Current Features
- Turn-Based Tactical Action
- Open-world campaign
- RPG-style character progression
- Weapon and Equipment Research and Customization
- Multiple Endings
- Squad Chemistry
- Soldier Stress
- Soldier Conversations
Challenging Enemy AI
- Uses Cover
- Flanks
- Runs Away
- AI Battlefield Commander considers the whole battle when reacting to your actions
Planned Features
- MacOS/Linux support
- Multiple Controllable Races
- Varied Cast of Opponents
- Multiple Unique Factions
- Gene Modifications
- Moral and Ethical Impact to Decisions
Planned Overview
Open-World Campaign (Partially Implemented)
The campaign for ColonyShip-4: Survivors will be an open-world, grand strategy style campaign. After the initial opening, you'll be free to move your squads around the world to explore, with the only limit being the resistance they encounter as they as they move about. While you're exploring, your foes will be attempting to control various strategic locations in an attempt to choke off your supplies and movement. Picking the right place to make a stand will make all the difference. Intertwined with the sandbox-style campaign will be the quests and missions that make up the story side of the game, where you'll learn more about the crew of CS-4, the origins of the planet they've crashed on, and the dark secrets the planet holds.
Varied Cast of Characters (Partially Implemented)
The majority of the characters you'll control during gameplay will come from crewmembers of the crashed ColonyShip-4. They'll have individual character traits that will affect their gameplay, and they will have skills that you can upgrade as they gain experience. As well as the many humans from your crew, there will be opportunities to recruit non-humans from the populace of the planet. Complimenting the professional soldiers, scientists, and technicians of CS-4, characters recruited from among the ranks of the population will come from many different walks of life, with odd-ball criminals, freedom-fighters, mad scientists, gamblers, and many others potentially available to join you. Their character traits will also be more varied than those of the regular crew. Each race, while sharing many skills with all others, will have a unique set of base racial skills. Telepathy, super strength, enhanced durability, increased speed, heightened eyesight, genetic camouflage, regenerative healing, organic webbing, and mental projection are just a few of the different racial skills I'd like to see in the game.
Genetic Modifications (Planned for a future version)
In addition to the skills that each character will be able to develop, you will be able to research genetic modifications to enhance your followers. Eventually, your human crew could have access to the powers of all the other races.
Weapons and Equipment (Partially Implemented)
Weapons and equipment will have varied, impact-full effects on how you play the game. In addition to traditional point, shoot, and kill weapons, you'll be confronted by weapons meant to confine, confuse, transport, or even turn your soldiers against you. The weapons you do have will also be able to be developed, with the ability to increase damage, accuracy, magazine capacity, decrease use cost, and even add explosive effects. Many improvements in one area will come with drawbacks in others, like a decrease in bullets per magazine when you improve your ammo from small rounds to large rounds; a careful balance will have to be maintained. Equipment includes armour, grenades, flashbangs, medkits, repair kits, scopes, weapon stocks, explosives, and more. The armour you wear won't just determine the number of hitpoints you have. Each set of armour has a main and secondary armour rating, with more advanced sets of armour more likely to be impacted on the stronger main armour rating. In addition, each set of armour has 6 upgrade categories, allowing you to customize its main and secondary armour strength, electronics suite, armour specialty, utility apparatus, and power supply.
Moral and Ethical Dilemmas (Planned for a future version)
You and your crew will be cut-off from earth and any leadership it could provide. Therefore, it will be up to you to determine the moral limits of your mission. Should you ensure the survival of your crew on this planet at any cost? Should you work to help the already established planet-dwellers to make a new multi-racial society? Maybe something in between? You will decide as you face continuous moral dilemmas during your leadership. Your crew's character traits will determine how they feel about the moral direction you take this mission in. Too soft and the hard-liners may mutiny. Too harsh, and you may have defections from among your more kind-hearted crewmembers.
Multiple Factions (Partially Implemented)
The planet will feature multiple, distinct factions that are vying for control of the planet. You will need to interact with these factions to gain alliances, supplies, materials, and access to recruit non-crew characters. Some factions will be easier to work with than others, and, of course, your crew will react to who you decide to form alliances with and who you go into conflict with.
Replayability (Partially Implemented)
Many elements in the game, including campaign map creation and tactical map creation, will be procedurally based, helping to foster a different experience with each playthrough. The characters you run into, and quests you receive will also vary, so that no two playthroughs will be the same.