons and tactics in a controlled environment, fostering creativity and providing valuable insights into game mechanics.

There will be a sort of shooting range / simulation area where you can test things out in an endless mode, and I also plan on eventually having a level editor of some kind so you can make your own missions. It will be a while though.

Expanded Secondary Weapons: While the primary weapons offer diverse functionalities, an expanded selection of secondary weapons could further enrich gameplay, offering players more strategic options.

This is planned, there will be more than just four.

Difficulty Settings: Implementing adjustable difficulty levels would cater to a broader audience, accommodating both newcomers and seasoned players seeking more challenging experiences.

While this has been requested by some people, I'm not fully sure yet if I'll be including adjustable difficulty. We'll see what happens, though.

Thanks again!

Eventually, it's planned.

MPD stands for Martian Planetary Dollars, it's the unified currency on Mars like euros. It would probably be shortened to something like Mardol or Marsdollar in casual speech.

why is Val always alone on missions?

I have yet to explain the situation in game, but basically your unit is both an isolated special purpose squadron made up of only a few high power crawlers, and has been cut off from most supporting units that would typically join you in a combined operation. Later on I think you'll actually be fighting alongside friendly units and be joined by allied crawlers in combat, but for now you're just a psycho who's fighting all on your own.

10/10 great game.
looking forward to future updates!

Thank you! It's being worked on.

Thank you for playing!

Multi lock missiles really don't work for me.

Right now they're probably the weapon people dislike the most. I admit they're pretty damn useless when fighting in close corridors or around buildings since they immediately curve outward. I tend to use them in more open maps like the second or fourth mission where you can really paint a lot of targets and let them fly, but I agree they need some major adjustments. I'll see about making them only curve towards targets if they have line of sight on enemies too.

The smokescreen seemed to block the laser beam as if it was hitting an obstacle which is probably (?) A bug

Due to the way smoke screens work the clouds are technically treated like an obstacle/object that collision checks run through, so the laser ends up doing a hit scan on them. I was aware of this problem, but simply didn't have enough time to come up with a fix that didn't involve restructuring a lot of code. Will definitely be fixed in the next build.

And another minor problem I had is with the default key for grenades.Having them on x when using wasd was not very comfortable and I often just forgot about them. I found binding them to q work better for me, but that's more of my personal issue with it.

That's totally fair. Glad to see key rebinding being used now!

Thank you! The small size is mostly due to all of the audio files being compressed in .ogg format, otherwise it'd be two or three times as big.

As for the discord yeah fair, it takes a lot to manage especially on top of making a whole game, would you be opposed to someone making an unofficial/fan discord for it though? I may not be the one to make it if so but if someone sees these messages and decides to.

Honestly, I still think there's way too little content in it to warrant a Discord server. The demo can be beaten in 20 minutes, and generally anything like a story or lore just hasn't been developed enough to discuss. I don't think it's a good idea to have an unofficial one since that could open up the possibility for scams or worse if it falls into the wrong hands.

Thank you for playing and the feedback!

It seems to me that the sound of tires on the sand must be different.

That's a good point, I'd like different surfaces to have separate sound effects eventually. The audio system should be reworked later on for echoes and reverb in tunnels and underground missions.

The new enemy, the MINOTAUR, is really dangerous, and I'm also wondering where the sound comes from before his rocket is fired. It is very similar to the sound of the strela-10 air defense system firing, which I really like.

The sound is indeed from a Strela-10 AA missile system! I thought that it would make for a perfect firing cue combined with the very loud exhaust sound. I had an isolated sound of it saved for months that I was waiting to use.

It would be interesting to see how Russian technology could evolve, using the example of the K41A1 (if possible).

There will be Soviet bloc tanks and equipment to fight eventually. I have plans for an East German heavy crawler tank that would be a counter to the Minotaur, and there'd undoubtedly be some heavily evolved Soviet tanks a la Objekt 490 that you'll fight later on. I'm also considering throwing in a few Chinese designs possibly.

As for the 120mm tank cannon, it fires APFSDS, but for some reason, when it hits a tree, the projectile explodes, I think it shouldn't be like that.

A lot of people feel the same way. I will be reworking this weapon heavily and crank up the penetration.

It's also possible that this is a bug, but the railgun at level 7 breaks through everything.

It actually isn't a bug, I left it in since the railgun is supposed to be goofily powerful, haha.

By the way, it would be interesting if the enemy mechs were armed with different weapons, I don't know yet how this could be explained from the point of view of realism, but it's just written in the dossier that they can use different weapons, just like the player, it would be fun to see this in battle, or if the game ever has a choice

This is planned for later levels. The default Mantis mechs you fight for example will eventually be equipped with light anti-armor lasers and rotary cannons like the player has. For now they all just have regular weak autocannons though.

I also wonder if it is possible to win in the snake? 

Not really, it's just an extra that you try to play for as long as possible. I might add a Steam achievement if you can get to 100 though!

In general, the game is top, the setting is also very interesting, you can come up with so many things, but the key word here is (think) :D

Thank you!

I plan to eventually put up another post here showing all the progress that's been made, but for now I haven't really posted much new anywhere. Development on this project is unfortunately slow for a variety of reasons, so I apologize to people who are looking for more frequent updates. A lot of the development work also doesn't translate into things that I think are even worth sharing, so I tend to remain silent for the most part.

A few people did ask for a Discord channel before, but I really don't want spend time managing and interacting with it. Sorry.