Warm greetings to all daring captains!
Today we continue our game features marathon and this time we will talk about Aliens.
And not the "E.T. wants to phone house!" kind of aliens.
But more like, the "hunting Predator" kind of aliens.
Predators-like but with space weapons.
And no code of honor.
It just wants to kill you, apparently.
No question asked!
And to avoid that, you should not try your impressive charisma.
Instead, you should focus on your stealth genius.
How does that work?
Read and find out!
Evacuation is Deadly
In EXODE we start with Evacuation, so it makes sense to lead with that.
Aliens will destroy you during Evacuation, but actually at this time it is nothing personal.
They were not tracking you. They were just basically obliterating everything that is on the same space station. Including who or what is around it.
Many of our players are defeated on their first game in EVAC. We consider this is okay because it's easy to try again and it shows the game is another kind of intense experience.
We are in a blockchain game and if all players and bots would be easily rewarded this would have no sense in terms of value. We understand there are a few things from other games to "unlearn": players have to find a few "human things to do" and a few "human decisions to make".
The reason it is part of the EXODE game concept is not actually because of blockchain, but because we want players to survive and have their own story thanks to their decisions. It's easy in EVAC, but your story begins there. This is part of our Manifesto!
It's no big deal. Players usually understand how it works on their next tries and successfully come to the new galaxy. In alpha evacuation server code is made easier than it will become in beta.
But... it's not over yet.
Because aliens are still after you.
Space is actually Deadlier
Space is an odd thing.
It's basically empty, peaceful, beautiful and thanks to your life support you don't have to worry about lacking air.
Space is also silent. You pick your planet and travel to it with little more than the engine sounds and computer beeps to be enjoyed on the way.
But space is also the moment when for aliens, this really begins to be personal.
They did not forget about you. In fact, they created a little folder with your name and prepared an investigation team entirely dedicated to you. Or at least, this is how it feels like.
They have a task force on the way, and they are sure to find you.
Your Stealth adventure begins now!
Space is when Stealth starts to be applied.
It does not begin in EVAC. In EVAC, all players have the same objective: getting out! They all are equal in Stealth, meaning, the aliens don't care so much about you but your ship can get shot.
As soon as you complete, then The Hunt begins.
So, the Hunt begins with the scanning gameplay.
Note:
Current version of Scanning is much more forviging than it should.
In previous versions many players were actually being caught and shot in space.
Now you have something closer to a "touristic version".We consider it okay for now. But we will progressively adjust difficulty!
The Hunt is tested every few seconds, and is done like this:
- the Hunt begins as soon as your computer tells you a warm "Welcome back, captain. Please check veilscans".
- every player begins with a Stealth score.
- every few seconds the server will make rolls.
- the result of these tests can reduce your Stealth by a minor or more important score, and possibly add a "detection ping".
The tests will check your flying method, your pilot and ship Stealth, and see if aliens get a hint. Your pilot can be supported by other crew members you assigned.
When aliens get a hint it also checks your pilot again to see if he/she notices something is tracking you. If both apply, you receive a Stealth alert and a pilot message. It looks like this:
If aliens get a hint about your location but your pilot does not notice you are tracked, you will get no message.
But in all cases, your Stealth is always reduced by a slight quantity.
Also:
- once aliens get enough hints, they will attack.
Note:
The attack is done with Veilweapons at this step. These weapons "strike even before the hit is there". So it does not "sound" yet like a Star Wars battle; maybe later space combat will, but it's still more like a "submarine battle".
- an attack will test your ship and pilot Evasion scores to evade being hit.
- an attack can also test your Shield officer, if you assigned someone to Shields.
- a successful direct hit will obliterate your ship.
In later versions, ship stats such as a Myrmidon armor will be able to protect you from first hit.
A Quantum Supreme turbo will also be available, and the Black Lotus stealth will be further tested.
Right now the only real escape is to get to your planet, and land there.
Note:
We will update how Stealth is displayed in next Scanning updates: we are not really satisfied with the experience for now and want Stealth to be "central" to the player experience!
Also remember that players will be able to scan their planet and "get to another planet" if they want, thus extending the time they spend in Space, and the Stealth they may lose.
Your Colony: the game of cat and mouse
The Hunt does not stop when you land:
It only gets different.
From the moment you land you have a resulting "Stealth score", which is made of the Stealth you had left before landing and a little bonus depending on your landing technique.
You can rest a bit now: your Stealth is not likely to be reduceed the same way. It won't be tested every few seconds.
But the Hunt did not stop.
Aliens will make an investigation about every day.
Your Colony has an "Exposure" score which is calculated according to "its Activity log" of that day. It will include the number of buildings you have, your industrial activity, your movement activity (especially with vehicles) and your space activity (for instance, if you sent a wide and powerful communication message, well then it's a big hint for aliens).
Note:
Unlike other MMOs, players saying global messages on comms such as "do you have 3 PO?" may get wiped by design.
Aliens will roll against that Exposure and every success will reduce your Stealth and possibly "give them a hint". You will have no way of knowing it except with some important Research and radar installation.
We may however introduce a displayed "Stealth bar" for gameplay reason, but even this Stealth bar may be displayed only if you reached some Research and detection capacity.
Once aliens have enough hints about your colony, they will attack!
Gradual attacks and the Event Window
The first attack may be light, such as an alien scout force, especially if your Stealth is still important.
Second attacks may be a lot more serious.
You will learn about the size and moment of attack in a global event displayed on your game screen. This event will give you several days to "solve it". During this time, you can:
- Escape your colony (if your ship is repaired),
- Call for someone to transport your colony (if his/her ship is repaired and you managed to share your planet coordinates ingame)
- Protect your colony in space battle (if you are daring, and with a ship or friends)
- Or make a space prayer.
Later in EXODE, it's possible players will have learnt more about aliens and have other information and options. A bit just like in XCOM 1 (1994), once with more technology you have information about the type of alien ships and the size of their force.
Once you are ready, you can click on the Event panel and decide to "execute this event". If you don't, the Event will auto-execute itself once its time runs out.
An attack will usually wipe your colony or destroy a lot of things on it, so it's really better if you picked one of the first three methods and executed it yourself.
How to survive?
In current alpha state, you don't have to worry that much.
But the Hunt will resume with updates.
Once the Hunt gets real:
- Never remain too long in space.
- Increase your industrial output progressively, and in pace with your ship being fixed.
- Make sure that once your industrial output reaches a peak, your ship is repaired and ready to take you back to space.
- Or that you have Navy Lieutenant friends with a repaired ship, or other fighting ships, or friendly transports to take you away and willing to take that risk (and with the game features ready).
A summary
| Scene | Stealth score | Reduced | Protections | Results if failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evacuation | 100 | Never | -- | -- |
| Scanning | 100 | Every few seconds | Ship Stealth Pilot Stealth Flying Technique Assigning members | Game over. |
| Colonization* | < 100 | Every day | Colony Stealth Having less Exposure | Aliens attack within days (Event Window) |
| Space* (Recolonization) | < 100 | Every few seconds | Ship Stealth Pilot Stealth Flying Technique Assigning members | Space battle. Your ship can be lost or damaged. |
Note:
Alien attacks in gameplay scenes market with a * are not activated yet.
You are perfectly safe... for now. You should get ready for what is coming next!
We don't know how many of you will fall to the Hunt.
Now you are a space educated captain: you have your chances to survive and your own decisions to make. If an alien attack happens, you will be warned and be able to choose your own fate.
Good luck, captains!
Know that I am on your side!
(... or not? :D)
More information about EXODE can also be found on our Discord, or multiple posts such as this one about our epic characters, or this trailer made by a fan, or this review or this one . A summary of latest posts and events is also here.
Also running a witness node:
And we can't believe we are at around position 100.
You can help if you think we deserve more game witnesses and EXODE is one you like!
Thank you pilots, see you soon in eXode!
