Molten Steel

Molten Steel is a fast-paced third person mecha squad shooter game currently in development. Ride your VerSA, a construction machine turned weapon of war, to engage in high speed combat as you blast your enemies apart piece by piece. Everything in this demo is at an early stage and feedback on any aspect is welcome! Please familiarise yourself with the controls and tips below, as the gameplay is somewhat different to most third person shooters.

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Briefing

Good morning, rider.

In today's combat simulation, you must destroy the shore emplacements in preparation for the arrival of our main attack force. Practise your mobility controls on the beach before taking on the static (and mobile) defences of the enemy power stations. The mission will be complete when all turrets and generators are destroyed.

Remember, only the swift survive!

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Vertical Strength Armature [VerSA] Control Manual:

Control	Mouse and Keyboard	Gamepad	Notes
Movement	W, A, S, D Keys	Left Thumbstick	-
Camera	Mouse	Right Thumbstick	-
First/Third Person Switch	Middle Mouse Button	D-Pad Left	Hold for Vanity cam
Fire Left/Right Weapon	Left/Right Mouse Button	Left/Right  Trigger	-
Target Lock-On	E Key	Right Thumbstick Press	Hold to release lock
Activate Airskates / Airbrakes	Left Shift	Face Button Bottom	-
Airskate Dash	Space	Left Bumper	Activates skates if walking
Purge Weapon	X Key	Face Button Right	Hold button and 'fire' weapon
Draw/Holster Secondary Weapon	Q Key	Face Button Top	Hold button and 'fire' weapon
Fire Special Weapon (e.g. Missile Rack)	F Key	Face Button Right
Cycle Active Special Weapon	G Key	D-Pad Left
Radio Squad	Left Ctrl	Right Bumper	Select radio command using camera controls, then send using Lock-On button
Cycle Comm Channels	C Key	D-Pad Right	Channels are All / Allied / Critical
Toggle Waypoint Visibility	V Key	D-Pad Down
Pause Menu	Esc, P Key	Start Button	Press again to unpause

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Advanced Control Tips:

• It is critical to move rapidly and unpredictably while under enemy fire. Pump that dash button!
• The lock-on function is essential to maintain fire on your target while engaging in evasive maneuvers. The reticule shows predicted enemy location based on the target's speed and your weapon's projectile velocity. The system is not perfect (which is why we still need you to ride the VerSA) so use the camera controls to manually adjust weapon aim while locked on for both aim correction and specific location targeting.
• Each part of your VerSA takes damage independently. If a part is reduced to 0% integrity, it will be destroyed.
• A destroyed arm will be automatically severed to prevent damage to the power circuit from a current surge.
• Damage to the head will prevent use of the third person camera mode. 
• Destruction of the legs or back-mounted power supply will disable the unit.
• Loss of torso integrity will result in the VerSA (and likely also the rider) becoming inoperative.
• Try to take incoming fire on the frontal armor. Even after its integrity is lost, it will continue to reduce the damage of strikes upon it according to its armor value.
• Conversely, aim for exposed parts of the enemy VerSA for maximum effect.
• Some weapons have special functions (e.g. scope zoom) when wielded in two hands, which may be activated using the opposite trigger button.
• Subweapons can only be drawn with an empty hand. If your weapon is destroyed or no longer useful, ditch it and draw your backup. 
• Purged weapons automatically burn out to prevent capture by the enemy, so they cannot be used again once discarded (much to the chagrin of the Office of Logistics)!
• For maximum acceleration when changing direction sharply, activate the brakes before dashing.
• Hold down the dash button to use 'Overdrive' for a higher top speed when travelling outside of combat. The VerSA will automatically accelerate forwards and directional controls will be locked, but camera rotation can still be used to adjust course. Lock-on can be maintained in this mode but automatic target tracking is disabled.

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If you've read this far, thank you for showing your interest in my game!
It's much appreciated and inspires me to work harder every day.