Good Morning! Welcome to another Europe In Ruins Dev Blog. This week we are taking a look at the road map for the mod going forward now that we are on Steam.
It has taken a phenomenal effort from everyone involved in the EIR dev team, past and present, to get us this far. But that does not mean we can rest on our laurels, far from it! There is still plenty of ambition within the dev team to continue improving the mod on every front, so where too next?
Tidying Up
Going forward the first priority we have is cleaning up the mod. That is weeding out as many bugs as we can, solving discrepancies between the launcher and in-game. This will help provide a more crisp experience to those playing the mod, as well as make it easier to make design/ balance decisions, as everything is acting as it should. So if you encounter any bugs, please please let us know on discord. https://discord.gg/drVTJZ2
Reducing the Learning Curve
There are no two ways about it, starting to play Europe In Ruins requires tacking the huge obstacle which is the current learning curve that exists. Now it is important to say that in reducing the learning curve, that does not mean the mod needs dumbing down, nor does it mean we need to cut depth of compromise on interesting design ideas. But it does mean that it is something that needs keeping in mind when it comes to developing every aspect of EIR.
To that end, we want your feedback, especially if you are new to the mod. What did you find the biggest obstacles to getting started in EIR? Have you got any ideas for ways we could reduce the size of these obstacles, or even remove them altogether? Let us know!
Revitalized Doctrines
The Fearsome Churchill AVRE in action - A speciality of the Royal Scots
Doctrines are a huge part of building your own company in Europe In Ruins and while many provide a diverse range of options for the direction of your company, where every selection is a tough decision. There are a few which need some love. To that end, going forward we want to go through the doctrines and give them the love they deserve. In particular, we want to include more selections which are not just stat buffs, but instead, provide more interesting and unique bonuses.
Why include this here? Well we want your suggestions for these unlocks, so let us know your idea on discord! https://discord.gg/drVTJZ2
Even More Persistency
I swear I don't always play Brits
Persistency is the cornerstone of EIR, fighting battle after battle to build your own Company Of Heroes! As cheesy as that line is, it is true, playing your company battle after battle, seeing it progress and reach the hallowed vet 5, and then the pain when your vet 5 Tiger is destroyed is a huge part of what makes EIR so much fun, and why so many players just can't stay away! While persistency implies the 'strength' of companies scaling, else it wouldn't be meaningful, this does mean we need to find ways to allow newer players to 'catch-up' with older players.
Although I will avoid too much detail (It wouldn't be fun for anyone if I spoiled everything right now would it) it is safe to say that going forward the persistency will be greatly expanded on, and while unit veterency is and still will be a core part to this, there will be a lot more persistency coming to the mod, especially in the warmap, speaking of which.
An Expanded Warmap
Eagle-eyed readers may spot a couple of new additions to the warmap already!
Throughout the history of EIR, the Warmap has long been perceived as the to-be cornerstone of the EIR experience. Not only does it add meaning and immersion to the persistent environment of EIR, but it also provides the game much-needed finality. Players will often ask what is the point of persistency when they eventually end up losing everything they have worked for, and a good response to such a question could be: "What is the point of life if you end up dying anyway"? Such finality, or 'endgame' is a necessity to EIR the same way some consider death to life.
EIR's long history means we can see plenty of times when the game has been left in the 'lategame' stage too long, and people lose interest. The prospect of a fresh start entices everyone from the most experienced to the newest players to get stuck in building their own 'Company of Heroes' to use that cheesy phrase again.
Going forward I aim to have the warmap functioning as an entity in itself, that is to say, a game 'above' the game (CoH) so that it is a meaningful entity that rewards players for engaging with it while providing the finality discussed above. The challenge then is providing a fun and meaningful experience without alienating those who take no interest in the warmap, which will, of course, take some work.
A call to arms!
In order to accomplish these goals, we will need additional help in going forward. The key areas we could use peoples help in are:
- Server Stuff - We are looking to migrate servers soon and I could use assistance from someone who actually knows their way around servers
- SCAR Coding - There are a few minor longstanding SCAR bugs that would be nice to fix, in addition having a SCAR coder would open up a lot of design space.
- SQL - The launcher and in-game are linked heavily through SQL, as such 1-2 more folks capable of making changes to the SQL for patches would free up a lot of dev time.
- Artwork - Someone able to make artwork for the launcher (icons etc.) as well as in-game models
- Community Moderators/ Shoutcasters etc. - Contribute to leading the EIR community!
If you want to contribute to building and maintaining the mod, don't worry if you don't think you fit any of the above, just get in touch, I'm sure there will be somewhere you can help!
That's all for today! Next week we will look at the latest launcher patch (which I plan to release next Friday), which will be bringing a load of bug fixes, additions to the warmap, and a whole new type of warmap card. Exciting stuff, but for now I'll just leave you with a small teaser!
- PrinceOfScotland