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Starfall Tactics development is going full speed ahead, and we are another step closer to the "it's more than awesome" state. This week we were busy with inner parts of the game and really great stuff which deserves a huge separate news post later - so, this time we continue showing Carriers.
Here is Carrier itself in 2D and 3D sketch along with additional important info:
Almace, the mighty red giant, is on it's way to Starfall Tactics. This ship is really huge: twice wider than, for example, Mjolnir, and 1200m in length, which is 200m more than any dreadnought in the game! Other Carriers will continue this trend, as they need a lot of space to carry a lot of smaller ships inside.
Of course, each Carrier has either platforms or hatchways to be able to launch squads of fighters and other small ships into space - that's where we would love to add some cool animations, but since it takes some time, we will concentrate on it someday later.
Let's come back to fighters, one of the smallest ship types you are able to have on-board of your Carrier. Fighters are a common strike squad, designed to perform quick assaults by dealing continuous damage to enemy ships, and we've just finished programming the core mechanincs for them - so that's what they look like in action:
Fighters can't be targeted with normal weapons due to their size and speed, but can be taken away by AOE damage, just like other squads of smaller ships you will be able to see and use later. Make sure you check next WIP post - there might be more info about Carriers & ship squads they use ;)
Faction portraits - That's the first thing you see once you enter the game, marking one of the most momentous steps in Starfall Tactics - choosing your first faction and starting fleet. That means that all the info and visuals you can see in the faction menu are really important as many of you stay with this choice, going with it through hell and high water.
So, recently we worked on new representations for faction portraits, which might replace existing ones or become a new acquaintance somewhere on your way through the Starfall Tactics Universe - we are currently on our way to decide where exactly we should place them. So check it out!
This week was as great as usual and here are some stuff we've recently done - hope you'll like it :)
Almace, Vanguard Carrier - the first Carrier to appear in Starfall Tactics - it is the biggest ship in the game so far - 1200 long and twice wider than normal dreadnought.
Active Module Hack - special module, which activates all modules of the target ship simultaneously and chooses random targets and areas for them.
Centenary, Eclipse Carrier. It still has to pass a long way before at least being added to the gallery of 3D ship models - but you can already see it's great form on 2D and 3D sketches made by our artists.
Heey, we have exciting news for you! The next Starfall Tactics test is coming, and it features some Alpha content we have just announced!
Starfall Tactics test starts 24th April 14:00 CET and lasts until 1st May 23:59 CET. To play the game during this period, simply apply here or just update your client, if you already got access for any previous event.
Snowforged Team worked hard to add new content, features and, at the same time - done a huge work with internal part of the game by changing and improving code to let the game be better in future. So, now many parts of the game have to be tested again to let us fix most disastrous bugs and mistakes - that's where we need your helping hand.
!Note that we give the first two days for new testers so they could get used to the game, while experienced Starfall Tactics players can help us in initial bug hunting - during scheduled maintenance on 26th (wednesday) we plan a slight faction progress wipe affecting captured systems, colonies and stations only along with some general fixes.
Enter Starfall Tactics universe once more to discover how we changed it - this time you will be able to see the following features:
Get ready to spend more time on getting new equipment: we are going to put you into conditions which are much closer to what you will see on beta stage or release of the game. Still, this small test is dedicated to a quick technical check of upcoming features - so don't hesitate to let us know if something goes wrong by posting on the forum or sending a letter to support@snowforged.com!
See you in Starfall Tactics!
Aaand we are back after the test with some updates on Starfall Tactics development, new content and features.
- First of all, we designed special missions which are more fun than simple tutorials players are usually bored to complete (although we already have and will add some fast tutorials for game basics). It's especially helpfull in our case because of many different and deep mechanics you will normally miss and won't understand from the first try. So, here come Challenges - a special set of missions with rewards *which depends on the medal you earned for completing it.
It helps players master the game and explains many things deeper than usual, along with being a very fun experience: for example, there is a stealth mission, or a mission where you have to defend against enemies using only mines, or a mission where you have to defeat hige ships by fooling them with small maneuverable vessels and etc.
- After detailed analysis and discussion, our Team decided to go with a more traditional way for unit progression: skill tree with various passive bonuses.
Still, we found a way to make it exciting: each and every ship has its' own talent tree with bonuses not only to simple characteristics, but to special modules, certain weapons or types of damage which logically can fit it, engines and even things like cargo. And all together it gives so much variety in building each ship, and a lot of lovely hours to our game designer who is currently busy making 180 skill trees. ;)
- We designed a couple of new modules: Plasma Engines (increses maximum ship speeed) and a three shield modules which allow to drain, transfer and distribute shield.
- We also added two models for pirate bases:
Aaaand another update for Starfall Tactics
- The third pirate Mothership for Screechers faction, which was already used as a general pirate base, is here again. We modified it a little to fit the Screechers concept and make it as great as others, so now you can see a full 3D model on our Sketchfab page.
- we continue the never-ending interface improvement work, partly changing it to fit the needs of new features and make you feel more comfortable. These changes even included battle interface and many other important aspects of the game.
- Besides, as we moved to the latest Unreal Engine version which finally included a built-in ability to use hardware cursor, we now use this hardware cursor which will let players feel more comfortable than ever and don't suffer a lag if overall game performance is not very good for them.
- we presented the full list of resources, which appeared to be pretty long - so there will be some changes to resource system later.
Another week is over, so we are showing how the work goes on the features we announced and described in previous updates. Also, we have something new to tell you about: salvaging. That's a small part of our resource system, but still an important thing you should know about.
- More resources and resource types mean more ways to get them in the game. Right now there are several ways to obtain them in Starfall Tactics: Mining, Colonies on planets, enemy freighters and personal Mining Stations in Outer Regions. Besides, there is also a chance to find something in a cargo of defeated enemy and NPC fleets.
And here should come another common method of getting resources - salvaging. Salvaging means
disassembling the scraps of ships you destroyed in an attempt to get any precious materials from it.
Salvaging module icon
So, what do you need to salvage in Starfall Tactics and what you get from that?
Materials you salvage can be used, for example, for crafting ships - earlier you could get Screechers ship project, spend some IGC and build it - now it also requires some Screechers ship parts to be built. This way it becomes a really important thing if you plan to fill your ShipYard with dozens of great battlecruisers, battleships, dreadnoughts and even carriers.
Another personal space structure you will be able to build in the Outer Regions - Warp Beacon.
Warp Beacon helps reach remote space regions without a need to make a long way to your favorite star systems as it allows warping on your Warp Beacon from the Mothership. Still, it doesn't have enough power as a Mothership to initiate your warp back to home systems. As other personal structures, it follows the same common rules: a number of Warp Beacons to build is limited; to stay functional it requires some resources; It is destructible by any hostile forces, but also can perform self-defense.
That's a thing we already got pretty far with, although there are still a lot to do about it. So, now you can see eight challenges which you will be able to complete in Starfall Tactics:
There might be added other challenges later, of course, but that's the basic set we will have.
Have a nice week ;)