Rogue Command

this game is a great roguelike RTS experience in the vein of command & conquer. there's only one campaign, and there's only really one type of level (mission: destroy a building), but i think that works for a roguelike. there's also only one faction to play as, but you unlock tons of units and upgrades for replay value. some upgrades are better than others (e.g., hits have a chance to stun, or damage will slow), especially on some units rather than others, but it's definitely situational and sometimes you can get some really satisfying combinations (e.g., one unit will slow them down, another gets greater critical hit chance on slow targets). that's all standard roguelike, but the developers have adapted it really well for the RTS genre. some other good: * starting with different engineer/economy/support types does help the game feel a bit like playing as a new faction. * it's super nice to be able to quit at the upgrade screen (before a level starts), or within 2 minutes of starting a level, and be able to continue a run later. * runs pretty well on my linux laptop (nothing fancy), although it does slow down a bit with lots of units engaging (e.g., later levels). nothing game breaking. some ideas for development: * i wish there was a bit of variety in the mission types (besides destroy a building), but i don't know what that would look like to keep things fair for a roguelike run. maybe at the top of the upgrade path, you can choose what the next mission type will be. in case you don't want to do an escort/infiltration/survive 10 waves while we unlock some data pods/etc. mission, you'd have to choose your path through the upgrades carefully. * would love to unlock more economy units than just the three we start out with (harvest tuner, crystal catcher, and reclaimer). getting to that upgrade screen is one of the lamest choices you have to make. * it would be nice to somehow show the 2 minute countdown you have for quitting a level without abandoning the run, with the last 10 seconds being a bit more visually obvious. some nitpicky bad, from most annoying to least annoying: * unlocking the "infinite re-rolls for the first blueprint" in the battle archives is a lie; i want to essentially see the entire unit catalog that i've unlocked (at least within the blueprint type that i choose, mech, vehicle, etc.), but the game stops you at some point. the RNG engine should be able to handle starting essentially from any unit. because there are so many units, i don't feel like i'll be able to try them all if i can't do this. * map RNG can make a level exceedingly easy or difficult. if there's only one entrance to your base to defend, you have a much easier time than if your base is completely open on 3 sides. would love to see the enemy difficulty adjusted based on this somehow. * some sound effects don't feel like they fit the weapon. in particular, the charge laser tank sounds weird with a gun reload sound, when i think it should be more like a fwoom *whine* (e.g., from a capacitor charging back up, e.g., old disposable cameras). * it's not clear, but if you don't get to the boss, it doesn't seem like you get any XP or battle archive points for a run. i would love to see an XP indicator for each level you beat, and if you don't get to the boss, i'd still love to still see certain things unlock (maybe not new engineer/economy/support types, or even new units, maybe just battle archive points). it'd be nice to have a defeat screen for this, to show what you earn for beating earlier levels. * if you have battle archive points to use (and you can use them, e.g., you haven't unlocked everything and there's something you can unlock that's worth the remaining amount of points), the battle archive button should be glowing. * some of the english translation is a bit odd/stilted sounding, but nothing that detracts. (i may join the discord at some point to help, if that's welcome.) some surprises: * beating an ascension difficulty automatically increases it. i was trying runs with new unit choices and wondering why things were so much harder. i think i'd prefer a giant glowing circle around the next ascension difficulty for the next run, to indicate that you could increase the difficulty if desired. the glowing circle would go away after a run or two.