I finished my second campaign, did a little testing, and figured I'd offer a few tidbits of feedback to be chewed over or left hanging.
Firstly, balance seems a bit strange in this game. What defines which bots are chosen as the "end challenge"? In my first game I had Hawkbots, Treadbots and Doombots which overall was quite a challenge between getting swarmed and simply having to kill that many doombots. In the second game the nastiest (non-boss) bots were Tigerbots, which really aren't that tough to deal with. Some playing around a little while ago offered a game where the end challenge was going to include dumbots and invigorated dumbots. Other tests offered some really quite tough-looking opponents. Is there any system to this?
Secondly, the sniper exo seems rather underpowered in the long run. I understand the science and ninja exos offer particular tactical uses on maps which make up for their relative weakness in fights, and let's be honest, the ninja exo with a high enough trap skill and enough mines could clear most levels single-handed with little trouble. The Assault exo offers raw damage and a degree of tactical flexibility with its weapon assortment, the epic Siege has long range, high firepower and area effect, and by comparison, the epic Sniper has similar ranges, but less flexibility about it (no shadow torpedoes), significantly poorer firepower, and limited area effect options. In the early game it's useful for its long range, but the epic version is seriously lacking compared to either the Assault or Siege. Didn't try the Brawler, so can't comment on that.
Thirdly, still with balance, I really do think the balance between different bots is a little too far off. Dumbots, invigorated dumbots, and hidebots, along with maybe a few others, are almost completely negligible as dangers. Wyvernbots and doombots are comparative horrors, wyvernbots not least because there are always lots of them when there are any. Although I played both games with a ninja exo, I suspect that avalanchebots and pantherbots would probably be even more horrific to face without one, while with a ninja exo, they'll basically clear the map for you at pretty nearly zero risk.
Fourthly, and moving away from balance, the power generators on the last map are a nice idea, but a little wonky in practice. As I said, in my first game, I had treadbots and hawkbots, which knocked out pretty much every generator long before I had any sort of real chance to do anything about it. I'll grant that it didn't matter so much because I wiped the map, and then had a single lone dumbot to face on the second round, and well, one dumbot's not likely to be a really serious threat. In the second game, I managed to keep most of them safe, but found myself with a one-square width corridor between me and some bots, as well as the exit, and this corridor was blocked with a power generator. I had to destroy my own power generator in order to complete the level. Self-defeating is the best description, but outright idiotic is a pretty close second. Again, I wiped the map, and there were no leftovers, so it mattered even less than the lone dumbot from my previous game. Still, it really doesn't seem right.
Fifthly, I understand the reason for having leftovers carry over to a second map on the final showdown, but facing a lone dumbot was pretty hilariously silly. In the case where there's going to be "spillage", could a larger chunk be siphoned off for the second round?
Finally, for all the criticism, it's lots of fun to play! I'll probably go and play something else for a while now, but if you release an expansion, I'll be happy to shell out and then use it.
