Our Navigator programmer, Maarten de Meyer, has told me today that he has officially resumed development on the Navigator engine! This means that things are going to go full circle again.
If you haven't played the public beta yet (why haven't you?! You can download it right here for free!), then you are aware that we have pretty much completed the Endless portion of the game. The mode that we will be tackling next is the Competitive Mode.
Competitive mode in Navigator is a 2-4 player mode where a player/team of players faces off against
another player/team of player in multiple game modes where they compete for ultimate survival. Competitive modes can be in the form of battles, survival contests, or some hidden modes.
Survival is basic Endless Mode style gameplay but with multiple players. Not a whole lot is changed here, but I personally believe that the mode that will really stand out in multiplayer is the Battle Mode. Battle is a unique spin on Navigator's core gameplay by introducing trash blocks (gray blocks that have no point gain) as weapons! By creating large clusters and cluster chains, you can create masses of trash blocks that can be dropped on your opponent's field-- interrupting their plans and possibly even forcing their navigator upwards!
We'll be able to share more information soon!
No; and yes. The Competitive Modes for Navigator were mostly designed with netplay in mind, so a network environment shouldn't be overly difficult to transfer over. However, due to time constraints due to delays and personal issues, we won't be able to release the "final" version of Navigator with online play.
However,
We have already planned out our online elements and how we will handle them. So not to worry; Navigator will most definitely have online play! It's just gonna take a little longer.
Some things to keep in mind;
- Navigator: Online Edition will be offered as a 100% free patch for the "vanilla" version of Navigator.
- Navigator: Online Edition will also be adding additional content to Navigator, again, for free.
- New content will be added to Navigator: OE over time-- characters, gameplay modes, the works!
- Performing certain actions in the vanilla version of Navigator will reward you when OE comes out with additional modes and characters ahead of time! Aim for 100% completion!
- New patches for Navigator: OE will also keep glitches and bugs in mind, and when a bug is found, we will patch it as soon as possible!
We'll have more information on everything else soon... so keep your eyes open! Tell your friends and show your support!
