Turn-Based Tactics Into the Breach: Advanced Edition - mech tactics game from FTL devs with Chris Avellone writing

[<3sRichardSimmons]

LizardWizard Valve stated that ITB was one of the top-selling new releases of 2018. Take your own inferences from that.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

The camera was really limited, and the viewport was way too small, so I found it very hard to get a good picture of the battlefield.

Ah, yes, that could be rather irritating on the more vertical maps, like the undercity ones. Still, there were many different perspectives available, including fpp, which was pretty cool for the time.

Btw, have you tried Deathwatch 40K? It has a lot of flaws(the worst offenders are: collectible random cards that can give you better weapons, better troopers, or random crap that show how bad the UI for selling stuff is, and slow animation speed because Spees Mehreens), but the maps are realy well crafted, and it definitely had an Incubation vibe. That said, there are some game crashing bugs left on some configs, so you'd rather be sure to test it in the first 14 days if you do.

Nope, never played it. But now that you mention it, I do remember someone saying it reminded them of Incubation. Unfortunately, looks like it's unavailable in potato, guess it's one of the games for which the publisher couldn't even be bothered to set potato price.

LizardWizard Valve stated that ITB was one of the top-selling new releases of 2018. Take your own inferences from that.

As in "everything actually released in 2018" top selling? That's highly doubtful, to say the least. It manages between 200-500 concurrent players, so it's not a completely dead game, but calling it popular would be fabulously optimistic. FTL still does well over 1k after all these years.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

As in "everything actually released in 2018" top selling? That's highly doubtful, to say the least. It manages between 200-500 concurrent players, so it's not a completely dead game, but calling it popular would be fabulously optimistic. FTL still does well over 1k after all these years.

*Shrug* :https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2018_top_new/ Granted it's all relative, and being one of the top-selling games released in February could theoretically mean you only sold 10 copies, but it is worth noting that it's based on gross revenue, not copies sold, and it's price-point was 25% the launch prices of some of the other games placing for the month of February. I'm not arguing that ITB came anywhere near the success or lasting popularity of FTL, but like I said, FTL is an outlier; the kind of success that would probably let the two guys at Subset live comfortably for the next 20 years without having to work a day; a Stardew Valley level success. I just don't see any indication that ITB underperformed or was anything less than a strong market success.

 

[lightbane]

There were talks of DLCs, expansions or something for this game, but apparently it's all gone now. Shame.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

There were talks of DLCs, expansions or something for this game, but apparently it's all gone now. Shame.

Was it anything from developers or just usual wishful dreaming from public?

 

[ValeVelKal]

There were talks of DLCs, expansions or something for this game, but apparently it's all gone now. Shame.

Was it anything from developers or just usual wishful dreaming from public?

TMK wishful thinking. The dev were adamant that they actually had to cut content to arrive to the current result, and anything they removed made the game better - so they did not want to upset the delicate balancing by adding new units.

They discussed their creative process here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_I07Iq_2XM

That presentation was shared a lot between indie devs.

What's cool is that given the smallish scope of the game, they cover the history of every single feature, for instance why you can choose the campaign to be 2 islands long or 4 islands long (iirc : "they did not agree so we decided to propose both, and since we were there we decided to add 3 islands long too")

 

[index.php]

Into the Breach version 1.2
9 new languages, native Linux version, and a touch interface!

Localization:

Into the Breach is now fully localized in 9 new languages! These are:

French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, Brazilian-Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

Into the Breach has a shocking amount of text. It’s been a long process to get it all localized and adapt the interface for new languages. We’re excited to be welcoming new players from around the world to play. Big thank you to Riot Loc, Emilia, and 8-4 for their work in translating the game!

Linux Version:

There is now a fully native Linux version of Into the Breach! You may already be playing with the Proton version through Steam, but the native Linux version should now be available.

Touch Interface:

There is now a specifically designed touch interface integrated into the game. Anyone playing on PC touch-screen devices will be able to use it -- just tap the screen to swap over at any point.

Weapon Reputation Cost:

Prior to this patch, all Weapons in the Store cost 2 Reputation, with one randomly selected to be ‘on sale’ for 1 Reputation. From now on, all weapons will always cost 1 Reputation. We wanted to encourage more risk-free experimentation of weapons during a run, and felt this opened up that opportunity to players.

Engine Update:

This part of the update will hopefully be invisible. The tech that Into the Breach was built on was ancient, and in order to help guarantee support far into the future we spent some time modernizing the backend engine.

Mod Compatibility:

This update might break some mod functionality in the immediate future. But we've been in contact with some members from the modding community to help smooth the way for a quick fix to any potential problems. There will need to be an update to the Mod Manager in order to re-load any mods, which will hopefully be available soon.

Thank you to everyone who played and continues to play Into the Breach!

 

[DavidBVal]

I played this thing past month. It was fun, charming even, but it all ended too quickly to have a lasting impression on me. Probably I am too used to RPGs.

 

[pakoito]

Nah it was the same for everyone. The game lacks substance and the puzzles run dry quickly.

It was said somewhere that they had to scrape and redo the game several times, 'til the point where they had to release something that distilled the best parts.

Sad they didn't follow up with more content over the years.

 

[baud]

Nah it was the same for everyone. The game lacks substance and the puzzles run dry quickly.

It was said somewhere that they had to scrape and redo the game several times, 'til the point where they had to release something that distilled the best parts.

Sad they didn't follow up with more content over the years.

Yeah, shame they didn't update with more mechs, island and enemies, though a few mods were released. It seems like that studio was lightning in a bottle

 

[DavidBVal]

Well, the game is very arcade-like, not just aesthetically but also in terms of flow, difficulty, length and timing. It really feels as if I had paid a quarter to play. I guess it's part of the charm.

 

[Lagi]

this game is awesome!
its short, there is no filler elements, but each mech squad create a different gameplay.
Graphic / UI its super clear and readable

I hate puzzle games - adventure ones (use everything on everything because there is lack of any logic), chess, sokoban - but i love here using environment and pushing Vek, to gain edge over lack of killing power. Its so refreshing.

I hate you all, because after reading your groans I thought it was an underdeveloped title, its not! its perfectly design game in every aspect (There is even waterfall from water cubic, when abut tile disappear), that dont waste my time, pretending to not be a mass murderer and looter simulator.

its been years since the last time i play game till 3am (and it was FTL).

Spoiler

... ok there could be more islands, enemies, maps, missions ... DLC pls

 

[Hellraiser]

To me it is quite obvious they will not make a DLC. if they did plan one, they would have at least revealed one already. They are probably working on another game.

 

[Latelistener]

Spoiler

Enjoying it so far. I have no idea how long it'll last, but it feels thought out and well designed.

The fact that they cut out 70% of the game they were planning may be a blessing in disguise.

The last time I played something like that was probably UFO Defense. By something like that I mean "no unnecessary bullshit mechanics, just straight to the point".

I had complicated relationship with FTL, mostly duo to its randomness which I did not enjoy.

I also have some concerns regarding the additional Vek spawns on maps. I think they're random, but the fairness of this random I can't measure at this point yet.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

18 hours in and counting. It's a fun little game and additional mechs allow coming up with crazy squads that are impractical on paper but somehow manage to survive.

It's fun in short bursts and feels like it's designed this way, which is refreshing.

 

[Nutria]

The fact that they cut out 70% of the game they were planning may be a blessing in disguise.

This is its greatest strength. It's very lean. Every move you make in the game matters a lot. There aren't any game systems that are irrelevant. They went through a hell of a lot of testing and cut out everything that turned out not to be an interesting choice.

I also had a big problem with FTL in that it seemed way too random, where I usually lost and every time I could blame it on bad luck. Into The Breach is much more consistent in rewarding you when you do something smart and punishing you when you do something stupid.

 

[Maxie]

ITB gains a lot from the fact that every map is handmade and the only randomized elements are the sequence of maps and the upgrade shop
Half tacticool game with you getting to know and utilize your squads, half chess with you trying to figure out the optimal moves several turns ahead
P. conservative presentation makes it relaxing to look at and listen to as well
2/10 great game

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

What have these guys been up to recently, anyway? FTL is an all-time-great and ITB is pretty good, I‘m curious if they‘re able to deliver more games on that level.

 

[Lagi]

What have these guys been up to recently, anyway? FTL is an all-time-great and ITB is pretty good, I‘m curious if they‘re able to deliver more games on that level.

some medievalish theme this time?

 

[Maxie]

they're a two man studio and last year they ported ITB for nintendo switch

 

[Nutria]

They spent years polishing Into the Breach instead of trying to hype it so I think it'll be a while before they say what their next project is.

 

[StormbringerEarl]

Oh will we ever, will we ever hear from these talented devs again? An advanced edition?

They spent years polishing Into the Breach instead of trying to hype it so I think it'll be a while before they say what their next project is.

I'm guessing within the next 2-3 years is when they'll peek out of their rock and grace us with another game, or at least the info on it.

 

[Infinitron]

Hey hey:



https://subsetgames.com/itb_ae.html

We are excited to announce the free Advanced Edition update for Into the Breach, coming out on July 19th! Nearly every aspect of the game will be expanded with new content.

New Mechs and Weapons: Five new mech squads and nearly forty new weapons.

New Challenges: More enemies, more bosses, and more mission objectives that add additional challenge and variety to any run.

New Pilot Abilities: The expanded roster includes four new pilots and triple the amount of skills any pilot can earn through promotions.

We’ll be elaborating on all of this new content over the coming weeks before launch and can’t wait for everyone to check it out.

Alongside the Advanced Edition, we will also be bringing Into the Breach to Android and iOS devices! We have partnered with Netflix for this mobile version, so it will be free to play on both phone and tablet devices for everyone with a Netflix subscription.
The mobile version is unaltered in its content, containing the same game found on other platforms (including the Advanced Edition content). The touch interface was revisited and redesigned to ensure an excellent experience on smaller touch devices like phones.



Into the Breach will be getting a physical Switch version coming out in October 2022. Pre-orders and more information can be found on Fangamer here: fanga.me/r/into-the-breach-physical
Into the Breach will be adding support for 7 more languages, bringing us up to 17 languages supported! The new languages are Arabic, Thai, Swedish, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, and Spanish (Latin American).

 

[Cross]

Pretty cool surprise considering how long ago it came out, but unfortunately it sounds like they didn't do anything to improve the main weakness of the game, which is the barebones progression system/strategy layer in between battles.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I liked ITB so much that I 100%ed it, but it doesn't really have enough tactical depth to sustain it once you've run out of new content so this is welcome news.