Hi Everyone,
It's been a very busy few months on "Dusters". We've implemented several new features
- The battle map
- The armory
- Enemy Events
I've going to talk about each of these new features below. But first, a word on the new title. Some of you may have noticed this has changed again. So we've gone from 'CASTELLUM', to 'Situation RED' and now finally to 'Dusters'.
So what is going on? Well, the first change away from Castellum was because of a major change in the gameplay. We moved from a pure 2d base building game, to a mixed base building /real time combat hybrid. The name Castellum just didn't fit any more!
So we moved on, this time to "Situation Red'. I actually quite liked this one. It was a play on the sectors of the battle map changing to red when you lose control. But the branding was eighties-wargamesy, and the tone didn't fit the styling of the game or the gameplay.
So... onto 'Dusters'. I feel the Gameplay, Styling and branding all align with this one. Plus it lets us do a little world-building around the Duster-People and their struggle against the machines!
So onwards and upwards! To new features!
The Battle Map
Ok so it's a little plain right now. :)
But ultimately, this screen displays the progress of your game, and will be used to plan your next moves against the machines.
This map and the gameplay behind it is heavily inspired by Desert Strike. You need to plan to gather resource, evade enemy scanners, take back captured sectors as well as deal with the dynamic events which will occur when out scavenging.
You also need to keep an eye on your battery life, plan your route to recharge batteries regularly!
The Armory
When built, and fully powered, players will gain access to the armory.
From this screen players can
- customise the appearence of their vehicle
- Change vehicles (currently we plan to include a Jeep, APC and Battle Tank Hull)
- install new engines, weapons, armour and special weapons
- craft new parts from resources gathered from the surface
This is a very exiciting part of the game. We want players to have to make interesting choices on what to do with their resources. Do you try to struggle on with basic weaponry so that you can save for a shiny laser cannon? Or invest in armor and engines to avoid the fight entirely?
Enemy Events
During the course of play there are 2 BASIC events that can take place
- Enemy Alert - the enemy has seen you! Escape and evade OR destroy all comers!
- Incoming Airstrike - Call in an airstrike on enemy bases under-construction. Remain in place until the airstrike destroys the base (pictured)
We are planning many, many other events. Such as the usual pick-up-drop-off-for-reward types but also convoy interceptions, rescue missions, and all out assaults!
Phew, thats a lot of information. The next step is to get the tutorial finished and polished up a bit so that we can make a playable alpha available for everyone to try. This will co-incide with the Greenlight/Kickstarter campaign later this year.
I hope you have enjoyed reading. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Regards.
R.
