Hive War - a fan expansion for Into the Breach by NotSoLoneWolf
What is Hive War? This mod contains, as it's core content, one new enemy, the Hive Warrior. But this isn't any enemy you've fought before. The Hive Warrior possesses the ability to Breach through time, and hunts the mechs through the multiverse on an eternal quest to seize their timepods.
The Hive Warrior arrives in a new timeline to find the Rift Walkers in possession of the timepod
Unlike most enemies, the Hive Warrior possesses two weapons. A standard melee attack, and a special reflex weapon that can be automatically fired at any approaching mechs. Health is now far more important, as against the Hive Warrior, it takes a careful plan of attack to avoid triggering reflex fire.
The Steel Judoka are in a tricky situation as they engage the Hive Warrior in a pitched battle
Finally, the Hive Warrior also improves itself each island, upgrading its stats and gaining a special 'evolution'. These are six different randomized upgrades that radically change its existing abilities and the way in which the Hive Warrior must be engaged. Each timeline, you will face a familiar face with fresh challenges for you to confront.
(Unfortunately, two of the evolutions shown here had to be cut, but they may be re-added in future versions)
Fair warning, this mod does make the game significantly more difficult. Enemy spawns are reduced when the Hive Warrior is present, but the Hive Warrior is still a significant force on the field. Failing the objective to defeat the Hive Warrior will NOT disqualify you from earning a perfect island, but that doesn't mean you can just ignore it. I highly recommend installing Patch Me Up and Better GridDef to make your life less frustrating. Also grab Into the Wild because it's a damn good mod (edit: unfortunately it's not updated for ITB 1.2 yet). Hive War is of course compatible with any and all custom squad, pilot, and enemy mods.
Hive War features eight custom achievements for you to unlock
Originally, I wanted the Hive Warrior to drop unique weapons, but Into the Breach unfortunately doesn't allow mods to modify the player's inventory. So I had to do the next best thing - edit the loot pool. So I created the Timepod Launchbay, which allows you to modify the loot table for your next timeline, tweaking the possible drops that you will see inside timepods or from island corporations. It was in fact so good that KartoFlane and KnightMiner adapted it and it's now part of the latest Mod Loader! To access it, on the main menu click Mod Content then Select Weapon Deck.
If you want to see the mod in action, check out this playthrough by speedrunner NarD! Keep in mind, it's an earlier version of the mod, all bugs you see should be fixed, such as the Hive Warrior not spawning on the third island, and the AI crapping out and standing next to an instakill tile. There are also tutorials now to explain everything better, unlike in this video where NarD missed a few mechanics.
Installation
1. Make sure Into the Breach is up to date.
2. Find your Into the Breach directory. If you are playing ITB under Steam, this directory can be found via Steam Library -> Right Click Into the Breach -> Properties -> Local Files -> Browse Local Files.
3. Grab the mod loader on this page, and follow the instructions there to install the mod loader.
4. Download this mod (link below) and unzip/extract it to the mods folder inside your ITB directory.
5. Run the game.
6. Go to your options and make sure Tutorial Tips are turned on.
7. Enjoy the mod!
ITB 1.2 Downloads (requires Mod Loader v2.5.0 or above):
Hive War v1.1.0
ITB 1.1 Downloads (requires Mod Loader v2.4.1):
Hive War v1.0.6
Hive War v1.0.5
Hive War v1.0.4
Hive War v1.0.3
Hive War v1.0.2
Hive War v1.0.1
Hive War v1.0.0
Meta Progression v1.0
Known Issues with v1.1.0:
- The tile marker for the Hive Warrior's reflex shot range uses the airstrike marker instead of my own custom marker, because ITB 1.2 broke it and I can't figure out why
- When you click Undo Move after moving a unit into reflex range and dodging a reflex shot which hits another unit, the health of the collateral damaged unit is not restored
Credits:
This has been the most massive project I've ever made, thousands of lines of code and hundreds of megabytes of artwork, but this mod could not have happened without the entire ITB modding community united behind it. Thanks to Lemonymous and Kartoflane for scripting support, thanks to Djinn for creating all the Hive Warrior sprite variations, thanks to Stylesrj, Neo, Tosx, Biohazard, and NarD for playtesting and bug reports. Thank you all so much!