5.0.0 - When!?

battleMETAL

battleMETAL is a successor to the 90's mech games, a cross between the mech-piloting of Mechwarrior 2 and ferocity of Quake. Command a massive warmachine bristling with firepower as you blast through a war-torn world.

[previewyoutube=nckt6oQQ3Jw;leftthumb][/previewyoutube] I know its been almost a year since I've posted any update to the steam page, but I have continued work on the game where I can find the time. Originally I had only planned to do a few map updates and some code refinements for a hypothetical '4.0.0' release. This completely morphed over 2022 into something way more involved. Through conversations with the Darkplaces engine community and some experiments on my side, I was able to vastly improve framerates and refine the game's aesthetics. I was also able to finally fill in the missing 3 missions from Operation 3. The campaign was originally set up to have 15 single player missions and due to crunch in 2020 I only get 12 complete. 5.0.0 will have 3 brand new missions and the finale mission of the game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. Other big changes were around quality of life for the player: the UI has been cleaned up, animated reticles and 360 target pointers have been added in. 3D armor diagrams are also in, making visualizing damage a lot easier. I've also rebalanced all AI to be less bullet-sponge, its much more satisfying to play as light mechs now. So, when? That's the tough call to make. I have about 30% left on mapping to do, and I am currently deep into fixing some networking and graphics issues in the game code. I think end of Q1/2023 is realistic, but it might slide to Q2. I've been fighting serious burnout on this project and to address that I've been trying to take my time. I appreciate all players patience and enthusiasm for this quirky little mech game, hopefully we can boot up into shiny new-metal soon enough. Stay frosty, DEAD_HANDs. -PSC