I was hoping, and even told that the Early Access version of Menace was coming out this year. However, that was not to be. What really surprised me with the delay, is that the EA release has been put all the way up to fall, next year. Now, that’s a hefty holdup. I’m sure the developers got their reason, but I can’t help to speculate. Too big of a project, coming from the semi-small project Battle Brothers? Going from 2D to 3D too much of a hassle? Stuck in programming hell, or is everything perhaps progressing fine, but the team wants more for the EA version?
Whatever the reason, they have now started with a developer diary, which is much welcomed. So far, the team has released two updates; “Breaking the Silence”, and “Strategic Part Overview”. The first diary is not that interesting when it comes to the game. In that one, the devs mostly talk about the why – for the delay, and the reason for creating Menace in the first place. And wouldn’t you know it – it has been a great challenge growing the team, and using new tech – which I think is pretty vague, but it still explains some of what has been going on. It’s not too surprising, but being a year off is still impressive!
The second post is much more fascinating, since we actually delve into game mechanics here. We have seen the turn-based combat in action, but so far, nothing about the strategic element – so, it’s nice to finally get a hum about how it will work.
Starmap
The first curious thing that is mentioned is the star system the game takes place in. On the screen provided in the diary, you can see many planets, all with their own environment. Everything from a lush jungle-like planet to a snowy (salty?) hellscape. Nothing here mentions if the atmosphere plays into the game, beyond a change in the visuals. Let’s hope we get storms and the like, maybe even the temperature will matter? Imagine getting into a battle on a scorching hot planet – if the armor doesn’t have a built-in cooling system, you are going to have a bad time slowly getting cooked!
The picture also lists many factions that I assume you can befriend, or antagonize. I hope it’s a hundred percent sandbox and lets you do whatever. Going for an all-out war playthrough should be fun.
The ship
The devs also show off the spaceship in question that will act as your HQ. They talk about upgrades that you will be able to acquire. They seem to range from orbital bombardment to passive ones that will heal your squads. On that note, they mention “heal between missions” – I do hope the ship comes with a medbay as standard, otherwise, it will feel a little awkward. Who constructs a cruiser without a medical bay?
Next of importance is the armory. To nobody’s shock, this is the place where you equip your men. Now, the devs do not say much, just that this is the place for equipping different equipment and to compare stats. However, if we study the picture provided, we can make some notes. There is a squad-type, and the one in the image is “infantry”. An infantry squad will consist of five brave men. It has a leader type assigned to it, which has a name, picture, and rank. You can see what is equipped, and in this case, one machine-gun and four rifles. Armor, ammo, and grenades are also listed. 25 grenades among the men for maximum damage! What is also notable here, is that the equipment comes with a supply cost. The machine-gun alone costs 45. While four rifles land at 52. Will you be able to equip five machine-guns if you have the supply, or will there be restrictions?
The stats
Health, and six skill stats are also listed. I assume, the crosshair is for aim, the vest is for armor, and the eye is spotting, or maybe stealth? Then we have a star, and I suspect it’s the XP, as we see it on a screen later on. Then we have two odd ones, that this particular squad has zero off. And that is a magnifying glass, and an eye with a line across. That one might symbolize stealth, but nil points for an infantry squad? Doubtful. The magnifying glass could mean finding loot, but again, zero points – that’s rough if that is the case. It’s nice to see all these kinds of different stats, since it means there is a lot to balance and think about when setting up your squads. The game could of course use a few more, like explosives, hacking and such, but maybe that is for other kinds of teams.
Then we have skills that come in the form of the officer leading the team, as it seems he gains XP independent of the platoon. This to me means that you will be able to switch around the officer, if he is needed elsewhere. Cool, yet, I will be a little disappointed if the officer will be the only one gaining experience, leaving the actual squads as is. I would prefer if the named leader worked as a bonus, instead of being the only one you need to worry about. It makes me think that platoons will mean nothing more than added meat for the battlefield. I could be wrong, of course, so don’t quote me on this.
That’s all the information for now, and while things look promising, I do hope there is more to the strategic level than this. As a veteran of these types of games, it does seem a little sparse, but hey, it’s early days. Stuff will probably be expanded. Now we just have to wait for next week to see what else Overhype will share with us.
/Thomas
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