Devlog #93: Weapons and upgrades

As you might already know, citizens of the Capitol were not prepared for the attack from the Vermin Horde. What is more, the attack came from the seaside. No one could ever predict that the rats would be able to somehow... dig tunnels undersea?

But - the characters you will be controlling (survivors of the initial attack, who try to escape the city) won't be defenseless. Citizens of the Empire have basic training in weapon usage and every character you control does have a piece of weapon.

So let's talk about these weapons a bit.

I am planning to have four different weapon types in the game. Three of them (shotguns, rifles and heavy guns) are already present. The fourth one (revolvers) is in the making.

Every character has a single weapon proficiency - meaning that a shotgun-wielding medic girl will only be able to use shotguns, and so on. With sixteen planned characters, there will be four characters per weapon type.

Shotguns suck at long range but deal more damage. Also, they have an increased % to hit for point-blank shots.



Rifles, on the contrary, are not very good at short distances. They do prove useful for taking out targets that are further away though.



Heavy weapons are the main damage dealers and can be used as melee weapons (e.g. the ground stomp weapon of the retired soldier character).



Every weapon comes with different tiers. Right now there are three weapon tiers available - but as I will be playtesting the game, I will see how many are necessary to keep the game progression interesting. Here's a shot of three shotgun tiers:



What is more, every weapon has a number of upgrade slots, which come in three flavors.

Aim modifier slots allow you to install a scope/aim to the weapon, which can increase its accuracy and/or critical chance:

Energy cell slots allow you to increase the "ammo" capacity of a weapon and reduce the chance of the weapon backfiring when used in the overheated state:

Special slots can hold various different items: It can be an auto-cooling mechanism that allows the character to perform free reloads, or a damage amplifying module that, well, increases your damage output but reduces accuracy.

Weapon modules can be upgraded (well, repaired) by spending resources, or you can scrap them. The same goes for the weapons.

Finding weapons and upgrading their modules gives a nice feeling of progression between missions, and is a nice addition to the character level progression. In games like Darkest Dungeon, the player had their home base that could be upgraded. Here it is not possible (as your characters are always on the move), so I believe that these weapons/modules are a nice alternative.

I'm looking forward to seeing you trying out these new mechanics yourself! Take care!