v0.8.15

14 Sep 2026

I think this is the biggest update Full-Metal Tapped has had so far.

For a month I've been shipping balance and plumbing, and the game underneath got better while the screen still looked like a bit of a (late-stage maybe) prototype. This update is a huge UI / UX overhaul: every screen rebuilt into one interface, cards that read at a glance, and turns that feel like something happened. Your runners' stats light up the missions they roll, the verdict stamps down, and when a runner dies you'll see it.

Much of the language and grammar of the game was also clarified and cleaned-up and I think that language journey will be subject of a future devlog. But for now, take a look and see the full patch notes below:

The interface, rebuilt

Almost every screen redrawn. Each one sits in a window with a // TITLE row, arrives on a laser line and rolls up when it closes
Runner cards get holo frames in their tier colour, lock-on brackets and scanlines. Every card shares one grid and one chip size
Cards read in tokens, not sentences: tier chips, Heat band chips, amounts with their icon, and one signed bill per event in place of the floating icons

The turn plays out on the cards

A wound bleeds and shakes the runner's card. A death plays out on the runner's card
A mission roll lights up the mission with the colour of the stats on the card before the verdict: Force fires, Mobility slashes, Tech arcs
PASS, MESSY and FAIL each land differently, points score at the VP bar, and the Heat gauge now flares on a band crossing
Nothing leaves the board silently: cards roll up, runners dissolve, upgrades sweep, and a rebuilt card comes out of a smoke bomb

Sound

24 new sound effects and 5 new board tracks, one sound per meaning: COMMIT, PASS, FAIL, deaths, heals, alarms for HOT and EXTREME, a warning on a dealt threat, and every window chirping open
A real mix: four loudness tiers, quiet sounds brought up, music levelled and sitting under the effects. Your music volume is rescaled once to keep its place

Feedback from inside the game

FEEDBACK in the pause menu and the main menu footer sends a bug report or game feedback with your run data attached, and a screenshot if you turn that on

Saves and fair play

Buying a pull saves the run at once, so a reload no longer re-deals the leads. A new run is saved on turn 1, so a bail on the opening deal counts as a surrender
The game also sends a small anonymous row when a run is dealt, so unfinished runs are counted. Same opt-out as before

Other changes

The Syndicate stamps UNPAID when nobody could pay, and The Syndicate is on offer the turn you open the Books
A recruitment offer on a full crew now teaches how to make room: click a runner, RELEASE, then SURE?
Patreon in the footer, world-row cards lift on hover, unaffordable things are dimmed instead of red, and the TEXT SIZE setting is gone (Large font was too much of a pain to make the layout work, and I think the previous font clarity update is already good enough, but I can revisit font sizes in a later update if people request it)

Tell me what you think. There's a FEEDBACK button in the game now! Your reports into there comes straight to me. Or come discuss about balance in the Discord: https://discord.gg/2bjFxF59Ne It's quite fresh and empty in there for now, but I would love to chat to anyone who played the game.

If you've been enjoying it, the best things you can do are leave a comment here, follow the game on itch for updates, or share it with one friend who likes hard strategy games.

Up next: getting back to the mechanics of the game to tune, balance and have (hopefully) a well-rounded and solid game for v0.9. Beyond that it's a push towards Steam for 1.0

Thanks for reading! Good luck, have fun!

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