Steam Marines - Alpha Preview @ IndieRPGs

Couchpotato

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IndieRPGs has a new video with his impression on the Alpha build of the Squad-Based Tactical Roguelike Steam Marines.



So: first impressions! Steam Marines is basically what would happen if someone turned Space Hulk into a roguelike, made the Genestealers way slower, and gave the Terminators greater tactical diversity. The cramped spaces and incredibly dire consequences for screwing up are in perfect keeping with roguelike tradition, lending every decision a flavor of risk and an aftertaste of dread.

I didn’t really show the character creation screen much in this video, so you should know that you can actually select the character class of all four of your starting squad members. (Which is good, because if I had this to do over, I would swap out my grenadier for a second shotgun-wielder in a heartbeat.)

I only noticed a few issues during this playthrough, mostly fairly minor ones having to do with missing UI elements. (For instance: the game really ought to provide a visual indication of where a grenade is going to explode before you click it, and a visual indication of which rank your units are currently at on the promotion screen would be welcome.) It probably shouldn’t be possible to spawn directly in the exit to a level, and I question the balance on some of your unit upgrade options (does gaining 0.25 action points actually do anything for you?)

But really? These issues are relatively minor. And considering that the game is still in alpha, I can only assume that these are transitory problems already on Seow’s To-Fix List. In any event, whatever minor complaints I have about this build are far outweighed by the sense of glee I get when a well-conceived series of tactical decisions comes to fruition. Shotgun-blasting enemies into space is a particular delight.

I’m looking forward to the final release of this game. Until then, if you want to try it for yourself, you can snag the alpha for yourself for $7.99 right here.
More information.
 
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Ooo! Squad-based tactical! …but with the resolution of Space Invaders.

I take back what I've said in the past. To a certain extent, graphics do matter.
Thanks for the reply that once again proves people only care about graphics.;)
 
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I don't think it looks that bad, people are weird.
 
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I don't think it looks that bad, people are weird.

I agree. I've been trying to play Wasteland but come to realize that some things are actually better than in the old days. It's probably a fantastic game underneath but the graphics and the trial-and-error way I have to create my characters makes it hard to digest. This on the other hand looks perfectly good to me, along the lines of FTL which was (is) a great game.
 
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"Steam Marines" ? I'm sure it will be released on Steam, no ?
 
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Oh come on, at 04:51, you're telling me you can even tell what in the hell that is?

I don't consider myself someone who generally cares about graphics as long as the game is OK, but when the game looks like it's written on a Commodore 64, it's hard for me to get into it… (shrugs) FTL was about as throwback as I can go.
 
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Oh come on, at 04:51, you're telling me you can even tell what in the hell that is?

I don't consider myself someone who generally cares about graphics as long as the game is OK, but when the game looks like it's written on a Commodore 64, it's hard for me to get into it… (shrugs) FTL was about as throwback as I can go.

Cyropod. heh.
 
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I don't know about the video, but I've played the actual game and no, you won't have any problem distinguishing the sprites from one another.

Reviewer is wrong about grenades. If you hover over your unit you get a preview of area of effect of your weapon. If you're throwing a grenade from inventory, they always follow the same rule: 2 squares away, 1 square radius, unless there's an obstacle.
 
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