Dev Blog #64: Progress Update – Oceans and Sea Travel

Dec
11

Dev Blog #64: Progress Update – Oceans and Sea Travel

Ever wondered why there is no big body of water in the world of Battle Brothers? Well, wonder no more because now there is! And you can even fast travel from port to port for a small fee to cut down on those long pilgrimages. Let’s check out the details!

Ocean and Coast Lines

A while ago we talked about how we want to reshape the geography of the world of Battle Brothers. How we’ll have both land and sea for an actual continent and smaller islands off the coast. In short, a more believable and varied looking world to play in. If you missed the original announcement back then, you can read up on it here. With this in mind, our focus turned towards the ocean and the coast this week.

eine Insel mit zwei Bergen

Creating a coastline that fits well into our hex-based tile system, looks nice and integrates seamlessly with all kinds of different terrain we now have was a surprisingly nerve-wracking endeavour for our artist. After a long process of trial and error, and experimenting with a wide range of brushes and textures, we now have an actual shoreline along the coast where ocean meets land. With that established we can go further to add various details, like driftwood and rocks, to make the coast look more varied. At the same time we’re looking into animated waves for the ocean in order to make the worldmap feel more alive than before.

Fast Travel by Sea

Not only makes the ocean for more interesting geography, it also makes for natural barriers for travel. In fact, some settlements on islands off the coast can’t even be reached by foot. To make these accessible, and to cut down on travel time across the world in a way that integrates well with the setting, we’ve added fast travel by boat this week.

settlement with docks

Coastal settlements, whether a small fishing village or a mighty castle by the sea, come with docks which can be accessed from the settlement screen. Here you’ll be able to browse through available routes and board a ship for a small fee (depending on distance and the number of men in your employ) to fast travel to another settlement with sea access.

IndieDB Indiegame of the Year: Vote for us!

The well known website IndieDB is hosting their Indiegame of the year voting 2015 right now and Battle Brothers already made it into the top 100! The voting continues until the 20th of December so all of you have the chance to cast a vote for us. Please head over to IndieDB and throw a vote our way – and while you are at it, tell your friends about it. You can follow this LINK or just click on the IndieDB widget below. Thanks so much for supporting us!
Indie of the Year Awards

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About Jaysen

6 comments

  • Avatar photo
    scaryned
    Dec 11, 2015 @ 19:31 pm

    dude, how did you make the shore so smooth?? I didn’t notice until you pointed it out cause it just blended so naturally. even the settlement stuff peaking into the shoreline blends so well, like the bottom one having a murky little inlet divided from the clear blue water.

    amazing work

    • Avatar photo
      PsenBattle
      Dec 14, 2015 @ 11:11 am

      Thanks man,
      I went to hell and back to be honest :) Ill write up a little post about how it exactly works and post it in my art thread.
      Cheers!

  • Avatar photo
    Agathocles
    Dec 12, 2015 @ 1:55 am

    Voted, Battle Brothers deserves it.
    Looks splendid, all the tiny details and the potential unlocked by these new approaches of the Battle Brothers world(s).

  • Avatar photo
    RusBear
    Dec 12, 2015 @ 9:13 am

    Never before in my life have I voted “yes” with such a light heart and confidence :)

    I’m starting to wait for a tactical map of the battle on the beach and battle ships – even the quest scripted :)

  • Avatar photo
    Monsieur Fourmi
    Dec 13, 2015 @ 3:39 am

    Does this mean we will have some battle on ships? Could be really nice! :)

    Thanks for the updates you write each week, it’s always a pleasure to read them!

  • Avatar photo
    Jago
    Dec 13, 2015 @ 15:09 pm

    Voted. And voted again.

    So, will we see how we travel across the sea by boat, or will it work like fast travel in most games? And how do enemies ever get across the sea? I can’t see orcs or undead ever attacking a settlement on an island.

    It looks awesome! Looks like there are so many new locations ahead. Is that an amber mine? A herb womans hut? Slums! And the background of the port is beautiful!

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