Core upgrading thoughts
This page will cover my intentions on how core upgrading will work in ShellCore Command Remastered.
With the release of the Drone Workshop and tasks there is really only one thing left from the original ShellCore games that are yet to be implemented: Core upgrading. Just like drones, there is a general desire among members in the community to diversify this concept as well. The main aspect with a lot of discussion is the addition of more core designs, and there is plenty of art to draw from in that department. However, it would be boring if all these additional designs brought to the table were cosmetic differences, so it's important to analyze the possible changes we can implement to make core upgrading even more fun than it was in the original games.
The following sections will analyze some changes that Ormanus and I have come up with, as well as why I think they would add to the game in an interesting way.
In episode 2, you can upgrade both your core itself, and your ability caps- the maximum number of each ability type you can have on your core tier. Ability caps are increased by simply paying a credit amount, but upgrading your core requires an extra resource: upgrade shards. These were obtained from a singular sector containing a number of large rocks which you shot down into shards, and then carried those shards to a yard. This specific section of the game was fun to me, but it certainly felt unfinished. The enemies in the sector were more of a nuisance than an actual problem, and it all felt far too tedious for what it was. Ormanus and I has come up with a multitude of changes to make shard collection more fun:
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Add more sectors with rocks, and make some of them harder than others and have more/higher tier rocks. This adds some extra challenge and depth to collecting rocks, which I think is necessary to prevent it from feeling too monotonous.
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Increase the shard cost of upgrading, and switch the shard requirement to abilities instead of the core. Steepening the cost curve incentivizes players to attempt the harder rock sectors. Paying a credit amount for ability caps felt unfinished to me, and I think this is a great way to switch that around. The question then arises: what about upgrading the core itself? Read on for our answer.
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Make the enemies harder. This could mean make them hit harder, move faster, etc. This allows another element to collecting shards: stealth. The enemies might be too hard for some ShellCores, but instead of fighting them you can instead sneak around their patrolling patterns and grab the rocks without firing a single bullet. Don't expect this to be extremely easy though, their patrolling can become erratic.
Here's the unfortunate part though- these ideas require us to create actual sectors and write specific code for them, which is beyond the scope of the current stage of development (prototyping). For now, we'll probably just add a bunch of rocks somewhere close by so you will be able to understand how they work. We probably won't see these ideas come to fruition until at least the late-alpha stage of development. The shifting of rocks to ability upgrading is important though, because it frees up core upgrading, and allows us to add another mechanic to the game.
Ormanus and I propose the concept of reputation, where completing different tasks gives you more standing with your faction. To upgrade your core, in addition to credits, you will require a certain level of reputation. Since upgrading your core to the medium size is a part of the main task chain, you won't need to do anything to upgrade to medium (other than farm some credits), but large will require you to complete side tasks in addition to the main chain. This makes upgrading more time consuming, but in my opinion side tasks can actually be quite fun, so it makes it worthwhile.
This also adds new grounds for working with different factions- indeed, at the end of episode 2 you were asked to pick a side between the green and red factions. Perhaps different factions will allow you to upgrade your core differently. Speaking of differences, read on to an addition we are considering to core upgrading.
We propose the idea of conferring additional active abilities with every core upgrade, called Perks. These abilities will be different to the "Main bullet" because they won't be weapons, but rather very short buffs which are unbelievably powerful, with extremely large cooldowns (think 2-3 minutes). Here are a couple ideas:
- Your ShellCore uses no energy for 3 seconds, regardless of how many abilities you activate.
- Your ShellCore is completely immune to damage for 3 seconds, but can fire its own weapons.
- Your ShellCore receives 100 power instead of 20 from collecting power orbs for 10 seconds.
- Your ShellCore's weapons can attack any entity of other factions regardless of terrain or unit type for 10 seconds.
- Your ShellCore will automatically face your targeted enemy for 15 seconds.
The plan for prototype core upgrading is the old two-stage upgrading of medium and large cores. Medium will possess the last perk idea because that one is significantly less powerful than the others, but we can have a vote on which perk the large core will possess.
There's also been some criticism about this idea in general already. So my plan is to have a vote about whether we should add it at all, and then (if it passes) have a vote on which perk the large core will have. I think it would be nice to add this extra dimension to gameplay, but definitely have your voice heard if you disagree!
I hope you have enjoyed reading these ideas and that you have started considering your opinion on all of them. Please share your thoughts on the Discord server, and remember that you have the ability to shape the future of ShellCore Command Remastered. After core upgrading, there isn't much left to add to the game except some small ideas I have that haven't really been fleshed out completely, so the end of the prototype phase is definitely nearing, which excites me a lot.
Thank you for following and playing ShellCore Command Remastered!