USC: Counterforce - sequel to top-down sci-fi tactics Ultimate Space Commando

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4259923998341994955

1.0 Release Details & Word from the Team!
Timing, localization, and a word from the team – All you need to know about the 1.0 release!
Hey marines!

The full launch is fast approaching, and we know you have questions about the release in 1.0 on July 18 during TactiCon showcase (July 18-25). Here are some answers you’re seeking!

First, Aliza & Csaba have something to tell you:
As we approach the launch of USC: Counterforce, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you. Your support and enthusiasm have been instrumental in bringing our vision to life.

The past four years have been full of challenges and hard work, but we've persevered thanks to your unwavering encouragement.

To our followers, thank you for your passion. To our early access players, your feedback has been invaluable. To our publisher and colleagues, your dedication has made this game a reality. We are honored to work with such an amazing team.

We're excited to announce that the campaign feature will be ready soon. We can't wait to share it with you.

As a small developer team, we are humbled by the tremendous support we've received. We look forward to creating even better experiences for gamers worldwide. Thank you for believing in us and our game!

With sincere gratitude,

Aliza Wenders & Csaba Bak

_

Full Campaign incoming!
The 1.0 launch will bring the
full Campaign
after a few weeks in Beta. Your feedback is instrumental in improving it, and we can't wait to see you discover its content!

Read more about what you can experiment with in the Campaign mode until July 18, before we release the rest of its features and content:

USC: Counterforce EventThu, June 27, 2024
Campaign mode Beta update!
Dive into the Campaign Beta and its new and unique content now!

Release Timing
Check out the map to lock down the release time in your zone and mission sector!

Prices
The game's price will remain the same with the 1.0 launch at
19.99€, $19.99, £16.75
. However, to celebrate this huge milestone, a
-40% off discount
will be applied for 7 days!


Localization
We will have a new localization at release. The game will be available in these languages:

• English
• German
• Simplified Chinese
• Spanish
• Hungarian

Supporter Pack and Bundles

We also have a Supporter Pack that you can buy at $4.99. It includes:

• Exclusive Squad Logos
• 2 Wallpapers
• New emoji
• Exclusive Team Colors (Lime + Violet)
• The Duckodämmerung
• Ducky Grenade
• Over 20 Profile Pictures for your social networks

Do you love fighting against alien invasions? Deep tactical turn-based games? Check out our complete-the-set bundle with
Xenonauts 2
to have a
-10% discount
on the game!

If you're here, you probably are a turn-based lover, we also have a surprise for you: a complete-the-set bundle with
Shardpunk
&
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint
coming with a
-10% discount off
(because we never have enough tactical and turn-based games)!

We're so thrilled for the upcoming release. Got more questions about the game? Drop 'em in the comments or hit us up on Steam Discussions!

Stay sharp, marines, and keep your eyes peeled for the next step: release day!

The USC: Counterforce team

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

1.0 version released.

 

[Harthwain]

1.0 version released.

It is still listed as Early Access on my wishlist though?

EDIT: It is fixed now.

 

[Tyranicon]

-40% discount on your 1.0 launch is a hell of a gamble.

Wonder if it'll work out.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

I sure hope it will - this is a gud gaym.

 

[Damned Registrations]

-40% discount on your 1.0 launch is a hell of a gamble.

Wonder if it'll work out.

Got me to pick it up earlier than I would have at the very least.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Coming to GOG.
https://af.gog.com/game/usc_counterforce?source=news&as=1649904300

 

[VonMiskov]

So it gets bad reviews due to some weird weapon aiming patterns. Anyone played it?

 

[Luka-boy]

Yeah I pmayed it a few days ago until the atsrt of my current trip to Germany.

I guess they mean some weapons that instead of allowing you to aim in an arc in front of the soldier, fire only in the cardinal directions or in a star pattern.

 

[Damned Registrations]

After my years spent playing DoomRL, I can't imagine it's anything I'd bat an eye at.

 

[Infinitron]

1.0 version released.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

So it gets bad reviews due to some weird weapon aiming patterns. Anyone played it?

Pretty sure I mentioned it earlier in the thread - things didnt really change since the pre-realse version. The problem with the game is that it requires way too many clicks to do things (like pressing space to "arm" a weapon before shooting, but also basic stuff like moving stuff in inventory is weirdly complicated instead of just the usual drag and drop stuff).

As for the aiming patters, I personally dont see that as such a huge problem. However it is true that in "normal" TBS, you can aim at any point within the range radius of the weapon (with the exception of LoS blocking terrain etc). In this game weapons indeed have a patern (different guns have different patterns).

The orange fields you can see in the right angle around character called Craig are a pattern in which the minigun can be fired. This seems highly arbitrary and I would certainly say its a dubious design decision.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I can think of 2 reasons- easier to program (proper LoS gets tricky when you start involving cover and trying to represent shooting around it while using it) and also adds a lever for balancing. I understand the complaint, but this seems way more arcade than sim to me anyways, so I've got no problem with it.

 

[udm]

It's a big deal to me as I was thinking it's a more simulationist game. Didn't realise it's Space Hulk: Chess as one of the reviewers put it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to play much but already bought it weeks ago so I can't get a refund anymore

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4347746728040129157

Regular update -- v1.00.3a (b240726)
USC:CF v1.00.3a, build 240726

NEW

• Added a "Free aim mode" option on starting a new game in any game mode
  • It converts *most* STAR and SWEEP pattern ranged weapon attacks to FREE pattern attacks
  • The 2.5X close-burst bonus is still AVAILABLE
  • PASSTHROUGH attacks (Sniper rifle: Pinpoint strike, Laser Scorcher: Line scorch, Flamethrower: Line ignite) will still aim in STAR pattern
  • The setting will persist through that playthrough (i.e. stored in the save) and you can't change it, like you can't change Difficulty
  • The setting doesn't incur any "penalties" for using it outside the fact that the original game difficulty is not balanced around it
• Added a button to sort units by assigned squad (if applicable) on the Campaign roster panel

OPTIMIZATION

• Further optimizations to the audio engine

FIXES

• Fixed a critical bug in the Campaign where some spaceship special missions were not generated and booted back to the main menu, blocking progression with that mission
• Fixed a critical bug in the Campaign where the first phase of spaceship special missions wrongly required a "datadisk" to be extracted; the fix is retroactive, you can continue such a mission
• Fixed a bug where you could assign unspent Skill Points indefinitely in Campaign mode if you had an item selected in the inventory while doing so
• Fixed a bug where you weren't able to put turrets in ammo slots contrary to the tooltip
• Fixed some environmental objects (a few pipes in particular) being indestructible and/or fully blocking the path
• Fixed inconsistent buying/crafting of the Painkillers item in Campaign
• Various minor UI fixes
• Various minor fixes to Hungarian localization

 

[udm]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4347746728040129157

Regular update -- v1.00.3a (b240726)
USC:CF v1.00.3a, build 240726

NEW

• Added a "Free aim mode" option on starting a new game in any game mode
  • It converts *most* STAR and SWEEP pattern ranged weapon attacks to FREE pattern attacks

Does this mean the "fixed aiming patterns" thing was actually rectified by the dev? Parsimonious cook

 

[Parsimonious cook]

Yes.

Will have to restart my ongoing campaign now though...

 

[Tyranicon]

This is a glorious change, enough to tip me over the fence into buy territory.

 

[Galdred]

I can think of 2 reasons- easier to program (proper LoS gets tricky when you start involving cover and trying to represent shooting around it while using it) and also adds a lever for balancing. I understand the complaint, but this seems way more arcade than sim to me anyways, so I've got no problem with it.

It's not that much easier to program, as you still need LoS to determine what you can see anyway. It is probably a design decision indeed. It can make sense in a "board game design" point of view, and Space Crusade (ie, Space Hero quest) had that iirc, and even OG Space Hulk to some extent (with some heavy weapons).
I don't remember seeing that in the dev's previous game (Ultimate Space Commando). At least, not to the point it would annoy me much.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

I can think of 2 reasons- easier to program (proper LoS gets tricky when you start involving cover and trying to represent shooting around it while using it) and also adds a lever for balancing. I understand the complaint, but this seems way more arcade than sim to me anyways, so I've got no problem with it.

It's not that much easier to program, as you still need LoS to determine what you can see anyway. It is probably a design decision indeed. It can make sense in a "board game design" point of view, and Space Crusade (ie, Space Hero quest) had that iirc, and even OG Space Hulk to some extent (with some heavy weapons).
I don't remember seeing that in the dev's previous game (Ultimate Space Commando). At least, not to the point it would annoy me much.

Is there a real reason to worry about why such decision was made?
Turn-based tactical game is inherently an abstraction of most pant shittingly intense situation imaginable,

 

[Alpharius]

Picked it up since i liked the previous game.

Getting my ass handed to me in campaign on max difficulty so far, which is good i guess. Though perhaps i've picked a bad area to investigate first.

Not sure i like that you have many high(max?) level soldiers + lots of resources and like half the weapons & ammo types unlocked right at the start. And aliens also have almost all of their beasts unlocked right in the first mission.

I think the previous game had a more traditional start, like rookie soldiers with basic weapons vs basic enemies.

Haven't figured out the weapons yet. So far seems like
high calibre turret - kinda OP, cheap ammo, great damage, only the turret costs a lot but whatever
minigun & minigun turret - meh damage, more expensive ammo, seems almost the same as assault rifle but without full auto firing mode which is good in melee
sniper rifle - decent against tough enemies, very cheap ammo
assault rifle, shotgun - decent against tough enemies only in melee, more expensive ammo
smg - kinda too weak, seems like assault rifle can do everything better.
energy rifle - overpriced piece of crap, very expensive ammo
flamer - very expensive ammo, alt mode is great against tough enemies if there are several of them adjacent to each other otherwise seems too expensive to use
pistol - good against weak enemies, though not sure its worth it to take it
grenade\rocket launcher - underwhelming against tough enemies, expensive ammo, was much stronger in previous game, though haven't tried all ammo types yet
starting melee weapons - only useful against trash enemies and for status effects maybe

Haven’t tried laser scorcher, bio rifle and nuclear cannon because they are not unlocked in my campaign yet but there were all great in previous game.

Edit: there are also apparently freeze+shatter and fire+acid combos that i didn't know about which result in much higher damage.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/4347747362022210193

Regular update -- v1.00.4a (b240802)
USC:CF v1.00.4a, build 240802

NEW

• Added tactical map legend feature
  • Toggleable with a new information "(i)" button next to the minimap
• Added a special shortcut to the Campaign map (F7+F) that toggles the recently added free aim mode ON
  • Players who have already started a Campaign prior to the last update can use this to play with free aim mode on
  • Once you press F7+F, free aim mode is permanent in that playthrough from that point forward. It can't be switched back and forth.
  • Note: if you (re)load a save that still doesn't have free aim mode enabled, you need to activate it again!
  • The shortcut only works on the Campaign map, not during a mission.

CHANGES

• Campaign: alien reinforcements in Horde eradication missions will arrive more consistently and in greater numbers, especially if the Horde is really large (150+)
  • Additional aliens will now start to arrive when 50% of the alien already in combat have been killed
  • Reinforcements per wave: (remaining reinforcements / 3) + small default value (1-6, difficulty dependent); min. 11, max. 36
• Campaign: the number of alien reinforcements still incoming in Horde eradication missions is now displayed in the objective info
• Changed the icon for Armored Beta aliens to a different looking shield icon

BALANCE/GAMEPLAY CHANGES

• "Seek & Destroy" missions (in Campaign: Horde eradication and some sub-missions in sites or spec. ops) no longer require that you kill ALL enemies:
  • The last alien, or the last few aliens if they are below "Reaper threat" overall, combined, won't count as mandatory targets
  • The "Targets remaining" display will still reflect their total number, but you can expect the mission to end when it's 1, or just about 2-4 with confirmed smaller targets
  • Nests won't count as mandatory targets at all
  • Their number will still be shown in the objective info ("Nests: #") so you know, but this won't affect mission completion
• Campaign: aliens in Horde eradication will start to flee towards the map edges and leave the area (leading to a quickened victory) once their total number is greatly culled:
  • This works in tandem with the general update to S&D objective changes
  • You can expect the aliens to withdraw once their sum total starting Action Points are less than 500 (about 10 larger units), so this depends on situation and difficulty level
  • Aliens that were able to flee are considered defeated in global Campaign mechanics, so they won't linger around or return in some way in the sector
• Campaign: rate of amortization of structures & objects built in bases has been reduced to 15% per MP (down from 20%), and will stop at 40% of nominal value (was 5%)
  • Note: the same values for non-Campaign "Defend the Base!" games remain unchanged
• Campaign: mined raw Deothonit to crafting material conversion rate increased to 50:1 (from 100:1)
• Campaign: Asura-49 are now only worth 15 materials per piece (was 25)
• Deothonit fragments (loot from crystals in nests & mines) are now only worth 5 materials per piece (was 25)

OPTIMIZATION

• Improved the way the game detects screen resolution:
  • If there are any issues during auto-detection and the display supports it, initial resolution will default to 1920x1080
  • Resolutions with a "portrait" alignment (greater height than width) will not be falsely auto-detected, and will also not be an option in Settings
  • Note: please check your screen resolution settings after the update!
• Added a way to manually force a particular screen resolution:
  • 0. Please start the game once just briefly after the update so it can create the new "display.ini" file
  • 1. Open the "display.ini" file in any text editor from "c:\Users\[your OS username]\AppData\LocalLow\Angry Cat Studios\USC Counterforce\"
  • 2. Change "forceResolution=0" under "[Resolution]" to "forceResolution=1"
  • 3. Change "width=1920", "height=1080", and "refresh=60" to the values you want
  • 4. Restart the game client
  • If you experience any issues, you can just delete the file (it will be auto-created with default settings) or set forceResolution to 0, and start the game with auto-detect as before
  • Note: when forcing a resolution, in-game resolution settings will still remain usable, but will revert to the forced resolution on every game client start
• Added a way to manually force a particular UI scaling (independent from resolution):
  • 1. Open the "display.ini" file (see above)
  • 2. Change "forceCustomScaling=0" under "[UI]" to "forceCustomScaling=1"
  • 3. Change the value of "scalingFactor" to a value between 0.7 and 1.
  • Note: setting "scalingFactor" to 1 will FORCE DISABLE UI scaling.

FIXES

• Fixed a bug where the 15 extra bleeding from the Heavy arms primary specialization was sometimes applied to attacks with other weapons
• Campaign: fixed Resource Points to Deothonit conversion ratio inflation, preventing some exploits. Now there is a hard cap of max. 200 on selling and a min. 250 on buying.
• Campaign: fixed a regression introduced in the last hotfix that prevented managing a sector before you visited the Squad Assembly screen at least once (sorry!)
• Various minor UI/localization fixes

 

[udm]

I have to hand it to the dev. He/she somehow managed to pull off a solution to address the complaints of many players without compromising on his/her vision for the game.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1574870/view/6806714121076718322

Wiki: Xenology
Learn more about the many enemies you can find in the game thanks to our wiki!
Hello Marines,

As you might know USC: Counterforce is very deep in terms of strategies and has a lot of intricate designs. To help you in your progress, every week we're sharing a new guide for you to become a true pro at USC: Counterforce! The second one is focusing on
Xenology
.

Here, you can find information on the types, strengths, weaknesses, and tips to consider about the aliens you will face during the game. Looking to learn more about the different enemies and aliens? Check out our "Xenology" section:
WIKI: XENOLOGY
Here are the different enemies detailed in the guide:

• Wurm
• Alpha Wurm
• Crawler
• Alpha Crawler
• Skitter
• Swarmer
• Scorpion
• Alpha Scorpion
• Wormpig
• Alpha Wormpig
• Organ Shepherd
• Reaper
• Alpha Reaper
• Reaper Mother
• Shadow Envoys
• Wunderwurm
• Nest gland, eggs
• Environmental Hazards + The Service tunnel hatch

Here is an example of what the "Wurm" info are:

As always, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the Steam discussions. We're always attentive and will do everything we can to help!

The USC: Counterforce team

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Bought it, started playing.
SO far, really, really good