Hi everyone, today's topic is destruction which is a big part of Mars Tactics. Almost everything on the battlefield is destructible, even the terrain itself. For example, if your troops are pushing into an area with no cover, they can throw a high-explosive charge to create a foxhole to dive into. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/653d59b5be614413855506512331263573b652a1.gif[/img] [i]Explosives are abundant on Mars as they are used extensively in mining operations.[/i] And when defending an objective, your troops can create trenches to fortify their position. Of course, AI troops are aware of landscape changes and if given the chance will use your trench against you. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/708ec91c4663acf410b02313c35a2e8c791cb95f.png[/img][i]Rebel workers in a trench keeping watch for corporate forces. Big trenches like this are not trivial to make -- this one was created by a strafing airstrike run.[/i] [h2]Use the Environment[/h2] Besides grenade and bombs, environmental objects can also trigger small and large explosions. The game will communicate which objects can explode, so keep that in mind when taking cover. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/d6fa4e1f9f1c269694144031ffce7e20ae94dc04.gif[/img] [i]Chemical tanks can be damaged by direct fire or remote hacking. The blasts are powerful enough to leave craters.[/i] For some special objects, explosions will rip them apart creating debris that can be used as cover. Falling debris may push units and even hurt them, although never fatally. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/febf0f7c04a029a46a9d42925165925c4c9777c0.gif[/img] [i]Construction crane blows up into smaller pieces, each of which become cover. Please note this feature is still in the experimental stage.[/i] [h2]Permanent Damage[/h2] Destruction is permanent across the world. When you revisit battlefields, you will see familiar craters and trenches (although they will be eroded over time by sandstorms). Likewise, damaging buildings will reduce their productivity in the strategy layer, until repaired. Infrastructure is precious on Mars, so you should weight the cost/benefit of using destruction. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/d6c1dab91fc1658b7f8cbd1516ab8b61a8d3c32b.png[/img][i]Preserving detailed destruction data across the whole world map creates gigantic save files. Optimizing this has been a very big challenge.[/i] [h2]Not Minecraft[/h2] All of that said, I just want to be clear that explosions and destruction are not themselves the end goal of gameplay. They are just one aspect of infantry combat. To that end, you cannot dig tunnels or create caves. And destruction only goes a few layers deep (every map has an indestructible rock bed). And some objects and ground types cannot be destroyed. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/de4d6acbf717f76173da96428627349169a85ece.png[/img][i] Underground facilities like these are heavily fortified and cannot be destroyed. (On Mars everyone lives under the surface to escape radiation.)[/i] So the goal is not to re-create Minecraft, as cool as that would be. The focus of Mars Tactics is firmly on turn-based infantry combat. But I hope destruction is a useful and fun part of the tactics sandbox that allows you to be creative. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41607874/9ff95df24b63800d0c1d2917bb1f113c8527035a.gif[/img] [i]Timelapse of a hilltop fortification slowly getting decimated.[/i] Well, that's it for this time. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. This game takes place just 20 years from now during the very early stages of the corpo-colonization of Mars, so there's no terraforming or much human settlement. That means you should expect to fight through lots and lots of sand maps. But I hope the destruction system will help make each battle more memorable and fun. Follow and Wishlist [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1727760/Mars_Tactics/]here[/url] for these dev logs to appear in your Steam News section (they do not appear on the store page). You can also follow me on [url=https://discord.gg/6tmHK8stH2]Discord[/url], [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/MarsTactics]Reddit[/url], [url=https://x.com/manhole_s]Twitter[/url] or [url=https://bsky.app/profile/manholex.bsky.social]Bluesky[/url]. Lastly, if you just want an email alert when I make a post on Steam you can sign up [url=https://forms.gle/MYtxPUMnoJ8zMbxq6]here[/url]. THANK YOU FOR YOU SUPPORT!! -Yuji