Frontier News #5 - Mech Customization Overhaul

Mech customization has gone through a lot of changes as the game has evolved. The current version can feel awkward and hard to navigate, and you have to do a lot of it to feel a noteworthy difference in your mech. Since it's such a big part of the game this was not acceptable to us. We've made some big changes, with the goal of making customization more convenient and more meaningful.

This is gonna be a big one, so strap in!

New menu

Customization should be about finding your perfect build, not wrangling a bunch of lists and buttons. The mech customization menu itself has a new look and behaves very differently. All Tools, Parts, Modes, and their Mod Slots are now visible and editable from the same menu layer. Mod Chips are now placed in individual, unique slots, making it easier to get an overview and to change specific Mods.

Mods can now also be equipped directly from crafting, and from other parts if they're already equipped somewhere.

New crafting and unlocking logic

Before, each Tool, Part, and Mode was treated as its own piece that you had to craft, customize, and place into slots. The goal of this was to provide the opportunity for lots of customization, with pieces that could be swapped in and out as needed.

Unfortunately, this could quickly become slow and unwieldy, with players having to go through multiple steps to (un)equip pieces and Mod Chips.

Instead of crafting new levels of Tools, Parts, and Modes and putting them into Slots, each piece now has a dedicated Slot where you will unlock and upgrade them along a pre-set path. The Parts Crafting section of the menu has been removed entirely. For example, a Seed Shooter Mk. 1 can be directly upgraded into a Seed Shooter Mk. 2 and all Mod chips will directly carry over. The result is a process that is both easier and faster, with a lot fewer menu steps. It will also give new players a better sense of what their Mech will be able to do in future Milestones.

Since upgrading will now be in linear paths, we have removed the Power costs from Tools, Parts, and Modes. This means you can't accidentally lock yourself out from being able to use your Mech, and leaves more Power for Mods.

Combining Parts

To cut down on busywork, we are combining Mech Arm (L) and Mech Arm (R) into Mech Arms, and doing the same with Mech Legs. We are also combining the Windshield and Engine into one part called Mech Body.

This means there are less Parts taking up space in the menu and fewer places you need to go in order to put in and change Mod Chips. This should speed up the whole process.

Less Mod Slots, stronger Mod Chips

Having to fill up lots and lots of Mod Slots with copies of the same Mod Chips just to see an effect is not the engaging experience we want. There will now be fewer Mod Slots over all, and the effect of invidiual Mod Chips have become stronger. This means bigger effects with fewer Mods, which should help you reach your intended build while cutting down on a lot of tedious crafting and equipping!

Adding stats to Tools, Parts, and Modes

Steam post image Up to now, the main goal of upgrading has been to unlock more Mod Slots. The upgraded thing in and of itself has rarely been very important. Also, it could often feel like you had to sacrifice fun parts of your build just to fill up Mod Slots with the "basics". That changes in 1.0! Tools, Parts, and Modes will now have built-in stats that are improved over time as you upgrade them, making them more valuable out of the box. Tools will have their main secondary abilities unlocked as part of their main progression. This frees up room for more fun Mods and varied builds!

What about my current progress? Will I have to start over?

Nope! While we are making a lot of changes to the system, it does not mean a complete reset. Mods will carry over, and you will get Parts that are equivalent to your current highest Tier.

What about Appearance?

Don't worry, fashionistas - changing your Mech's appearance will work the same as it did before! You'll still be able to change the look of the Windshield, Engine, and each Arm and Leg individually.

Upgrading a Part to its next level will unlock that appearance in the Appearance section, similar to how you would previously unlock them by crafting them.