Hey everyone ! Combat just got a massive overhaul. Last few weeks turned night assaults from a chore into something tense.
Per-citizen stances
No more global combat mode. Each citizen has their own stance, set from a new Selection Action Bar :
- Peace : civilian, only fights back if cornered.
- Defensive : holds position, engages within weapon range.
- Aggressive : pursues threats, then comes home after the kill.
Mix stances inside a single squad. Spearmen on defense, archers aggressive behind them, civilians fleeing past.
Coordinated hordes
Waves used to be identical zombies in a bag. Now :
- Leaders rally the pack, buff allies' damage and lock everyone onto the same target. Solo zombies caught in the aura get permanently recruited.
- Tier progression : new zombie types unlock as waves escalate. Wave 1 is Ghouls. Wave 10 brings the gold-runed Revenant.
- Door assault : hordes route through your doors and stop to bash them down. Up to 3 zombies hit one door at once, tougher tiers wreck them faster.
- Breach rush : the second a door falls, every nearby zombie pours through.
Combat feel
- Dismemberment : zombies lose a limb on death. Decapitations are rare and very satisfying.
- Blood : splashes, ground decals, trails for the wounded, washed faster by rain.
- Stagger and knockback : heavy hits freeze both fighters briefly. Spear hits actually slide the zombie back.
- Per-weapon sounds : sword, club, spear, bow, fists all sound different. Hitting plate armor sounds metallic, hitting cloth sounds like flesh.
- Smart targeting : if a fight goes 5s without a hit, both sides re-evaluate. No more eternal chases.
- Soft separation : units gently push each other apart, no more pile-stacking on a single tile.
Citizens with a voice
46 gibberish voice samples across 8 emotions (selection, orders, pain, idle chatter, kills). Each citizen has a unique pitch from their name. Idle chatter is intimate, you only hear it zoomed in.
They also wander slowly when idle. The village finally feels alive.
Polish
- New cinematic intro sweep on new games.
- Tree foliage no longer stutters when you cross chunks.
- Trailer capture mode (F6), used for the next teaser.
That's it for devlog #4 ! Next step ? Keep improving the combat system !
If you're interested in following development more closely :
Discord: https://discord.gg/MEBzGzRz5Q
Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPSXqBWwaU
Steam : https://store.steampowered.com/app/4586360/Iskarn/
And if you haven't already, wishlist Iskarn on Steam, it really helps !