Hello commander!
We hope you are well. We are busy prepping the way for the next milestone, LANNES, and as such, today’s blog post focuses on some general quality of life improvements coming to WARNO.
One important housekeeping note: the Eugen team will have some much-needed holidays next week, with the offices closed on Thursday the 19th and Friday the 20th of May. There will be no blog posts these days.
Once we return, we’ll reveal all the good stuff to be brought with LANNES.
Some new models
Models, models, models. We can’t get enough of them! We continuously update and implement new or revised unit models into WARNO. Our excellent 3D artists are hard at work, for instance, on the MiG-25.
There is more, though. The designers are likewise perfecting the towed weapon’s animations. Howitzers are one unit type, but they are not alone in WARNO. We will also feature mortars, towed SAM (such as the Hawk), and even old-school anti-tank guns firing both rounds and ATGMs (guess…). Each of these requires its own special animation set.
Unit pricing
The cost of things - it’s a non-stop discussion. Fear not: we keep active track of all community feedback on units being too cheap or too pricey when considering their performance. With every batch of units we add to WARNO, though, some new additions might interfere with the parameters of the original pricing system, meaning that it will require some back and forth before we find the best place.
As such, we compare your feedback with our intricate calculation system, which we constantly refine to reflect better the balance we intend with our game.
To give you an idea of what we are working with:
- We simulate each type of weapon. When we do that, we consider the characteristics the team thinks are most relevant to the scale of the game. For example, with a grunt’s assault rifle, we simulate the firing of a salvo, not each bullet.
- On the other hand, for a weapon such as an autocannon, we simulate each individual shell. Depending on what we simulate, we add variables and parameters that define the weapon's power.
- For ATGMs, for instance, the weapon’s characteristics are its power, penetration value, range, accuracy, speed, stabilization quality, and type of guidance.
- We have developed variables for each type of weapon. This lets us check if a weapon is properly configured or not and gives us an objective indicator of the combat power and value of the weapon. This significantly helps when adjusting prices.
However, keep in mind that we are planning a MAJOR price overhaul in the near future. This will happen from category to category, starting very soon with self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGS) and planes before moving to main battle tanks, and so on. Expect some massive price changes!
Forward Deployment
Getting the jump on your opponent is fun, but we are taking into account the latest community feedback on the Forward Deployment mechanic. Comments mention that this deployment option has more and more (or too much) influence on the course of the game. Players seem particularly eager to use the new 2. PzGren. and 4. MSD, thanks to the addition of airborne troops.
We have been discussing this internally and we agree that Forward Deployment poses some issues. In our opinion, the problem is not so much the new airborne units but rather the current roster of recon units. These are present in every deck, usually mobile and armed, and are perfect for rushing forward from the Forward Deployment line. Our airborne units, be it paratroopers or air assault chopper-born squads, we foresee as less of an issue. After being back on the ground, they are generally more static or only possess very light transports.
As such, we are planning to rebalance recon units, either through a more limited Forward Deployment of their own (different from airborne troop), price or card availability, or a combination of all the above measures.
See you on the battlefield
All right, at ease, soldier. That’s all for this week. As mentioned before, we won’t be in next week. Afterward, we’ll be back with all the juicy details on the next WARNO milestone, LANNES!
Join the passionate WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get to together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commander!