The Tactical Combat

Once you engage a hostile party or location on the worldmap, you will switch to the tactical combat map. Here you will duke it out with your Battle Brothers against a wide array of enemies on randomly generated and tactically diverse terrain.

Tactical Combat System (Implemented)

The tactical combat is turn-based and has every participant act in order of their initiative. It is somewhat reminiscent of the classic X-Com with a map covered in fog of war, characters using action points for moving and attacking, and equipment, experience and skills determining the overall strength of a character.

Characters make use of skills both offensively and defensively which they have access to based on their equipment. For example, an axe allows for destroying an opponent’s shield, whereas clubs and maces can stun enemies. The combat system takes into account armor at two hit zones, body and head, line of fire and cover for ranged weapons, height advantages, a character being overwhelmed when being attacked by multiple opponents at the same time, fatigue, morale, and more. Most opponents also have unique skills that define their fighting style, such as vampires being able to turn into a swarm of bats or skeletons being highly resistant to ranged attacks.

There is a lot more to the tactical combat than we can explain here. For a detailed description see this blogarticle and download and try our tactical combat demo – you can download it here.

Procedural Combat Maps (Implemented)

The combat maps are randomly generated factoring in the place on the worldmap where the combat was initiated. Fighting in a worldmap forest-tile will generate a map with a lot of vegetation and trees.

Terrain and Height Levels (Implemented)

The tactical combat maps are made of a variety of terrain types and different height levels. Terrain can block your line of sight, hinder your movement, or in the case of swamps, also reduce the combat abilities of someone standing in it. On the other hand, you can use the terrain to your advantage. Characters on a hill benefit from increased view and shooting range, as well as combat advantages. Brushes can be used to hide from enemies and ambush them as soon as they come in range.

Permadeath (Implemented)

A Battle Brother killed in combat is permanently dead with no chance of reviving him at a later point. We want the player to think before putting their mercenaries in high risk situations and consider withdrawing them from combat as they become heavily wounded. Permadeath makes combat that much more meaningful and adds a lot to the grim atmosphere of the game. Also, it creates great stories of heroism and sacrifice.

Weather and Lighting Effects (Todo)

Weather and light effects from the worldmap will also influence the tactical combat. A raincloud or fading light will also appear on the tactical map both visually and with gameplay effects. For example rain reduces the range and effectiveness of bows and crossbows and low light reduces overall vision range. Not all creatures are adversely affected by low light conditions, such as werewolves, and some even gain strength at night, such as vampires.