Hey Sky Captains! We are a small team that started with a dream to challenge traditional shooters and bring that experience to the skies! It has been a wonderful and crazy road but we are so close!
Today, we would like to announce Sky Link: Freefire as our Free-to-Play path forward! Everyone who has purchased Sky Link will be reimbursed with: +1 Unique Sky Captain Skin +1 Unique Sky Captain Portrait +4 Drones +375,000 Currency
Temporarily, Sky Link will go offline and will be available by the second quarter of 2023 with many exciting features, community playtests, and more! Signup for playtests here
We are focusing on a more standard Team Deathmatch mode for launch, with a potential Ranked mode and general Ladder System. There will be a Revive Mechanic included in the mode, where players can revive their teammates to not lose a point. Upload is still contemplated as a more competitive mode, but we wanted to create a more competitive mode with the community while players wreck stuff in TDM.
PROGRESSION
We will be adding progression to the game as well for launch. Players will be able to progress through each drone once they're unlocked to mix and match different modules combinations to open different playstyles for each drone.
MAPS
Players will have access to new maps. We hope to launch with multiple maps, we will announce more as we get closer to the launch date.
Pandora
Split
Vice Bay
MOVEMENT
We feel we’ve created an exciting and unique flight model that includes multiple movement mechanics that are yet to be seen in any aerial combat game. These are designed to be easy to learn and difficult to master, so the focus is not just in downing enemies by firing weapons and launching missiles but also by using movement mechanics to stay alive. Together we feel this makes for a very engaging, tense and exciting experience that we hope others enjoy as much as we do!
BOTS
We are working to improve our bots in the game so that players can enjoy a decent challenge Skirmishing against them to get to know the different playstyles available. At some point we hope to get those bots to the point where they can prove more of a challenge to players and start including them in future game modes.
POLISH
We are working hard on general polish as well focusing on the following main areas: Making sure transitions are smoother. Improve player understanding of combat scenarios by making them more intuitive, Players can now locate others by just listening for example. As well being able to see or feel from where they are being fired at. More clear combat utility and improved feel of Smoke in game. All sides should have proper feedback from each ability and item. Polish for shiny purposes Improve sensation when spawning/respawning Each drone will have a unique sound for its engine. Idle and active effects for the engine. Clearer indications of which movement mechanic is under use. UI upgrades all around, In game Tab screen Matchmaking flow HUD improvements
If you got this far reading, thanks for sticking around! Hope to see everyone in our aerial battlefield of the future! Suit up and link up, see you in the skies!
Sky Link: FreeFire: COMING SOON!
Changelist
VFX
Spawning and respawning fx applied to drones. Hit indicator spheres added to drones to tell players which direction damage came from. Added a subtle camera shake when damage is received. Redid Stasis and EMP
Maps
Pandora and Split: Smoke floors replace water in several maps and smoke clouds have been added to provide cover, supporting close range combat and escapes. Split now will open areas when 6 or more players join the match.
UI
Tab screen Score screen Dead screen Garage and cosmetics UI Ping system - ping allies for a blue mark, enemies for red, and anything else for white.
Road Map
These are larger features being worked on, planned, or subject to change. Progression and attachment system - level up to unlock attachments!:
Improved bots - receive orders and context awareness. Missile redesign - more missiles coming to drones! Hit indicator improvements - Effects UI indicators, screen edge overlays. Ladder System - a more competitive format where you can rank up from bronze, silver, gold, platinum.
Game modes Team Deathmatch Plunder - Currency as a 2nd win condition and respawn.
Unreal Engine 5 Battle Royale?
Shoot Down the Devs! - August 18th, 2021
A new week, a new chance to make Odisi devs go down in a blaze of glory.
Our Weekly Play with the Devs event allows you to fly among our ranks, fight with and against us through several matches, and experience all the big and minor details of our game. Most of our matches start at 2v2 and 3v3 and some progress into 4v4, which makes things really intense.
The event usually lasts for an hour or two. If you want to join, you only need the game and to be on time for when the event starts!
Jump into the Garage, select your drone and click on Battle - that's all there is to it!
We are going to let you all know within 10 minutes before each event starts on the #general channel on our Discord!
We may even hang out in the Discord voice chat, so feel free to join.
Day and time of day should not change from now on, but if it does, we'll be sure to let you know!
Today's Session - 1pm Eastern to 3pm Eastern (10am PST to 1pm PST)
And remember, join us on Discord! Be on the lookout for Jochi, Wartank, LeoBelizzi, and many more Odisi representatives... and make sure you knock them out of the sky with impunity.
Play With the Devs! - August 11th, 2021
It's time to enter the fiery skies of Sky Link and take down the devs once more!
Our Weekly Play with the Devs event allows you to fly among our ranks, fight with and against us through several matches, and experience all the big and minor details of our game. Most of our matches start at 2v2 and 3v3 and some progress into 4v4, which makes things really intense.
The event usually lasts for an hour or two. If you want to join, you only need the game and to be on time for when the event starts!
Jump into the Garage, select your drone and click on Battle - that's all there is to it!
We are going to let you all know within 10 minutes before each event starts on the #general channel on our Discord!
We may even hang out in the Discord voice chat, so feel free to join.
Day and time of day should not change from now on, but if it does, we'll be sure to let you know!
Our Weekly Play with the Devs schedule is as follows:
Weekly from 4pm to 5pm on Tuesday - Eastern Time - New York
Weekly from 1pm to 3pm on Wednesday - Eastern Time - New York
And remember, join us on Discord! Be on the lookout for Jochi, Wartank, LeoBelizzi, and many more Odisi representatives... and make sure you knock them out of the sky with impunity.
Play With the Devs! - August 4th, 2021
It's that time again!
For all people that joined us previously and new pilots that want to join, our Weekly Play with the Devs event allows you to fly among our ranks, fight with and against us through several matches, and experience all the big and minor details of our game. Most of our matches start at 2v2 and 3v3 and some progress into 4v4, which makes things really intense.
The event usually lasts for an hour or more. If you want to join, you only need the game and to be on time for when the event starts!
Jump into the Garage, select your drone and click on Battle - that's all there is to it!
We are going to let you all know within 10 minutes before each event starts on the #general channel on our Discord!
We may even hang out in the Discord voice chat, so feel free to join.
Day and time of day should not change from now on, but if it does, we'll be sure to let you know!
Our Weekly Play with the Devs schedule is as follows:
Weekly from 4pm to 5pm on Tuesday - Eastern Time - New York
Weekly from 1pm to 3pm on Wednesday - Eastern Time - New York
And remember, join us on Discord! Be on the lookout for Jochi, Wartank, and many more Odisi representatives... and make sure you knock them out of the sky.
Fly with the Devs! - July 28th, 2021
It's that time again!
For all people that joined us previously and new pilots that want to join, our Weekly Play with the Devs event allows you to fly among our ranks, fight with and against us through several matches, and experience all the big and minor details of our game. Most of our matches start at 2v2 and 3v3 and some progress into 4v4, which makes things really intense.
The event usually lasts for an hour or more. If you want to join, you only need the game and to be on time for when the event starts!
Jump into the Garage, select your drone and click on Battle - that's all there is to it!
We are going to let you all know within 10 minutes before each event starts on the #general channel on our Discord!
We may even hang out in the Discord voice chat, so feel free to join.
Day and time of day should not change from now on, but if it does, we'll be sure to let you know!
Our Weekly Play with the Devs schedule is as follows:
Weekly from 4pm to 5pm on Tuesday - Eastern Time - New York
Weekly from 2pm to 3pm on Wednesday - Eastern Time - New York
And remember, join us on Discord! Be on the lookout for Jochi, Wartank, and many more Odisi representatives... and make sure you knock them out of the sky.
Fly with the Devs!
We've been busy with the launch of the game and our first patch, but now that this is out of the way, we are planning on resuming our Weekly Play with the Devs schedule!
For all people that joined us previously and new pilots that want to join, our Weekly Play with the Devs event allows you to fly among our ranks, fight with and against us through several matches, and experience all the big and minor details of our game. Most of our matches start at 2v2 and 3v3 and some progress into 4v4, which makes things really intense.
The event usually lasts for an hour. If you want to join, you only need the game and to be on time for when the event starts!
Jump into the Garage, select your drone and click on Battle - that's all there is to it!
We are going to let you all know within 10 minutes before each event starts on the #general channel on our Discord!
We may even hang out in the Discord voice chat, so feel free to join.
Day and time of day should not change from now on, but if it does, we'll be sure to let you know!
Our Weekly Play with the Devs schedule is as follows:
Weekly from 4pm to 5pm on Tuesday - Eastern Time - New York
Weekly from 2pm to 3pm on Wednesday - Eastern Time - New York
Patch Notes - The One Where the Megadon Shield Gets Nerfed
We've got some shiny new patch notes for you all today! This build just went live on Steam, so you might need to download the sucker before you get to shooting through the Megadon's shield as the Raptor.
Yes, we're sorry that the Raptor was unable to hurt the shield before. Instead of "Rock, Paper, Scissors", a Meg vs Raptor fight was like "Lava versus Pompeii". Too soon?
There's a bunch of other tweaks too, and we've been messing with it on the test server - we think it feels pretty great! Just remember - if you LOSE a firefight, sometimes that's not the game being imbalance...
Anyway, take a look at the patch notes below and stay tuned later today, Wednesday, July 21st, for the next Play With The Devs Event!
Balance tweaks
Megadon · Reduced initial Rate of Fire of Storm slightly, from 5 per second to 4. · Increased time for Storm to ramp up to full Rate of Fire from 2.75 seconds to 3. · Reduced minimum time to trigger Incendiary Grenade from 0.75 seconds to 0.5. · Increased recoil slightly · Reduced Armor from 105 to 100 Sky Reaper · Reduced Armor from 105 to 100. Type 3B · Increased cooldown of Armor Buff from 30 to 35 seconds · Increased initial stage HP of Sentry Turret from 40 to 50 · Increased Rate of Fire of Sentry Turret from 5.8 per to second to 8.3 Sting Wolf · Increased alpha damage of Nova cannon from 40 to 50. · Reduced rate of fire from 2 to 1.8 Shade · Reduced damage falloff slightly, increasing 40+ meter damage. Prowler · Reduced slightly Ion Wasp’s recoil per shot · Reduced slightly accuracy penalty while moving Upload Game Mode · Reduced time package needs to spend in an Upload zone to win round from 45 seconds to 40
Features and improvements
· Brightness for the Nanocloud Bomb has been tweaked · Bots in Skirmish has been given new names · Damage numbers font size increased · Raptor can now damage the Megadon's shield · Players can now toggle a visual indicator of key mappings · Improvements to the shield barrier, making it more subtle and better looking. This also lead to better performance overall. · Armor Buff VFX has been changed to yellow to match the bar in the HUD · Zoomout on Minimap has been increased from 200m to 350m
Introducing SKY LINK!
Well, the day is finally here. All your patience and waiting have paid off. This... is Sky Link.
In just a little bit, you'll notice an update available for Drone Strike Force that changes the game to Sky Link, and we honestly couldn't be more excited to bring this to all of you that have been with us since the start.
Formerly known as Drone Strike Force, Sky Link is a groundbreaking aerial shooter that aims to be the fastest online game in existence. Sky Link gives you unparalleled freedom as you control powerful UAVs such as the tank-like Megadon or the stealthy tactical Shade Z1 to defeat your opponents and win the day. Grapple, afterburn, and expertly maneuver your way across varied war-torn battlefields in a fight for the world’s most valuable resource - information.
With aerial speeds of up to 250 MPH, Sky Link promises to be unlike anything in the online gaming scene, with unique sky-based combat, tactical grappling hooks, and a primary game mode that aims to shake up the world of team-based games. Designed to be easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master.
With a renewed focus on aerial combat, Sky Link pushes the boundaries of spatial awareness and high maneuverability with the sheer freedom of three-dimensional gameplay at your fingertips.
Intense high-speed combat at speeds up to 250 MPH
Easy to learn, difficult to master movement mechanics:
Air Grapple System (AGS) - Be a robotic Spider-Man in a dystopian battlefield. Punch your foes, swing across the cityscape, and steal the cache from the enemy.
Instant Engine Cut Off - Got a bogey on your tail? Cut your engines, and lose ‘em fast.
360 Degree Warfare - Fights can happen literally anywhere in the map - above, behind, below. No space is safe.
More than Just Fly and Gun… Introducing UPLOAD
The main game mode in Sky Link is UPLOAD - a tactical 3V3 competition where two teams fight to take a cache of sensitive data to specific upload zones within a given map. The attackers must either upload the entire package before the time runs out, or eliminate their opponents.
Meanwhile, the defending team must destroy their attackers or prevent them from being able to get the upload to 100 percent. The first team to win the required number of rounds wins the day and the digital glory.
The New Weapons of Warfare
With devastating tech at your disposal, you’ll have plenty of options when it comes to not only how you look, but what role and loadouts work best for your playstyle. Each tactical UAV has a role to play and their own set of weapons and skills to help their teams win the day. Tactical usage of various unique abilities allows you to push the limits of what each aircraft can do.
There’s no shortage of interesting skills across our selection of aircraft. From a devastating remote-controlled missile to an electromagnetic pulse that pushes enemies into their surroundings, possibly exploding them on impact. There’s a plasma leash that can double both as a weapon and a repair beam, as well as a turret that can attach itself to any surface and create a deadly choke point between buildings.
AND IT'S ON SALE!
To top all this new hotness off, we're also putting Sky Link on sale during the Steam Summer Sale for a frighteningly cheap $9.99 (that's 50% off!). That means on June 24th, when the sale begins, it's the best time to jump in if you've had the game on your wishlist or if you want to share the aerial battling with your friends and family.
We hope you enjoy the work we've been doing, and we're sorry it's taken so long to bring this unique experience to you... but we think you'll agree it's been worth the wait.
“Everyone with their missiles, their lasers, their turrets… give me a cloak and a shotty any day of the week and I’ll show you what damage I can do.” - James Reginald Pierce III, United Kingdom RAF Cyber Pilot Program
We’ve spent a lot of time these last few weeks highlighting the larger and “in charger” Champions coming when Upload hits the live servers. This week, we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at the Shade Z1 - a small, nimble, and stealthy craft that flies softly and carries a very big stick.
What the Shade lacks in options for combat, it more than makes up for with its superb agility, stealth mechanics, and extremely potent auto-shotgun known as “Mow Town”. When combined with the Shade’s main Stealth Cloak skill, sneaking up behind an unsuspecting sniper or a defending enemy becomes an act of pure beauty when their craft goes crashing down to the battlefield floor in pieces and flames.
But beware, though the Shade Z1 is one of the most potent and dangerous Champions in the game, this sort of quick burst damage doesn’t come without its drawbacks - the Shade isn’t exactly known for having a lot of armor or survivability. So when the going gets tough, or if you miss your chance at a shotgun blast when you come out of stealth, it’s probably best to use your “Ghost Protocol” skill and get the hell out of dodge before it’s your turn to explode. Or, you can use it to sneak the package out of the scoring zone, like so...
But fear now, if you thought the Shade had limited firepower, there’s one more tool in the little guy’s utility belt - the Smart Grenade. A limited use homing grenade that locks on targets and chases them - exploding and causing splash damage to surrounding crafts - the Smart Grenade is that one final boost to damage the Shade Z1 sometimes needs to make sure they get their kill.
That’s it for the Shade Z1, our Champion that’s pretty much custom made for players who like stealth and getting in close to do their dirty work. So stay tuned for more details on this and all our Champions leading up to Upload’s launch in the coming weeks.
We look forward to revealing even more of our new Champions in the weeks ahead, but for now, stay tuned to our social channels on Twitter, and join our Discord to take part in the latest playtests!
The Megadon is Coming
“I’m all for making statements in battle. With my trusty Meg, that statement is usually ‘I’m going to murder you with machine guns and large explosives’.” Dimitry Volkshyn - Ukrainian Aerial Supremacy Program
The Megadon is one of 8 new Champions being introduced with the Upload content update in the coming weeks, and well - it’s a beast!
Equipped with a high-accuracy, rapid-fire machine gun as its main weapon, an incendiary grenade to burn foes, a massive front-facing shield for extra defense, and a handy self-heal bot to keep the party going, the Megadon is both one of our most straight-forward champions and one of the most rugged and long-lasting.
It may seem simple, but the Storm-99 multi-barrel machine gun is an extremely fast-firing and high-precision weapon meant to chew through opponents’ armor and whittle down their health at a fast rate. When combined with the defense-boosting shield barrier skill, the Megadon quickly becomes a floating metallic hunk of death incarnate.
And when you’re out of ammo, waiting for a reload, the Megadon’s incendiary grenade is always on standby for a “don’t get too close to me” button to send a fiery signal to your foes. Just a gentle reminder - when you’re out of rounds on the gun and out of grenades, it’s time to move your large butt out of the line of fire.
There are no stealth or hiding techniques for a big tanky aerial demon like the Megadon. But what grace he’s lacking, he more than makes up for with amazingly high survivability and potent reliable firepower to deal damage in a dogfight.
And though he’s not the fastest champion in our game, the Megadon’s handy little healing bot makes sure he has survivability to find friends and recharge between firefights. Just don’t get caught in a losing team-fight while it’s on recharge or you might end up a hunk of scrap on the streets of the Fjords.
We look forward to revealing even more of our new Champions in the weeks ahead, but for now, stay tuned to our social channels on Twitter, and join our Discord to take part in the latest playtests!
