Changes
Happy new year everyone! This first major update of 2022 is only the start of the many big changes and additions we have planned for The Rebellion this year, and we hope that version .24 gives you guys an idea of the direction we want to take the game. We want to focus on adding in essential systems that make the game flow better (as an example in this update, requirements), finishing up and polishing the gameplay elements we do have (Like the skirmish AI), and refining our code to make sure the game runs smoother. We'll be putting in new content as we go, however making the core of the game meet a certain standard is above all else!
Structure Addons
Building an Addon!
You can now expand certain structures with addons! Structures will have a certain amount of slots, indicated over their selection widget, which you can fill with addons. While building an addon, the structure is locked out of other activities like training, crafting, or processing resources; however the reward is worth the investment! From processing a lot more resources with a superheated forge, to building an armory for your peasants to arm themselves at, structure addons will add a ton of variety to the game.
Call to Arms!!!
Structure addons are something that we've had on the backlog for a while, however we just didn't know the right time to implement them. A big factor into adding them in now was the state of the tech tree and balance of the game before this update. Generally speaking, two strategies were insanely powerful; rushing Sergeants, and rushing heavy iron equipment. Since beforehand you could just select these options from the get go, it really made the basic iron equipment and the Guardsman feel almost pointless. Now, everything flows a lot better and there is a logical progression of the tech tree that leads up into better equipment and units.
Requirements
The Sergeant is now a bit needier
So, on a slightly less exciting but equally as important (perhaps more important!) note, we've added in requirements to the game. Requirements are one of those systems that you don't typically think of as essential to an RTS, however almost every RTS has some form of them and they tend to define the core gameplay loop; especially in regards to base/techtree management.
This was one of those systems that really should have been in the game since the start; however now that it is in it'll make content development a lot easier later on. Abilities, items, units, and structures now all have the potential to require something; for instance, the Sergeant needs an expansion on the barracks to be trained, or the peasant needs the armory to be finished to use Call to Arms.
New Voice Acting
We've added a bunch of new voice lines to the game! The Overseer now is fully voice acted, and the peasant has a ton of new lines. Every time a structure or add on is finished, the peasant will (mostly) let you know with a few unique lines for each object! This is mostly a polish thing, but for me it really helps make base building and the RTS experience come to life.
We've also taken the time to re-record a lot of the older voice lines in the game. There are a few stragglers, which we'll replace in the very near future, however we think you guys will like the new ones a lot better! Primarily the quality and clarity of the audio has improved, and we've added in new lines for the few that were a bit repetitive.
UI Polish
Better looking tooltips!
It's a long road to a fully polished UI experience, however when we can we try to make things look and function better. We've improved the way tooltips look across the board, adding in new minimalistic assets and doing things like refining what the borders look like.
We've also finally added in a way to see how resource refining works; if you have a resource processing structure selected and hover over the new button displaying the types of resources generated, it will give you information about the rate and efficiency of resource processing.
Other Changes
We've done a lot of balance changes, and fixed some crashes as well. I'll try and give as many details as possible here!
Weaponry Changes
Maces were very dominant, especially in the early game. They still might be too strong, we'll likely be moving them around for a while until we feel like they are balanced.
-Increased base stamina cost of the Mace swing to 28 from 22
-Increased base stamina cost of the Mace slam to 32 from 26
-Increased base stamina cost of the Hammer swing to 30 from 20
-Increased base stamina cost of the Hammer slam to 35 from 28
-Increased the weight of the Iron Mace to 25 from 23
-Increased the damage multiplier of the two handed sword stab to 140% from 120%
Structure Changes
We felt like the lumber cost of structures was a little harsh early on; and with the addition of addons it just makes sense to lower the cost of structures across the board.
-Reduced the Lumber cost of the Home to 175 from 250
-Reduced the Lumber cost of the Sawmill to 350 from 400
-Reduced the Lumber cost of the Refinery to 400 from 500
-Reduced the Lumber cost of the Barracks to 350 from 400
-Reduced the Lumber cost of the Granary to 400 from 500
-Reduced the Iron cost of the Blacksmith to 150 from 200
Other
-Added some variety into the Skirmish AI builds
-Increased the amount of wood trees provide on the Hidden Ruins map to 3000 each from 1000
-Fixed a crash with the construction ghost not properly being referenced
-Fixed a crash when sitting on a victory or defeat screen for too long
-Changed the lighting to be a bit less dark in the very early morning
-Fixed some ore rocks that were unreachable on Hidden Ruins