Recon Control news & patch notes

Hey guys! Today's major update brings two new features into the game.

The Marathon Mode

In this new mode, you can play through all campaigns consequently as one big game. Your squad members and earned resources will stay with you until the very end. There were many complaints about switching the squad at the end of each campaign. So I hope people who didn't like how things work will appreciate playing the game in the marathon mode. As for the experienced players, this mode could be a more easy way to get all of the achievements and have more fun along the way.

Field Commanders

Now, when you finish a campaign, you will be able to promote one of your squad members to the field commander. You can have up to 4 field commanders and will be able to bring one of them to your fresh squad when starting a new campaign. I want to give a big shout-out to Chronoloco for suggesting these ideas! That is all for today. Cheers

Hey guys! Today's patch 1.1.5 includes the following:

• Enemy patrols at the late game now don't follow the player's squad and stick to their rally points unless your fighters attract their attention.
• Enemies now avoid initially locked doors until those doors are in their line of sight.
• Improved AI behavior when chasing fighters climbing walls. Previously, enemies would get stuck in place because they couldn't find a path.
• Fixed melee attack animation when a fighter is climbing a wall.

Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out these problems!

Hey people! Here comes the first major update.

Tutorial screen

There is a help screen that includes a few pages with essential tips. I hope it will help new players get into the game smoothly. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/12f5e793c18aa9b57df0589606c9194040b0fb23.png

Missions overhaul

Watching how streamers and YouTubers play, I've got a few ideas on how to improve the level design. I've added additional passages, rooms, and new random enemy positions on almost every mission. Also, fixed a bunch of level design bugs, and tweaked AI scripts a little. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/6925efdf9a5cf0fe223f331df5900ef40f9795ed.png

Other stuff

• Sell all equipment button
• Ability to switch soldiers with the TAB key

Bugs:

• Few fixes in Chinese translation
• Fixed tooltips in windowed mode
• Fixed inventory items duplication on resupply
• Fixed bug caused an infinite stun effect
• Ambush now triggering only when the target is inside level bounds
• Enemies now can't stay on cells with obstacles

Balance:

• Firearms noise rebalanced (more powerful weapons attract enemies and patrols much faster)
• Silenced weapons now also attract patrols a little
• Shotgun damage drops drastically outside of the optimal range
• Glock 18 has now extended mag and burst attack cost reduced to 6 AP
• Glock 17 with a silencer and MP5SD are bumped up in price much
• FN57 and Beretta 92 rebalanced a bit
• Rebalanced prices and weight of melee weapons
• Axe now applies the bleeding effect
• Sledgehammer now applies the dazed effect
• Stun effect duration reduced down to 2 turns. But dazed effect applied after (same as for the blinded effect)
• Critical shot and Rapid fire abilities are now require more stamina

Also, check out and wishlist the DLC, if you missed the previous announcement. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1881220/Recon_Control__Operation_Crossfire/ That is all for today. Cheers

Hey guys! As some of you already might know, I'm working on new content in a form of the free DLC. The new operation Crossfire will bring 9 challenging missions along with new weapons and equipment. More screenshots are available on the DLC store page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1881220/Recon_Control__Operation_Crossfire It's very important for me that you guys wishlist and follow the DLC page. Also, it would be cool if you could spread the word across social media (for example, Reddit). Of course, only if you like the base game. All of this will be a great help for the project. Thank you all for posting in the community, leaving reviews, and your good words! And for a reasonable criticism as well =) Cheers

Hey people! I'm reading reviews and community discussions, so no one will be left unheard. However, not everything is possible to implement, especially in a short time. Currently, I'm mostly working on a Tutorial feature. But I'll try to bring a little by little minor stuff which you've asked for. Along with that, I've already started work on new content. I'll give you more info when the time comes. But please don't expect it too soon. Today's patch 1.0.4 includes the following:

• The Japanese localization fix. Big thanks to Tukiyo from the community!
• Fixed a couple of Russian localization typos. Thanks to Дифрактор!
• Added ability to reset save data.
• Added ability to close pause menu with the ESC button.
• The design of the first missions (Safehouse, Warehouse, Stash, Extraction) has been tweaked a little bit to smooth out the difficulty for new players.

Hey, guys! I see a lot of feedback related to the game difficulty. So I've prepared one more balance patch.

• The experience rewards have been increased (campaign restart is required). But keep in mind that you won't be able to open all skills for one fighter. You anyway need to choose a specialization. This is by design and will stay so.
• Starting missions for each campaign were redesigned a little. This should smooth the difficulty spikes at the start.
• The accuracy bonus from taking the high-ground has changed. Each cell gives +5% (cap at 30%).

I'll take a break for a while. But will continue reading your feedback and taking notes for future updates.

Hey, guys! Here is the next patch. I hope it will make your play-through smoother. Balance:

• The equipment tier of enemy patrols was reduced for the first campaign. Most of them now wield pistols or SMGs. But some still have AKs.

AI:

• Added more variety in behavior across enemy factions. Thugs are much easier now to flush out of their positions. Army and Spec Ops tend to hold their ground more and use their "dirty tricks" often.
• When you make noise (shots, explosions, door interaction, and etc.) you'll see instantly "alert" or "suspicious" bubbles on enemies. This must give you a better idea of how noise works.
• Fixed bug when enemies ignored some suspicious events completely. But keep in mind they can sometimes still ignore it by design.

UI:

• You can now move the camera with arrow keys (along with WASD and mouse).
• All weapons are visible from the start even if the skill is required.
• When hovering the mouse on the detonator you can see a connected explosive device.
• A number of remaining enemy patrols are displayed at HUD.
• Fixed a few localization problems.

Hey, fighters! Based on your precious feedback I've managed to assemble the first quick patch. Features:

• You can now give custom names to your operators. For that, you need to open the loadout menu and press the edit button (top right corner).

Balance:

• Increased amount of money given on campaign start. 1500$ for Normal mode and 3000$ when playing Ironman.
• Reduced amount of enemy patrols for "Heat" and "Raid" missions.
• Melee accuracy bonus when attacking from behind increased from 30% to 50%.

UI:

• Weapon tooltips are improved. Added additional info.
• Description of the game rules is improved (only English, Russian).
• Description of the "Ambush" ability is improved (only English, Russian).

I'll continue to monitor your feedback. Have a nice weekend!

Hey everyone! Glad to inform you the day has finally come! The 3 years of development journey have almost passed. And I would like to thank everyone who has helped me on that bumpy path! Let's jump into some turn-based combat! Your reviews and feedback are also much appreciated. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/b19e29261c93e532deb011b7026b22dd8ccc799b.gif Have a nice weekend!

Hey people! I would like to announce the partnership of Recon Control with the publisher GrabTheGames. We are planning to bring translations for these languages:

• Chinese (Simplified)
• Czech
• German
• French
• Italian
• Japanese
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Turkish

Along with that, I've got additional time to improve the game quality. Besides bug fixing, minor AI improvements, and game balance, I've made an effort to improve the sound. Been added more than 30 new sounds and changed some old stuff that I didn't really like. The exact release date is yet uncertain. But the project is alive and will be released anyway. So please be patient and stay tuned. Meanwhile, I'll continue polishing the final version and start working on new content.

Hey people! I'm going to release a demo for the Steam games fest. And a full game release will be a few weeks later after the event. In the meantime, let me shed some light on the current development state. Last month I was mainly into two things which are UI and AI improvements. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/a2cd1238c5ef66c0f372a5279ac74453110ddfb6.png Loadout and skills menus now have team member's cards. And there is a list of the top 3 skills on every card. All of this should make the process of managing your squad a little more convenient. Also, I've spent a lot of time writing mission descriptions. Added transition animations for every screen. And made a ton of other little improvements here and there. As for AI changes, you may have already seen my Twitter posts.{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/17df95ae70969ef74e66344cf00d425d11cf8611.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/de8e8692261a0756e31a004f0390c05651e42d1d.gif There are now speech bubbles for every character. With the help of those, you can see how enemies exchange information, call for help, and going out of an alarming state. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/59978d52ed690865a87bb5da9eaeb1ee7bb7b951.gif I've taught NPCs a few new tricks. One of which is to shoot doors when they are alarmed and suspect someone is hiding behind. Also, enemies now can use some of the active skills like - Sprint, Melee Combo, Rapid Fire, etc. Active and passive skills are spread across 3 factions - terrorists, PMC, and black ops fighters. Also, I've started a process of Steam SDK integration and implemented 30 achievements. Made a lot of balance changes, especially for melee weapons and skills. Fixed a ton of little bugs. So you may say the development process is running in full steam. That is all for today Cheers

Hey people! Last month I've taken one week aside from actual development to work on a game trailer. Because it needs to be done anyway to release a game. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet. The second thing I've put time into is level design details. Now there are some new interior and roof tiles. After that, I had to pass through all levels again and make little improvements here and there. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/77422ba20025866eb11b8edda37a239528a76dda.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/94283a7a31ecc4f3723e8b178265646a93fee87f.gif And the last thing to mention there is a flying Chinook. It's a nice-looking bird in real life, so I was dreaming for a while to have it in my game. I've drawn and animated a helicopter, spiced it with particles and sound. Taught it to fly around the map and now it appears in some missions. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/457b1c042e448be639f3b3dbfa4b574fea0fd609.gif Of course, there are more little things and polishing which I've put time into. But it would be boring to list them here. So that's it for now. Cheers

Hey people! Want to give you some insight into the progress I've made since the last dev log.

Skill tree

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/98f04ec7b5681ba7b61344aaba51cf444990864e.png Added 6 more secret skills you can learn during a combat mission. Once you learn one you will be able to see information about it permanently (during the next playthroughs). "Carry weight" branch has been renamed into "Strength". Previously this branch provided only more carry weight capacity and in my opinion, it was not worth the required skill points. A brand new "Strength" branch provides a few things at once: carry weight capacity, melee damage bonus, and increased grenades throwing distance. Also, there are 3 new tasty skills:

• "Medical reuse" for a medic branch. Allows you to reuse bandages and medkits.
• "Throw through the door" for a grenadier branch. Allows you to throw grenades behind a door when you standing right next to one.
• "Heavy weapons" for a strength branch. Gives an accuracy bonus for machine guns and sledgehammers.

Campaigns maps

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/985afb0f83f43078b9c6ccce6959544de6cb4e74.gif I've assembled all missions into 3 campaigns. Still working on balance though. The first campaign probably will be easy for people who have played the alpha demo already. But the rest two will be pretty challenging.

Items unlock system

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/c298e56021d22ab63db31af919b70fffe0263ec3.png Part of the items now is locked initially. To unlock them you need to pass missions and earn medals. Added new medical items:

• "Antidote" allows you to remove a poisoned effect.
• "Medical pack" which restores 30 HP and removes a bunch of negative effects at once. But its basic use cost is 12 AP. This means you will need to skip one turn or have a high medic skill in order to use this item.

Hey everyone! I'm a solo indie developer and for the last two years, I've been working on my game called Recon Control. It is a turn-based tactics and 2D platformer hybrid. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491510/Recon_Control/ I've recently created a Steam page and want to share with you some related materials. Hope you find that interesting. And if you have any thoughts or criticism on it feel free to leave a comment.

Soundtrack

Listen to the game soundtrack available on Soundcloud. Now there are only three tracks but I'm working on more. #1 Main Theme #2 Radio Interference #3 Streets Echo

Level design timelapse

Animations

Here are some new animations I've added recently into the game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/9ba32307f199f582815ebdbbb53231d5abb66083.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/9123151b617dc65442d5881ce2083132893d27b6.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39269467/bdb93fd8a311bc2f578afca2764288ee2158f55b.gif That is all for now. Regards, Dmitry