Hi Everyone,
It's been a while since our last update, and we've been busy.
For the past several weeks, the focus has been on weapon variants and mission rewards.
The first weapon variants introduced are several swords - some curved, some straight. They are historically inspired and have different effects on cards, both beneficial and detrimental. Each comes with its own visual representation and inventory icon to make recognition at a glance possible.
The default/standard/vanilla sword is based on the arming sword, or more specifically, on the Replica of the Sword of Saint Maurice (see wiki page )
Next up is the gladius, which is currently as long as a spatha. We might rename it that, although spathas were historically used by cavalry units. This one, specifically, has a golden guard, golden pommel, and ivory grip.
Finally, the sicas. These have been especially difficult to draw, as there are multiple sources with their interpretations of how they looked. You can see below the evolution of the cel-shaded civilian sica, which is still a work in progress:
We've also been working on new armor suits. Drawing them is a lot more complex due to the number of different components and, more importantly, their angled appearance. We'll share more on this later.
Of course, creating the art is only a small part of the feature. Much effort goes into the code and data necessary to support it. Different enemies have different chances of being equipped with different weapon variants. For example, bandits are more likely to sport a civilian sica, while deserters are less likely and may instead be equipped with a gladius.
The players need to be able to obtain all those new weapon variants, so we thought it was the best time to finally add item drops to combat missions. As an initial implementation, each mission now has a chance for an enemy to drop their weapons. Missions that have an item drop will be marked with a special icon.
That's all for now; follow the game on Steam for more news, and please wishlist if you haven't already.
Enjoy the weekend!