Steel Swarm: APOCALYPSE News

• [h2]Minion Damage Update[/h2]
  
• Minion damage to XBTs has been reduced by 75%.
  
• However, if you attack an enemy XBT and minions turn on you, they will deal full damage while chasing you (attacking XBT stance).
  

• [h2]Vulcan Armor Update[/h2]
  
• Vulcan Armor has been added to all Vulcans except Tier 1 Vulcans.
  
• Vulcan Armor absorbs 75% of the damage dealt by an XBT to that Vulcan.
  
• If there are allied minions nearby, Vulcan Armor becomes ineffective, and the XBT deals full damage.
  

• [h2]Upgrade Changes[/h2]
  
• Megaron Armor price increased from 3450 → 4000 XA.
  
• X-Bone price increased from 1500 → 1700 XA.
  
• Superconductor now provides 6% Rev Speed and its price increased from 1050 → 1600 XA.
  
• Hyper Cooling now provides 4% Rev Speed and its price increased from 2800 → 3150 XA.
  

• [h2]Respawn Time Adjustments[/h2]
  
• Level 1: 6s → 4s
  
• Level 2: 11s → 6s
  
• Level 3: 15s → 9s
  
• Level 4: 20s → 11s
  
• Level 5: 24s → 14s
  
• Level 6: 28s → 17s
  
• Level 7: 33s → 20s
  
• Level 8: 37s → 24s
  
• Level 9: 42s → 27s
  
• Level 10: 46s → 31s
  
• Level 11: 50s → 35s
  
• Level 12: 55s → 39s
  
• Level 13: 59s → 44s
  
• Level 14: 64s → 48s
  
• Level 15: 68s → 53s
  
• Level 16: 72s → 58s
  
• Level 17: 77s → 63s
  
• Level 18: 81s → 69s
  
• Level 19: 86s → 74s
  
• Level 20: 90s → 80s
  

• [h2]UI and Visual Fixes[/h2]
  
• Fixed an issue where the map appeared for a single frame in the UI opening animation.
  
• Fixed text and sprite overlapping issues.
  

• [h2]Gameplay Changes[/h2]
  
• Added backdoor protection.
  
• Reduced swarm damage to XBTs depending on their stance.
  

• [h2]Social Menu Update[/h2]
  
• A new social menu with a 64-friend limit has been introduced.
  
• Users can now search for other players, block/unblock, send, accept, and ignore friend requests.
  

https://steelswarm.net/news/patch-notes-2025-3-2.html
SSA TEAM

Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I'm Tuna. I graduated from TOBB ETU with a degree in Computer Engineering and have been working as a software development engineer at Clay Token for two years.

What music genres and bands do you listen to while developing?
I can listen to anything; I'm not picky. I'm currently working through Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about software development?
Instead of "if it works, don't touch it," I follow "if it works, touch it anyway."

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?
There was a bug where Swarm behaved strangely when selecting its attack target. The challenge was tracking data across numerous entities, making it difficult to pinpoint where the issue lay. I don’t exactly remember how I solved it, but I fixed potential causes one by one until it worked.

As for my developer panic moment, it happened when we were uploading our first build for playtesting on Steam. Our office internet suddenly went down, forcing us to move a monitor and a PC to a place with internet access. While uploading the build, the monitor started failing slowly, which added to the stress. Struggling to meet the deadline due to circumstances beyond our control was a real panic-inducing moment for me.

What’s something you did in this project that pushed you out of your comfort zone, and you're glad you did?
Working on backend tasks was completely outside my comfort zone.

What are you currently learning? How do you prioritize your "next things to learn" list?
In my free time, I’m learning DirectX 12, but since it’s a hobby, I don’t follow a strict schedule. Through a close friend, I discovered Adrian Courrèges' blog, which contains a collection of articles analyzing graphics in games. I read about games that interest me and add techniques I find fascinating to my "things to learn next" list. Right now, I’m trying to recreate the footprints characters leave in snow and mud in Diablo IV.

How many cups of coffee do you drink per day?
I prefer not to answer this question. :)

What advice would you give to a newly graduated developer?
Never stop improving yourself. We are in a constantly evolving and changing industry, so we must adapt to continuous learning.

Among the features you developed in this project, which one makes you the proudest and why?
I’d say the Mod system. It’s one of the steps in our XBT addition pipeline and includes a tool that everyone involved in adding XBTs uses. The less code my colleagues need to write when adding an XBT, the happier I am.


WebSite: https://steelswarm.net/news/developer-spotlight-tuna.html

[h2]🔧 Gameplay & Balance Adjustments[/h2]

1. Reverse Speed (REV SPD) improvements for Insolence, Queen, Freedom Fighter, Khan, and Panther.
   
2. Forward Speed (FWD SPD) improvements for Sphinx and Ironclad.
   
3. Acceleration (ACC) increased for all XBTs.
   
4. Spawn Zone buff amount increased.

[h2]🎯 Experience & Progression Changes[/h2]

1. Bonus XP for multiple XBTs in the same lane increased from 25% to 50%.
2. Skipping tutorials now grants XP.

[h2]🎵 UI & Audio Improvements[/h2]

1. Players now receive a warning sound when attempting to buy gear or upgrades outside of the base.
2. Player avatar and level are now displayed in the launcher.

[h2]📜 Bug Fixes & Text Corrections[/h2]

1. Skill and Mod(T) descriptions have been fixed.
2. Missing explanations for abilities have been rewritten.

[h3]SSA TEAM[/h3]

With our official Reddit account, we will directly engage with players. We invite you to join our community!

[h2]What can you do on our Reddit page?[/h2]

1. Share your memes! We want to see your funny and creative content about the game.
   
2. Ask developers your questions anonymously! Don't hesitate to ask anything you're curious about.
   
3. Join discussions! Talk about game mechanics, XBT balance, mod suggestions, and much more.
   
4. Share your feedback! Let's make Steel Swarm: Apocalypse even better together.
   

Be part of the community, share your thoughts on the game, and join the fun!

[h3]Follow us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/ClayTokenGameStudio/ [/h3]

Join us for a live stream with our development team! We will answer your questions, discuss the game, and share insights into the development process.

What Will We Talk About?

Game Art & Design
Development Process & Technical Details
Game Production & Live Service Games

Developer Live Stream (Developer Q&A Session)
📅 27.02 Thursday | 21:00 - 23:00 (UTC+3)

🔥 Rewards are increasing throughout Next Fest!

Nexlan Coin earnings have been boosted for the event duration! Jump into the game, compete, and earn more NC to unlock your tanks! 🚀🔥

🔗 Steam Page: [Steel Swarm: Apocalypse](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3199180/Steel_Swarm_APOCALYPSE/)
Web: https://steelswarm.net/news/next-fest-rewards.html

SSA Team