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The once peaceful surface of Mars has decayed into a violent battleground between arms corporations and Earthly governments.
To join the fight would be crazy. To survive would be downright psychotic.

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Landsword is a top-down mecha shooter with a heavy emphasis on destruction and gameplay that combines elements from classic shoot em' ups with contemporary action-stealth games.


Featuring fully destructible environments, players must use their wits and surroundings to outsmart and defeat enemies in combat, while still retaining an arcade feeling to its gameplay.


This early prototype demo currently includes seven different missions with fourteen different weapons to choose from.


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"D3DXCompile failed / Fatal Error in Vertex Shader Compilation"

Upon starting a mission, you may encounter an error screen that says a shader named shd_outline_old failed to compile. This error only occurs because your computer does not have DirectX9 or later, so please see if your DirectX driver is up to date or installed at all. You can download the driver patch directly from the Microsoft website. This will fix any shader compile errors if you are having them, and should work on any Windows version (including XP and Windows 7, 32 or 64 bit)

  • If you are having the same issue on a Linux emulator, please use Winetricks to install the DirectX patch and then try again.
  • A dedicated Linux build will also come eventually, but currently I do not have the ability to compile one.

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This demo is 100% free and the game is a work in progress, but any donations will go to paying for a proper soundtrack and some additional programming help for things such as shaders.

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Wishlist the game on Steam!

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StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows
Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
(475 total ratings)
AuthorMezzSoft
GenreAction, Shooter
Made withGameMaker
TagsDestruction, mecha, Mechs, Pixel Art, Sci-fi, Shoot 'Em Up, Short, Tanks, Top down shooter
Average sessionA few minutes
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
LinksSteam
ContentNo generative AI was used

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

Project Landsword Demo Build V.0.8.2.zip 41 MB

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 686 · Next page · Last page

You can solve directX problem to download d3dcompiler_43 or d3dcompiler_47 into game folder

(2 edits) (+1)

salut mon ptit chou ^^,si le jeu sortirait sur steam,il sera gratuit ou payant ?Et attends mon ptit chouchou^^,tu sais  je suis suffisamment aisé à créer des perso fictifs(surtout du camp ennemis dans le jeu,et qu'ils seront majoritairement des bosses[concepts])et faire des dessins sur eux,donc stv jpeux les partager ici

Bonjour. L'idée est de finir le jeu et de le sortir sur Steam à un prix modique. Et merci pour votre proposition d'aide, c'est très gentil. Je ne peux pas promettre que quoi que ce soit sera intégré, mais n'hésitez pas à partager vos illustrations de fans ou vos concepts de boss, ça ne me dérange pas.

(1 edit) (+2)

how long do you think will take till the next update?

(+1)

one century

My past estimates were incorrect, so I think it's best to avoid giving more false dates at this point. The game is actively being worked on though.

Just found this game again after a year and got sucked in right away, hahaha, It`s nice to see it wasn't abandoned. This game is also an inspiration for a novel i'm currently planning to write and i would like to learn a thing or two about the lore and further plans. Is there a way to contact you or maybe there is lore and info about the setting posted somewhere? Thank you, dude.

(+1)

Thanks for the kinds words, and nice to hear it inspired you!

Is there a way to contact you or maybe there is lore and info about the setting posted somewhere?

It's being worked on, but for now there's not much I can really share. Next update should have more information about the world though.

is there going to be a sandbox mode to play around with in the future?

Maybe!

(+1)

Finally got S in all my mission , i am ussally a railgunner , i am ussually a fast paced maneuvering type fella so the issue i am been facing is sometimes the mech goes right instead of left and and this happend atleast twice my keybord seems fine so idk and as railgun has pretty low ammo missing shots is annoying

Nicely done! I'll look into the keyboard problem, but I haven't encountered it in testing.

it would be nice to know how well you are doing or what rank you have when redoing level kind of like how it is in ultrakill

(+1)

and also about the name of regions of your version of Mars,Martian bases's names,and also the main characters,i can suggest you are a French guy,like me,but Catholic too.(lol jk)And the more important thing i want to add: will the game have new bosses and bots,but also Bio-weapon like hornets loaded with M249 like gun or some ideas like this,like if there will be level on Mars's Cave or Mars's Moons

Bosses for sure, but I can't promise any of the other things, sorry.

yes ok ,yes!

If I may ask will there be a multiplayer mode and endless modes ? this seem like the perfect game for it.

Possibly an endless mode at some point. Multiplayer is very low priority currently, it'll be a lot of work to set up I'm afraid.

(1 edit)

Hey MezzSoft, got a few questions and suggestions after playing for a while:

  1. Sometimes missiles and rockets just slam into the ground instead of reaching distant targets, which makes long-range attacks kinda unreliable. Is this intended, or could this be improved?
  2. Aircraft seem able to detect and attack units hiding inside smoke. Is that a deliberate design choice, or is smoke supposed to fully block targeting?
  3. Any plans to buff the Mark-7 autocannon and the GAU-678 rotary cannon?
    Right now the Mark-7 feels worse than the XM-4 Smartgun in almost every way except fire rate, and the GAU-8’s damage feels a bit underwhelming.
  4. I noticed the mech turrets have something mounted on both sides that looks like smoke launchers or maybe an APS. What exactly are those, and are there any plans to expand their functionality?
  5. A lot of players feel that mines aren’t very useful at the moment. Maybe you could take some inspiration from real-life systems like mine deployment vehicles?
(+1)

Thanks for playing!

Sometimes missiles and rockets just slam into the ground instead of reaching distant targets, which makes long-range attacks kinda unreliable. Is this intended, or could this be improved?

This may be a glitch, I know locked-on missiles currently do not fly over buildings to hit flying targets, but in the next build it should be patched.

Aircraft seem able to detect and attack units hiding inside smoke. Is that a deliberate design choice, or is smoke supposed to fully block targeting?

This is intentional, but I will likely change it as the whole smoke system needs to be revised entirely.

Any plans to buff the Mark-7 autocannon and the GAU-678 rotary cannon? Right now the Mark-7 feels worse than the XM-4 Smartgun in almost every way except fire rate, and the GAU-8’s damage feels a bit underwhelming.

Almost every primary weapon in the game I've actually buffed either in damage, ammo, or sound since the public release. The next demo will have way more powerful feeling weapons along with some new ones.

I noticed the mech turrets have something mounted on both sides that looks like smoke launchers or maybe an APS. What exactly are those, and are there any plans to expand their functionality?

If you mean the Mantis mechs, those are missile tubes mounted on their sides which they fire at you. If you mean the player's mech, the M97, then those are probably the smoke dischargers.

A lot of players feel that mines aren’t very useful at the moment. Maybe you could take some inspiration from real-life systems like mine deployment vehicles?

It's indeed the least popular weapon in the entire game. I have some ideas on how to fix it though, and the next build should have it replaced entirely.

Deleted 5 days ago

Hmm, the player's mech already have smoke dischargers. 

From what I can tell, the smoke dischargers mounted on the sides of the turret look more like the type that deploy smoke around the mech itself, while the smoke grenade version that we use works more like a mortar, firing smoke rounds to create a smoke screen at a distance.

Because of that, maybe it would make sense to make the built-in smoke dischargers a default defensive system (close-range, self-cover), and let the equippable smoke launcher focus on its unique role as a long-range smoke deployment tool?

It is possible to add sound-sensing mines similar to those in Battlefield 6.

The above text uses translation software.

(+1)

Extremely fun game, very satisfying explosions and weapon choices. I have been unable to figure out how to spend money or upgrade my hull, I believe these aren't possible yet. I beat every level on S difficulty, given the range of the weapons it wasn't the most crazy challenge but it gave some replayability. I'd love to have more levels to play with, more maps, more enemies, more hulls. Very excited to see where the game goes, and I wish I had the graphics talent you do, the style is impeccable

Thank you very much for playing and the kind words! Great job S-ranking every mission too. There's a lot more planned and being worked on right now, stay tuned!

(+3)

This is an excellent game and I'm really enjoying it. I'd like to propose a small improvement: currently, mechs retain the same appearance regardless of the weapons they are mounted with. It would greatly enhance the gameplay experience if mechs displayed distinct visual changes when different weapons are equipped. Thank you for your consideration!

(+1)

I agree that this would add to the immersion. I don't mind waiting for this though.

I'm also think that would be very very cool

Thanks for playing! I'd like to add sprite variations for each of the weapons too, but I'd like to make sure every weapon is fully implemented in the game before I do it.

Will the placeholder map for mission 2 be replaced in the coming update?

(+2)

Hopefully it will. I've been wanting to replace the map since the first release with it, but I've had some difficulty figuring out how to remake it and create appropriate assets. I might end up making a completely new mission entirely and save the grubs for a different one.

(+2)

Nice. Even though I like that mission already. It's a nice change of pace during the mission cycle.

(+1)

Thank you very much for your effort. I replayed every level of the demo many times and tried my best to achieve the highest possible S rank on each one (I still have not completed the S rank for the final). This is the best top-down mech shooter I have played since Brigador. I sincerely hope your development goes smoothly, that you are able to complete everything you have planned, and that the game will eventually be released on Steam.

Speaking of Brigador, do you have any plans to include significantly smaller and larger human enemy units/vehicles in the game, in addition to the more common standard-sized mechs and tanks (such as the player’s current Crawler and the vast majority of enemies encountered so far)? I noticed that in the comments you mentioned the possibility of larger enemy tanks/vehicles and even large bosses, which I am very excited about.

At the same time, you also mentioned that infantry units would be too small to display properly at the game’s current visual scale—possibly reduced to only a few indistinguishable pixels, so you do not plan to include standard infantry, which I completely understand. However, I would like to offer a more practical suggestion: powered armor / exosuit units. These could be clearly smaller on screen than the smallest mech or Crawler, but not so small that their silhouettes become impossible to recognize like ordinary human soldiers would be (something similar to the 3–4 meter-tall armored suits in Armored Trooper VOTOMS). Equipped with autocannons and rocket launchers, these powered armor units could perhaps serve as the smallest and most numerous human enemy type in the game, usually deployed in groups and posing a threat that the player cannot ignore.

Of course, this is only my personal suggestion for the game’s development. If it does not fit your plans for the future, please feel free to ignore it. Finally, thank you again for your work. I am really looking forward to the next development log and the next demo update.

This sounds pretty cool! To go along with that though, I'd like to see the machine gun that the Minotaur has as a usable secondary weapon. The reason for this is that you could use the machine gun to take out the power armor units and other small vehicles effectively without having to waste primary weapon ammo on them.

Thank you for playing the demo and your kind words! A full Steam release is planned, but it will be some time.

Do you have any plans to include significantly smaller and larger human enemy units/vehicles in the game, in addition to the more common standard-sized mechs and tanks (such as the player’s current Crawler and the vast majority of enemies encountered so far)? I noticed that in the comments you mentioned the possibility of larger enemy tanks/vehicles and even large bosses, which I am very excited about.

There could potentially be much smaller enemies now since I've reworked some of the user interface to make the target highlighting a bit easier to read. Powered armor units would probably be around the size of the bison you see roaming around the fifth mission, if not slightly larger. I'm not entirely convinced they'll be readable enough at a glance, but it's certainly something I want to experiment with and see if it works. Having very cheap cannon fodder enemies to space out battles with harder ones like the Minotaur would be nice.

Finally, thank you again for your work. I am really looking forward to the next development log and the next demo update.

Thank you again for the kind wishes and interest! I'm still working hard on the game, but development has been a rather slow process.

(+1)

solid old skool anime fun!

Cheers!

(+1)

very solid, the only thing i missed was an accuracy counter.

(+1)

Good idea!

I have a weapon idea that's probably not very good, but here it is anyways; a mortar. This would be a main weapon that's like the grenades, except more explosive, and you can charge it to make it go further.

Could be OP. On the other hand it will suck in cqb.

(+1)

It would definitely suck in cqb, which would hopefully balance out how powerful it would be. As I said though, it's not the best idea, it's just the only idea I had left. I was just putting it out there to make more room in my brain.

It's been requested by a few different people, so I'll try it out. I can't promises it'll make it in though, I think the ten grenades that players have now work only because the count is so limited.

I'm not expecting it to make it in, I was just throwing my last idea out there. I really don't mind if you don't end up adding it.

will the game have more verticality?

Everything in the game is completely 2D so it's a difficult thing to do, but we'll see what happens.

(+2)

I know this upload is a bit late, but I wanted to share my gameplay of Mission 7: Laser Tunnelling. I previously uploaded some of my gameplay on YouTube and I hope you all enjoy watching it.

In this gameplay showcase, I navigate through the high-intensity challenges and precision mechanics of the mission. I also got to experience the latest update with smoother controls, enhanced visuals, and improved enemy AI.

Great work on the game!

You can watch the gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfTEX_NMrKg

you can also do it with the flamethower

Oh nice, thanks for the tip! I didn't realize the flamethrower could also be used for that. I'll definitely try it in my next run. Really enjoying the mechanics and different ways to approach the mission.

thanks bro for sharing this helpful video,i now know that we can destroy walls with dajjal

(+2)

Glad to help! I'm happy the video was useful. The game has some really interesting mechanics, and it's fun discovering different ways to complete the missions. Thanks for watching!

np

Thanks for playing and making the video! I'll probably leave the destructible walls in even though it doesn't make much sense. It adds more gameplay opportunities and people seem to find it pretty fun.

(+1)

You're welcome! I really enjoyed playing the game and making the video. I think keeping the destructible walls is a great idea. It definitely adds more gameplay possibilities and makes the missions more fun to experiment with.

Looking forward to future updates. Great work on the game!

(3 edits)

ok,its been 1 month and several days that i play this game and i've discovered recently that there were an easter egg in the pad,in the interface when you click in the F1 button.you can play a game named "serpent.exe" .So after this discovery,i was asking if there were other easter egg,like hidden level or mech,so developper,is there other easter eggs?If yes could u tell me pls if its a mech or a level!And also about the game,is that a group or a single developper making the game? 

i also forgot to show the full  walkthrough of the game's levels

pad? what?

yeah when you choose your desired level

Deleted 13 hours ago
(+1)

Thanks for making a video. There's only one easter egg with the PDA right now, nothing else I'm afraid.

(+2)

Definitively one of those hidden gems.

Deleted 29 days ago
(+6)

I'm afraid you'll need to ask someone else to do that...

Deleted 29 days ago
(+1)

will there be a boss in the upcoming update?

add FRAUD THIRD: DISINTEGRATION LOOP jumskare lol :3

Possibly, it would be nice. I can't make any promises though.

(1 edit)

One more thing, if you're far enough away, enemy mechs won't notice you shooting at them. At least that's the case with the railgun.

(+1)

Thanks for letting me know, I'll see about patching that.

I have one more suggestion; there should be some fortified buildings with enemy anti tank emplacements on top of them, so that we actually have a reason to blow up buildings, other than dopamine.

Also it would be cool if we could have a bazooka as a weapon.

(1 edit)

I know that we already have rockets in game, but now that there are more secondary weapons, I think it would be cool if we had a rocket launcher as a main gun. You don't need to add it, but hey, it's an idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It might be too similar to the smoothbore cannon in the game now I'm afraid.

Fair enough. I'll let you know if I have any more ideas.

(+1)

This game is so fun that I made this account specifically to say how good it is! :)

Thank you!

(+5)

I am in love with this game already, it feels like it has elements of many different games and executes them really well. Will 100% be buying it on Steam when it releases!

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for playing and the kind words too.

(+2)

I have no words to describe how much I enjoyed playing this game! It's really well made from the visuals to the sound and of course the gameplay itself. I had a great time playing it! Really looking forward for the full release. :)

(+1)

Glad you liked it, thank you!

(+1)

This is actually the best game ive ever played from itch 

Cant wait to buy this on steam when it actually releases

(+1)

That's very kind, thank you!

(-2)

when updaTE,and what news?

(+6)

It'll be out when it's out. I'll also be putting a new progress report up when I have some more interesting things to show.

(+4)

Hi!

First of all, your game is gorgeous. It's literally the best indie mecha performance I've ever seen. I've put about 10 hours into the demo this month. And now I have a question: are you guys all perfectionists?

Secondly, I only found one minor bug. On level seven, if you don't grab the container, you can actually just push it yourself and move it without setting off the alarm.

Anyway, thanks for your hard work — can't wait to see more!

(+1)
I've put about 10 hours into the demo this month

Jesus, that's a lot, haha. That's almost as much as I play testing it.

I only found one minor bug. On level seven, if you don't grab the container, you can actually just push it yourself and move it without setting off the alarm.

I hadn't even considered that being a possibility, thanks for letting me know!

Anyway, thanks for your hard work — can't wait to see more!

Thank you!

(+2)

good mech

Thanks for making a video!

(+1)

Hello just checking in to wish you good luck on finishing this game ! 

Appreciate it, thank you!

(2 edits)

Hello;good,i'm still playing this game and other related to near future,and i have some idea:

1.maybe bosses or more stronger bots will be added in the new levels

2.if there will be new level,will it be only in Mars or Phobos and Deimos Moons,like before going to Phobos Levels,we should extract ourself in a launch station.And after,we can proceed to play next level with different environments and Mechs.And also during the flight Mars to Phobos,a pixel screen(1990 VHS style) can be shown istead of a 3d animation,showing how long it will take to arrive at the moon.

2.bis.And for the Level transiting to Phobos,it is a airport like map,infact its a space launcher station with many buildings,and facility

3.Characters controlling Bosses:like Valerie Vomer,can new personels with differents mech or also new enemy personels can be added?And for the enemy one before extracting ourself in Phobos(if concept accepted)possible to add a boss named Deadhawk ?(full name : Chenthan Deadhawk,with a Grey beret in intel when she/he talking)will appear from underground at the surface when every opps died,and

has controlled missile launcher,Spyder bomb ,autocannon and can call for backup to Osprey-like Heli's if the player escape/hide too long from it,and also Thermal Vision against Mechs that can turn invisible(take time to attack at them)(about her physique,musuclar,200cm,blue grayish eyes and black long hair)

4.Various Mechs to choice for player and "ejecting system":if its possible,can you add air mechs?and about ejecting system,this feature is only for a new agressiveless mech if added,it consist to get ejected from the mech when it has no more layer,so at the mech's agony(the pilot will physically be shown as 1 pixel thingy,and we can only use a new mech by being behind enemy mech and interacting so we can steal the pilot's mech,yes its like in GTA but also in movies,stealing someone's vehciule by opening the door and throw out the pilot,LOL).

ty bro

Deleted 40 days ago
(+1)

I hope this game don't die.

(+1)

Development is continuing, don't worry.

I really see this game doing well with a roguelike system similar to FTL. we could be tasked with liberating mars on a journey to the centre of the rebels activty.

That's sort of the idea I'm playing with right now; the plan is to go around doing tasks and fighting various factions with different motivations rather than a single bad guy.

(+1)

This was really fun to play I S ranked every level besides the last one (A+ ;-;). I would like to see ranking on every stat so I know what I need to do to get S ranks more consistently. I cant wait for more (I literally made an account to comment lol)

Nice job S-ranking the six missions! I've only managed to S-rank the last mission a handful of times myself, mostly by cheesing things with the smoke bombs. Right now the only things you have to worry about are hits taken and the total mission time. If you take longer than four minutes it starts to subtract from the final score.

I cant wait for more (I literally made an account to comment lol)

Thank you!

I love this game so far. The only issue I have with it is that the enemies are too hard to see occassionally, and I end up bumping into them without noticing. In addition, I do not think there is enough juice in tandem with actually killing the enemies, it doesn't feel as good as it should. So far, really great. You should definitely increase game feel with the killing, however.

Thanks for playing!

 I do not think there is enough juice in tandem with actually killing the enemies, it doesn't feel as good as it should.

What do you have in mind for more juice?

I feel like you could add more UI effects, and more targeted, better or cooler explosions for specifically killing the enemies. More screenshake is also a good idea.

Noted, thank you.

Will a digital artbook featuring Val, crawlers, creatures, and other data be available on Steam?

(+1)

Eventually. I'd love to have an artbook of all the designs made, but it'll be a while.

(+3)

Just want to wish you a successful completion of your game, without burning out and falling into scope creep, while having a lot of fun in the process. Seeing how this project develops is a ton of fun. Though, I'm a bit afraid that with all those suggestions from community your personal project vision might dilute.

(+1)

I appreciate the kind words and the concern. While I do save and try to consider every suggestion people write to me, at the end of the day I'm still developing this game for myself. If I wasn't, it would probably be finished already...

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