Publisher Hooded Horse and developer Stutter Fox Studios have shed more light on sci-fi RTS Falling Frontier’s combat system in its latest developer diary, delving into how encounters evolve over four different phases.
Over the course of Falling Frontier’s development, its combat system has moved away from its initial arcade inspirations, leaning more heavily into simulation “complete with munitions firing, explosions, and ships breaking apart. “
Falling Frontier Combat System Detailed in Developer Diary
In its current state, Falling Frontier’s combat system is structured into what the developer sees as four distinct phases determined by “a mix of information, distance, and armament.”
The first phase starts when you’re far away from foes and revolves around gathering information.
“Anything outside of a ship’s vision, but still relatively close within the navigation plane, is presented as a LiDAR contact. The closer the object gets to visual range, the clearer it becomes,” the developer explains.
The goal is to understand as much as you can about your foe using the ship modules available while also taking note of the layout of the map.
Phase 2 shifts to long-range warfare and is “all about missiles, rockets, and VLS (vertical launched systems)”. Landing decisive shots can cripple enemy vital systems and defenses, reducing the threat they pose to your ships.
The third phase focuses on mid-range warfare, allowing ships to fire “a second major salvo of your VLS, if you have them.”
Phase 3 is when Falling Frontier’s combat system gets serious, as “your main battle guns will come online.”
Although only railguns have good accuracy at this stage, this is when the opposing force starts feeling the hurt. If one too many missiles are flying around, asteroid clusters can serve as a defensive measure.
Finally, phase 4 brings is when things get “up close and personal,” with Falling Frontier’s combat system shifting focus to “broadsides and trying to manoeuvre your ships into the blind spot of your opponents.”
Keeping track of where several ships can fire is the challenge here, but once this phase concludes, one side emerges as the victor.
You can get a better look at Falling Frontier’s combat system both in the article linked above and in the video embedded below, which is all about close combat. The sci-fi real-time strategy game is in development for PC.
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