MENACE News

[p]Over the past weeks, many questions have emerged regarding MENACE's features, our development progress, and our plans for Early Access. [/p][p][/p][p]This week's Dev Diary will feature a selection of the most frequently asked questions and our corresponding answers. Bear in mind that we have an iterative design process, and sometimes, it is very difficult for us to give definitive answers to certain questions—we just don’t know yet! This is especially true regarding nice-to-have features.[/p][p][/p][p]In addition, we don’t see the Early Access phase of the game as pure polishing. It’s actual live development incorporating the community's feedback, so you can expect quite a few changes.[/p][p][/p][h3]RELEASE & PLATFORMS[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: When can I play it?![/p][p] A: MENACE is scheduled to release on Steam Early Access in the Fall of 2025. We are not planning to do any open betas before that, so we’re afraid you’ll have to wait just a little bit more! We are tinkering with the idea of a combat demo, but we will announce when we have more concrete info on that.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: What will MENACE's overall price be for Early Access, and when can we expect a release date?[/p][p] A: It’s still too early to discuss what the price of the game will be. It might make sense to look at games with comparable size and production value to get a rough idea. As for the release date of the release date… stay tuned, Fall is coming![/p][p][/p][p]Q: What percentage of planned features does Overhype hope to have implemented before launching into Early Access?[/p][p] A: Regarding actual features and not content I would say 80%. Although it’s very hard to estimate, because if we feel something is missing during EA we will simply sit down, design a new feature and implement it.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will MENACE be available on GOG?[/p][p] A: Our publisher Hooded Horse will take that call.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Is MENACE planned to be Steam Deck compatible or Verified?[/p][p] A: Our publisher Hooded Horse will take that call.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will MENACE be playable offline?[/p][p] A: MENACE is a single-player game without online features, so yes.[/p][p][/p][h3]CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE & REPLAYABILITY[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Will there be an "end" to the campaign or an overarching plot, as opposed to Battle Brothers’ indefinite sandbox?[/p][p] A: Yes, MENACE has an overarching plot. You are the commander of a strike force tasked with bringing an isolated frontier system, the Wayback, into the fold of the Republic. When you get there you realize there is a bigger threat that might put the entire system at risk, and then spill over to the rest of the Republic. You have to find a way to neutralize this new foe (the titular MENACE) before it gets out of control. Thus, unlike in Battle Brothers, you need to beat the MENACE or you will eventually lose the game.[/p][p][/p][p] A piece of trivia: Battle Brothers was originally designed to end after defeating a late game crisis. The open end style of the game was not planned in its original concept.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be different types of crises like in BB?[/p][p] A: There aren’t crises (as they appear in Battle Brothers) per se. There is a looming threat that you have to beat, the MENACE, and operations – series of 3 to 5 missions (tactical battles), connected with loose story arcs, where losses carry over from one mission to the next. You can read more about operations in this dev diary.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be an endless mode?[/p][p] A: Right now we do not have an endless mode planned.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: How long is one campaign supposed to last?[/p][p] A: Over 30 hours.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: How long does it take to beat the game?[/p][p] A: It can vary a lot, because although the MENACE will spread and grow stronger as time goes by (so you cannot just ignore it or weather it, as you could with late game crises in BB), and you lose the game if you don’t take action, we want to give players the ability to take their time and play at their own pace. Thus, you can “speedrun” the game or take it slowly, so the length of a single playthrough is hard to estimate.[/p][p][/p][h3]STORY & NARRATIVE DESIGN[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Obviously, I know you can’t spare spoilers, but how will campaigns progress and conclude?[/p][p] A: The starting point is already known: you are the commander of a strike force sent to a frontier system, cut off from the Core Worlds, to pacify it and bring it back to the fold.[/p][p] The story will be carried by a few fixed points (comparable to the XCOM story missions), but apart from that everything is procedurally generated.[/p][p] We don’t want to spoil anything about the main storyline itself, so we cannot discuss much about its conclusion. Let’s just say that either you beat the MENACE or you don’t…[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be multiple origins to pick from when starting a new campaign?[/p][p] A: Not in the same way as in Battle Brothers. The origin is the same, you are always the commander of the strike cruiser TCRN Impetus, a republic Marine Corps strike force sent to the Wayback System. But you will get to select your starting squad leaders and pilots from a pool of characters, making every playthrough unique.[/p][p][/p][p] More ways of putting a twist on a new playthrough might be added eventually.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will any story content be added in conjunction with or instead of the planned main story?[/p][p] A: There will be a lot of story content, especially focusing on the squad leaders and pilots. That’s why they are handwritten and named, as opposed to the procedurally generated characters that are at the core of Battle Brothers. This allows us to create unique, meaningful dialogs, persistent relations, developing characters and their personalities… Having this group of wildly different personalities interact with each other and try to get along is one of the main points of the game’s storytelling. On top of that, operations and missions are procedurally generated, so there is still a lot of emergent narrative in MENACE.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: If DLC expansions are a possibility, would they be more narratively focused given the squad leader emphasis?[/p][p] A: We’re still developing the base game, it’s way too early to start thinking about DLC expansions. Although we will most probably add more Squadleaders no matter what kind of DLC we come up with.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will Overhype post about cut or unimplemented features during development?[/p][p] A: We started our dev diaries months ago; you can read them to learn more about the development of the game, some design challenges that we have encountered along the way… but we prefer to focus on what we are doing and what you will find in the game rather than what was left at the design table.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will the word “bro” appear as a nod to Battle Brothers?[/p][p] A: Looking for Easter eggs is fun. That’s all we want to say for now![/p][h3]SANDBOX, MODDING, AND COMMUNITY TOOLS[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: How open is the game planned to be? Will there be options for a sandbox-style mode?[/p][p] A: The player will have a decent amount of agency over the speed of progression through the game, but there won't be an endless sandbox mode. At least it’s not planned right now.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Is the game planned to have modding tools released with it?[/p][p] A: Yes, we plan to add Steam Workshop Support.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Is there any chance of Workshop support?[/p][p] A: See above.[/p][p][/p][h3]TACTICAL MECHANICS & COMBAT SYSTEMS[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Why legs?[/p][p] A: So you have more things to blow up, of course![/p][p][/p][p]Q: Do characters have permadeath? How crippling is it?[/p][p] A: Yes, there’s permadeath: If a character dies, they are gone for good, comparable to Jagged Alliance 2, which also had written characters that could permanently die. Other characters will react to these deaths in different ways; we want it to be meaningful and leave a footprint in your playthrough. However, for a squad leader falling during a mission doesn’t necessarily mean dying, and players will have tools to mitigate the chances of death.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: I'm wondering about the “fail a mission, lose the operation” system. Is there room for partial failure or strategic recovery within an operation?[/p][p] A: At the moment that is not planned, although you can save between missions and try a different approach when you load.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Can players draw or place markers down on the prep map to assist in planning?[/p][p] A: Not yet planned, but it sounds fun. It especially might make sense for streamers illustrating their strategy for their audience.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Do you plan to implement modern-ish combined arms elements into tactical gameplay, such as electronic warfare, drones, or ISR?[/p][p] A: Most types of indirect combat support will be implemented through so-called “off map abilities”. Area scans, smoke drops, electronic warfare, EMP strikes, close air support, etc. On top of that squad leaders might bring drones, mines, motion scanners or other equipment as “accessories”.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be drones or robots players can deploy, similar to how Battle Brothers used attack dogs?[/p][p] A: Yes, most likely in the form of “accessories” that squad leaders bring into the combat zone as part of their loadout.[/p][p][/p][h3]RECRUITMENT, FACTIONS, AND CUSTOMIZATION[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Will we be able to recruit from other factions or just use their gear?[/p][p] A: Squadleaders have a very wide variety of backgrounds. There are former pirates, mercenaries, hit-men, royal bodyguards, and more. Rules wise they are mainly falling into two categories: Marines and Non-Marines.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be different factions or starts the player can pick from?[/p][p] A: The player can choose a number of marine squad leaders at the beginning of the game, but the initial roster will always be composed of marines. You are commanding a Marine strike force, after all. As the playthrough progresses you’ll meet other factions and have the opportunity to recruit from different backgrounds.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Are dropships or strike ships customizable or persistent, or are they just abilities?[/p][p] A: All upgrades are done on the strike cruiser, but some of them get delivered by the drop ships. So by customizing your strike cruiser, you indirectly customize your drop ships. Offmap abilities delivered by the strike cruiser or the dropships will work in slightly different ways.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will squad leaders be 100% fixed in stats/traits, or is there campaign-to-campaign variability?[/p][p] A: Stats and traits are fixed for each squad leader, as it’s part of their personality and backstory. The perk tree should have enough flexibility to create a different build in each playthrough. You can read a bit more about the individual perk trees here, and more about squad leaders here:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Q: Will we have a limited number of replacements? Will we need to recruit from local populations?[/p][p] A: As they are written characters, the number of squad leaders is finite. You will start out with a team of Marine squad leaders and move on to recruit from the Wayback population afterwards. However, we are aiming at having at least 16 squad leaders on the Early Access release, and more will be added further down the road. We currently aim for 26 at the Full Release, but we keep adding more all the time so it depends on our work load how many we manage to implement at the end of the day.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Is there any chance for a customized squad leader, even alongside the written characters?[/p][p] A: Not really. A random or custom-generated character would always be a second-class character without any personality or interaction with other squad leaders, which is an essential part of the game. We will have to see how everything plays out during the EA though.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will every marine have a fully written backstory, or will there be some procedurally generated/customizable soldiers, too?[/p][p] A: They are all written characters. Otherwise it’s not possible to give them meaningful, persistent interactions. One of the things we missed a lot in Battle Brothers.[/p][p][/p][h3]EQUIPMENT, GEAR, AND VISUAL PROGRESSION[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Will there be named-item equivalents in MENACE?[/p][p] A: They are planned, but not in the game yet; although they will work a bit differently than named weapons in Battle Brothers (you’ll see). [/p][p]You can read more about weapons here:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Q: Will there be legendary location equivalents, too?[/p][p] A: Can't say yet.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will there be legendary equipment or locations?[/p][p] A: Can't say yet.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: What kind of company or troop customization can we expect?[/p][p] A: Regarding visual customization: Hard to say yet. It’s not ruled out, but time and resources are limited. When you choose to implement feature A, you will have to leave out feature B – and the core mechanics must come first. Having said that, having color choices for vehicles is a real possibility (although maybe added during EA). Of course this would need to be incorporated into the UI as well, which is always more work than it seems.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Can we rename squads or their leaders? How customizable are loadouts? Can I equip all shotguns or change colors?[/p][p] A: Renaming squad leaders doesn't make sense in this type of game, as they all are proper characters interacting with one another. A lot of lines for each character are also voiced by voice actors, which makes changing names impossible.[/p][p] If we add cosmetic customization then most likely in the form of changing colors for your armor, vehicle etc. Loadouts are completely customizable, there is no fixed equipment.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will cybernetics be included, like a soldier returning with a prosthetic or implant?[/p][p] A: We have some ideas for that, but nothing concrete yet.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: As units gain experience, will they display trophies or visual upgrades?[/p][p] A: No. The look of a unit will be determined by their equipment.[/p][p][/p][h3]SQUADS, LEADERS, AND INTERACTIONS[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Will there be unique events between squads, like Davkul cultists in BB?[/p][p] A: We have all kinds of events planned/written. Anything is possible.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: How many squad leaders or heroes will there be?[/p][p] A: The plan is to have at least 26 for the Full Release.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: How do squad leader relationships work mechanically? Do bonds or rivalries offer bonuses or penalties?[/p][p] A: Their interactions are already mostly implemented, but the concrete gameplay consequences are still being discussed.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Any chance for co-op or multiplayer campaigns?[/p][p] A: Not planned right now. Creating a multiplayer game is something completely different from a single-player game, and our vision was always creating a single-player experience.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: What about hot-seat co-op?[/p][p] A: Not planned, but who knows what the future brings.[/p][p][/p][h3]AUDIO, ART, AND PRODUCTION[/h3][hr][/hr][p]Q: Are the current voice lines final? Will there be improvements or more polish there?[/p][p] A: We will add more lines for all characters. The whole voice line system is still under construction.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Any news on who’s doing the soundtrack?[/p][p] A: We will dedicate a Dev Diary to that topic.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: Will sound design continue the high standard set in Battle Brothers?[/p][p] A: Absolutely. It’s a keystone element of Battle Brothers, essential for immersion, and we are going to keep the same high standard for MENACE.[/p][p][/p][h2]Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed[/h2][hr][/hr][p]That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.[/p][p][/p][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 — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

This week, we give you a snapshot of our active development and show you what we are working on right now. As always, everything we show here is a work in progress.

[h3]UI[/h3][hr][/hr]We are in full swing implementing the second iteration of the tactical combat UI and HUD. As soon as we make enough progress and the UI is in a proper shape, we will be able to share actual gameplay footage. This is also one of the final puzzle pieces we need to prepare a small combat demo for the game.

As part of the UI rework, we overhauled all unit icons. Inspired by NATO military symbology, the player should be able to roughly estimate a unit's role by just looking at its icon.




[h3]Art[/h3][hr][/hr]We are implementing more squad leaders all the time while at the same time trying to keep up with creating the corresponding character illustrations. For now, a lot of these are implemented as work-in-progress versions and will be finished later.


[h3]Concept[/h3][hr][/hr]As we are in the process of onboarding a technical artist, we are preparing some rough concepts for different subtypes of biomes for each of the game's classic biomes.

In this example, the basic biome would be called “temperate” as you would find it on the planet “Backbone”. The different subtypes of biomes would be temperate highlands and temperate marshlands.

Bear in mind that these concepts are just a very basic guideline for tech art, intended to illustrate roughly what we are aiming for.


[h3]Level Design[/h3][hr][/hr]Our main focus at the moment is adding more operation types to the game. Right now, we are working on another operation type for the pirate faction. Each enemy faction will have multiple different types of operations, each consisting of a unique set of missions. Of course, we will keep adding more operations during development.

Below, you can see a screenshot from our chunk system editor, which we use to create templates for procedurally generated parts of the map. In this case, it's a rogue forces defense line for the “breakthrough” mission type.


[h3]3D[/h3][hr][/hr]The 3D department is focusing on implementing the dynamic vehicle weapon system, which allows the player to equip their vehicle chassis as freely as possible with all available weapons.

We showed a basic concept in an earlier Dev Diary. Now, the system is actually shaping up and will soon be ready to be implemented. This gives the same freedom you already have when equipping squads to the vehicles and allows for an insane number of weapon load-outs.


[h2]Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed[/h2][hr][/hr]That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.

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 — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/
And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515209445812209259
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515208181997109524
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515207543396499582

The best protection against any weapon is not being seen in the first place. In MENACE, players and enemies have a lot of tools and tactics to avoid being seen or detected by the enemy and shape the battle in their favour.

Let’s dive in:

[h2]Vision Range[/h2][hr][/hr]The basis for any ranged combat system is, of course, the vision range of combat units. This is set at around nine tiles for most infantry, but this is not set in stone. This is the tile range on which the fog of war is lifted, and an enemy or neutral unit is revealed, which can thus be shot at.

Vehicles usually have a lower vision range despite most of them having electronic optics that enhance the driver's vision. The use of these devices is just slower and more cumbersome than being out in the open and looking around. Also, it reduces situational awareness, and that is why some especially heavy vehicles will have a minimum view range. An enemy unit standing right behind a tank might be invisible to the crew as it is too close and at a lower angle. In general, walkers will have more situational awareness than tanks as they can turn more quickly, are higher, and more mobile.


[h2]Lines of Sight[/h2][hr][/hr]Now it gets a bit controversial as the lines of sight rules in MENACE are different from many other games. Due to the larger scope of the game and the squad-based nature of units, we realized early in development that we would have to make some compromises and abstractions when calculating lines of sight.

The guiding principle here was to have a system that has maximum predictability for players and not necessarily maximum realism. Players not being able to accurately predict from what point of the battlefield they can see and shoot at an enemy, or at what point they are safe from enemy fire, leads to big misplays, massive frustration, and can easily cost you a mission.

That is why we decided to have 1x1 tile obstacles as well as 1x2 obstacles, not block lines of sight or lines of fire. Any obstacle that is 3x3 or bigger will use raycasting between tiles to determine if a tile is visible or not, and completely block any line of sight or fire.


As the line-of-sight-blocking obstacles are easily identifiable, players have a clear understanding of vision lines on the battlefield and can use them effectively.

When a squad is taking cover behind a 1x1 building, we can assume that they are pressing up against the wall but are still bending around corners to see and shoot. This is not visually modeled in the game animations, but it explains why units can still see and shoot from behind these objects.

Of course, standing next to any object grants directional cover and “concealment,” so it is still crucially important to keep your troops in cover.


[h2]Detection Versus Concealment[/h2][hr][/hr]Determining if a unit is within vision range of another unit is only the basis of determining if it is actually visible. We do have two factors from opposing sides that influence the final outcome.

Firstly, we are looking at concealment. Concealment depends on the characteristics and the position in the environment of the target unit. Each point of concealment reduces the effective vision range of all enemies against this particular unit. So if a unit is standing 9 tiles away from an enemy, it is visible. Still, if it has 1 point of concealment, this reduces the effective vision of that enemy by 1 down to 8, making the unit invisible. Another enemy standing closer by will, of course, still see that unit.

Concealment is gained through different means. Units might have promotions (perks) or accessories that increase their concealment. One example is infiltrator armor, which increases concealment, and another is a camouflage kit, which also increases concealment.


The environment itself is the main concealment mechanic, though. A unit in cover automatically gains concealment depending on the type of cover it is using.

Terrain features like high grass that units can move into are even more effective for hiding. Finally, some objects can contain units, like a dense forest or a bunker, both of which increase concealment.


An opponent's detection stat reduces the concealment of a unit. This stat can also change based on promotions or equipment like thermal vision devices and others. The detection is deducted from the enemy’s concealment when determining if a unit is visible or not. A detection of 1 versus a concealment of 1 will simply cancel out.

Example:
A Marine squad is hiding in tall grass, 9 tiles away from a Pirate unit. The grass provides +1 concealment, and the Marines are wearing infiltrator armor for an additional +1. The Pirate unit has no detection bonuses.

• Total concealment: 2
  
• Pirate detection: 0
  
• Effective vision range: 9 - 2 = 7 tiles

Since the Marines are 9 tiles away, they remain invisible to the Pirate unit.

In the game, we have a UI overlay that highlights exactly on which tiles an enemy will see you based on the concealment of your unit and that tile. This enables players to actually play around with the mechanic and not move somewhere and hope for the best.

We also decided to use a deterministic detection system rather than a random or chance-based one. Having it be chance-based will introduce too much uncertainty and randomness that is not easy for players to understand. In turn, this might lead to players ignoring the mechanic altogether, as it just sets them up for miscalculations and misplays.

[h2]Shooting and Visibility[/h2][hr][/hr]When a concealed unit is shooting any of its weapons, it will automatically be revealed to the enemy, no matter how high its concealment is. It will vanish again at the end of its turn, but the AI does remember where it last saw a unit and will move towards that position or just blind fire there.

The exception to this is silenced weapons, which do exist but are rather hard to acquire. They come with modded weapon variants and will not come as separate accessories. A unit with a silenced weapon will not be revealed to the enemy when shooting from concealment.

Example:
A Scout unit with high concealment is positioned in a forest tile, 8 tiles from an enemy tank. The Scout is equipped with a regular anti-vehicle rocket launcher.

• Before shooting: The Scout is concealed due to terrain and perks. The tank does not detect them.
  
• Upon firing: The Scout immediately becomes visible to all nearby enemies, including the tank.
  
• After firing: The Scout returns to concealment at the end of the turn, but the AI still remembers the shot’s origin and may send units or fire at that tile.
  

Now compare with this:

• Same Scout, but now equipped with a silenced modded rifle.
  
• The Scout fires from concealment.
  
• The unit remains hidden. The enemy never detects the shot’s source.
  

Making effective use of concealment will help your units to stay alive and attack from advantageous positions without the enemy being able to fight back efficiently. On the other hand, a hidden unit in your flank can disable your advancing tank with a single rocket into its side or rear armor. Due to their lower visibility sending vehicles into enemy territory without infantry support will set them up for short range ambushes by hidden enemies.

So, before you reveal your hiding place by shooting from concealment, you have to make sure you are in the best possible position. Or it might be better to hold your fire until the enemy moves into an even better ambush position.

[h2]Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed[/h2][hr][/hr]That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.

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 — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/

And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515208181997109524
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515207543396499582
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/642433677808108044

In the past we talked about operations without giving any more details. They are a new mechanic we developed to give missions more context and connect them into a loose story arc. Just as the tactical combat maps these are of course procedurally generated.

Read all about it in this week's diary.

[h3]What are Operations?[/h3][hr][/hr]Operations are, on the most basic level, a series of 3 to 5 missions. Each mission is a single tactical battle fought on a procedurally generated tactical battle map. The missions are connected in a tree-branched fashion so that players have a choice of which mission to take on next on each level of the operation.

All Operations will resolve in a single final mission, but the nodes before will usually offer more than one mission to choose from. It is important to note that only one mission can be resolved on each level, so the player can not backtrack or do multiple missions on a certain level.

All vehicle losses and damages will carry over between missions as well as elements lost in squads, so players have to be extra careful to not take too much damage early in the operation or to ensure that they have enough reserves to replace losses.

Once an operation is completed, certain rewards are gained, and all squad elements are refilled and vehicles repaired. Squad Leaders or Pilots who permanently die will, of course, not return. The same goes for vehicle chassis, as they can also be permanently destroyed.

[h3]Operation Rewards[/h3][hr][/hr]If players beat the final mission of an operation, they will receive hard-to-come-by OCI points used for upgrading their strike cruiser. They will also gain Authority, which is important for keeping the crew aboard the Impetus in check. Finally, they will increase their trust in the Wayback Faction that tasked them with the particular operation. Increasing trust will gradually unlock more upgrade options for the Impetus as the locals offer to supply knowledge and space wharf capacities to upgrade the Impetus.

Failing an operation can come easily, as failing a single mission will have the whole OP fail. In this case, no OCI points are gained, and also trust with the local faction will not rise but fall. Rewards earned for individual missions that have been completed until that point can, of course, be kept. Squads and Vehicles will be restored either way to ensure that players are not as easily heading down a spiral that is impossible to recover from.


Above is concept art of how operations will look in MENACE. This screen is heavily WIP and uses some placeholder text and art, but it shows all relevant elements.

On the right-hand side, the mission tree is visible, with the currently available missions, the mission path, the strategic assets connected to each mission, the mission difficulty, and the successfully completed missions.

On the left-hand side, the mission summary of the currently selected mission is visible with all relevant details like Mission Type, Biome, Weather, Daylight, Objectives, Supply Limit, and rewards. Based on this information, the player can choose which node to hit next. This will, of course, depend on the expected rewards but also on difficulty, personal preference, and how well prepared the player is for that particular mission type.

[h3]Mission Rewards[/h3][hr][/hr]As shown in the concept, each mission has a variety of rewards that are granted on successful completion. All of these will be kept even if the operation fails at a later stage.

• Promotion Points: These are used to promote and “level up” squad leaders, and how many you get depends on the mission performance.
  
• Strategic Assets (more on this further down)
  
• Items and Equipment: Each mission grants an item of a certain type, ranging from body armor to weapons, accessories, and even vehicle parts.
  

[h3]Strategic Assets[/h3][hr][/hr]We have not really discussed strategic assets yet, and we will most likely have a dedicated dev diary on them later.

Essentially, these are special boons granted to the player for the remainder of this operation that are acquired on mission completion. However, some assets might give permanent upgrades like items or OCI points. They are also thematically tied to the planet and the faction of the planet on which the operation is fought.

Examples of strategic assets are a mortar base that provides off-map fire support in following missions or an intelligence network that increases the player's intelligence rating until the end of the operation. It could also be something like a POW camp that adds auxiliary infantry units to the player's roster for the final mission.

[h3]Enemy Assets[/h3][hr][/hr]While strategic assets are positive, there are also enemy assets that work very similarly but are buffs granted to the enemy side of the operation. These could be a SAM site that stops the player from using air support, an armorer workshop that increases enemy vehicle armor rating, or a propaganda center that increases the enemy’s discipline.

Once a mission with a connected enemy asset is completed, that asset will be removed from the campaign, and the enemy will lose access to it. Enemy assets will only start appearing later in the game as they substantially increase the difficulty level. Once they show up, players will face difficult decisions as they can only gain a strategic asset on a mission or disable an enemy one, not both.

[h3]Example Operation[/h3][hr][/hr]Each operation will have a thematic story that explains why the Marines are needed to help out and what type of conflict is going on. Each operation will have a unique selection of missions that are pooled for the first mission, middle missions, and final mission.

While the pools of missions are fixed per operation, the missions that actually show up are randomized within their constraints, so that you will get a fresh mission tree every time you start the same operation. This way we make sure that there is context and a coherent story, but at the same time, there is as little repetition as possible.

Some missions might be shared between Operations, but most missions will be unique and appear only in a certain operation for maximum variety. We will also add more missions to each pool over time to further increase replayability.

[h3]Operation: Turn the Tide[/h3][hr][/hr]Rogue Army forces have overrun local defenses and are advancing quickly and mostly unhindered. The RMC has to sweep in and stop them so that an effective defense can be mustered and prepared further back. Be prepared to operate behind enemy lines and fight outnumbered and outgunned.

[h3]First Mission Pool[/h3]


[h3]Middle Mission Pool[/h3]


[h3]Final Mission Pool[/h3]
Keep in mind that this is just an example, and there will be many more operations to play through.

[h2]Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed[/h2][hr][/hr]That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.

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 — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/

And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515207543396499582
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/642433677808108044
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515206275424846335

After a bunch of Dev Diaries explaining the basic concepts and gameplay mechanics of MENACE, we want to start giving you an insight into the actual development. So this is a selection of what we are currently working on:

[h2]Concept Art[/h2][hr][/hr]We started working on concepting armor variants for some early game armors. Similar to the different variants of squad weapons, armors will come in a variety of styles. These variants not only look different, but also offer better stats or confer other bonuses.

Apart from the armor variants, we designed some additional structures to add more variety and tactical challenges to the combat maps, like barbed wire (infantry can’t pass) and tank barriers (vehicles can't pass).

[h2]UI[/h2][hr][/hr]We finally started implementing the second iteration of the tactical combat UI, which is a big step for us. Showing all the relevant information while not cluttering up the screen is a challenge for any game, especially for MENACE, given its complex design and high number of moving parts.

Designing the UI wasn’t possible earlier due to ongoing changes and tweaks to the game systems. Now that the core mechanics are more stable, we feel confident enough to begin implementing the necessary UI. The final look will differ from this mockup, but it should give a solid impression of what we’re aiming for.



[h2]3D[/h2][hr][/hr]Our 3D guys are working on more assets for civilian settlements to reduce the repetition of certain assets and make the settlements look more organic.

Another vehicle chassis, working title “generic light carrier,” is going to join our roster. This platform will be able to transport troops and/or be equipped with a variety of weapons. Depending on its loadout, it might lose this ability.

[h2]Tech Art[/h2][hr][/hr]While we’re already discussing vehicles, let’s crack straight into it.

This is a heavy work-in-progress, but we’re reworking how vehicles are set up in the game so they can be equipped with a variety of weapons, just like infantry squads.

Building the system is a challenge, but we’re confident it’s worth the effort. Each basic chassis has different hardpoints for mounting light, medium, or heavy weapons. That opens up a wide range of loadout possibilities, giving players the tools to build the vehicles they want.

Unique vehicles with fixed features (like the Rogue Army heavy tank) will still exist, but the general goal is to make the system as flexible as possible.

The tricky part is getting the 3D models for vehicles and weapons to work together—some of them need to be modified so everything fits visually.



[h2]Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed[/h2][hr][/hr]That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.

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 — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/

And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/642433677808108044
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515206275424846335
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515205641165341679