What is Battle Brothers?

Hey guys and welcome to our official Battle Brothers development blog!

Here we will give you insights into the development process and keep you updated on our progress, the mechanics of the game, features we are about to implement and all that jazz. You are welcome to let us know what you think in our forums or just give us a shout on our social media channels: facebook, twitter and youtube.

Currently the game is in Pre-Alpha stage but we are planning on doing a public Pre-Alpha test in the near future to get your feedback – so stay excited! To get a first overview check out our pre-alpha-gameplay-presentation on youtube.

About the game

Battle Brothers is a challenging turn based strategy RPG mix for PC, Mac and Linux. It is being developed by Overhype Studios and is in pre-alpha stage right now. The gameplay is inspired by such classics as X-com: UFO Defense and Jagged Alliance.

You take on the role of a leader of a band of mercenaries and adventurers on the hunt for treasure, fame and legendary artifacts. As you journey onwards, an epic scale invasion unfolds that leaves nothing but burning rubble in its wake. You and your Battle Brothers emerge as the people’s last hope to unravel the source of the invasion and strike at its heart. Will you turn out to be an able commander using cunning tactical outfits to emerge victorious, or will you fail miserably sending your men into a futile bloodbath? It is up to you, but be careful – every decision matters.

Gameplay

The game consists of a strategical layer, or worldmap, and a tactical combat layer. On the worldmap you can choose where to travel next in order to find places worth looting, enemies worth pursuing or towns to resupply and hire men at. This is also where you manage, level up and equip your troops, craft equipment and engage in discovering ancient mysteries through study of dusty tomes. Once you move close to an enemy force or potentially dangerous place you will switch to the tactical combat map where the actual fighting takes place. Both the worldmap and the combat maps will be procedurally generated so no two playthroughs will ever be alike.

Further down you find a feature list, but keep in mind that the game is still in Pre-Alpha and the list may change at any time.

Features

• Procedurally generated.  Worldmap, combat maps, characters and even the nature of the invasion itself are procedurally generated. No two games will ever be alike!
• Open and dynamic world. No boring linear missions, you decide where to go and what to do! But with choice come consequences – the world will change permanently as the invasion sweeps the lands, and you may just find a town burned to the ground if you don’t come to its aid.
• Permadeath – decisions really matter. If a Battle Brother is killed in combat he is dead forever, his experience and skills will be lost. So you better think twice about that suicide charge with your most experienced Brother.
• Complex yet intuitive mechanics. Below the surface is a complex system working but we dont want players to study manuals and tutorials all day long. If it makes sense in real life it makes sense in Battle Brothers.
• Huge tactical combat maps. This is not checkers, this is a grown-up combat simulation. Field up to 12 Battle Brothers at the same time on huge combat maps. Send your rangers through the woods into the back of the enemy while your armored shieldbearers stall the enemy attack.
• Height levels in combat maps. Use the high grounds for your tactical advantage! Increase the range of your archers or repell overwhelming attacks against unsurmountable enemy numbers.
• Diverse enemy roster. Enemies don’t just differ in name. All enemies have unique skills and unique AI behavior, and you have to adjust your tactics if you want to stand a chance.
• Character development. Each Battle Brother gains experience through combat. Level them up and aquire new, powerful skills and abilities to fit your own strategy.
• No restrictive class-system. Your Battle Brother’s skills and abilities are given by their equipment and level. You want to make an all ranged squad? The only limitations is whether it stands the test on the field of battle!
• Detailed inventory system. Equip your Battle Brothers with weapons, arms, armor and powerful accessories.
• What you see is what you get. Every piece of equipment your Battle Brothers are wearing is displayed on the tactical map. This allows for making your troops look like you really want them to!
• Dynamic damage display. See your Battle Brothers smash shields, get their armor shredded to pieces or get beaten to a pulp! Of course the same goes for the enemies.
• Full fledged crafting system. Find and research new crafting recipes, gather resources and craft deadly weapons and impenetrable armor.