Turn-Based Tactics Showgunners (formerly Homicidal All-Stars) - turn-based tactics in a brutal late 21st century reality show from Hard West creators

[Abu Antar]

Go play the demo, out now!

Then come back.
Whine. Cry.
I shall listen.
I shall hug you close to my heart.
Maybe even fix a thing or two.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1155330/Homicidal_AllStars/

It's shit.

I will try it tomorrow.

 

[Nortar]

Welp, ultimate bloodbath, first go, no reloads, no losses.

Spoiler

It's way too short!
It would be nice to have a glimpse at level up screen.

AI seems to be decent, as it's trying to flank you, used overwatch, and different abilities. But it's does not seem to react properly to timed grenades.
I liked the number of available tactical options from the get go, grenades, decoys, different attacks. It looks very promising.
A very nice touch to see when an enemy is out of ammo, so you can catch him with pants down.

Will buy if I can, will pirate if I can't.

 

[Grokalibre]

I've tried the demo.
The announcer is kind of annoying.
It's too short to really try the game so I'll have to pirate at release to see if it's worth a buy, which makes it a bad demo imho.

 

[normie]

was good, Tybalt is the man

 

[lukaszek]

felt like camera turning is in wrong direction. Tampering with keybindings shows that regardless of what I place in there it cant be changed
Literally unplayable.

Even worse, percentages jump at me. They dont seem random but then I didnt care to learn more about the system since hit chance was high at all times.

Main issue is enemy AI and its over reliance on overwatch. In demo fight you would die easilly if you were to be zerg rushed. Instead most of the enemy team will just spam overwatch while you are nowhere near and can just snipe from distance. Even when being in range of my guns enemy will continue to overwatch, covering area that is smaller than my reach.
Thinking about it -> in your previous titles overwatch was deadly as it was combined with fog of war. You would go around the corner and die due to shot at point blank.
Lack of fog of war goes against this whole tv show thing but it would really help with challenge...
Does AI even care about standing next to explosive barrel?

Speaking of overwatch, does it lower your accuracy? I did miss some running around enemies, which I felt would be 97% hit as it was close quarters

 

[normie]

so does Marty die or betray you?

 

[Taim]

First impressions: seems pretty fun!

Music was awesome. Aesthetic was great. Announcer turned down to Sometimes (maybe Rarely in the future) gives me the Running Man vibe without it being grating. Overall I thought the options customization was pretty well thought out.

Characters were fun to play and varied. Tybalt was awesome. Selection felt snappy and punchy - which I liked. My main gripe about Hard West was how nothing really felt like it had much weight to it - this definitely doesn't have that problem.

My main concern is the game is gonna be too easy. Hopefully you guys have thought out the difficulty levels pretty well. You clearly have looked into nuXCOM and I remember Hard (Commander?) being a good fit for me.

Anyway - I was planning on buying it before and this certainly hasn't changed my mind at all! Thanks for the demo.

 

[Trithne]

felt like camera turning is in wrong direction. Tampering with keybindings shows that regardless of what I place in there it cant be changed
Literally unplayable.

Even worse, percentages jump at me. They dont seem random but then I didnt care to learn more about the system since hit chance was high at all times.

Main issue is enemy AI and its over reliance on overwatch. In demo fight you would die easilly if you were to be zerg rushed. Instead most of the enemy team will just spam overwatch while you are nowhere near and can just snipe from distance. Even when being in range of my guns enemy will continue to overwatch, covering area that is smaller than my reach.
Thinking about it -> in your previous titles overwatch was deadly as it was combined with fog of war. You would go around the corner and die due to shot at point blank.
Lack of fog of war goes against this whole tv show thing but it would really help with challenge...
Does AI even care about standing next to explosive barrel?

Speaking of overwatch, does it lower your accuracy? I did miss some running around enemies, which I felt would be 97% hit as it was close quarters

That wasn't my experience, whenever the enemy had a chance to take a shot it absolutely did.

Also Scarlet is a machine:

 

[Irata]

Perfect World publishing? Even Gearbox would have been less offensive than the CCP.

 

[lightbane]

Gave this a quick try. Looks good, and has tons of graphical details that no-one sane will care about nor change anything for a turn-based game. Speaking of, it uses NU-Xcom's 2 points sytem, although some special skills let you use "free" actions, and you can do stuff such as moving and punching someone as part of the same action.

Hopefully it includes between missions awesome ads like the anti-theft car system from Robocop.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1155330/view/3405310163762058015

Talking about handcrafted levels
FAQ - What does handcrafted levels mean and how does it benefit you
Hey guys, Jan Rawski, lead game designer of Homicidal All-Stars here. A common question from the community has been what it actually means that the game is “handcrafted” and what’s in it for you. Well, I’ll be happy to answer!

After our past work on the original Hard West and Phantom Doctrine, we knew exactly what kind of experience we wanted to deliver in our next tactical game. Briefly put: we wanted it to be an intense and fun ride where the combat is as good as possible at all times, and where no battle is like any other. We also wanted to give the player a very strong sense of progression, with the battles gradually becoming more intricate and demanding as the player also gains more powerful characters and tools.

We are convinced that the best way to achieve that is to do literally everything by hand: the placement of every single wall, box, and enemy as well as levels designed as exciting sequences of events, rather than just battlefields in different shapes and sizes. But let me elaborate.

One general advantage of this approach is that we can deliver the maximum quality. With procedurally generated combat encounters (which we ourselves did to some degree in Phantom Doctrine), we would have limited control over what actually happens on the levels. The enemy placement, the player’s approach options and not to mention the pacing and difficulty curve - we did not want to entrust the RNG gods with such important matters! And as experienced players of the genre ourselves, we feel that, while procedural encounters can be enjoyable, the story missions are usually the highlights - so why not make an entire game this way?

By doing things by hand, we can guarantee that every one of our levels is good and unique. For instance, our many different enemies appear in just the right place at just the right time, so they can give you one of those satisfying headaches that you play turn-based games for. As a bonus, all of this also gave our talented artists the ability to make every level visually striking and memorable.

We also wanted to achieve maximum gameplay diversity. Every single level has a central idea which gives you a different kind of challenge to overcome, requires a different approach, and delivers a unique experience as a result. The ultimate embodiment of this philosophy are our different level mechanics and the involvement of the show director. Combatants get run over by trains, have explosive barrels dropped on them or doors get locked just under their noses - we’ve got it all.

Finally, with Homicidal All-Stars we wanted to deliver a story-driven experience centered on cool and memorable characters. The game is the personal journey of Scarlett and the companions that join her along the way. You can expect many twists and turns and a mad, mad world that’s a disturbing joy to discover. Again, developing the game as a tightly designed sequence of levels and events felt like the best way to deliver on this.

In all of this, you still get a lot of tactical freedom, especially as your squad grows and your characters gain a wide array of unique abilities. And the same encounters do have a tendency to develop in different ways, especially if you mix things up on your end!

We did prioritize delivering one awesome experience over replay value, but if you enjoyed your first ride, you will find reasons to do more than one playthrough. You can replay levels with a different combination of sponsorships, team members, items or weapons. For the completionists we added a lot of secrets and optional battles and objectives. And braver players can also try their hands on hard difficulty and in iron man mode.

Anyway, we really enjoy all the feedback that we’re getting and we thank you for sharing your experience with the demo. We can’t wait to let you play the full game!

Cheers!

 

[Jinn]

Imagine ever complaining about hand-crafted map design. There are so many absolute cretins out there that have and continue to do so. Disgusting.

 

[Harthwain]

Imagine ever complaining about hand-crafted map design. There are so many absolute cretins out there that have and continue to do so. Disgusting.

To be frank, it is possible to complain about hand-crafted map design if said design turns out to be shit.

 

[PanteraNera]

So after reading a bit in this thread, I gave the demo a try and quite it after the first round because it felt meh.
Than I read some more itt and actually watched the first 20 minutes of the Cohh and was like "Why didn't they did that for the demo?".
So I gave the demo another try, finished it and I had lots of fun!

I did a save-scum at one point (for science) where it said 75% to hit chance. Out of four tries he only managed to hit once.
I used overwatch 6+ (full team before new enemy spawn) times and had no hits at all.
If I hadn't watched the stream, I would have probably just uninstalled and never thought about the game again.

I didn't expected the third person real-time exploration and like it very much.
Also the management between fights seems to be interesting, but I can't say much about both as they were not covered in the demo.

I think the GUI should show/say if a skill/action uses up all reaming AP's.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

heh neat guess I have some of the rarest steam cards that exist?

 

[Modron]

heh neat guess I have some of the rarest steam cards that exist?

Only because you're playing a beta, I think of all released games maybe Heroine's Quest might be the rarest because they made them before valve decided only paid for games should have cards. So the game doesn't drop them but you can make packs with the booster creator.

 

[normie]

wtf

SHOWGUNNERS releases May 2nd!
Buckle up and hold on tight to your popcorn: SHOWGUNNERS is launching on May 2, 2023!

Formerly called “Homicidal All Stars”, our turn-based tactical love letter to the ‘90s has been given a new title deserving of its showy, gunny gameplay and its gun-forward, show-off aesthetic!

Showgunners will put you in charge of a team of contestants in this high-stakes, turn-based-tactical competition where they must survive terrifying encounters with psychopath mercenaries. Each episode of the deathly broadcast programming includes:

EXPLORATION AND PUZZLES

Each level is an obstacle course of deadly traps and lethal puzzles in real-time. Explore hidden areas, find loot, solve the puzzles, all while taking a stroll around what’s left of society as we once knew it. Gain fame by avoiding death, surviving rounds, and eliminating your enemies with gruesome panache. Your fans will love it. And sponsors too!

TURN-BASED COMBAT GALORE

We've hand-crafted 31 tactical levels, each with its own twists and interactive environments. Once you complete the main campaign, there are even more challenges to complete.
Build your party from a rowdy roster of contestants. Each character has a unique set of skills, weapons and progression options that will help you survive whatever the producer throws at you.

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS WITH TWITCH INTEGRATION

We're bringing dangerous entertainment programming with our new Twitch Mode! Your viewers can vote to change your game to help or hinder combat scenarios. What will happen next? It’s definitely not up to you to decide! Wow! Suspense!

Showgunners is releasing on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023! Join our community and stay tuned for more info before release!

 

[Cyberarmy]

Showgunners is a much more better name.

 

[normie]

nah, Homicidal All-Stars was a suitably ridiculous name for a suitably ridiculous concept
but it's missing the point - where do they get the nerve to not ask the codex first?

 

[lightbane]

Why not the third option? Homicidal All-Stars: Showgunners' Bloody Bangers Edition, or HASSBBE for short.

 

[Galdred]

Showgunners is a much more better name.

Indeed, and I was pretty confident it was the same game just with the title, so it's not too bad when it comes to name change 1.5 month before release.

 

[OSK]

Honestly, I don't hate either name.

 

[udm]

Now Kacper just needs to change the art style and the transformation will be complete.

 

[normie]

Now Kacper just needs to change the art style and the transformation will be complete.

and change it to rtwp

 

[Spectacle]

They should call the game "SHOWGUNNERS: Homicidal All-Stars". Any look at the Steam top sellers list reveals that both ALL CAPS and : in a title help sell games.