Hi everyone. With some more delays, and a few hiccups, we managed to deliver our second big update for Rise of the Foederati. Contrary to the first, we decided to opt for a test server launch before putting it live, for security and testing reasons. Here are the instructions on how to play 1.3.0:
- On your Steam client, click on "Library"
- Right-click on "Rise of the Foederati", on the left side
- A new menu will pop up. Click on "Properties"
- Click the "Betas" tab on the new window
- Use the password "suebianssuebians", no quotes
- Click "Verify Code"
- You should see a "Code successfully verified" message.
- Go above, click the dropdown list and select "test server - User Beta branch"
- Close the new window
- Wait for the update to complete on the Steam client
- Play normally
Everything going smoothly, we expect this test server to last for about a couple weeks, while we iron out the new mechanics and possible new bugs. Finally, below is the list of what's new in 1.3.0.
- Added: New tribe; the Suebians. A Germanic tribe with roots on the shores of the Albis (Elbe) river. Their wandering and constant shifting in territories led them to reach the western area of Hispania. An infantry-centric tribe with incredible tenacity in combat, these rugged warriors adapted well to their lives in their new lands, borrowing several martial concepts from their neighbours.
- Added: New music for pre-engagement and post-engagement phases. Won't spoil the surprise here on how many they are; play to find them out!
- Added: Quality modifiers for weapons. Weapons of better quality will usually have better performance. Because durability mechanics are not implemented yet, most mid-level qualities will have no difference between themselves. Not every weapon you'll find has a quality modifier; we want to check whether the current modifiers are not displacing too much power division amongst a lower and a higher quality weapon; expect more to be added in future updates as we at the same time balance current modifiers.
- Added: Charge mechanics. Units that run/gallop more than half of their remaining movement to attack will deal extra damage, but will also take extra damage from Counters. When commanded to charge, all units will do it in unison, creating a morale debilitation effect against the enemy, especially if the charge attack hits. It goes without saying, cavalry units deal even more damage in charges, but can become vulnerable to counter-attacks if surrounded.
- Added: Ride-by attack mechanics. Most cavalry units now can use a toggle ability which when turned on (requires them to be galloping), will make them attack the first unit they enter in contact while galloping, and keep moving while ignoring engagement locks. These attacks are more inaccurate than charges, but can deal good damage while maintaining cavalry out of harm's way.
- Added: Frankish Village map. A more organized tribal settlement, occupied and built from an old station house in the plains of Belgica; the Roman-styled house contrast with the other homesteads built by the Franks.
- Added: New armor type: Hides. Most hide-based armor are a mid-way between Light and Medium armor in protection, having overall balanced protection amongst all damage types, with special focus on reducing Smashing damage. It is also the second heaviest type of armor, even being heavier than several metal-based Medium armor models.
- Added: New weapon types; One-handed Hammers and Two-handed Axes. Hammers deal Smashing damage, which is hard to protect against and also are much cheaper than other weapon types. Cruder hammers like wooden clubs can be considered ubiqutous,. However, they are tiring to wield and heavy. Two-handed Axes are tough-to-master weapons because of their large Stamina cost per attack and low critical chances, but a good critical hit can deal outstanding amounts of damage.
- Added: Tooltip showing expected damage and attack being used. Expected Damage uses the prerrogative that the target enemy is wearing no armor; armored enemies will most probably not receive the displayed damage, as the reduction will be taken into account.
- Changed: Several item icons now have a white outline and/or better presentation to help their visualization when looting.
- Changed: All Light Spears now grant a buff called "Double Grip" when wielded with both hands. Double Grip grants +3 bonus Damage, +0.25x Critical Hit Multipliers and +3 Critical Hit Damage Added. The bonus in the future will shift and change according to the model of spear used, meaning certain spears may be more useful than others to be wielded this way. Several abilities in the future will require this buff to be on, but for now, only two units benefit from this; the Visigoth Horseman and Frankish Rider. Basque Lance Cavalry units use Heavy Spears, so are unaffected by this change, since all Heavy Spears already require two hands to be wielded.
- Fixed: Spying on enemy units now does not show the window offscreen.
Intensive work will follow to make this update as stable as possible for a live version. Expect new updates soon. Last, but not least, thank you for the patience, as usual. Have fun!