GOD

[GOD]

But that would kill any sense of exploration. It never felt like you needed to check the map before accepting a quest anyway, since the location is made visible for you, unless you’re considering a delivery quest and need to check where you are. In fact, locations becoming visible upon accepting a quest almost feels like that cheating right now.

[GOD]

Off the top of my head, the most noticeable is that the wïederganger looks different and is called a zombie. So it’s not that much right now, but I’m thinking more of what the game might look like by next year as development continues and the differences increase. At launch is when you want to draw people’s attention and when most people will try the demo to see if they like it.

[GOD]

Anonymous wrote:

I’d like a viking-dwarve hybrid. The lore could have them as a queer folk, with a queer tongue, queer customs, that raid and pillage the human villages to the south. They themselves live in the wintery expanse in the north. They could be very stocky, carry weapons that no normal man could dream of carrying, let alone wielding.

Dwarfs, Elves and Halflings don’t exist in this world according to the faq.

Buce wrote:

It would be nice to work for different (opposite to each other) factions and change their attitude for our band of brothers by making quest.
I would gladly see some factions like loyalists (supporting the King), revolutionaries (against the King), the Holy Church (in the middle). Such faction would give us rather storyline quests than generic quests. What do you think about it?

There might be something like this in the events, but as far as I can tell all friendly factions will be friendly with each other. Although I’m not a 100% sure on that.

Binkus wrote:

I personally would like to see Jungle Pygmies or Amazons
bones through noses, short with little or no armour and blow pipe darts whistling through the trees
i can hear the chanting as they march through the jungle, especially if they could fire even though trees were blocking their path
i think their presence would be in-keeping with the dark world of this game.

That wouldn’t really fit the Germanic theme – being so strongly connected to South-America and the African jungles. However, you might get something like it with the Goblins. Angry little green men, shooting from among the trees. :P

[GOD]

Markers on the map itself would stand out too much, but you could have clicking on the dead mercenary in the menu cause the screen to centre on the place where he died. Or you could have the graveyard as a full menu, with a little map next to the portrait of where he died

[GOD]

If they do, I’d suggest slightly updating it with the new look of the game. You want to give people the best possible impression of your game, so that you don’t miss out on people who aren’t convinced by some of the old placeholders. Maybe something to do just before the game is fully launched?

[GOD]

screeg wrote:

Why not keep the game open and everyone play as they like?

I don’t know how successfully I can argue this in a blog thread, but: it’s up to the developer to create a consistent, enjoyable play experience. If the devs attempt to create a game where “everyone plays as they like”, you’re likely to end up with a muddled, unfocused, or at the very least, unbalanced mess.
Creating a game where the player decides who he’s going to start with, how powerful they are, what backgrounds, perks etc. is fundamentally different from what they’ve got now, and 99% of players are going to start with three professional fighters every single time. Overhype has so far developed a challenging, brutal game where the player experiences real consequences. Diluting aspects of that potentially changes BB from a tense, suspenseful experience that people will talk about for years (Dark Souls) to a good tactical combat game that people thought was fun (so what?)
Look at what the devs of Darkest Dungeon are doing. Do you think people would be raving about that game if they could save whenever they want? If they could get a do-over whenever their party was wiped out?

This is basically my worry as well. It relates to the ‘feel’ of the game that is created through all the details spread througout the game. Details like no damage number above units, subdued bust colours, no Elves or Dwarves, etc. Part of why we probably all like this game is because of this atmosphere. Grit without the grimdark. And part of this atmosphere is also that the game starts with you as the founder of a company of mercenaries, many of whom will die, and not as the leader of a party of adventurers. Adding full-on character creation has too many heroic connotations to it and puts too much emphasis on your starting group. This clashes with the tone and style of what they’ve build up so far.

[GOD]

screeg wrote:

I love me some polearms, but I wouldn’t want to see fourteen different ones implemented just for the sake of a dozen different graphics. It’s nice when different weapons have different use cases, special attacks, etc., different reasons to use them. Otherwise it would just look like filler.
I’ve always had a soft spot for pitchforks though (anyone ever play Phantasie II?)

Several of them can be weapons in their own rights and others can serve as weaker or stronger versions of each other. Like the Viking sword being a weaker arming sword. Or as ways to make a recruit more unique, like the pickaxe or fish spear. I agree though that fifteen variants of the same weapon with different portraits would get boring – this ain’t Diablo. :P

Buce wrote:

I would add Longsword (one of the most universal weapon)
It provide less damage than real Two-hander but bonus to defence and it’s also two-handed.
Perks:
1) riposte (better than arming sword)
2) half-sword (less damage but can penetrate/avoid armor)
3) murder stroke (can stun enemy like mace with pummel)
4) normal attack.

Liking this idea. It reflects how two-handed weapons weren’t just brute force and had sophisticated martial arts associated to them.

Trig wrote:

Regarding weapons.

Right now, apart from the riposte function which is somewhat useful vs. werewolves, the swords in the game don’t have any real advantage. In fact they’re the least versatile in game. Worse against armours, less damage than axes.
Yet historically they were (until the arrival of plate mail) the most expensive and prestigious weapon exactly because they combined severala dvantages of other weapons. They could chop like an axe, pierce like a spear, parry and defend, were most balanced of the lot, much easier to wield and handle than an axe, etc.
Perhaps enable the pierce armour that the scramasax has also for all one-handed swords, have them also slightly increase melee defence.
And another thing I’d like to see, if practicable (I know it requires extra work for a very minor effect) but, not all weapons need completely unique characteristics, but for variety sake it would be lovely to get different items of the same type. Swords with different hilts or blade lengths and one is 5 points more deadly, other does 5% more armour damage, another is quality made so less fatigue, etc… Tiny differences of basically same items.

Riposte is really useful though? Just get that defence up and score the taunt perk. Stab. Stab. Stab. It’s really useful in a situation where you’re going to get attacked a lot. And the greatsword is great for swinging around a flank and just carving a bloody path. I also expect the amount of more lightly armoured opponents to increase when Goblins get introduced, so that should give the sword more to slash at.
Swords are also not as versatile as polearms, though they do provide a mobile alternative to it. I agree though that the crossguard was exceptionally useful, maybe that could be reflected in the game in some way. They could also add something like the estoc, which specialised in piercing mail and plate and had no slashing power.

I think they’re planning something akin to weapon characteristics in the shape of degrees of weapon quality (rusty sword). That might not be what you’re going for – maybe it could get implemented if they ever go back to their crafting plans?

[GOD]

I tend to be in favour of anything that increases the amount of tactical options that the player has, but in this case I worry that it might clash too much with the semi-realistic tone of the game. Dual-wielding pretty much didn’t happen outside of specific styles centred around it – usually using light weapons like Buce notes – and even then it was really rare. Mostly suited to something like a duel. This is because shields basically outperform a second weapon in every single way. Better defence, you attack with it just as well, protection from arrows, easier to use, can form a shieldwall, and so on. In case of a destroyed shield it would also be more natural to just start two-handing your main weapon, because you can’t actually protect yourself with a sidearm the way you can with a shield and you can do more damage that way. Not to say that it didn’t happen, it’s just that shields are amazingly useful.
There’s also the problem of implementing it in this action point system to reflect to above. It would either be too useful or something that you would only want to use for role-playing purposes.

I’m of the same mind in looking for ways to expand your options in combat, though!

[GOD]

Ah, that explains it. I seriously thought you were planning on single-handedly animating multiple attack frames, for every single weapon in the game and for every single faction. I was all impressed by your ambition! :D

Eager to see you’ll turn up with, though I think your current style looks great too.

[GOD]

Yeah, Javelin and Crossbow as well. Easy to miss though since you usually won’t read the popup every time, so putting an ‘ammo’ icon somewhere in the UI might be a good idea.

[GOD]

Anonymous wrote:

I like your take on this!

Glad to hear it. :) I love that kind of stuff because it reflects how living beings actually act. Cross-cultural influence takes place even between groups that only communicate through violence. It’s incredibly fascinating.

screeg wrote:

How about a more fantastical faction, like Lovecraft-inspired creatures that attack from underground? You would encounter them in caves or dungeons only (which I believe is a future tileset goal). Special mission: they’ve infiltrated a castle or city from below. This faction would generally have higher level/challenge units.

I’m torn myself. I love surrealist monstrosities, but a big part part of what makes Lovecraftian monsters frightening is that you rarely actually see them and that you can’t win in a fight against them. If they can be beaten, they’re not Lovecraftian. However, Germanic folklore has plenty of horrifying monsters that could hide a in dark corner and more monsters are going to be added to the Beast faction. The Werewolves are already traumatising people. Maybe something horrifying will get added or maybe a hypothetical Demon faction will have elements of it?

Sarissofoi wrote:

I think that devs plan a rat beats nation similar to Skavens and some sort of Arabic or Turkish kingdom.
Although it will be nice have some semi Bizantines imperial faction and Slavic faction.

A Skaven nation is almost a neccesity; they are just fantastic. One of the best things to come out of Warhammer Fantasy and a great personification of plagues. They should probably be careful not to call them that though. :P Byzantine and Slavic themed nations would also be excellent, especially since they naturally connect to the Germanic theme.

Really, there’s just so many kinds of nations that would make excellent additions and just three developers to actually implement them. Fingers crossed for multiple expansions and good mod-tools.

[GOD]

Wouldn’t an enemy faction like that kind of occupy the same spot as the Greenskins – particularly Goblins? I do recall the devs toying with a Viking/’invaders from the cold north’ kind of faction. Also a Demon faction. I might be remembering wrong, though.

If the map ever gets expanded, maybe there could be small villages of wildmen that live off hunting near the Orcish homelands. Kind of like a cultural transitioning point. Those could could function as less advanced towns for contract, supplies and recruits if you to decide to go near those lands.

[GOD]

Weapons like bows can have two skill icons, though. So you’d have the number displayed twice, which could look a bit weird. Maybe have it as an icon + number somewhere in the space above the statistics?

[GOD]

You wouldn’t need a sanity meter. Instead, you could have mercenaries gaining positive or negative traits in response to situations or certain events. Basically this, if I may self-plagiarise. :P
Like having an event where a hedge knight is challenged to a duel. Saying no might have him feel dishonored and gain a trait that lowers resolve resolve or loyalty. Having him fight and win could then give him a trait that increases resolve. Whether they get postive or negative traits could then be influenced by stats and traits the mercenary already has – a hedge knight with a trait related to loyalty might accept your decision and not get negative trait.
You could apply the same thing to situations that might induce madness, while taking backgrounds and traits into consideration. Like a witchunter who’s the sole survivor of a ghost attack becoming even more determined to destroy the undead.

I think the way to keep it from being frustrating would be to have these kind of traits and events be the logical consequences of your actions, like how not helping a city can result in it getting destroyed. They shouldn’t serve as an extra punishment for when a situation turns sour, but as little touches that make each mercenary stand out.

Helbrecht wrote:

Moin moin nach Hamburg

Madness, Amputations, Sickness, stuff like that. Im thinking about the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay P&P. I think it kinda fits together, Batle Brothers has this grimdark, german-ish setting too. So, any plans on a terror and crippling system? Really enjoyed your game so far, as a Warhammer fan, you have to love it. I’m glad you chose low-fantasy too. Greetings from Hessen!

Yeah, it has that feel of older stories where the woods are something to be avoided ’cause that’s where the monsters dwell that eat men.

[GOD]

Would that really change anything, though? You’d still want to check which stats you level up before doing anything and having to wait for moments to change focus would only limit your choices. They might want to polish the looks of it a bit more at one point, but right now the design itself feels perfectly practical.

[Author]

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