Since the earliest days of Bowmen's development and consistently throughout its existence, I've largely gotten two major pieces of feedback from players: 1. The game would probably succeed best on a mobile device platform (such as iOS). 2. The game would greatly benefit from full controller support, in addition to support for a mouse and keyboard. The second piece of advice I also received from Valve, since a large portion of PC gamers also own a controller and use it regularly for playing games. However, initially I wanted to stick to a mouse and keyboard for a few reasons: First, the original game concept design was to be that of old school PC games like the ones I played back in the day, such as Gunbound, Warcraft, and Diablo. For a lot of these games, they had a chat feature upon the initial game menu that allowed you to talk with other players that were currently in game, which I greatly enjoyed. This was implemented for Bowmen after months of development, but I wasn't quite sure how to morph this function to be useable on a controller (which, to be honest, I am still working on). Second, these types of games often utilize "mouse over" tooltips, which was also problematic for a controller (I could make a "gamepad" version of the menus, where the tooltips are stationary, but it would take a lot of code rewriting and a UI overhaul). Lastly, all of these features would need to be reworked again for iOS touch controls, and porting the game to something like the Nintendo Switch or an iPad would cause me to lose all access to the Steam platform for those ports, which my ranking system for Bowmen heavily depended on.

Cue the Steam Deck

Then recently, I learned through a friend about the Steam Deck, which simultaneously appeared to answer all these problems (how the Steam Deck managed to slip passed my radar is either a testament to how much I've been working these days, or a testament to the metaphorical rock I've been living under). Regardless, the Steam Deck was a godsend, because it allowed me to add functional support for a controller to Bowmen while also simultaneously preparing the game for a "mobile" release. Not only that, unlike the Nintendo Switch, iOS, or other potential port options I was considering for the game, the Steam Deck would allow me to keep using all of the Steam APIs for things like a friend's list, ranking systems, leaderboards, usernames, and everything else that Bowmen relied on. It has been a daunting task to make all of these changes to the game over the last few months to say the least (and that definitely is NOT and understatement), but I am finally closing in on completing controller and Steam Deck support for Bowmen. It will likely take a few more weeks for me to conclude play testing of the game to ensure a bug free end user experience on the device, but we're finally in the home stretch to where I feel confident I can formally announce it and start prepping everything to be pushed to players. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that soon we will be pushing an update for Bowmen that will formally add support for the Steam Deck as well as controller support on the PC. We will be focusing on Xbox 360 / Xbox One controller support initially (which appear to be the major ones used by PC gamers), as well as the Steam controller, but we are open to suggestions for more controllers to support as time goes on. There is not a currently scheduled official release date for this major game update, but you should expect it to drop roughly within the next few weeks to a month. Until then, stay tuned! Thank you for playing Bowmen! Ethereal Gem Development Team

[ 2022-08-30 18:29:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

HOW LONG CAN YOU SURVIVE? Lord Pain has summoned his infernal minions once again to wreak havoc on the realms of men... As one of the last of the Bowmen, a long forgotten but elite Elven race that once guarded the living against this malevolent evil, you must conjure up your courage and venture forth toward the portal of doom to save mankind once again. With a bit of skill, a dash of luck, and the help of unusual accomplices, you may hold these demons off just long enough for the living to be saved and mankind to emerge victorious once again!

SURVIVE THE ONSLAUGHT OF A CARTOON HELL

Fight against Lord Pain's relentless armies in a single game mode called "onslaught", whereby enemies spawn in progressively more and more difficult waves the longer you stay alive. To succeed, you'll need to call upon allies for aid, equip unique items, use health potions, and decimate your foes by detonating powerful explosives.

Leveling up your character after each encounter will allow you to invest in player attributes that will improve your character's damage throughput and survivability, slowly allowing you to progress into more daunting and brow-sweating difficulties.

EQUIP UNIQUE ITEMS

Bowmen comes "equipped" (heh, see what I did there?) with a plethora of items that drop from enemies that have succumbed to your inescapable wrath. These items can improve your player's stats, grant you extra experience per kill, heal your character, or empower you with unique skills and abilities. Will you stick with a scroll that gives you some additional health regen, or will you drop it in favor of that sick legendary sword that will allow you to do maximum damage? The choice is yours!

EARLY ACCESS EXCLUSIVES

Completing specific objectives, performing feats of strength, or reaching high global ranks in Bowmen will unlock unique skins that will allow you to customize your character for a more personalized gaming experience. Starting with RC v1.04, as a token of our gratitude for supporting Bowmen during its early stages, players that purchase the game before its full release will be given the Panda skin, a unique skin that makes a menacing face whenever you get a double kill or greater during onslaught. Early Access backers will also unlock the Vanguard achievement, forever solidifying your Steam account as an Early Access supporter.

Early Access backers will also be providing key feedback to the developers that will shape how the game plays and feels. Those that provide us feedback during development will be given specific recognition in the game's credits once it launches.

FIGHT YOUR WAY TO THE TOP

Lastly, you can fight your way to the top of our leaderboards to earn exclusive bragging rights among your fellow archers! After each session of onslaught on Inferno difficulty, your score will automatically be submitted to Steam along with your character's name and your current level. If your score is higher than any of the scores within the top 1000 for that season, your score and rank will be shown in-game so that everyone will know their place relative to YOU in the Bowmen hierarchy!

Disclaimer: Bowmen is currently available through Steam Early Access, but is considered a work in progress and not representative of the final product. If you wish to play Bowmen in its current state and provide us with feedback, you may do so by purchasing a copy of the game and providing feedback on the Steam forums. For more information about Early Access, please see the Early Access Q&A above.