We're still hard at work putting together the turn mechanics for Elder Tides and we're happy to reveal that almost all of the basic gameplay mechanics are functional. We have also been working on the campaign management, mission selection and officer upgrades.
We've made a number of adjustments to the game's action camera so you can keep up with the results of your orders. One exciting change is following alongside incoming missiles as they come under interception fire!
Whether a missile makes it to it's target depends on a number of factors, one of these is the missile defences of the target ship. These shoot down incoming missiles with their own short range miniature missiles, however the more frequently the missile defence system is used in a turn the less effective it becomes. This allows players and the AI to overcome strong defences with a concentrated attack.
It's worth pointing out that when successful, the defensive missiles do actually intercept their target missile in the game and when unsuccessful they over or undershoot their interception point. This gives missile combat a more intense feel rather than having incoming missiles "just" explode at a convenient location.
Our movement action camera is now more optimised and once again keeps the player close to the action they have ordered.
Ships enacting a move order will now suspend their movement if they detect a new contact. This allows players to adjust their strategy and positioning in accordance with the vessels remaining movement.
In terms of combat strategy, certain vessels and officers can issue a command to concentrate fire which permits the issuing vessel and a set number of other allied ships to target specific systems of the enemy vessel such as individual weapons or the engines. Individual weapons can be destroyed by this method, but normal firing actions also have a chance to inflict damage to weapons at random.
We're also finishing some new ship models and variants and we're starting to put promo and explanatory information together. We look forward to showing you more soon!
