ShellShock Live 2

The waiting is finally over!

Please provide plenty of feedback and report any bug you see.  Saul and I will be also playing as much as we can, when we’re not making improvements and stomping bugs.

Let the fun begin…
http://shellshocklive2.com/

We’re excited to announce that the SS2 Beta will be released in early September!  It will be hosted right here on www.shellshocklive2.com and open to everyone!

It’s been a long journey and we can’t wait to show it off to the world.

In addition to good ol’ land-crates, we have added a new type: Hover-Crates.

Hover-Crates are rare, but when they arrive they hover in one area above the map.  Instead of running into them with your tank, you shoot at them.  Once a player hits one, they earn the loot.  Crates in SSL2 will hold weapons, points / health, items, and even Tank Coins.

SSL 1 has completely random weapon assignment.  If you have access to a weapon, it has an equal shot at getting into your arsenal for a round.  We’re currently brainstorming possible alternatives to this method.

How should weapons be assigned each round?  If we let players choose, you will most likely choose the same weapons every time and the game will be a battle of Rivers and Diggers.  We also have to keep in mind that not everyone has access to the same weapons, so choosing from a common set before the game may not work so well.

What do you think?

Unfortunately, us game developers need to eat too.  ShellShock Live 1 servers currently cost around $1,000/month to host.  ShellShock Live 2 servers will cost even more than that because we’ll be upgrading them.  So, in order to cover those fees, as well as (hopefully) make a small profit to live off of, we will need some form of revenue.

I’d love to hear what the community thinks about this topic.  If you could answer the following questions about ShellShock Live 2 revenue sources in a comment, that would be super!

1. Tank Coin System: How did you feel about the Tank Coin system in ShellShock Live 1?  There will probably be a similar system in SSL2 with necessary tweaks according to your feedback.

2. Ads: I hate ads.  That’s why I’ve tried to keep SSL1 ad-free.  However, would you appreciate the ability to opt-in to see between-game ads in exchange for Tank Coins? (Ex. Every 5 ads you view, you earn 1 free Tank Coin.) This would be completely optional and you wouldn’t need to view ads if you didn’t want to.

3. Deluxe: Did you enjoy Deluxe being subscription based? Would you rather pay once for unlimited access? Or would you rather keep the options you have now? (1mo, 3mo, …, lifetime)

4. Other: Any other neat ideas?  How can we earn a few needed pennies here and there without negatively affecting the player’s experience?

Thanks for your input!

Hey all, just thought I’d let you take a peek at the game browser I’ve been working on.  It’s not quite complete, but this is a good idea of it’s style as well as the style of the rest of the game’s UI and menus.

Click the image to see it in it’s full-res glory.

We think it’s pretty sleek.  What do you think?

One of the best parts of ShellShock was the ability to easily chat with the other players while playing.  I’d like to make it even easier in SSL2.

When enter is pressed, a larger chat area will be displayed.

You’ll be able to see the entire chat in a much more convenient way here, without fiddling with the tiny controls in the mini-chat.  We will also keep the chat-bubble system in place.

How else can we improve on in-game communication?

You’ll be excited to hear that you can upgrade your tank in SSL2! There will be 4 aspects to upgrade, but we’re not sure what they will be yet. We’re thinking “speed”, “traction”, “armor”, and “fuel”… unless you convince us otherwise.

What would you like to upgrade on your tank in SSL2?

Everyone say hello to Saul (SaulBall), the newest addition to the ShellShock Live team!

Saul will help out with community stuff (like this blog) as well as your numerous support emails.  He will also be in charge of some of the weapon and map design for SSL2.

You can contact him at “saul (at) shellshocklive.com” to give him the personalized hello he deserves.