The Ghost Protocol: Echoes of Steel

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• Patch Notes·2 Sept 2026Official

  Echoes of Steel Dev Update: Expedition Mode & The Road to Release

  Hey everyone! It’s been a little while—I took a brief two-week break from posting updates to keep my head down and focus heavily on development. I'm back today with some major milestones to share as we get closer to the finish line.Here is a breakdown of what’s been completed and what’s coming up next:Expedition Mode is (Mostly) Done! The core coding for our first major game mode, "Expedition," is fully functional. While it still needs some rigorous testing to iron out the edge cases, the main gameplay cycle is alive and working exactly as intended.How Expedition Works: This mode is a survival-progression loop. You drop in with a fresh start, build up your squad of mechs, and improve your loadouts as you push deeper into the run. Your squad will keep getting stronger, and you'll see how far you can survive until your HP finally gives out.Up Next: Endless Mode & Graphics With Expedition's cycle in place, I am jumping straight into the second game mode: "Endless," which will feature both Normal and Hardcore difficulties. Once the backend coding for Endless is wrapped up, I’ll be shifting gears entirely to graphics and visual polish.The Final Stretch: After the graphics pass is complete, we enter the final testing phase. Once the bugs are squashed and the balance feels right, it’ll (hopefully!) be time for the official release.Thank you all so much for your incredible patience and continued support while I bring this project to life.Stay tuned!Nir 8an Studio
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• Patch Notes·15 Aug 2026Official

  Echoes of Steel - Dev Update: Building the Foundation (again)

  Hi everyone, Nir here.You might have noticed I skipped last week's update. August is in full swing, and with the kids home for the summer, most of my time has been dedicated to family! Because of that, I haven't had as much visual eye-candy to show off recently.Sometimes, the most critical work in game dev is entirely invisible. I actually spent about six solid months building the backend architecture for the base game before I ever started making posts to show things off. We're in one of those "under the hood" phases right now, but I have still been heavily focused on planning and improving the core gameplay loop.Here is what is officially up and running this week:Squad Setup: The squad configuration for the game modes is fully ready to go.First Combat Map: We have one completed combat map integrated and ready for tactical testing.The Resorting Phase: This is the big one! I’ve built out the in-between phase where the real strategy happens. After a run, you can now enter the resorting phase for squad refreshing and gear building at the shop, and you can spend your hard-earned points to improve your mech items and level up your AI-Core and pilot skill trees.Thank you all for the continued support while I juggle summer schedules and backend coding. The foundation is getting incredibly solid, and I can't wait to share more visual updates with you soon.I will try to keep things updated, but I foresee the next update occurring at the start of September.Cheers, Nir
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• Patch Notes·22 Jul 2026Official

  Weekly Dev Update: Cooking Blueprint Spaghetti

  Just a quick check-in from the code mines this week! (trying to hold my weekly post promise!)While I would love to show off some shiny new visual assets or flashy combat effects, the reality of solo development is that sometimes your screen looks like this for days on end. I am currently buried deep in the backend, building out the foundational logic for the new Endless and Expedition modes.Believe it or not, what you are looking at is just a "simple" function.All of this tangled blueprint spaghetti is strictly responsible for the Mech gearing up screen and presenting stats. Every one of those crossing wires is calculating the math and the complex crossover synergies between your Mech, your chosen Pilot, the AI-Core, and your equipped Gear.It might look like pure chaos, but this density is necessary to make sure the backend stat calculations and new mechanics play flawlessly before I start putting a fresh coat of paint on the UI.The logic cycles continue! I'll be back next week, hopefully with slightly fewer tangled wires.Thank you all, Nir
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• Patch Notes·17 Jul 2026Official

  Weekly Dev Update: The Logic Cycles & New Game Modes

  Welcome back! If you’re looking for shiny new screenshots this week, I have to ask for a little patience. I’ve been deep in the backend trenches, wrestling with endless logic cycles and code. When you are building every piece of the puzzle yourself, creating the hidden foundations takes time before the paint goes on.While there isn't much visual flair to show yet, I have a lot to share regarding what I am actually building and what you can expect from the future of Echoes of Steel.Expanding the Horizon: Why New Modes?The main campaign is a rich, story-driven experience that I am fully invested in. But the nature of a linear narrative is that once you’ve experienced all the surprises, you know exactly what’s coming. While I do plan to expand the campaign later with a heavier focus on player choice and less linearity, I wanted to tackle replayability right now.Enter the new game modes. These take place prior to the main story, focusing on a completely new cast outside of our main characters. Here is what is cooking:1. Endless Mode (Crash Landing)Your ship has crashed on the planet's surface. The goal is simple: survive the relentless enemy waves for as long as possible until you can finally extract.Normal: A cumulative progression where what you earn, you keep.Hardcore: High stakes. If you die, you lose everything you gathered on that run.2. Expedition ModeThis is a calculated survey and harvesting operation. You land your ship fully prepared for the hostile native environment. You will lead your squad out to excavate, gather loot and resources, and return to base to refit and produce better gear.The choice is yours: push your luck to gather more until you are overrun, or extract safely with your haul.Progression, Loot, and Bragging RightsAs you survive and progress through these modes, you will unlock a growing roster of Pilots and AI Cores (and eventually, new mechs).I am also introducing new, non-basic items into these modes that roll with additional stats, giving ...
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• Patch Notes·12 Jul 2026Official

  Weekly Dev Update: A Strategic Shift, New Modes, and Expanding Echoes of Steel

  Hey everyone, Nir here!As I push forward with development on The Ghost Protocol: Echoes of Steel, I want to keep things entirely transparent with you all. Today’s update is a big one—it involves a shift in the release timeline, but for a very exciting reason.The Strategic PivotAfter some incredibly valuable consultations with fellow game developers and great feedback from a few streamers, I’ve made the decision to postpone the official release of the game by another 2 to 3 months.I know delays can be a bummer when you are eager to play, but this extra time is being put to immediate, highly requested use. The overwhelming advice I received was to expand the replayability and add competitive laddering before launch. Taking this extra time allows me to do exactly that, ensuring that when the game drops, it has the depth and volume you deserve beyond the main story campaign.Expanding the Arsenal: New Game ModesDevelopment on these new features is already in full swing! To give the game a massive boost in replayability, I am officially adding the following modes to the launch roster:Expedition Mode: A fresh, replayable format designed to test your tactical adaptability outside the main narrative campaign as you push deeper into enemy turf.Endless Waves \: How long can your mechs hold the line? This mode will throw continuous, escalating threats your way to test your ultimate squad builds. Gain rewards, upgrade your squad, and dive right back in.Endless Waves - HardCore: For the absolute tacticians. One mistake could be your last. This is where the real ladder climbing will happen—losing a mech means a complete reset for its pilot, AI Core, and gear.Open Testing & The Road AheadThe groundwork for these modes is already laid out and actively being built. Because I want to get these modes perfectly balanced, I will be launching an Open Testing phase as soon as possible. I'll need your tactical minds to break the systems so I can fix them before the official launch. Keep an ...
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