The captains and map updates gave me a lot of pretty new content to showcase, so I thought it was time for another trailer! Wishlist Hex Gambit: Respawned on Steam today.

Just added to the beta: 9 total maps (three 2 player, three 3 player, and 3 four player with 2v2 versions of each!), plus a new tile type to enjoy: springboard barriers. Use them for cover, then hop right over when you’re ready to fight.

Here’s a breakdown of the new map themes:

• Battle Hall: The vanilla version of Hex Gambit. Lots of open spaces around the pillars for tapping.
• Courtyard: Crowdsurfing chaos with springboards galore.
• Forest Ruins: Close quarters maps for the battle-inclined.

Other fixes and changes in 0.1.4:

• Swapped the Cancel and Accept buttons for controllers!
• Swapped Violet for Abbacus in the demo (because the cursor starts on him, but he was locked, which was awkward, and it was easier to just switch them than to make the cursors start in different positions for the demo and the main game)
• Demo’s 4 player/2v2 map is completely new. Its other maps have springboards added.
• Adjusted Lolli’s AI to be less picky about using his Captain’s Gambit.
• Bjorgolf’s AI is now more picky about using his Captain’s Gambit .
• Brute’s AI now takes Inspire into consideration when using Wrecker.
• Fixed a bug with being able to crowdsurf the ghosts of dead frozen characters.

What’s new with the Hex Gambit: Respawned beta this month? 5 new captains to play with, and all 10 Captain’s Gambit powers are working! Your Captain’s Gambit will be familiar for those of you that played the original HG: it’s a power you can use when you’re losing to help you catch up.

Those of you enjoying the demo (see the link above) can also update to try the Gambits for the demo captains.

Here’s a rundown of those powers:

• Abbacus: Hard Reset – Replace a minion with a fresh copy.
• Bjorgolf: Cold Make Stop – Freeze an opponent for a turn.
• Dr. Superior: Alter Fate Itself – Summon 3AP from the celestial void of cheating.
• Grim Drake: No Mercy – Readies all cooldowns and lets moved units go again.
• Hexpert: Glitch – Add 3 to any unit’s health, even above their usual max.
• Lolli: No Backsies – Swap a minion with your enemy.
• Molera: Immolation – Destroy your own minion and gain 2VP.
• Penny Miser: Take a Penny – 1 damage to all enemies.
• Salvador: Protect – Make an ally invincible for a turn.
• Violet: Smackdown – Reduces any minion to 1HP.

Here’s what else is new:

• Option of choosing No Captain with random loadout.
• Pacifist’s Pacify now costs 0.
• Fixed a bug with dying minions being crowdsurfable
• Fixed some bugs with AI targeting/move use
• Fixed a bug to let you undo a Player KO (when you kill all their minions and cover the spawn).

Did you miss my Steam Game Festival stream of Hex Gambit: Respawned yesterday? Had something better to do at 3pm on a weekday? Don’t sweat it, now you can watch the rerun at your leisure.

Don’t forget to grab the demo while it’s up and play it for yourself! And if you haven’t already added HGR to your Steam wishlist, there’s no time like the present! That would really help me out.

Not in on the Hex Gambit: Respawned beta? Then don’t miss your chance to grab the free multiplayer demo today! It’s part of the Steam Game Festival, where you can grab demos for tons of other upcoming games, too.

You might even find someone on our discord channel to Remote Play a live match with.

Developer livestreams and chats are another part of the festival, and I’ll be streaming HGR tomorrow (June 17th) at 3pm Central on our Twitch channel. Drop by and ask me anything!

For anyone that has Hex Gambit: Respawned beta access: I just tested Remote Play and it works great for live online matches!

If you and a Steam friend both have HGR launched, right click them in your friends list and invite them to Remote Play.

You’ll all share the mouse and keyboard for your turns. The first controller that’s connected is still considered P1 by the game no matter which computer has it (that’s just how HGR does controllers). Additional controllers that any of you connect are P2, P3, P4, and those don’t share control with anyone. That’s important for the controller assignments on the setup screen.

I just got a new computer for the first time in 10 years, and noticed some issues when the game is running at super high framerates. Here’s a patch for our beta testers!

Fixed:

• AI minions occasionally tried to attack targets that were already dying.
• Motivator could intimidate spawning units.
• Camera controls work better on faster computers.
• Main menu hex background would spin really fast on fast computers.

For our Kickstarter backers currently enjoying the Hex Gambit: Respawned PC Beta, a big update is out today!

The AI now uses every minion class, and has a spawn pool just like yours. That means you can play a REAL match of Hex Gambit against 1-3 AI opponents, all by your lonesome! The captain you choose for your AI will determine which minions you’ll face, so each battle gets a slightly different flavor.

If 1v1 against the SmarterAI is proving too easy for you, try giving them a handicap on the captain select screen for added challenge. I’ve also had fun playing free for all matches against 3 of them. They’ll gang up on you sometimes and steal your kills!

You can wishlist Hex Gambit: Respawned on Steam today! That would really help me out, as more wishlists increases the game’s visibility on the store.

If you’d like an invite to the Hex Gambit: Respawned PC beta, I’ve got a few spots left! Send an email to contact at onemanleft.com with Hex Gambit Beta Request in the subject to apply.

Coming Next: Captain ults to help struggling players make a comeback.

Remember when I said I’d try rebuilding Hex Gambit from scratch as a couch multiplayer game? Well… it’s called Hex Gambit: Respawned, and you can wishlist it on Steam today, if you like!

It may lack the online features of the original, but it’s going to have a lot of new stuff to offer in the way of AI, single player content, and controller support. Here’s what’s in the beta, going out to Kickstarter backers today:

Version 0.1.0

• Local (couch) multiplayer, 1-4 players
• Full controller support with flexible controller sharing options
• Add 1-3 Easy or Smarter AI opponents to your match (soldiers only for now)
• Free for All & 2v2
• Player handicaps help new players compete against veterans.
• Unique maps for 2, 3, and 4 player games.
• 5 Captains to choose from, each with a unique minion loadout.
• 7 Minion classes
• 7 team color variants
• Nostalgic placeholder music.

Coming next version: the rest of the minion AI will be hooked up. I’ll probably add some captains, and may get to mock up some single player challenges.

The post I really want to write might come a little later than usual, so I thought I’d chime in with this interim update on the Hex Gambit reboot.

I’m fixing things up for a PC Preview Build, coming soon for our old Kickstarter backers!

This isn’t technically the game you backed, that came and went and died an awful death, but you all deserve a copy of whatever I’m making now. I do not have the distribution details figured out yet, but I plan to let all the old backers in on this, regardless of the platform you chose for the original game. Here’s what’s coming:

PC Preview Build Features

• Local (couch) multiplayer, 1-4 players, 0-4 controllers
• Free for All & 2v2
• Player handicaps let noobs play against veterans.
• Unique maps for 2, 3, and 4 player games.
• All 7 original minions are playable by humans, some with new moves!
• The AI uses soldiers only, but is responsive and fun to spar against.
• At least five captains will be ready to choose from, each with a unique minion loadout.
• Share controllers however you like: Everybody shares, or P1 and P3 can share controller 1 while P2 has his own. Crazy stuff like that.
• 7 team colors to pick from: Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, or Black & White