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

[you know what time it is]

Game's alright, feels like it's better suited for mobiles though. Not something I would spend hours on to be honest.

 

[Haba]

After watching a longer let's play I am already fed up with the game. It just doesn't have the depth to keep me entertained.

 

[ArchAngel]

After watching a longer let's play I am already fed up with the game. It just doesn't have the depth to keep me entertained.

I watched a stream on Twitch for about 20 minutes, all this is a puzzle game disguised as a very very Xcom lite or something.

 

[AdolfSatan]

For the love of God, I can't stand that Queen Elisabeth cunt from desert island. I always blow up her HQ in the last mission and pretend she died in a raging fire.

 

[Saark]

Fun game for when you have 30minutes to kill and don't really want to load up any of your big games. Usually you'll end up playing more than those 30 minutes. In that sense it's surprisingly similar to Slay the Spire, which also isn't exactly deep or difficult, but you load it up a few times a week to do another run anyway.

 

[lightbane]

Uh, I didn't expect a review from the prestigious Codex so soon, but at least it's not more "Pillars of Mothernity" shilling.

I tried a demo and liked it enough to pay. The loading screen is pretty much copy-pasted from FTL and chances are there will be a cameo somewhere. Also, there are some randomized elements indeed, each playthrough/time-reset changes the location of each isle's territories at the very least.
Too bad there's not an option to speed up animations or outright skip them yet, it would make things less repetitive. Also also, you seemingly have a chance to do 2-3 missions before you're forced to confront the boss of the island.
Oddly enough most of the monsters can't swim despite the world being covered mostly by water except a bunch of islands. I guess the alien overlord in charge didn't think this thoroughly.

 

[AdolfSatan]

You can adjust the combat (that is, the animation) speed in the options menu.

 

[Arnust]

Beat it for the fist time on three islands and on Normal. The second squad, the Rusting Hulks are crazy good if you managed to upgrade them and even getting another smoke based weapon, be it by buffing the damaging smoke passive or their attack moves (don't really bother with the pulse push). I heard there's a pilot immune to the Smoke debuff, which must be crazy good coupled with them. Love how you'll most likely need to sacrifice one or even two (maybe even all of them...?) of your pilots/mechs on the tighter fights, especially the last, to just barely get through.

chances are there will be a cameo somewhere.

Spoiler

Oddly enough most of the monsters can't swim despite the world being covered mostly by water except a bunch of islands. I guess the alien overlord in charge didn't think this thoroughly.

The Archimedes pilot says exactly why the grounded enemies die that easily to drowning but I didn't really catch on it, I'll try screencapping it if I stumble upon it again.

 

[lightbane]

You can adjust the combat (that is, the animation) speed in the options menu.

That only changes the movement, not the attacking animations. Also, I'm finding this quite hard and time-absorbing. Nevertheless, it's very fun and I just unlocked the smoke-based squad, although I'm still trying to learn how they work.

 

[Silva]

Anyone have tips for the Blietzkrieg? Opened it because sounded cool but it's hard as fuck.

 

[Arnust]

Anyone have tips for the Blietzkrieg? Opened it because sounded cool but it's hard as fuck.

Use the Hook mech's armor the most you can. To make the most out of the chain lightning you'll be using it a lot as a bridge, added to whatever Vek you can hook to add to the chain. Try spending your upgrades in your Lightning Mech, for the damage increase and the upgrade that makes buildings immune but conducting. Oh, and there's the Boulder mech which is a normal ranged attack that also can block spawns and conduct the lightning chain as well.

Also, beat it for the second time now with all four islands cleared. Hoo wee is it important to bring as much power to the final fight important.

As something interesting, I saw a passive on the store that makes Pilots survive the mech's destruction, added to a instakill AoE (maybe they even have upgrades). A Kamikaze custom squad must be fun.

 

[baud]

I failed my first try at the end boss, after completing three island,

Spoiler

but since I arrived at the second phase with only one power in my grid, it was a foregone conclusion, even if all my mechs were repaired, the one-use ability were recharged and the mech I've lost at the previous phase was respawned with its pilot.

One thing that I found fun was how, once one of your pilot is dead and his mech is piloted by an AI, this mech is can be used as a meatmetal shield for the buildings and your other mechs. Also manipulating the Vek, like pushing them into water/lava, making their shot miss or hit their friends is a big part of the fun. The system are rather simple, but there are enough choices and variety in the battles to keep things interesting, at least for one or two run.

I agree that it's a nice little game, more a succession of puzzles (which are the best moves to minimize damage and kill the Vek?) than a real strategy game.

Has anyone checked how the difficulty scaled depending on the number of island that are completed before trying the final boss?

 

[Arnust]

Has anyone checked how the difficulty scaled depending on the number of island that are completed before trying the final boss?

It mostly seems to be about the "Tier 2" bosses spawning (Goo, Robot Leader), maybe an extra spawn of two per round and more Alphas. The enemy preview you get when scrolling over an island seems to vary with each step, but I wouldn't say there are enemy types that are really harder than others, it just can be more inconvenient for your setup.

 

[baud]

Has anyone checked how the difficulty scaled depending on the number of island that are completed before trying the final boss?

It mostly seems to be about the "Tier 2" bosses spawning (Goo, Robot Leader), maybe an extra spawn of two per round and more Alphas. The enemy preview you get when scrolling over an island seems to vary with each step, but I wouldn't say there are enemy types that are really harder than others, it just can be more inconvenient for your setup.

Thank you. Since I had more problems with the alphas last time, I'll try after two islands next time I think.

 

[Arnust]

Has anyone checked how the difficulty scaled depending on the number of island that are completed before trying the final boss?

It mostly seems to be about the "Tier 2" bosses spawning (Goo, Robot Leader), maybe an extra spawn of two per round and more Alphas. The enemy preview you get when scrolling over an island seems to vary with each step, but I wouldn't say there are enemy types that are really harder than others, it just can be more inconvenient for your setup.

Thank you. Since I had more problems with the alphas last time, I'll try after two islands next time I think.

Oh, did you rather mean the resulting difficulty of the final mission? That seems to always have an Alpha (been the wasp twice, need more evidence to see if it's 100%), and other than that I couldn't tell ya. It seems to quite depend on your squad and its upgraded state, as it felt harder (I had to sacrifice pilots to beat it even) on an attempt after two islands, while the one with four felt more straightforward. The environmental effects added to the alpha and the likely waning power grid are still nothing to fuck around with, though.

 

[Silva]

Use the Hook mech's armor the most you can. To make the most out of the chain lightning you'll be using it a lot as a bridge, added to whatever Vek you can hook to add to the chain. Try spending your upgrades in your Lightning Mech, for the damage increase and the upgrade that makes buildings immune but conducting. Oh, and there's the Boulder mech which is a normal ranged attack that also can block spawns and conduct the lightning chain as well.

Thanks. Now I'm wiping the floor with kaijus. It's a pretty aggressive team when you learn to use them.

Fake edit: oh, and avoiding defense/escorting missions is also advisable with the Blitz team, as the lightning makes it a pain in the ass.

 

[Stavrophore]

The best squads are not the one that kill enemies, but the ones that CC them, move them, and block the spawn points. I like the game more than FTL -FTL was much too random, this is more like a puzzle/chess, and your cognitive abilities are much more valuable.

 

[sser]

The best squads are not the one that kill enemies, but the ones that CC them, move them, and block the spawn points. I like the game more than FTL -FTL was much too random, this is more like a puzzle/chess, and your cognitive abilities are much more valuable.

Yup. Though I found the fire guys to be extremely good at simply outright exterminating the bugs just as well as shoving them around.

I do think the conceit of CC'ing the Vek is what makes that lightning whip mech the worst -- he doesn't do enough damage to actually kill and his AOE damage can destroy allies/objectives. And he starts with no CC...

 

[Black]

Doe being bad at this game mean I'm dumb?

 

[Catacombs]

Downloaded it with the intention of playing one or two rounds before bed. Fast forward three hours later, and it's 2 a.m. Shit. It's fun.

FTL and Chess fans will enjoy this game. It remains to be seen if this game can keep itself interesting after dozens and dozens of campaigns. This also makes me want to play FTL again. It's been a minute.

 

[Arnust]

Ice team is a lot of fun but it's pretty difficult to use the Janus cannon when friendly buildings and units are everywhere. He can't even reliably break icer out of being frozen. I think Ice team is probably the one squad where you need a brute weapon replacement in the first time pod.

A great way to have avaleible the Freeze cannon every turn is to use that mech to block spawns. It'll be undamaged, shatter the ice and effectively block the spawn. A bit of a problem is that you need to get to their side of the map to do so and you could waste a turn or even two, but I assume that giving it some extra movement should fix that.

Fake edit: oh, and avoiding defense/escorting missions is also advisable with the Blitz team, as the lightning makes it a pain in the ass.

Yeah, unless you get a way to throw shield bubbles it's really bad, especially considering that most objectives have 1-3 HP haha. Especially shit like the Earth Mover or the train.

The other thing I don't really understand about Blitz team is the block 4 veks in a single turn objective. I can't say I've noticed 4 veks spawning in a turn before, how is this supposed to work?

There definitively are cases of four spawn points, I'm sure. A bit of CC and the rock should do the trick.

 

[Villagkouras]

During the last two days I started playing this and Downwell. Both are dangerously addictive games.

 

[Pequod]

Probably the most important difficulty difference.

-- num_<x> values are "out of 5 spawns"
-- weak = weak pawns (off the weak pawns list)
-- upgrades = tier 2 versions

-- upgrade_max = maximum # of upgrades on the map at once -- NOT "out of 5 spawns"



SectorSpawners = {

------------------------
-- EASY MODE SPAWNERS --
------------------------
[DIFF_EASY] = {
[1] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 0,
upgrade_max = 0,
},
[2] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 0,
upgrade_max = 0,
},
[3] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 1,
upgrade_max = 2,
},
[4] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 2,
upgrade_max = 4,
},
},

------------------------
-- NORMAL MODE SPAWNERS --
------------------------

[DIFF_NORMAL] = {
[1] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 0,
upgrade_max = 0,
},
[2] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 1,
upgrade_max = 2,
},
[3] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4, --WAS 3
num_upgrades = 2, --WAS 3
upgrade_max = 3, -- WAS 4
},
[4] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 3,
num_upgrades = 4, --WAS 5
upgrade_max = 5, -- WAS 6
},
},

------------------------
-- HARD MODE SPAWNERS --
------------------------

[DIFF_HARD] = {
[1] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 1,
upgrade_max = 1,
},
[2] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 4,
num_upgrades = 2,
upgrade_max = 3,
},
[3] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 3,
num_upgrades = 3,
upgrade_max = 5,
},
[4] = Spawner:new{
num_weak = 3,
num_upgrades = 5,
upgrade_max = 6,
},
},
}

if self.DiffMod == DIFF_MOD_EASY then
--shield some buildings

elseif self.DiffMod == DIFF_MOD_HARD then
--force a purple unit onto the board now

"The RNG is broken!"

--this is an attempt to normalize 'streaks' to make sure it's a more consistent distribution of upgraded enemies
--if non-upgraded choices are available, and you've had a streak of "num_upgrades-1" then break it up.

Final mission even gets its own final_mission.lua skript

Maps are handmade, layout-wise, with some filling in of terrain. About 50 universal layouts and all together 285 .map files.
Have not tried increasing dimensions yet.

any1 = {["version"] = 7, ["dimensions"] = Point( 8, 8 ),
["map"] = {{["loc"] = Point( 0, 0 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 1 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 2 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 3 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 4 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 5 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 6 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 0, 7 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 3, 1 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 3, 6 ), ["terrain"] = 1, ["populated"] = 1, ["health_max"] = 4, },
{["loc"] = Point( 4, 0 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 4, 1 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 4, 6 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 4, 7 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 5, 0 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 5, 1 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 5, 6 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 5, 7 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 7, 3 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
{["loc"] = Point( 7, 4 ), ["terrain"] = 3, },
},
["spawns"] = {},
["spawn_ids"] = {},
["spawn_points"] = {},
["zones"] = {["satellite"] = {Point( 2, 4 ), Point( 2, 3 ), Point( 3, 3 ), Point( 3, 4 ), Point( 4, 4 ), Point( 4, 3 ), Point( 5, 2 ), Point( 5, 3 ), Point( 5, 4 ), Point( 5, 5 ), },
},
["tags"] = {"generic", "any_sector", "satellite", },
}

 

[wyes gull]

This thing is like trying to hit every key in the piano with only one hand. Regardless, managed my first normal win after about 3 tries. Bretty damn pleased with it so far.

 

[---]

The Steel Judoka team is pretty good too.