Dev Log #4 - First look at the Last Captain's campaign

The Last Captain Campaign

Long have I waited to start sharing updates around the campaign. It combines the action-packed tactical gameplay of individual missions with the overarching story, the factions, and deep ship customization systems.

As we take our first look, please remember the UI is still a work in progress!

The Starmap

At the heart of the campaign is the Starmap - a visual center for everything happening in the Pyre sector. The player is thrust into this unstable sector, teeming with various factions that can be fought, negotiated with, or even befriended. From the pragmatic Coalition, to the nefarious pirates, each has their own distinct agenda, culture, and - in combat - their own strategy.

While certain factions will remain hostile throughout the duration of the campaign, others will offer missions which will build your reputation with them. High reputation isn't merely a feel good status.

• Early reputation gain allows the player access to unique weapons and upgrades that are specific to that faction.

• At higher levels, the player gets access to strategic outposts that can resupply or repair the player's ship. This is critical since resources are much scarcer in the campaign.

• At even higher levels, factions will provide the player with allied ships to help take on the various threats within the Pyre Sector.

• At the highest level, the player will be able to plot missions that determine the future of the entire sector.

Locations

The Pyre Sector is composed of multiple star systems, each based around a local point of gravity like a star, binary stars, or even a black hole.

Within these systems are a vast array of strategic points with their own history. Oftentimes they are the location of vicious fighting between factions, and they are where the majority of missions take place. (On rare occasions, missions can take place in deep space)

Successful completion of missions can help strategic locations change hands. With enough support to a particular faction, entire systems can switch owners - allowing the player to dynamically change the balance of power.

A distant strategic location in the Victorax System.

Dynamic Missions

The majority of the campaign will see the player embarking on missions across the sector. They will see the player exploring, fighting, sneaking, and sometimes desperately escaping. The Pyre Sector can be a dangerous place with human threats like pirates and treacherous natural phenomena.

The Last Captain features a Dynamic Mission Generator. It gives the player a choice between multiple missions of varying difficulty and complexity so the player can make the choice that best suits where they are in the campaign.

Too many easy missions and you have the option to go headfirst into a difficult fleet battle, too many challenging missions and you can slow the pace with a more relaxed expedition to mine some rare resources. The choice remains in the player's hands.

The enemies in each mission are tied to enemies in the star system itself, and will often change depending on external factors and luck.

Random Events

Missions are full of potential events to keep the player on their toes. A common early sight will be the sudden appearance of a meteor storm or errant comet. Later, enemies might have stronger defenses, or a leader that arrives to heavily strengthen their position. Here are some other nifty things that can happen during a mission:

• The player's extraction site can be ambushed

• An allied captain might rescue the player if they are low on health

• A third party can attempt to swoop in and gain victory for themselves

• A distress call that can prove fortuitous or disastrous

This is only a small sampling of the different events missions contain, and my sincere hope is that between player choices and these unique missions, each campaign playthrough feels highly distinct and rewarding!

Ship Customization

The player begins the campaign as a lone survivor of a deadly ambush. Their ship is highly damaged, and their weapons barely functional. Through the rewards the player gains for completing missions, as well as the loot collected from fallen enemies and via exploration, the player can begin restoring their ship and augmenting it with powerful upgrades that fundamentally change how they play.

WIP interface for ship customization

Ship upgrades change everything about the ship from their engine capabilities and hull strength to how many weapons they can carry and how good their radar is. Some upgrades are flat out improvements, like most of the comm upgrades that allow you to bring more allies into battle and give them rudimentary commands.

Others are fundamental strategic choices, like adding a ramming prow to the ship which makes you far more effective at colliding with enemies and surviving the impact.

In the later stages of the campaign, the player can even change their ship entirely. Each unlocked ship has its own characteristics and capabilities. The late game cruisers, for example, feature drastically increases hull strength and damage potential at the cost of maneuverability.

Finally, aesthetic changes to the ship are planned, so if you're not a fan of the default coats of paint - fear not, you'll be able to change them in game!

Weapon Upgrades

Both weapons and equipment are heavily upgradable through the use of equipment components. These can be found during missions, traded for, and looted from destroyed enemies. Initially, each weapon requires a certain amount of components to unlock. But once that weapon is unlocked, further collecting components allows for that weapon to be upgraded through in depth skill trees.

WIP Buzzkill skill tree

Some skills will gradually increase the weapons effectiveness, like its velocity or damage. But, other high level skills will add powerful effects that can transform even your starting weapons into legendary tools of war.

You'll need every advantage though - as the most dangerous entities in the Pyre Sector are not to be trifled with.

Closing Thoughts

As you can see, the Last Captain campaign is a thorough RPG experience that's well underway. New missions are coming online every week, and internal playtesting is kicking up again. The hope is the player gets the chance to take on a proper interstellar journey that's both challenging and engaging. We're looking at kicking off public play testing in the near future, so keep an eye out!

Coming up soon to a dev blog near you:

• In depth look at a campaign mission

• A new biome

• New weapons

• And perhaps most exciting, our newest faction - pirates!

If you like what you've seen so far and haven't already, please wishlist the Last Captain and join our Discord for play tests. Let us know what you're excited for most!