FTS: Frontline Tank Survivor · published
Hello everyone,
FTS: Frontline Tank Survivor has launched in Early Access.
It is a meaningful moment for me to finally release my first commercial title. At the same time, I see this as the real beginning. This Early Access version is focused on delivering the game's core combat and progression first, and from here on I plan to keep refining and expanding the foundation of the game based on player feedback.
In the current version, you can experience the core gameplay centered on top-down tank combat, run-based progression, skill selection and build crafting, and the combinations between different tanks and crew members. There are still many areas that need improvement, and there are clearly parts of the game that require more work overall. I am fully aware of that, and I also have a clear sense of what needs to come first during the Early Access period.
The top priorities right now are as follows.
1. Stability and bug fixing
I will prioritize fixing bugs that interfere with play, systems that do not behave as intended, and issues that break the flow of a run.
2. Performance and combat feel improvements
I will continue improving the parts players feel most directly during play, including framerate issues, excessive processing load, controls, hit feedback, weapon feel, and enemy reactions.
3. Balance and progression cleanup
Many numbers and reward flows are still provisional in nature. I will review tanks, skills, crew, enemy composition, rewards, and unlock flow as a whole, and keep adjusting them in a way that feels easier to read and easier to understand.
4. Readability and quality-of-life improvements
UI, information delivery, control guidance, combat readability, and the clarity of progression results are also important priorities, so that players can learn and judge the game more naturally.
The current goal is to bring FTS from Early Access to version 1.0 between late 2026 and early 2027.
Along the way, separate from the regular updates focused on improving the foundation of the game, I am currently planning three major content expansions before full release. As is always the case in Early Access development, however, the details and order of implementation may change depending on actual development progress and player feedback.
The major expansion directions currently being considered are as follows.
1. Playable Soviet expansion
The first major update is planned around expanding the game with a playable World War II Soviet faction. The idea is to broaden the range of playable content by adding Soviet tanks and Soviet crew, while also testing a structure that can serve as a template for future faction expansions.
2. New map: "Pacific Front"
The second major update candidate is a new battlefield called the "Pacific Front." This front is being designed with a different flow from the current survival-oriented battlefield, aiming instead for a more aggressive, higher-difficulty map where players actively search for and engage enemies in dense jungle terrain. Alongside that, I am also considering introducing World War II Japanese forces and Japanese tanks as a new enemy faction.
3. Final major expansion before full release
The third would be the last major content expansion before full release, and I am currently exploring several experimental ideas that could make the current gameplay flow more varied. At this stage, the goal is to challenge the more fixed patterns of play and broaden the range of choices and combat flow across repeated runs.
For regular updates, I plan to respond as quickly as possible to critical issues, and for most other improvements, I am aiming for a regular update rhythm of about once a week.
Since the current version is EA 0.1.1, the basic plan is to continue rolling out incremental updates in the form of 0.1.2, 0.1.3, and so on. That said, the actual interval and scope of each patch may vary depending on the size of the fixes and the development situation.
In particular, feedback on the following would be especially helpful.
- Tanks, skills, or crew that feel excessively strong or weak
- Controls or combat flow that feel frustrating or cumbersome
- Performance issues, framerate drops, unexpected behavior, or progression-blocking bugs
- Parts of the progression, rewards, or unlock flow that feel unclear or unmotivating
Thank you to everyone who has played the game.
I am reading all of your feedback carefully, and it will directly help shape the direction of future updates.
Thank you.