Hello! We’re making a video game! We’ve been doing so for quite some time! The madness is setting in! Ha ha ha!

Highlights from this month’s build:

• All NPC classes & base kits: I finished a first pass on implementing all NPCs in their rebaked form, not including their optionals. I bet there’s gonna be hella bugs from these since there’s so much new content implemented, and AI-controlled systems are a bit harder to confirm that they’re working correctly than PC ones.

• Mod.io support: As of this update, you can upload and download maps via mod.io, replacing the community maps list that I’ve been having to manually collect and include in builds. Now y’all can just make and share maps directly. Very neat!

• Mac & Linux builds: We’re working again on both platforms. Caveat: Macs with Intel chips (made before ~2020) will have to use a separate compatibility mode build that has a buncha graphical features turned off (shadows, terrain texture blending, some particle effects). I thought Macs were totally broken and out of my control until I learned that it’s only older macbooks like mine that Godot 4.5+ no longer works on. 🙃

Production update:

• 100% core rules port: We knew this was a lot to bite off, and it’s looking like some NPC options will fall to the wayside. Specifically, I’ve put the Squad, Ship, and Vehicle templates into a “someday future bin” due to their higher than average mechanical and artistic difficulties. Counting the remaining class and template optionals, I have about 250 more abilities to implement for NPCs. At an average rate of about 4 abilities per day (not counting bug fixing) that’s two very focused months of implementation. With only four months left until the end of March 2026, I think it’s very likely a few more things might slip off the plate by the end of the stretch goal period. That said…

• Steam plans: Reaching the March Kickstarter-funded period is not the end. We’ve been hashing out our plan for ~~getting paid~~ bringing LT to Steam after we wrap things up here. Our current goal is to be able to release under Early Access mid-2026, with a healthy intervening period to clean up UX, fix bugs, and make the Lancer Tactics EA experience excellent for people who aren’t already Lancer-pilled. Under Early Access, we’ll get an influx of sales that’ll allow us to pick up the second campaign and any NPC features we didn’t get to by March.

Changelog

New Art & FX

• Gen has been blazing through the queue, giving us 13 new tokens for PC mechs, including: Napoleon, Sherman, Genghis, Iskander, Balor, Gorgon, Pegasus, Tortuga, Lancaster, Black Witch, Metalmark, Swallowtail, and Dusk Wing
• Alicia has been doing similar for the gear and action icons. We have icons for all IPSN licenses and a scattering of other frames.

• Jude has continued to update action fx, but I don’t have a comprehensive list of changes for them. I suppose we have to leave something in these changelogs for you to discover yourself.
• Shrubbery and foliage! Adding support for this many little objects was a lot of work but I think it was very much worth it. They also swap over to a “burnt” foliage type when tiles take non-kinetic damage.

• Added option disable foliage; it’s pretty rough on some old computers. My 2019 dell handles it fine when booted into Windows but really struggles when running Linux. Runs smooth as silk in Linux on my Steamdeck though, so this option is for if you happen to have a hardware/software config that needs it.
• Updated unit xray shader to use faction colors on outlines and have better contrast

• Some doodads get destroyed when stepped on.
• Added collision half-move effect to make it more clear when something collides into something else
• Connor added another batch of new setpieces, including sloped rails, stairs, trains, and cars. I’m obsessed with the boxy blue beepbeep.

Rebaked NPCs

• All NPC base classes implemented, sans optionals.

• Added Commander template to prototype how optionals will work. Added section for such in the character sheet.

• As part of the import of Rebaked NPC text, I set up an automatic parser and most of their ability texts are “glossed” with inline tooltips. I’ll do the same kind of reimport for PC mechs at some point, but it’s complicated by the fact that we’ve made a lot of edits over the last two years so I can’t do a fresh re-import. I’ll have to set up something that goes over all the existing text to figure out what to gloss.

• Since the Sentinel is now size 2, the officer in the tutorial now pilots a Ronin.

• Added exploding barrel deployable

• Fix npcs doing lots of little hops around

• Berserker aggression triggers on omnigun

• Each sniper needs to individually mark their target rather than sharing

• RPV correctly impaired and vulnerable to tech attacks

• Fix NPCs not being able to crit, ever

• Add passives to mines to hint AI to knock units into them

• Added a bunch of new stock Opfors, taken from PilotNET volunteers o7

UI/editor

• Loading screen does a side-wipe instead of a fade

• Reorganized how content is stored so we don’t have to do a scan at the beginning of every game start. Should pretty dramatically improve initial load times for some computers.

• Added slight delay and tween in/out for tooltips

• Fix glossary tooltips getting stuck on mouse

• Gave the battle log tooltips for actions and glossary terms

• Basic actions now go at the bottom of the action bar, with your character’s unique ones on the second row.

• Fix hovering over a color scheme locking those colors in

• Can no longer pinnochio-into-real-bodies NHPs by loading a saved human pilot json in their portrait editor

• Cycling NHPs persists the reset of their portrait

• Add a warning before deleting a pilot.

• Fix scifiknighthelmet messing with your portrait’s body size

• Fix npc tooltip closing whenever you changed the displayed tier

• Better target disambiguation when units are stacked up; should no longer accidentally target wrecks instead of the unit flying over them.

• When asking to destroy a mount, groups all the weapons on that mount together visually

• Fix duplicates of 3D lines sometimes all condensing into one (e.g. only the last Archer Surpress would show)

• Add confirm prompts for initiative/overcharge

• Show hostile effects in status bars as red

• Show pill in tooltip for unloaded weapons

• Can no longer add fuel rod gun as an extra weapon

• Repair both weapons on a mount when repairing them

• AI resets camera to isometric mode when starting turn

• Autorotate the camera to get clear views of things when possible

• Don’t show savefile maps in editor or mod lists

• All zone labels to the hovering pointer style

• Fix crash when zone was placed within a forbidden interior setpiece.

• New “set unit’s current stat” event for the trigger editor

Mechanics

• Add missing Lesson of Shaping

• I forgot to add “redundant systems” trait to lancaster; should now be able to share repairs in battle and during downtimes.

• Iskander CP no longer damages allies.

• Napoleon CP no longer prevents standing up from prone.

• Juggernaut 2 limited to 1/round

• AGNI is limited to 1/scene

• Limit vanguard 3 to CQB weapons

• Javelin rockets correctly expires

• Flash grenade correctly expires

• Can Project Shield against allies (for if you just want a little heat)

• Limit these actions to only targeting characters: Arc Projector followup attacks, omni harpoon, invigorate, scan, stormbending’s thunder.

• Everest power up applies to tech attacks correctly

• Automatically retrieve thrown weapons on short repair instead of losing them to the void forever

• Reset uses of prob cannibalism when you bend probability so you can immediately re-use the reactions

• Titanomachy mesh only gives bonus knockback to attacks that already have some amount of knockback

• Replace brace buff restrictions with new “dazed” condition, taken from Valkyrion’s Prototype Pattern Groups.

• Payload is invulnerable; can no longer accidentally walk it through lava and lose the mission.

• Can shift payload after bracing

• Fix dying at the start of turn not counting as your side’s activation

• Fix knockback for weapon blasts coming from targeted tile

• Stunned auto-fails hull and agi checks/saves

• Normal deployables don’t roll saves/checks; they auto-fail

• Shunting to nearest valid space more reliable for large units

• Can no longer push large units partially off the map

• Fix ophidian trek pull distance

• Fix broken Annihilator

• Fix broken redeploy action

• Fix blackbeard being able to continually grapple at range

• Stasis generator doesn’t require a roll from allies

• Diluvian Arc ends when it’s supposed to, isn’t infinite range, cannot be used when grappling, and can now be re-upped.

• Flash Lock doesn’t trigger on takeoff/landing.

• Dusk wing holographic imprint doesn’t leave a new hologram at every step of non-standard movement

• Did a halfway fix of the Combat Drill to make it less likely to go infinite-ish. Not sure I entirely resolved it but it should be better.

• Exiled/intangible units have their terrain effects (such as Blinkshield) disabled

• Hardlight barrier doesn’t do burn to intangible units when they leave

• Cannot overcharge when symbiosis’d

• Cable winch ends on intangible/exile/death/gear destruction

• Better calculation of allowed draggable tiles for cable winch

• Don’t trigger flank (or other post-attack choose-and-use attacks) if original target died

• Thinking tomorrows thought applies earlier so it can be used to overwatch a puppet systems

• Fix roland chamber’s damage being dependent on targets failing the prone hull save

• Fix Watch This’s hull save triggering multiple times per round (without effect) and being able to work without zeroing in

• Puppet systems is involuntary movement but still triggers rxns (goblin continues to be my bug nemesis)

• Infiltrator 3 still gives you movement event if there’s not target to flashbang, and moves more than 1 space.

• Losing hidden from boosting only happens after you finish the corresponding movement

• Disdainful blade has lower resolution priority so you can do your integrated weapon aux first

• Fold knife teleport happens after damage

• Disable exposed singularity while riding mule harness (RAW you should be able to but I don’t know how to make it happen cleanly yet)

• Activating asura no longer immediately triggers sehkmet

• Disable sekhmet if you get stunned or the gear gets destroyed

• Hacker 2 clears are checks instead of saves

• Fix shock wreath triggering when any modified weapon in your loadout hits

• Fix characters not being able to target other characters only partially within their hardlight bubble

Making video games is hard. I know it’s a cliché to say that “I know it’s a cliché to say this couldn’t exist without your support”, but it’s true. Both the face that it’s a cliché and the statement itself. Tysm for continuing to read these and play the game and cheer us on.

<3 Olive