It’s been almost a fortnight since the last update, so definitely time for the latest news on how the game is coming along.
First off, I hope you have noticed that the game at long last has a proper logo! Designed by the talented Przemysław Gul, it is the first result of the commission work that I mentioned in earlier updates. It’s very exciting to see the visual identity of the game starting to come together, and I look forward to sharing more of this effort in future updates.
Development-wise, focus has been on the battle system and some of the early game mechanics, as well as some warlord specific mechanics. It’s still going to be at least a couple of weeks before I have something tangible to share on the battle system, but I plan to show an improved auto-resolve in the next video update. If all goes well it will be ready next weekend.
I am still aiming to do the first round of Early Access via Steam, and hopefully I’ll be able to initiate the greenlight process before the month is over. Until then I’ll be busy with the battle engine and the usual stream of content and mechanics work.
Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights from the last two weeks (I probably forgot something):
- Most of the time was spent on the battle engine.
- The location of the Relic sought by a Relic cult is now generated. This information is hidden until enough clues have been gathered.
- A clue system has been implemented for various quests and story-based mechanics. Clues can be gained from events, diplomacy, follower missions, dungeons, etc.
- Added toponym generation for Celtic inspired cultures.
- Some refactorings and optimizations to the language system so it is more robust, has better performance and uses less memory. A few bugs were uncovered and fixed while doing this.
- Outposts now have levels and can be upgraded to a maximum of level 5. This represents size, infrastructure, scouting capabilities, supplies, etc. At level 3 and above the outpost can be upgraded to a Fortress.
- Fortress type mechanics have been streamlined and there are now the following types of fortresses (in order of progression): Fort, Tower, Keep, Castle, Citadel.
- Some work done on the AI for “organization”-type factions (cults, knightly orders, secret societies, etc.) including special actions related to fulfilling their goals.
- Monster and Unit mechanics have been unified and improved as part of the battle engine work. Previously the logic governing and defining a single monster (as found in a dungeon or for an event) was separate from that used in battles (ie fielding a dragon or a monstrous host).