So not too long ago I released the Crits and Vets update, among other things.
Click here to check the Crits and Vets Patch Notes
The critical hits in particular were something I was thinking about for the entire duration of the project, and it took a long time to land on their inclusion, let alone their implementation.
In The Grandest Fleet, the primary inspiration for this game, Critical Hits were optional and only affected Battleships, Super Battleships, and, I think, Cruisers. These ships were given a flat 10% chance to 1-shot any ship (emulating hitting a gunpowder magazine).
Turning on Critical Hits was optional, in part, because that implementation kinda sucks. I don't remember any of us using it, and I don't imagine many people did. Battleships were already the best ship before super ships and didn't need the help, while everything else got nothing. So I knew I didn't want to draw inspiration from that.
The original crit design I was thinking of was a 1% chance for each hit to deal +1 damage. I thought that was neat since you could get crazy damage once in a blue moon while it better reflected how each shot had a chance to deal it. Further, it'd be fun to see 3-5 little +1's on rare occasion when you insta-gibbed something. That said, I was quite married to the initial balance since even +1 HP or +1 Damage can drastically alter the game.
HP Balance
So this tangent is that you might not have noticed all the weird HP totals. Why is the Carrier 13? The CVL 8? The Cruiser 21? These totals happen to ride specific breakpoints that allow certain ships to reliably kill them or not, excluding the minor bit of variance on damage, plane crashes, etc.
The Carrier is at 13 because:
A battleship deals 6, and the Carrier should successfully win the 1v1 with a Battleship (6 + 6 + 1)
13 is still under 15, which is the breakpoint for requiring a 4th broadside from a cruiser (5 + 5 + 5)
It allows a Cruiser to two-shot it by engaging in Skirmish and shooting it twice (3 + 5 + 5)
Requires 4 Bombing Runs to kill, which, paired with its 3 Flak, makes it soft-counter Super Carriers and other Carriers.
It's just tanky enough to survive most encounters, while still much easier to burst down than a Cruiser or Battleship.
The CVL was buffed from 7 HP to 8 HP early on because it allows it to survive two bombing runs if you shoot down 2-3 planes. This is just enough tension that they become quite usable if in the back of your fleet, often surviving on 1, while leaving them extremely vulnerable to Cruisers.
The DD was buffed from 8 to 9 HP to make it reliably tank two bombing runs, drastically increasing its ability to be offensive. This breakpoint also means it will usually survive a Skirmish + Broadside from a Cruiser while reliably being killed by a Skirmish + Broadside from a battleship. This is just enough toughness that it can get in and do real damage while not being immediately destroyed if it dares show up while carriers are around.
Every time a balance change is suggested, it has to be analyzed because it will have a ripple effect through the entire matrix of 14 ship types. If Flak becomes slightly too strong, Battleships dominate. If Cruisers do just +1 more damage, battleships no longer counter them appropriately. Currently, a Battleship will 1v2 Cruisers and leave with half of its HP intact. Add just +1 Damage to Cruisers, and the Battleship now loses, with a half-HP cruiser roaming the battlefield.
Every point of HP and Damage goes through a series of hand-calculated checks of ideal play to validate that it doesn't bust something. For instance, buffing Cruisers by 1 HP has very little effect because the damage breakpoints for it align at 20, 24, and 25. Buffing a Battleship by +1 HP, however, would push it to reliably tank an extra bombing run or torpedo, the things meant to counter it!
If you ever noticed how often your ships end on 1 HP, that's not just a bit of luck; it's by design.
Crits-light -> Variable Damage
Before getting to crits, I had added variable cannon/torpedo damage after getting various feedback that people enjoyed the plane gameplay and thought the non-bombing runs were too predictable.
This only gives about a 10% chance of getting an unexpected result, while in general not being a huge deal. It's nice when you get a kill you didn't expect, or it's a bit intense when you expect to survive something and that 5% chance kicks in and you don't.
I knew this wasn't a solution to the crits problem, but it did give a taste that the delicately balanced system being jiggled around by a bit of variance was in itself fun. That this stacks with the implementation of crits gives you two sets of variability that can combine in various ways.
Actual Crits
As a huge fan of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, when others began requesting a similar crit system, I decided that maybe that'd be the way to go. I still had to decide on how to do it, but by focusing less on damage and instead on a variety of effects, now they could happen somewhat frequently and alter your experience significantly, while also not just resulting in everything blowing up instantly. So far, this has shaken out to be:
Hull Breach - +3 damage. A big repeatable effect for memorable/exciting moments and allows for certain upsets, like a Sub popping a PT boat.
Weapons Damaged - Makes all non-Bomber attacks deal less damage. Interacts nicely with Armor or Destroyer's multiple attacks! In addition, the unit's flak hits significantly less often.
Plane Destroyed - Not too exciting, but adds verisimilitude/immersion. It also gives Carriers a special crit when they often lack Weapons to damage, so keeps them eating a similar number of crits.
Engine Damaged - Reduces speed to 2. At 2 speed, you feel it. I tested at 3, but it wasn't quite slow enough. It also increases the chance of incoming crits!
On Fire - Deals 2 damage every combat phase until it's put out, sometimes resulting in 0 damage. Makes for great decision-making. Also reduces speed by 1. It also shares the Flak reducing effect of Weapons Damaged and a smaller multiplier than Engine Damaged for increasing the chance of incoming crits.
Notice that Fire + Engine Damaged can result in a ship being just 1 Movement speed - a burning wreck trying to float to safety while being significantly more vulnerable to further crits - that's pretty sweet! These also interact nicely with the Flagship, as an Engine Damaged Flagship can instantly mess with a Player's plans.
Crit Math
Ah, more math - you gotta love it.
You have to.
You're obligated.
So once again, my crit equation is fun and interesting, and by that I mean a terribly non-linear equation that I came up with while doing a workout.
Crits start off life with a percentage chance equal to the damage dealt. E.g., a Battleship doing 6 to a Destroyer has a 6% chance to cause a Crit. Or wait - EACH CRIT.
So with four crits available, that's already around a 20% chance to cause something interesting to happen. But we're not done.
Crits gain a bonus proportional to the damage vs the target's HP - 6/9 in this case is a 66% multiplier, or 1.66 * 6 = 10. That's 10% to cause a Breach, 10% to cause a Fire, etc.
This is before multipliers (see below). This means that the more appropriate the target is for your weapon, the vastly higher chance you will perform a Critical Hit of some kind. It also means that tough things naturally resist them more frequently.
Repairing Crits
So this was also a bit of a battle. While Fire could be put out, what to do about the Engine and Weapon damage? Those would be healed anytime you heal HP.
But after some thought, you also have a chance to repair your Engine or Weapons at the end of your turn, as that helps generate a bit of excitement and an ability to recover from particularly bad luck. It also opens up design space for future perks.
Veterancy
This is a bit of a tag-along to the article, but it is related. Veterancy allows your units to get better as they gain experience. Damaging opponents, sinking ships, shooting down planes, invading cities, and yes - causing crits all add experience to that ship. This travels mission to mission in the campaign, and by the time you're even a couple of missions in, it's likely you'll have a small cadre of elite ships at the center of your force.
What does it do? Each rank:
Increases your chance of landing a Crit
Reduces your chance of having a Crit dealt to you
Increases the chance of your Flak destroying an opponent's plane
Increases the chances of putting out fires or repairing crits dealt to you
And these aren't small margins either. A Rank 3 ship using flak is currently 60% more effective, has a 45% (multiplicative) higher chance of landing crits on a Rank 0 opponent, while that opponent has a 45% reduced chance of landing a crit on it! An elite force won't be spitting higher damage numbers at you and invincibly shaking off rounds; rather, it'll be disabling your fleet while it avoids that fate itself.
Submarines and Torpedos
Something else that snuck into this patch was the addition of Gun Forts. While I won't harp on it too much, these alter the campaign quite a bit since they are so effective against non-carriers. But they also can't interact with Submarines; this should allow more people to get use out of their Subs, allow people to make a bit of a last stand with Gun Forts to guard their city after a failed push, and importantly - allow the AI to make use of its extra money to make your life difficult since the tech options are limited in the Demo.
Secondly, all Torpedos have about double the chance to cause crits, and some Perks amplify your chance for specific crits. Submarines have been highly contentious in both being difficult for new players when the AI produces too many and being hard to use. The bonus to crits will definitely amplify the voices of those having issues defensively, but should also help Subs have a unique niche of being more lethal than they look at face value.
Closing thoughts
With all of that, I hope these patches continue to bring you back to the Demo and get you excited for the full game. Each one of these patches is but a taste of what's coming, with two more buildings being added to the real game as of this morning!
If you've been enjoying them, I hope you'll consider leaving a Review for the Demo, as it helps Steam know to show it around.
See you soon!