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Route Planning
May 16, 2026 at 01:33 AM
Initial version (2026-05-16)
Route planning is the strategic-map layer of DREADNOUGHT TARTARUS. Between active engagements, the world map becomes a planning surface on which the player decides where the TARTARUS advances next, which objectives along that path to engage, and what modular customization the ship should carry into them. For the broader pitch, see the overview.
DREADNOUGHT TARTARUS does not use mission select. The whole game runs as a continuous campaign across a strategic map, and the dreadnought is always on that map. The planning surface is the in-between space: when the player exits an engagement, the camera lifts to the strategic layer, and the next decision is which direction the TARTARUS advances and how it should be configured before contact resumes.
Three decisions sit on the planning surface, each feeding into the next.
Decision | What the Player Chooses |
|---|---|
Heading | Which warzone the dreadnought advances into next and the broad direction of travel across the strategic theatre. |
Objectives | Which objectives along the chosen route the dreadnought engages and in what order. |
Loadout | How the seven equipment layers are configured for the next stretch, including which firing modes each weapon hardpoint is set to. |
The planning surface is where the dual-genre framing of the game comes through. The wargame side shows up in the route choices and the loadout configuration: there are decisions to make about which fight to pick and how to outfit for it. The tower-defense side shows up in the way the dreadnought continues advancing into pressure once the route is committed, with the player managing fields of fire and weapon priorities while the ship pushes forward.
Because the catalogue of equipment available through reverse engineering depends on which enemy categories the player has engaged, the route chosen on the planning surface has long-tail consequences. Avoiding extraterrestrial invasion units early means fewer extraterrestrial-derived modules later, even if the early route was the safer one. Route choices and loadout evolution are intentionally coupled.
Dropping into the combat mech does not exit the strategic structure. The dreadnought stays on the same route while the player handles a ground-level engagement, and the mech returns to the hangar bay when finished. The planning surface remains intact across both scales.
Several specifics about the planning surface have not been publicly described. Treat them as open questions:
Whether the strategic map shows the entire theatre at once or unlocks zones progressively.
Whether routes branch and re-merge, loop back, or run as a single forward path.
Whether the player can change the route mid-advance or only at engagement breakpoints.
Whether intel gathered on the planning surface (scouting, reconnaissance) is a separate currency from combat intel.
Whether time-based events on the strategic map pressure route choices.
Whether named factions occupy specific zones on the strategic map.
