Skyshine's BEDLAM - Unmasking the Mechanics @ Pixeldynamo

[HiddenX]

Chan Khee Hoon (Pixeldynamo) unmasks the mechanics of Skyshine's BEDLAM:

Unmasking the mechanics of Skyshine’s Bedlam

More than the sum of its influences?

Much of Skyshine’s Bedlam’s rapid ascent to acclaim is that it is often heralded as a mish-mash of some of the most popular games and films today, such as Mad Max, FTL: Faster Than Light, Oregon Trail, XCOM, Borderlands, Fallout, and even good ol’ chess. While comparisons to these greats can be flattering, they make Bedlam sound like an overpowering bowl of casserole—the result of too many components and ideas. As delicious as a steaming bowl of casserole is, throwing in all your favourite ingredients can ruin the dish.

Thankfully, this isn’t what Bedlam is about. At the heart is a focused vision of a killer roguelike; a FTL-esque, turn-based strategy game, coated with a thick layer of Mad Max-y goodness. Blossoming from a long-held childhood dream, it is a game that the developers from Skyshine Games themselves would have loved to play as a 14 year old—complete with gigantic missile-laden tanks called Dozers, steampunk-inspired infantries, and venomous bile-spewing monsters.

“This is the game that they wanted to make,” Steve Escalante of Versus Evil told us at Pax Prime. “And they kind of geeked out about it. It’s not some corporate overlord basically telling them what they should do, what features they should have—this is their game.” [...]

No “one way” to surviving the expedition

If the game’s artistic style is what attracts most gamers, then its sense of unpredictability and “wait-did-that-just-happen” might keep them hooked, albeit on the edge of their seats. Maps are randomised every round, ensuring that replays require you to adapt a new strategy each time. Feeling lucky for finally making it to Aztec City? Take a gamble by heading back to where you came from—with all your upgrades and weapons intact for subsequent journeys. Remember though: what you earned in spades can also be lost just as quickly, if not even more so. Like many roguelikes before it, Bedlam thrives on replayability, a trait that Skyshine also seeks to constantly refine.

What sets Bedlam apart from other roguelikes though is the game’s proprietary blitz battle system—which makes combat increasingly difficult and intense if they do not end quickly enough. Firstly, this battle system assigns two action points to both the crew and the enemy’s team. Every single action, from moving your unit to attacking the enemy, uses one action point. You can even use the point to collect additional resources, strewn across the battlefield, to give your crew an additional edge. However, take too long to eliminate the enemy, and the enemy can unleash a “blitz” move, which can range from doubling their action points, to using resources to cause your crew even more pain.

Other features of this battle system include Dozer upgrades, which can affect your crew’s abilities and enhance their chances of survival in combat, and powerful Dozer weaponry that can turn the tide of battles—especially if your crew is barely hanging on. With so many options and only two action points to exhaust, strategic planning is a must, since a poor decision can easily cripple your team. [...]

More information.

 

[HiddenX]

Thank you for the info, Eye! Skyshine's BEDLAM will be released on September 16.

 

[Kordanor]

The Release date is not quite correct anymore. The Release was adjusted and it will be released on the 16th. Source is the Update of the 11th of September:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skyshinegames/bedlam/posts/1348541?ref=backer_project_update

This morning they released another Kickstarter update and this time they talked about the early access build, which received some updates, which can have significant impact on such a roguelike. So I'd take anything you read about balancing before release with a big grain of salt:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skyshinegames/bedlam/posts/1350616?ref=backer_project_update

 

[domein]

So, enemy can do blitz, but player can not? Game system that is unfair from the start?

 

[Kordanor]

It must be. I mean the whole game concept isn't fair, so it needs to be balanced out to be fun.

The player has special abilities from the Dozer for example. If the enemy had these, it would be an extremely frustrating experience. Also the player gets additional bonuses if he takes less characters on the field. The enemy doesn't because the enemy isn' playing a "campaign" as you do.
Same goes for the ressources you can collect on the field.

I mean I am totally with you when you have racing games where every participant should drive with equal rules.
And I also don't like when some very basic game rules are different, like in XCom, where discovered aliens always get a double move.

But in case of Bedlam, some balance adjustment is absolutely necessary to make other game mechanics work. The player needs to feel pressure. Otherwise it would be a no brainer to collect all ressources on the tactical map in every single fight.

 

[domein]

Wait, what? We cant just pick up the caches AFTER all enemy units killed? So we will have to stunlock the last one in order to get more loot?

 

[Kordanor]

I guess know you almost got why there is a blitz-meter.
Because with each action the enemy does the blitz-meter fills.

So if you just stall them, they will charge up and might kill you when the blitz-meter is full.

You have to decide between good movement / risky movement to get additional supplies / getting hurt for supplies / finish the combat without getting hurt, but getting less additional supplies instead

 

[domein]

I guess know you almost got why there is a blitz-meter.
Because with each action the enemy does the blitz-meter fills.

As I understand, blitz move means enemy gets to spend 6 moves instead of 2, but if that is the last enemy with low damage potential or under CC effect that should be fine, no?

 

[Kordanor]

They get 3 now instead of 4 as far as I understand the patch notes.

Yes, in theory you could do that. But if the enemy can use 3 attacks in that turn it might still be enough to kill you. I think the weakest unit does 2 damage. And your base casses have 3 / 5 / 6 / 10 HP before leveling.
I am not sure if you can find any stun ability for your vehicle. But even if you do, that also costs ressources to activate - so that would be another tradeoff.

 

[domein]

I see, thanks. Weird how many times i see developers come up with some game system that makes it beneficial to stall combat, then put in another system to prevent stalling instead of fixing the initial issue.

 

[Kordanor]

The point is that it adds additional choices for the player: Do you really need the resources? Or do you rather need a healthy crew?

What I don't quite get yet is the resource balance though, which seemed to be quite superior in FTL. Just started a thread in their forums: http://www.gobedlam.com/forum/forum/bedlam-general-discussion/1850-questions-to-early-access-players