The horrible Construct cyborgs of tactics game Menace are getting a rework for "style" and "variety", while the devs put a bullet in the promotion tax

Surcharges have been Terminated

Grim and grubby mercenary tactics game Menace is getting a big update that removes a "not-so-popular" promotion tax, gives all units the ability to clear away wrecked vehicles, and reworks the major Construct enemy faction, deemed by developers Overhype to be "severely lacking in uniqueness, variety, and style".

Given that the Construct are a faction of slathering robo-zombies, I feel like condemning them for a stark want of "uniqueness, variety, and style" is a bit harsh. Hideously grafted cybernetic abominations aren't supposed to look fresh, playas. Still, this is a bountiful update to a very promising turn-based tactics game – it's now in beta testing, with a planned launch date of 22nd April - and I'm certainly in favour of not being nickel-and-dimed for bumping my corporals up to sergeant.

If you're new to the currently existing promotion tax system, it adds a supply surcharge that increases every time you promote the same character. "This not-so-popular mechanic made sense from a game design perspective, but was very frustrating to engage with," Overhype write on Steam. "It made promoting [a squad leader] feel like a punishment, and also, a last-minute promotion would throw off your well-thought-out loadout for a given mission."

They're balancing for removing the surcharge by increasing squaddie supply costs across all ranges, while reducing their base supply costs. Players will get more base supplies at first, to offset squads being more expensive earlier in the game. Promotions will cost fewer points depending on a character's star level – the fewer stars you have, the cheaper you are to promote. "Overall, this change should make promoting units feel more rewarding and remove some feel-bad moments from the game while maintaining that squad leaders of different quality have different costs," the devs write.

As with an earlier update that introduced a cut wire fence skill, giving all your troops the ability to clear away burning vehicle hulks should make cramped urban maps less stodgy. But the bigger switch-up, naturally, is the Construct faction revamp.

In terms of broad changes, Construct enemies no longer sabotage unit morale with their attacks, as the devs "want to transition them to do morale damage through other means". Construct Drones, for example, scream when killed, giving nearby enemies the heeby-jeebies. They also have more units per element, though they're "less tanky" with lower accuracy. "This is now a proper tar-pit unit that tries to bog the player down and divert attacks and attention from other targets," the devs comment.

Construct Soldiers aren't quite as vicious, though they're still effective anti-vehicle troops – they no longer have rocket attacks, but their heavy repeaters deal more damage to armour. They can also now mark targets for drones and Guncrawlers.

Speaking of Guncrawlers, they now pack rocket launchers equivalent in strength to the player's PAL tier 1, and have a scanner skill that encumbers affected player units with a temporary concealment-reducing passive. Lastly, Shamblers are still "walking grenades", but they have an increased attack range of four tiles and deal more damage to armour.

There's a new "especially powerful" Construct support unit to reckon with, the Master Unit, though Overhype are declining to spoil its workings. You'll have just have to find out by letting it slaughter you come April 22nd. Here's a blurred-out screen of the new foe. Seems... large.

Image credit: Hooded Horse

The Construct faction as a whole have been treated to a disgusting texture rework, "to give them more contrast and underline the dead human body look a bit more". They're also getting replacement loot items, which you can use in the Workshop.

Nic's (RPS in peace) verdict on Menace pre-release was "I'm cautiously optimistic about enjoying some absolutely horrible things happening to pretend soldiers I've grown to care about". Julian put this conclusion to the test after the early access launch, and duly got his ass kicked by a bunch of pirates. It certainly seems to be coming together in early access, though I'm not sure it's yet eclipsed the developer's previous Battle Brothers.