Hey everyone!
Today, I want to talk about the new units we will be introducing with version 0.8.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we wanted to introduce Ammo as a new mechanic in order to create supply lines and to make the game more strategic overall. As I offhandedly mentioned at the time, once your soldiers run out of ammo, it will be necessary for them to engage further opponents in melee, rather than simply twiddling their thumbs while they get shot at by their opponents. However, this also means that we will be introducing melee combat for the current musketmen (using a bayonet), and we will be introducing additional units to add more options to the military part of the game and help your progression through the map as you increase the capabilities of your soldiers.
For one, we will be introducing a new melee unit, the swordsman. The swordsman will obviously not be using any ammo, and won't have a gun. He will be charging opponents to get into melee range, and will be the most effective melee fighter (at least for now). The swordsman will be relatively cheap to get (and can be bought early on), so he will be useful for early defence and exploration.
Additionally we will also be introducing a pistoleer unit. A little more expensive than the swordsman, the pistoleer will have his namesake pistol to fight with, which will have a lower range and damage than the musket, but which will reload faster, and the pistoleer will also get faster movement speed than the musketman.
With these three units, we wanted to make sure that they weren’t simply set up as countering each other in a rock-paper-scissors manner, but rather that each one of them could win against the others as long as they were utilised correctly. Once up close (e.g. by walking them around a hill and avoiding line of sight) the swordsman’s melee damage should outstrip the other units close up. Likewise, the pistoleer should excel in mid-range combat, making him a perfect choice when fighting among buildings or large trees. Finally, the musketman should be the best choice to fight in open areas, making army composition and tactics in each specific area important.
Of course, the three new units will also be reflected in the pirates: Initially, it will be swordsmen that will attack you or that will be hidden in the jungle close to your base - but as you are increasing your wealth or advancing further into the island, you will face more and more pistoleers and musketmen as you go.
We may be adjusting all of this for balance as we do more testing, of course, but as always, let us know what you think!
Until next week!