Greetings all you rebels in the service of the Rose and Yamagami enforcers! This blog post is to give a bit of information on SteamCity’s continuing development as well as shed light on the what the gameplay will be like.
For starters, SteamCity is a turn-based strategy game. Players (and AI opponents or allies) take turns to decide their moves. There is no time limit and players are not under pressure to react quickly like they would be in an RTS or RTT game. This allows for more in-depth and calculated decisions that encourage thinking ahead. Classic examples of turn-based strategy would be games such as go or chess.
Combat takes place in the urban confines of SteamCity 0314. Players can move the camera where they wish, exploring the map and enjoying the detailed environments. The camera allows players to zoom in to examine their forces and adversaries up close. The map design also encourages innovative thinking. Players position their forces to outflank the enemy or use natural chokepoints for ambushes. The environment plays an important role in level design and gameplay. Players might find one route to their objective is heavily defended whereas another only has a few sentries.
Levels also vary in their objectives. Rarely will the aim be to merely exterminate the enemy. Players might be tasked with destroying a target building or assassinating an enemy leader. Their goal could be to defend a strategic location or break through an enemy cordon. We won’t say much more just in case we give away too much of the plot!
Units are allowed a limited number of actions per turn. An action could be moving across the street, firing at an enemy, or using a special ability. If a unit has 2 action points, they might choose to move twice to cover more ground or they might decide to move for the first action and attack for the second. Heroes such as Sophie Komp are capable of more actions than normal units. For example, she would be capable of performing three actions in a turn as opposed to the one or two of a normal unit.
This allows special units to have more of an impact on the battlefield. A character like Sophie Komp will be able to move further in a turn than a normal soldier if she so wishes. Special units will also have abilities that others lack. A hero might be able to use special attacks or inspire nearby units to fight harder against the enemy.
Nor are these traits limited to the player’s side. The Yamagami will also have their ‘heroes’ and special units that confer their own advantages. Players will have to know their enemy and their weaknesses if they are to combat them effectively. Individual units will be more effective against certain types of enemies which requires players to know both their troops and the enemy for maximum efficiency.
The game is currently still in the beta stage but we’ll have more on that (and its important role) in another blog post! Don’t forget to hit the heart symbol if you liked this post or follow us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Youtube for more updates and sneak peeks!