After getting into the details of how squad weapons and special weapons work, we are looking at the second important part: the soldiers wielding those weapons! We will also see what other types of equipment can be brought to the battlefield.
Squad Leaders
There are two fundamentally different character types in MENACE: Squad Leaders and Pilots. In today's diary, we look at the former and keep the latter for a future diary.
What are squad leaders in MENACE?
Any unit you deploy in MENACE features a squad leader acting as its identification figure and its commander on the battlefield. Squad Leaders (short SLs) are handwritten characters with their own backstory and unique perk tree.
Furthermore, they have a set of specific stats reflecting their squad's capabilities. However, being unique doesn't automatically protect the SLs from harm. They can still be killed on the battlefield, so you have to take that into consideration when going for bold moves and suicide missions.
Squad Badges
When a squad loses all elements, the squad leader is “bleeding out.” Other SLs have a short time to head over there and stabilize them. This will make sure they are not dead, but they will still be out of action for a while and recover from their injuries.
Why Written Characters?
From the very start of the project, we had a lot of discussions about whether characters or, in this case, squad leaders should be handwritten or procedurally generated (like in Battle Brothers).
Through procedural generation you can create an infinite amount of different characters, but the possibilities of meaningful dialogue or even character development are very limited or almost nonexistent. There is no persistence in relations or behaviour between the procedural individuals.
On top of that, after a while, the different components of the generation become apparent and recognizable to the player.
For MENACE, the interaction between characters and their reactions to the world is a very important tool for world-building and immersion, as are their opinions on certain topics.
In this regard MENACE takes a lot of influence from games like Jagged Alliance or the old Wing Commander. Characters are written personalities that can still permanently die.
Being able to give the squad leaders actual voices adds a lot of personality and attitude, which is especially important in the setting of MENACE, where a bunch of very different personalities with wildly different backgrounds have to get along.
Of course, the amount of written characters is limited, so if too many die, that means game over.
Squad Leader Stats
Each squad leader has a variety of different skills and characteristics.
- Action Points: Each character has a finite amount of Action Points, or AP, per turn. Any action, like moving a tile or using a skill, costs a certain amount of AP.
- Hitpoints per Element: The amount of damage a unit can take until one of its elements is removed as a casualty. A squad with 10HP and five elements can take a total of 50 damage until it is completely out of action.
- Armor Value: Depends on the armor the squad has equipped. The higher the value, the more penetration an attack needs to deal damage. Armors also have durability that is reduced every time the armor successfully stops a bullet.
- Discipline: Reduces incoming suppression and increases suppression recovery. Moral tests are also done against the discipline of a unit. These have to be succeeded when losing elements, friendly units getting killed, or allies fleeing from the battle. The higher the discipline, the less likely a squad is to become wavering or retreat from the battlefield.
- Accuracy: This determines the chances to hit for all attacks. Accuracy can be reduced by being suppressed by enemy fire and other effects. It can also be improved by deploying.
- Detection: How well the squad can detect hidden/concealed enemy units. This value is subtracted from the enemy’s concealment value.
- View Range: The distance in tiles the squad can see and reveal enemy units that have no concealment. Certain large objects can completely block lines of sight and allow for unrevealed approaches.
- Concealment: How well the squad can stay hidden while in the field of view of enemy units. This is also increased by the environment like forests, buildings, or tall grass. A unit with some concealment that is deployed behind cover can ambush enemies very effectively.
- Unique Starting Perk: Every squad leader starts with one unique perk already unlocked. These are very different between SLs and are designed in a way to make them feel unique and emphasize each individual's character.
- Perk Tree: Each squad leader has their own perk tree that can be unlocked through “promotions.” Not all perks are unique to this character, but the selection and order of unlocks will be different for each.
Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
That's it for now. Let us know what you think about the Squad Leaders.
You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.
In next week's Dev Diary we'll talk about "Supplies and Equipment".
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/
And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515196931452961302
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/535464414104519508
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/512947503265480935