Iron Armada News

Hello everyone! We're constantly updating and building Iron Armada, and we like to incorporate our community into that process! Every few weeks we like to poll our players on what feature they would like to see next! In addition to our regular updates of fixes and upgrades of course =P



What would you like to see in the next major build of Iron Armada! Help us choose our research and development tree
Voite here: https://strawpoll.com/3b8c3146



Currently Iron Armada is multiplayer only! However luckily for us... it is considerably easier to make a multiplayer game singleplayer, than a singleplayer game multiplayer!

We've been working on systems that enable local singleplayer. Basically allowing the player to invisibly host and join their own private multiplayer session, without needing an internet connection!

Of course it would be pretty boring to play by yourself without anything to shoot at... so we've also been developing a series of "drone core" blocks! These blocks act as artificial intelligence computers for the ships they are attached to! Meaning singleplayer matches could include waves of drone starships to fight, salvage, and capture!

If you want singleplayer to be our next priority, vote here!
https://strawpoll.com/3b8c3146



"I want to see shoot at a ship, and suffocate all the crew!"

So do we dear player... so do we.

Currently Iron Armada has a basic oxygen supply system in place... players have their own oxygen tanks, which slowly deplete with off a ship! However that isn't as much fun as suffocating your opponants to death with a few well placed shots!

This feature is actually much easier for us to implement than many players would believe! Our ship blocks already have support for "this block does or doesn't have oxygen" and flood fill mechanics, both of which are the primary pre-requisites for a proper oxygen system!

If we implement this system... don't worry, player suits will still be a thing! However players without suits will be considerably less encumbered... allowing for greater ship-command capability! This will keep a smart balance between vulnerable non-suit players, and vacuum immune suited players!

If you want oxygen and airlocks to be our next priorty, vote here!
https://strawpoll.com/3b8c3146



Sometimes blowing up a ship isn't fun enough... sometimes you need to blow up a ship in style.

Currently Iron Armada has simple damage mechanics. You have a gun. Your enemy has a block. You shoot gun at block. Block takes damage. Done

However... I'm not sure about the rest of you, but one of my favorite shows is The Expanse... and I can't get that one scene out of my head... you know, the one with the bullets tearing through their pressurized hull?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbyQlrNBFMA

We want our battles to feel like this when Iron Armada is done.

We have already laid the ground work for an advanced ballistics and armor penetration system... allowing for a huge variety of weapon types, and ammunition combinations.

Not just rounds that pierce through enemy armor... but rounds that explode after penetration. Bunker buster bombs. Rockets. High explosive anti tank rounds. Nuclear torpedoes... and more.

To begin this, we'll need to polish up and implement our base armor piercing and area-of-effect damage functions. We already have a few prototypes completed... but we'll need to have a few focus sessions to finish implementing it into the game!

If you want advanced weapon systems implemented next, vote here!
https://strawpoll.com/3b8c3146



These first three features are only the current systems we're working on... but as development progresses, we're expecting to have votes on future roadmap features as we get closer to our full release!

Some of the upcoming features we're working on are:

• In-game VOIP, including hailing other ships, and talking with other crewmembers using positional audio.
  
• Multiplayer campaigns, including a strategic meta-game, planets with buildable factories/shipyards/defenses, and player crew "squads."
  
• A complete power management overhaul, including new systems that influence ship power, require powerline connections, and reward dedicated power management "engineering" players.
  
• Expanded ammunition systems, that allow ships to dock and replenish ammunition stocks. Also allow for "targeted" attacks that can cause secondary internal explosions within ships.
  
• Ship fuel and fuel management functionality... requiring ships to mine, process, and maintain fuel stores. Also allowing the potential for "afterburner" thrusters that consume more fuel in exchange for additional speed.
  
• A complete user interface overhaul, making the entire game much more fluid, intuitive, and streamlined.
  

Besides that, we're still working on fixing bugs, improving stability, and planning future features beyond our full release! Thank you to everyone who has purchased the game and supported development so far, and for those of you who have not yet purchased the game due to financial constraints... hold tight! We'll have something for you too soon!

Until then, I'll see you on the battle...space...field!

Links for our community portals:
https://forum.bluedrake42.com
https://discord.gg/ironarmada

Cheers!

~ Bluedrake42
Drakeling Labs

Here is a current log of current known issues, these will hopefully be fixed in the next patch! However we still think its important to let you know about them.





Currently (if exited improperly, such as ALT+F4) the game will not properly close down... and will be left hanging in your processes. Since Iron Armada is a Steam game, sometimes this will be seen as Iron Armada "still running" when it isn't really.

In order to fix this (on Windows) all you need to do is press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC and (if you haven't already) press "more details." From there... simply find the process labeled "Iron Armada" and right click, then select "end task."

This will be fixed in the next patch, when we include a secondary check to ensure the entire game is closed... even if exited improperly. Little things like this is why we like to test the game with our community, because we find little things like this that we would normally miss internally =P



Currently when your player is killed, and you are waiting to respawn before the game has restarted... your game will crash (because your character is trying to respawn on a core that doesn't exist anymore!)

This will be fixed with the next patch as well. Since we only need to put in a function that gives the game a fallback when the core you're trying to spawn on doesn't exist anymore. Hopefully an easy fix for 3.2.1!




Currently when using the server browser, it has trouble highlighting any other server other than the first one! Do not worry however, you can still join the server you're pointing at... its only the UI that is highlighting it improperly!

Again, an easy fix for next patch!
Thanks so much everyone for your help so far! Finding these issues and fixing them is very important for us! If you have any questions, make sure you head to our Discord and forums to post there!

After we spend some time bug-fixing, I'll be posting our next development update which will cover new features we're working on =) and also hopefully have a community vote on which feature we should include next!

Links for our community portals:
https://forum.bluedrake42.com
https://discord.gg/ironarmada

Cheers!

~ Bluedrake42
Drakeling Labs

Iron Armada's development is open to the entire community! If you want to see something in the game, we give our entire community the tools they need to help. Here is how you can...





Iron Armada is a game built by what was originally a gaming community. Our group started humbly, with only a handful of gamers that decided to take matters into our own hands... and learn how to make a game. That spirit never changed, and we keep our entire development infrastructure open to our community... so that anyone can help us make Iron Armada better.

If you are interested in helping us with Iron Armada... either by creating a mod, reporting a bug, or even contributing to the core codebase... then we make that possible by visiting our public source code repository:

https://gitlab.bluedrake42.com/drakelinglabs/ironarmada

This is where all the work on our game is done. So if you are ever interested in what we have been working on lately... you can check whenever you want, and help us out whenever you want.



If you are interested in hosting a server for Iron Armada, we make our dedicated server available through the tools section of Steam. If you need help setting one up... feel free to message us on Discord, and we can lend a hand.

Iron Armada's dedicated server application identification code is 770340. If you are a system administrator and have any input on our dedicated server tool (which I guarantee we can make better) please contact us!



Finally... if you don't feel you have anything to offer Iron Armada, I guarantee you are wrong! There are always tons of ways for anyone to help us with developing the game... starting with finding talented people to make our game better!

Iron Armada is built from scratch in Java... using the LibGDX library, the free Box2D framework for physics simulation, and Artemis ODB for our EC system!

So if you really want to make a difference... spend time crawling the internet, searching the LibGDX forums, talking to Java developers, and starting up a conversation with anyone you think might be interested in helping make Iron Armada better!

As always we will continue to be active on our website, forums, and Discord. If you ever have any questions about the game, or ideas to help... make sure you spend time in those places! The ways you can help Iron Armada will constantly be growing, and changing... so watch this space to stay informed!

Links for our community portals:
https://forum.bluedrake42.com
https://discord.gg/ironarmada

Thank you for your support, and attention!

~ Bluedrake42
Drakeling Labs

Hello! This is a quick walkthrough of how to play Iron Armada!





Keep in mind that Iron Armada is still in an early state of development, and there are many things that are still being developed. One of those things currently, is our control scheme. In the future, we are planning to implement flexible (and more standard) customizeable control mapping, in-game tutorials, and more intuitive default control schemes.

Our overall goal is to keep Iron Armada's control scheme as simple as possible... but allow the mechanics they control allow for the deep gameplay depth we're all expecting. This means that many of the current controls are placeholder, and will likely be phased out (or changed) as development progresses.



Iron Armada has a centralized control scheme for movement, both when piloting a ship... and when walking as a crewman (or infantryman.)

Basic controls for infantry are as follows:

E - Interact (used for entering cockpits, entering turrets, picking up items, using trade menus, and more)

T - Toggle power. Can be used to switch any friendly powered block on or off. Cannot be used on enemy ships.

W - Forward
A - Backward
S - Left
D - Right

Spacebar - Use your jetpack, and board (or de-board) ships.

Scroll wheel - Zoom your camera in or out.

Right click - Aim weapon, or deconstruct (when holding a repair tool)
Left click - Fire weapon, or repair (when holding a repair tool)

When piloting a ship, the onboard ship computer will automatically calculate which thrusters best translate to your command. Some players may not realize this... but all current ships operate on a basic "fly by wire" system (that we plan to expand) that powers ship controls.

Basic controls for piloting ships (or piloting turrets) are as follows:

E - Stop piloting ship, and exit the cockpit.

T - Toggle power remotely. When in a cockpit, a pilot can remotely power on or off any friendly block attached to the ship... regardless of distance.

W - Thrust forward
A - Thrust backward
S - Move left
D - Move right

Spacebar - Toggle strafing mode (while held)

Scroll wheel - Zoom your camera in or out. Zooming out while piloting a ship gives you access to the command map.

Right click - Aim
Left click - Fire all pilot-controlled weapons



Currently the primary gamemode for Iron Armada is an objective based, simple, team versus team gamemode. In the future we will continue updating this gamemode to be considerably more in-depth, as well as adding new modes (including singleplayer) that allow servers (and singleplayer players) to explore much more complex (and interesting) ways to play Iron Armada.

Ship core - These ship cores are the primary objectives of the game. These are where you purchase ship parts from, where you sell ship salvage for credits, and where you equip new infantry classes. A team is victorious when it destroys all cores owned by the enemy team.

Planets - Planets are capturable objectives that generate resources for the conquering team. Different planets generate different amounts of resources. We're hoping to considerably expand upon planetary gameplay in the future.

Asteroids - Asteroids are inert structures on the battlefield that can be salvaged (by any team) for resources.

Classes - Infantry classes can be equipped at medical bays and ship cores. There are currently three different classes, that are all subject to change.

• Pilot - Can pilot ships, build parts, repair parts, salvage parts, and man turrets.
  
• Marine - Has an assault rifle. Used for boarding enemy ships. Cannot pilot ships. Cannot build parts. Cannot salvage parts.
  
• Miner - Has a drill. Can salvage ship parts for credits, without needing to sell them at a ship factory (or core.) Cannot pilot ships. Cannot build parts.
  

Again, currently these weapons are subject to change... and new weapons will be added as development progresses. There are currently three basic weapon types, that are each fundamentally different.

Fixed weapons - Weapons that are fixed forward, and cannot turn.
Remote turrets - Turrets that are controlled remotely, by a remote terminal.
Manned turrets - Turrets that require a player to mount the weapon directly.

Currently railguns are an example of a fixed weapon, gatling turrets require a remote terminal, and the flak cannon requires a mounted player gunner to be fired.



Hopefully this helps you enjoy the game more, and will help you in your battles against the enemy! To victory beltalowda!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Feel free to join our Discord and official forums... where we will be happy to help you!

https://forum.bluedrake42.com
https://discord.gg/ironarmada

~ Bluedrake42
Drakeling Labs

Today we discuss where we are now, and what we want to do next!





Iron Armada has come a long way since our first Greenlight campaign. We had a roadmap to build ourselves a solid simple platform, for us to grow from... and to expand upon forever. After nearly a year of work, we feel we have met that goal. As we continue to improve that upon bedrock we've built, the speed of development will start accelerating as well... like an oiled machine.

Getting us where we are now has been a long path of hard work, but also with a clear and direct goal. To build a pyramid... we needed a foundation. That foundation consisted of the following:

• Competitive-Grade Networked Physics
  
  In the event of high latency, or resource overload... we needed to build a system which resolved networked physics issues in a non-game-breaking way. This means instead of glitching ships, or exploding blocks... it compromises by slowing down all clients to properly simulate all physics events.
  
  Because of this, when you play Iron Armada... you'll notice that our physics simulation process makes competitive play incredibly feasible. This was our goal for the first build of Iron Armada. We wanted the game to feel like a competitive game, not a sandbox. That meant finding ways to remove all the "wtf" or "why did that happen" moments that you often see in other building block games.
  
  We want the entire game to revolve around competitive play, and if we are to build our game upon that premise... we needed competitive-grade networking as our bedrock. This was imperative to our foundation of Iron Armada.
  
  
• Complex Animations & Destruction
  
  We didn't just want Iron Armada to be competitive-grade, we also wanted it to look and feel good too. Having support for weapon animations, micro-destruction, and combat effects was additionally essential.
  
  When weapons take damage, they become inactive. When reactors are damaged, they lose power (affecting the entire ship.) When weapons fire, they make proper integrated animations. All blocks have damage states and power values that we intend to expand on in the future.
  
  
• Foundation Resource Gathering
  
  As a competitive game, we wanted to build a robust resource framework. Something that can be built upon, and deepened... but also intuitive and powerful.
  
  In the current build of Iron Armada, you can mine procedural asteroids, exchange scrap for new parts, capture planets for residual income, and build factories to produce new ships. These foundational components are simplistic in their elementary form... but form the basis of a solid resource framework that can be infinitely expanded upon in the future.
  
  Support for multiple resource types, shipyards, material refining, and more is all foundationally supported. Iron Armada can now rival the inter-structural complexity of games like Factorio, or stick to more simplistic roots... but now both options are possible.
  
  It is only a matter of what we choose to do, not what is technically feasible! Which is the ideal place to be in when developing a game.
  
  

Iron Armada is a canvas. Something we can take in any direction, and something that our community can influence in any way. As we progress, more details will be released on future features, design ideas, and suggestions we receive from the community.

Currently the only limitation is our imagination, and we want you (our community) to play a big part in building that vision. So for now... play the game, post your ideas, attend the events, and make yourself heard. You are one of the few here, at the beginning of everything, making your influence greater than anyone who comes after. Don't waste it!

Until next time, I hope to see you on the battlefield... and keep a close eye out for upcoming updates and announcements!

Thank you for your support, and attention!

~ Bluedrake42
Drakeling Labs