Sounds good. I actually don't remember which one is special mission 7 ... I'll have to look into it. You will find the game's mechanics evolve quite a bit from early game, mid game to late game. I was going with a difficulty curve that should force you to adapt your strategy and team composition a few times. Not saying you wont' find some tactic that I hadn't considered to break it all, but that's the intention at least. I didn't think there was a fail chance for reprogram AI. I just checked and you're right, it was set to 25% for some reason. That wasn't intended. I just fixed it so it should work all the time going forward. Yeah, that's kind of my way of rewarding people that think outside the box. Cool .. I haven't tried it much to be honest. My favourite buff is probably the high impact rounds that the Nova Marine uses. Simple and brutal. Have you tried any of the shield deployment abilities yet or the commander's supply drop ability?
Did you find the item or was that in the shop? I tried to modify the shop code to remove trash items. If you found the item, then well that's bad luck. The algorithm for random loot after a win curves steadily upwards so you'll get better stuff as you progress through the campaign. Still that's a pretty awful item but I suppose possible with the way the random item works in the early levels. It works both ways though as sometimes you find pretty great items in the early game. That's part of the fun for me ... I know you like things to be ultra-balanced in this respect, but I prefer a bit of randomness as I find it more interesting. As you move past the first 5 or so levels though, I don't think it's possible to get an item that bad since the randomness bell curve shifts upwards.
Yeah, probably ... will have to think how that would work. So if you have no existing item equipped, the new item should always improve your stats so it would always be green. It would only be red if you had an item equipped that was better than the one you clicked for that particular stat? I'll take a look at how code works because I don't recall if I track all bonuses to a stat-line as a separate value. If I do, then it's easy to compare and make a net gain green and net loss red, but if I don't it would be tricky. I'll put that on my list of things to look into.
Thanks! Yeah, I'm more of a dark medieval fantasy guy myself as well. I find the setting slightly more engrossing than sci-fi, though I enjoy both a lot. I'm working on the next Demon's Rise game, though I plan to change the name as I'm not a huge fan of the name for the series. I'm also adopting the core rules from this game so it will also be action point based but am exploring new rule mechanics that suit hand-to-hand combat such as fatigue and formation bonuses, etc.
Got it as loot from a mission. Currently it's about 50/40/10 split between vendor trash, moderately expensive and useful items, and the occasional expensive high-end gear. Actually I don't care too much about game balance in single-player games And randomness is fine too to a certain degree. That one item just stood out so much because it looks that's as low as the price can get. I'd suggest to remove anything below, say, 1000 Gold resale value from the loot tables. But if that doesn't work out, no biggie in the long run.
The Ravager is level 13, I think? He's an interesting character because he has a tonne of health but is slow. However, he can do a lot of damage in melee if he ever gets there. Did he ever use this bio lightning ability? It's a very powerful lightning strike that can one-shot kill a lot of mid-level characters. Yes, the first 4 special missions being unlocked is intended. They are pretty easy so I wanted players to be able to use them to level up early on if they found the game hard. For the campaign, a mission that is unlocked has been beaten ... except the latest one, obviously. For the special missions, I agree that having an indicator to show which ones have been completed is a good idea. I'll add that. Will probably be a medal icon or something on the corner of the button.
I know a lot of people would prefer teams of 4 for simplicity but the problem is that in later missions, the maps get quite large. Therefore, you generally would need to split up into two groups of 3 to cover various angles. You want to move with one group and flank with another ... as someone mentioned. Having only 4 would make that very difficult. Regarding accidental movements, that's something I'm working on. I've tried a few options already that haven't been ideal but still plugging away at it.
That's odd. I'll be honest, I haven't tested it aggressively on 2 separate devices playing at the same time. That wasn't really my intention. I don't recall when the synch is done but it's not every time something happens because that would slow the game down a lot. I think it's at the end of a level or something but I could be wrong. I'll do some testing on two simultaneous devices and see if I can improve it.
Bringing up the mission objectives during play? That makes sense. Should be possible but not super easy with the existing code. Would also have to think where to put that in the UI. I'll put it on the list of things to look into.
Yes, this is the intended idea. You'll find this approach becomes critical as you play larger maps. The corridors are a little tight and with the danger of grenades and the suppression rules, it doesn't make sense to have all 6 guys tightly bunched together. You need to divide into sub-teams to try and flank, gain possession of cover, grab collectables, reprogram strategic resources like turrets / robots, etc.
Okay, I think I replied to questions / feedback. Will be submitting a minor patch today that does the following: - Reduces crashes on 1GB ram devices by forcing off all special graphics options (expect special effects). - Adds option to hide the on-screen camera controls. - Increase size of Next Unit button in main HUD. - Decreases cost of items by about 40%. - Removes fail chance for reprogram AI ability. - Fixes some navigation bugs that happen on rare occasion. After that, I'll be working on a bigger patch where I hope to make some UI refinements and such and apply some of the other suggested tweaks that are feasible.
Nova Marine, check. I always boost her with the High-impact Rounds and Boost Shields, then have her wade in and shoot stuff up Shield Deployment: Not yet. I need to check, but don't think I brought a soldier who can do that. Commander's supply drop ability: Tried it once or twice when she had some AP left. Doesn't do much for my playstyle (yet), as I burn most of my two Commanders' AP to fuel someone else every turn. In some missions, they don't even move out of their starting spot. Oh, and ... Captain Obvious to the rescue I just figured out I can still tap on an insufficient-AP skill and see how much it costs... Excellent news about the first upcoming update. Thanks a lot again for being so communicative and putting so much effort into your games, I really appreciate that a lot. I actually didn't think about showing them during a mission, but that would be an added bonus. What I meant was the mission selection itself, sorry if I wasn't clear about that. Don't think I'll have time today, but if I get around to it, I'll do a mockup so it's easier to see.
Is that a question or a statement? It's similar but there are some significant differences in gameplay mechanics like the use of action points for movement and attacks, suppression rules, new morale rules, and differences in the impact of cover, etc.
Who gets to do the hacking? Early game soldier comparison Ok, so I'm not too happy with the low damage my Infiltrator does, compared to my heavy-hitters Mr.Missile and Ms.Nova. But she has the "Reprogram AI" skill, which you can use to great benefit in some missions, so I'm a bit reluctant to phase her out for another pure damage-dealer. So, we have 2 other units who can do the AI trick, let's see how they compare. "Useful skills" here means those skills that come before Reprogram AI in the list. Cyborg: 45 AP, Dam 14-20, Attack Skill 90, Ranged Crit 15, Attack Range 7. Useful skills: Teleport, Cybernetic Reflexes (buff), Lasersight(great buff), Self-Repair (stuns it). Spiderbot: 50 AP, Dam 16-24, A.S. 100, R.Crit 15, Range 8 . Useful skills: Teleport, Smokebomb(buff), Lasersight(great buff), Suppressive Fire. Infiltrator: 45AP, Dam 14-21, A.S. 125, R.Crit 20, Range 9. Useful skills: None, really. Reprogram AI costs 60, so none of the three can use it right out the gate. They all 3 are pretty even, just with different strengths and weaknesses stat- & skill-wise: E.g. Infiltrator has the highest Attack Skill, Crit and Range (and Morale, for the record). But in terms of useful skills, she got the short end of the stick. If you want a unit with Reprogram AI right from the start, I'd go with the Cyborg: he has the strongest self-buff skills, making him hit better and harder. However, early on damage output is the most valuable "skill", and all 3 aren't that great right away. Note that this changes with the high-end skills; especially the Infiltrator's - like Overcharge Beam and Mark Targets - look highly useful. But you need to get there first. I'd use another heavy-hitter according to personal tastes instead, and only swap in one of the AI Reprogrammers when you need them.
Attack range is a really important skill though because it allows you to shoot someone outside of their attack range and thus not receive a counter attack. I wouldn't underestimate that value. She's also got the overcharged beam ability that does a lot of damage at the expense of preventing her from shooting next turn. This is a picture of that ability, by the way. One of the best looking effects in the game. iPad 2 by Rajpreet Dhillon, on Flickr
Oh yes, I've seen that shot used by that huge Turret in one or two missions, looks fantastic! Re Overcharge Beam, copying my earlier comment cause I'm lazy However, early on damage output is the most valuable "skill", and all 3 aren't that great right away. Note that this changes with the high-end skills; especially the Infiltrator's - like Overcharge Beam and Mark Targets - look highly useful. But you need to get there first.
Sorry, I didn't see that part of your post. You do need some high damage output later in the game. I think there's a vortex missile ability for the Vanguard that does heavy damage so you may be covered already.
No worries, I'm churning out stuff by the dozen right now, and the thread is moving really fast too. Very easy to miss something. I'll worry about hitting even harder when I get there. Just had my Nova do 115 damage, and she's only level 3 with crappy equipment
