Greetings, Captain!
Campaign work has been going on in the background, but we wanted this diary to be one of the more visual ones. In the build-up to the Campaign Preview release, which is drawing ever closer, we'll be showcasing some new units that are expected to make it into the game with the Campaign Preview in addition to what you already see in our existing modes. Today, we are starting with a much needed make-over for the Fubuki-Class. Now let's get to it!
Current Situation:
As might have been the first change you've noticed, the Fubuki has her name written out in bold white letters in the middle of the hull. This, along with the white stripes of varying numbers on the aft funnel, have historically featured in the liveries of the ships of the class.
Here, you see another ship of the class, with another name and a different number of stripes. The turrets are also different. Can you read her name?
In the Campaign, you'll have an action history (a feature we intend to pay a great deal of attention to, though in a later update), and to help with immersion, ship names will be picked from a pool of historical names. Ships that historically have their name written on the hull, such as those of the Fubuki-Class, will have their names written correctly on the hull.
The next thing to notice is, well, the third turret. Those of you who already have some experience wrangling angry Fubukis might have noticed that the version we have in game is a late 1944 variant with one of the aft turrets replaced by several AA guns. While technically out of the time period Boat Crew is covering, we feel that gameplay variety is a worthy cause for some creative license.
We also have two separate two-gun turrets, which will have different performance. It's up to you to find out which is which!
You can expect to see Fubuki-Class, and most likely other ships with different armaments in different contexts during the Campaign.
The point of such in-class variety is to encourage visual identification. While a glance at a Fubuki or even a report of one should be enough to let you know you aren't facing your average Soukoutei muppet, we wanted to encourage players to observe enemies and keep track of subtle differences in their appearance to have full understanding of what they are about to face.
Goals for the Next Cycle:
In the next cycle, we're going to keep testing the Campaign mechanics we already have implemented and discussed previously, and possibly move on talking about the player's interaction with the world. Either way, we'll most likely be back to one of those more mechanical talks next time around.
Fair winds, Captain!
T.T.