Patch 1.06 for Mech Shuffle will be releasing this Friday, January 13th! With this patch we are adding plenty of new content, as well as paving the way for updates throughout 2023. Here are some of the things you can expect to see on Friday:
New Game Mechanic: Card Cycling(right click a card to spend an action point and cycle)
New Token Type: Cycling(playing adds to your cycling side board)
New Reward Event Type: Pilot Events(upgrade pilot cards, get new ones)
New Cards (20+)
New Encounter Events
External Save Files and Cloud Saves
Pilot Pack Changes: Sherman and Emrys
New Music Track by Quinten
A smarter, more intelligent AI
Rewards in Mech Bays will now always be different
Custom game cursor
Several Bug Fixes
Improved Save System
The improved Save System includes the switch to external save files, as well as the implementation of Steam Cloud Saving. This will let you carry your saved games over from one computer to the next, as long as you are using Steam to launch your game.
Due to the major changes to the save system with this patch, any runs in progress will be lost after the update. So if you want to finish your current run, do it before you install the Friday patch!
New Game Mechanic: Card Cycling
The new Card Cycling mechanic will Increase the decision space for players. You can now choose to spend an action point to discard any card in hand (by right clicking on it). This cycles the card by discarding it and immediately drawing a new card to replace the old one.
Now you can choose to not play cards: to conserve heat, to force your opponent to play first, or to draw that combo card hiding in your deck. Of course, action points are already a precious commodity, needed to fire your weapons, defend against attacks, sink heat, etc. This means that the choice to cycle comes with its own cost.
Cycling also increases the design space by allowing new gameplay and card designs for the future. Ordinarily, you can Card Cycle to draw a card. However, there is a new token type being added to the game to take advantage of cycling:
When you play a token with the cycle symbol, it will enter a side board with all of your cycle effects (rather than going immediately into play). When you later cycle a card, all of the tokens in your side board will enter play. This lets you use actions to stockpile effects for later use. You can build powerful combos this way, or use cycling to counter the more aggressive decks.
Pilot Pack Changes
There will be many new cards added to the game with this patch, most of them making use of the new Card Cycle mechanic. Two Pilot Packs are being updated to use the cycling mechanic.
Sherman is losing Pilot Skill: Tactics in favour of Pilot Skill: Synaptic Savant. Since Sherman is unlocked early in Mech Shuffle, this change will give new players a chance to play around with the cycle mechanic as a defensive option.
Emrys is getting a major overhaul, with three new cards. Emrys will still be the energy weapons specialist, with Pilot Skill: Adaptive Alignment, but now she has the skills to build a powerful side board to enable safe swing turns (Pilot Skill: Foresight) where she quickly dumps excess heat (Pilot Skill: Heat Cycling), and sets up for a powerful laser blast on the following turn.
Event Type: Pilot Events
Previously, it was very difficult to upgrade your Pilot Cards. Now, your pilots can grow along with your mechs through Pilot Events.
The new Pilot Events add a much needed way to improve your pilot skills. A Pilot Event will give you the ability to upgrade your existing pilot cards, or to add new pilot cards to your deck. The quality of the new cards will depend on your pilot level. Higher level pilots will have a better chance at more upgraded card options.
Thank You For Playing Mech Shuffle!
Thanks everyone for playing Mech Shuffle, and for all of your feedback and suggestions. Now let's make this game even better for 2023.
New Year, New Content
Be prepared! Mech Shuffle will be getting the first of several content patches over the course of 2023. I am hoping to get it out sometime this month. Here are some of the things you can expect to see:
New Game Mechanic: Card Cycling(right click a card to spend an action point and cycle)
New Reward Event Type: Pilot Events(upgrade pilot cards, get new ones)
New Pilot Cards
New Encounter Events
Improved Save System
As well as some minor changes:
A smarter, more intelligent AI
Pilot Pack Changes: Sherman and Emrys
Rewards in Mech Bays will now always be different
Custom game cursor
Card Cycling
The new Card Cycling mechanic will Increase the decision space for players. You can now choose to spend an action point to discard any card in hand (by right clicking on it). This cycles the card by discarding it and immediately drawing a new card to replace the old one.
Now you can choose to not play cards: to conserve heat, to force your opponent to play first, or to draw that combo card hiding in your deck. Of course, action points are already a precious commodity, needed to fire your weapons, defend against attacks, sink heat, etc. This means that the choice to cycle comes with its own cost.
Cycling also increases the design space by allowing new gameplay and card designs for the future. Ordinarily, you can Card Cycle to draw a card. However, there is a new token type being added to the game to take advantage of cycling:
When you play a token with the cycle symbol, it will enter a side board with all of your cycle effects (rather than going immediately into play). When you later cycle a card, all of the tokens in your side board will enter play. This lets you use actions to stockpile effects for later use. You can build powerful combos this way, or use cycling to counter the more aggressive decks.
Pilot Pack Changes
There will be many new cards added to the game with this patch, most of them making use of the new Card Cycle mechanic. Two Pilot Packs are being updated to use the cycling mechanic.
Sherman is losing Pilot Skill: Tactics in favour of Pilot Skill: Synaptic Savant. Since Sherman is unlocked early in Mech Shuffle, this change will give new players a chance to play around with the cycle mechanic as a defensive option.
Emrys is getting a major overhaul, with three new cards. Emrys will still be the energy weapons specialist, with Pilot Skill: Adaptive Alignment, but now she has the skills to build a powerful side board to enable safe swing turns (Pilot Skill: Foresight) where she quickly dumps excess heat (Pilot Skill: Heat Cycling), and sets up for a powerful laser blast on the following turn.
New Event Type: Pilot Events
Previously, it was impossible to upgrade your Pilot Cards! Now, your pilots can grow along with your mechs.
The new Pilot Events add a much needed way to improve your pilot skills. A Pilot Event will give you the ability to upgrade your existing pilot cards, or to add new pilot cards to your deck. The quality of the new cards will depend on your pilot level. Higher level pilots will have a better chance at more upgraded card options.
Feedback
As always, this is a great place to leave me feedback for the things you want to see next for Mech Shuffle! Many of the additions and changes coming in this patch are happening because of comments, requests, and suggestions from players.
Leave a Steam review for the Mech Shuffle if you haven't already. Every review matters, and helps us to grow the game.
Thank you everyone for playing Mech Shuffle. Now let's make the game even better for 2023.
Introducing Events, Assault Mechs, Mech Bays, and More!
Announcing the biggest mega-patch yet for Mech Shuffle! I have been hard at work adding new content, fixing bugs, and working on accessibility. Here are some of the things you can expect to see on November 25th:
Updated Sprites for mechs and terrain
New Assault Class mech
New match rewards (events, lore, mech labs)
50 New Cards (now at 150+ cards)
New Token types (fortify armour)
Improved accessibility
And tons more!
New Assault Mech: MANTIS
The MANTIS is an imposing foe to face on the battlefield, and you can unlock it as a new playable mech. Like any Assault Mech, the MANTIS is a bastion of self defence, and a true weapons platform which can make excellent use of any weapon system:
New Match Rewards
Choosing your path through the battlefield is going to be even more impactful than before. Asides from the usual end of match salvage rewards, you will often have the choice between additional rewards:
A random event (high risk, high reward!)
A Battlefield Mech Bay (UPGRADE CARDS!)
A Mech Manufactory Bay (DUPLICATE CARDS!)
A Battlefield Refit Bay (REMOVE CARDS!)
New Cards
A large number of new cards are being added to the game, bringing us up to the 150+ cards mark. There are new Pilot Skill cards, new weapons, new system cards, and a lot more to discover. Some new cards are only available through encountering events!
New Token: Fortify Armour
Fortify Armour allows you to double the effectiveness of an armour token, so that it can absorb an additional point of damage before being destroyed. Beware though, this is not a repair. You won't be able to fortify an armour point if it has already been destroyed!
Accessibility Improvements
We've increased the font sizes throughout the game, to improve readability and accessibility. As well, Mech Shuffle requires colour matching to play properly, so it was important to add an accessibility option for people with colour vision deficiency. If you find yourself having difficulty distinguishing the different token damage types, give the new palette a try.
Content patch next month!
Mech Shuffle was accepted to join in Indie Cup Canada 2022! With over 100 games showcased by Canadian indie developers, the competition is fierce. The judges will be playing and scoring games until the winners are revealed November 17th. Best of luck to everyone in the competition.
The competition happens to align nicely with our next planned content patch. Win or lose in the Indie Cup, Mech Shuffle will be getting a big content patch in November. Here are some of the things you can expect to see:
- New Mech Sprites (I will miss my "programmer art", but I am very happy with the new look!)
- Many New Cards (stay tuned for the pre-patch announcement in November) - New "Fortify Armour" Token - New Reward Events (including ways to remove cards from your deck)
And of course a lot more, I won't spoil too much before the patch is ready.
We are very honoured to have the opportunity to participate in Indie Cup Canada this year. We have a lot planned for Mech Shuffle in the coming months, and your feedback will help shape what is coming next. Leave us a comment here, or join the Steam Discussion page to let us know what you want to see next.
New content for Mech Shuffle arriving August 29th 2022!
It has been one month since launch day, and I am excited to share the first content patch with you. The patch includes plenty of new stuff, such as: a new pilot, new cards, new tokens and mechanics, terrain effects, and more.
We're still in early access, so head on over to the Steam Discussion page for Mech Shuffle and give us your feedback!
The most immediate change is a large update to the UI and the UX. We have updated the look of the game board, the cards, the tokens, and improved the user interface.
The addition of a new pilot pack will open many new deck building possibilities. BERINGER is a very aggressive pilot, with two weapon proficiencies, and a new card Pilot Skill: Overwhelm to break through enemy defences.
We added four new terrain types to encounter, each with a unique battlefield effect. Choosing your next encounter now includes an extra layer of tactical decision making, which evolves as your Mech and Pilot specialize and learn new tricks.
There are four new cards being added. We already mentioned Pilot Skill: Overwhelm. We also have the powerful Artillery Cannon, which can smash through ballistic blocks with ease. The techy System: Missile Guidance, to ensure your missiles hit their target. And finally, the very powerful defensive card System: ECM.
This is the first content update since launch, but it certainly won't be the last! We have a lot planned for Mech Shuffle in the future, and your feedback will help shape what is coming next. Leave us a comment here, or join the Steam Discussion page to let us know what you want to see next.
* UI and UX Updated * Improved Tutorial * New Pilot: BERINGER * New Cards: -- Pilot Skill: Overwhelm -- Artillery Cannon -- System: Missile Guidance -- System: ECM * New Token: Break Block * Terrains Effects Added -- Temperate Grassland (effect: none) -- Scorching Desert (effect: extra heat token) -- Rocky Highlands (effect: extra action point) -- Glacial Ravine (effect: extra cooling token) -- Mired Marsh (effect: lose action point) * Card Changes: -- Quirk: Melee Flamers, proficiency token is now delayed * Token Changes: -- Heat Damage/Block has been renamed Fire Damage/Block -- Heat Damage/Block changed token color from red to orange * Bug Fixes: -- Fixed issue where loading a run could change enemy loadout
MECH SHUFFLE LAUNCH DAY!
Today Mech Shuffle is launching in Early Access! Check out the newest (and only?!) Mech Deck Builder on Steam. Give Mech Shuffle a play today, leave a review, and come chat with us on the Mech Shuffle Community Page.
We've had a lot of feedback and community engagement since our initial pre-release. Thank you to all of our reviewers and curators for your first impressions. Especially thank you to our fans for the excellent suggestions to add new features and content to the game. We are so excited to launch and get more insight from the community at large.
This is a HUGE milestone for Mech Shuffle, and for Pill Bug Games. Mech Shuffle began as a personal project to keep myself busy while I recovered from COVID, and has grown to be so much more. It has been many months of hard work and I can't believe release day is finally happening! This is my first steam game release, and I am both excited and terrified (like a Dodo facing a Taurus), who knows how this will turn out?!
After so many countless hours of play testing, refining the game and balancing the cards, I cannot wait to get Mech Shuffle into your hands so that we can take it to the next level.
Choose your PILOT: whether it be Mech Ops Specialist BURTON, Hot-Running VASQUEZ, or Melee Aficionado O'BARA.
Choose your MECH: the sturdy ARMADILLO, the road-running DODO, or perhaps the heavy power house mech, the TAURUS!
Whatever card packs you choose, have fun, blow up some mechs, upgrade your cards, and salvage new gear to make your deck stronger!
There's plenty more in store for the future. I am already hard at work on the next content update, so stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks!
Save/Load, Card Changes, More Music, Release on July 29th
Are you ready for the launch of Mech Shuffle on July 29th 2022?
This is the final patch before launch, and we have added some important features such as the ability to save/load a run. This means that you will be able to quit a run at any time, and return to it later. Several cards were also updated to better balance the overall game.
The cost reduction for Targeting Computer (Level 1) will help the card to fill the important role of delaying actions, without penalizing the player with undue extra heat.
Changing the Level 2 Machine Gun will provide incentive to chain them over multiple rounds rather than all at once. This will reduce the burst damage output of this low cost weapon.
The upgrade to Unguided Missiles (Level 2) felt weak at 4 heat when compared to other similar options, and should be a more viable upgrade option at 3 heat.
Several new music tracks have been added, and an audio glitch was fixed. The pilot pack SHERMAN was updated, replacing the card Running Hot with Vent Heat.
This is the last update before launch, I hope our next patch will include lots of new content! I'll see you all on launch day.
- implemented save states (you may quit a run at any time, and return to it later!) - new music tracks added (Tracks by Quinten) - fixed audio clipping bug - PACK CHANGES: - SHERMAN: removed Running Hot, added Vent Heat - CARD CHANGES: - Machine Gun (Level 2): proficiency token is now delayed - Targeting Computer (Level 1): now cost 0 heat instead 1 - Unguided Missiles (Level 2): now cost 3 heat instead of 4
New Features, New Content, Getting Ready For Release!
It has been an exciting couple of weeks, getting ready for Mech Shuffle to launch on July 29th 2022!
In this penultimate patch before launch, we have added some important features and content. As well as balancing the card drop rates. When choosing your PILOT and your MECH card packs, you can now see a full preview of the cards in the pack (informed decision making!).
It will now be more obvious when a mech is close to overheating, with heat warnings visibly flashing and and audibly blaring.
The settings menu saw two new additions: a "Windowed Mode" toggle for those who like to multitask, and separate volume sliders for Music and Sound Effects.
We will have one more major update before July 29th, so stay tuned for updates! I'll see you all on launch day.
- PILOT and MECH Card Packs now display cards on hover - UPGRADE cards show previous card level on hover (during rewards selection) - discard piles now display cards on hover - added an "Overheat Warning": VFX and SFX at 7+ heat - when playing two player hotseat: player turns are now visually announced - card rarity drop rate changed, base weights: Common 25, Rare 10 + mod, Epic 5 + (mod / 2), Legendary 1 + (mod / 3) - settings menu update: windowed mode toggle added, separate volume sliders for SFX and music - minor bug fixes
Fortify Armour allows you to double the effectiveness of an armour token, so that it can absorb an additional point of damage before being destroyed. Beware though, this is not a repair. You won't be able to fortify an armour point if it has already been destroyed!
