There has been news of late in the city of Strange - weird... things have been appearing in the Terminal.
Monstrous things; part organic, part machine - ever hungry for killing.
You are part of a team of freelance agents; tasked by a new client to deal with whatever turns up. The money is excellent, and the rules are simple, don't let anyone die.
A handful of you should be able to deal with the problem, keep it nice and discreet.
As long as things don't escalate...
Overview
This is the first game module in the A7 world. The primary play mode is a strategic team-based co-op shooter with wave mechanics. This is mixed with some fun extra features we'll show in upcoming demos.
There is also a classic Capture The Flag (CTF) mode for competitive play.
Players must find and destroy the variety of creatures that appear - while also controlling the crowds affected by the intrusions, steering them to safety if needed.
It is key point of play that people are not killed by the monsters, each round brings new challenges.
As rounds become increasingly 'problematic,' will you be able to survive?
It is designed as a fun way to introduce players to the larger story and provide a place to practice the combat system used through later modules.
We have deliberately limited the scope of this module to deliver on a tighter timescale. Our focus is on providing an exciting introduction where we can get player feedback early; this way we can keep improving the combat while we finish the second module.
... code-named 'Midian Blue'.
Combat
As this is a combat-focused module, let's get into combat!
Action is highly physics-based; players are encouraged to explore using the environment in various ways to their advantage. Through both humans and AI, several combat layers allow players to focus their character on sculpting their future combat style.
There are a wide variety of weapon designs and equipment for characters to use.
Currently, there are; 17 weapons + ammo + mods, 5 types of armour + mods, 12 other pieces of equipment.
This is expected to expand substantially.
These weapons range from old-school kinetics to newer energy weapons and biomimetic designs for all types of equipment.
We have a strict policy of pretty hard science for all designs; if there is a weapon or piece of technology in this world, it is backed up by a detailed description of how it functions - yes, we are massive nerds.
Other forms of combat and infiltration are available, including hacking and AI based ops.
As with all A7 characters, there are no character classes; these are assigned throughout play due to a character's experiences.
PC+VR
Due to the fully co-op nature of the game (and generally the game world), we have an interesting play feature - both PC players and VR players can both play on the same team, complementing each others play styles.
This allows players to use the equipment and play style that suits them, without compromising competitive advantage.
It is important to us to provide players with a input style that they prefer, while avoiding too much hybridisation.
The Bad Guys
So what are you fighting?
Finding out is half the fun, but here are a couple of previews of the creature art.
Sometimes there's more than one... or one hundred
He's bad news .. do not try to engage in conversation.
Wait.. Are these not monsters? ... What happened to 'hard science'?
Things are not what they appear in Strange... Keep your eye out for clues.
We will keep everyone appraised of the alpha date as we get close to release, there are limited places for alpha testing which we will go into in detail in a separate article.
We're looking forward to sharing some gameplay images soon.
In the meantime...
