All planned content has been added and fixed. Other than the last 2 story chapters, I need your ideas for what else to fix or add.
If no more feedback is offered, the game will release on 4 July 2024.
The price of the Expansion Pack will increase from 1.99 USD to 4.99 USD (or regional equivalent) on release, which was originally planned for last March.
I don't quite like where the game is at the moment, but I've done what I can to fix it. A few tweaks are still needed but overall this is about as much as I think fits the game. The plan right now is to save major changes for a sequel (art rework, shorter move speeds, ability reworks, GUI rework, control rework). The current game was an experiment to see if I could make a space mech chess game that's controllled with just movement. I have my opinion, but I want to see what others think, and I think a full release might be the best way to get that feedback, both to improve this game, and for the sequel.
I won't abandon this game after release, but it is content-complete except in terms of story. There are 2 story chapters I will add to the Expansion Pack if people like the game (or want more content).
Thank you to everyone who's tried out this experimental game. Your time and feedback is greatly appreciated.
-slizer88
LK v7.01
Miscellaneous:
Steam connection fixed (LK v6.19 wasn't connecting to Steam to detect the DLC)
Missions:
Tutorials moved to White One missions where they are more relevant
White missions moved and added enemies
Argent movie 5 uncommented cockpit background made in previous patch
Menus:
Tips added to player abilities
Setup reworked to use input types
Menu Start Game buttons fixed having wrong help text in tooltip
GUI:
Tooltip stats added labels and sprite colours
Ability input mode button tt now says "press a button" instead of "press button"
Gameplay:
Expansion pack dash range fixed not working on Reaper, Argent
White Parry added sound, angle increased from 5 to 25 degrees
Argent Story and LKv6 Finished
Argent's story chapter has been completed. I'm not really proud of it, but it will have to do for now.
Some fixes and additions have been added based on reviews, such as locking the mouse to the window, preventing gameplay while tutorials windows are showing, and changing damage warnings to be more intuitive.
I do not currently have plans to finish the next two story chapters. The story isn't very good or developed at the moment, so I'm not sure players will really want 26 new missions and cinematics.
Lone King v7 will overhaul the tutorials, the Setup menu, and difficulty balancing.
This version should be very stable, so please give it a try and offer feedback to improve what might be the last version of the game.
On another note, I'm considering splitting the game into its current version and a squad-based version. The current version is too basic, so I think gameplay would be more dynamic if you can control multiple characters with less health. At the same time, that's an option in the expansion pack, so I could just leave it as it is. Feedback will help immensely in deciding what to do.
Development will be slow due to an unforeseen personal problem, as I am a solo-developer. Thank you to everyone who has played Lone King.
LK v6.19 Game made more accessible, Argent story finished
Story:
Argent story reworked, finished remaining missing bits
Movies- pressing a button now finishes text appearing if not finished, instead of skipping turn
White One mission 8 added "Enemy reinforcements" to error message
GUI:
Damage text now shows as negative numbers, health damage now shows health image instead of damage image
Player ability range markers now only show for selected maniple
ExpAb fixed drawing GUI buttons increasingly high for every maniple that exists
Windows fixed being able to have top bar outside of screen
Tutorials and Help menu now prevent being able to input orders
Reaper description changed "able to move" to "able to attack while moving
Parry description changed "facing" to "moving" to be more clear
Wraith stealth defect tooltip removed range showing in tt text, fixed tt stat not updating
Templar Blindplates added duration to tt stats
Menus:
"Return to Station" renamed "Explore Station", added tooltip
Library added Behind the Scenes tab for story missions
Gameplay:
Heavy Gunner boss fixed game crash
All Expansion Abilities now reduce player move range by 25%, and return to normal range when jettisoned. Argent Screen does not not reduce range
Mouse locking option added
Stages:
Ruins made so only one tunnel can spawn on higher difficulties
Other:
Added Steam developer homepage
LK v6.17 Fixed crashes and minor issues, GUI/art made clearer
The next patch will have a rewrite of the second half of the Argent campaign to bring it up to standard
Story:
Argent campaign finished except for final movie
GUI:
Removed weakpoint damage always showing, since it's actually based on enemies
Passive 2 abilities text improved
Move Scanner window fixed not disappearing when move scanners turned off
Menus:
Setup fixed abilities menu crashing the game
Argent:
Kunai's in-game object now displays its range as a circle on the map when you mouse over for the tooltip
Kunai's in-game object tooltip stats fixed showing radius as range
Kunai's preview stats when aiming at a target fixed radius showing in pixels, not metres
Battle Vision tooltip moved 'Does not apply to boss units.' to tt help
Art:
Missiles updated to have more contrast, animation improved
Missile plumes now turn teal after 2 seconds
LK v6.16 Argent story started, story additions, gameplay/GUI fixes
Story:
Argent story added, incomplete
White One movie The Plan added sounds
White Intel movie added file searching sprites
Movie Next and Continue buttons added tooltips
Base mode's Hunter's room unlocked
Gameplay:
Argent fixed not reducing health at higher difficulties
Argent weakpoint bonus damage increased from 2 to 8 to compensate for reduced health
Peons fixed not setting missile stats on difficulty level 7, crashing the game
Wraith EMP Bomb tooltip stats added activation time, energy. Damage now indicates minimum, and fixed using wrong number
Argent Kunai tooltip now shows hit damage, and explains explosion damage is proportional to enemy weapon damage
Weakpoint damage is now always indicated in weapon tooltip
Menus:
Reviews menu now uses tabs, added tooltips
Hunter's Story Operation Added
To add more value to the expansion pack, the Hunter's story operation has been added. It consists of eight new missions, this time with a better variety of mission types; and five new cinematics, with some interesting changes. I think this is the best story operation yet, though that's not saying much.
The Argent's is next, which should be complete before March 19th, when the expansion's price increases from 2 to 5 USD. This should hopefully be plenty of time to buy the expansion if you want it at the lower price.
As a solo indie developer, criticism and negative feedback is always useful to improve the game, so please comment in the Steam Discussions page if you have any thoughts on the new operation, the price increase, or the game in general.
Thank you for trying out this experimental game!
LK v6.15: Hunter story finished; Ability Tooltips Improved
Story:
Hunter story finished
Gameplay:
Fixed crash when enemies collide with with player
Fixed crash with Shotgunner boss plasma barrier
Wraith stealth defect range addition increased from 1 to 2
Hunter's Death Overload tooltip now shows duration, shows as off when Overload ammo is depleted
Overload tooltip now shows safe duration
Ranged abilities: improved tooltip text, and now have their own tooltip help text
Other:
Steam achievement added for Testing mode
PRICE CHANGE WARNING:
I'm planning on increasing the Expansion Pack's price from 2 USD up to either 4 or 5 USD, with regional prices increasing proportionally. I think it would be fair to give a month for anyone who wants to buy the expansion at its current price.
LK v6.14 Hunter story almost finished, fixed crash
Story:
Hunter story mostly content-complete, needs to be cleaned up.
Gameplay:
Scanners fixed crashing the game
Menus:
Library Dictionary added "Class"
LK v6.13: Hunter story almost finished, fixes
Story:
Hunter story almost finished. Most of it is playable.
Story missions fixed Objective tooltip crashing the game
