Hello!
Before we start: 10% discount for the game will be applied for a couple of days today after 16:00 CET!
Boring mandatory updates are behind, now we can focus on cool stuff:
Game is now much more pleasant to play on a gamepad and small screens (like Steam Deck).
Enemy highlight ability reworked and is using post-processing instead of widgets.
Squads now have three slots for abilities: Heavy, Drone, Tool.
Squad widget on HUD adjusted for better readability and to support abilities.
Aim assist feature for suppressing fire enabled by default.
Hotkey to reinforce selected squad added.
Onboarding "puzzle" on first level made easier.
Of course, more localization fixes and minor bug fixes.
VEIL engineers improved enemy highlight system. Enemies are scanned with adjustable pulse.
This approach allows to have more gameplay around scanning ability without sacrificing required user guidance, and will help to play with fog of war in upcoming the multiplayer.
It also looks better, and this post processing shader is much more performance friendly than the previous widget based system.
Based on community request around inventory anbd loadouts, ability system had to be adjusted.
Abilities now have three interchangeable slots:
Heavy slot (rockets, artillery..)
Tool slot (Medkit and other upcoming items)
Drone slot
This new system allows to add these improvements in the upcoming updates:
Equip each squad with medkits or tools without sacrificing firepower.
Have a designated drone for each squad.
Increase combat variety in the upcoming multiplayer
Remember, your feedback matters, and game is gradually moving towards the originally raised topics.
Note: Because of this feature some input keys changed.
Drone control is now on [ Tab ] and Toggle Drone Camera is on [ 5 ].
Tool slot (Medkit) is [ H ]. Heavy ability and Grenade stayed on [ T ] and [ G ].
Widget reworked to accomodate changes in the ability system.
Press [ Shift ] or [Left Trigger ] to see more commands.
Icons were made slightly bigger to be visible on the small screens.
Explicit icon for crouch is added, to allow for the better indication of the squad stance.
Note: there are gameplay nuances in the interplay between sprint and crouch orders, they can be used for your advantage in the combat.
Now for suppressive fire mode, your aim will be adjusted towards the enemy in the range.
This change is made to address the main pain-point in players (and my own, honestly) feedback - "The enemy was not killed when I was aiming at it."
This issue was even more prominent on the smaller screens like Steam Deck has.
Adding it makes sense, because when it comes to direct fire control your troops already know what they are shooting at, so there is no need for unnecessary limitations from the game.
Feature can be disabled in the game settings, but I highly recommend to give it a shot and check how positively it affects the gameplay.
Was debating whether it had to be added, but it makes gameplay much smoother, especially on the gamepad.
The moral aspects of being able to replace your lost troops that easily will be left aside.
Remember our goal - zero combat losses.
Volume sliders made logarithmic. That allows the better control in the zone of low volume.
Onboarding "puzzle" on the first level is made easier.
Welcoming message on the main screen fonts were fixed for localization. (Sorry for that bug).
Minor UI issues here and there were fixed, whatever.
Game is fully playable on the gamepad.
Strategically, we move towards adding the first Skirmish map (including loadouts and more drones).
Tactically the closest goal is to make it into the "Great on Deck" category on Steam.
Game is incredibly immsersive on Steam Deck
This month community key winner is Mr.Mugger, because I recently discovered his crazy in-game editor screenshots in the community hub.
To those who scroll until the end, thank you!
Game is already playable on Steam Deck, and recent update makes the gameplay shine.
However, there are still some minor Main Menu issues with settings to overcome before I can start certification, but they are unrelated to the gameplay.
If you want to play on Deck before the official announce:
Change to "forward_shading" beta branch
Set Graphics settings to Lowest
Set Resolution Scale to 75%
Enjoy
Playing Drone Perspective on Steam Deck feels incredibly immersive, give it a try!
Thank you for all rays of support I receive from you!
Remember, this is fully independent and community driven projet.
No publisher, no investors. Just me and you who are reading this and playing Drone Perspective.
(And our desire to have the best tactical simulator of the modern combat).
Your support matters a lot.
Stay safe!
//Demetri
PS More info about development process available on project Discord in #dev-diaries channel.