Tried the Warthog AirMech yet? Some new players feel it might be too powerful, since it is always on the front lines just melting everything in its path. But all that power is balanced against some drawbacks, such as slower speed, less carry capacity, and a high rate of energy drain for the minigun.

Want to try it out and see how it plays for yourself? For the next 24 hours (check the original time of this post if unsure) this code will unlock the Warthog on your account--permanently. It can be used unlimited times, so share it with your friends who are just starting out, or want a leg up unlocking all the classes:


Codes can be entered in the Shop from the Main Menu. Look for a button in the lower left.

The Warthog definitely is an awesome class and a lot of fun to use, and just like all the AirMechs it has roles it is best at--along with weaknesses. Find the AirMech that fits your playstyle best, and then find a partner to compliment that strategy.

Do you find the Warthog is balanced? Tell us your thoughts after you've had a chance to use it.

Tried the Warthog AirMech yet? Some new players feel it might be too powerful, since it is always on the front lines just melting everything in its path. But all that power is balanced against some drawbacks, such as slower speed, less carry capacity, and a high rate of energy drain for the minigun.

Want to try it out and see how it plays for yourself? For the next 24 hours (check the original time of this post if unsure) this code will unlock the Warthog on your account--permanently. It can be used unlimited times, so share it with your friends who are just starting out, or want a leg up unlocking all the classes:


Codes can be entered in the Shop from the Main Menu. Look for a button in the lower left.

The Warthog definitely is an awesome class and a lot of fun to use, and just like all the AirMechs it has roles it is best at--along with weaknesses. Find the AirMech that fits your playstyle best, and then find a partner to compliment that strategy.

Do you find the Warthog is balanced? Tell us your thoughts after you've had a chance to use it.

The temporary UI we had for selecting what units went in your loadouts was pretty bad. Non-standard units were not selectable, which loadout you were editing wasn't clear and many people were having problems with it. We've started in a rework for this and already it is much better. Clicking units will bring up their stats, which is not ideal--we want to have stats displayed for selected units in the same window. You currently have to drag units from the unit panel over to the 3D units in the world. This is not how we intend the final design to work, but it works best that way at this stage. More improvements coming!


We have some neat new gameplay features in this patch we are testing. The need to be near an outpost to deploy things started to feel frustrating to us, because we want to get lots of units out and keep the action going and it currently slows you down. So we increased the range for Deploy--to include the entire map! The E key will deploy units from the nearest owned structure. And we added a button near the completed units.

What's this switch on the button? It's very interesting actually...it's a toggle that changes "Deploy and wait at this Outpost" to "Deploy and move to my mech location" (but not follow me). I would definitely call this feature experimental because it feels like a lot of fun to use, but we haven't really considered how it could be used for good or bad in multiplayer. We're looking for feedback from players on this feature. If the community thinks it's good then it stays--tell us what you think!

The sub-orders for Following units are also getting improvements. The "move to where I click" sub-order now has a preview line showing the path units will take to get somewhere. And units should try to stay ahead of your AirMech, so you can push with them a lot easier. These systems are being tweaked as we play with them to try and make the units do what you expect them to.

Wastelands update: soon! I'd say an exact date if I have one. I had to filter out many Wastelands specific changes to isolate the Strike patchnotes! :)

• Lobby Unit Loadouts rework (still a few bugs, but much better)
  
• Increase Deploy (E) range to infinite
  
• Deploy defaults to nearest Outpost
  
• Toggle button to Deploy and move to mech (experimental)
  
• Testing DX11 support, /dx11 command line option for the brave
  
• Fix BlackOps Angel fire points
  
• Add path line when giving "move to cursor" order
  
• Fix overlayed menu in Spectator mode
  
• Initial Teamcolor selection voting (in progress)
  
• Fixed a bug where non-VIPs had access to Sandbox mode

• Paladin's ultimate cannot be activated
  
• Muting preferences sometimes get reset somewhat randomly. We are looking for more info on how to reproduce this problem reliably so we can fix it.
  
• Bots in Custom games is not yet implemented

The temporary UI we had for selecting what units went in your loadouts was pretty bad. Non-standard units were not selectable, which loadout you were editing wasn't clear and many people were having problems with it. We've started in a rework for this and already it is much better. Clicking units will bring up their stats, which is not ideal--we want to have stats displayed for selected units in the same window. You currently have to drag units from the unit panel over to the 3D units in the world. This is not how we intend the final design to work, but it works best that way at this stage. More improvements coming!


We have some neat new gameplay features in this patch we are testing. The need to be near an outpost to deploy things started to feel frustrating to us, because we want to get lots of units out and keep the action going and it currently slows you down. So we increased the range for Deploy--to include the entire map! The E key will deploy units from the nearest owned structure. And we added a button near the completed units.

What's this switch on the button? It's very interesting actually...it's a toggle that changes "Deploy and wait at this Outpost" to "Deploy and move to my mech location" (but not follow me). I would definitely call this feature experimental because it feels like a lot of fun to use, but we haven't really considered how it could be used for good or bad in multiplayer. We're looking for feedback from players on this feature. If the community thinks it's good then it stays--tell us what you think!

The sub-orders for Following units are also getting improvements. The "move to where I click" sub-order now has a preview line showing the path units will take to get somewhere. And units should try to stay ahead of your AirMech, so you can push with them a lot easier. These systems are being tweaked as we play with them to try and make the units do what you expect them to.

Wastelands update: soon! I'd say an exact date if I have one. I had to filter out many Wastelands specific changes to isolate the Strike patchnotes! :)

• Lobby Unit Loadouts rework (still a few bugs, but much better)
  
• Increase Deploy (E) range to infinite
  
• Deploy defaults to nearest Outpost
  
• Toggle button to Deploy and move to mech (experimental)
  
• Testing DX11 support, /dx11 command line option for the brave
  
• Fix BlackOps Angel fire points
  
• Add path line when giving "move to cursor" order
  
• Fix overlayed menu in Spectator mode
  
• Initial Teamcolor selection voting (in progress)
  
• Fixed a bug where non-VIPs had access to Sandbox mode

• Paladin's ultimate cannot be activated
  
• Muting preferences sometimes get reset somewhat randomly. We are looking for more info on how to reproduce this problem reliably so we can fix it.
  
• Bots in Custom games is not yet implemented

This is the 5th update to AirMech Strike since the huge reboot so we wanted to post this to the Steam news channel. Latest Patchnotes are always available ingame, and we'll consolidate them here when there is a good amount of new things or fixes. (scroll to the bottom for a bullet list of noteable changes)


After the initial work on Matchmaking and Custom rooms, then next most frequently asked for feature was the Shop. When we redid the menus, we figured one of the last things we'd need to add was the Shop. Most units and AirMech skins and customizations can be unlocked from the various setup panels, so you can preview things and then unlock them. We're keeping that in case you want to preview things, but we've also added a more traditional Shop layout to the menus.




Another significant new feature is the ability to include or exclude server regions, in addition to the automatic disabling of ones too far away. We'll automatically set a home region for you and select some of the areas we think will work best, but sometimes players are better at choosing where they play. For now there is a button in the Play menu called "Server Locations" where you can enable or disable regions. Green is on, Gray is off but available to be turned on, and red means it is too far away for automatic matching. Custom games are still possible however.

There have been fixes to the rendering selection to try and keep the new advanced post-process from enabling on lower spec machines including those with integrated graphics like laptops. Plus now when you select a lower than native resolution, the scaling will be smoother and look better. Definitely leave feedback if you are having any graphics problems, and include your settings and hardware if you know it.


Having units Follow you is a really cool addition to the game. Additionally, we added a way to tell units in Follow mode to go to a specific location. You'll see 3 options when units are Following--stop where you are, come to me and then stop, or go to where I click. This will also be added to gamepad with a new control mode soon.

If you haven't played AirMech Strike yet, there are many many other changes. Much of it is documented in the new ingame HUD through Tooltips and hotkeys hints (useful to turn those on in Settings). Gameplay is more in line with faster paced classic AirMech, with dynamic build queues that are not fixed to specific outposts.

New to Strike is the option to change out your Units during the game. Along with an increased build queue (8) and new Orders for your units. We're continuing to streamline the gameplay with everything focused on great 2v2 PvP gameplay.


Season Zero is active and Ranking is live. This is just a test season and it won't last very long, just while we see how it is working and figure out where the tiers will settle.

Overall everyone has been super supportive, helping us identify the most critical things to fix or replace, leading to so many updates over the past week and a half. For players who weren't aware of the changes coming it was a bit confusing, but Wastelands is coming very shortly and with that everything should start to make sense again. We will of course announce it here when Wastelands access is starting to be available. It will be triggered from within AirMech Strike--more info on that soon.

• Gamepad support incomplete, but coming
  
• Unit setup in lobby is janky, preferrably setup units in pregame for now (being redone)
  
• Spectator UI has overlayed menu (will be fixed shortly)
  
• Anything missing will be available in Wastelands soon

• Shop added
  
• Simple tutorial/guided match for first time players (easy to skip)
  
• Server region selection
  
• Reduce Warthog's close range damage bonus
  
• Rendering changes/improvements
  
• Lobby menu restructure (ongoing)
  
• Enter should toggle ingame chat properly
  
• Fixed heads/hats not showing up on Bomber
  
• Following units can be given more specific orders
  
• Fortress income given a balance pass (was too high)
  
• Improve target selection to prefer mechs over outposts
  
• Muting should work better (was not working on names with spaces in them)
  
• Mute players directly from info cards in a match (hover their mech at the top)
  
• Black screen at endgame bug has been fixed
  
• Teamcolor support for DeepSea Osprey
  
• Improve AirMech flying and hover sounds
  
• Improve Rank and XP circle progress at endgame screen
  
• Update spectator UI to use new dynamic minimap (fixes missing minimaps)
  
• Inviting players from their lobby player card should work right now
  
• Fallbacks for various bad lobby states
  
• Hopefully fix "invalid_sku" error condition
  
• Saucer armor increased to 80
  
• Quest updates as makes sense for Strike
  
• Fixed player name not always showing in endgame screen
  
• Can now invite players from Matchmaking menu
  
• Custom rooms can be set to private, not browseable (you need to invite everyone)
  
• Rings around player slots to help visualize size/team in lobby (temp visuals)
  
• Show mailbox if you have a waiting message, even if not VIP
  
• Add "power" button in menus to exit without digging in settings
  
• Testing lighting changes in lobby, player selectable
  
• Fixes to prevent units being dropped in salt piles on Salt
  
• Make AirMechs do more cool stuff when they die in the air
  
• Fix invisible enemies in lobby in Explore
  
• Allow Explore during more states of ready-ness
  
• More AirMech variant sounds added
  
• Graphics option to disable glow effect, should help slower computers with integrated graphics
  
• Change UI selection zones for units in Lobby to be more reliable
  
• Disable gamepad binding to switch to "console" UI since it breaks everything
  
• Adjust camera slightly up for Wreckz
  
• Double-pressing E no longer deploys all pending units
  
• Improved endgame sound effects
  
• Hide game options that don't make sense when Spectating
  
• Potential fix for sometimes getting the main menu while playing a game
  
• New "Follow" Order tells units to follow your AirMech
  
• Auto-repair removed, Repair mode now on Q key
  
• Swap units ingame, Right
• click to choose/swap, or Tab and drag
  
• Generators reboot, can heal/fuel mechs on/off Sockets!
  
• Leveler renamed Whoper, increases Upkeep limit
  
• Parts are not used (used in Wastelands instead)
  
• Pilots and Items also not used in Strike
  
• Season 0 started, new Rank Points system
  
• New Lobby design, fully 3D
  
• New Menus, press Esc to toggle in/out
  
• New Ingame HUD
  
• New Storm and Biohazard adapted from player created maps
  
• New Practice mode to battle all classic pilots in order of difficulty

One final thing to note, is that if you are a Silver VIP and did not recieve your Ancient Skull head (seen in the header image of this post) please let us know. We used this to initialy test the qualification for Wastelands access, and it didn't work as expected--but that's a good thing because it helped us fix the system to located these players. If you didn't get one, be sure to let us know either using the ingame bug report or just ask in chat if you see any devs around.

It's a busy week so we're getting right back to work!

This is the 5th update to AirMech Strike since the huge reboot so we wanted to post this to the Steam news channel. Latest Patchnotes are always available ingame, and we'll consolidate them here when there is a good amount of new things or fixes. (scroll to the bottom for a bullet list of noteable changes)


After the initial work on Matchmaking and Custom rooms, then next most frequently asked for feature was the Shop. When we redid the menus, we figured one of the last things we'd need to add was the Shop. Most units and AirMech skins and customizations can be unlocked from the various setup panels, so you can preview things and then unlock them. We're keeping that in case you want to preview things, but we've also added a more traditional Shop layout to the menus.




Another significant new feature is the ability to include or exclude server regions, in addition to the automatic disabling of ones too far away. We'll automatically set a home region for you and select some of the areas we think will work best, but sometimes players are better at choosing where they play. For now there is a button in the Play menu called "Server Locations" where you can enable or disable regions. Green is on, Gray is off but available to be turned on, and red means it is too far away for automatic matching. Custom games are still possible however.

There have been fixes to the rendering selection to try and keep the new advanced post-process from enabling on lower spec machines including those with integrated graphics like laptops. Plus now when you select a lower than native resolution, the scaling will be smoother and look better. Definitely leave feedback if you are having any graphics problems, and include your settings and hardware if you know it.


Having units Follow you is a really cool addition to the game. Additionally, we added a way to tell units in Follow mode to go to a specific location. You'll see 3 options when units are Following--stop where you are, come to me and then stop, or go to where I click. This will also be added to gamepad with a new control mode soon.

If you haven't played AirMech Strike yet, there are many many other changes. Much of it is documented in the new ingame HUD through Tooltips and hotkeys hints (useful to turn those on in Settings). Gameplay is more in line with faster paced classic AirMech, with dynamic build queues that are not fixed to specific outposts.

New to Strike is the option to change out your Units during the game. Along with an increased build queue (8) and new Orders for your units. We're continuing to streamline the gameplay with everything focused on great 2v2 PvP gameplay.


Season Zero is active and Ranking is live. This is just a test season and it won't last very long, just while we see how it is working and figure out where the tiers will settle.

Overall everyone has been super supportive, helping us identify the most critical things to fix or replace, leading to so many updates over the past week and a half. For players who weren't aware of the changes coming it was a bit confusing, but Wastelands is coming very shortly and with that everything should start to make sense again. We will of course announce it here when Wastelands access is starting to be available. It will be triggered from within AirMech Strike--more info on that soon.

• Gamepad support incomplete, but coming
  
• Unit setup in lobby is janky, preferrably setup units in pregame for now (being redone)
  
• Spectator UI has overlayed menu (will be fixed shortly)
  
• Anything missing will be available in Wastelands soon

• Shop added
  
• Simple tutorial/guided match for first time players (easy to skip)
  
• Server region selection
  
• Reduce Warthog's close range damage bonus
  
• Rendering changes/improvements
  
• Lobby menu restructure (ongoing)
  
• Enter should toggle ingame chat properly
  
• Fixed heads/hats not showing up on Bomber
  
• Following units can be given more specific orders
  
• Fortress income given a balance pass (was too high)
  
• Improve target selection to prefer mechs over outposts
  
• Muting should work better (was not working on names with spaces in them)
  
• Mute players directly from info cards in a match (hover their mech at the top)
  
• Black screen at endgame bug has been fixed
  
• Teamcolor support for DeepSea Osprey
  
• Improve AirMech flying and hover sounds
  
• Improve Rank and XP circle progress at endgame screen
  
• Update spectator UI to use new dynamic minimap (fixes missing minimaps)
  
• Inviting players from their lobby player card should work right now
  
• Fallbacks for various bad lobby states
  
• Hopefully fix "invalid_sku" error condition
  
• Saucer armor increased to 80
  
• Quest updates as makes sense for Strike
  
• Fixed player name not always showing in endgame screen
  
• Can now invite players from Matchmaking menu
  
• Custom rooms can be set to private, not browseable (you need to invite everyone)
  
• Rings around player slots to help visualize size/team in lobby (temp visuals)
  
• Show mailbox if you have a waiting message, even if not VIP
  
• Add "power" button in menus to exit without digging in settings
  
• Testing lighting changes in lobby, player selectable
  
• Fixes to prevent units being dropped in salt piles on Salt
  
• Make AirMechs do more cool stuff when they die in the air
  
• Fix invisible enemies in lobby in Explore
  
• Allow Explore during more states of ready-ness
  
• More AirMech variant sounds added
  
• Graphics option to disable glow effect, should help slower computers with integrated graphics
  
• Change UI selection zones for units in Lobby to be more reliable
  
• Disable gamepad binding to switch to "console" UI since it breaks everything
  
• Adjust camera slightly up for Wreckz
  
• Double-pressing E no longer deploys all pending units
  
• Improved endgame sound effects
  
• Hide game options that don't make sense when Spectating
  
• Potential fix for sometimes getting the main menu while playing a game
  
• New "Follow" Order tells units to follow your AirMech
  
• Auto-repair removed, Repair mode now on Q key
  
• Swap units ingame, Right
• click to choose/swap, or Tab and drag
  
• Generators reboot, can heal/fuel mechs on/off Sockets!
  
• Leveler renamed Whoper, increases Upkeep limit
  
• Parts are not used (used in Wastelands instead)
  
• Pilots and Items also not used in Strike
  
• Season 0 started, new Rank Points system
  
• New Lobby design, fully 3D
  
• New Menus, press Esc to toggle in/out
  
• New Ingame HUD
  
• New Storm and Biohazard adapted from player created maps
  
• New Practice mode to battle all classic pilots in order of difficulty

One final thing to note, is that if you are a Silver VIP and did not recieve your Ancient Skull head (seen in the header image of this post) please let us know. We used this to initialy test the qualification for Wastelands access, and it didn't work as expected--but that's a good thing because it helped us fix the system to located these players. If you didn't get one, be sure to let us know either using the ingame bug report or just ask in chat if you see any devs around.

It's a busy week so we're getting right back to work!

It is time. For too long AirMech has sat in a sad state. I covered how it got to this point, and what we have been doing in the previous months to correct this. We have been testing Strike privately, and now we need to go wider so we can move faster.



AirMech Strike is the new PvP focused reboot of AirMech. Instead of launching a new game like AirMech 2, we are updating the old version so everyone has it, and everyone keeps their account and progress.

If you are just catching up, Carbon is soon launching a Coop/PvE/RPG game called AirMech Wastelands, which will be given to all Silver VIPs free of charge. Anything that is "missing" from AirMech Strike will be in there, along with a ton of new RPG focused content.

Back to Strike--what is it? To some very old players it might be familiar to see a PvP focus, but to newer players from the past year it might seem very different. The Campaign and Warzone have been removed (over to AirMech Wastelands) and we now have a 3D multiplayer lobby, a new Group/Queue system, Custom Games and Browser.

The forced tutorial and restrictions on chat have been removed. New players can try Practice to learn the basics. As of this writing the training mission is incredibly basic, but will be improved over time. It is a guided battle against an easy pilot where we check if the player has done certain actions, and if not we explain how to do these things. A pro player won't see a single message, but a new player should find it a nice soft introduction.

We now have voice chat built into the lobby. You can see other players, with whatever AirMech and Skin they are using. A huge benefit to the new Group system is you will be matched with a partner before finding opponents. This sounds obvious, but the old system located all players separately, and then would start the game, creating the impression of an empty queue. It is easier to get in a game than ever before.

Swapping units during a match is a key new feature. We are still experimenting with restrictions or penalties on this for competitive reasons, but as it takes time to do the swap it already becomes a penalty to change. The bigger benefit is that you don't need to pick units in the lobby, greatly simplifying the lobby/matching process. You choose your units during pregame (Tab or right click on a unit) while in communication with your teammate about strategy. Plus now you know the map you are playing on, making it easier to pick the right units. Don't want to put endgame units in your starting slots? Change them later, so you can use a larger variety of units for more interesting tactics.

• New "Follow" Order tells units to follow your AirMech
  
• Auto-repair removed, Repair mode now on Q key
  
• Swap units ingame, Right-click to choose/swap, or Tab and drag
  
• Generators reboot, can heal/fuel mechs on/off Sockets!
  
• Leveler renamed Whopper, increases Upkeep limit
  
• Parts are not used (used in Wastelands instead)
  
• Pilots and Items also not used in Strike
  
• Season 0 started, new Rank Points system
  
• New Lobby design, fully 3D
  
• New Menus, press Esc to toggle in/out
  
• New Ingame HUD
  
• Graphical effects upgrades/improvements (ongoing)
  
• New Storm and Biohazard adapted from player created maps
  
• New Practice mode to battle all classic pilots in order of difficulty

There are many more micro changes to the game that have come along with development over the past year. We were focused on AirMech Command (the VR version) and lots of work from that helped the core AirMech game. We are also not finished, but we feel it is a better game than the previous forced solo campaign mode and confusing UI system, so we are launching it and moving forward with updates. You may be able to switch to the "Legacy" branch on Steam depending on when you are reading this.

I still expect that to be the biggest question. Your account is the same and untouched. Some things might not be visible in the menus and this is intentional if they would cause problems or not be usable. Everything and more will be available in Wastelands, coming very soon. Anyone who has spent any real money (which causes you to become Silver VIP) will be given Wastelands for free. This plan has been discussed with the players on the Carbon forums for many months now, and the result is something that everyone from the biggest VIP to the non-VIPs are satisfied with. Those who love PvP get what they want, and the Coop/PvE/RPG fans will get what they want--in AirMech Wastelands.

We hope you are as excited about this new direction for AirMech as we are!

It is time. For too long AirMech has sat in a sad state. I covered how it got to this point, and what we have been doing in the previous months to correct this. We have been testing Strike privately, and now we need to go wider so we can move faster.



AirMech Strike is the new PvP focused reboot of AirMech. Instead of launching a new game like AirMech 2, we are updating the old version so everyone has it, and everyone keeps their account and progress.

If you are just catching up, Carbon is soon launching a Coop/PvE/RPG game called AirMech Wastelands, which will be given to all Silver VIPs free of charge. Anything that is "missing" from AirMech Strike will be in there, along with a ton of new RPG focused content.

Back to Strike--what is it? To some very old players it might be familiar to see a PvP focus, but to newer players from the past year it might seem very different. The Campaign and Warzone have been removed (over to AirMech Wastelands) and we now have a 3D multiplayer lobby, a new Group/Queue system, Custom Games and Browser.

The forced tutorial and restrictions on chat have been removed. New players can try Practice to learn the basics. As of this writing the training mission is incredibly basic, but will be improved over time. It is a guided battle against an easy pilot where we check if the player has done certain actions, and if not we explain how to do these things. A pro player won't see a single message, but a new player should find it a nice soft introduction.

We now have voice chat built into the lobby. You can see other players, with whatever AirMech and Skin they are using. A huge benefit to the new Group system is you will be matched with a partner before finding opponents. This sounds obvious, but the old system located all players separately, and then would start the game, creating the impression of an empty queue. It is easier to get in a game than ever before.

Swapping units during a match is a key new feature. We are still experimenting with restrictions or penalties on this for competitive reasons, but as it takes time to do the swap it already becomes a penalty to change. The bigger benefit is that you don't need to pick units in the lobby, greatly simplifying the lobby/matching process. You choose your units during pregame (Tab or right click on a unit) while in communication with your teammate about strategy. Plus now you know the map you are playing on, making it easier to pick the right units. Don't want to put endgame units in your starting slots? Change them later, so you can use a larger variety of units for more interesting tactics.

• New "Follow" Order tells units to follow your AirMech
  
• Auto-repair removed, Repair mode now on Q key
  
• Swap units ingame, Right-click to choose/swap, or Tab and drag
  
• Generators reboot, can heal/fuel mechs on/off Sockets!
  
• Leveler renamed Whopper, increases Upkeep limit
  
• Parts are not used (used in Wastelands instead)
  
• Pilots and Items also not used in Strike
  
• Season 0 started, new Rank Points system
  
• New Lobby design, fully 3D
  
• New Menus, press Esc to toggle in/out
  
• New Ingame HUD
  
• Graphical effects upgrades/improvements (ongoing)
  
• New Storm and Biohazard adapted from player created maps
  
• New Practice mode to battle all classic pilots in order of difficulty

There are many more micro changes to the game that have come along with development over the past year. We were focused on AirMech Command (the VR version) and lots of work from that helped the core AirMech game. We are also not finished, but we feel it is a better game than the previous forced solo campaign mode and confusing UI system, so we are launching it and moving forward with updates. You may be able to switch to the "Legacy" branch on Steam depending on when you are reading this.

I still expect that to be the biggest question. Your account is the same and untouched. Some things might not be visible in the menus and this is intentional if they would cause problems or not be usable. Everything and more will be available in Wastelands, coming very soon. Anyone who has spent any real money (which causes you to become Silver VIP) will be given Wastelands for free. This plan has been discussed with the players on the Carbon forums for many months now, and the result is something that everyone from the biggest VIP to the non-VIPs are satisfied with. Those who love PvP get what they want, and the Coop/PvE/RPG fans will get what they want--in AirMech Wastelands.

We hope you are as excited about this new direction for AirMech as we are!

Parts 1 and 2 layed out how we got here and why we decided to make a huge change to AirMech. This post will talk more about the current split plan which feels good to us but is subject to change based on what happens when the game(s) are released.

Over the years we have swung between wondering if we can figure out how to make F2P work, or if we should do something drastic like un-F2P the game. That second option felt like a death sentance for the game, as it is much more a F2P game than anything else at this point. So we continued on, trying to find a F2P angle that could work, always not quite hitting that sweet spot.

Then it occured to us--why not do both? As AirMech evolved, it continued to pull in two different directions. One was from the PvP crowd, the other from PvE and coop lovers. "More balance" called one side, and "more power" called the other. "Pay to win trash" called the one side "please let us pay for power" called the other. The only solution is to split the game.

Which means literally two games on Steam. Not one game, and DLC under it. Two completely seperate games on Steam, at least from the Steam side of it. Underneath, they share an engine (our own custom engine) and a backend, so you still have just one AirMech account with Carbon and lots of cool benefits due to that.

So follow our train of thought--if we have two games, are they both new? Keep the old classic AirMech around? No, "current" AirMech is a mess, it deserves to become AirMech 2.0, which we call AirMech Strike. Someone who has been away for 3 years, or 3 months, they come back and they are playing the latest and greatest version of the game. So AirMech F2P remains F2P, is renamed AirMech Strike, and launches out of Early Access.

The other game, AirMech Wastelands, takes what was hinted at with the campaign and warzone content, looks at it from the perspective of a paid game, and rebuilds it from top to bottom--and expands it. Parts are to AirMech what swords and armor are to Diablo--you can get them as drops, buy them in shops, or even craft them in some cases. They scale to become incredibly powerful, and you'll need that power. Later game content is overwhelmingly powerful if you aren't fully geared out. These are missions of war, not battling an AI playing by the same rules as you.

Wastelands features a 3D overworld map where you can see the areas yet to explore. You can see your friends and other players moving around the overworld. Special missions appear and can even move around. It is a framework that allows us to easily add more missions and content.

There is a lot to talk about in Wastelands and the rabbit hole went down in rethinking the game. However the core fun is still there--your mech, your units, the tactics of moving things around to getting your hands dirty, it's all there. It's exploded in terms of how much stuff there is in the game and it's only the start.

So if there's so much stuff in Wastelands, what is in Strike? When you launch the game you are in a 3D lobby, your mech in front of you all ready to go. Queue for matchmaking, Browse for a custom game, or create a custom game. Or do practice mode--all 12 original pilots are there with new custom AI behaviors to ramp up their difficulty with each one you defeat. Battle them on any map you want, against any pilot you have already defeated.

There's a brand new queue system. Previously, for PvP it would need to fill the entire game, both sides before you saw anyone. This was bad, as it often gave the impression no one was in queue. Now, it will match your team before it finds opponents. Other players appear beside you, and you can see their mech/skin as they pick it.

What we removed (or moved to Wastelands): pilots, parts, items no longer apply to PvP games. These things all still exist on your account, but they are not useable for PvP balance reasons. They are all becoming more powerful in Wastelands.

Unit picking now has a huge change--you can swap out units ingame for a small time penalty. And instead of picking units in the lobby, you pick them pregame, which has a very positive effect on the game. Now players can focus on just their AirMech choice, not their units and their teammate's units.

Benefits go beyond that: because maps are randomly chosen for matchmaking games, you might not have the right units previously. Now you can choose units after knowing the map. It also encourages more creative unit picks, intead of always having to go with a safe loadout. No longer do you have to feel helpless by having the wrong loadout to deal with an opponent. You also don't have to reserve precious slots for late-game units--just swap them out at that time.

Orders have been given a large rework. "Follow me" is now a core order that can be used from the air or ground and is a huge change strategically. Unit AI has been improved, much thanks to the VR version of the game.

I'll dedicate an update to just Strike soon and talk more about the gameplay nuts and bolts. There's a ton of exciting changes that are a mix between going back to the original PvP focused game's roots and new features to keep gameplay fast paced and allow a wide range of play styles.

AirMech Strike is currently available on the "beta" channel of AirMech for anyone who can't wait. We hope to do some larger scale testing in the coming week. As soon as we feel the beta version of Strike is better than the current live version we will switch it over and let the fun/chaos begin...

For those who have played Strike, is it better than the current live version? Why or why not?

Parts 1 and 2 layed out how we got here and why we decided to make a huge change to AirMech. This post will talk more about the current split plan which feels good to us but is subject to change based on what happens when the game(s) are released.

Over the years we have swung between wondering if we can figure out how to make F2P work, or if we should do something drastic like un-F2P the game. That second option felt like a death sentance for the game, as it is much more a F2P game than anything else at this point. So we continued on, trying to find a F2P angle that could work, always not quite hitting that sweet spot.

Then it occured to us--why not do both? As AirMech evolved, it continued to pull in two different directions. One was from the PvP crowd, the other from PvE and coop lovers. "More balance" called one side, and "more power" called the other. "Pay to win trash" called the one side "please let us pay for power" called the other. The only solution is to split the game.

Which means literally two games on Steam. Not one game, and DLC under it. Two completely seperate games on Steam, at least from the Steam side of it. Underneath, they share an engine (our own custom engine) and a backend, so you still have just one AirMech account with Carbon and lots of cool benefits due to that.

So follow our train of thought--if we have two games, are they both new? Keep the old classic AirMech around? No, "current" AirMech is a mess, it deserves to become AirMech 2.0, which we call AirMech Strike. Someone who has been away for 3 years, or 3 months, they come back and they are playing the latest and greatest version of the game. So AirMech F2P remains F2P, is renamed AirMech Strike, and launches out of Early Access.

The other game, AirMech Wastelands, takes what was hinted at with the campaign and warzone content, looks at it from the perspective of a paid game, and rebuilds it from top to bottom--and expands it. Parts are to AirMech what swords and armor are to Diablo--you can get them as drops, buy them in shops, or even craft them in some cases. They scale to become incredibly powerful, and you'll need that power. Later game content is overwhelmingly powerful if you aren't fully geared out. These are missions of war, not battling an AI playing by the same rules as you.

Wastelands features a 3D overworld map where you can see the areas yet to explore. You can see your friends and other players moving around the overworld. Special missions appear and can even move around. It is a framework that allows us to easily add more missions and content.

There is a lot to talk about in Wastelands and the rabbit hole went down in rethinking the game. However the core fun is still there--your mech, your units, the tactics of moving things around to getting your hands dirty, it's all there. It's exploded in terms of how much stuff there is in the game and it's only the start.

So if there's so much stuff in Wastelands, what is in Strike? When you launch the game you are in a 3D lobby, your mech in front of you all ready to go. Queue for matchmaking, Browse for a custom game, or create a custom game. Or do practice mode--all 12 original pilots are there with new custom AI behaviors to ramp up their difficulty with each one you defeat. Battle them on any map you want, against any pilot you have already defeated.

There's a brand new queue system. Previously, for PvP it would need to fill the entire game, both sides before you saw anyone. This was bad, as it often gave the impression no one was in queue. Now, it will match your team before it finds opponents. Other players appear beside you, and you can see their mech/skin as they pick it.

What we removed (or moved to Wastelands): pilots, parts, items no longer apply to PvP games. These things all still exist on your account, but they are not useable for PvP balance reasons. They are all becoming more powerful in Wastelands.

Unit picking now has a huge change--you can swap out units ingame for a small time penalty. And instead of picking units in the lobby, you pick them pregame, which has a very positive effect on the game. Now players can focus on just their AirMech choice, not their units and their teammate's units.

Benefits go beyond that: because maps are randomly chosen for matchmaking games, you might not have the right units previously. Now you can choose units after knowing the map. It also encourages more creative unit picks, intead of always having to go with a safe loadout. No longer do you have to feel helpless by having the wrong loadout to deal with an opponent. You also don't have to reserve precious slots for late-game units--just swap them out at that time.

Orders have been given a large rework. "Follow me" is now a core order that can be used from the air or ground and is a huge change strategically. Unit AI has been improved, much thanks to the VR version of the game.

I'll dedicate an update to just Strike soon and talk more about the gameplay nuts and bolts. There's a ton of exciting changes that are a mix between going back to the original PvP focused game's roots and new features to keep gameplay fast paced and allow a wide range of play styles.

AirMech Strike is currently available on the "beta" channel of AirMech for anyone who can't wait. We hope to do some larger scale testing in the coming week. As soon as we feel the beta version of Strike is better than the current live version we will switch it over and let the fun/chaos begin...

For those who have played Strike, is it better than the current live version? Why or why not?