A Byte War (tuxdb.com)

A Byte War is a real time strategy game where you lead a race of block-based machines against a machine threat from another dimension. Build your base up from blocks, form patterns and construct buildings to cover your needs: resource harvesting, unit spawning, influence spreading and more. Find your own path in missions that allow for various endings, from conquering the enemy, expanding your influence to conquer the map or stand your ground and don't allow the enemy to breach your defenses.

A Byte war provides you with the ability to build your basic building block: a block. Build it up into patterns on a tile-based grid and form buildings with a specific shape and functionalities. Use their specific shapes to position them like puzzle pieces and form your own base as you imagine.

Each building is controlled by controls on top of it. For example:

- HQ, your main building with controls for specific active skills.

- Resource harvester with controls for spawning and automatic harvesting.

- Unit spawner with a control to send your units to a specific destination

Constructing these essential buildings requires arranging blocks into specific patterns. Unlock new patterns and building capabilities as you progress through challenging missions, each introducing unique functionalities that enhance your strategic options.

Expanding your influence is one of the crucial mechanics to take over the area around you. Your influence starts with your HQ, which generates a permanent spot of influence, to continue extending your reach strategically place influence spreaders, amplifying your control over the surrounding area.

Areas under your influence come with significant advantages:

- Keep your base up and running

- Heal your damaged units.

- Weaponize it to disable enemy buildings and damage enemy units

- Generate new resource deposits

- Convert existing ones on the map

Watch out however, as your enemy can use their influence to counter yours.

Choose your own path with every mission that shapes your unique journey and outcome.

The game offers a variety of mission types, each presenting distinct challenges and strategic objectives. You'll find yourself running away from overwhelming enemy forces, holding off relentless invasions to survive, conquering enemy territories through sheer force, or expanding your influence to dominate the landscape.

Each mission type branches into subsequent missions, leading you down different paths that culminate in specific endings.

Demo & development update

Hello everyone!

It's been almost 2 months since the last update and I think it's time to update the demo and give out some info in regards to the development of the full game.

Demo update

What's this demo all about?
QoL, polish, sound effects and localisation!

Let me list a few of the main changes here, and you'll find the whole changelog at the end of this post:

Added a tactical pause, with spacebar you'll now be able to pause the game at any time to reposition and think about your next moves
Lots of tiny and bigger bug fixes, some that impact the demo & unit behaviour
SFX!!! I cannot stress this enough, the game was "silent", but now a whole bunch of SFX have been made and added for most of the game parts visible in the demo
Continuing my efforts to support more languages, the demo will now be available in Chinese Simplified & Traditional. I'm not sure what languages will be in the full game from the start, but I'll definitely add them later.

Development update

I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback I've received so far about the game, and suggestions you have in ways I can improve it. I've already implemented some of the suggestions and feedback and I'll continue to do so if I think it fits the vision of the game.

What about the future of the demo and the content that will be in?
The content that will be in the demo is already mostly in. 4 missions, I might add another one if I feel it's needed but no promises there.

There will be one more major update with the free play -> random map content, with more control over the generation, but other than that the demo is already mostly done content-wise. There will be updates with QoL, polish and bugfixes as I continue developing and finding things.

I will also continue adding new languages that I have translators for, there are already several in the queue.

Full changelog

New features

Added tactical pause, you can press space bar or click on the pause/play button to pause or unpause the game
Added Chinese simplified and traditional languages

Improvements

Added an intro cutscene when starting a new game to give more information about the setting
Improved unit targeting system, they should behave better now when deciding where to shoot from
Added Sfx when a building is built
Added Sfx when a building is deconstructed
Added Sfx when the auto spawn is toggled on a fabricator
Added Sfx when the unit target selection is active on a fabricator
Added Sfx when the unit type is switched on a fabricator
Added Sfx for the text typing (cutscenes and communication inside a mission)
Added Sfx for building destruction
Added Sfx for the HQ transformation
Added Sfx for the allied mining base transformation
Added Sfx for the allied mining base flight
Replaced Sfx when the player tower shoots
Replaced Sfx for the alarm in the tutorial
Replaced Sfx for the space shattering in the tutorial
Replaced ambient Sfx of the mobile HQ unit
Replaced Sfx of the enemy laser tower
Replaced Sfx of the player laser bot
Replaced Sfx of the enemy laser bot

Fixes

Fixed keybind not removed when a fabricator is deconstructed
Fixed keybind not triggering when a tool was active (build, pattern detect, deconstruct)
Fixed keybind trigger not firing when hovering over any building
Fixed tooltips not appearing when hovering over UI buttons
Fixed all building explosions to spread out and last more
Fixed quick clicking on keybinding buttons to break camera
Fix free play random, you didn't have to build the HQ first to build other buildings
Fixed conversion art issue with a biome
Fixed enemy basic block damage artwork wasn't appearing
Fixed weird cutscene behaviour that required 2 clicks to continue
Fixed player data screen to show correct data in free play mode