Steel Swarm: APOCALYPSE News

For the last two months, we've been working on transitioning SSA to a faster meta that keeps the player more engaged in the game without sacrificing gameplay enjoyment. We started this journey with the 2025_1_3 update, which we previously announced as “Drastic Meta Change?”

🎯 Our Goals:
Reduce average match time, increase average number of matches played
Increase the amount of time a player is actively in the game

🔍 Key Considerations:
Avoiding the snowball effect and making comebacks possible
Not compromising the game feel

After 9 updates in 2 months, we are proud to present a faster and more competitive SSA with version 2025_3_3!

Players who have been playing during this time have already witnessed the meta shift.

SSA is now faster…

📌 Changes Implemented

⏳ Increasing Player Engagement Time

Jump to Portal ability reworked:
Players can now teleport to any Portal Drone placed by their team!
This reduces travel times and enables more tactical gameplay.

XBT acceleration and reverse speed increased.
Certain slow XBTs now have better forward speed.

More upgrade options that improve speed & acceleration added.

Jet Fuel Buff added by the Spawn Zone.
Speeds up battlefield engagement.

Death Timer durations reduced.
Players now spend less time inactive.


⏳ Reducing Match Duration & Increasing Match Count
Minion HP & Vulcan damage reduced.
XBTs clear lanes faster.

Mantis buffs converted to offensive power.
Mantis now acts as a stronger finisher.

Minion damage to XBTs reduced.
Faster lane pushing.

Level XP requirements decreased.
Players reach max level faster!

Xalium distribution increased.
Faster upgrade completion.

Surrender option added.
Players can exit unbalanced matches earlier.


🎯 Avoiding Snowball & Encouraging Comebacks

More dynamic XBTs make early mistakes less punishing.

Lane pushing speed helps teams transition from defense to offense quicker.

Vulcan Armor Rework:
All Vulcans (except Tier 1) take significantly less damage from XBTs when minions aren’t nearby.
Prevents strong XBTs from ignoring waves and taking down Vulcans alone.
Gives losing teams a chance to defend their Vulcans.

With these changes, SSA now offers a gameplay experience where positioning and movement matter more than ever!

SSA will continue evolving rapidly. See you in future metas! 🚀

SSA TEAM

We're back with a new patch note!
In this update, we're introducing an important mechanic: assisting your teammates and setting up ganks is now much easier!
We believe this change will make a significant impact on the game's dynamics.

The Portal Drone mechanics have been redesigned!
You can now teleport to any Portal Drone placed by your team, significantly enhancing your mobility across the map and expanding your strategic options.

🌀 Portal Drone Adjustments

1. Portal Drone teleportation mechanics updated:
   
2. Players can now teleport to any Portal Drone placed by their team.
   
3. Players can select the desired Portal Drone from the minimap at any time.
   

⛽ Jet Fuel Buff Added

1. The Spawn Zone now applies a buff called Jet Fuel to all XBTs.
   
2. The buff is removed when an XBT takes damage or enters any "attacking" stance.
   

Buff Effects:

1. 0-15 minutes:
   
2. +20% Speed
   
3. +20% Acceleration
   
4. Duration: 30s
   

1. After 15 minutes:
   
2. +40% Speed
   
3. +40% Acceleration
   
4. Duration: 30s
   

🌿 Jungle Adjustments

1. Jungle XP values have been reduced.
   

🛠️ General Fixes & Improvements

1. Added an indicator on the minimap to show appropriate locations when Ballistic Drone is deployed in unsuitable areas.
   
2. Fixed incorrect attack warnings appearing on the minimap.
   
3. Fixed lock icons that were not disappearing when they should in the Upgrade Window.
   
4. Adjusted the color of certain text elements in the Upgrade Window.
   

🎯 Beginner Friendly Announcements Added

1. Added beginner-friendly announcements to improve the new player experience.
   

https://steelswarm.net/news/patch-notes-2025-3-3.html

SSA TEAM

At Clay Token, our software development engineer Serdar Oygen shares the challenges he faced while developing Steel Swarm: Apocalypse, the best advice he received in software engineering, and how he stepped out of his comfort zone in this project. 🚀

🔹 Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I've been working as a software development engineer at Clay Token for about 1.5 years. I love listening to music and outdoor sports.

🔹 What music genres and bands do you listen to while developing?
I can't write down a long list here, so let's just say I pick whatever comes to mind at the moment and go with it.

🔹 What is the best piece of advice you’ve received about software development?
I’d like to share this quote (unfortunately, I don't know the source, so I can't give proper attribution):

There are two types of software engineers: those who understand computer science well enough to do challenging, innovative work, and those who just get by because they’re familiar with a few high-level tools.

Both call themselves software engineers, and both tend to earn similar salaries in their early careers. But Type 1 engineers progress toward more fulfilling and well-remunerated work over time, whether that’s valuable commercial work or breakthrough open-source projects, technical leadership, or high-quality individual contributions.

Type 1 engineers find ways to learn computer science in depth, whether through conventional means or by relentlessly learning throughout their careers. Type 2 engineers typically stay at the surface, learning specific tools and technologies rather than their underlying foundations, only picking up new skills when the winds of technical fashion change.

🔹 What was the most challenging bug you encountered in this project, and how did you solve it? Also, what was your last "developer panic moment," and how did you handle it?
A build automation script was silently crashing every once in a while, and I couldn’t find what was wrong for a long time. Eventually, I had to implement a preventive measure to detect silent crashes and do whatever was necessary.

As for my developer panic moment, while people were waiting to join a test match, I accidentally killed one of our backend services. Unfortunately, there was no quick fix. People just had to wait until I got the service running again.

🔹 What’s something you did in this project that pushed you out of your comfort zone, and you’re glad you did?
When I first started with the project, I was assigned gameplay-related tasks, and there were many aspects that challenged me. Using different systems instead of what the game engine provided helped me step out of my comfort zone and learn new things.

Over time, as my tasks grew in scope, I found myself spending a lot of time outside my comfort zone. In my opinion, for someone at an early stage in their software engineering career like me, staying in a comfort zone doesn’t mean much.

🔹 What are you currently learning? How do you prioritize your "next things to learn" list?
Right now, I’m reading essays by Fred Brooks. As the scope of my work expands, I find myself needing to explore the social aspects of software engineering. After this, I’ll move on to topics that will require me to get under the hood and do low-level stuff.

When deciding what to learn next, I focus on a few key things:

• First, I have a main goal for what I want to achieve.
  
• Then, I choose smaller objectives that contribute to that goal.
  
• As I learn and gain new insights, I adjust my learning path accordingly.
  

Sometimes, I pause. Sometimes, imposter syndrome kicks in. I don’t see these as failures, just part of the process—another reason why I don’t rigidly stick to a priority list. I don't see these things as black and white, which is why I find the idea of a "strict priority list" a bit rigid. So, I can’t give a definitive answer here.

🔹 How many cups of coffee do you drink per day?
Zero. The cliché of programmers and their love for coffee will remain a cliché for me.

🔹 What advice would you give to a newly graduated developer?
Don’t turn every piece of advice you receive into a personal problem just because you lack experience.
This is your journey—walk your own path.

🔹 Among the features you developed in this project, which one makes you the proudest and why?
I take pride in any feature that increases efficiency, remains functional for a long time, adapts to new needs with modifications, and is easy for my teammates to use.

We had a special conversation with Kerem S. Hünal, one of the key figures shaping the visual world of Steel Swarm Apocalypse!

From the role of art in game development to concept designs, sources of inspiration, and creative processes, Kerem S. Hünal shares valuable insights and discusses his experiences in visual development.

🚀 In this interview, you will discover:

• The importance of visual design in game development
  
• Sources of inspiration and creative processes
  
• The fundamentals of concept design and world-building
  
• Career tips and advice for aspiring artists
  

📧 Contact Kerem: [email][email protected][/email]

🎨 Kerem's ArtStation Profile: Visit Here

📺 Watch the Interview on YouTube: Click Here

SSA TEAM

Thank you to our players for their participation in the Next Fest event of Steel Swarm Apocalypse!

🎮 The top-performing players on the leaderboard are now receiving their rewards!

We are starting to distribute special rewards to the players who achieved outstanding success in the events held throughout Next Fest.

🏅 Congratulations to our winning players!

Stay tuned for upcoming events and surprise rewards! 🚀

🔗 For more details: Visit Our Website

SSA TEAM