Zetheros
Developer
Hey Exanimates,
Insiders have been testing Force for over a week now and we've seen a lot of what it can do, great feedback and very thorough testing. We've already made many changes to how force powers work, trying to find that sweet spot of balance, fun and skill. This hasn't just been limited to Force, we also made some important adjustments to AI and improvements to the dynamic balancer on the back of some fixes. We fixed many issues, both old and new, and the latest build is looking solid.
Even with just these few initial powers there's important new ways to approach things in the game, big core gameplay additions and finally some meaningful build choices. It's clear that Force is by far the most transformative addition to the game yet, it really takes advantage of some of the more unique features and is a great showcase of our design philosophy. Much like combat and other things, this isn't your typical "graphical effect does X damage", but naturally complex and realistic interactions that are all meaningful in their own way within a detailed simulation. It's immersive, it's fun and it lets you be creative with what you do instead of just going through the motions.
The powers we've been testing are by far the most mechanically complex, involving a lot of difficult physics, AI and combat interactions as well as just visual effects, lighting, controls and general mechanics. We'll be testing more powers soon along with some content, and while these may not be as challenging from a development point of view, they still have interesting gameplay implications. We do still need to work on how some powers interact with each-other, introducing some restrictions, but sometimes synergies between them as well.
Right now we're working on another key aspect of the thaumaturgy system, the Potential mechanics. This is very important for both build diversity and progression. You will no longer simply unlock powers and that's that, but earn Potential in ways that tie into content and gives you objectives. This can then be assigned to specific powers to make them stronger, as well as their entire domain (e.g. Mind or Force). Your powers will initially be weak, and you will be striving to increase your Potential to see them grow.
It's exciting for us to see these things we've put so much thought and effort into finally come together. It's like we've spent a long time making really nice bricks and laying down foundations, but finally we're actually building the house and furnishing it too.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
Insiders have been testing Force for over a week now and we've seen a lot of what it can do, great feedback and very thorough testing. We've already made many changes to how force powers work, trying to find that sweet spot of balance, fun and skill. This hasn't just been limited to Force, we also made some important adjustments to AI and improvements to the dynamic balancer on the back of some fixes. We fixed many issues, both old and new, and the latest build is looking solid.
Even with just these few initial powers there's important new ways to approach things in the game, big core gameplay additions and finally some meaningful build choices. It's clear that Force is by far the most transformative addition to the game yet, it really takes advantage of some of the more unique features and is a great showcase of our design philosophy. Much like combat and other things, this isn't your typical "graphical effect does X damage", but naturally complex and realistic interactions that are all meaningful in their own way within a detailed simulation. It's immersive, it's fun and it lets you be creative with what you do instead of just going through the motions.
The powers we've been testing are by far the most mechanically complex, involving a lot of difficult physics, AI and combat interactions as well as just visual effects, lighting, controls and general mechanics. We'll be testing more powers soon along with some content, and while these may not be as challenging from a development point of view, they still have interesting gameplay implications. We do still need to work on how some powers interact with each-other, introducing some restrictions, but sometimes synergies between them as well.
Right now we're working on another key aspect of the thaumaturgy system, the Potential mechanics. This is very important for both build diversity and progression. You will no longer simply unlock powers and that's that, but earn Potential in ways that tie into content and gives you objectives. This can then be assigned to specific powers to make them stronger, as well as their entire domain (e.g. Mind or Force). Your powers will initially be weak, and you will be striving to increase your Potential to see them grow.
It's exciting for us to see these things we've put so much thought and effort into finally come together. It's like we've spent a long time making really nice bricks and laying down foundations, but finally we're actually building the house and furnishing it too.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
