🦴☠️🦴 LANCER TACTICS BONES 🦴☠️🦴

Lancer Tactics

🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴 BONES BUILD DONE 🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴☠️🦴

This build ~officially~ completes our original Kickstarter goals for the game!* You can get the download via Backerkit as normal, but this time I’ve also included an itch.io† key which will be where early access builds will live going forward.

This also ~officially~ starts our 1-year timer for taking a shot at a 100% port of core game content. I am hungry to sink my teeth into focusing on content implementation; the foundation is poured; the first few floors are proofed and tidy enough; it’s time build this tower up.

One of our top priorities post-bones is delivering on our custom mech tokens/pilot portraits for our higher-tier backers, as well as the homebrew Xiaoli mech. We’ll reach out individually to communicate as needed for delivering on those, so keep your ears open.

*(Except rests/repairs; those will come for free as we move onto campaign work. I really wanted to get these crossed off the list too so we could say we were totally in the clear on this front, but we decided this running-late bonus month would be better used for bugfixes & UI polish instead. Can’t win ‘em all.)

† (itch.io, if you’re not familiar, is like Steam but small and indie and where all the cool game dev kids are hanging out these days)

Changelog

I’m coming up short on time so don’t have many anecdotes to share here this month. Go play the dang game if you want some human experience of interacting with this electronic house of cards!

Gameplay:

  • Finished remaking the tutorial.
  • Made a new stock map: Arroyo Desert map with deep canyons.
  • Default sitreps now modulate/cap number of enemies spawned; will not totally overwhelm you, but will spawn more if under-threshold.

Bugfixes

  • Fix AI getting confused about long-distance moves if they have an ally nearby.
  • Fixed being able to mount up into enemy mechs
  • Siege armor only works against attacks
  • Fixed drake armor 2 => 3
  • Fix siege cannon 2 => 4 heat
  • Fix deep well heat sink not resisting self-inflicted heat
  • Fix argonaut shield propagating heat
  • Fix overcharging ending protocol phase
  • Fix not being able to jumpjet multiple times in a turn when you have a free boost
  • Tiles with setpieces that are obstructions don’t count as “free tiles”
  • Fixed units being able to get cover from the block they are standing on top of
  • Fixed problem with large units not being able to move to certain tiles
  • Fix crash in exported build on entering portrait maker
  • Dispersal shield can’t double-stack on the same unit
  • Fix reactive code // choice gear panel buttons; they are now small
  • Can teleport kidnap while grappling
  • Teleporting can do damage if you teleport them off the side of a cliff
  • Correctly consume all free action buffs when stunned
  • Ordnance can target other units, but not the one in engagement (this was news to me!)
  • Brace no longer triggers when shredded.
  • Can spawn outside of player deploy zone when there’s no space left within it (4-barb squad represent) Placing barbarossas far outside of the deployment zone.

UI/UX:

  • Added crowdsourced loading screen tips
  • New custom in-game cursors (fixed missing cursor in fullscreen mode)
  • Many new attack/ability fx and icons.
  • HDMI mode enabled; crisper text on HDMI screens. Automatically scales up UI when detected.
  • Added setting to toggle SSIL/SSAO for performance
  • Added setting to toggle glow for performance
  • Can add & remove setpieces en masse with the brush tool instead of one at a time. Painting a swathe of trees in the editor with a larger brush.
  • Attack FX can now arc and hit targets instead of just doing the pokemon-politely-dance-in-their-own-space technique. A missile launching from a mech to hit a target.
  • Added subtle pulse to mech “glow” channels. A barbarossa and hornet with glowing visors and engine exhaust.
  • Added ability to save/load pilot portrait JSONs directly without having to do the whole pilot.
  • Added 4x sized portrait export as well (some people wanted them larger)
  • Portrait “reset outfit” button.
  • Additional portrait maker assets
  • Added ability to make maps bigger/smaller from the north/west sides of maps instead of just south/east.
  • Can change lighting angle for maps.
  • Improved trigger descriptions & error bubbling.
  • Can skip dialogue by right-clicking
  • Hold WASD to keep scrolling instead of having to woodpecker it
  • Add additional hotkey for canceling (backspace) and a few hotkey hints for it in-UI
  • format tier {1/2/3} in action descriptions
  • Animate in confirms/telegraphs/action bar
  • Show camera controls in dialogue when telling how to boost over the wall.
  • Updated damage popcorn fx to make it more obvious what it is
  • Can click flying units directly to target them instead of their base tile.
  • Better focusing on flying units to get them in-camera
  • Play names of enemy units on spawn
  • Music now shuffles in battles.
  • Added ambience channel.
  • Added triggers to play musice.
  • Can click on talents in char sheet to go straight to the relevant catalog ring
  • Log to history when damage is from a reliable attack
  • Themed file dialogs (not great, but better than ugly grey)
  • Added descriptions for spin up/spin down cannons. Added “linked action” for those tooltips so you can see the change of the profile in question.
  • Auto-creates a “my first map” combat for players on first combat editor load
  • Added a fun little hologram distortion to the “preview” unit placements on launch and moving units around. A move preview that flickers.

🦴☠️🦴 bones bones bones bones bones 🦴☠️🦴

(Today, April 1st, is the right holiday to be making a bones-themed announcement, right? We’re synced up with wider society? Great great.)

🦴 bones 🦴 ~ Olive

Prebones_build_final_FINAL (2), production update, new narrative director NPC Rebake, rests & repairs, community maps