KickStarter Mechajammer (formerly Copper Dreams) - cyberpunk RPG from Whalenought Studios

[CyberWhale]

Worse is reading the dev answers on steam , its as if it just need some tweaking and suggestions...Oh and of course they locked the thread for "insults". This is almost in the scam area.I dont understand either, except completely running out of cash or insanity.

The latter.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Played the tutorial. It needs some further polishing but overall it's not bad. I've played the phase-based TB before with that with Eschalon I and II and I enjoyed it. Combat in a vehicle is NOT recommended in tutorial at ALL because I just kept getting wacked to death. But beyond that, it was good. Overall, I like a lot of it. The look of the game is definitely unique and different from anything else I've played thus far.

 

[Lucky]

Putting this away for later. lots of bugs. I can forgive a lot of jank as long as what lies underneath it is worth it, but the game does need to at the very least be be playable. Aside from control niggles, it's bugs bugs bugs bugs. The actual game itself isn't hard, the real challenge is figuring out if what you're dealing with is intentional or the game bugging out and whether reloading will make it worse.

Precisely because this is was done by a tiny team I have to wonder whether any benefits gained from the system and art-style reworks outweighed the required time investment. I enjoyed the original art just fine and while the new style has its charm it doesn't feel superior to the original, plus it can obscure important gameplay elements.

There's a potentially good game underneath here, but digging it out is going to take work and I imagine the less than smooth launch will make it hard for them to stay motivated. I'm guessing they might try for an enhanced edition update style rebranding down the line.

 

[Ninjerk]

So, from the first few hours of playing:

- NON-REBINDABLE KEYS. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. WHY?! WHY DO DEVS KEEP DOING THIS. REBINDABLE KEYS ARE LIKE 1 OR 2 DAY OF WORK TO IMPLEMENT!!!!! FFS!!$%!&/(&/!)(&/)(ZHUOHJlkJKBLghdfjklghjhkl
- Default keys are inane. Q for quicksave, right next to the camera movement/driving keys. Oh, and there's only one slot for quicksaves. L to enter the Load menu - which is the only way to get there. Yup, ESC does not let you enter a menu that would let you save/load. Nothing is bound to F1-12 keys...
- There's quicksave - but not quickload.
- Not sure what the 2x/4x/8x entries in the menu do. I assume anti-aliasing? Not that it matters, as the game will just reset whatever you select to nothing.
- Loading a game removes all items from the ground, found that out after throwing a bunch of knives. All knives gone after reload.
- Navigating in the game is an absolute PITA: You cannot click where you cannot see (not even if you've been somewhere already). Click behind a door to walk through it? Nah. Good luck trying to open a window to jump through it without having your char walk around the entire building to go outside the window instead.
- ESC closes menus. Sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't - within the same menu. It's like ESC also needs to roll some dice to work. Very meta
- Enemies respawn at the speed of light. Don't blink or they'll be back. Makes armor entirely useless as the relentlessly respawning enemies will eventually wear it down.
- You need to roll the dice to repair an item. Which consumes a repair kit - even on failure. Did I mention there's no quickload?
- Tutorial gives misleading advice and tends to bug out.
- There's a map, but it doesn't let you add notes.
- There's a notepad - but no quest log whatsoever.
- Wasn't able to convince a single vagrant to join me or tell me rumors (despite being specced for social).
- Trying to aim at two-pixel-large body parts while enemies walk around in real-time is a wonderful experience - if you enjoy grinding your teeth on sand paper, anyway.
- Art style makes it VERY hard to make anything out. No key to highlight interactable items. Opening lockers and picking up items is SUPER fun - did I mention sand paper already?
- No combat or dice roll log. Why did you fail a hack/lockpick/charm/etc.? Game won't tell you.
- Reload to find your character suddenly surrounded by nobody, by some enemies, by like a hundred vagrants. ???
- Sometimes, your character just stops moving. That's it, time for a reload.
- No telling what chances of success for an action are beforehand. No % indicator, nothing.

About the actual gameplay...
Got no clue whatsoever on how to proceed in the starting area.
I found PC to lower the bridges, but despite a char specializing in hacking, learning & social, I was unable to hack it after multiple attempts. I can only assume you need to find the password. You even need to guess the username in order to attempt hacking...
Searched the entire level for password hints, been in every room, nothing. Although I guess it is possible I missed some rooms as the graphics and map make it barely possible to tell where you can actually go... or that I missed some three-pixel-large items as there's no way to highlight what is interactable. Or that I loaded a save and the game removed some vital item on the ground.
Got to the boss - unkillable, takes no damage from anything. Or my char does not do enough damage. Who knows, the game sure won't tell you... Knockout works every time though, so he's completely harmless Doesn't matter, as he doesn't have anything useful, either.
As a small bonus: Knock out the boss and reload to have him walk to you, talk to you and initiate combat again - even if you are in another room

Yeah, I know, Serpent was also obnoxiously opaque in wtf you are supposed to do, but come on, this is the starting area.
People are going to play this, get stuck, downvote and move on to more joyful endeavors...

Thanks for posting. I was curious as to whether Three Hands is really as hard as he seems. Did you go into the sewery area with the mutant pups?

 

[PEACH]

The tutorial is really good at teaching you to never bother with companions, vehicles or guns. The wrench on the other hand hits like a flak cannon, so I built my character around stealth/blunt/hacking to avoid the tedium of companion management and whatever the fuck is going on with gun accuracy.

I'm finding it surprisingly compelling despite a lot of bizarre choices and QOL oversights. To say it's rough around the edges is an understatement, but I think they've got something interesting here and I hope they have the means to continue polishing it. Haven't encountered any bugs yet (and my constitution has been forged by enduring Stygian's day 1 crash bonanza) so I think I'll continue for the time being and see where this goes.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Yep. I won't be a street samurai, because that's horseshit cyberpunk pro-jap garbage, but I will be a melee focused Aztecan Jaguar Guerrero because machetes and jungles bitch.

 

[V_K]

The only thing I wonder about having read the last couple of pages is why everyone (myself included) expected anything else after SitS.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The only thing I wonder about having read the last couple of pages is why everyone (myself included) expected anything else after SitS.

Sad!

 

[Grauken]

The only thing I wonder about having read the last couple of pages is why everyone (myself included) expected anything else after SitS.

Sad!

Not everyone appreciates your incredible wit

 

[Lucky]

Yep. I won't be a street samurai, because that's horseshit cyberpunk pro-jap garbage, but I will be a melee focused Aztecan Jaguar Guerrero because machetes and jungles bitch.

Also helps that melee seems the better option compared to ranged, even with a modest investment. Much easier to to deal with than trying to get the most out of your guns.

 

[Grauken]

Sticking a knife into someone just feels more personal than shooting someone from afar. And people love that personal touch

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/485400/view/3112546382696902812

Calitana Field Guide; 7 Things To Know Before Playing Mechajammer
About to begin your journey through Calitana? Start here.

It’s time, offworlder. Your journey through — and more importantly, escape from — Calitana is about to begin. And while you might have the skills and virtues to succeed, you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. This is no walk in the park.

Do not go in unprepared. Do not go in ill-equipped. If you’re not going into this with the right mindset, Calitana will chew you up and spit you out. Thankfully, we’re on hand with some advice.

Pay heed:

INFORMATION IS POWER (READ: USE YOUR NOTEPAD)

Information will not be served to you on a silver platter. When someone tells you about something they need or a location you need to get to, TAKE NOTES. You will not be offered a quest journal or waypoint markers or anything that takes away from your sense of agency. The in-game notebook (and the notes you choose to write in it) are your only guide. Use it.

KNOW YOUR BACKGROUND. KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS

Your experiences and histories dictate who you are, and how you interact with the world around you. Before you begin your journey, answer the questionnaire about your birth and occupation(s). Choose your virtues and your studies. And don’t rush this. Your choices define your background.

Each background has its Privileges and Woes; be mindful of the skills you pursue, as they'll influence how you'll proceed to tackle the hardships of Calitana. Did you put all of your Studies points into Slug Guns? Then use those whenever you can, and skip the Laser Guns. Know your strengths, basically, and play to them.

Spoiler

TAKE THE SIMULATION TRAINING

Nobody is above training. And while no simulation can accurately recreate the hive of scum and villainy you’ll find in Calitana, it’s also true that going into the real thing uninitiated would be….unwise.

Talk to Medic when you first arrive in Calitana (or choose “Tutorial” from the Main Menu before your journey formally begins). Run the simulation. Get familiar with what you’re capable of. Movement. Your weapons. Hiding. Sneaking. The flow of battle (see below!). Learn how this all comes together, and you should be ready when you hit the streets of Calitana for real.

UNDERSTAND THE RHYTHM OF COMBAT

You move, they move. That’s what you need to learn. Need a moment to think through a scenario in your head? Plan out your actions? Do it. You have time. But as soon as you move or attack again, so too do all of your opponents, simultaneously. Say it again: you move, they move. Internalise this fast-paced turn-based thinking and you’ll find your groove.

GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR MAP

From the dense jungle to the grimy suburbs to the heart of the city, Calitana’s open-world can be explored at your leisure. But it can feel overwhelming at times, and nobody is going to hold your hand. While getting your bearings is on you (nothing will familiarise you with the jungle colony better than simply exploring), your map is always on hand for reference. Use it. Set your own waypoints. And, in combination with the Notepad, create your very own system for making it through the world.

THE SHADOWS ARE YOUR FRIEND

Maybe you’re a gun-slinger. A risk-taker. Somebody who shoots first and asks questions later. That’s cool. But then again maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re somebody who prefers to skulk through shadows and get the job done without making a scene. Nice and clean.

Keep an eye on your interface, and keep two things in mind: your enemies’ line of sight, and your own noise-making radius. If both of these are looking safe, stick to the shadows and slink through quietly - just be sure to crouch to minimise any noise. If your enemy’s attention is worrying you, however, you can always create a distraction…

DON’T GO IT ALONE

You’re a badass, we get it. But escaping Calitana on your own will be tough. Take advantage of the various denizens of the jungle colony who might be able to lend a hand - if you’ve invested in your Charm studies, you should be able to easily sway somebody to your cause. Calling them ‘friends’ might be a stretch, but recruiting a team of ‘travel companions’ might turn the tide of battle in your favour. If a particular situation is proving too tough, why not go on a hiring spree, and come back with some friendly firepower added to the equation.

Ok, you ready?

Great. See you on Calitana, offworlder. And may the dice be ever in your favour.

Want more? Check out the Mechajammer Feature Deep Dives into Combat, Stealth and Exploration

 

[Mortmal]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/485400/view/3112546382696902812

The guy who wrote this guide that can only be some friend of theirs shilling the game.Charm dont work stealth is useless except in the tutorial. In fact this game should be moved to general gaming, its no rpg just a dude with a knife hitting zombies.

So, from the first few hours of playing:

- There's a map, but it doesn't let you add notes.
- There's a notepad - but no quest log whatsoever.
.

If you have a look at the map you might see some tiny white circle,very easy to miss that and as usual nothing of worth is explained, clicking on it is most often unresponsive but it open the message you received at that location. Except that i agree with you.

 

[Infinitron]

Everything on the Steam page seems to be managed by the game's publisher, not by Joe and Hannah.

 

[Terenty]

Yeah, the game transforming from a cyberpunk setting with highly augmented characters( anyone remember when your char could sport a third mechanical hand?) to a jungle village with zombies and zero augmentations is some twilight zone shit.

 

[Diggfinger]

So is the game uploaded to Steem now?

Must I really get up off hte couch, turn on the PC, launch Steam and check for myself

 

[thesheeep]

Thanks for posting. I was curious as to whether Three Hands is really as hard as he seems. Did you go into the sewery area with the mutant pups?

I did.
That area actually felt the best gameplay-wise as it forced you to lure single enemies from the group (well, at least for my non-combat-focused char).

I honestly doubt Three Hands is supposed to be THAT hard (to kill), but who knows.

 

[thesheeep]

Charm dont work stealth is useless except in the tutorial.

Idk, stealth worked fine for me.
What doesn't work are stealth kills, though I am not sure if they are supposed to work or not, or what is actually supposed to happen if you attack from stealth.

clicking on it is most often unresponsive but it open the message you received at that location.

Except when it doesn't
I added a few notes in one area from interacting with computers and clicking on those ominous dots did not yield anything - most likely missing implementation...

 

[PEACH]

They're going to need to fix the respawns. I haven't noticed any rhyme or reason to it yet, but it seems reloading a save can occasionally revert all enemies (including Three Hand) as well as crates, and other barriers like planks of wood, windows, doors, etc to their default state.

Haven't checked to see whether continually reloading the same slot will lead to different respawn results, but that's my next order of business after I kill Three Hand again.

Edit:
Reloaded 10 times after killing him again, couldn't trigger a respawn while on top of him but his corpse shifted positions a few times. I know for certain enemies can respawn from on-screen corpses on load (because I've seen it elsewhere) but I still can't figure out how to trigger it so it might just be pure RNG when you make the save itself or dependant on some other variable I haven't considered.

 

[Saduj]

Hannah and Joe worked on this for so money years, they need some income to keep delivering. Just buy the damned game and rate it positive on Steam. Let them have some income and then hopefully we will get some more games.

e: how will they be able to fix the game if they have no sales?

So buy the game and lie to everyone in reviews. So they can make another game. And then….

We buy that one and lie to everyone in the reviews again when it also turns out bad?

I was really looking forward to this game but wasting money on an unplayable mess ain’t happening. And certainly not when the only upside is the opportunity to waste more money on another mess later.

Maybe the best thing for everyone involved is to move on to other things

 

[ArchAngel]

Tnx Bros for your sacrifice for the Hive. Now I see I can continue playing Pathfinder without feeling guilty and I will check out this game in another year or 5.

 

[Ninjerk]

They're going to need to fix the respawns. I haven't noticed any rhyme or reason to it yet, but it seems reloading a save can occasionally revert all enemies (including Three Hand) as well as crates, and other barriers like planks of wood, windows, doors, etc to their default state.

Haven't checked to see whether continually reloading the same slot will lead to different respawn results, but that's my next order of business after I kill Three Hand again.

Edit:
Reloaded 10 times after killing him again, couldn't trigger a respawn while on top of him but his corpse shifted positions a few times. I know for certain enemies can respawn from on-screen corpses on load (because I've seen it elsewhere) but I still can't figure out how to trigger it so it might just be pure RNG when you make the save itself or dependant on some other variable I haven't considered.

Does Three Hand drop anything? I thought he might have the access code for the 2nd bridge (since my 3d6+1 hacker can't put a dent in the computer >:3 )

So buy the game and lie to everyone in reviews. So they can make another game. And then….

We buy that one and lie to everyone in the reviews again when it also turns out bad?

I was really looking forward to this game but wasting money on an unplayable mess ain’t happening. And certainly not when the only upside is the opportunity to waste more money on another mess later.

Maybe the best thing for everyone involved is to move on to other things

Yeah, I've tried to be cautiously optimistic because I thoroughly enjoyed SitS in spite of its shortcomings. I'm sure I won't refund my pledge but this whole experience has made me considerably more skeptical about further projects.

 

[Infinitron]

Joe and Hannah are cool kids, but I think it's clear now that they're not the type of developers that should ever have been making full-scale RPGs. If you want to focus on unique mechanics and cool visuals over polish, production and the creation of worlds, make an action game or a scenario-based tactical game or something. Either that or abandon the indie dream and join a larger studio that does do those things that you can't.

 

[PEACH]

Does Three Hand drop anything? I thought he might have the access code for the 2nd bridge (since my 3d6+1 hacker can't put a dent in the computer >:3 )

Yeah you get the access code from him. I can put it in spoilers if you end up struggling to take him out with your build, assuming it's the same on every run.

Spoiler

BZWYE

I've got to the point where the bridges open up and I think the game's going to lose a lot of people once they get there. I can't make heads or tails of anything anymore and the map has drastically expanded in almost every direction while being largely empty save for NPCs infighting, vehicles zooming around and buildings you can't go into.

I reached the next objective and tried to save the game but it didn't work. Drove my vehicle into the water and waited to die but the game locked up and I had to quit through task manager. Not looking forward to navigating the shit show of a map any more, especially with such little information on where you are or where you're going.

 

[Tyranicon]

cool visuals over polish

That's been like the gamedev motto for at least 20 years.

Take their money first, apologize later/never.

And we wonder why everything is in decline.