What are we working on?
Hey everyone :)
We’re sure many of you are wondering… when is the next update? What are we working on? What can you expect?
So here we are, to walk you through some of our design intentions for the next update and to talk about some of the fancy things you can expect.
The next update will land in March. We usually like to release an update every month or so, but this time around we needed more time to deploy the changes we’re aiming for.
The main goal of our next update is to settle many of the game systems in order to be able to serenely inject new content in the future. We’re basically setting the stage for all the incoming updates in terms of content.
But before we dive in, we wanted to say a few words for the overwhelmingly positive reviews you posted. Few days ago we reached over a thousand reviews, this is a huge milestone for the game and our studio in general. We’re humbled by your support and it gives us even more motivation to make Roboquest the best it can be. We can literally boost our morale by simply going on Steam and reading all the positive things you have to say about Roboquest… Big thanks to everyone, thank you!
So… what are we working on?
[h2]Classes[/h2]
We’re looking to improve the classes for a long time now. We weren’t fully happy about them, mostly because they don’t feel unique enough right now. So in the next update, we’re looking at giving them more flavor, more personality and most important of all, give them a more distinct playstyle.
[h3]Quick Attack[/h3]
One of the first things we wanted to do was to open up more design rooms for melee attacks. We therefore decided to rename them “quick attack”. More than a simple name change, it allows us to make them more alike “secondary skill” and consequently makes us able to create more synergy between them and the rest of the character class kit.
[h3]Unique Mechanics[/h3]
To create those synergies, we thought we needed something more for classes, something unique. We decided to opt for unique class-mechanics, mechanics we can use in abilities, quick attacks or even in perks. This gives more depth to each class and helps make their gameplay feel unique.
As an example, let's talk a bit about the Recon. It still has the Stealth and the Slash abilities you’re used to, but we tied them together with a “combo points” system. These points are earned by using Stealth or by destroying enemies and Slash consumes them to deal increased damage. While it might seem simple on the surface, it makes us able to create perks and effects which trigger off of, regenerate, modify or play around with these combo points. This ultimately makes the recon feel different to play from the other classes and give more uniqueness to the build you’re going for.
[h2]Artifacts[/h2]
We think Artifacts play a large part in what makes trial and error and replaying fun and we’re working at improving the amount of content you can experience on that side.
We’re therefore currently testing and implementing a lot of different artifacts. Without spoiling or giving too much details, we can give you the example of a “Third Jump” and a “Glasscannon” artifact which we expect to spice up your runs.
[h2]Weapons[/h2]
Whether it’d be their balance, their progression, their names or the affix system, weapons are kinda “all over the place” right now. We’re looking at improving all of this to reach several goals: encourage picking up new weapons, obviously making more weapons viable, turning the act of leveling up weapons a positive and more logical experience (regardless of RNG) and finally make us able to drop a larger variety of weapon at each level (without breaking the balance).
[h3]Progression[/h3]
Currently weapon “stars” is a misleading concept, most players think it improves their weapons’ damage. So we’ve decided to do exactly that, each star now increases the damage your weapons deal. Each star corresponds to one “weapon level” and you’ll find higher level weapons the further you progress in the level.
Stars are now disconnected from the weapon affix system and any weapon has a chance to obtain random affixes. Not only does it make “leveling up” weapons a more positive experience (like mentioned before) it also makes people who wish to keep their weapon able to do so.
[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]
We’re cleaning up many of the weapon systems who weren’t quite “up to the level” compared to the rest, noticeably a better shotgun hit and damage system, a reworked warmup system (which instantly start shooting but increases its rate of fire as you hold the button) and other quality of life things such as being able to cancel your reload using your weapon ability.
[h2]Levels[/h2]
Not all levels are receiving the updates we’re talking about here, it will be an incremental implementation but we can already start talking about our intentions regarding them.
[h3]Verticality[/h3]
We’re adding another layer of verticality (the same one you can find in the Oasis or Haven-City right now) to some “flatter” levels (starting with the Canyons). It increases the number of angles you can negotiate the hostile encounter from and puts the lights on mobility artifacts such as the jetpack.
[h3]Randomness[/h3]
Several people have been asking us if the level design was actually randomized. The short answer is “yes it is” but we’re missing some parts to make it clearly varied. We’re hard at work to provide you more diversity on that side (starting with the Oasis).
[h3]Encounter Diversity[/h3]
We’re not directly talking about “enemy diversity” (in the sense of more enemies) but rather the way enemy encounters are built-up (what enemies they contain). We’re improving the systems and implementing new ones on top of it to generate more varied enemy encounters, which we internally call “bouquet of enemies”. This makes the tactical approach of each encounter more interesting and reduces the likelihood of fighting the exact same bouquet several times in a row.
[h3]Environment[/h3]
Finally, we’re applying some “polish” pass to several levels (starting with the Canyons, the Oasis and Haven-City) to finally give a more flavorful touch to each of them. We hope you’ll be enjoying your time more than ever there :)
And that covers some of the important things we've been and are still working on.
We also just released a hotfix to some of the more gamebreaking issues such as being unable to play the game :D. We're sorry for the inconvenience these issues have caused and we thank everyone involved in reporting and sharing their "crash dumps" and "corrupted save game" with us!
You can find the patch-note of the hotfix here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/692890/announcements/detail/3034832842295249993
We wish you all a great week-end and happy robot bashing!
We’re sure many of you are wondering… when is the next update? What are we working on? What can you expect?
So here we are, to walk you through some of our design intentions for the next update and to talk about some of the fancy things you can expect.
The next update will land in March. We usually like to release an update every month or so, but this time around we needed more time to deploy the changes we’re aiming for.
The main goal of our next update is to settle many of the game systems in order to be able to serenely inject new content in the future. We’re basically setting the stage for all the incoming updates in terms of content.
But before we dive in, we wanted to say a few words for the overwhelmingly positive reviews you posted. Few days ago we reached over a thousand reviews, this is a huge milestone for the game and our studio in general. We’re humbled by your support and it gives us even more motivation to make Roboquest the best it can be. We can literally boost our morale by simply going on Steam and reading all the positive things you have to say about Roboquest… Big thanks to everyone, thank you!
So… what are we working on?
[h2]Classes[/h2]
We’re looking to improve the classes for a long time now. We weren’t fully happy about them, mostly because they don’t feel unique enough right now. So in the next update, we’re looking at giving them more flavor, more personality and most important of all, give them a more distinct playstyle.
[h3]Quick Attack[/h3]
One of the first things we wanted to do was to open up more design rooms for melee attacks. We therefore decided to rename them “quick attack”. More than a simple name change, it allows us to make them more alike “secondary skill” and consequently makes us able to create more synergy between them and the rest of the character class kit.
[h3]Unique Mechanics[/h3]
To create those synergies, we thought we needed something more for classes, something unique. We decided to opt for unique class-mechanics, mechanics we can use in abilities, quick attacks or even in perks. This gives more depth to each class and helps make their gameplay feel unique.
As an example, let's talk a bit about the Recon. It still has the Stealth and the Slash abilities you’re used to, but we tied them together with a “combo points” system. These points are earned by using Stealth or by destroying enemies and Slash consumes them to deal increased damage. While it might seem simple on the surface, it makes us able to create perks and effects which trigger off of, regenerate, modify or play around with these combo points. This ultimately makes the recon feel different to play from the other classes and give more uniqueness to the build you’re going for.
[h2]Artifacts[/h2]
We think Artifacts play a large part in what makes trial and error and replaying fun and we’re working at improving the amount of content you can experience on that side.
We’re therefore currently testing and implementing a lot of different artifacts. Without spoiling or giving too much details, we can give you the example of a “Third Jump” and a “Glasscannon” artifact which we expect to spice up your runs.
[h2]Weapons[/h2]
Whether it’d be their balance, their progression, their names or the affix system, weapons are kinda “all over the place” right now. We’re looking at improving all of this to reach several goals: encourage picking up new weapons, obviously making more weapons viable, turning the act of leveling up weapons a positive and more logical experience (regardless of RNG) and finally make us able to drop a larger variety of weapon at each level (without breaking the balance).
[h3]Progression[/h3]
Currently weapon “stars” is a misleading concept, most players think it improves their weapons’ damage. So we’ve decided to do exactly that, each star now increases the damage your weapons deal. Each star corresponds to one “weapon level” and you’ll find higher level weapons the further you progress in the level.
Stars are now disconnected from the weapon affix system and any weapon has a chance to obtain random affixes. Not only does it make “leveling up” weapons a more positive experience (like mentioned before) it also makes people who wish to keep their weapon able to do so.
[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]
We’re cleaning up many of the weapon systems who weren’t quite “up to the level” compared to the rest, noticeably a better shotgun hit and damage system, a reworked warmup system (which instantly start shooting but increases its rate of fire as you hold the button) and other quality of life things such as being able to cancel your reload using your weapon ability.
[h2]Levels[/h2]
Not all levels are receiving the updates we’re talking about here, it will be an incremental implementation but we can already start talking about our intentions regarding them.
[h3]Verticality[/h3]
We’re adding another layer of verticality (the same one you can find in the Oasis or Haven-City right now) to some “flatter” levels (starting with the Canyons). It increases the number of angles you can negotiate the hostile encounter from and puts the lights on mobility artifacts such as the jetpack.
[h3]Randomness[/h3]
Several people have been asking us if the level design was actually randomized. The short answer is “yes it is” but we’re missing some parts to make it clearly varied. We’re hard at work to provide you more diversity on that side (starting with the Oasis).
[h3]Encounter Diversity[/h3]
We’re not directly talking about “enemy diversity” (in the sense of more enemies) but rather the way enemy encounters are built-up (what enemies they contain). We’re improving the systems and implementing new ones on top of it to generate more varied enemy encounters, which we internally call “bouquet of enemies”. This makes the tactical approach of each encounter more interesting and reduces the likelihood of fighting the exact same bouquet several times in a row.
[h3]Environment[/h3]
Finally, we’re applying some “polish” pass to several levels (starting with the Canyons, the Oasis and Haven-City) to finally give a more flavorful touch to each of them. We hope you’ll be enjoying your time more than ever there :)
And that covers some of the important things we've been and are still working on.
We also just released a hotfix to some of the more gamebreaking issues such as being unable to play the game :D. We're sorry for the inconvenience these issues have caused and we thank everyone involved in reporting and sharing their "crash dumps" and "corrupted save game" with us!
You can find the patch-note of the hotfix here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/692890/announcements/detail/3034832842295249993
We wish you all a great week-end and happy robot bashing!