MACH//BREAK

Roadmap

Phases, not dates

The order of construction is a design law: movement, networking, weapon feel, BreakFlag, maps, roles, vehicles, matchmaking, new-player experience, progression, cosmetics, lore, modes, guild warfare. Each phase has an exit test, and a phase is done when the test passes, not when a calendar says so.

  1. Phase 0 · Movement LabDone

    One greybox map, one frame, jets, Glide, energy, a speedometer. Exit test: players enjoy moving without weapons. Passed, with a regression suite behind the numbers: slope momentum preservation, Burn Arc timing, speed bands per frame.

  2. Phase 1 · Combat LabDone

    Impulse Launcher, Vector Cannon, health, respawn, basic multiplayer with server authority, client prediction and lag compensation. Exit test: small team sessions are fun and stable. Passed on a LAN and over the internet at the latencies we benchmark against.

  3. Phase 2 · Core PrototypeIn progress

    BreakFlag on one greybox map: two bases, three frames, five weapons, one deployable, 8v8 with bots filling the seats. Exit test: an internal 8v8 produces real tactics, and testers keep playing after the session ends. Done so far: base rings, Core grab at speed, bots with roles and a team coordinator, replay logging, a server registry and player accounts behind the scenes.

  4. Phase 3 · Vertical SliceNext

    One polished map with art, sound and UI; the first strategy systems (sensors, beacons, jammers, mortars, repair) so multi-stage plays can emerge; first vehicles; a progression prototype; matchmaking. Exit test: a public trailer or investor build is possible without lying.

  5. Phase 4 · Closed AlphaLater

    Three to five maps; BreakFlag, Frontline and Vector Arena; Movement Trials; guilds; account-wide stats; anti-cheat; dedicated servers and the server browser. Exit test: community feedback validates the core loop.

  6. Phase 5 · Early AccessLater

    Progression, cosmetics, stats, servers at scale. Exit test: a sustainable live product. Business model to be decided before this point: free-to-play or premium.

  7. Phase 6 · 1.0Later

    Ranked and tournaments, guild warfare over the territory map, replay and observer tooling, UGC. Exit test: a full competitive ecosystem.

Right now

pre-alpha · greybox · concept boards

Core Prototype. Playtests are friends-only until the 8v8 exit test passes. The dev log is generated from the experiment records and is the most precise status there is.

  • EXP-10 · 2026-08-29Rally off the route, the way home by known enemies, two escorts, side intercepts, air fighting
  • EXP-11b · 2026-08-29Lateral share numbers from the design review
  • EXP-11 · 2026-08-29Lateral jet control per frame (first deliberate departure from the reference)
  • EXP-9 · 2026-08-29Grab at speed, glide only along the fall line, the way home by the ramp

Last updated 2026-08-29.

What we will not promise

Release dates, a price, platforms beyond Windows and Linux dedicated servers, vehicle counts, mode counts. Consoles come later and cross-play is designed in from the start; that is the extent of the platform promise.

Development build: overhead view of the Tallow test map
GreyboxThe Tallow test map, overhead

How a phase gets done

Experiments

Every consequential change is an experiment: hypothesis, implementation, telemetry, result, keep or remove. Recorded, and published on the dev log.

Acceptance tests

Movement has automated regression tests. Networking is benchmarked at 20, 50, 100 and 150 ms with loss and jitter, at 16, 32 and 64 players.

One question

Every planning conversation asks: is this making movement more interesting? If not, why are we building it?