Hello Commanders, Damus here!
I’d like to officially introduce myself; I am a Designer here at KIXEYE, my primary focus on Vega Conflict is the encounter and event designer but I also handle a lot of the live ops tasks.
It’s been a while since we’ve done something like this. I’d like to see it happen more regularly and I think that’s probably something as a team we can commit to as we head into the new year.
One of the key aspects of gameplay that I think we can all agree has been woefully neglected for the past few years is Base development and combat. I am happy to announce that in 2023 this is going to be a major focus for us. We've got a lot of ideas that we think can improve the state of base combat and restore it as an integral part of the game.
With that said I need to first set the expectations of what our focus on bases is NOT. This is not a quick and immediate “fix” for base combat as it exists now, this is a plan that will likely take most of the year to be fully realized.
The end goal being a fully upgraded base will be in a state of balance with current tier level content. This will be a slow process, we are currently planning for new module levels to be added every other release (or so) but we need to build bases back up brick by brick. This approach will allow us to pivot if something isn’t working, much like the rework of the event structure we can make adjustments as we go. As part of that your constructive feedback throughout this process will be incredibly important.
We are also NOT rebalancing existing levels of base combat. The time and resources to tackle a project of that size simply does not exist. This does not mean that some isolated tuning changes for older content are completely off the table but the past is not our focus. We are looking forward, not backwards. This initiative represents what we hope will be a clean start for base combat moving forward, beyond just the current tier.
Also, at this point new art for base modules is not in the cards, if this proves successful that may change but for the time being there will be no visual changes on modules.
With that out of the way let’s talk about the exciting stuff! With the December release 4 modules will be getting new levels; the Bridge, Ship Factory, Arms Lab and Ship Lab.
The Bridge will be getting a significant mass increase, finally allowing players to not have to choose between offense and defense on the module. But the real reason to upgrade your Bridge is all of the additional module levels that will be released will be locked behind the Bridge upgrade.
The Ship Factory has some minor changes for now, mostly in the form of a mass increase. Additional features will be unlocked down the road but at the very least construction of the new Marauder faction hulls (when released) will require the module to be upgraded. Those will be coming sooner rather than later, we wanted to give you the opportunity to be ready when that time comes.
I think the most exciting change will be to the Arms and Ship Labs. Upgrading those modules will open up research for all levels of the new Black Hole Turret and the Advanced Plates! Furthermore, all core current and future base content will be moving back exclusively to research. These modules have been effectively useless for too long, it was time for that to change.
As an aside to this we are unsure what the scope of moving older base content to research would entail but it is something being considered.
Moving forward our intent is to unlock new levels for every base module. Some of those upgrades may be simple; a mass increase or adding a plate or field slot. Others may have significant functionality changes. Additionally we want base content to feel special and different, base tech will no longer be slightly modified copies of ship content but will have its own special flair.
I imagine the big question on a lot of your minds is “what will this mean for my base level?” The short answer? It’s going to increase, potentially by a lot depending on how your base is currently set up. The majority of your base XP moving forward will be linked to the modules themselves rather than the individual components. This change will ensure bases keep up with ship content levels and the two can interact as intended.
This was a lot of info but for now that’s all I can share. I imagine that I’ve probably created more questions than I’ve answered. More information will be coming, this was only intended to be a peak into what we have in store for bases. I hope you are all as excited for this process as we are.