Hey guys! Time for another update. We've been working hard to sort out issues from your feedback so please keep it coming. Really useful! We've also added an optional response e-mail you can put in the feedback menu, so we can reply to you with questions on your experience or feedback.
We've changed the map data a little bit, and as a result battle saves are no longer compatible. Thankfully we don't think this will impact too many people, but sorry nonetheless!
New AI
A major addition in this update is our big update to the AI. We can do a lot more with it per mission now and it actually processes turns within an hour! We will continue to work on the AI but for now it was rebuilding the base system it worked on, and getting the existing missions working with it. From here we can tailor its behaviour in single-player a lot better, and it should function well in the new Battle Mode!
Battle Mode
With the new AI system, we're able to release Player VS AI maps in Battle Mode. Battle Mode is essentially Hot Seat VS AI and will use all the same maps that are available in multi-player. Right now it's limited to 1v1 until we've had more time to test and polish the feature, then we will look at add larger maps if appropriate.
Clearer Objectives
Some feedback showed us that sometimes people missed their goal for a mission. We don't really want missions to feel like quest-logs but a little direction can help. So we've added glowing marks on objective tiles and a little text to remind you of your goal.
Deploy Menu
Some people were confused with the cost vs count in the deploy menu. On some Single-Player missions we limit the amount of certain units you can buy for balance reasons. Hopefully this new look makes it really clear. Yes you can have 3 units on Mission 1!
Zone of Control
Zone of Control and where you could or couldn't move was really unclear. We've opted for a simpler Zone of Control where entering a Unit's Zone of Control means the end of your move. Zone of Control is designated with the Yellow highlight of tiles. Guarding units exert Zone of Control at twice the distance. We also only show relevant tiles now, and have greatly reduced the clutter of tile highlighting.
Unit Tooltip
We're adding more tooltips as we go, to improve clarify. For example, morale now shows your chance of success or failure for a Rally action. Additionally we've cleaned up the look of the Unit Tooltip and made it more clear if the unit is an enemy, what faction it belongs to etc. The art is not final.
Changelist
- New AI system
- AI processing speed greatly increased
- Battle Mode (Player vs AI)
- Objectives Display
- New deploy menu
- Zone of Control reworked
- Unit Tooltips
- Now show Rally chance on Morale tooltip
- Morale rebalanced to be far less punishing and seem less random
- Improved text colorising on dialogues
- Latest Autosave now displays on the Load menu, the rest are still displayed under 'Show Autosaves'
- Combat Window how displays all modifiers, even trait modifiers (visually needs some work)
- Now show tooltips for disabled specials, so you can check out what they do
- Added Immediate mode for AI only
- You can now deselect a unit by selecting nothing/off
- Updated Campaign images on Front End
- Now show effect when you're at maximum Tactics
- Added more effects (Nearby Enemies, Roads, Bridges)
- Made height of hills more pronounced
- New grid highlighting style
- Tab now cycles between units that can perform actions
- When deploying you can now click the unit again to rotate it however you like
- Fixed: Units fleeing and hiding in trees, causing missions to seem stuck
- Fixed: Animation soft-locks that were causing missions to seem stuck
- Fixed: Various bugs when fighting inside a forest
- Fixed: Removed artifacts on shadows
- Fixed: Ambush effect now properly added in combat window
- Fixed: Effects on siege weapons and walls
- Fixed: You can now scroll the map while the mouse is hovered over a UI element
Known Issues
- Some effects clipping with new terrain height
- Tile highlighting clipping occasionally with new terrain height
- Camera artifacts on some missions when looking at the very edge of the map
- Rotating units in deploy rotates the wrong way initially
- 'Ambush!' message missing
- Some new traits missing localisation text
- AI needs more work, ongoing effort
Future Builds
We're a small team, so when we prioritise on something it leaves other stuff hanging. With a big chunk of AI work out of the way, we'll be delivering single-player missions by the next update.
Thanks for all the support, and please keep the feedback coming!
Build Checksum: e7697c1