Once again the Prototype has been updated with new content, features, and mechanics - some imported from World and others completely new to the game.

In contrast to the relatively tame updates from the past few months, this one aims to shake up the game in a much bigger way. I have confidence that some of these new changes will be rejoiced and appreciated for years to come, though I'm sure others are bound to cause a stir among the community. Either way, please continue reading with an open mind and I sincerely hope you enjoy what I've been working on for the last month.

The most notable features of this update are the introduction of a new hold-item mechanic and the death of an old, unbalanced beast we once called Starforce;

Robots can now be equipped with various hold items shortly after unlocking Kalinka in the game. Items like the Energy Pellet and Attack Capsule are automatically consumed by the holder after taking a specific amount of stat damage, while items like the Energy Upgrade and Target Module have more specialized and unique effects. Even the elemental cores can be held to extend a given robot's ability compatibility and grant a +25% boost to power and weapon energy efficiency. Target robots in certain story missions will now be equipped with hold items for added challenge.

The old mechanics of Starforce have been destroyed and new ones have taken their place. Field Stars and Fusion Stars are now collected as part of the main story (rather than post-game) and act as key items - unlocking certain chapters only after the player has accumulated a specific amount. Collected stars also contribute to the global Battle Point total and affect the sell prices of certain shop items. They do not, however, have any effect on the damage or recovery power of abilities used in battle. Collecting all 1024 is now a task only completionists need care about.

Here's a list of patch notes below explaining all the new tweaks, additions, and changes included in this update:

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Robot Editor Updates



- Robot editor has been updated with improvements imported from World
- Ability, item, and player selectors more user-friendly with sorting and colours
- Robots can be dragged and dropped between doctors once the feature is unlocked in-game


Starforce Updates



- Starforce no longer boost attack power or experience, instead increases battle points
- Field Stars grant +6,000 BP and Fusion Stars grant +9,000 BP while in player's possession
- Some mission chapters in the campaign are now locked behind star count requirements
- Sell prices for robot cores in the shop are now boosted by elemental starforce levels


- Field and Fusion stars saved as separate images, can now be used in community
[item]{field-star_nature} [item]{fusion-star_water-shield} [item]{fusion-star_freeze-electric}


Item Updates


- All items are now grouped by kind (consumable, holdable, event, etc.)
- Robots can now hold specific items for bonuses or special effects in battle
- Holding a consumable auto-triggers the item when relevant stat is lowered
- Holding a robot core grants move compatibility, +25% power and -25% weapon energy
- Only consumable items can be used in-battle, now require one turn to execute
- Target robots now only drop screws, shards, or cores when disabled in battle
- Cores can no longer be thrown at target robots in battle to deal elemental damage


Miscellaneous Updates


- Visual perspective in battle changed very slightly (most apparent in 8vs8 battles, may not notice)
- All benched robots receive same 50% reduction to received damage, exact position irrelevant
- Benched robots no longer show stat boost messages on level-up, speeding up some battles


- Ballade now triggers form change when life energy drops below half, boosting all stats


- Unlockable robots now have a hovering lock icon in battle, fades if corrupted


- Light, Wily, Cossack Buster abilities now unlocked at start for their respective doctors during campaign
- Many other abilities have had power tweaks, minor text fixes, and functionality optimizations


New Holdable Items:
These items can be purchased from Kalinka's Shop and then equipped to your robots before battle. They each have different and unique effects - from boosting stats to tweaking mechanics - and can be reused an infinite number of times.


- Energy Upgrade doubles the base life energy of the holder in battle
- Weapon Upgrade doubles the base weapon energy of the holder in battle


- Attack Booster increases attack stat of holder after each turn in battle
- Defense Booster increases defense stat of holder after each turn in battle
- Speed Booster increases speed stat of holder after each turn in battle
- Field Booster increases core-type field multiplier after each turn in battle


- Target Module extends reach of many abilities to target benched robots
- Charge Module allows two-turn charge abilities to be used in only one
- Growth Module doubles experience and stat bonuses earned by holder in battle
- Fortune Module greatly increases prize money and item drop frequency in battle


New Event Items:
These key items are unlocked during the story and provide narrative context to the various mechanics in the Prototype. They will have little effect on veteran players who have already unlocked everything in their game files, but will be invaluable to new players who are still learning the ropes. These items also make it easier for me - the developer - to trickle out features slowly rather then all at once.


- Light Program allows doctors to share items and abilities with each other
- Wily Program allows doctors to transfer unlocked robots between each other
- Cossack Program allows doctors to collect new field and fusion stars in battle


- Auto Link connects doctors with Auto, unlocks his shop
- Reggae Link connects doctors with Reggae, unlocks its shop
- Kalinka Link connects doctors with Kalinka, unlocks her shop


- Item Codes allow item use in-battle, unlock the Item Shop
- Dress Codes allow robot pallet swapping, unlock the Alt Shop
- Ability Codes unlock new support abilities, unlock the Ability Shop
- Weapon Codes unlock new special weapons, unlock the Weapon Shop
- Equip Codes allow item holding in-battle, unlock the Parts Shop
- Field Codes allow player field customization, unlock the Field Shop


New Abilities:
These abilities can be purchased from Reggae's Shop and equipped to compatible robots. The two Neutral-type buster abilities have niche uses but require zero energy and can be very powerful on the right robot. Buster Charge is great for robots equipped with lots of abilities that require high weapon energy, and Buster Relay is great for support robots that want to pre-charge specific busters for their teammates. The Shot/Buster/Overdrive elemental abilities were designed specifically to padd-out some of the more under-represented types and should add more diversity to player and AI-controlled robot abilities in battle.


- Buster Charge ability imported from World, fully replenishes the user's weapon energy
- Buster Relay ability imported from World, transfers any buster charges to a teammate





- New elemental abilities for Cutter, Freeze, Flame, Electric, Crystal, Space, Shield, and Laser types
- Elemental shot abilities deal low damage for zero energy with perfect accuracy
- Elemental buster abilities deal medium damage with element-boosting charge effect
- Elemental overdrive abilities deal high damage to all target robots using up all energy


New Robots:
Even though the purpose of this update was not to introduce new challengers (we'll save that for another time), MegaBossMan managed to sneak in a new Missile Core robots - Search Man! Look forward to seeing him in battle and let us know what you think in the comments!

Search Man

                       

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And that's it for this update. I hope you enjoy all the hard work put into this one and please leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments below. Thanks for playing!