Mech Armada
Mech Armada Hotfix: v1.0.1587-12762
- Scientist dying ends the run
Mech Armada Exits Early Access!
Hi Everyone,
After over 10 months in Early Access, I'm delighted to announce that Mech Armada is now FULLY RELEASED!! 🥳🥳🎉🎉
During the Early Access time I've worked to improve the game in every conceivable aspect, from making the economy more player-friendly and easier to understand, to adding lots of new enemies and Mech parts.
It's been quite the ride and I'm honoured to have been able to do it with all of you. I really mean it when I say Mech Armada is a much better game today thanks to your feedback and input. Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Please enjoy our new release trailer:
Also, if you want to see me play on the new Downtown environment, I uploaded my latest stream to YouTube here:
I've been working on Mech Armada for three years now, and I'm both nervous and excited to see how it does. I hope you give it a chance and let me know what you think.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
To Fog or Not To Fog
Hi Everyone,
With the full launch around the corner on June 16th, there is one topic I want to address, as there has been a lot of discussion about it over the months.
Since releasing in Early Access Mech Armada has had a Wall of Fog that enters the battlefield one tile at a time. It's indestructible and it can kill any unit instantly.
In his awesome video coverage last December, Splattercat said of the fog: "And with regards to the gaseous wall of fart death I'm not a big fan of it, and I'm not actually entirely sure that the game needs it"
If you haven't seen the video, check it out here, it's pretty cool:
You know what? He's right, but the story of the Fog is long and complicated, so it's worthwhile looking at the journey so we can better understand what will happen in 1.0.
In the Beginning
Since the super-early prototypes of Mech Armada (before it even had a name) it was clear the game was about managing energy to spawn new custom Mechs. And it was also clear there was an issue with players stalling and farming energy - it makes sense, energy is essential and you want every last drop of it.
The problem is that this gameplay is boring. Waiting and farming is not fun, and one of my guiding principles making any game is to make the best strategies the most fun.
This issue is not new. Many games need to put some kind of time pressure (turn pressure?) on the player, which moves everything forward and makes the game more exciting. A classic example is the ghost in Spelunky:
For a while the Fog solved the problem, and besides it added another pressure point on the player, influencing your strategy: you can't turtle so you need to figure out how to move forward.
And something else happened, because of the animosity the player develops with the Fog over the course of a run, I wanted to incorporate it in the story. So the ending has the Fog becoming a main character after you beat the last boss.
Everything was good and Mech Armada shipped in Early Access.
This Is What Early Access Is For
Over the next few months many things changed in the game.
Despite the Fog putting pressure on players, many still felt compelled to try to farm energy, it was just harder (more frustrating) to do. Besides, there were situations where the fog legitimately complicated things too much, like in maps with many obstacles. So many people disliked it.
The first thing that changed is the energy economy got redesigned to make it easier to understand and less susceptible to farming. Once this was in the game the role of the Fog was less important, and I started moving it back so it came into the field later and later, giving players more space.
I still thought there was some value in pushing players forward and the Fog was now prominently featured in the story, so I didn't want to take it out altogether. But I didn't want to ignore the feedback, so I ran a poll in our Discord:
Well, that complicated things...
Making Everyone Happy?
As a younger game designer I used to think that, with enough ingenuity, you could satisfy every player and address their concerns.
I know better now, but that's still a lofty goal to aim towards. In this case I had the following realizations:
- The Fog is less important for the energy economy now, so there's flexibility
- Fighting the Fog can be fun and different from the rest of the monsters
- I can use the story to add gameplay variety in how the Fog and the player interact
So this is how things are going to be in 1.0: during your initial runs you won't have the Wall of Fog chasing you anymore. Once you reach the final boss currently in the game, you'll unlock a new section that will allow you to get a weapon to fight the Fog. Afterwards, if you start a run with that weapon, the Wall of Fog will return, and it's up to you if you want to try to fight it or just run away from it.
With this design I feel like there is less pressure on the novice players, while there is also an arc that makes new runs different as you progress through the story and it introduces new gameplay possibilities.
I hope this addresses your concerns, but regardless I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can reach me on Discord or the Steam forums.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
Mech Armada Locks In Its Launch Day
Hi Everyone,
Back in August 2021 I launched Mech Armada into Early Access and since that time the game has received sweeping improvements. From significant tweaks to its economy, to greater player flexibility, alongside many helpful quality of life changes, the game has come a long way. Today I'm happy to confirm that Mech Armada will officially launch on June 16th, 2022, releasing with a 20% discount and with full text localization in 7 languages: French Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who've been on this journey with me.
As a solo developer, Mech Armada is a passion project that has continued to grow and to see it sat on a Very Positive rating on Steam is incredibly humbling. I hope you'll enjoy what's coming in 1.0.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
Mech Armada Is Going Rogue!
Hi Everyone!
If you haven't noticed, Mech Armada is part of the Going Rogue event. What does this mean? Well, it's your opportunity to grab Mech Armada with 20% off, while checking out a load of other awesome roguelite and roguelikes.
Set to run until May 9, it gives you plenty of time to grab my game before the discount ends and with a huge update having only just dropped, there's never been a better time to dive in.
As always, a heartfelt thank you for supporting me and those who continue to leave brilliant reviews.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
Update 0.13: Daily Part, Jetpacks and BIG rockets!
Hi Everyone,
This will be our latest 0.X update. The next one will be 1.0 and I couldn't be more excited about what's coming on that one.
But for now, 0.13 is also looking pretty sweet.
Daily Part
One idea I've had for a while to encourage you to try new parts is to bonus a different part each day. So now, when you come to the game you'll see the Daily Part in the main menu and you can then start a new run with it (if you haven't unlocked it yet, you'll have to play some more battles first).
I tried to make the bonuses meaningful without being game breaking. Let me know how I did!
New Parts
I wanted to add a new batch of parts before full release. Most of the parts so far have centered around weapons and torsos, but there was one transport part that I knew would end up in the game.
Jetpack
It's finally here! While slow to walk around, the Jetpack provides a versatile jump that can clear obstacles and units, providing great maneuverability. While also looking stylish.
Smoke Grenade
Don't you hate that the Swarm have both high mobility and long range? Then you need to cloud their vision and strike them from where they can't reach you.
Big Rocket
You know what's better than a regular-size missile? A BIG ROCKET. These babies do the most damage out of any weapon in the game (without buffs) - but they're limited.
This is it for now, because I've been saving the majority of the work I've done over the last few weeks for 1.0. I'll be announcing the date pretty soon.
The more eagled-eye among you will notice I've removed the Feedback button from the main menu. That doesn't mean I don't want any more feedback, if you have any (and I'm sure you do) I'm always available on our Discord and I personally respond to every message.
Next on Mech Armada: the full release announcement. It's going to happen before you know it. Stay tuned.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
Mech Armada Hotfix: v0.12.1261-10945
- Fix lighting issue editing Mechs in Sandbox right after abandoning a run
Mech Armada Hotfix: v0.12.1240-10858
The road to 1.0
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to give you an update and talk about some important news. Make sure you read until the end!
Daily Deal
First, good news! Mech Armada will be featured in Steam's Daily Deal on Tuesday, March 29th. The sale will start at 10:00am PT, and will last until March 31st at the same time.
1.0 plans
After 11 significant updates, we're closer than ever to full release. In fact, the game is still on track to reach 1.0 before this summer - that's coming up!
The main area that I'll save until 1.0 is a proper ending for the campaign. Spoilers ahead if you haven't finished a run. but while currently you get reset by the fog, in 1.0 after beating the Demon you'll unlock another chapter in the campaign that will get you closer to the final goal of defeating the Swarm.
I'm not going to say any more for now...
But I can show a sneak peek of one of the two new environments that we've been working on. The downtown map is in fact looking so good that I'm going to use it for the first environment in the game. Here are some (work in progress) pictures:
Price increase
I can't emphasize this enough, but you should get Mech Armada during the upcoming Daily Deal if you can, because after that I'm going to slightly increase the price of the game, so this is the cheaper Mech Armada is going to be for a while.
The price will go up from $14.99 USD to $19.99 USD (local conversion will vary).
I've been working full time on this game now for two and a half years and added a ton of stuff since the Early Access release last August. Increasing the price is necessary to keep the studio afloat.
Thank you
As the Early Access chapter nears completion, I can't help but marvel at the incredible amount of feedback and support I've received from you during this journey. There is no doubt in my mind that Mech Armada never would have reached the current quality level without all your help.
A heartfelt thank you for supporting me.
/Sergio
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389360/Mech_Armada/
Mech Armada Hotfix: v0.12.1203-10821
- Fix visual artifacts highlighting the paths in Campaign Map
- Fix names not being applied properly in Unit Screen
- Fix Intro leaving the Main Menu in a bad state when launched from Settings
- Fix tooltip sometimes snapping incorrectly after unit is attacked