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Dropzone (F2P Mech MOBA/RTS with 15 minute matches) launches on April 12

There's no new trailer, so here's the Early Access launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g82oochuGf8

http://www.pcgamer.com/dropzone-the-15-minute-mech-fight-rts-is-going-free-to-play-next-week/

We selected Dropzone, a competitive RTS/MOBA hybrid that limits matches to just 15 minutes in length, as one of our favorite games of PAX West in 2016. It debuted on Steam Early Access in February in a $20 Squad Edition, but it's been designed from the beginning to be free-to-play. And soon it will be: Developer Sparkypants dropped a major update today that adds new Team 3v3 and 1v1 Ranked Draft modes, and announced that the transition to free-to-play will happen on April 12.

Team 3v3, which Sparkypants said is the "number one community-requested feature," is a simpler way to play that lets each person control a single unit rather than putting all three into the hands of one, so players "can quickly learn the controls and dive straight into the fight." The new Ranked 1v1 mode, on the other hand, is aimed at advanced players, and puts a much greater emphasis on the importance of Pilot, Rig, and Gear choices during the pre-match drafting phase.

The update also incorporates a new Party System and in-game chat, adds "Multi-queueing" to help streamline matchmaking by enabling players to search for multiple types of games simultaneously, and fixes various sorts of bugs. There are still some known issues to be dealt with, a full breakdown of which you can get in the patch notes.

Ahead of the move to free-to-play, Sparkypants has put the paid versions of Dropzone on sale. The Squad Edition, which includes access to all Pilots available at launch, is half-price, dropping it to $10/£8€10, while the Commander Edition, with all Pilots now and in the future as well as some other bonus stuff, is 55 percent off, taking it to $18. Sparkypants didn't specify how the free-to-play release of the game will differ from the paid versions, but it did warn on the Steam page that "in future releases players will start with significantly fewer Pilots and a limited Gear selection. Cosmetic items are exclusive to these bundles and will not be available for purchase separately."

http://www.pcgamer.com/our-favorite-games-of-pax-west-2016/

Made by the creators of Rise of Nations, Dropzone is a competitive RTS that removes base building in favor of micro. You control three mech units at once that respawn, level up, and have abilities like a MOBA, but matches are limited to 15 minutes and are point-based. You score points by killing neutral monsters around the map and cashing in the glowing purple orbs they leave behind at a turn-in spot at the center of the arena. The macro is shifted from split-second build order timing to how you choose to outfit your mechs before a match and which you pick in the draft phase.

The biggest problem Dropzone will have to overcome is public perception. It's a F2P game that looks a lot like StarCraft in gameplay videos, and sounds a lot like a MOBA in its description. Aesthetic similarities aside, Dropzone is going to be incorrectly put behind the mental barricade of ”another F2P MOBA" by a lot of players before they even understand what it actually is—which is a shame, because it's one of the freshest takes on the 1v1 competitive RTS I've seen in a long time.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/572520

Hasn't been doing too hot in EA: http://steamspy.com/app/572520
 
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