Clash! Combo! - Mecha Simultactics v0.8 Release Notes

Mecha Simultactics has just been updated with a new game mode called Clash Combo, plus lots of combat improvements, spectate while waiting, replay studio features, and networking and performance improvements.

You can play this update for free in the Mecha Simultactics Alpha.

Release Notes

TLDR: Changelog.

New Game Modes

New game modes have been added: 1v1 and Clash Combo.

In Clash Combo mode, two players automatically clash at the start of battle. Then, combo and fight. When both players reach neutral, they respawn and clash again. This was originally added to be used as a tiebreaker for tournaments that end in draws. It’s also useful for practicing combos or just playing a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors with a twist.

Spectate

You can now spectate the battle while you wait if you join a lobby mid-match.

Efficacy

Efficacy is now displayed as a number. There are a lot of changes under the hood to how priority works and how efficacy is calculated. The simple word-based indicator was not enough to compare all the attacks. As a number, efficacy should be an accurate indicator of how actions will resolve.

Preventing Stalemates

There was a problem in 1v1s where both players stand their ground and get punished for approaching. In order to prevent stalemates, melee trades now cause knockback to both players, which resets the players to neutral. Also, in order to encourage aggressive play, moving forward towards your opponent is treated similar to a dodge and does not get knocked back on hit. In other words, you don’t get knocked back while moving if you don’t pivot. The exception to this is if you are staggered or flanked - in these cases you are still prone to knockback.

Parry and Stagger

Parry now causes stagger on melee attackers regardless of their position. This effectively increases the range of parries to match the attacker’s range. To balance this, parry no longer does damage.

Also, stagger is now a much more dangerous status effect. You can now use special attacks while staggered, however, you can’t parry or block. And if you get his while staggered you get knocked back, making you susceptible to combos.

Burst

You are now immune to being launched immediately after a Burst. This should make Burst less risky to use.

Overdrive

“Overheat” has been renamed to “Overdrive” to make it more clear this is a positive effect. Also, Overdrive has been buffed significantly and now modifies all of your Combat actions.

Overdrive now gives an efficacy bonus to melee attacks. This means that you won’t clash if your opponent does not have overdrive as well – you’ll bypass the clash and hit them. Parry and grab no longer cause you to skip your next turn if missed during overdrive. Plus, you now get 1 free Lunge on any turn during overdrive, not just the first turn.

Replay Studio

The Replay Studio finally has a file picker, so you can watch any replay instead of only loading the newest one. The game will save up to 99 replays. Also, you can now pause and step frame by frame in the replay studio, and hover over units to inspect their status.

Other Fixes

Networking: Fixed battles sometimes failing to start in large lobbies. Performance: Added an option to disable VSync in the Graphics settings, greatly increasing frame rate on some machines.

Okay that’s all cool or whatever but where are the new mechs????????

We are working on new mechs! I will show them off as soon as they are ready. Join the Newsletter to get notified when I post about it.

In the meantime, if you are hungry for more content, check out the custom maps created by other players in the Discord server!

Good luck, Pilot!

-RJ