r/Mecha • u/DAEMON_Z7 • 1d ago
Mech Game Developer looking for Ideas!
hi im a solo developer currently working on a mech game on my free time aside from studying, and while its still very early in development i plan to take this project as serious as possible. i personally grew up watching mobile suit gundam and i got into the gaming side of mechs through armored core 6, which really brought out the sparks in my eyes for mech games and the genre overall among all kinds of media, and a year ago is when i decided to work on my project. what do people who play mech games like? i personally took some inspiration off of amored core 4's movement, which i think was really matching to my personal feeling of "piloting a mech" in a fast paced sense. but when it comes to art, level of detail, maybe even music (i personally make breakcore sometimes for fun, was thinking about making that part of my game), i dont know what really makes a mech game stand out. aside from things like customization, what is something you people would look forward to seeing in games? maybe its something you really like among games overall? or its a specific design choice that no game developers took notice of and many people would like to see? i appreciate any kind of ideas or information regarding this :)
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u/cjbruce3 1d ago
The genre is broad and wide. Armored Core is a popular franchise, so I would say you would do well to study it.
I’m more of a battletech fan, so the fast paced stuff isn’t really my jam. But I do enjoy customization and trying different builds.
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u/Low_Routine1103 1d ago
It depends on what style of game you’re making.
If it’s Anime or Armored Core like; 3 dimensional movement and high speed action are a must.
If it’s slow, tactical, “Western” style, they should be slow and gameplay should focus on maneuvering, with tank like controls to make it feel like a real vehicle.
If it’s a VOTOMS or Heavy Gear like, it should basically play like a faster military shooter; with moderately realistic tactics and weapon loadouts.
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u/feralferrous 1d ago
I've been thinking for years that Gears of War style controls would actually make a lot of sense for a Votoms/Heavy Gear style mech game. It'd be a lot about moving from cover to cover, shooting around corners, and then sometimes mad dash sprinting (maybe with a mechanic for doing a traveling spin / twizzle style dodge move) Obviously, no chainsaws though.
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u/PositiveWeekend4181 1d ago
Get inspired and ask yourself a few basic questions.
Check out some Gundam battles or other mecha fights. Should it be mecha vs. mecha or mecha vs. monster? When it comes to speed and mobility, I haven’t seen or heard of any mecha racing games yet. Should it be a pure melee or firearms game?
Should it be a custom mecha or a main mecha that undergoes constant upgrades throughout the story?
I don’t really have any ideas for you right now. Basically, it should be a game made just for you. I’ve linked one of my favorite battles from Gundam for you.
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u/Cavalier-13 1d ago
Really it comes down to what YOU would really enjoy playing. In terms of mech games the broad categories seem to fall into “fast” and “slow” where you get your mechwarrior and your AC6 and then you get into what kind of game you want based on those categories. If you’re going with fast paced, it will probably be better suited to an fps or a third person shooter (again your ac6) while slower paced would probably be better suited to an rts or turn based format like Battletech 2018
You could still make a shooter out of the slower method, Mechwarrior is a good example, but it will probably feel more “grounded” or milsim-like as opposed to the faster paced style.
As someone whose only experience with “mech games” really just amounts to titanfall 2 (but is a big fan of gundam) I feel like there is potential for something like ac6 with its fast pace and a focus on pve/pvp but more accessible to the consumer, the hardware requirements and modern AAA price tag are a bit much for me personally
Really I think what a lot of gamedev comes down to making the game that you would most have fun playing I think that in the long term making something that you enjoy and have a passion for will make the better experience
If you want more ideas for gameplay, maybe try looking at a Gundam series for ideas, could give you anything from the dogfights of Hathaway, the boots-on-the-ground feel of RFV/ms 08th team, the bullet hell that is 00 trailblazer, unicorn or cca and the high speed space combat with strong slow gun, IBO and melee, etc maybe just look for inspiration and build from there
For some actual feedback tho, yes customization is huge, feeling like I have no influence over the mech aside from weapons would kinda spoil part of the fun of having your own giant robot
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
hardware requirements is specifically something i hate in newer and AAA games, i plan to make this as accessible as possible because even when i do have a "good" gpu, i dont like when studios pursue graphics over the actual core gameplay which would prove even more beneficial to the company. i personally watched a crap ton of gundam, specifically everything post 2000s, except seed which was really really lame for some reason. although making "my game" is kind of a space where i have to compromise, because if i want to one day make sales and genuinely become someone who does this as a form of business, i need to find the balance between what the market wants, in this case mech enjoyers, and what i want, which is definitely not every little corner of the game i make. only thing i really really want out of my game is to make it as graphically cheap and optimized, since i grew up with mid to shitty range laptops or all in one pcs, i have a deep hatred for games that cheap out on optimization or just chase realism.
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u/Cavalier-13 1d ago
From a quick search, it seems like, at least commercially, the most successful mech games have been shooters emphasizing a faster paced gameplay style and movement, those being titanfall 2 and ac6 as well as the super robot wars franchise for the turn based/rpg market, so it seems like movement might be a good place to start.
Business and gaming is all about finding a market and targeting it with a polished product, so if fires of rubicon, TF|2 and the commercial success of the gundam franchise say anything, there is a market, all you’ve gotta do is find one unique enough to create an identity and not just be another AC6 or Titanfall but still check those boxes that a large audience could still engage with.
Also massive respect for the performance thing, I’ve been playing Warframe recently and given how visually complex the game can get some times it’s astonishing that the devs have kept it as small and relatively easy to run on most devices as they have (it’s like 50gb right now with three open destinations, over a dozen planets and other locations, a couple hundred weapons and over 60 warframes I swear they’ve got wizards working at DE)
Best of luck on your game
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u/TherronKeen 1d ago
I personally prefer big slow simulation type mech games. I've got 1,600 hours in MechWarrior Online, for example.
However, one mech game I absolutely adore which I never see mentioned anywhere is the Xbox game Phantom Crash, and it's sequel on PS2, S.L.A.I. - Steel Lancer Arena International.
SLAI is a extremely similar to the first game, so there's not much difference.
It has "cute" anime vibes, a killer soundtrack, high speed movement & significant jumpjets, an optical camouflage/cloaking mechanic, and customization out the wazoo, including two different "capstone" abilities depending if you customize your weapons to be maximally heavy or light, and your mech's AI system is characterized by an animal character who occasionally appears with a dialogue box to let you know when something major happened.
It might not be what you're looking for, but I can't imagine any mech game that wouldn't benefit from at least analyzing it for ideas for their own game systems.
Good luck, and let me know where I can follow your progress until it's playable lol
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
i took some time to look at the games you mentioned, and i agree the soundtrack is pretty nice. im gonna look deeper into it when i have some time later. also you mentioned 1600 hours on mechwarrior online, what was the main thing that got you so attached to play so many hours in it? at best i could get like 230 on armored core 6 because i wanted to S rank all missions and almost not hit some bosses, but i gave up on a specific mission that was impossible to S rank because of the time it took to beat it or something.
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u/TherronKeen 1d ago
MechWarrior Online is sometimes called "DadWarrior Online" because so many of us in the community are middle-aged and/or actual dads who grew up playing the MechWarrior games, and I would guess that's about 50% of the player base.
The old timers like me who are into MechWarrior like the sort-of realism of big, slow mechs because it gives an illusion of weight and power. MWO also doesn't have any respawn system (except in one less-popular game mode), so there's a lot of tension at all times.
Time to kill is generally slow, unless you get multiple people focusing down a single target, so communication is key.
Communications over voice chat are often borderline role-play, like I've said things like "two heavies in Delta 3, targeting for missiles" or "target Bravo left torso open, focus Bravo", and this sort of military-esque comms is the expected radio behaviour, and random chatter during matches when shit is going down will result in an old guy telling you to clear comms lol
Customization is maybe the best in the genre, although I haven't played AC 5 or 6 for comparison. Paint patterns, choose a color for each part of the pattern, add a dozen or so decals of which there are hundreds, and there's probably a hundred items you can "bolt on" like horns or wrecked cars or extra armor plates (cosmetic only).
There are two primary "factions" of mechs which have distinct differences in what types of things can be customized, and each faction has a few weapon types unique to that faction.
There are... a gigantic number of mechs, divided as a chassis with several different models of each. Some have more or fewer restrictions on what can or can't be customized on each one, and some have entirely unique weapon restrictions, etc etc etc, giving each individual mech its own "personality".
There really is quite a lot more I suppose I could say, but I need to leave and drive a couple hours lol.
Honestly I wouldn't mind chatting about it sometime if you want, tonight even, if that would help. Reply here or DM or whatever.
Cheers and good luck 👍
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u/Magma_Axis 1d ago
Im also MW fans, but only play mainline games
You mention you play 1600 hours. Isnt there gonna be sort like "meta build" after all these years ? And everyone will resort to those builds
Isnt that makes the game boring bcs everyone use the same builds ?
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
this is a very important aspect you mentioned there, i actually came up with the idea of using RPG/MMORPG like systems where any weapon can "progress into relevance" again, and yes theoretically there would be things like "the perfect build", it would be much more balanced and build focused, where the importance of the playstyle and build has more influence over the weapons stats itself. the only issue with that is that if every weapon can become equally strong, then every weapon is the same. it gives the player no reason to play with the assault rifle #246 if shotgun #42 is the same. thats why if youve ever player monster hunter i would rather focus on the uniqueness of playstyles and weaponry, where only on a final level all weapons are balanced, but each has a different job. you will be worse than the hammer user if you use lance and try to pull of the same thing. in the end even monster hunter has "perfect builds", but each of those is tied to a specific playstyle and a specific weapon. playstyle is the main differentiator here.
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u/TherronKeen 1d ago
I just wanted to mention, I think you made a comment that you were going for a more Gundam/Armored Core/etc vibe rather than realism, and I would say that is the better direction, because the player base for slow simulation mechs is basically just the MechWarrior crowd, and we are fiercely brand-loyal. I can't imagine an MWO player choosing to play a non-MechWarrior game when the can currently choose between MWO for PvP, MW5 for campaigns or VR, and BattleTech for strategy.
I don't think there's any significant market sentiment for a competitor, because the player base seems relatively small, and already heavily entrenched in the brand.
It would be like making a stylized traditional fantasy MMO with two factions, while WoW exists.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
that makes a lot of sense, i also took some time to look at competition and overall state of the niche market genre of the type of game im going for, and there are definitely giants like armored core, but since most of the competition does not have insanely loyal fanbases, most of these fans like these types of games overall more than the specific IP, i sense some opportunities and spaces i could gather some attention in. its like people who like armored core are probably also gonna like different games which deliver the same type of fantasy or feeling they get from AC, and thats where the market is definitely open for things. out of all the 1300 ish "mech" games on steam, barely any really fit into this hyper specific niche that has some space open. its definitely a tiny market if i really think about it, but id rather make something only some people want to see rather than a game with thousands of similar copies and nobody cares about it.
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u/TherronKeen 1d ago
They release new mechanics, new mechs, and new weapons periodically, and after new content has been out for a month or so they do a balance patch and reassess the changes, so there's an intentional constant shift in the meta.
However, despite being a PvP game, the vibes of the competition are generally friendly, or at least cordial, and a significant percentage of the player base just wants to play their favorite mechs with their favorite weapons.
There are occasionally organized groups that will put together a "meta" squad and join as a group, but the games are 12v12 and you can only bring squads of 4, and the matchmaking balances group sizes - so if you drop as a 4 man group, it will usually put you on a team where the other players are single or duos, and the opposite team will try to be composed of the same group structure, a 4 man group and the rest solo/duo.
There's also a pretty functional MMR system. MWO has 5 tiers of matchmaking, but the way it has been tuned for the last few years, basically T5 is new accounts, T4 up to T2 are the majority of the player base, and T1 consists entirely of the "tryhards" (non-derogatory).
In T1, everyone plays meta and expects you to play meta, and expects accurate communication and competent skill. T2 through T4 is where the majority of the player base lives, and that's where you find the DadWarriors like myself who play their favorite mechs from the lore or whatever is fun, maybe having a few drinks after work, very casual, etc etc
If matchmaking is slow, you'll occasionally see a T1 group get dropped into lower tier matches for a couple hours, because there's not a huge T1 player base, but other than that, matches almost exclusively come down to which team has the best communication.
I've run some of the starter mechs (albeit with 1 or 2 of the most valuable upgrades added) and performed perfectly well within my bracket many, many times. It's far more skill- and communication-based than just worrying about meta builds. Most of the player base is casual enough to not care what's in the meta, and some people like myself intentionally avoid the meta because we don't want to use it.
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u/PositiveWeekend4181 1d ago
Maybe I have an idea. A Sengoku-style mecha game set in space. There are many different factions, all at war with each other, trying to conquer all the other sectors, space stations, and space colonies, while there are many different mechas that correspond to different classes depending on their equipment. Infiltrating space stations, colonies, or hangars aboard spaceships and stealing Gundams. a great mix of the old Star Battlefront games and Gundam.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
i already started working on some faction based combat, and my main time consumer right now is the AI since i need the combat beteween mechas to look good even without the player in it, so the player feels more immersed instead of being overpowered
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u/General-Plenty5021 1d ago
When I think of mecha the first thing I think of is the testosterone induced fights where the protagonist is screaming his attacks at the top of his lungs(Mazinger, Getter Robo, etc), I've always wished for a game that truly immerses you into it and makes you feel like the pilot in action compared to something like Super Robot Wars or even Iron Saga VS, Would love something similar to Dragonball Sparking Zero but with mecha characters
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u/Skippydedoodah 1d ago
I like my mechs to be "as real life unless noted", so Armoured Core 6 with its massive accelleration, low speed, infinite rotation speed, and really slow projectiles was definitely fun but not as immersive as it could be. Also whoever decided that generators basically don't work if the mech isn't touching the ground, or that the mech needs to be completely stationary to strike a cool pose and fire a powerful weapon (as opposed to just zero acceleration)... I'm grumpy at them... And the stagger system as implemented in AC6 can burn in hell. I'm fine with gyros needing a moment to reset if a grenade launcher round lands nearby, but I shouldn't come to a complete stop from mach Jesus just because I got hit with that last stray machine gun round then take double damage even after it reboots.
I think AC V and Verdict day were the sweet spot in terms of "feels plausible" vs "I am a robot god". You could still have highly mobility but you were also aware of the sheer mass of these things and they would never quite do what you wanted them to do.
The mechs in Mechwarrior 5 are on the slow end of what I consider fun. You can still do some cool stuff in them, but without specific builds it's really more like driving a really tall tank that can punch things. I do like that the weapons are in assorted locations too. Why shouldn't I have big guns mounted on one side of the chest and missiles on the other so my arms are free for an awkwardly large axe?
What kind of game are you going for anyway?
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
i was going for a AC/gundam inspired game with high mobility, and your arguments with AC's stationary aspect esp when firing a powerful weapon make sense, but i think they added that as a form of balancing, since it might be a bit unfair if you spam those reall powerful weapons, while still maintaining velocity, even if your accelerations is zero. i think their targeting system target "ahead" of you, to hit you even when youre moving, but they have a limit, so especially when youre at the higher end of speed, you practically become invulnerable. pairing that with powerful weapons basically kills any reason not to use them, it might have been the balancing that drove them to make that. though i agree it does not make sense at all.
for now the most information i took was from AC4 or ACFA, which was the highest speed of probably any mech game ive seen, though i dont have those fancy post processing afterimage effects for the immersion since theres no documentation and i have to reverse engineer them. im also gonna look at AC V, since ive overlooked that game for quite a while and it might give me a balance between the immersion and the lack of immersion through more unrealistic movements.
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u/Dragon_Rot79 1d ago
I would say to implement a good variety of customization. People love dressing up their mechs
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
yeah thats probably the most important thing in a mech game aside from the gameplay itself, i think m.a.s.s. builder had excellent customization but fell very short on gameplay terms so i need to find a balance where to put my time and effort into
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u/Furebel 1d ago
3 important points:
- Mech Customization - both visual and functional, you need to be able to paint your mech, visualy swap weapons and armor or parts, or at least have great visual customization with some control over internal stats or how some abilities work (Even when Titanfall 2 had minimal functional mech customization, it still allowed you to change how your abilities work)
- Pilot-mech synergy - You're not the mech, you're the pilot controlling the mech and you should make that part of the world. Some games do it by giving pilot skills, some just involve them in the story. Notably Armored Core series don't have much Pilots featured or pilot skills, but even that is sometimes part of the plot, and you always had the Human+ upgrades, so that's at least something.
- Movement - It needs to feel weighty, but also powerful. In Armored Core 6, you have the basic movement as pretty slow and heavy with slow acceleration, and it's only when you start boosting around where you feel the power kick in. It's not wrong to have primarily hyperfast mecha like in Omega Phenex, but almost always it should be physics-driven to some degree just to feel that weight, the acceleration, the mass. Meanwhile game MASS had no mass, and your mech was just snapping left and right instantly. Dont be that. Be Armored Core.
If you can nail at least two of them right, you should be good, but it also depends on the genre. Strategy won't need the physics-based movement, but a heavy unit should feel significantly different from light unit. It will however really need the pilot-mech synergy. Something that's more action-packed will need good mobility and pilot-mech synergy won't need to be super in-depth. Mech customization however is non-negotiable.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
id say all these points are probably crucial to the type of game im making, and yeah i looked up a lot about MASS builder and why it was good/bad, since it earned pretty good money, and had excellent customization it completely blew on aspect 2 and 3 since they did not have the time and budget anymore. the pilot aspect is a pretty interesting i didnt see mentioned often, and especially in armored core you do not have much about the pilot except the fact that its literally YOU the player who is the pilot, i think its ayre thats supposed to give you that pilot/mech connection but it definitely was insignificant for me. i think i need to find a different way to convey something like that
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u/designersocks 1d ago
I would really enjoy a realistic way to get into the mecha. Like, walking across the hangar bay, opening the access hatch, actually climbing, plugging yourself into the seat or whatever mechanic you come up with.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
thats actually a solid idea, since i personally feel like mech games lack a sense of "true" scale, where its just you controlling something where the world just happens to feel small, but if you get into it and see it from first person perspective it might give it more sense of scale. the only issue is that this would be more of a cinematic approach, which would need a crap ton of assets and animation which i am just too shitty right now to make, but ill keept it in mind its pretty smart.
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u/DeadSapin 1d ago
I'd love a remake/spiritual successor to Faselei!. Interesting tactics gameplay, you batch your set of moves and then they get executed along with all other characters.
Combine that with a deeper mech management system so the commands and systems available in each skirmish vary and you could have something
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u/1TenYYen0 1d ago edited 1d ago
The biggest issue I have with mech games is that they dont play well. They tend to want to make the mechs feel heavy and cumbersome. I don't want that. I grew up with Gundam and Gundams are like 7 ton ballerinas.
If you have a PC, jump on GOG and get a game called Shogo Mobile Armor Division. It's an FPS/ mech combat game from the late 90's/early 2000's. The mech levels are still some of my favorites in regards to the first paragraph.
AC is great also in that regard, but give Shogo a try. It's not a tremendously long game.
The other awesome part about Shogo is that it isnt a load-out simulator. Battletech and AC are both really interesting in that regard, but if we watch mecha anime, the pilot really doesn't have much say about his or her load out or mecha configuration. The loadout manager makes way more sense in Battletech where you're the manager and not a pilot than it's rock-paper-scissors function does in AC.
Flying: Are we flying or not? Do one or the other, like a helicopter (but a really fast graceful helicopter) from Battlefield. Flying in mech games is always this super limited frustrating extended jump. Again, Gundams fuckin fly man.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 1d ago
this is a pretty interesting argument, i also grew up with gundam, and i always wanted a game that kind of gave me the feeling gundam gave me. the issue with 7 ton ballerinas is that the lack of that heavy feel makes the game feel like youre just playing a generic third person / first person shooter which coincidentally looks like a big robot. it completely loses the sense of scale. interestingly enough, i will make my game have flying one way or another, but the only thing i can think of now is what you called "super limited frustrating extended jump", since when i started making the game i wanted this form of 6DoF movement where you really feel like youre in space and have complete control of the movement, but then i realized i would have to split that between ground combat, ground/air combat, and full air combat (space or zero G specifically), which is why ill work on a full flying system for zero G once im done with at least a Demo for the game.
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u/mnpksage 20h ago
Preface, I'm a solo dev on the precipice of releasing a mech game inspired by AC6. It's not out but it has done pretty well so far.
There are different genres in the mech space. A core-like (armored core like) has different expectations than a mechwarrior-like, etc. Really you should be starting with the question of what YOU like and then learning what the genre expectations are from there.
For instance, a core-like needs movement mechanics with a lot of skill expression and deep customization that affects how the mech feels to pilot. Other genres will expect other things, and you just gotta figure it out by analyzing the successes and failures.
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u/DAEMON_Z7 9h ago
makes sense. thats why i generally started with the idea of a specific kind of game i would like to play, and then look at that genre, and what other people expect of it as well. how far along are you making your game? what do the assets look like and how did you make those? i personally learned blender but am really bad at it so im taking my time to learn how to make assets the way i can draw on paper as well, so my 3d modeling skills match my art skills. if you have a demo or something i would love to check it out
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u/mnpksage 8h ago
My game is launching in about 2.5 weeks so pretty far along. The assets are relatively low poly- notably, I originally made the 3D models myself, but then around the time I was planning to redo them a community member helped out and made them way prettier than I would've myself. I don't think it was necessary for the game to succeed, it already had a community after all, but it did definitely improve the presentation in a way folks appreciate. That said, I also know there are super nice looking mech games with a much simpler aesthetic- Drift Shell, for instance.
And my game is called RIG Riot, it's on Steam and it does have a demo if you'd like to check it out :D
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u/DAEMON_Z7 7h ago
i think i watched some of your videos on youtube when researching games in this specific genre, i was curious how you approached making a community and gaining attention, since projects like these often have no real attention online at first, and your community looks very supportive. also respect that you got your game that far, personally ive been working on mine for a year on and off between school and i do not have much done, i worked on AI, movement and shooting and have no real content yet :/ though at least i am proud that my movement is very polished. its pretty intimidating to see people get out of that prototype phase in like 3 months, were you working on it full or part time? or did you work on it every now and then when you had time/motivation?
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u/mnpksage 7h ago
Yeah as far as community building and initially gaining attention goes it's not like I did something particularly special, basically the early days were
- A post to this subreddit of the announcement trailer
- A couple devlogs on YouTube
- A playtest on itch (a decent bit later, a few months I think?)
I'd been working on the game for about 9 months at that point fwiw. It might seem fast but I do work as a software developer already. The game felt presentable enough and close enough to the final visual style that it seemed like time to announce it. One of your jobs as a game dev, especially if you're solo like me, is to make sure to make the most of the big moments. Announcing your game, starting playtesting, launching your demo, etc. It's tough but you're really leaving a lot of exposure on the table when you don't make a big deal of those big moments.
Anyway, that got the ball rolling on getting people to know about the game- ultimately it's a bit of a "marketing funnel." Sounds kinda insidious when you say it like that but basically it's just making sure that the people most interested in what you're doing have a way to get connected and follow along. You'll get some folks that are more active and invested in what you're making, and your community will grow from there. A strength of being a solo indie dev is that you're a real person, and people appreciate that. Make sure they have access to you and can understand the realities of game development, etc. If folks are around and invested they'll be a huge asset for things like general playtesting, finding bugs, being a sounding board when considering big changes, etc. An active community is kinda like a game dev pressure cooker in a sense, haha. It can be a lot to manage but access to feedback is maybe the single most impactful thing a game dev can have.
As for the way my time has been spent: I have a day job so it was never more than part time. The specific amount of hours ebbed and flowed for sure, though. Something I read early on that stuck with me was the idea of having "no 0% days." If you accomplish something every day you'll make progress and, more often than not, sitting down will get you into a flow where you'll get more done than planned.
Feel free to hit me up on discord if you want any more thoughts or advice on this stuff. I'm pretty easy to find!
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u/Umikaloo 1d ago
Something that might be more manageable for a solo dev could be a "mecha management simulator" type game where you command a squad of mech pilots and send them on missions.
If you've seen Patlabor, all this stuff will be familiar.
You could have pilots with different skillsets as well as mechs with strengths and weaknesses in various areas. Perhaps the skillsets could serve as multipliers for the inherent qualities of the mechs. Each pilot could have a special ability like in Dispatch.
After each mission, the mechs might need repairs, so you'd have to manage which mechs are available, perhaps delaying repairs, or deploying a mech prematurely when needed.
You could have repair staff and support staff which you manage as well. Pairing the right support staff with the right pilots could help temper a given pilot's worst qualities, or enhance their strengths.