- Over 3000 wishlists! First Steam Playtest ending tomorrow. - 18 September 2026
It's been incredible! One article on turnbasedlovers.com changed the whole trajectory of Frost Protocol.Much more important, the Steam Playtest gave me a lot of very valuable feedback, especially from the testers that joined my Discord:Feel free to have a look and say hi: https://discord.gg/c9K8E24pRSince then, I have been working on an update. Working on the game and social media and doing Discord and everything else as a solo dev is really time-consuming -> sorry for the irregular dev updates here.Besides a few bugs, missing QoL, and unpolished systems, my biggest takeaway was that the expeditions need much more work. This is the main point of the game and its design felt shallow and somewhat unclear: You go out to gather resources and then scan some Veyrite and then just mine and do some stuff...For over 1 year, it was clear to me that Frost Protocol should have a mission design, whi…
- Playtest signup closed! Thanks to everyone! - 25 August 2026
I am absolutely overwhelmed by how many people want to playtest Frost Protocol, mainly due to an article on turnbasedlovers.com. Thank you so much!https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/an-xcom-like-strategy-rpg-with-base-management-and-robots-frost-protocol-overview/I didn't expect this many testers and for now, I think there are enough so I closed the signup. I already received valuable feedback and wait for more to create a much better version for the next wave of playtesters!The playtest stays open to everyone with access.To give feedback:Join my Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg4jWwe6n orfill out the form: https://forms.gle/cs9urS21aBJSo5XN7Thanks!
- Frost Protocol Playtest Sign-Ups Are Open - 24 August 2026
The Frost Protocol Playtest is now open!This is the first round of playtesting and an early development build focused on the core gameplay loop. There is a tutorial and 2 expedition maps.If you play, I would really appreciate your feedback:→ PLAYTEST FEEDBACK SURVEY: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtCOrkETh-dHpGrIG9B7h7S1p5uIcL3ojPTx4arwx0M8CRaA/viewform?usp=headerYou can also join my Discord and give feedback there as well. https://discord.gg/tfXcRRYK5The survey only takes a few minutes and helps me identify what works, what doesn't, and what needs more work.Thanks for playing!
- Final answer: Turnbased strategy game! - 2 July 2026
It's been a back and forth with realtime and turnbased concepts. Turnbased strategy games are by far my favorite and I tested this for Frost Protocol in early stages and it simply didn't work well. Why? Because it was a different game several months ago. I implemented so many concepts and mechanics since then that the game became much closer to the vision in my head. But in the end, it always felt... weird... The first change was to switch the homebase from realtime to turnbased. It make everything clearer, every decision more readable and more impactful. It made the code easier and it just felt right.The next logical step was to (at least try to) change the expeditions. They were in realtime and I thought this was necessary since monsters that attack you in realtime increase the pressure very naturally. But I always wanted a second layer: not just pressure but "making tough decisions u…
- It's combat time! Combat mechanics / Explosives / Ragdolls - 20 May 2026
Combat time!I just released Version 0.3.1 which now is open for my current playtesters. Looking for more, so drop a comment if you are interested.Major changes:Combat, enemy spawn (Waves and ambient streams)BOOM! Explosives!RagdollsTrailer (already working on a new one, though...)Ragdolls / Explosives: ExpeditionsI focused solely on the expeditions in the last weeks since they became the most important part of the game. Combat was a bit stiff:Perform tasks with robots until an enemy wave appearsPositions yourself - auto-fire - kill everythingReturn to tasksetc...Sounds boring? Yes, it kinda was... Here are my ways to counter that.RagdollOne thing I always wanted to add, was a ragdoll system to the enemies. I thought it was a lot of work but it actually took less than an hour... No more boring death animations! Still not polished but works well for an early version. It doesn't change com…
- Still alive! Big changes! - 24 April 2026
Back again!I took a break from all updates regarding the game and focused on the game itself.A publisher reviewed Frost Protocol (and decided not to go further with it), which actually gave me a big boost in reworking the game. I took a step back and looked at the game to find current flaws instead of adding new mechanics, resources or something else.One single question helped me realize how to think about any and all mechanics and systems of the game:What is the one word that best describes what the player has to do in the game?I had the answer immediately: PLANNINGThis game is not about luck, agility or perfect micromanagement. I want you to come up with a plan based on the information you gathered and then execute it. Still, there will be random events or unforeseen problems but your plan should always accommodate them.Based on PLANNING, I went through the game, changed or removed sy…
- First playtests done. Updates and further playtests! - 20 November 2025
The first 2 detailed alpha tests are finished and I implemented a few new systems and changes as a consequence.The biggest issue by far was not to know what to do so the biggest change is a tutorial and a mission system. The goal was to reduce the mental stack and introduce new systems one by one instead of starting with every option available. This meant that I had to rework most systems of the game...Changes:TutorialThe player doesn't start with 2 characters but with only 1.The base is dark and the first task is to start the generator. It ties in with the story of the game and some parts are described by shorts texts of narration. Step by step, more systems become available and the complexity rises.Furthermore, this meant to saveguard the player from doing "wrong" things so I implemented dozens of checks that force the player to follow certain tasks of the tutorial. For example:Select…
- Final answer: Turnbased strategy game! - 21 October 2025
It's been a back and forth with realtime and turnbased concepts. Turnbased strategy games are by far my favorite and I tested this for Frost Protocol in early stages and it simply didn't work well. Why? Because it was a different game several months ago. I implemented so many concepts and mechanics since then that the game became much closer to the vision in my head. But in the end, it always felt... weird... The first change was to switch the homebase from realtime to turnbased. It make everything clearer, every decision more readable and more impactful. It made the code easier and it just felt right.The next logical step was to (at least try to) change the expeditions. They were in realtime and I thought this was necessary since monsters that attack you in realtime increase the pressure very naturally. But I always wanted a second layer: not just pressure but "making tough decisions u…
- DevLog #10 - 300 wishlists! - 15 September 2025
300 wishlists!After 5.5 months of development, I gained 300 wishlists. Thanks to all wishlisters! A rather large portion of that came during the last 5 days when I released a new trailer, so check that out!There's also a new updated gameplay video:Sadly, I also got a cold and couldn't work for a few days so there aren't as many updates as I'd like there to be...Changes:RobotsI refined the health system. Previously, there were 4 different components, each with their own health, which was too UI-heavy and complex. Wasn't happy at all so I went back to a simple 1-Health-bar system. The subsystems still exist and can be damaged. But instead of a separate health bar they are now simply damaged or not.Job queue now allows to delete and reorder existing jobs.Energy Refill can be individually set for each robot. Changes of these settings create a job, that needs to be performed by a crew member…
- DevLog #9 - So many changes and updates! - 29 August 2025
Way too long for a DevLog...Finally getting closer to a real alpha build that includes all mechanics and systems on an at least basic level! There are so many new things that from now on I will have bi-monthly devlogs again.I tuned down social media activity and focused more on the game. New Features - Overview:Home base refined: I removed a room I had no real use for (machine room) and rather refined the other ones.Added functionality to the control room: Analysis of weather, monster nests, and alien ore before going to the outpost.Added Mining! Get your mining drone ready and mine this mysterious alien oreAdded monster nests and aggression system (orange bar on the left)Ranged monster. High attack damage but low HP.Robot Bay implemented. Manage your robots, assign abilities, repair, etc.2 robot archetypes: Striker (fast & low HP) and Defender (slow & high HP). Repairs and ability chan…
- 4 months of development! - 4 August 2025
4 months of development!I took a few days off to have a creative pause so there are not as many new things to see this time...Also, I had a few early alpha playtests and the feedback is worth gold! So rather than implenting new systems, I even removed some and refined the core gameplay.During the last weeks and months, I implemented many many many systems and mechanics that were floating around in my head. The plan was to test lots of things and see what works well and what doesn't so for now everything is going as planned.What did I remove and why?CraftingI had implemented a basic crafting system to create items, such as explosives. This meant, I had to have crafting materials (many different ones, otherwise it's pretty senseless) and crafting recipes. This meant a lot of work and a lot of balancing later on. At the same time (and much more important), I implemented base building for t…
- Devlog #7 - Core loop finished - 6 July 2025
Week #13 of development. Amazingly, I did not switch back to turn-based gameplay! It stays real-time. For good.This also meant I could dive deeper into actual game mechanics this time and focus on the overall core gameplay loop. A big change (conceptionally) is that there won't be multiple missions / expeditions anymore. Instead, you have to manage an outpost and expand it. This includes more base building elements and more world exploration, which makes it much more interesting I believe.I just created a new video on YouTube showing some uncut gameplay if you are interested.New Features / Changes:Improved task system at the outpost→ Tasks can have requirements: Items (which you have to find or craft), other tasks (that need be finished beforehand), energy, etc...Resources, Inventory System, and Crafting→ Introduced crafting materials that can be found on the outpost map (by finishing t…
- Devlog #6 - Major Update - 12 June 2025
3 weeks since my last update. Time flies when you work all the time... For those interested in seeing updates more often, check my other social media stuff. So now, it's 10 weeks into development. The biggest change is that I switched to real-time from turn-based. I had to rework all concepts to fit this new system so there's not that much in regard to new mechanics or visuals. Most of the work is under the hood.Why did I do this? Turn-based felt boring. If you look at the gameplay video, your main goal will be to defend your crew / certain positions. In turn-based, this meant: Shoot / Use abilities -> next turn -> enemies move closer -> RepeatAlso, it made the game too tactical and strategic, whereas the atmosphere I want to create should be more dangerous and direct. There still will be a lot of strategic components to combat but they are implemented differently. Missions can / must b…
- Devlog #5 - First closed alpha playtest ready soon! - 23 May 2025
Hi guys! Just a quick update. It takes so much time posting daily on Bluesky, Twitter, YouTube and Tiktok (and learning how to make the content better) that I didn't bother with a new devlog but this here is not for community building but rather to structure my thoughts, ideas, and give you more insights into that. So here we go! 7 weeks into development. New Features / Changes: - New title: Frost Protocol - Cinematic Trailer - Tutorial mission - Base layout - Job system in base - Task UI - New combat abilities + UI updates Details: - Frost Protocol: There is a TV show and a novel titled "Station 11" so I decided to change the name of my game → Steam art rework. What do you think? - Cinematic Trailer → Check it out! It's on the steam page and should give you a feeling for the atmosphere I'm going for in this game. - Tutorial mission → The first mission should immediately show you what t…
- Devlog #4: Combat system updates - 9 May 2025
DevLog #4 – Combat system updates Hi guys! Why am I starting with Devlog #4? Older devlogs are on itch.io (https://atlas-corp.itch.io/station-11) But from now on, I'll post each devlog here as well. This week, i solely worked on the combat system or rather everything related to the expeditions (and I actually stayed with turn-based instead of realtime!) The combat actually seems fun now, even though replayed it dozens and dozens of times... New Features: Combat Abilities Better pathfinding / Simulataneous movement of enemies Task system updates Details: 2D grid system for pathfinding → Changed to A* for better performance Turn manager → All enemies first decide on their path and then start to move -> no waiting for dozens of enemies to move one after another! (This took MOST of the time...) Combat abilites: including UI, animation, sound → Reload: Uses 1 magazine to reload ammo → Line A…
