There will be more data and proper atribution here (original author, steam link, original post date, etc) real soon, I promise. This is just like a technical test to see if they're coming in ok at all.
Swordship » Swordship Dev Diary #3: It’s All About Positioning!
Welcome back, pilots!
Greetings to the third instalment of our Swordship Dev Diary! Today we tell you more about how we came up with the enemies you encounter in-game and which ones we scrapped – but also the importance of the players’ positioning when aiming for the top spots on the leaderboard.
The golden rule of Swordship is: “Nothing is more important than positioning!”
So let’s first talk a bit about opponents that we have removed from the game over time: The first enemies that we had to discard were the ones that moved freely. The player had no way to control them, and so those made the tactical part of the game fall apart, as the player would not be able to plan ahead.
The second difficult decision we had to make was to decide whether or not the flying enemies could be destroyed. We quickly realized that due to readability issues related to the player’s point of view, having attacks that hit airborne enemies just as clearly as enemies on the water was a “mission impossible”.
Furthermore, during testing, it was obvious that this created an extra layer of thinking that overloaded the players’ attention. So, we decided that airborne enemies should be indestructible. Definitely be alert for attacks from above when you’re out and about in your Swordship!
As mentioned above, in Swordship positioning is your one and only weapon. Everything is based on it. It is the only way to survive, eliminate enemies and gain points. You need to understand and memorise how the different enemy types work and attack – and that’s what you need to use against them.
From container delivery to last-second dodging and simultaneous enemy destruction, all good positioning is your source of points that help you climb to the top of the leaderboards. Your experience and skills gradually make you an effective weapon without ever destroying an enemy yourself!
Of course, dodging like a pro takes time to master! Before the full release on December 5 you should definitely further practice your skills with our Swordship demo. Scroll down the product page till you see a green box with white text saying “Download Swordship Demo”. Click on it, wait a few minutes till the Swordship demo is good to go and get ready for dodging!
In the next Swordship Dev Diary, we will look at perks and what additional content we have in store for you after the release!
Now, let’s see if you can make it to the top of the demo leaderboard! ːsteamhappyː
Benjamin & The Swordship Crew