I’m very pleased to announce that the server infrastructure that I’ve been working on for the last couple of months is nearing completion, and that the sandbox can now be played online in multiplayer mode.
This is now working:
Go to https://battlematch.io and click the Sandbox button to launch a new sandbox. Each sandbox is assigned a unique web address (url), and anyone can visit that sandbox by entering the address in any browser. There’s no lobby yet, so currently you have to invite other players by sharing the sandbox link. Online play requires that you are logged in and have Battle Pass for hosting the battle online. During pre-release, you can get one by adding the game to your wishlist. Note: You need to set the Game details in you profile to Public. After changing the profile settings in Steam, you need to logout and login again by clicking your avatar in the top left corner of the Battle Match page.
It’s possible to deploy blue and red units, issue move and target commands, and have the units walk around and fight each other. If you squint your eyes, this might start looking like a game :)
The community forum is now open: https://community.battlematch.io. This will be the main channel for feedback and bug reports. Here you’ll also find details about new releases and what is being planned and worked on during the current two-week sprint. You are most welcome to join the discussion.
What is not working (yet):
This is list of things needed for the Early Access release on Steam (in rough to-do order).
- The netcode is up and running, but needs some further work to ensure that it runs smoothly and uninterruped.
- The battle simulation has up to now been a more of a prototype (enough to be able to test the netcode), and the mechanics need major work to implement all the relevant aspects of battle: movement of individal and units, melee combat, missile weapons and artillery, terrain effects such as height/vegetation/water, and psycological aspects like morale and fatigue. This will be the primary focus for the coming sprints.
- Finalize command gestures, for issuing movement and target orders. Add support for selecting multiple units and commanding groups of units. The camera gestures are mostly working, but need some final fine tuning. Need to add control settings and to be able to customize keys.
- For turning the sandbox into an actual game, we need matches/teams and victory conditions. Initially, last-man-standing, but I’ll make sure to support other future victory conditions as well (king-of-the-hill, catch-the-ball, whatever).
- Add in-game chat. Very important for an online game, for obvious reasons.
- Add the Samurai Wars lobby. Obviously also very important for an online game, it must be super easy to be able find and challenge other players.
- The final thing needed for the Early Access is the desktop app downloadable from Steam.
The timeframe for all this is towards the end of 2025.
Early Access
Once in Early Access the plan is to move on to new exiting features. I will decide the scope in more detail in due time, but it will roughly look something like this:
- Reintroduce the map editor and seamless map sharing through the Steam Workshop.
- Add a powerful built-in mod editor and mod sharing, also with workshop. There will be some support for scripting as well, with the ability to add more advanced victory conditions and story-driven scenarios.
- Support for improved unit selection and deployment phase, so that players can customize the their armies at the start of the battle.
- Add support for clans, so that you can manage membership and arrange clan matches.
- Some kind of leaderboard ranking system, to keep track of players and clans score/ratings.