GREETINGS FELLOW CONMANDERS! Yak here!
(my colleagues hate when I do that, maybe it's because they aren't morning people? or maybe exclaiming it at 160 decibels isn't to their tastes, go figure)
I come bearing news! Much of it actually. So I hope you have some hours time set aside for the fun process that is reading our dev log! This one is a lengthy one, we've been very busy on a number of fronts and I want to make sure that I can contain as many responses to common player sentiments as possible.
State of the team
For a while now we've been seeing a very nice uptick in players adopting CoN, lending to an increase in demand which, naturally, means our technical systems have more people to keep up with. There have been many optimizations in past months, and there are more to come. More on that in this post below.
Naturally this meant Dorado needed to bolster forces through employment of developers, and managers from all walks of life, to add to our repertoire of special forces-like staff. In due time I would like to host Q&A/AMA sessions to introduce the new(and old) blood behind Dorado.
Design changes and balance
Feedback on the Season 8 unit has been plentiful, and discussions hot to the touch. As I type this - the designated game designer (Codename Lunar on our Discord) is revisiting the balance for the Elite Attack Aircraft, bearing in mind the discussions held on our forum and the data we have available.
As it stands our analysis indicates that; Air Superiority Fighters are now the most built aircraft (not by a lot) - which is good to see as it is part of our intention with the unit feature of Season 8, to promote viability of the Superiority Fighter. Speaking of Strike Fighters, the base unit is built more than its Elite counterpart, the Attack Aircraft. (This being said, the Elite Attack Aircraft has a higher total construction count in 4x maps). Looking at the data holistically, there seems to be a nice spread between Air Superiority fighters, Strike Fighters, and Elite Attack Aircraft, indicating to us that a conservative balance is the right way to go.
We are also looking into tweaking the Elite Helicopter unit, but this is still early, right now the main priority is Elite Attack Air.
Brand new desktop client
I anticipate this project will worry some of our veterans, but I want to address any concerns here as clearly as possible to avoid any misunderstandings.
Firstly I want to explain; what is the new Desktop client going to be?
For a bit of context, as it stands, we are having to maintain and update two projects independent of one another: Desktop(Web i.e. conflictnations.com) as it is right now in its current state, and the Mobile Application.
What does this mean?
Many issues and updates need to be developed for each platform, costing us at least twice the time and resources it would otherwise.
Why is this bad?
Naturally it is very inefficient use of our time, especially when you consider that bugs or problems can be introduced on platforms independent of each other, meaning we also need to fix said issues twice at times.
This is also stopping us from adopting new features and implementing new systems since we know that it will need to be ported to mobile and vice versa. Once the process is done we will be on a much more efficient schedule of infusing brand new content and changes on a regular basis.
What can be done?
To fix this, we are working behind the scenes to merge the two platforms, Mobile and Desktop. This does not mean that a simple port to Desktop will be made. We are working on entirely overhauling the User Interface, and User Experience, especially tailored to Desktop and its use case.
There are also a wealth of changes which will come along, modernizing the look and feel of CoN more inline with 2022 standards. Graphics will also be getting a major overhaul similar in similar fashion to Mobile in it's current state. With this being said, Mobile will not see any changes. The unification will largely leave Mobile audiences unaffected with the exception of getting the benefits from the better efficient developer team working behind the game!
But I don't want that!
We understand that people are afraid of such a big change. We are working very closely with the community to address any issues for the Beta launch, to ensure that the new transition is seamless and pleases our core playerbase, which is found on Desktop(Web).
I want to make it absolutely clear, we are not simply porting Mobile to Desktop(Web). Unit control, interface popups, dialogue options etc. will all be revised from the ground up to cater to the platform and player needs.
But I still don't want that
Worry not! We are going to give all players the option to keep using the old client for a time period. Be informed though, that we will not be updating the old client with brand new interface features and quality of life changes, save for some critical bug fixes.
When?
Internally the title for this project is Unified client. The Beta release is slated for release on the fourth quarter of 2022. As I mentioned above, if you do not find the initial release to your liking you will be given the option to revert to the old client, unaffected by the new changes.
I'm curious now
As of writing this, the most fleshed out portion of our overhaul has been done on the main menus. You can find early mockup previews for the first time ever! -here. It is crucial I mention that this is not final at all and everything you see is subject to change.
I understand there will be plenty of questions, post any and all questions you have here so that we can address them.
In other news
That's not all! We have a lot ongoing tasks and projects.
Merch Shop
You read that right! We are working on finally getting an official Conflict of Nations merch store up and running. The good news? It will be live very soon. In a matter of weeks if all goes according to plan. Our resident artists worked hard on pitching exclusive designs you're sure to love. As the times roll on, we will be updating the availability of designs and products, so make sure to be quick to buy anything you like as items are likely to be there for a limited time only.
Discord 40,000 Members
That's right! Our official Discord server reached 40k members! A number many of us are very fond of at the office, being Warhammer geeks.
To commemorate this special milestone - we have a very special day planned. Keep your eyes peeled for all the details next week.
Also, in case you've been living under an Abrams, we host weekly events on our Discord server and Twitter!
Update intake
We are doing a lot of work on the player-facing portions of the game, like UI/UX, client etc. This is not to say we are neglecting the underlying foundations entirely. Far from it. We are working extensively on refactoring and adopting bug fixes on our game engine. This will involve optimizations, with benefits having an effect on performance and loading times, as well as much needed bug fixes.
Dynamic Victory points
We are working on the way victory points are updated, right now they update at the end of ingame day. This will change to update dynamically as soon as a change is required. This is WIP.