BRIGADOR KILLERS: THE COMBAT BUILD
Today, we bring you v0.2 of Brigador Killers: The Combat Build.
There have been a lot of changes since the last update over a year ago. Several of those changes were the development of multiple systems that were not exciting on their own. However, we're now at the point where those systems can combine into something substantial, and we hope you see the potential of them in this build.
The theme of this build is combat. Twenty six new weapons are fully functional and ready to fire including various pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, explosives, a grenade launcher and an RPG. You will be needing them - because the AI will be shooting back.
Visually, a lot of placeholder sprites have been replaced with new renders, which were teased a month ago in this video. The soundscape is a lot more lively with the new missions containing never-before-heard music by Makeup And Vanity Set. What this build doesn't have is a lot of tutorials, so this explainer hopes to fill that gap.
Lastly, please keep in mind that Brigador Killers is still a work in progress - we are aware of a lot of issues and appreciate your patience as we work towards resolving them. You are welcome to leave feedback in the #brigador_killers_chat channel on our Discord server.
Installation instructions
Brigador Killers is Windows-only currently. You will need to own a copy of Brigador Killers on Itch and be signed with your Itch account. If you bought a copy previously, Itch should have sent you an email informing you that a new build is available for download. Itch has a dedicated support page to help you check for your existing purchases. The build can be downloaded from the store page when signed in.
To access the build:
- Download the Brigador Killers zip file on to your computer
- Extract the contents of the zip file to a location of your choice*
- Double click the brigadorkillers.exe application file to launch the game
[* If you are extracting this zip file to the same location as the previous build and overwriting old files, then before launching the game we recommend that you delete the profile.json that is located in the same folder as brigadorkillers.exe.
Deleting the profile.json will reset the binds to their new default bindings for this build, and a new profile.json will be created. Bindings can be adjusted in the SETTINGS from the main menu.]
The main menu should display BRIGADOR KILLERS v0.2 in the top left. If your copy does not launch to the main menu or you receive some kind of error message, please visit the #bk_bug_reports channel on our Discord server and include details about your system specifications.
When you reach the main menu for the first time, click NEW GAME to get started.
Movement and controls
After clicking NEW GAME from the main screen you will be taken to your first mission in Metfoal Shores.
These are the default key bindings, and can be rebound by pressing Esc on your keyboard, going to SETTINGS > BINDS.
Movement on foot is relative to the direction the player character is currently facing (AKA "tank" controls).
W - Forward
A - Strafe/Turn left
S - Reverse
D - Strafe/Turn right
Move your mouse cursor around the screen to change the direction the player character is facing. Driving an agrav or a mech follows the same rule, while you need to press A and D to change the direction of a wheeled vehicle. Other movement controls include:
Left Ctrl, C - Press to crouch/uncrouch the player character and temporarily zoom out the camera (can be changed to a press by changing TOGGLED CROUCH in SETTINGS > GENERAL).
Left Shift - Sprint on foot or boost a vehicle's forward movement for a short time.
Z - Tap to dive in the direction of your mouse cursor. Hold to remain prone.
Mouse wheel up/down - Zoom the camera in and out.
New to this build is inventory interactions and dialog windows. The default bindings are:
E - Open containers, enter vehicles, use healing items and advance dialog
Tab - Open/close the Inventory screen
A dialog window looks like this when it appears and will briefly pause the game. Press E to advance the dialog and return to the action.
Things that can be interacted with will be marked with an interact prompt when both the player character and the mouse cursor is close.
Opening a container displays the inventory screen of your character on the left and the container on the right. In this image below, the briefcase contains a set of binoculars, a Catfish pistol, and some 9mm FMJ ammo, while the player currently has nothing.
Each item can be individually transferred to the player's inventory by left clicking the item in the list on the right and left clicking a location on the player's inventory. There are several inventory shortcuts:
Left Shift + Left Mouse Button - Transfer a moused over item from one inventory to the other (space permitting).
Right Mouse Button on ammo stack - Split the stack in half, taking the larger number if uneven.
Right Mouse Button while actively holding an ammo stack - Place one round from the held stack into the inventory
Left Alt + Right Mouse Button while mousing over an ammo stack - Take one round from the ammo stack in the inventory instead of selecting or splitting all of the rounds (useful for heavy items like RPG rounds).
Left Alt + Left Mouse Button while actively holding a large ammo stack - place a regular stack of ammo from the selected (varies depending on ammo type).
Left Shift and Left Alt are the default binds for MENU MODIFIER 1 and MENU MODIFIER 2 respectively and can be rebound if needed.
Equipping a weapon
Once a weapon is in the player's inventory, it needs to be equipped to a weapon slot. The player has three slots available to them - two Main slots for weapons such as rifles and shotguns, and a sidearm slot for a pistol-sized weapon.
Currently in this image the player has nothing equipped in any of the weapon slots, which are grayed out and labelled [EMPTY].
Using Left Mouse Button to select the pistol, all three weapon slots change color, meaning the pistol can be equipped in any slot marked [EMPTY]
Using Left Mouse Button to assign a weapon to a slot will change that slot from [EMPTY] to a black and white silhouette of the equipped weapon.
Close the inventory by pressing Tab and your weapon and ammo counter will display in the top left.
Typically after equipping a fresh weapon you will need to reload it by pressing R on your keyboard. Different weapons will need different ammo types. So long as ammo for a weapon is in a player's inventory, the weapon can be reloaded and fired.
Aiming and firing a weapon
With a weapon equipped in a slot, the player can ready the weapon by holding Right Mouse Button. Doing so will cause a reticle with an aim cone and a dotted line to appear.
This is the free aim state for the player. The dot at the end of the reticle is the location of your mouse cursor. If the dot color is green, that means the player's firing line is not intersecting with any solid object. If the dot color is red, something is in the way of your sights, like a piece of architecture, a vehicle or an NPC. If an NPC is moused over with the cursor, they will be highlighted.
Hostile NPCs will be highlighted red, while non-hostiles and empty vehicles will be highlighted in gray. Brigador Killers has both a "soft" target lock and a "hard" target lock when aiming. By default, the soft target lock will loosely lock their aim to whatever NPC or vehicle is moused over, but the player can easily change targets by moving the mouse cursor.
Pressing Q to LOCK TARGET while mousing over an NPC or vehicle is the "hard" version. The player character will not break their aim until either the target is dead, or the player presses Q again to release the lock on. We recommend using the soft target lock for a smooth experience, but multiple options to enable and disable the aiming and weapon behavior can be found in SETTINGS > GENERAL.
Fire the selected weapon by clicking Left Mouse Button. The red and orange aiming cone will give you an idea of the accuracy bloom of the weapon. A weapon's accuracy is affected by how stable the player is. In other words, your gun accuracy will generally be much better when shooting from a crouched position, and it will be much worse when moving around.
When you are done with Metloaf Shoals, find the green exit marked END MISSION. You will be presented with the extraction screen showing you what was acquired during that mission.
Click Continue and you will be taken to the hideout. Returning to the hideout will unequip all weapons on your person.
Mission deployment
After clicking CONTINUE from the extraction screen you will be taken to your hideout. Press E to interact with the nearby mission computer.
This will open up a list of missions. Double click a mission in the list and the red exit labelled NO MISSION SELECTED will change to green and be renamed to the mission you have just selected. Walk the player character into the green exit to be taken to that mission, but before that you will want to gear up.
Containers in the hideout
There will be a number of containers in the hideout containing weapons and ammo for you to use. These containers act the same way as the briefcase from earlier, displaying a prompt if they can be accessed.
The hideout containers hold different weapons and ammo for them.
Weapons held in the player character's inventory will be brought along to a mission after exiting the hideout.
Vehicle inventories
Vehicles can be used to bring heavier weapons along to a mission. For instance, if you don't have enough room on your person for a Bonesaw and an RPG launcher, you can simply store them in the backseat of a car. Open your own inventory with Tab when next to a vehicle and you should also see the inventories of things near the player character.
Swap between the available nearby inventories by clicking the arrows at the bottom of the right panel. For example, this shotgun is on the ground.
The vehicle's inventory will also be brought along to the mission, as long as the player gets in and drives it out of the hideout.
Picking up guns and NPC inventories
Armed NPCs will usually drop their weapon on the ground after being eliminated.
You will see a silhouette of the weapon and a prompt to pick it up if the player character has enough inventory space. Pressing E will add the weapon to the player's inventory. Holding E will auto-equip the weapon if the player has a free weapon slot available.
To examine the inventory of a dead hostile NPC, press E when facing the body, or press Tab when in the vicinity.
Healing items
Some enemies may also hold medical bandages or items of food that can be used to restore your health. To heal, mouse over the healing item in an inventory and then press E when the HEAL SELF prompt appears.
Packets of food will only restore one point of health, but bandages will restore 10 points.
Entering and exiting vehicles
Where available, vehicles can be entered by tapping E. You will know if you can drive a nearby vehicle if you see the name and an ENTER prompt appear on screen.
As mentioned earlier, wheeled vehicles have a slightly different movement method to walking on foot. W and S will move you forward and backward, but you will need to press A and D to turn left and right instead of using the mouse cursor to change your direction.
You can exit a vehicle by holding E. Be careful of exiting vehicles at speed.
Stop reading and have fun
Check out all the available missions, mix and match loadouts, and try to survive the enemy encounters. Even if you don't - no worries. Your hideout won't run out of the weapons or ammo you have available, and you'll be able to try again.
Feel free to let us know what you think of the Combat Build in #brigador_killers_chat on our Discord server.
