MENACE - Dev Diary #6

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Dev Diary #6 - Supplies and Equipment

This week, it is time to delve deeper into MENACE's item and supply cost system.
We will explain more of the infantry squad's equipment options and show some example items that could be equipped. Each piece of equipment also comes with supply costs, which we explain below.

Let's jump into it!

Supplies and Equipment Costs
There are two basic limitations to what you can bring on a mission: The items and squad leaders you have collected as well as the supply limit of that particular mission. Each piece of equipment, be it armor, weapon, or accessory, has a supply point cost attached to it. The total of all equipment you bring on a mission must not exceed that mission's supply point limit.

Of course, there are ways to manipulate both the supply costs and the available supplies, so there is some room to find your personal play style. This system is very similar to what many well-known tabletop games use for army building.

Also, the enemy uses the same system to buy its troops from a list of available units. Please note that the amount of supplies for you and the enemy is not necessarily the same, and a difference in points will make missions easier or harder.

Why have a supply system?
When designing MENACE we were looking for a way to both have players' power and abilities increase throughout the game as well as enable as many equipment choices and army setups as possible.

The main issue when not having supply costs is that it is virtually never worthwhile not to use a best-in-slot item on all units unless you just don't own enough of them. There is no reason to use a low-tier armor or weapon later in the game, effectively reducing equipment choices by a lot.

With a supply system, more powerful weapons will cost more supplies while usually still having a better power/supply ratio than low-tier items. This makes equipping squads with cheap armor or weapons a viable choice in order to save points to put into other units.

For example, a mortar-equipped squad that fires from the backlines could just wear fatigues and sport basic rifles, saving points to invest in heavy breach armor for an assault unit. Players might also bring few well-equipped units, many poorly equipped units, or any mix thereof. Through this system, we enable a wide variety of playstyles while making actual army building a core system of the game.

Having a supply system also makes a lot of sense from a lore perspective. The limiting factor of fielding high-tech equipment on a modern battlefield is mostly supply and maintenance. A simple rifle may not be a powerful tool, but it also needs zero maintenance. At the same time, a futuristic combat mech with a multi-laser cannon will keep a whole team of mechanics busy while also gobbling up spare parts, ammo, and all kinds of resources (so-called "supplies").

Armor

In a previous diary, we already talked about squad weapons and special weapons: Dev Diary #4 - Weapon Types and Stats. Of course, the most basic part of any soldier's equipment is their armor.

In MENACE, there is a wide variety of armor types that not only offer protection but might add additional skills and abilities.

Armor Value: The armor value determines the % chance to stop a projectile that hits this squad. It is matched against the attack's penetration value after considering dropoffs from distance to target.

Armor Durability: If a hit does not penetrate the armor, it reduces the armor's durability. A penetrating hit does not damage the armor. The lower the armor durability, the lower the effective armor value. This means most armors will be good at taking a few hits but might lose effectiveness quickly. There might also be weapons with very low penetration but high armor damage. These might be good to "shred armor" before finally punching through.

Accessory Slots: The armor determines how many accessories a squad can carry into battle. Usually, light armors will sport more accessory slots than heavier ones.
Equipment Costs: Of course, armor comes with its own supply costs that have to be paid per element of a squad. Bigger squads will cost more supplies than smaller ones as they have more elements to be equipped.

Special Skills, Modifiers, or Abilities: Some very heavy armors might reduce movement speed or view range, while others have gimmicks installed, like smoke launchers, laser designators, or thermal imaging devices.

Accessories

The term accessories spread over a very wide range of items, and in MENACE, the variety to pick from will be massive. Most squads will usually be able to equip two accessories, but depending on armor or perks, this might be up to 4.

These items usually bring additional utility, like an ammo pack that increases the ammunition for special weapons or a camouflage kit that makes the squad harder to detect enemies. However, many accessories grant additional skills.

Most notable in this category are grenades that come in all types and flavors. Other types of active accessories like combat drugs instantly reduce suppression or single-use rocket launchers that give ad-hoc AT capability to a squad.

Each accessory, of course, comes with its own supply costs as well, so choose carefully which to bring on a mission.

For active accessories, there is no limit to how many of a certain type you want to bring on a mission, as they come with a certain amount of uses. Want to cover the enemy with grenades? Pick the grenadier perk to increase throwing range and bring 3 Frag Grenades, each granting three skill uses.

Some accessories will be limited to one per squad as adding them to each other does not make sense within the game world, for example, target designators or night vision equipment.

Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
That's it for now. Let us know what you think about Supplies and Equipment.

You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website - just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

In next week's Dev Diary we'll talk about "Pilots & Vehicles".