Hello, Commanders! The long-awaited Public Test Server has finally arrived! Update 1.8.1 has been released on the Public Test Server. We welcome everyone to participate in the test and provide feedback to us!
Locate Mechabellum in your Steam library, right-click on it, and select Properties...

In the pop-up Properties window, select the Betas tab, and then choose public_test from the drop-down menu of Beta Participation.

Wait for the update to complete. Please note that the version should display as public_test. Now click Play, and you can get access to the Public Test Server.

In order to switch back to the live server, please repeat these steps and select "none" from the drop-down menu.
The following is the content of Update 1.8.1 iteration 1:
New Unit Variant \[Assault Raiden]: Increases Raiden's HP by 200% and movement speed by 3, but decreases range by 50
New Unit Variant \: Increases Hound's ATK 270%, but increases ATK interval by 2.6s[/p][/*][/list] \[Subsidized Steel Ball] Card Level 2 → Level 3 Projectile (Flame) Movement Speed: 250/s → 450/s ATK: 88 → 84 (-5%) Developer's Note: Thanks to Mathismight for bringing this to our attention in a Reddit post. We have inspected the projectile movement speed of all units in the game. After extensive testing, we found that the movement speed of the flames emitted by Vulcan significantly affects its effectiveness against light units. Tests have shown that the adjusted Vulcan has improved efficiency against various types of units. Therefore, we have slightly decreased Vulcan's ATK to balance it. In our tests, the new Vulcan with reduced ATK is still stronger than before in most cases. Projectile (Bullets) Movement Speed: 300/s → 420/s Developer's Note: The Tarantula with \[Mechanical Rage] will no longer waste bullets due to the slow bullet travel speed. Projectile (Flame) Movement Speed: 200/s → 400/s (Special effects optimized) Range: 70 → 75 ATK: 28 → 26 (-7%) \[Counter-Fire] Adjustment: HP increased by 30%. Taking damage increases its Range by 60 for 20s. Developer's Note: In the previous patch, Fire Badger had relatively conservative stats. After this adjustment, Fire Badger should see a higher usage rate. \[Incendiary Bomb] Cost 250 → 200 Developer's Note: After the ground fire nerf, the cost-effectiveness of the Hound's incendiary bomb became too low, so we decided to reduce its price slightly. \[Aerial Specialization] Anti-Air Damage Modifier +75% → +90% ATK: 392 → 381 (-3%) HP: 14,551 → 14,115 (-3%) Developer's Note: Wraith was too strong in the high MMR range, so we decided to slightly nerf it. ATK: 5,570 → 5,291 (-5%) \[Fork] Cost 200 → 250 \[Chain] Cost 250 → 200 Developer's Note: After multiple buffs, Raiden's \[Fork] has become too strong, so we have decided to swap the price of \[Fork] with that of the relatively weaker \[Chain]. Fine-tuned the position of Gatling Guns in some layouts; now, Rapid-Fire Cannon and Defensive Walls will be destroyed together by a single defensive missile. \[Arclight & Sabertooth Pack] Player’s Initial HP -100 → -300 \[Arclight & Sledgehammer Pack] Player’s Initial HP 0 → -200 Added a function to view the damage statistics of Rapid-Fire Cannons and Anti-Armor Cannons. Added a button to instantly retry the last round immediately after the battle ends. Added a button to refresh the replay list. Fixed the issue where Fire Badger's Scorching Charge sometimes charges into energy shields. Fixed the issue where the visual effect of Fire Badger's Scorching Charge was not displayed correctly. Fixed the issue where the attack visual effect of Void Eye was not displayed correctly. Fixed the issue where War Factory sometimes got stuck on Defensive Walls. Fixed the issue where some avatar frames were not displayed correctly. Fixed the issue where battle records of 2v2 Tournament matches were not displayed correctly. Fixed the issue where Tournament replays could not be deleted. Fixed the issue where the language on the Tournament UI was displayed incorrectly. Fixed the issue where the ground flame visual effect was displayed incorrectly. Fixed the issue where the building color in 2v2 was displayed incorrectly. Gain Combat Power in PvE and custom rooms. Still gain Combat Power after losing a battle. We are currently testing new building types and new building layouts internally. In the coming months, we will continue to analyze and learn from your feedback and make gradual adjustments to improve buildings and building layouts. This is all the content for this update. For feedback, suggestions, and bug reports regarding the current public test patch, please submit them through the following channel: Mechabellum Discord: https://discord.gg/mechabellum Mechabellum Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mechabellum/ Mechabellum Steam Discussions:
This week, we’re handing the mic to Simon S., our quest designer and narrative systems specialist here on 100 Lives. Simon’s work sits at the intersection of story and structure, crafting the systems that make Kingstown feel full of possibility, while also writing the moments that surprise, delight, and occasionally derail your carefully planned life path.
In this devlog, Simon shares how we’re designing for deep replayability, why freedom of choice is central to the experience, and what happens when you try to live life as a sports-obsessed egghead (yes, really).
I worked on a narrative system that ensures there's great replayability in the game. Usually, once you know the story of a game, there's little motivation to experience it again and again (and again and again), so I had to come up with some exciting concepts I can't wait for players to experience. While we have plenty of story content to enjoy, replayability is key for players who want to sink hundreds or thousands of hours into the game! I'll add more of that in the coming weeks, mostly focusing on the early life.
I'm currently looking forward to a fantastic UI overhaul. We're offering the player so much choice to create whatever life they can imagine, and the UI update will ensure players will know how to do exactly that. Player agency is key, and we've developed everything with so much freedom for the player in mind! I can't wait to see what lives players will come up with and experience!
I love coming up with creative narrative concepts like the one described in the first question, but it's always challenging to get down and implement them the first time around. There are so many details to figure out, structures to set up, narratives to develop... It's about putting theory into practice, and the practice is what players get to experience, after all!
There are quite a few meme, TV show and movie references in the game, so if you stumble upon them - they were no accident. Also, I highly encourage players to try out weird stuff, like an egghead character who wants to do well in sports, or playing a character that's mean to everyone. I'm sure they'll find that, just like in reality, life is complex, and there are infinite ways to live it!
I write most of the story bits, develop quests and come up with concepts that unite game design with the narrative as elegantly as possible. Also, I'm the spreadsheet guy who keeps all the content organized. My closest colleague develops most of the characters, the backstory and also writes some of the story bits you'll encounter in the game. Together, we've developed a truely unique and fun world for players to explore - but I should probably leave the details about that to him, so look out for Oscar's entry in this series!
Simon’s work is a big part of what gives 100 Lives its endless variety. Whether you're roleplaying a flawless hero or an absolute menace, it's the underlying narrative systems, and the unexpected paths they allow that make each life feel truly different.
We’ll be hearing more from the narrative team soon, including Oscar (who may or may not be the mastermind behind your new favorite NPC). Until then, don’t forget to wishlist 100 Lives on Steam, and start thinking about how you’d live life #27.
More soon!
Hey Everyone,
Hope you're enjoying the game!
We fixed a couple bugs:
A bug that prevented the player accessing Purgatory 13
A bug that didn't hide the Down and Up Buttons for Purgatory selection at 0 and max Purgatory respectively.
Thanks for playing :)
This is my first commercial game, and I couldn't be more proud that it's finally out!
A HUUUGE thank you goes to:
- My girlfriend Roberta, who wrote most of the dialogue, and helped keep me sane during development.
- My awesome artist friend Tanupoki, who took care of all the character art.
- My best friend and roommate Paolo for always supporting me, and keeping the house livable while I was fixing bugs at 6AM!
If you're interested, the game's entire development process is showcased in this video!
I hope you enjoy Love Craft! ❤️




