Gremlins, Inc. (tuxdb.com)

Five years ago, our development team launched Gremlins, Inc. on Steam in Early Access. Since then, we released over 100 game updates that introduced new content and new features, as well as balanced the existing mechanics, and it seems like you guys have appreciated it: Gremlins, Inc. is now owned by over 700.000 players on Steam, and a thriving player community that we love dearly. When we designed and developed the game in 2014-2015, we were rather naive. Thankfully, with the feedback from the community and through constant game updates, we were able to wisen up along the way, improving the game based on what players enjoyed the most. And youll be happy to know that the whole of this year we were working on the tools that will allow us to improve the game further, and in a much more radical way than before!
Some surprises that we discovered in the last 5 years:

Less than 20% of Gremlins, Inc.'s audience speaks English as their native language; most players speak the other 12 languages that the game supports (from Japanese to French). We grew up thinking that English language and American market are responsible for the success of any game, but this does not apply to our case!
50% of all sessions played in Gremlins, Inc. are played in single-player mode. When we released the game in 2015, it didnt even have single-player mode! But once we realised that this is what players want, we rolled it out and its been in much demand. Today we make two big steps forward with this mode (details below).
Goodwill can move mountains. Like many young developers, we werent very flexible at the beginning, and the more people criticised our decisions, the harder we stuck to them. But then, an amazing thing happened: a friendly community of players from Japan, Russia, China and other countries sprang up, and asked for the same things nicely! So instead of explaining how this cannot be done!, we started looking for solutions, and found a way to make almost everything happen.

And now lets go over the major changes that come with todays Autumn Update as well as with the new DLC Agents of Chaos:

SPECIAL 5TH ANNIVERSARY CONTENT

As always, we see the games birthday as a chance to give you something back!

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Gremlins, Inc. on Steam, we commissioned a new original music track from A.Fruit which sends you back in time to the earlier days of the game. Nostalgic tune will be available to everyone in the game for the next two weeks, at which point it will transition to an item that you can get for free from the in-game chests.
We also asked our artists, Monika and Rita, to create a new main menu background that features some of the favourite gremlin items from the cards in the deck. Everyone will see this background in the game for the next two weeks, and then it also becomes a free drop. See if you can spot every object in this background, and identify the card that it comes from!

BOTS 2.0

Its no secret that AI bots occasionally made some unexpected moves in the game. We finally got around to updating their logic, and correcting a bunch of mistakes that they typically made in complicated situations!

the bots are now generally smarter beware!
bots no longer discard their starting hand at the start of the session
bots are now much more careful when choosing Misfortunes: they will choose the worst possible Misfortune for their opponent, and the best possible for themselves
bots now better understand the rules of different spots and locations: for example, if they have money to spend, they will pay to increase their chances of success on Tribune, and they will generally stop entering locations where they cannot achieve any meaningful result
when bots plan their way around the playing field, they now take into consideration whether or not theres a Misfortune spot on the way; moreover, if the session is played with open Misfortunes, then the bots will actually consider the Misfortune thats expected to happen to them along the way
bots are now more conscious of their income, and will try to match the income of other players by investing more aggressively at the Bank
most importantly, bots are now much better at judging the other players and identifying the most dangerous opponents!

We hope that you will enjoy Bots 2.0 in single-player challenges as well as in your multiplayer sessions where these bots will now replace human players that dropped out.

RANKED LADDER 2.0

During the last 2 months, we discussed with the community the change in how rating points are calculated in all ranked sessions (details). As the result of a very constructive discussion, we agreed that for all duel sessions the old rules will remain in force; while for sessions with 3 or more players, the new rules come into force from November 1, 2020.

MODDING TOOLS & UPDATED CARD DESCRIPTIONS

We continue to work on the advanced modding tools that will allow everyone to change not only the values and the effects of the cards, but also values and effects of characters, spots and location, and weve made great progress on this direction. The tools are already working properly here at the studio and we need just a bit more time to translate them and prepare them for the public release. This will allow the community to create such custom sessions as weve never seen before! As a part of the preparation work, weve re-written a lot of card descriptions, because they must now be flexible enough to allow modifications. For example, a description that said Skip your next turn becomes Skip turns: {X}, because through the modding tools you will soon be able to set it to skipping 2, 3 or more turns, if you wish and so on, across the whole deck. Dont be alerted when you spot these changes, and please let us know on the Discord server if you find some mistakes!

NEW CARDS

Honorary escort and Dice-roller are now in the game! Honorary escort Location: Police spot Cost: $150 Move points: 4 Type: Secret Get: malice +1 Special rule: Choose an opponent. Teleport to their spot or location.

Dice-roller Location: Gamble spot Cost: $50 Move points: 3 Type: Normal Special rule: Roll the dice. Get $100 for each card in your hand that has the same number of move points as the number on the dice.

CHANGES IN SPECIAL CHARACTER ABILITIES

After long community discussions, the Banker gets a whole new set of abilities: Personal cashback When you spend $ to play a card, you immediately get back 20% of the amount paid. Instant dividends When you use the Bank to increase income, you immediately get back 100% of the amount paid. Money makes money When your income is increased through any means, it additionally increases by 3. Sale of shares When you land on a Bribe spot, you can sell 10 income for $100 (income that you receive due to active permanent cards cannot be sold). If you do that, you don't pay the bribe.

These new abilities are significantly more flexible, and will allow us to fine-tune them further once we see the statistics of how this character is used after the change. These abilities also allow players more freedom when playing for the Banker as this characters income is now no longer so much tied to the specific spot of Income and the specific location of the Bank.

CHANGES IN CARDS

False Testimony

The effect of this card got somewhat weaker. The player of your choice no longer loses money and will be arrested only if their malice is higher than yours. Demonstration

The effect of this card now scales with the number of players in the session, which makes the card more versatile and balanced for the specific session where its used. Devils Due

With the change, this card gets the flexibility that was requested by the community for a long time. Now you choose the specific resources that the player of your choice loses, so you can use this card to achieve different goals depending on the context. The Common Fund

This change is not as significant as the other changes above and just harmonises the mechanics. Now the money is issued at the start of each players turn, rather than at the start of the round.

AGENTS OF CHAOS

We havent released a new DLC since 2017, but with the 5th anniversary of the game coming up and with the major progress that we achieved with the modding tools and with the updated AI bots, we finally were able to do something experimental: Agents of Chaos brings you a new single-player campaign that contains 12 duels with modified decks and cards as well as with modified playing field rules. Previously, such a thing was simply impossible to dream of! In addition to the campaign, this DLC also gives you the following unique items:

12 new character portraits and player tokens of gremlins transformed into Agents of Chaos
Trail of Chaos, probably the most dangerous token trail in the game
The Governor of Chaos, a Governor frame that inspires both fear and respect
Touch of Chaos, a unique emoticon that illustrates the transformation of a regular gremlin into something more sinister!
Gates of Chaos, a new original main menu background
The Beat of Chaos, a new original music track that packs as much of a punch as all the other tracks combined!
Agent of Chaos, a medal for player profile that is yours to keep to scare away potential trouble-makers.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1438000/Gremlins_Inc__Agents_of_Chaos/ If you enjoy Gremlins, Inc., you can support our further development efforts by purchasing this DLC we rely on the sales to continue updating the game with new features and new content!

WHATS NEXT?

Over the coming months, were going to be busy with a number of things:

preparing the modding tools for release to the community: its a big task, but were going to get it done, so that you can try to bend the mechanics of Gremlins, Inc. whichever way you want!
creating two new cards for the Winter Update. If you have some ideas, please share on the games official Discord server!
prototyping a possible new DLC tentatively set for February 2021, which may transport gremlins into cyberpunk Japan! Were still exploring the possibility: think of aesthetics of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe, think about Japanese heavy metal, neon signs, and an ambience straight from AKIRA done in close coordination with the Japanese community of the game. Would this be something up your valley? Please let us know in the comments!!

With this, we wish you and your families to stay safe, and to join us in celebrating 5 years of Gremlins, Inc. on Steam heres to 100 more game updates, and heres to reaching 1 million players one day, and heres to 5 more years on the platform!

With thanks and lots of love from Vilnius Old Town, The development team of Charlie Oscar

[ 2020-10-21 17:14:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Gremlins, Inc.

Alexey Bokulev Developer

Yukitama Creative Industries Publisher

2016-03-10 Release

Strategy Singleplayer Multiplayer Tags

Game News Posts: 364

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse

Very Positive (6227 reviews)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/369990

Steam Store

The Game includes VR Support

Public Linux Depots:

Gremlins_Linux [957.92 M]

Available DLCs:

Gremlins, Inc. – Uninvited Guests
Gremlins, Inc. – Digital Artbook
Gremlins, Inc. – Automated Competitors
Gremlins, Inc. – Astral Gamblers
Gremlins, Inc. – Famous Figures
Gremlins, Inc. – Print & Play, Companion Card Game
Gremlins, Inc. – Agents of Chaos

This is an intense strategy board game in a steampunk world of corrupt capitalist gremlins who compete for money, political power and prestige. Save and invest, steal and extort, arrest and get arrested – in single-player and multiplayer modes, with ranks and ladders. Unleash your inner gremlin!

HOW DO YOU PLAY THIS GAME?

Gremlins, Inc. is designed for 2 to 6 players, in multiplayer or in single-player mode (with AI bots). Each player has 6 cards on their hand (replenished from the same deck), and uses them to move around the playing field and to perform a number of different game actions. There is a lot of interaction with other players, and duels are significantly different from 3-player or 4-player games. You play for score limit, or rounds, or for time limit in custom or ranked sessions (with matchmaking by rating). Password-protected private sessions are also available.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO PLAY ONE SESSION?

The game offers different session settings to make them fit your available time, and single-player mode offers automatic Save/Load function at every turn so that you can take a break whenever you want (multiplayer mode offers re-connect functionality as long as the session is still in progress). A quick duel for 20 score points with a fast timer can finish in under 20 minutes, while a 4-player session for 60 rounds can last for 2 hours or more.

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES?

There are different types of cards in the game (permanent, regular, secret and criminal) and as each card can be used either to move or for action, you will develop both short-term and long-term strategies for making the most out of where you are, and what you have in your hand. Normally you spend half of your game time accumulating things, and another half controlling other players (stealing, arresting, making them pay a fine, initiating player conflicts, and so on). The more you play, the more new strategies you will discover, especially when combining the effects of several cards played in a row.

MAKE DECISIONS, PLAN YOUR MOVES

This is an intense strategy game: make decisions at every round! Plan your moves, then adjust to the actions of the other players and new cards drawn.

The design of the playing field and the layers of optional features allow for a variety of strategies. The more you play, the more roads to victory you discover, using a combination of features based on the particular setup of the session.

The game offers a resource system that allows for many comebacks even after you're robbed or arrested (or both). With score, money, votes, malice, income and bribes, the tension remains until the very last round.

In this game, you have to be mean to win: not letting the others to score is as important as scoring yourself. The only true moment of unity in a multiplayer session is when everybody's united against the player who's about to win the game. Earn and steal resources, set traps, arrest, initiate Player Conflicts, bluff and climb up the political ladder to become the Governor.

The multilayer mode of the game features a system of ratings, ladders and ranked sessions: compete in a specific league, and take part in the regularly organised tournaments (normally, over 1,000 players participate). A system of anonymous masks allows everyone to compete on equal terms in a ranked session, so that you can't really disregard someone as a newbie player, or target a veteran as your prime suspect in a political race.

In addition to the multilayer mode, the game offers 9 single-player challenges plus the option to create custom single-player sessions with different AI bots (with each major update, we keep adding new challenges).

FACTS & FIGURES

The game currently features 169 cards in the main deck: permanent, regular, secret and criminal, each with a hand-drawn steampunk illustration (with each major update, we keep adding 1-2 new cards to the core deck).

The game also features 34 telegrams of Misfortune in the Misfortune deck: send and receive events that may disrupt another player's plans, or significantly improve your own standing (with each major update, we keep adding 1-2 new cards to the Misfortune deck).

Chaos Cards: an optional set of 6 cards available to every player in the game, that changes the dynamics of the session.

Special Character Abilities: an optional feature that enables 12 sets of abilities unique to each character type, which then defines the core strategy of every player.

There are 11 locations – the Office, the Plant, the Dump, the Marketplace, the Inferno, the Jail, the Casino, the Court, the Treasure, the Bank and the Astral Plane – and 7 spot types – Danger, Gamble, Police, Income, Bribe, Misfortune and Tribune.

The game took us three years to develop from concept to Early Access and to full release, and we're committed to the continued support of the community and development of new features and new content. It is the brainchild of Alexey Bokulev, the acclaimed creator of Eador.Genesis. There are currently over 35,000 players of Gremlins, Inc. on Steam from all over the world, including USA, Russia, China, Japan, UK and France. Collectively, players launched over 400,000 single-player and multiplayer sessions since the game's full release in March 2016.

FINALLY, WHO ARE THE GREMLINS?

You think that’s just a pocket watch in your hand, a watch that’s a bit late because you keep forgetting to wind it up? No, no and no – you couldn’t be further from the truth! What you carry around is a whole gremlin town packed into this tiny mechanism: a town with its own bank, its own casino… and even its own jail! Gremlins are the microscopic creatures that inhabit any mechanism that they can possibly infiltrate. If a watch or a telescope malfunctions, then it’s probably due to gremlins who took up a residence there.

More than anything in life, gremlins value money, political power and prestige: prestige that one can claim after completing some sort of a grandiose engineering project. Aside from working on their own projects, gremlins mostly spend their time preventing other gremlins from building something even more grandiose. This they achieve through bribing officials and lying to the electorate, as well through stealing from their competitors - and outright arresting them.

A DISCLAIMER (JUST IN CASE)

We felt it important to note that Gremlins, Inc. is not a free-to-play game. Also, this is not a CCG or TCG: you do not need to buy boosters or packs, in every session the game offers the same deck to every player, and everyone's chances are equal.

OUR DLC POLICY

We remain committed to the principle of continuously updating the game with new features (e.g. special character abilities) and new content (e.g. new cards, new Misfortunes) that come in the form of regular updates that are FREE for every owner of the product. At the same time, from time to time we create and release fun stuff (animations, character portraits, alternative music themes) that is not related to the game mechanics, as paid DLCs. If you like it, you can support our efforts by your purchase. However, there is absolutely no pressure to own any of the DLCs in order to play the game or compete in the tournaments.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ONLINE CONNECTION

Gremlins, Inc. was designed as a digital board game with the multiplayer mode at its heart. This is not to say that we don't like single-player – we do, and there's a separate section with the single-player challenges as well as the mode where you can create any custom single-player session that you like. However, the architecture of the game is built in a way that allows us to continually update the game mechanics and AI logic, which for this reason is processed entirely on the server side. Therefore whether you play Gremlins, Inc. in a single-player mode or in a multiplayer mode, your game client needs to be connected to Steam, and game's server, at all times. If you are looking specifically for a game that can be played offline, then Gremlins, Inc. in the current state is not the right product for you. An offline-only version of the game is currently in development for release later in 2016.

AMSTERDAM AND SINGAPORE SERVERS

The game currently supports 2 separate servers: Amsterdam and Singapore. Players are able to check their ping value for each of these servers, and play on the server that is the most convenient. Each server has its own player ladder, statistics and player profiles. Most players choose Amsterdam, since ping to Amsterdam from anywhere in the world rarely exceeds 300. However, as we saw more and more players from the Asian region join the game, especially from China, we added the server in Singapore in order to be able to offer faster connection specifically to these players. We hope that this works well for every player, as good player experience is our top priority. We will continue to monitor the quality of our server/client connection in order to adapt the servers to the changing requirements and we thank you for your patience.

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: Intel PentiumMemory: 2 GB RAM
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: internalNetwork: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 1 GB available space
RECOMMENDED SETUPOS: Ubuntu 12.04+
Processor: Intel Pentium 3+ generationMemory: 4 GB RAM
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Geforce 9XX or AMDNetwork: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 1 GB available space

💰 Games on Sale 💰

GAMEBILLET

[ 5944 ]