Oh yeah, time for a new developer diary for Menace. So, what do we learn this time? Well, this one goes into probably the most important part of the game: the tactical combat. The devs go over the biomes that we will visit and destroy. What kind of missions there are. And apparently, they will be more involved than just kill everything, even when some missions will still have that objective. It has me questioning what the standard missions will be, but my bet is on standard kill sorties, despite what the devs say. Imagine running rescue tasks as default. It would quickly undermine the novelty of those types of objectives.
Biomes
Okay, let’s go into details. The maps look good, and will have some kind of randomization. The different environments look great, liking the snow biome the most. However, as someone pointed out on the Codex is that the maps are very flat (just like Xenonauts 2). It’s a bit odd considering the fairly large battle-maps. Real landscapes are usually not this flat all over, and beyond having rolling hills for tactical reasons, it just looks more pleasant than being presented with a perfect horizontal line on all planets. Maybe it’s something that will be tweaked in the future. Sadly, there is nothing about environmental effects just yet, if there ever will be. It would also be nice with some heavily urban areas, as of now, everything looks rural. Nothing beats participating in a good and bloody street skirmish.
The turns
Time to talk about turns and action points. As most of you know, Menace will be turn-based, and will use classic action points for movement and action. The surprise to me, though, is that they will use alternating turns between player and AI. Meaning you move one unit, then the AI, and so on. I’m not sure how I feel about this, since no X-com-like game I know uses this format. It’s more of a board-game approach to the turns, which can make it feel overly gamey. I would have been onboard with this system, if initiative determined the turn-order, because then light recon units would go earlier and often. It would increase the tactical aspect, by making stats mean something more than just shooting and armor. Especially, seeing as heavy stuff will slow you down / leaving you open for quick attacks. How I understand it, you just pick whatever unit you want and move it. I’m honestly not sure what the benefits of this system would be. The devs explain it by stating:
“This creates a situation where the faction with more units has a distinct advantage as it can move all its leftover units freely as soon as the other side has spent all its action points”
Sure, but having a numerical advantage would be an asset either way, regardless of turn-based system used. It could make the battlefield more dynamic, but it can also create frustration, as making any form of plans would be impossible (perhaps). It’s a wait and see on this one.
The units
Next up are the units. These are split into two categories: vehicles and squads. Most squads will be around five men, but can be as large as nine. They will share health points, and after a certain damage threshold, soldiers in the squad will perish. Fairly basic stuff, but it also means there will be a lot less individuality compared to anything X-com. What got my attention here is how you equip your men. Apparently, you give your squad one kind of weapon, which everyone in the squad will use. And there is one slot for a special weapon, like a rocket launcher. In my post about diary 2, I pondered about what the limits would be – if you could give everyone in a squad a heavy weapon, if your funds allow it. Unfortunately, that sandbox element seems to be restricted to one according to the text. This is a shame, because I think letting the player experiment in the form of weird squad setups could have been really fun.
Another limitation that kind of annoys me, that is strictly made for gameplay reasons, is that special equipment will also be limited. The devs give examples like: target designator, or motion scanner. So far, no problem, but you know what is included here? Basic grenades. Grenades should not be a special equipment, it’s incredibly gamey. Who goes into battle without them? Maybe heavy anti-tank grenades, mines or C4, but not regular pineapples! It’s another restraint on the sandbox element, which puts a hamper on the fun allowed.
Cover
The devs continue about cover and line-of-sight. According to the developers, it works as in real life, stuff that is expected to give cover, will act as it. However, in this segment, they continue by saying everything 3×3 and smaller, shots will pass through. Not sure what to make of it, once again. One day we will see how it all will work, but even if I look forward to Menace, I’m a bit reserved in my excitement. It does not look as free-form as their big hit Battle Brothers, going by the information provided so far.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 