Dev Log #7: Mastering Command in Battle
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Hi everyone, and welcome to our 7th development log for Master of Command. February has been a fantastic month for us, and we’re excited to share a host of updates, including:
- Updated unit sizes
- An overhauled battle UI
- New stamina, morale, cover, and elevation systems
- Improved stat display in the camp UI and a complete rework of item effects
Ultra-Scale Battle Mode
Our new ultra-scale battle mode features regiments with a much larger number of soldiers. We’ve optimized performance to ensure a smooth experience even with these larger unit scales. For lower-end systems, you can adjust the unit scale as needed. Additionally, units are now spaced based on their professionalism: recruits may struggle to form straight lines, musketeers maintain decent formations, and heavy infantry line up in well-organized rows.
Enhanced Battle UI
The battle screen has received a major facelift from our illustrator. All placeholder icons have been replaced with finalized artwork. The actions are now divided into three color-coded sections:
- Blue: Toggle sprinting, change formations, and halt movement.
- Red: Toggle hold fire, switch to melee-only mode, and adjust firing methods between volley fire and fire-at-will.
- Purple: Special actions such as removing bayonets for increased accuracy, throwing grenades (if available), and switching ammunition types. (Artillery units can choose between solid shot, canister, double canister, and grapeshot—note that all ammunition types must be equipped in the camp screen.)
Officer abilities have been consolidated under a dropdown menu for easier access to passive and active skills. The UI at the bottom scales dynamically with the number of divisions, while the left-side UI now clearly displays unit stats—including current elevation, cover, and stamina. At the top left, you can control your player general, whose presence boosts the morale of nearby troops.
Refined Morale & Unit Display
We’ve reworked the morale system to be more intuitive. Morale is now divided into incremental bars, each representing 20 morale points. This lets you quickly gauge a unit’s strength by the number of dividers in its morale bar. For example, a unit with no dividers has between 20–39 morale, while one with a single divider indicates 40–59 morale.
Additional enhancements include:
- Retreat Indicators: Triangles on the left side of the morale bar show when a unit is nearing its retreat threshold, with a white flash alerting you when danger is imminent.
- Focused Firing: Only the first two rows of troops now fire, preventing overlapping shots from units behind.
- Smoke Effects: New smoke effects build up over the course of the battle, adding both visual flair and tactical feedback.
We’ve also introduced “non-recoverable” morale—a darker section on the morale bar that represents morale lost permanently. As friendly units retreat or are destroyed, non-recoverable morale accumulates, making it much harder to rally troops in prolonged engagements.
The updated range cone improves targeting accuracy, and a blue ring now highlights units that provide morale boosts (including divisional officers and your main commander). Stacking these benefits is especially crucial for inspiring lower-tier recruits.
New Tactical Elements: Cover, Elevation, and Stamina
Cover: Units standing in areas with cover now see a shield icon fill up, indicating a reduction in incoming damage. The effect scales with the quality of cover—better cover means greater damage reduction.
Elevation: Displayed via a mountain icon, elevation now provides a morale boost and improved accuracy. Hills with cover have become key strategic positions on the battlefield.
Stamina: A new on-screen display tracks unit stamina. Prolonged movement or combat will reduce stamina, affecting reload speed and accuracy. Resting, standing idle, or rotating troops helps recover stamina.
Ammunition Status: A dedicated icon shows when a unit is low on or out of ammunition. Ammunition can be replenished by division officers with the “organized” trait, who effectively bring a supply wagon into battle.
Formation & Firing Tactics
We’ve added an “open order” formation for light infantry. This formation spaces troops out to enable free-firing mode and allows units behind to fire over their heads. Note that while the crouching animation isn’t in place yet, it’s on our roadmap. Open order troops are more vulnerable to charges and suffer a morale penalty due to their spacing, whereas denser formations minimize morale damage when under fire.
Additionally, we’re introducing a new “fire by rank” tactic. When a division officer earns the rare “Disciplined” trait, his regiments can execute fire by rank. Although this feature is still being fine-tuned, it’s exciting to see it taking shape.
Camp Improvements
We’ve reworked the camp UI for a cleaner, more focused experience. By analyzing the camp in grayscale, we identified elements that were too bright or distracting. The giant empty inventory area and overly bright upper panels have been darkened to shift focus to your units.
Key changes include:
- Unit Stats: Updated to a clear blue color for better visibility.
- Icons: All placeholder icons have been replaced with finalized art.
- Purchase UI: The “Purchase New Division” interface is now a subtle plus icon that expands on hover, reducing visual clutter.
We’ve also refreshed the overall camp aesthetic—the grass is now greener to evoke spring and summer, with a dedicated winter camp planned for a future update.
Lastly, we reworked unit stats and item effects. Items now provide flat stat bonuses (for example, +5 movement) rather than percentage increases, making it easier to understand their impact. Tooltips offer detailed explanations when hovering over stats. Additionally, cavalry units now display horse models in battle that match the color of the equipped horse, with a corresponding icon next to the unit’s portrait.
Final Thoughts
That wraps up our updates for Master of Command’s battle and camp improvements. We’ve also made significant changes to the campaign mode, which we’ll cover in a dedicated future dev log.
Thank you for reading, and see you next time!