[Heat Signature] From the creator of Gunpoint

Metallikat

A new game from the developer of Gunpoint!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifgjEMIqRO4

Board randomly generated spaceships!


Control time!


Move through and liberate a galaxy!


You go through randomly generated missions, using a wide variety of tools and weapons to accomplish your goals. When your character dies you get to start with a new character in the same universe. Each character gets a personal mission, something to work for (rescuing someone, getting back an item, etc.). You can rescue the characters of friends who've been captured, as well as find named items left behind by characters that they've retired.

Rooms in ships can be blown up, and you can be blown into space. You can then remote control your pod to try and rescue yourself before you die of oxygen loss. The game happens entirely in space, no planets or anything like that.

Ratsult2

This game is good. It feels a lot like Hotline Miami mixed with FTL. You are always learning new tricks, and there is some really crazy stuff you can pull off.

Shogun

This game reminds me a lot of Doorkickers except in space. And on drugs and everything is turned up to 11.

edit: also definitely getting the Hotline Miami vibe

AkimboEG

I was surprised to see how similar this is to Gunpoint, despite being an entirely different thing. Tom Francis sure likes real-time-with-pause-and-gadgets.

My favorite toy so far has been a high capacity self-charging slipstream.

TychoCelchuuu

AkimboEG wrote: »

I was surprised to see how similar this is to Gunpoint, despite being an entirely different thing. Tom Francis sure likes real-time-with-pause-and-gadgets.

Real time with pause actually showed up somewhat late in development - it started off as a debug thing but he decided it made the game more fun. Before that, as you can imagine, it was much more frantic.

HydroSqueegee

This game can get tough. Holy crap. You have 87 seconds from hitting accept to get the mission complete on a large ship with well prepared guards, no kills allowed and in a war zone...

Some of these missions are nuts.

Shadowfire

AkimboEG wrote: »

I was surprised to see how similar this is to Gunpoint, despite being an entirely different thing. Tom Francis

*Kicks door open
I heard Tom Francis and got here as fast as I could!

Steel Angel

Last night I had about 10 seconds on the clock after completing an objective and dealing with the guards in the immediate area. It wasn't enough to make it back to my ship so when the clock hit 0, I paused, checked the distance to the nearest window, teleported over with a Sidewinder, shot the window from point blank range, got sucked into space, and remote controlled my breacher ship to pick me up and head back to base.

Steel Angel

Also, a few tips:

If you sneak up behind a guard with a key, you can press E to steal it. Handy for pacifist runs or you need to get a key off a shielded or armored guard when you don't have the right tools to kill them directly. Obviously this does not work against guards with heat sensors.

Having multiple melee weapons or guns can be a very good idea. Two quickfire weapons effectively means never having a cooldown on guns when you get into fights on a ship with lots of guards. Two longblades is a cheap way to be able to chain silent kills before you have access to silenced guns. Even then, it's sometimes handier to chain melee dashes instead of accidentally shooting out the window you were fighting next to.

If you have rechargeable items and the ship is not under a timer, you can leave the ship and head to a friendly base to recharge things before returning to the ship. Very handy for things like crash beams and subverters for ships with shielded guards. I wouldn't have finished one personal mission without doing this.

Sovereign stations unlock silenced guns and armor piercing weapons. Given how useful those are as mission difficulty goes up, it's a good idea to prioritize the required bases to reach those unlocks.

klemming

I'm hitting a wall where most of my significant missions (including the personal mission to rescue my first character, who didn't realise that the countdown meant she shouldn't still be on the ship when it hit zero) are full of armored people.
I have one (1) armor-piercing weapon, with all of six shots for it.
Is there a way to buy ammo I'm just not seeing?

Mr Fuzzbutt

klemming wrote: »

I'm hitting a wall where most of my significant missions (including the personal mission to rescue my first character, who didn't realise that the countdown meant she shouldn't still be on the ship when it hit zero) are full of armored people.
I have one (1) armor-piercing weapon, with all of six shots for it.
Is there a way to buy ammo I'm just not seeing?

Dunno! But one of the space stations in my game (in every game?) unlocked armour piercing short blades in shops, which made that kind of mission much easier.

Steel Angel

klemming wrote: »

I'm hitting a wall where most of my significant missions (including the personal mission to rescue my first character, who didn't realise that the countdown meant she shouldn't still be on the ship when it hit zero) are full of armored people.
I have one (1) armor-piercing weapon, with all of six shots for it.
Is there a way to buy ammo I'm just not seeing?

I get 12 AP rounds when I buy an armor piercing lethal weapon so that's one method albeit not a particularly good one.

The lack of ammo makes armor piercing lethal guns my least preferred way of dealing with armored enemies.

An armor piercing blade isn't too far off from unlocking as I alluded to above and the primary killer for me now.

Before that, I used glitch traps to teleport them outside of the ship if they didn't have a key or weren't a capture target. That's honestly still my favorite method if it's feasible just because.

Explosives, both lethal and concussive also work. Ditto shooting a fuel tank while the armored guard is in it if you don't need use of that room.

Sentry guns that are overridden are not affected by armor.

And concussion shotguns can come in armor piercing. And other traits. It takes a while to unlock both armor piercing guns and concussive guns but a silenced, quick fire, armor piercing shotgun has the advantages of recharging ammo at base and not setting off the unfortunate combination of armored and explosive guards.

Veagle

I just unlocked high capacity subverters, so maybe I can finish one of these damn personal mission full of shielded guards. The ability to take down shielded targets, steal turrets and bypass locks all on one item is just the best. Just wish I hadn't lost my 5 shot recharging subverter grenade launcher.

klemming

Some rescue missions have become a lot easier to deal with once I realised I could just reach my rescuee by any means, get them to a window, then blow us both out into space and pick us up with my pod.

The defector missions are pretty great for learning new ways to use stuff, as the set inventory makes me approach them as puzzles with the mindset that there must be a way to do this that I'm not seeing, whereas the random missions just make me think 'Oh I can't do this, I don't have [X]'.
I haven't come up with a practical use for throwing myself out an airlock and using guns to recoil myself back in, though. Yet.

Steel Angel

Veagle wrote: »

I just unlocked high capacity subverters, so maybe I can finish one of these damn personal mission full of shielded guards. The ability to take down shielded targets, steal turrets and bypass locks all on one item is just the best. Just wish I hadn't lost my 5 shot recharging subverter grenade launcher.

The few personal missions with shielded guards I've done have thankfully not started under a timer so I could leave and head back to base every time I ran out of crash beams and subverter charges and glitch traps.

I haven't found a lot of use for subverting sentry guns though. It's amusing and sometimes was useful before I had armor piercing weapons but if they're slow to actually catch guards, will make guards trigger alarms if they see it kill another guard, and you need line of sight anyway so I'm usually close enough to just walk up and disable one without using a charge I need for shields.

klemming

Steel Angel wrote: »

Veagle wrote: »

I just unlocked high capacity subverters, so maybe I can finish one of these damn personal mission full of shielded guards. The ability to take down shielded targets, steal turrets and bypass locks all on one item is just the best. Just wish I hadn't lost my 5 shot recharging subverter grenade launcher.

The few personal missions with shielded guards I've done have thankfully not started under a timer so I could leave and head back to base every time I ran out of crash beams and subverter charges and glitch traps.

I haven't found a lot of use for subverting sentry guns though. It's amusing and sometimes was useful before I had armor piercing weapons but if they're slow to actually catch guards, will make guards trigger alarms if they see it kill another guard, and you need line of sight anyway so I'm usually close enough to just walk up and disable one without using a charge I need for shields.

I managed to subvert a turret that was aimed directly at the pilot on a ship full of shielded dudes, so that was worthwhile.
I finally lucked out and found a self-charging subverter and a self charging key cloner, so I finally got my personal mission done without having to kill anyone myself.
Just find a safe spot, subvert the turret, and wait for it to kill enough people to slip by, repeat.

And on any ship larger than small, I've adopted 'jump out into space as soon as you have the objective' as my official policy. Much easier, especially if I upgrade to the Angel pod to make catching myself a breeze.

Ratsult2

You can also just middle mouse click on your pod (or anywhere) and your character will auto walk back there. It is super fast if you speed up time.

Kupi

To prove her dedication to the cause, Yanet Ceylon set out on an audacious mission to assassinate Tekkerion Coldstar, a third-tier leader in the Offworld cartel.

She stood standing at the airlock gates, gripping a wrench in one hand and an autofire shotgun in the other.

She looked at the ship scan she'd taken as her pod had cruised in. It was... significantly larger than she'd thought it would be. There were guards with those crazy devices that would teleport right on top of her, pistols ready, if they heard anything suspicious, and with the way her shotgun behaved that was basically everywhere.

Yanet was not at all confident that she actually had what it took to complete the mission. It had been described as audacious, after all.

Suddenly, the ship rocked beneath her feet with a loud crashing noise from outside. And then again. There was an explosion in the distance.

Her PDA gave off a cheery beep and after half-dropping the thing with her suddenly addrenaline-blitzed fingers as she attempted to shut it up, she realized that it was trying to tell her that Tekkerion Coldstar was dead.

Yanet slowly pushed her pod's ejection button and spent several hours second-guessing herself that she must have misread it or something. But there were only so many ways to read the sentences "Mission accomplished. Return to home station."

Yanet dickered with the secure terminal to confirm the kill and receive 119 credits, which was a pittance in real terms but more money than she'd seen in one place her entire life.

This was a good place to stop, Yanet decided.

Steel Angel

I on the other hand recently discovered that attempting a hijack ship in a warzone is really not a good idea. It started out great with the airlock being right next to the cockpit. Then the cockpit was blown up. Then 2/3 of the ship was severed by a chain of exploding fuel rooms. That one was not a successful mission.

Ratsult2

If anyone was wondering, retired items automatically have a tag that show who retired the item and what character they were using. You don't have to include your name in the name of the item... unless you are vain like me, then you pretty much have to include at least two instances of your name.

I haven't seen a mission to rescue a friend's character, but I'm sure it would have a similar tag.

Mr Fuzzbutt

Oh my goodness.

If you're taking on a ship with lots of glitch dash guards, bring a shortblade and make some noise.

Veagle

I've been getting around them by using a visitor and a shotgun to lure them into a room I won't be in. Preferably one with a fuel barrel in it.

cooljammer00

Finally unlocked that special time limited gun. Got spaced several times trying to get it, though.

Mx. Quill

Ratsult2 wrote: »

If anyone was wondering, retired items automatically have a tag that show who retired the item and what character they were using. You don't have to include your name in the name of the item... unless you are vain like me, then you pretty much have to include at least two instances of your name.

I haven't seen a mission to rescue a friend's character, but I'm sure it would have a similar tag.

Well Rat, none of my guys have ever been captured, so of course you haven't found any.

It's cause they're all dead except one who retired. I demand results.

Mudzgut

Big fan of using the sledgehammer concussion hammer to knock guards into areas where they won't be seen by incoming patrols. Double duty!
Also managed to snag an extreme range recharging key copier. Works through walls, doesn't care if they have shields, three charges of free door unlocking - great stuff!

Mx. Quill

Mudzgut wrote: »

Big fan of using the sledgehammer concussion hammer to knock guards into areas where they won't be seen by incoming patrols. Double duty!
Also managed to snag an extreme range recharging key copier. Works through walls, doesn't care if they have shields, three charges of free door unlocking - great stuff!

They can't find unconscious guards if you whack them through a window and into space.

cooljammer00

Considering how many times I've been knocked unconscious and spaced, I think I've had enough flying through the nebula for one lifetime. Not sure why you would want to do it on purpose.

Nips

I like Heat Signature, and adore Tom Francis's work.

I recorded a video for my YT channel; watch me gloriously lose a whole pile of rare tools on the final minute of the vid! Explosions! Mistakes! Disaster is fun!

Not sure if I'll record any more of it, but I'll certainly be playing more.

https://youtu.be/qgEPMd3bxfk

klemming

My options have opened up a lot since I unlock armor-piercing longblades.
I was kinda stuck on one job that wanted me to capture an armored guy, though. I haven't found any armor-piercing non-lethal options, so I'm not sure how that one is possible.
Is there gear I haven't found yet that makes that an option?

AkimboEG

klemming wrote: »

My options have opened up a lot since I unlock armor-piercing longblades.
I was kinda stuck on one job that wanted me to capture an armored guy, though. I haven't found any armor-piercing non-lethal options, so I'm not sure how that one is possible.
Is there gear I haven't found yet that makes that an option?

Concussion grenades go through armor. You can also unlock armor-piercing versions of the concussion guns. And I haven't tried this on a hostile capture, but you might be able to space the target and pick them up with your pod.

Steel Angel

klemming wrote: »

My options have opened up a lot since I unlock armor-piercing longblades.
I was kinda stuck on one job that wanted me to capture an armored guy, though. I haven't found any armor-piercing non-lethal options, so I'm not sure how that one is possible.
Is there gear I haven't found yet that makes that an option?

With the exception of melee weapons and pod types, you don't unlock specific items from liberating space stations, you unlock modifiers that can appear on weapons. Base concussive weapons are kind of a dud but silenced, automatic, armor piercing shotguns are incredible. It can be a while before you get to unlock both armor piercing guns and concussive guns though given that it's different factions.

On another note, remote grenades are wonderful. If a guard notices a remote grenade landing but doesn't get an intruder alert on you, the guard will pick up the grenade and bring it back to the guard cluster after his patrol for your convenience.

Ratsult2

AkimboEG wrote: »

klemming wrote: »

My options have opened up a lot since I unlock armor-piercing longblades.
I was kinda stuck on one job that wanted me to capture an armored guy, though. I haven't found any armor-piercing non-lethal options, so I'm not sure how that one is possible.
Is there gear I haven't found yet that makes that an option?

Concussion grenades go through armor. You can also unlock armor-piercing versions of the concussion guns. And I haven't tried this on a hostile capture, but you might be able to space the target and pick them up with your pod.

Yea, all grenade launchers go through armor. It probably doesn't say "armor piercing" because there isn't a type of grenade launcher that doesn't pierce armor.

Mx. Quill

AkimboEG wrote: »

klemming wrote: »

My options have opened up a lot since I unlock armor-piercing longblades.
I was kinda stuck on one job that wanted me to capture an armored guy, though. I haven't found any armor-piercing non-lethal options, so I'm not sure how that one is possible.
Is there gear I haven't found yet that makes that an option?

Concussion grenades go through armor. You can also unlock armor-piercing versions of the concussion guns. And I haven't tried this on a hostile capture, but you might be able to space the target and pick them up with your pod.

I did that last night with a shielded guy, so presumably armored works too.

Steel Angel

Wrapped up my first campaign earlier. Immediately started another. The early missions go a lot smoother now that I know what I'm generally doing though I've exploded myself out a ship a few times. I started with silenced weapons unlocked by the starter station which makes things a bit faster too.

Slortex

So... rocketing at max speed is the worst time to accidentally hit the eject button. This game has accurate enough physics that it is impossible to catch up to your body.

Aguira Barmash, who was just trying to get her fool son back from those nasty Glitchers, learned that the hard way. Let's drink to poor Aguira, who died in space.

And if you happen to run into Joss Barmash, tell him his mom loved him to the end.

Ratsult2

Interesting that they have the option to block individual friends from sharing items. Not sure why anyone would use that option.

On an unrelated note, I retired my 6th wrench: Rat's 'another one really' Wrench.

Steel Angel

Ratsult2 wrote: »

Interesting that they have the option to block individual friends from sharing items. Not sure why anyone would use that option.

On an unrelated note, I retired my 6th wrench: Rat's 'another one really' Wrench.

Since you can rename items that get passed on, somewhere out there is a goose renaming his items "Hitler's Bonergun" and "Literally AIDS" that his friends might want to block.

Zetx

Played an hour of this and am loving it. Haven't gotten into any crazy hijinks yet, but I do enjoy ambushing guards with my blade. Is there any way to play this in a borderless window? WindowedBorderlessGaming and BoderlessGaming didn't seem to do the trick.

Zetx

Okay, my favorite discovery is that I could throw a non-lethal item at the pilot and cancel the countdown. Doesn't restart when he gets back in the pilot's chair.

Nips

Zetx wrote: »

Okay, my favorite discovery is that I could throw a non-lethal item at the pilot and cancel the countdown. Doesn't restart when he gets back in the pilot's chair.

Wait, you don't just brain him with a wrench or hammer?

I can count on one hand the number of times I've thrown something, at well over ten hours played now.

Wyvern

Throwing wrenches is super useful for taking out an extra guard per wrench without waiting for cooldowns.