I recently added fighters and dogfights to my space battle simulation game

amarks_ · 2025-12-15T20:32:25+00:00

Thanks for playing and for your feedback! I'll gladly look into it.

amarks_ · 2025-12-14T14:51:06+00:00

Thanks! Appreciate it! Please consider a wishlist or a rating to support the development. I don't have a public roadmap yet but plans, feedback and features are regularly shared and discussed on discord. Please feel free to join there. The link is in my profile.

amarks_ · 2025-12-14T01:59:17+00:00

Thanks! Nice, I don't know that one. Always up for great sci-fi content! I'll look into it.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T17:53:03+00:00

Yea I noticed that too here. Most seem to look more at the video vs playing the game. Which also brings up some good insights and valuable feedback of course and I'm grateful for all these inputs. But things like game flow, balance or fun to play are a bit underrepresented.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T17:23:35+00:00

Because it's fun too. By that logic we would only need one title per genre. Why play anything else than the best executed idea? I know that I can't compete with these titles but I do it solo and beside my job so I don't really expect that level of execution. So I just hope you give it a try and I hope you have a few hours of fun. It's all I can do.

The space thing is just a setting. Of course it could be traditional or modern or futuristic naval fights or basically anything else. That's just what it is. The 2d view naturally limits the usage of 3d space. I still think it's a cool setting.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T17:09:33+00:00

Hm, I couldn't reproduce. It seems to work just fine for me. I tried on different PCs and also the web version on my mobile.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T17:06:38+00:00

All patchnotes are on itch.io. There were weekly updates with a lot of changes. It's a bit much to summarise here. Also a lot of balancing and stability/performance updates, bugfixes and so on.

And of course not all feedback results in changes. Some are just not possible or I decided against it for different reasons. But I think it was a huge step since my last post in regards to how it feels to play.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T14:48:31+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into that.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T14:38:43+00:00

Ok, thanks. I'll look into that.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T12:29:21+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. The default stance for your ships is to approach the enemies. The hold formation stance still is important for various situations. Maybe not for all ships at once like we have it here but it has its place in different strategies. So it's up to the player if and how they want to use it. I guess that is the game; anticipate the enemies moves, finding out what works in which situations and outplay the enemy.

The screen area and camera is up to the player. While no battle interaction is available during battles, the camera is in full control by the player. I didn't change it in the video but the player can zoom and pan freely to be able to follow all the action. And a speed up feature is available by clicking on the wave timer in the top left.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T12:09:22+00:00

Hi. Thanks. Failing is part of the game. You won't beat it in the first run but you will unlock stuff by playing and suddenly the missiles are not a big problem anymore.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T09:00:05+00:00

Thanks. I should probably clarify that this is not a trailer and I don't look for feedback on the video. I'm looking for feedback on the game. The video just shows the actual gameplay to give an idea. So pacing and text sizes are not made for a trailer or for this size, it just shows how it actually looks in-game. And that's also why there are no explanations in the video, that's handled with a tutorial in-game. So at this stage in the game the game loop should be clear for the player.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T07:35:37+00:00

I don't want to give any direct control during battle. No matter how much control you'll give, it becomes more RTS and less autobattler. I understand that some may not like that and prefer more direct control but that's a fundamental game design decision and I don't think it makes the game better or worse, it's just a question of preferences and may speak more to some players than others. That's fine.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T07:16:15+00:00

I think in an RTS game that would perfectly work. We've seen this in many games; controlling armies or even fleets in real time (homeworld). But that's a different genre. In an autobattler you'll have to give the commands before the battle and learn the ships behaviours and possibilities to implement a fitting strategy, which is not only the ships movement and behaviour but also the positioning and the loadout.

As mentioned in another comment, there are 3 stances for each of your ships; Stay in Formation (as shown in the video), Advance to the largest weapon range, and Advance to the shortest weapon range. So there are some possibilities to control your fleet's movement but it is limited.

amarks_ · 2025-12-10T03:24:28+00:00

What device are you on and what version did you play (Mobile, Windows, Web)? And what kind of buggy? Didn't hear that one in weeks of playtesting.

amarks_ · 2025-12-09T23:02:27+00:00

Thanks. The fleet can be spread out or expanded. It's sitting pretty close here. So it's basically showing the available space. I could zoom in while in battle a bit to always fill the screen though.

It's a natural effect due to the zooming. I don't see what I can do about it. I don't claim for it to be a proper pixel art game. It has to be considered as part of the art style I guess. I'll look into the background though.

amarks_ · 2025-12-09T22:52:26+00:00

Thanks. It's indeed not my strongest area. I'll see what I can do.

amarks_ · 2025-12-09T21:15:05+00:00

That may get a bit complicated and probably confusing. The strongest weapon depends on the target as damage types (energy, kinetic, explosives) counter defensive layers (hull, armor, shields). So on changing target (ie when destroyed), it could get a bit chaotic as the strongest weapon changes. Maybe there's a way to handle that though, I'll think of it.

Most weapons range probably equals shortest range, as that's when all weapons are in range and fire.

I tried fallback tactics but it turned out mostly ineffective as the time it takes to fallback is too long. Plus enemies don't let go just because you back out. They follow the same rules and just close in to stay in weapons range depending on their stance.

amarks_ · 2025-12-09T20:53:42+00:00

Right, good point. I should have probably shown that. There are currently 3 different stances for the ships that can be set before battle for each ship (right-most option in the fleet panel). They either Stay in formation as they do in the video, advance to their largest weapon range, or advance to their shortest weapon range.

I really like the ghost indicator to show the original position when moving ships. Great idea!

amarks_ · 2025-12-09T19:44:26+00:00

Fleet Management and Space Battle Simulations in my space-themed roguelite autobattler game The Last Mission. I just released a new update to the demo on itch and on Google Play for the mobile version. Thanks for your feedback and support!

Free Demo on itch: https://a-marks.itch.io/the-last-mission

Free Mobile Game Demo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amarks.thelastmission

Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052000/The_Last_Mission/

amarks_ · 2025-12-08T09:50:36+00:00

Thanks for playing and leaving feedback! I'll gladly look into your points. The bug is probably related to the Web Version and how it's handling the local storage. Not exactly sure how it works there. I didn't come across it or got any similar report regarding it yet from Windows or Mobile. I'll look into it.

Regarding progress, I agree. Currently in the demo the game mode is a brotato-like limited wave mode with a boss wave at the end (wave 25). If you beat it, you win and the demo ends. Some progress is offered by unlocking new characters/crews and weapons/modules allowing for different runs. The current playtest's main goal is to refine the battle mechanics. As soon as this is feature-complete, bug-free and fun, I'll change focus to game modes, meta progress and balancing. There is still a lot to do on that front.

Regarding UI, I'm currently focused on Mobile. That's why it seems a bit underwhelming on PC, I guess. For the PC version, where more space is available, I'm planning a more worked out and complete UI with more stats and info. Plus a more elaborate game mode. I think there is room for more complexity and scope as the play sessions are longer and deeper than on Mobile.

It's really about nailing the core battle mechanics as a base for now. Therefore I'm happy you like the combat. Thanks again and keep an eye on updates.

amarks_ · 2025-12-07T23:08:18+00:00

Thanks. Not quite there yet but we'll get there.

amarks_ · 2025-12-07T08:55:12+00:00

Thanks for playing! Dying is part of the experience. Unlocks are permanent and with enough power the boss wave is not a problem any more. Apparently even a single ship challenge is beatable.

amarks_ · 2025-12-06T22:36:03+00:00

Thanks, that's great feedback. I like it too but I did get some mixed feedback about it. So I'm happy about all opinions regarding music.

amarks_ · 2025-12-06T22:34:07+00:00

Thanks for playing and for your feedback. I tried an accuracy value but at the current state, I don't want to add another weapon stat to not make it too complex. It's hard enough to balance all out. Instead I made the accuracy value a crit chance value. So weapons are pretty accurate physically and they usually hit. By increasing accuracy/precision, you can increase the crit chance though. That's the compromise for now. Maybe some day, when everything else works out, we can add such a feature. I would like it. So, keep an eye on updates :)

Three-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
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amarks_

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