Today, I thought I'd talk about the campaign's design. The full game's campaign is inspired by a bit of Bad North, Homeworld, and FTL.
Bad North was inspirational due to how it generated its map and islands, and that choosing a map by looking at the meta-map was part of your strategy.
Homeworld was simply the persistent fleet, as that mechanic is sorely underused.
And FTL - the beauty of spending hours getting to Sector 7 and then getting annihilated because of a bad missile barrage/boarding crew - the idea that you're meant to fail a bit.
Obviously my game also has roguelite elements, but that's a story for another time.
The mix of Missions, Rewards, and Map Modifiers is meant to give that 'FTL' feeling a bit, while keeping player choice in the mix. Sometimes you won't have an option, but often you'll have 2-3 maps to choose from, and their layout, mission, reward, and modifiers all play a part in the decision-making. In addition, if you don't want to engage with a mission, simply taking your fleet with you is a viable option - much like FTL if you want to avoid a fight.
While most missions are designed around capturing cities, they have different flavors and drawbacks.
Rebuild Cities makes them very easy to capture, but they take a while to build back up and don't give you the benefits of a real city for quite some time.
Destroy City is often partly a drawback, because you either won't get to utilize it to build back up your forces, or you will be forced to Raze it (which is costly).
Capture the Prototype is similar to Capture City, with the caveat that you fail in a timeframe and they could get a Supership if you don't perform it, or you get it at the end of the mission on success.
Rewards are pretty straightforward - some rewards are preferable depending on your situation.
Getting money when you have money can be low impact.
Getting bonus XP is nice for meta progression, but won't help you now.
There are also 'meta rewards' in the full game that give you meta-progression-based rewards on top of the normal reward - which in itself might entice players to those missions. Finally, I'll mention that rewards can be hidden! Taking a gamble vs a sure thing can also change your decisions.
But most important to adjusting the player's experience are the Map Modifiers. If you've been playing, you know the pain of stepping on a bunch of Submarines because of Wolfpack, running into an early enemy fleet due to Ambush, or Distress Call ruining your plans by shortening the time to the Black Fleet.
Each modifier is intended to make the player play a bit differently. In the case of no modifier, being hyper-aggressive is normally the best strategy.
Wolfpacks disrupt this by making you a bit more careful, so you don't step on submarines.
Fortified Regions have been a bugbear for some, requiring you to scout land masses so you don't step into range of powerful gun forts.
Distress Call changes the game in a different way - the mission will be 'easier' since your opponent won't have the other modifiers, but you won't have the time to build up cities or a fleet in many cases - adding a lot of pressure to push across the map regardless of how your engagements go.
So that's how normal maps work. Then there is a special case for half of the missions (3,5,7,9,10). On each of these, every campaign and every node on that Column, you'll face different admirals. Each one is designed to focus on a different aspect of the game.
The 'Officer' (seen in the demo) focuses on supporting his fleet, which has extra veterancy and is ready to ambush you.
The 'Mad Scientist' focuses on Critical Hits and Submarines, with a Wolfpack ready to engage the player and Napalm Munitions to take advantage of the high crit rate.
The 'General' always has the Fortified modifier and focuses on being tanky and having tough to capture/destroy cities.
The 'Aristocrat' focuses on Economy - having an extra city under his control and bonus money at the start. He aims to grind you down with production.
Finally, the 'Dread Admiral'... well, you'll just have to find out yourself!
Each admiral gates their signature perk from the drop pool, so defeating them will give you more options in future campaigns. For example, the 'Aristocrat' perk gives a flat $100 bonus at the beginning of a campaign! Enough to help any well-to-do admiral fund his early game ambitions.
Bringing this all together - the hope throughout the game is that you encounter ever more challenging scenarios and get to enjoy the thrill of winning a close battle or bank on a key Death Denied to save your campaign. Some missions encourage you to speed across the map, while others encourage careful positioning and consistent recon from your carriers.
Good luck with your campaigns, and remember - All Fear the Dread Admiral.