![]() ![]() robots/drones will still be coming (but no more roguelike stuff), and racing will be a smaller set of missions. Just know that the current missions will be streamlined/improved significantly (or removed), combat missions vs. I'll go over all the mission types in a future post, because this is getting too long. Most of these will be advanced options, and I'll be adding tooltips to many of the advanced options, but there will also be new parts (like today's new rockets/missiles). From this point on, any new vehicle-building features will be either part of the big build UI revision, or focused on letting me build/tune vehicles to be as fun as possible. It will still be the default in Sandbox, and it will unlock in the campaign after you beat a mission (like Challenge mode currently, but with simpler UI). Vehicle building will not be going away, it will just not be what the campaign focuses on. Rather than having 3 missions, maps will have at most 2, with the second mission also designed with a different specific vehicle in mind. Every vehicle in the campaign will be designed to be as fun as possible, and every map/mission will be made with a *specific* vehicle in mind. ![]() I think what makes the game special is the *combination* of insane vehicles, destruction, and physics. Maybe it could be a more satisfying version of Besiege, but Besiege has cool stuff that Instruments doesn't (sheep, archers, etc) and I'd rather focus on what makes Instruments special. By relying on the player to design and build vehicles, and having maps/missions where the problems/solutions can't be too interesting (because they require very specific designs/parts/etc), the game is reduced to a bland version of RFG/Blast Corps/etc. There are *SO* many fun vehicles possible in Instruments of Destruction, and there are many that would be fun *in the right circumstances* that are simply not worth building now because the maps and objectives have to be fairly generic in the current campaign structure. Vehicle building is not just difficult to do because it's hard to teach, but coming up with fun vehicle ideas and executing them is hard even for people who know what they're doing. And Instruments has something else that is *very easy* to enjoy: Destruction (and physics). It is *difficult* to design and build fun vehicles. It may sound crazy that vehicle building will become a bonus feature for the campaign, but the main reason is this: To achieve both of these goals, the campaign will be expanded significantly while streamlining the user experience, and vehicle building will become completely optional. #2 means having as much cool/fun stuff to do in the game as possible. And getting rid of unnecessary elements that don't improve the experience in a meaningful way. #1 means less friction for the player being able to jump in and have fun. ![]() And playing Blast Corps, despite there being so much jank in the game, I have to say the fun factor in that game is undeniable.Īll this comes to a couple core philosophies for the campaign:ġ) Make it as easy as possible for the player to have fun (aka more like Blast Corps).Ģ) Make the most of what Instruments of Destruction can do (aka more like RFG). The gameplay they showed looked boring, especially compared to the RFG highlights. ![]() But seeing the footage in the GameRanx video really reinforced one idea that I've been obsessing about: Instruments is not close to realizing its potential. The game has enormous potential because of the destruction and physics, as well as the vehicle building possibilities. Both of those games come up time and time again as destruction-centric games that people remember fondly, and I needed to better understand why.Īt the same time I've been thinking a lot about how to make Instruments more fun and enjoyable. As I've been working on adding the object destruction, improving explosions, and doing other related tasks, I've been watching a lot of videos about what made Red Faction Guerrilla fun, as well as playing some Blast Corps for the first time (thanks to Rare Replay on GamePass). But I have to admit I don't really want the attention on the game, at least not yet. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least, and wishlist numbers have seen a nice spike because of that video. ![]()
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