Build 137

[rob]

Greetings Brave Testers! After a week off, we preset build 137. Changes:

* Add region patrols
* Rename the old patrols "strike forces"
* Save trigger cooldown fractions when leaving a game

The new patrols circle around endlessly in regions until killed. Like convoys, they don't appear on radar unless near a player or town. The patrols have more members (1, 3, 7, 13), and there are more patrols (1, 3, 5, 7), in tougher regions. Patrol members regenerate after a few minutes of no contact with players. You only get loot for fully eradicating a patrol, and the loot scales with region difficulty.

The old patrols don't really patrol; they ambush. They are now called Strike Forces, and they work the same way they used to.

Be careful when entering dungeons, as your trigger cooldowns are no longer refreshed when entering a game! Our intent with this change was to prevent the cheesy trigger refresh you could get by quickly entering the tutorial or HQ, or killing the Flash player or closing the tab. Please let us know whether we solved the problem.

Thanks for you help testing Grid12! We really value your feedback.

Rob & Tim
Jetbolt Games

[tim]

I took the server down briefly to fix a bug with region patrol loot. It should be back up now, and the bug should be fixed. If you get really remarkable lootbags from finishing off a patrol, please post here just in case.

[Crunch]

Insane. I love it!

[rob]

Just wait til two (or 3 or 4) of those suckers spawn in identical orbits...

[Will]

rob confirmed sadist^

[Crunch]

Apr 9, 2015 7:51:00 GMT -5 rob said:

Why go clear anything when I can just scout for more regions (-> patrols)?
I would - personally - look for orange regions because they lack level 3 forts and their patrols still drop guns/triggers

This is an interesting question. I wonder if 'clearing' is really a valuable target for G12's gameplay... In complete, open honesty, I'd rather do almost anything other than mindlessly destroy forts. And as more engaging and directed activities have been added to the game, I've only felt stronger about this.

Problem: clearing a radius of 5 around a town, inside a 3x3 box, a 3x5 box, clearing a line between nodes, etc. all feels like performing the same grinding task. Also, it's a bit disappointing that apathetically lawnmowing a region, line-by-line, yields exactly the same rewards as deliberately completing objectives. But, it requires almost no thought/skill and has the added bonus of using up less total time.  Obviously, we complete these things because we're overtly rewarded for doing so, but it's not really very interesting, especially after a few experiences. 

Armada enemies break the mold, though. They're fun, aggressive, mobile, and force players to make decisions. These VIP types may detract from time spent carving shapes into wilderness, but they really do add a lot to the gameplay, which static towers simply cannot. I'd love to see more of them and I'd like to see them more thoroughly integrated  into sector progression. 

[Crunch]

I love this kind of stuff. That interaction gave me an idea. Is it possible to make Strikes (I know that it's a patrol in the pic) spawn more aggressively while other armada types are under attack? Also, can they spawn in such a way as to intersect our current course? So often, Strikes spawn behind us and lose the element of surprise... or are simply never seen, unless they wander near a town. Strikes spawning closer to players and predicting their future location would be nice. Bonus points if they spawn more during events and couldn't be seen until they're a few tiles away (camo?). #ambushme