Turn-Based Tactics Mars Tactics - Fight for Martian freedom or suppress terrorists who hamper future of Mankind

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

From discord:

Hey guys here's a first look at Events. They are semi-random but connect in dynamic ways to form stories. Let me explain:

Every Event has a bunch of trigger percentages -- if worker dissent has risen above a threshold, if you hold any POWs, if any unit has a certain Trait, if you have constructed a certain building, etc. And many events also check the outcome of *prior* Events. So your choices stack up over time and hopefully create stories in organic ways.

In this screenshot you basically have 3 options: prioritize the workers, the war effort, or the research. And your decision will affect the chance of seeing other future Events. For example, if you prioritize research here, there's a greater chance you'll trigger another hacking-related Event down the line. But it's not a guarantee like in an RPG. It's just a higher chance for a trigger. So the system only makes loose connections.

Overall, my goal is to have many Events because they are quite common so I want good variety. Events are the main manifestation of worker support or dissent. So if you are keeping your people happy, you are more likely to get a positive event. If you are pissing them off, they might hit you with a strike or worse.

 

[motherfucker]

They should drop the EA already

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

From discord:

Hello, here's a new look at the outpost-management screen. I admit it's less clean and pretty than what I shared in January, but closer functionally and thematically to what I'm going for.

Firstly, I've scrapped the idea of Projects within Buildings. Now it's simpler: each Building does just one thing. You assign it inputs and receive an output. And one Building's output can become another's input, allowing you to create production chains. Hopefully it's intuitive? In this screenshot you can see an Ice Mine takes Workers and outputs Ice. And next door, a Farm takes Ice + Workers and outputs Goodwill. (Goodwill is Labor's default social currency).

But probably the biggest design evolution is how central Workers have become. After all, Mars Tactics is about labor issues. I want Workers to feel like the lifeblood of your economy. I want them to be soul of the game!

As mentioned above, Workers are a necessary input for almost all Buildings. Growing and maintaining your workforce is a constant challenge for both factions. As Labor, you mostly get Workers through defections. In the early campaign, you're constantly sniffing out messages from those who want to escape the company -- picking up radio distress signals, hacking company servers to establish contact, even gleaning tips from POW interrogations, etc. Once you gather enough intel, you can go on combat missions to rescue the Workers. (Just don't kill them in the process!) As the campaign goes on, you'll also unlock other methods like recruiting them directly from Earth.

As Capital, you start with the ability to recruit Workers from Earth. Sometimes you'll also get rescue Events, as not all Workers support those crazy union terrorists.

But that's hardly it. Managing labor is not so simple. Workers have demands -- wages, housing, access to wifi, etc. If their demands are not met, their Motivation will drop. If it gets bad enough, they will try to defect or worse. Well, this post is already too long, so I'll explain those mechanics next in another one the coming days.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1727760/view/4160841636430122464

Quick Dev Update
Hey everyone, it's been over half a year since the Next Fest demo so I wanted to give you a quick update on what I've been working on.

First, I'm happy to say the game is now in alpha. This means I'm done designing new mechanics and am focusing more on improving everything + adding content. It also means I can post more things here on Steam. If you remember, I began dev logs 2 years ago but it was so early in development that what I wrote about quickly went out of date. However, now I'm ready to share more so expect a new dev log in June.

So what have I been working on during winter and spring? The strategy layer has been 90% of the focus. It took much longer than expected because it's super important. Feedback on the tactical layer has been fantastic, but that means nothing without a good strategy layer. That's why I took extra time to working out the mechanics -- economy, logistics, labor policies, procedural events, squad management -- until they felt right. I'll start sharing more details soon but be sure to watch the PC Gaming Show on June 9th for a preview.

Meanwhile, here are some other dev highlights from the last few months.

• Melee weapons and kicking
• Morale and surrender mechanics (for both player and AI)
• Robots and drones
• Artillery/mortar mechanics (still not sure if we need both tbh)
• New weapons -- mining drill, shock baton, shotgun, sniper, grenade launcher, RPG
• Improving AI, esp teamwork logic when attacking/defending specific objectives
• Redesigning UX (building on the painful but important lessons from Next Fest)

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for supporting the game and being patient as I take my time cooking things up. Hope you will tune in on June 9th!

-Yuji

(PS: These post do not appear on the store page unfortunately, but you can click Follow here and they will appear in your Steam News section. Or you can follow me on Discord, Twitter or Reddit where I always post a link to these. Lastly, you can subscribe to the newsletter if you want an email alert when I make a post.)

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[VonMiskov]

I wonder how it'll turn out - the demo was pretty hard and it feels like you should have a lot spare fodder for the war machine.

 

[Hoodoo]

This looks really good actually

 

[Alienman]

I wonder how it'll turn out - the demo was pretty hard and it feels like you should have a lot spare fodder for the war machine.

The casualty rate is way higher than even X-com Terror from the Deep.

 

[Israfael]

Didn't know about this before yesterday's PowerCringe show, hopefully it won't be subverted by nu-xcom infected CMs like Phoenix Point was

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1727760/view/4163094703545478710?l=english

Dev Log #04: Grenades
Hi everyone, today's dev log is about grenades, which work quite differently in this game compared to others in the genre. Let's dive in so you're not surprised the first time you play.

In many turn-based tactics games, grenades are a tool against randomness. If you miss your shot, the trusty grenade can save you. But in Mars Tactics, grenades require more effort to use. In return, they provide you with more tactical options.

At the core of the design is a mechanic that makes units automatically scramble away when a grenade is thrown at them.

Targets run from a grenade.

But dodging an explosion is not a free move. It costs an action point. So one way to counter is to suppress your targets first, which reduces their AP.

Targets are suppressed first, then eliminated by a grenade.

Chucking a grenade can also force targets out of cover and into potential firing lanes.

Units take into account where a grenade is thrown
from.
This gives you some control over where they will run away
to.

Keep in mind this mechanic applies equally to AI and player units. If a grenade is thrown at your units, they too will run away
automatically
. I understand you might be concerned because this takes control away from you. But I've spent a lot of time making sure units run away intelligently, taking into account the terrain layout, where a grenade is thrown from, where it lands and the position of enemies. And after a lot playtesting since last year, I think it’s working very well.

Plus, you’ll have other tools to defend against grenades, including special equipment and unit Traits. Here's an example of a soldier with a Trait that throws grenades back if the unit has enough AP.

Soldier with a special Trait throws a grenade back.

Lastly, I just want to remind you that despite your best efforts, your units will die. And that's expected. By design, death is a big part of this game. I want Mars to feel like a meat grinder, not a battle of superheroes. To that end, I'm balancing the game so that the loss of a single soldier will not derail your campaign.

Well, that’s it for this dev log. Look forward to your thoughts in the comments. There's actually a lot more to talk about grenades (different types, physics, throwing accuracy, etc), so I will probably write a part 2 later.

If you don't want to miss future dev logs (they do not appear on the store page), be sure to Follow (and Wishlist!) the game here and these dev logs will appear in your Steam News section. Or you can follow me on Discord, Twitter or Reddit where I always post a link to these. Lastly, you can subscribe to the newsletter if you want an email alert when I make a post.

-Yuji

PS: A very special thanks to DCello for sharing the idea for this mechanic.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]