We have been busy these last few months with the Deus Ex Machina fulfillment and having shipped all rewards to our backers, we are now focusing all our efforts on our next project, Ironclad.
Artwork
What a better way to start this update, than the first fully colored artwork samples, from our artist, Manos Lagouvardos!
Ironclad will feature over 30 individual characters, Heroes and Villains alike, as well as over 20 individual spaceships which players will be encountering in their journeys. We are trying to flesh out the world of Ironclad with a rich variety of species and ships with unique designs.
Gameplay
After countless hours of playtesting Ironclad, we can say with confidence that 95% of the game’s rules are finalized. We have reached valuable conclusions which subsequently led us to further simplify the combat system as well as the game’s flow in general, without sacrificing the game’s difficulty in the process. As with our previous cooperative game, we will be featuring a variety of easier difficulty modes for a more casual gaming experience.
We made one other major change to the game. So far, each player had control of one of Ironclad’s Systems, by having in front of her an oversized “System mat” with all relevant information to that System. Each System mat featured unique Orders, tracks and other information like Hull integrity, crew Morale, available ammunition or salvage (materials for repairs) or spare Energy for issuing System Orders. We decided against using these 4 different mats as we realized that all vital information wasn’t readily available to all players and that didn’t promote cooperation between them. Thus, we have designed a single mat which will feature all the necessary tracks and all vital information will be monitored on one card instead of 4. Players will still be tasked with controlling a single System as they will be receiving a regular sized card containing all available System Orders. Along with the 3 Hero cards assigned to each player (squad), each player will have a hand of 4 cards.
When testing the game with the above changes, we found that all game elements were more accessible to all players, promoting cooperation among players.
Kickstarter preparations
We are currently preparing prototypes for our reviewers. Ironclad’s previews should be coming on YouTube sometime during February. If everything goes according to schedule, we will be launching Ironclad’s Kickstarter campaign next March.
Stay tuned! We’re just starting!
