Strategic Mind: The Pacific

[Asid]

Weekly Intelligence Report #1
Mon, 13 July 2020

Weekly report to keep you up to date with all the latest data



General!

Our undisputedly best in the world intelligence service has established the weekly reports to keep you up to date with all the latest data. Our agents will prepare a briefing on all the events, discounts, and news related to the Starni Games.

As the Chief of Staff, it is paramount that you have impeccable information on the ever-changing situation.

Strategic Mind: The Pacific 30% off — weeklong sale

Our undercover agents managed to infiltrate the Steam Store. They timely report that 13.07.20-19.07.20 there will be a hefty discount of Strategic Mind: The Pacific!

-30%  £23.79  £16.65


Strategic Mind Franchise Soundtrack is not what it looks like

At first, our agents thought that this was just an ordinary soundtrack announcement, but it turned out that it is only the tip of an iceberg.

Starni Games wants to greatly expand the existing soundtrack and improve it in future projects. So, the logical decision was to join forces with the community - 100% net revenue from soundtrack sales will go into its expansion.

If you buy the current version - you will get all the future track as well with no additional fee. When you buy the soundtrack you get all the current and future tracks, both gameplay and cinematic ones. You also help us create more tracks.

So, it is a win-win scenario.

Additionally, you get all the tracks in both mp3 and wave formats, so if you value quality recordings you can get the original files.

More detailed research can be found in our intelligence service library:


Starni Games were spotted at the Games Gathering 2020 Odessa game conference


Our agents in Ukraine informed us that the Starni Games top brass were sighted at the secret event held despite pandemics.

You can read the full report in the above post

However, here are some more jucy details for you.

After the conference conclusion, our agents tailed to said individuals to a unknown location where only the elected circle was admitted - to the afterparty.

Taking down a couple of sentries (they are alive) the agents managed to get exclusive footage of this secretive event and took pictures of Strani Games developers plotting their insidious plans.



Looks like a regular party at first…



...but this is where all sorts of sinister plots are devised. This time we overheard the developers planning to conquer the whole world.

This is it for this week’s report.

Strani Games intelligence service

[Asid]

Developers’ Diaries #1 by Starni Games
Wed, 29 July 2020



New VO and mocap setup


Hello guys!

Creating games is a challenging, creative and exciting process.

We decided to share with you what happens behind the scenes in our new series
of articles — Developers’ Diaries by Starni Games.

Recently, we have announced our next project Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism (to be released in Q4 2020). We are already working full steam on the project.

Last week we tested a new setup for mocap and sound recording: we tested two different microphones to decide what is the best way to record sound and animation for Spectre of Communism. Additionally, we had to decide whether to switch to an adjusted production process for mocap and VO.

We tested two microphones: stationary studio mic and DPA microphone lavalier.



Microphone lavalier is used on TV and in TV-series if the actor has to move a lot during the recording as it is very convenient and moves with the actor.

Studio stationary mic is used for music recording, podcasts and radio. It is fixed in place and cannot be used by a moving actor.

Despite the stationary mic providing finer details of the voice, we decided to use the lavalier mic as it offers high quality recording while also allows movement. It is extremely important for us as we will use the motion capture technologies to record the movements and facial animations of the actor and then transfer them to the game character. If we use a stationary mic, the sound will drop if the actor turns his head away from the mic to look at the other character.

Our cinematic director Constantine tries out the some of the motion capture equipment setup:



Our COO Oleksandr is adjusting the helmet with an attached Iphone, which is used to capture facial animations:



Some weird stuff happening during the tests. The good thing is that the issue was quickly solved:




The results of test

We decided to go for a new technical setup.

Old production process
Motion capture + preliminary VO made by one actor for all characters.
All other voice actors had to fit the preliminary VO and lip sync during the final VO.

Planned production process
Motion capture + final VO at the same time by every actor. We think this way the voice and animation will be a better match. The time will tell.

We hope that these adjustments and new mic will help us deliver the cinematics of higher quality in the upcoming project.

The VO + mocap sessions will start soon. We will keep you informed about our progress.

Your Starni Games team

[Asid]

Developers’ Diaries #2
Wed, 19 August 2020



Units’ speech review. Part 1

Since Panzer Strategy development we wanted to add unit lines — some things units will say at random commenting on the in-game events.

During the Strategic Mind: The Pacific development we finally had enough voice actors and other resources to fulfill our long-time plan.


The units' speech has arrived!

We added over 700 unique lines for the US units and over 700 lines for the Empire of Japan units.

US units

1. "The US military is the most professional".




2. "We stand for democracy".




Japan units

1. "What does the Empire want us to do?"




2. "My life for the Emperor!"




3. "Imperial Air Service".




We strive for diversity

Every class of units had its own set of lines and triggers, like: selection, movement, attack, killing an enemy, forcing the enemy to retreat, low/out of ammo/fuel, enemy spotted, etc. Here are some of them:

1. "We running out of ammo. Arrows won't fly if the quiver is empty".




2. "We running out of fuel supplies, Sir".




3. "Enemy down!"




Unique in everything!

We had 12 core classes for each side, and a special class — B-29 bombers for the US and kamikaze units for Japan.

B-29 bombers

"Superfortress at your service!"




Kamikaze units

"Banzai!"




HQ skills

We, also, added lines for HQ skills usage:

1. All guns ready!




2. Get ready to fire again!




3. Verifying the enemy's location.




Yes, Sir!

We wanted the lines to be quite diverse — not to get repetitive fast. Yet there are only so many military commands, lines like “Yes, Sir”, that would sound 100% natural.




At the same time, hearing “Yes, Sir” all the time sounds really boring. So, we decided to experiment and add a wide range of phrases, some of them of humorous nature.




Community feedback

The community reaction varied — many did not like our approach. We think that those who do not like unit lines can switch them off in the options easily, while many other players who, like us, think that these lines bring additional diversity and fun into the game can play with them on and enjoy the game even more.

From our experience, when you play the game with units’ speech on, quite often there will be moments when the unit’s comment will fit the situation so neatly, that you start to wonder, is it not directed by some sort of AI? These moments are often quite hilarious.

Please, let us know what are your impressions and experience with the unit speech.

We will tell you more about the units’ speech in Strategic Mind: Blitzkrieg in the next issue of our Developers’ Diaries.

Looking forward to your feedback
Starni Games team

[Asid]

Update 3.04
Fri, 28 August 2020



Polish localization, Leaderboards and Steam Community items added. Bugs fixed.

Polish localization
Added full Polish text localization.

Leaderboards
As promised, we added Steam Leaderboards. Only the progress made after the 3.04 update will be counted.

After each operation, your victory points score is multiplied by the difficulty multiplier (ranging 6-50), allowing you to get up to 20 000 points per operation. All operation scores in one playthrough are added. So, by completing a full campaign on Challenging difficulty you will get 200 000 points out of 400 000 maximum (max custom difficulty).

Community items
As promised, we added Steam Community items: trading cards, badges, wallpapers, and emoticons. If you want to know more about it, stay tuned for the next issues of our Developers’ Diaries, where we will go into more detail.

Bug fixes:
•   Fixed camera centering on the selected unit by double click on it. Previously, it did not work in certain situations.
•   Fixed incorrect descriptions for US global flags with bonuses to Strategic aviation.

Gameplay changes:
•   Doris Miller now requires dealing 20 damage versus aircraft instead of 30. Note that it counts only lethal damage.
•   Added a second trigger to Iwo-Jima’s secondary objective about enemy hideouts. Now, you cannot miss that objective.

We will keep working on adding new features and fixing any issues you report.

With best regards
Starni Games team

 

[Asid]

Update 3.05 “Undo”
Wed, 11 November 2020



Undo move button, optimization, and other features



Admiral!

Today we bring Strategic Mind: The Pacific up to date with the upcoming Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism title. We introduce a most-wanted feature, judging by the volume of players’ requests for it, the Undo move button.

Undo move
Added the “Undo move” button. It allows you to retrace your unit's last movement. It is eligible, only if you want to change your last movement and the movement did not affect the current tactical situation. It is not eligible if: an attack happened, the spotting has changed, the objective status has changed, the unit embarked/disembarked, etc.

Optimization
We are working on optimizing the game performance. So, far we successfully implemented a number of improvements. Some are still underway and will be added in future updates, as we keep working on the Strategic Mind series.

Other changes
This changelog is not an exhaustive list of changes, some minor improvements in other areas were also made, some bugs were fixed, and some localization inaccuracies corrected.
We have also added the widgets of the other games of the Strategic Mind series. While some of you may feel unhappy about it, please, bear in mind that it is the only 100% reliable way for us to let you know about the new title coming up.

We look forward to more feedback from you!

With best regards
Starni Games team

[Asid]

Camerawork in Strategic Mind
Thu, 19 November 2020

Some beautiful GIFs for you to enjoy

Even a war game can be beautiful.

Our cinematic director is doing his best to provide you with high-quality camerawork. What do you think about it? Please let us know in comments.









With best regards
Starni Games team

[Asid]

Update 3.06
Fri, 18 December 2020

Winter clean up



General! In this update, we fix some of the most annoying long-standing issues to enter the new year with our head held high.

Update 3.06

Changes:

•  Fixed major performance issues in all operations where the Radar towers (RLS) were on the map. (Huge thanks to Steevodeevo for noticing and reporting this issue)
•  Reverted experience requirements for all levels to values present at release. Those were raised during the Blitzkrieg release update and not adjusted properly. So, now leveling up units is easier again allowing you to enjoy high-level units. (Huge thanks to asura-223).


We will keep polishing and improving the game.

Looking forward to more feedback

With best regards
Starni Games team

[Asid]

Watch the Developer's Gameplay #4: The Battle of the Coral Sea
Tue, 9 February 2021




🔴 Watch the Developer's Gameplay #4: The Battle of the Coral Sea | Strategic Mind: The Pacific





Hello, guys!

This is the fourth gameplay by our team and it features the Battle of the Coral Sea scenario from the Strategic Mind: The Pacific. This time we delve into the first game of the Strategic Mind series to see where it all began and discuss it with you. Playing the first titles of the series once again certainly brings a nostalgic feeling.

Do not forget to give us your feedback about the game in the comments on YouTube 😉. Leave your questions about gameplay or mechanics — we will record some short tutorials about the game mechanics that are especially tricky to understand.


About Developer’s gameplay series
This is a Developer’s gameplay series by Starni Games. In these episodes the Lead game designer of the Strategic Mind series Oleksandr plays our games with the commentary, explaining the game mechanics and telling you more about the game development process.

👉 Watch all the episodes on YouTube.

[Asid]

Watch the Developer's Gameplay #4: The Battle of the Coral Sea
Thu, 11 February 2021

Watch right now on Steam or rewatch on YouTube


Hello, guys!

Today's broadcast features the Battle of the Coral Sea scenario from the Strategic Mind: The Pacific.


🍪 Rewatch the gameplay anytime you want on YouTube.




About Developer’s gameplay series
This is a Developer’s gameplay series by Starni Games. In these episodes the Lead game designer of the Strategic Mind series Oleksandr plays our games with the commentary, explaining the game mechanics and telling you more about the game development process. Watch all the episodes on YouTube.

Don't forget that you can save 40% on Strategic Mind: The Pacific while it's 2021 Lunar New Year Sale on Steam. The offer ends on February 15:

[Asid]

Update 3.07
Wed, February 24, 2021


Admiral! The year 2021 is upon us and it brings along new game updates.

Changes:
•   The “End turn” button was moved to the top-right corner of the screen to minimize the possibility of clicking it by accident.
•   Reworked lighting during all types of turns: day time / night time, rain, etc.
•   Some visual changes.

Fixes:
•   Mines no longer gain +1 Spotting during the Night.
•   The “Undo” button can no longer be used after the aircraft units landing or take-off.
•   Other minor issues.

This is not the full list of changes that we plan to deliver, so stay tuned for more fixes and improvements to come.

We will keep polishing and improving the game.

Looking forward to more feedback

With best regards
Starni Games team

[Asid]

Developer's Gameplay: The Pacific
Mon, 1 March 2021


Watch live now and save 40% on the game

https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561199070815656
Hello, guys!

"Two" is not only the number of campaigns in the Strategic Mind: The Pacific, but also the number of goodies we have prepared for you on the first day of Spring:

1. Developers gameplay stream.
It features both The Battle of the Coral Sea & The Attack on Pearl Harbor scenarious from the SM: The Pacific. So, you can see us play the beginning of both the US and the Japanese campaigns. Watch it live right now on this page or here.

2. Weeklong Sale.
Save 40% on Strategic Mind: The Pacific. Offer ends 8 March:

[Asid]

Watch the Developer's Gameplay #6: The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Tue, 2 March 2021




Hello, guys!

This is the sixth episode of the Developer's gameplay series by our team and it features the Attack on Pearl Harbor scenario from the Strategic Mind: The Pacific. In this episode, we will take charge of the Empire of Japan and attack the unsuspecting US base on Hawaii - Pearl Harbor. This event has led to the US entering WW2, so at the moment of the attack, it was not at war. This is represented in the operation, as the vast majority of the enemy units cannot fight back effectively in the first few turns. That should be more than enough to let you deal a decisive blow to the enemy base and retreat. Although, if your plan of attack did not get the priorities set right, you might find your surprise attack turning into a complete disaster really fast.

About the Developer’s gameplay series
This is a Developer’s gameplay series by Starni Games. In these episodes the Lead game designer of the Strategic Mind series Oleksandr plays our games with the commentary, explaining the game mechanics and telling you more about the game development process.

👉 Watch all the episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=out9Rh8xRvQ&list=PLnfx9IlBrrg3OsMPTZFVibhGNFphUArQu

If you like the naval battles, don't miss the opportunity and save 40% on SM: The Pacific. Offer ends 8 of March: