Hello everyone! It’s been a while 😅
A lot has happened behind the scenes since the last post,
so let’s dive into the biggest changes...
Outlaw Kingdom is now Outlaw Raiders
Why the name change?
Outlaw Kingdom no longer actually has a "kingdom" in it. Instead, you’ll lead a band of raiders attacking traveling peasants and guards. To avoid misleading players (and because it sounds cooler), I’ve renamed the game from Outlaw Kingdom to Outlaw Raiders.
The original plan...
Before we shifted to a new direction, the following was our original plan for, at the time, Outlaw Kingdom:
We’ve always loved the open world feel of games like Mount & Blade and Total War, and wanted something similar. The idea was to explore a map covered in Fog of War, revealing more of the world as you plunder, with some roguelike flavored layers on top.
Points of Interest (POIs)
The open world was filled with locations like Outposts, Towns, and smaller POIs you could discover and raid.
Roads and paths connected these POIs, allowing peasants and guards to travel between them. Which used to give you plenty of opportunities to ambush travelers and steal their loot.
Base camp
Every bandit crew needs a base camp. And so you could plan and organize your camp layout to suit your playstyle. We originally planned building adjacency bonuses (placing certain buildings next to each other for buffs), but that system was scrapped.
Struggling to "find the fun"
One of our earliest big problems was that the open world just wasn’t as fun as a roguelike should be. No matter how many POIs we added or how much we tweaked things, the core loop didn’t quite click.
Playtesters often built the same buildings and bought the same units every run, which went against the whole idea of roguelike-style variety. Despite working on the open world + camp approach for over half a year, we couldn’t get it to a place we were happy with.
One-man team
We were both living at Spelkollektivet, the world’s largest co-living and co-working space for game developers Check It Out.
Unfortunately, my partner in crime (and the game’s artist) had to move on as he got married (huge congrats, Xaver!) and needed a more stable job, so he had to leave the project. That left me as a solo developer again.
So... what now?
I am the designer, programmer and the one implementing everything into the engine, so all good on that front. But the real hit was losing a dedicated artist for concept art, UI, 3D modeling, and visual polish. Thankfully, I know someone who can help with UI and concept art, and my last 3D intern has been willing to assist part-time, so it hasn't been completely bad on the art side of things.
Rescoping the game
After a lot of wrestling with that open world concept, I realized two of the three main parts of the game just weren’t that fun. Looking back, I probably should have cut the open world much earlier instead of trying to force it to work just because I liked the idea.
I started studying other roguelikes and noticed many of them use Slay the Spire-style node maps. Those maps are something I can build myself without needing tons of new art.
Many of these games also have a "hub" you return to after each run, which grows over time and unlocks new abilities and units. Since we already had a lot of building assets, I decided to make the camp the core meta progression of Outlaw Raiders.
New map
Here’s an early draft of the new map layout:
New meta progression camp
Taking some inspiration from Heroes of Might and Magic 3, I liked the idea of a town that slowly fills up with buildings over time. Each building unlocks a new unit for your next run.
Additional progress
We’ve covered the biggest design shifts, but there’s been a lot more progress since the last update as well.
Sound and music
Sound effects now cover around 70% of the game, and several music tracks are already in place. 👀
Additional biomes
With all the rescoping, I’m still figuring out exactly how different biomes will affect gameplay. The original plans were quite ambitious, but as a solo dev I need to be realistic about what I can deliver.
The Forest
The forest offers plenty of bushes and trees to hide in and ambush unsuspecting travelers.
The Swamps
The swamp is filled with tall reeds and grass you can use for cover.
The Mountains
Still figuring out the best hiding mechanics here... so may end up getting cut.
The Fields
Here you can sneak through the wheat fields to surprise your targets.
The Highlands
More bushes and trees mean more ambush options in the highlands.
Field battles / face-to-face battles
Sometimes you’ll clash with enemies head-on. In these battles, you’ll position your units carefully to maximize damage and survive the encounter.
Conquest / boss maps
I wanted boss encounters to feel distinct, so instead of just another skirmish, you’re assaulting fortified positions.
Outpost
The Outpost was our first Conquest map and taught us that players need multiple avenues of attack, if there’s only one route, your "strategy" just becomes piling everyone into the same choke point.
Castle
One funny lesson from building a proper castle: if you make it too well fortified, it becomes nearly impossible to attack. Some castles will likely need to be reworked to keep them challenging but fair.
New Outlaws
Cultist
Humans who worship wicked gods.
Thornbound
Outcast elves who has been banished for their beliefs, corruption or evil deeds.
Warband
Your typical raiding party of Orcs, Goblins and Ogres.
Iron Legion
Dwarven mercenaries who did too many war crimes and are now outlaws.
New enemies
More enemy types have been added to increase variety and keep runs fresh.
Sell Swords
Battle hardened mercenaries.
Soldiers
The backbone of the Kingdom's Army
The Church
Will strike down any evildoers.
Knights
Nobles who will fight for the weak and innocent.
Icons
Here are some new icons showcasing abilities and traits.
Unit cards
Each unit now has a unique portrait that will appear in-game.
Commanders
Commanders have been reworked: you can now summon them into battle by spending a special resource (more on that in a future update 👀).
Wrapping up
There’s still a lot more that has changed, but it’s too much to fit into a single post. I’ll cover more details in future updates.
As for release: I don’t have a date yet. There’s still a lot of rescoping and refining happening, but I’m committed to seeing Outlaw Raiders through to the end. Thank you for sticking with me while I keep building this game!
For more frequent updates and behind-the-scenes bits, you can follow me here:
X: https://x.com/KasperDev1337
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kasperdev1337.bsky.social
Discord: https://discord.gg/4QNhswXnm6
Youtube: View game page
Your developer,
Kasper.