FEATURES///
‘SALVE’ is a 2D real-time strategy game designed in GameMaker, a development tool developed by YoYo Games. The player takes the role of a fleet commander for one of four alien Factions, managing the operations of a fleet of powerful starships during a variety of combat scenarios, with the aim of completing objectives and defeating enemy fleets by destroying their production vessels, such as Carriers and Motherships.
The aim is to include three main modes of play: the Single-player Campaign, individualized skirmishes with the CPU, or a Multi-player mode for up to eight (8) simultaneous players. There is also a plan to incorporate a variety of mission types for play outside of the standard Deathmatch that typifies RTS gaming.
FIRST, WHAT TO EXPECT?
FOUR UNIQUE FACTIONS///
Players will have access to four playable factions, both in the Single-player campaign and in Multi-player encounters. A variety of playstyles are included for all types of RTS players:
The Pilgrim State favors defensive play and ‘digging in’ around a specific location, like a resource patch.
The Raider Union tend to perform best in hit-and-run attacks, raids, ambushes, and asymmetrical warfare.
The Trader Conglomerate works best when focused on resource collection, fleet management, & long-range combat.
The Host Collective is both incredibly adaptable and highly effective at establishing a zone of control.
Each Faction has a standardized assortment of vessels at its disposal, including miniscule but agile Fighters, sturdy and dangerous Cruisers, sluggish and powerful Capital ships, and a variety of useful Noncombat vessels. However, each Faction has its own particular technologies and preferred strategies for combat; for example, the isolationist Pilgrim State tends to prefer defensive actions in combat, favoring technologies like shields and barriers, while the stealthy and tactical Raider Union employs cloaking and disguise technologies with regular frequency.
///EXPANSIVE CAMPAIGNS
Players will be able to play through four unique, interconnected Campaigns, each focusing on the course of one of the four Factions, as well as an introductory Tutorial Campaign (which will be included as a part of the forthcoming Alpha release).
Each mission will not only further the plot along, but will also reward the player with unique technologies, bonuses, and other benefits which will carry forward with the fleet. Speaking of carrying forward, the player will be responsible for managing their fleet during the campaign, as the fleet itself will be ‘persistent’, meaning that the composition of one’s fleet will stay the same between missions. Managing one’s fleet health and avoiding losses will become just as important as resourcing and ship construction.
Each Campaign will be composed of 10 missions, but at certain points during the course of the Campaign, players will have a ‘fork-in-the-road’ option between two or three certain missions. These ‘fork missions’ will offer unique benefits, including restricted technologies which ordinarily might not be accessible. This effectively expands each Campaign to 15 missions, and increases the potential replayability of each campaign immensely.
CUSTOM ENEMY A.I.///
Don’t worry, we aren’t boiling the planet with Generative AI! You have the Salve Development pledge that no generative AI has been used in this project. What we’re talking about instead is ‘Game AI’, which thankfully requires far fewer rainforests to be burned in order to run correctly.
With the Artificial Intelligence Structural Entity (AISE) system, ‘SALVE’ will be able able to manage the actions of up to seven (7) other CPUs simultaneously. The system will be able to factor allegiances, chosen Factions, strategy, tactics, and a wide variety of other factors into its decision-making, allowing it to guide formations to harvest resources, attack enemies, research technology, and explore the map.
The system will even have an adaptive difficulty option which simulates Player Weariness over the course of a match by slowly decreasing the reaction speed of the CPU. Not only that, but it will also include a rudimentary system of memory, allowing the CPU to recall which sectors it safely controls and which are under enemy ownership.
///ADAPTIVE SOUNDTRACK
No good game is complete without a good soundtrack, and ‘SALVE’ is no different. More than 70 tracks are planned, with genres ranging from drum n’ bass to jungle to house to funk. Each faction has at least one specific track to their name, and most have at least three.
The Adaptive Music System (AMS) is designed to manage the playback of ‘adaptive music’, allowing the system to adjust the intensity and length of music based on one’s proximity to potential danger. The AMS will control combat music specifically, allowing for dynamic and emotional encounters.
The SALVE Alpha OST is already available to Patreon donors, so consider a subscription today!
VOICE ACTING & SFX///
To further emphasize the dramatic underpinnings of this upcoming space opera, expect to see a healthy amount of voice acting to be included for all major and significant characters in the Single-player campaign.
Beyond just the campaign, every unit will have its own particular suite of voice lines, which should further add personality and character to these spaceships.
The hope is to potentially even include non-English voice acting work in the future, should time and resources permit!
FOCUS/SECTION SYSTEM///
The various Factions available to the player have a number of unique and devastating technologies which reflect their preferred attack strategy. To emphasize each Faction’s specialty, and to grant a degree for flexibility in fleet makeup, the ‘Focus/Section System’ has been implemented.
Using this system, the player can quickly adjust the role of a specific unit with the push of a button, provided they have the right technologies researched. As must be obvious already, the system is divided by the Focus application and the Section application.
Small units like Fighters and Resources can select a ‘Focus package’, which sets the specific Focus of that unit. For example, if the player researches the ‘Disintegrator Beam’ technology, they can now select a Blaster focus for their Resourcer unit, giving it the ability to chew through rock and scrap much faster.
Larger Capital vessels like Destroyers and Battleships have the option to install multiple Sections which effectively work the same as a Focus, all for the cost of one vacant Section and a sum of Build Units. These behemoths can quickly become raw engines of fury, especially when packing multiple weapon-based Sections.
These assignments are permanent, so it’s best to take care with what Focus or Section you’re choosing. Additionally, Sections are vulnerable to enemy fire, and can easily be destroyed by units equipped with Anti-Section technology, something virtually every Faction has access to as some point along the tech tree.
///VS. CPU & MULTIPLAYER
‘SALVE’ promises to offer more than just ‘Single-player’ action. Included are two other mission modes, ‘VS. CPU’ and ‘Multi-player’, the latter of which will likely be a regular and recurring source of entertainment and community over the years.
Planning ahead from the start, the game has been designed with the overall goal of hosting up to eight (8) distinct players in one ongoing match, each with wildly different tactical options at their disposal.
In ‘VS. CPU’ mode, players will be able to play against up to seven (7) CPU players managed by the AISE system, with a full range of options for setting your preferred combat encounter. In ‘Multi-player’ mode, players from around the world will be able to gather in a lobby-style system, joining games and chatting with one another in both chat and voice formats before enjoying a gripping combat encounter together.
A number of possible game-modes has been concocted which should provide plenty of variety for most games. While the list below isn’t exhaustive or conclusive, many are likely additions at some point in the future.
- Deathmatch - Fleets fight each other, with the last fleet standing taking victory.
- Teams - Like Deathmatch, except players compete on teams together for shared victory.
- Capture - The fleet must hold and defend a single specific point for a length of time.
- Crates - Collect and capture the most crates around the map within a specific length of time.
- Gopher - Collect the most assorted tasks around the map within a specific length of time.
- Wave - Survive against multiple waves of enemy units, individually or in teams.
- Hoard - The player with the most Build Units at the end of the match wins. Spending affects this value.