Please keep in mind that while we are working on the big milestone updates you find on the roadmap, we are simultaneously improving balancing, reworking the UI, tweaking the AI, adding minor content like items and operations, and fixing bugs. We will, of course, keep doing that throughout Early Access and beyond.
We hope to deliver this update to the Early Access build soon. We will keep you updated on the date!
Breaking the Mold
The tools that the players in MENACE can employ so far are mostly conventional weapons and equipment that were devised by human scientists and manufacturers. With the advent of the Constructs, the basics of what is known by humans and what is technically possible get substantially warped and broken up. Unknown alloys, materials, and technical components are employed by the Constructs and wait to be investigated, researched, and ultimately weaponized to level the playing field.
As the Constructs are not using any weapons or items that humans can interact with, only components, parts, and leftovers can be looted from destroyed construct entities. Turning these into anything useful requires a lot of dedication and resources, but will ultimately expand the possibilities of the TCR units beyond what's comprehensible.
The items that can be created from Construct leftovers will move the game's item progression from the midgame to the late game and will, at the same time, add many more high-tech and SciFi items that move the feeling and setting away from a conventional modern military setting. The items created through the new system will still be as immersive as possible, with punchy and satisfying visuals and sounds, and will fit in well with existing gear.
Construct Loot
For the new system, the first step is to overhaul Construct loot. The items gathered from these cybernetic enemies will no longer just be valuable trade goods but they will be actually useful.
There will be seven new loot items that are dropped by certain enemy units. Each item can be found with a different probability on a different unit.
Also, some are way more common than others.
Here is a first glimpse at the new Loot items:
Zitat:
Here you can see volatile reagents, mutated tissue, advanced alloys, construct weapon parts, cybernetic optics, bioprocessors, and fusion power cells. Of course, these can be traded on the black market like other loot, but they can be much more useful than that!
Blueprints and Tech Level
As soon as Construct remains spread through the Wayback, frantic research is undertaken all over the system. Most of the results are sealed behind heavy doors, but some of these blueprints find their way to the black market through shady avenues.
As the items gathered from the Constructs themselves have no use for humans, they have to be transformed or, more easily, used to improve existing, already tested items. The efforts to find actual uses for these items are very costly, cheaper for simple items, and more expensive for advanced ones.
In the new system, we will add three categories of blueprints that can be acquired through the black market by spending trade value. This is a very abstract system that symbolizes spending time, resources, and other means to find actual combat-relevant uses of construct items.
The blueprints have tech levels one, two, or three. These levels symbolize the respective complexity of a project. Tech level one items will most likely be slightly modified, and improved existing weapons and items, while tech level three items are highly advanced and experimental.
Of course, there will be all types of new items: Infantry armor, vehicle weapons, all types of accessories, and more.
Zitat:
Acquiring a blueprint will unlock an item project of the corresponding tech level. These have to be assembled in the new workshop.
Workshop and Item Creation
Once a project has been unlocked through a blueprint, it can be assembled in the new workshop window. Each project, or blueprint, requires a specific set of Construct loot items to be assembled. The items needed are highly dependent on the tech level and the type of item that is going to be created.
Once a blueprint has been unlocked, it can be used over and over as long as the required construct items are available. We currently have 28 new items planned for the system, but we will expand it over the next year.
Here are some tech level 1 and 2 items where the original base of the improved weapon is still recognisable:
Example: EM Enhanced Assault Rifle
Now, let's look at a tech level one example and see how the new system works. This squad weapon gets unlocked by acquiring a tech level 1 blueprint through the black market.
Zitat:
“An assault rifle upgraded with an electromagnetic field generator that greatly increases the muzzle velocity of the projectile as it moves down the barrel. This weapon has increased range, high kinetic energy, and very low dropoffs over distance.”
To assemble this squad weapon, you will need 6x Construct Weapon Parts, 2x Advanced Alloys, and 1x Volatile Reagents.
Although this weapon has powerful stats, we decided to have it obviously be based on an ARC assault rifle. The added advanced construct components that, in this case, speed up the projectiles fired by this weapon can obviously be seen attached to the upper receiver and the barrel.
The concept for these types of items is to showcase how existing items with their low-power aesthetics clash with the highly advanced construct components to create a mix of old and new with an interesting and engaging visual identity.
Items with tech levels two and three will become, respectively, more alien and will resemble known weapons and items less and less.
Keep in mind that this is the first iteration of the system, and we will keep balancing, adapting, and expanding the system in the future.
Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
[p]You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website.
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