The game
Clockwork automatons, steam colossi and steam zeppelins want to steal the aether cores from your core chamber and carry them out through the gate. If a carrier is destroyed, the core drops and rolls back to the chamber. The match is lost once all 20 cores have left the field.
Towers occupy tiles, and enemies find their way around them. This creates a maze that lengthens their path. You may not block it completely. Flying enemies ignore the maze.
Gameplay
Recorded in the game, development version 0.9, Boiler Yard map. With sound.
Screenshots: development version 0.9. Click to enlarge.
The towers
Every tower has three upgrade levels. Values from level 1 to 3; pictures show level 3.
Gatling
Cheap and fast, hits ground and air.
Cost 100 · Range 3–3.7 tiles · Damage 7–20 per hit · 5 shots/s · ground + air
Flamethrower
A ring of fire from the pressure boiler: burns every ground enemy at short range. Weak against armor.
Cost 150 · Range 1.9–2.3 tiles · Damage 26–85 per second · ground only
Tesla coil
Chain lightning that jumps between several enemies. Ground and air.
Cost 175 · Range 2.4–2.9 tiles · Damage 40–130 per hit · every 1.2 s · jumps to 3–6 enemies · ground + air
Chronoworks
A massive clockwork slows time for every enemy in range. No damage.
Cost 125 · Range 2.5–3.1 tiles · slows by 35–62 % · ground + air
Field cannon
Long range, powerful single shots. Ground only, not right next to it.
Cost 250 · Range 6–8 tiles · Damage 90–300 per hit · every 2 s · not closer than 1.5 tiles · ground only
Steam mortar
Glowing shells in a high arc. Huge range, area damage, slow, ground only.
Cost 300 · Range 7–9 tiles · Damage 80–240 per hit · every 4 s · Area damage 1.3 tiles · ground only
Steam hammer
Stamps a shockwave into the ground. Shatters aether shields (4× damage).
Cost 175 · Range 2.3–2.7 tiles · Damage 20–60 per shockwave · every 1.5 s · ground only
Harpoon launcher
Homing steam rockets against zeppelins. Air only.
Cost 200 · Range 5–6 tiles · Damage 60–190 per hit · every 1.2 s · air only
The enemies
Clockwork walker
A wound-up brass automaton marching stubbornly to the core chamber.
Health 50 · Speed 1.3 tiles/s · Bounty 9 gold
Tip: A solid average enemy: every tower can handle it.
Wind-up beetle
A nimble copper beetle that comes in large swarms.
Health 22 · Speed 2.3 tiles/s · Bounty 4 gold
Tip: Flamethrower, Tesla coil and steam mortar hit many at once.
Steam colossus
An armored steam boiler on four stomping legs.
Health 260 · Speed 0.85 tiles/s · Armor 6 · Bounty 28 gold
Tip: Armor soaks up small hits: use the field cannon and steam mortar; Gatling and flames are weak.
Aether automaton
A floating porcelain bell with an aether shield that recharges after a short time.
Health 90 · Speed 1.1 tiles/s · Aether shield 110 · Bounty 20 gold
Tip: The steam hammer shatters shields with four times the force.
Steam zeppelin
An airship with a steam-driven gondola that simply floats over your maze.
Health 70 · Speed 1.6 tiles/s · flies · Bounty 13 gold
Tip: Only the Gatling, Tesla coil, Chronoworks and harpoon launcher can reach it.
Strider colossus
A three-legged colossus with heavy armor, cannons and smoking stacks.
Health 2200 · Speed 0.6 tiles/s · Armor 10 · Bounty 250 gold
Tip: Focus everything: field cannons and mortars for damage, the Chronoworks to slow it down.
Scope (version 0.9.1)
- Solo, co-op (2 players, shared cores) and versus (2 players, separate fields)
- 8 towers with 3 upgrade levels each, 6 enemy types
- 3 maps with their own scenery, 3 difficulty levels, 15 waves (versus 20)
- Settings for graphics, display, controls and sound; graphics level chosen automatically to suit the graphics card
- 11 languages, tower sounds and quiet background sounds
- Demolishing refunds 75 % of the cost; enemy info by click
Development
Screenshots of each version, taken by the game's automated test.
0.5 – playable foundation
18/10/2026
Game logic, pathfinding, eight towers, solo, co-op and versus over the network, first steampunk look.
0.6 – light and reflections
19/10/2026
Menu made of brass plates, invite codes for self-hosting, global illumination, reflections and lanterns.
0.7 – detailed attackers
19/10/2026
All enemies remodelled, smoke, debris, sharper anti-aliasing, towers can be demolished.
0.8 – detailed towers
19/10/2026
All eight towers in detail with visible upgrade levels, animations and their own projectiles.
0.9 – in progress
since 19/10/2026
Settings, 11 languages, sounds, enemy info, steam zeppelin, scenery per map, automatic graphics level.
System requirements
- Windows or Linux, 64-bit
- Graphics card with Vulkan support (roughly 2016 or newer); target: smooth on a GeForce GTX 1060 at 1080p
- The graphics level is chosen automatically to suit the graphics card
Multiplayer
There is no central server. One player hosts the game, the other joins with the invite code from the lobby. On a home network this works right away, also via “Search LAN”. Over the internet the host needs to forward TCP port 7777 in the router.
Controls
- 1–8 choose a tower, left click to build, U upgrade, X demolish
- Space calls the next wave early (bonus gold), F speed, P pause, Esc menu
- Middle mouse button rotates and tilts the camera, WASD pans, mouse wheel zooms