Topic: Combat Demo Feedback

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  • #681
    Avatar photoDohon
    Participant

    I played almost all the scenario’s (bar the last one, which I’ll give a go later this evening) and I first want to say that I am impressed. A very polished demo (Item descriptions already? MADNESS!), with a nice selection of scenario’s. All-in-all, a very nice teaser with quite a high level of polish! Really looking forward to playing the game, some day in the future!

    I do have a few questions/suggestions regarding the demo (and the game):

    – Can the player view the “special” abilities of enemies? I like to refer to the following picture:

    The Zombie Yeoman has various stats, but also has 2 “abilites” (visible at the bottom of his unit card). The player cannot view these by either using mouse-over or using a specific hotkey. Will we be able to do this in later versions? Or will we never be able to view these abilities during a fight?

    – Is a minimap planned? Or will maps never be much bigger than the ones in the demo?

    – The player can move the main view by either mouse scrolling or using WASD. I am using an Azerty keyboard, meaning I use ZQSD. Key rebinds would be handy, but I imagine that is something for further down the road. :)

    – Is there a way to minimize trees or remove them from view? Sometimes, a tree hides an open tile just behind it. So, a way to minimize the trees (by shrinking them or removing the crown of the trees) could be handy. Right now, using the 180° rotator is a bit cumbersome.

    – Right now, once a Battle Brother uses an ability such as Spearwall or Shieldwall, his turn doesn’t automatically end. He’s still able to move, but nothing more. Does this mean that an agile BB (one with a lot of movement points) will be able to for instance to enable a shieldwall, move over and still attack the enemy?

    And that’s about it. A job well done, Overhype Studios!

    #686
    Avatar photoRap
    Keymaster

    Thank you for the encouragement and feedback!

    Can the player view the “special” abilities of enemies?

    It didn’t make it into the demo, but we’ll have an information window that can be opened for every opponent, giving a text description of the enemy, as well as descriptions (and not just those mildly obscure icons) of all current status effects, similar to how it is for Battle Brothers in the character screen.

    The two status effects from your picture are “Enraged” (which gives the zombie in question additional action points for the duration of 3 turns, allowing them to make two attacks per turn or move a bit further) and “Swamp Terrain” (the same effect your guys get if they move onto swamp terrain).

    Is a minimap planned? Or will maps never be much bigger than the ones in the demo?

    Maps will never be much bigger than the ones in the demo; we think this is a size that works well to give some room to maneuver without the player getting lost or easily bored. We have no minimap planned, but you can zoom in and out using the mouse wheel to get the big picture.

    The player can move the main view by either mouse scrolling or using WASD. I am using an Azerty keyboard, meaning I use ZQSD. Key rebinds would be handy, but I imagine that is something for further down the road. :)

    We’ll add key binding functionality in time, but as you guessed, it’s not that high a priority for now. What we could add easily for the next version is to have the Z key work the same as the W key, and the Q key work the same as the A key on WASD keyboards. Would that help you until we have user configurable key bindings?

    Is there a way to minimize trees or remove them from view? Sometimes, a tree hides an open tile just behind it. So, a way to minimize the trees (by shrinking them or removing the crown of the trees) could be handy. Right now, using the 180° rotator is a bit cumbersome.

    Left-clicking an open tile behind a tree will temporarily hide that tree (and, in fact, all other trees hiding the path that leads onto that tile). There is no global toggle to hide or minimize all trees, though. Is that sufficient or still too cumbersome?

    Right now, once a Battle Brother uses an ability such as Spearwall or Shieldwall, his turn doesn’t automatically end. He’s still able to move, but nothing more. Does this mean that an agile BB (one with a lot of movement points) will be able to for instance to enable a shieldwall, move over and still attack the enemy?

    No. We decided on the same amount of action points (currently 9) for every Battle Brother for balancing reasons. The way it is now, the player has two actions available with one-handed weapons (e.g. shieldwall + an attack) and one action with two-handed weapons, which really helps to distinguish them. Adding just one or two action points more would, for example, allow the crossbow to fire two times in a single turn, greatly changing the balance of power for weapons.

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    #713
    Avatar photoLynchden
    Participant

    Would you consider giving spears a range of two tiles instead of just one? It seems to me they should have a longer reach. I like the idea of brother with a spear hiding behind a heavily armored tank.

    Love the game.

    #716
    Avatar photoRap
    Keymaster

    Glad you enjoy the game! (:

    The billhook has a range of two tiles and can be used from behind the front line, just like you describe. In fact, having a front line of spear-wielders using the spearwall skill and a few billhook users in the back to attack anything that gets through can be quite effective.

    I don’t think we’ll change the spear to also have a range of two tiles; it would upset the weapon balance when we’re quite satisfied with how the spear works right now and has a tactical niche of its own. Having a range of two tiles works for the billhook because of the trade-off that comes with it being a two-handed weapon; the user can’t wear a shield at the same time and only has one attack per turn.

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    #717
    Avatar photopetur
    Participant

    This looks extremely promising. Most impressive art, runs smooth, and I was basically sold as soon as I saw the world map.

    Other than that, my only feedback is that for some reason this site’s WordPress theme is all in german (for me at least) — which was slightly odd, and considering it may turn some people away from registering, it’s probably worth looking into.

    But yeah, all in all, great job.

    #718
    Avatar photoRap
    Keymaster

    Yikes! Thanks for letting us know about this. We’ll look into it immediately.

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    #898
    Avatar photoBobHound
    Participant

    Tried the combat build after it was featured on RPS. Great stuff! Really looking forward to seeing this progress!

    #902
    Avatar photoPsenBattle
    Keymaster

    Thanks man! We´re working hard and will keep you updated :)

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