Hey everyone,
As outlined in our roadmap (which you can read here), August is when the Commander Update launches. This is a large update with a lot of new additions, so we expect it to sit on the experimental branch for 1-2 weeks before we roll it out on the main branch.
How to access the experimental branch.
Please note: switching to the experimental branch means losing your current run, and switching back will not be possible until the update goes live on main.
If you're mid-run and want to see it through, finish it on the main branch first, the Commander Update will make its way there soon enough.
And with that out of the way, let's get into the main additions:
Controller support
This is the big one, something a lot of you have been asking for since our Early Access launch. You can now play the whole game (except the tutorial, for now) with a controller. To be honest, we're not big controller players ourselves, and I don't think we'd played any deck-builders on a controller before starting on our own implementation, so the user experience can definitely be improved, and we're keen to hear what you'd like to see. Treat this as the first iteration, with a lot more UX improvements on the way.
Combat value previews
The game now shows you what values will change: Hull, Shield Points, equipment durability, resources. when you drag a card out of your hand. This one touches nearly every card in the game, so there will be edge cases where it displays the wrong values. If you run into one, please let us know and we'll fix it.
Pulse Laser and Light Laser redesign
Besides the value changes and redesigns you're used to by now when an equipment family gets its pass, these bring two new mechanics. The first is the ability to Mark an enemy equipment, Marked equipment takes bonus damage from precision attacks. The second is choosing which card you draw or return from the draw pile, instead of it being random (you can try it on Repeater+ in the Light Laser). Pulse and Light Laser cards can also now be upgraded individually.
Equipment destruction changes
Destroying an enemy equipment now wipes all the charge pips off the card it was charging, so a well-timed kill cancels the incoming attack entirely, instead of just delaying it. This makes destruction meaningfully different from disabling, and adds a real timing decision to focusing equipment down. It will need some rebalancing (equipment will likely need slightly higher durability), and that's part of what this experimental period is for.
Faster meta-progression
Unlock durations have been compressed, you'll unlock new content around twice as fast on average. Our median play time currently sits at 3 hours and 42 minutes, which means most players never see anything beyond the initial weapons and the Marauder, basically only a small slice of what the game has to offer.
Random ship selection
Once you've unlocked the Avalanche, a new random ship button appears on the ship selection screen. Feeling indecisive, or want to force yourself out of your comfort pick? Why not let RNG choose your ship and loadout for the run?
(This new feature does highlight the fact that we need a lot more starting ship loadout options, which we'll add more of soon)
We're keeping this post short because there's still a lot of work left before the full rollout of the Commander Update. A more detailed change log will come when the update lands on the main branch.
Thanks for sticking with us, and please let us know how the new changes feel! o7
The Breachway Team