Sep 2, 2023
Void Strife - solarsailstudios
Today we talk enemies!
Welcome back! Just a tad late, however there was the crucible post as well so I think this is fair :D...
I did mention the new enemy AI in one of the earlier posts and also alluded to it in the crucible announcement, but what kind of enemies do we have exactly? Well, I'm aiming to answer that today.
Above we can see the enemies in the game currently (apart from one whoops).
First, let's tackle the normal enemies and then we'll do the bosses.
In the bottom right, we have two similar looking dudes - they're bouncers. They're part of Payne Jones' team (We'll get to him later) and they're your basic enemy types. The one with the slight blue dots on him is a communications officer variant, which can call in backup so you definitely want to prioritise him first. The normal bouncers however are highly agile and will sometimes dodge to avoid getting shot. Both of them however do seek out health when low, so make sure to not get your health stolen at nearby health stations.
Slightly to the left of them we have the brute - they're fast, tanky, and do a lot of damage so you will need to out maneouver them in order to defeat them. They also usually have heavier weapons - currently there are two brutes, one with a Cataclysm (shotgun) and one with a Moonsight (high caliber sniper rifle). He also seeks out health when low, and also takes cover sometimes.
To the left of him we have exploding barrels, which are super satisfying to explode because instead of all dying at the same time, they chain together which means you can see a wave of explosion happening and demolishing anything on screen. Because they are also physics based, you can push them around and position them correctly to deal with stronger foes, if you don't have the weapons available.
Up above the helicopter we have 3 drones - they're super fast and attack really quick, but do relatively small damage and have low health. Due to their light nature, they get affected by recoil a lot, so even they have trouble controlling themselves.
Now to the bosses! First and weakest one is Payne Jones on the right - he has a shield which you have to destroy first before he can take damage. This shield can only be damaged from the front so you're in danger of his high damage shotgun, but he is relatively slow and easy to deal with. However, he also has a pulse attack, which shoots an expanding pulse from himself into the surrounding area, hurting any of his enemies nearby him, so don't get too close.
Next we have the ATTACK HELICOPTER. It's a helicopter, it's got a spinning propeller, it shoots an accelerating missile which tries to follow you, and it also has a machine gun similar to the drones. However unlike the drones, it has a lot more stability so will not be pushed back by its own recoil so much. It is also pretty fast so you have to move around smart around it.
Finally, we have Razor. This is an experimental tank created by the Union to assist in peacekeeping efforts. It has a rotating cannon turret which targets its enemies, and 2 ion beams at the front of its body, which deal damage over time to any enemies standing inside it. Better be careful - it's slow turning but if you have both the turret shooting at you and the laser pinning you down, it's hard to escape properly.
Apart from each enemy having their unique quirks, the state machine behaviour I explained in one of my previous posts allows me to do some pretty funky stuff, like for example some enemies being able to find cover when they are attacked, or dashing away from projectiles or even running to the nearby health stations and using them to heal themselves.
I hope this post makes sense and gets you hyped up for the game.
Thanks for reading, and have a lovely weekend!
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