Alpha 6 -- The Night Man Cometh!!!

Hey folks! It is with great pleasure that I am releasing the next version of the game to supporters and patrons today! As I said in the stream, I will now be working to update the free demo but for the next week or two, this update is a special treat for you fine folks who've been supporting the project directly. As always, a heartfelt thanks to all of you for helping to keep this project going. And without further ado, let's recap the big new features in this version.

CALLED SHOTS!

This is probably the biggest change to the game we've ever had. Called Shots are a new special-attack mechanic that let's you selectively target the head, core, legs, weapons, or ammo on ANY mech. On top of that, many of the listed shots are a guaranteed hit. Oh, and if that's not enough you can just go with a full Alpha Strike to fire all weapons at once!

To use a Called Shot a pilot must build up focus, which accumulates passively while in the heat of combat and actively whenever weapons are fired. Skilled and unskilled pilots earn focus at the same rate but skilled pilots can usually take advantage of the more exotic Called Shots such as targeting specific weapons. Mind you, unskilled pilots can do this too, but these exotic shots don't have guaranteed hits so unskilled pilots are usually best served sticking to basic called shots like to the core or legs.

There's a lot to explore with Called Shots. Lighter mechs have smaller focus meters and earn their Called Shots with less focus, but heavier mechs have more weapons to fire and so generate focus faster. Different weapons also have access to different Called Shots, for instance, with lasers and light cannons allowing you snipe specific weapons on enemies whereas heavier weapons lack such precision and can't make those shots.

I look forward to hearing your experience with Called Shots in the discord, so let me know how you like them!

NEW SALVAGE POOL

The second major change in this version is a revamp of how salvage is acquired from the battlefield. When enemy mechs suffer fatal damage their cores will begin to overload. Any extra damage taken during this overload period will further wreck and ruin the chassis. So, if a mech goes does with virtually no extra damage it will be in a downed stated and be highly salvageable. If it takes some extra damage it may still be salvageable only less so. And if you totally ruin and decimate a mech, well, it's good for nothing but scrap at that point. All of this is to say that if you want to maximize the number of mechs in the salvage pool, tread lightly and take them down with precision hits rather than ungodly bombardments of overkilled firepower!

PILOTS IN THE DRAFT

Pilots now show up in the draft just like mechs, allowing you to customize your startup forces even more and, coupled with the new Called Shots mechanic, pilot skills have never been so important to manage!

MECHS GO BOOM IN THE NIGHT

Did I also mention that mechs go boom now with great effect? And that there are night missions mixed in? There are dozens of other smaller changes, updates, and improvements ranging from gameplay fixes to aesthetic updates, so go nuts, explore, and have fun! Remember folks, mercenaries don't dream of peace!

DOWNLOAD LINKS

Alpha v06.0.0 - Windows

Alpha v06.0.0 - Linux

MAC BUILD NOTE

please message me on discord if your mac build stops working, I can walk you through a fix

Alpha v06.0.0 - Mac Arm

Alpha v06.0.0 - Mac Intel