Get ready, Commander. Delphyq goes on Steam Early Access this October 22nd! Prepare to experience real tactics in real time as you take control of the Operatives and bring the fight to the corporate armistice known as the Balance. The future of the Free is in your hands.
Delphyq Design Series Part 1: Introduction
Hey there, commander! How are you? I hope this finds you well. We’ve got a pretty beefy piece to go through, so take some time off, grab a cup and let’s have at it!
DELPHYQ is a real time tactics game, one that puts you in the role of a mastermind in command of an elite group of combatants known as the Operatives. As such, their fate is in your hands; every move, every decision, every action and reaction you make will influence and decide the outcome of each encounter you will face along the way. Therefore, understanding the nuances of its various systems is key to winning every engagement you will be subject to.
One thing that separates DELPHYQ from the rest of the strategy and tactics crowd is the way it simulates real combat. We cannot stress enough how important it is to understand the fact that DELPHYQ is not a turn-based game; despite it having a pause mechanic, combat is still handled in real-time. Your opponent will not wait for you to finish attacking first before they fire back. Think of it as a military simulator of sorts wherein you not only have to plan your actions, but you also have to adapt and compensate for the enemy’s real-time reaction.
Engagements in Delphyq can range from mild to outright frenetic
Combat in DELPHYQ can get pretty frenetic at times, and it’s easy to lose units quickly in the battlefield if you’re not paying close attention to what’s happening. This becomes more complex once you start separating your troops to perform advanced flanking strategies. The wider the ground you have to monitor, the higher the risk goes. Nothing a mastermind like yourself can’t handle, right?
One critical reason why it’s important to understand how DELPHYQ presents combat in real-time is because of the game’s permadeath system. For the uninitiated, permadeath means that you will lose an Operative should you fail to rescue them when they fall in combat.
This is one scenario you do NOT want to find yourself in
It goes without saying that you may or may not see the end of the game with your entire unit intact, and their survival lies on how well you can handle each situation. Strategy games such as X-Com: Enemy Unknown, the Fire Emblem series, as well as the role playing game titled Darkest Dungeon feature this system, and features it well.
Units whose Bleedout timers run out in the field will be gone forever. Remember that!
Permadeath is essential in honing the way you act and react to situations. We aren’t kidding when we say this is real tactics in real time, mortality included. But don’t let this system scare you; permadeath is simply a guide towards mastery. Unlike other strategy games where you can just throw your units at the enemy without any lasting repercussions, DELPHYQ prompts you to think more carefully of every decision you make by way of making mistakes matter gravely. This makes every mission satisfying to accomplish with as few casualties as you can possibly manage. Mastery of the game’s systems is an essential element in fulfilling your role as a mastermind, and it’s also something you can use not just in DELPHYQ but in the real world as well, just in case you ever go into actual combat, (but we hope not!) Pretty neat takeaway, huh?
Anyway, that’s it for permadeath for now. For the next couple of articles, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into various topics that explain what makes Delphyq the game that it is. We’ll be covering the inception of the project, as well as talking about specific philosophies concerning its design. We hope that these articles will prove useful for you. Stay tuned!
Note that these topics are subject to change depending on circumstance. After all, Delphyq is still in development, and we are improving it based also on your feedback. If you haven’t tried the FREE DEMO yet, go visit our Steam page now at bit.ly/DelphyqGame and get to it. And while you’re there, hit that FOLLOW button and add the game to your WISHLIST as well! Doing so allows us to get information about the game to you as fast and as convenient as possible. Once you’ve played it, let us know what you think! No voice is too small, no opinion too weak. The game gets better with every thought that comes along our way.
Thanks for reading and we’ll see you in the next one! Till then, stay safe, commander! Over and out!
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FOLLOW US on Steam and try the free demo! Do it now! Go to bit.ly/DelphyqGame, hit that FOLLOW and WISHLIST button, and download the demo.
Updates about the game are also available in our social media pages! Please FOLLOW these to stay up-to-date about the latest news concerning DELPHYQ:
Recalibration
Hey guys!
Raymond here, Delphyq’s game director. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but we’re still hard at work here in Dusk Wave Arts (formerly Beyond Red Wave Arts). How have you been? Wherever you are, I hope you’re well and good. These are tumultuous times, and we’ll only get through it by working together. Hang in there!
Today I’d like to talk about a couple of things just to catch you folks up concerning the state of the project. Delphyq is at a critical stage of development and your feedback is very important.
In case you didn’t know, we have a demo up on Steam that we constantly update based on feedback from virtually everyone. Please go check it out and let us know what you think! No voice is too small, especially when it comes to improving the game. Visit this link to download the demo.
Ever since we released the demo back in the 14th of January this year, we’ve updated it several times with the goal of providing a better experience that’s closer to what you’ll have in the full game.
I can’t stress enough how your feedback is essential in improving Delphyq. It’s a game with a great number of moving parts to make it work, and we want to provide you with the best experience possible while staying true to the core vision of the game. With that said, please reach out to us via our social media pages, or visit our discussion board on Steam to get in touch with us. The project greatly improves with every voice we hear, and we need yours! Tell your friends about the game, too, so they can do the same.
Regarding updates, we’ll be diving deep into Delphyq’s mechanics and lore in the coming weeks via a series of posts here on the site, as well as a number of videos to show you how everything works and comes together. I can’t talk about it too much without spoiling anything, so just remember to keep an eye on our spaces! Big things are coming!
Alright, that’s all I have for now, but expect to hear from me regularly from this point forward. We’re getting closer and closer to a release, and I hope you’ll all be there with us when we get to that milestone.
Planning is now saved on the Corkboard. No need to redo your planning if you leave and re-enter the Planning stage of a mission.
New Tutorials for Collecting Objectives and the Minimap and Mission Plan.
BUGFIXES
Tutorial topics are now all revealed when you skip the Tutorial
All Tutorial topics now have appropriate and relevant info
'No Power' prompt now appears when Support's Group Heal and Tech's Power Transfer abilities are automatically disabled due to having insufficient Power
The Reinforcement Timer shouldn't be triggered now without any Enemy Units looking at Player Units
All Interactable objects (objectives, terminals, stations) are now fully functional and can be properly interacted with
Intel collected from the previous mission is now carried out to the respective mission's Planning stage (Corkboard)
Icons of all Objective intel (known and unknown) now appears when entering Player Units' line of sight
Doors are now hidden when opened
Effective Weapon Range of downed/ bleeding out Player Units are now hidden when pressing Left Shift
For this week's Devlog (Devlog #10), we've got some really cool art updates to share with you. First off, the 2D Artists have been hard at work putting the finishing touches on the main characters, specifically Harman Kestrel, CEO of Kestrel Industries, and Rassler Laurent, CEO of Varia Power Corp. In the next few weeks, we'll be revealing more about these characters as well and how they play into the story of Delphyq.
Here's the final look of Harman Kestrel, CEO of Kestrel Industries.
Harman WIP Devlog 10 July 8 2020
And here's the final look of Rassler Laurent, CEO of Varia Power Corp.
Rassler WIP Devlog 10 July 8 2020
Power Play
Next up we're sharing some great key 3D art for one of the new levels we're developing, entitled: "Power Play". The level also has a helipad in the exterior where our Operatives will must undoubtedly be deploying. Here're the updated Power Play concept revisions.
The way this mission is being designed... wow! It will definitely be interesting!
Dio Severin–callsign Youngblood–is the hotshot, loud, and obnoxious member of the team. Despite having a tragic past (he and his sister Fio were orphaned during the last days of the Three-Year Massacre), he’s the guy that loves to throw one liners in the middle of combat, combat which he recklessly loves to dive headfirst in.
Delphyq FEATURED OPERATIVE: Youngblood
But he isn’t without his merits–served under Sarge’s command, he’s a good soldier who follows commands with that never say never attitude. Combined with his gusto for battle, comedic timing and his love for his younger sister, Fio, he is endearingly annoying to the rest of the squad.
Youngblood is visually inspired by alpha male, rugged-looking, cybernetic-enhanced characters.
We've finally updated the enemy units--they look sleeker, meaner, and definitely deadlier.
We've also updated how security doors work in game--you now need intel to find the security terminal which will allow your squad to open security doors faster. Without hacking that security terminal, only your tech operative can open security doors faster than normal.
