Encased - New Mechanics at Release

[Redglyph]

Dark Crystal Games reveal some of the new mechanics that will be put in place in the full release version of Encased.

Encased Full Release

Dear subscribers! Once again, the latest post-apocalyptic CRONUS Weekly is on your screens. Can anyone hear us?

Over three years in development, two years in Early Access. Encased has changed a lot since the first alpha, and every step of the way your support, criticism, and social media activity kept us going.

In just a couple of days, on September 7, Encased will finally leave Early Access and fully open the Dome to anyone who wants to play the game from start to finish.

Today we're going to tell you about some new Encased mechanics, which we've saved for dessert.

Servoshell Paint

The servoshell armor can be upgraded to four levels and each of them will change the appearance of this death machine. But even this is not the limit of customization. By upgrading the servoshell armor to level four, the player will be able to paint it in the colors of national flags. And it's easy to do, just loot the dead engineers who worked on the paint job.

How will you paint your armor? All options are shown on the gif above.

By the way, servoshell armor painting was one of the social goals on Kickstarter, and without the help of our friendly community would never have made it into the game.

Ursula

Tired of wandering the endless wasteland on your own two feet? Hurry up to get your hands on the real armored train "Ursula"! It will become your mobile base in the Encased world!

Covered in sand somewhere in the vast wastelands of the Dome, it's waiting to take you to any destination at the speed of light.

Camps

The journey from one settlement to another can take several days of playing time. That's why the full version of Encased on September 7 not only offers players an updated world map, but also the ability to camp anywhere under the Dome.

There you'll be able to grab a bite, have a heart-to-heart talk with your companions, cook food, and heal your wounds.

More information.

 

[wolfgrimdark]

Loving the sounds of this new update! Enjoy camping, like the mobile base idea, and also the servo (power armor) enhancements. Sounding very good!

 

[devoncop]

I was very stoked for this one but a lot of strange design decisions in the game....dead enemies dont drop loot and you cant take their gear ????
Extremely limited ammo and very few places to obtain replacement ammo also makes a firearms build really difficult.

Will wait for reviews on this on I think.

I do like the backstory a lot though.

 

[Redglyph]

I was very stoked for this one but a lot of strange design decisions in the game....dead enemies dont drop loot and you cant take their gear ????
Extremely limited ammo and very few places to obtain replacement ammo also makes a firearms build really difficult.

You can loot dead enemies, or pickpocket anyone while they're living. Not sure about the gear, but only a few games allow to completely strip bodies, they had to fix a limit somewhere in order to offer something else more interesting in return.

The settings makes some of the items rare per design, though I never found it to be a problem in Encased, neither for ammo or drugs. Much less so than in ATOM RPG, for example, where you really have to spare the ammo and health kits as much as possible.

What weapon did you feel felt short of ammo?

 

[devoncop]

Hi Redglyph

Sorry, my comment was meant as more of a query based on Steam reviews and discussions as the game is on my wishlist awaiting full release as I am wary of Early Access.

You have done a great job in addressing my concerns though so thank you. I have no issue with ammo being difficult to obtain given the setting as long as the game stays playable which you indicate it does.

Based on EA would you recommend it?

Cheers

Ian

 

[Deleted member 18181]

Patiently waiting for this to release as i already bought it last year i think and it will take away my mind from pathfinder
ps game will increase in price tuesday

 

[Redglyph]

Hi Redglyph

Sorry, my comment was meant as more of a query based on Steam reviews and discussions as the game is on my wishlist awaiting full release as I am wary of Early Access.

You have done a great job in addressing my concerns though so thank you. I have no issue with ammo being difficult to obtain given the setting as long as the game stays playable which you indicate it does.

Based on EA would you recommend it?

Cheers

Ian

The EA was very convincing, and I would certainly recommend the game, as long as you like the "post-apo" theme and don't expect a AAA quality. It's very well polished and high-quality, but it's not the same level of interactivity with the environment as a Baldur's Gate 3 for ex, nor does it boast gorgeous 3D models. It's not the same budget.

The theme is not as desolate as other post-apocalyptic games (Fallout, ATOM), but there are many similar signs. There is a cataclysm, and the society is reorganizing differently, so it's possible to find items but it's more about bartering and looting than visiting shops

So regarding your concern, you may not be able to use the same gun and kill every single NPC without running out of ammo, but you should have enough to play normally, and you can count on many alternatives.

There's a preview here if that helps. But you are right, you should definitely wait for some post-release reviews to make sure it's what you like.

 

[wolfgrimdark]

I am playing it as melee only, no guns, and loving it so far. I got fairly far into the EA but since the final is coming out shortly, and WotR was just released, I set it aside to start fresh with full release.

I never had a single problem looting bodies, so strange people on the steam forums would report such a thing, maybe some old bug from an beta build. Looting is very similar to other games - they don't have a complete set of gear and items (I don't think I ever saw that in a game where every single article of clothing, weapons, ammo, food, etc was always on a corpse).

I found it well balanced myself. I had to be a little careful with some supplies like water and good (versus nasty) food but nothing overly hard. If anything I saw a little excess at times in terms of medical and food supplies. Water was the hardest and then only as far as storing it. Usually could find a wash basin or source of water. Not a lot of containers of water to carry in a backpack.

Don't know about ammo as I have been selling it so far except for one one kind I use for a gun for situations where melee seems impossible (so far haven't hit that wall though). My current companion, Crunch, is also melee. My third companion will use guns, just haven't gotten them yet, so will know more about ammo then.

Overall an extremely well polished game. I disagree with Red a little as this game looks fantastic and very well made (more polished than I have seen some AAA games) and would consider it an AA game (who came up with this asinine system anhow? Why does something have to be triple "A"'s )

 

[devoncop]

Thanks again Redglyph.

I certainly dont want to be able to run around killing everyone with the same gun ( or indeed any number of guns) �� si it sound fine to me !

 

[Redglyph]

Thanks again Redglyph.

I certainly dont want to be able to run around killing everyone with the same gun ( or indeed any number of guns) �� si it sound fine to me !

Some actually did that during the EA... The game allows for important NPCs to disappear, and it should not block the progression of the game (to some extent I suppose). You can imagine that some players had to verify :lol:

 

[RikusTyr]

It has been on my radar for a long time. Can't wait for it to release.

 

[Zloth]

Oh, that does look interesting! The first Steam video really sold me.

 

[devoncop]

Really grateful for your account Wolf.

Definitely sold it to me .

It sounds great.

 

[screeg]

Some actually did that during the EA… The game allows for important NPCs to disappear, and it should not block the progression of the game (to some extent I suppose).

They went a LONG way to make this viable. There's one path where a faction leader asks you to negotiate on their behalf with three other leaders. There's a follow-up meeting later, and if you killed all the other leaders your employer has lines specifically to address it. They acknowledge everyone else mysteriously dying without explicitly admitting you (obviously) were behind it.

 

[Redglyph]

Overall an extremely well polished game. I disagree with Red a little as this game looks fantastic and very well made (more polished than I have seen some AAA games) and would consider it an AA game (who came up with this asinine system anhow? Why does something have to be triple "A"'s )

It does look very good But if you compare the character models to BG3, it's just not the same league.

And to be honest I prefer it that way, I don't care much for games that make my GPU heat the whole house. I actually don't care that much about graphics as long as it's reasonably good. For me, Solasta is perfectly fine and I never had any issue with the close-up during the dialogues, which says a lot. Encased is much better.

Never understood the A thing either

Did you play without companions? If you have companions, the weight of the inventory is shared, which makes it much comfortable. I never had any problem with water, even though the bottles are indeed a bit on the heavy side.

 

[wolfgrimdark]

Did you play without companions? If you have companions, the weight of the inventory is shared, which makes it much comfortable. I never had any problem with water, even though the bottles are indeed a bit on the heavy side.

Aye graphics are not say BG3 or RRD2 but when I rate graphics it is mainly by the style of the game and some vague internal personal rating (gut reaction I guess). For example the pixelated style games I simply can't play anymore. On the other hand a good top down game whose graphics are modern with weather, lighting, etc., then it doesn't have to a 3D simulator like RRD2 or a very well modded FO4 or Skyrim.

Deadfire is a good example (not sure if that is considered AAA or not) and while Deadfire is above Encased a bit in visuals I consider it close enough to be on par (going from memory, been a bit since I played Deadfire).

Kingmaker and WotR are another example of games with good graphics for the style of game it is.

Even Wildermyth, with its paper cut out style, looks good to me for what the game is styled like.

Anyhow I am flexible in graphics somewhat but have my own quirks. I do not like, at all, 3D graphic games that look really crappy. Meaning I like a well modded FO and Skyrim but simply can't get into older games like Morrowind even modded. FNV is at the edge of the line for me. So a low budget game that is first/third person I might struggle with graphically.

That isn't really objective or concrete though. Its play the game and my first impression is usually some initial overall reaction.

Valheim comes to mind. I so wanted to love that game but I simply could not get past the graphics. They just annoyed me for some reason. Could not do it and I tried a few times.

Off topic

To answer the question I have Crunch with me. Weight hasn't been too bad as my guy Lobo has 11 strength, think the highest you can go - as he is Black Wing and I put 10 points into it and he got one point from the faction.

Water is not the weight it's not finding a lot of clean water to store in my inventory for drinking later. I use a lot of it cooking health food ... that's probably my problem. I haven't really found enough containers of it to both meet my thirst need and cook with it. That being said so far I haven't gotten overly thirsty as can usually find a vending machine with some soda (junk food) or a water basin with water to drink. It was simply something I had to keep an eye on versus drinking without any care.

 

[Carnifex]

I've my key enabled and ready to go, yet likely will wait until the obligatory updates and patches land in the first month or three first. It's an itch that, at some point, I will be scratching, believe that!

 

[Terry]

Thanks guys for the info about your playthroughs of Encased will definitely get it on release.

 

[JDR13]

I'm glad we actually have to scrape for things like ammo and water. Most games give the player far too much in the way of resources without really having to earn them.

 

[Giovanni1983]

Been following this for quite a while. Glad to see things are wrapping up. I will wait to see how it is received