Link Hi, friends. There are a number of questions that you ask more often than others, but not as often as That One. Today we would like to answer them in a diary. To answer with details, to share some far-reaching plans and, most importantly, explain why things goes as they do. Cause we respect the dialogue. And also because sometimes you are perplexed with things that are obvious to us, and we in turn are perplexed at your perplexity. So in order to make Perplexed city uninhabited and leave only young Travolta to walk along its boring empty streets, we wrote this diary.

Will there be an editor?

The question of having an editor is logical, but it is ahead of time. Indeed, usually a release from Best Way comes with a new version of the GEM, and an editor in addition. But the primary role in this bundle is always the game. Everything is done for it. And while Soldiers: Arena remains in Early Access and even some time after - it makes no sense to even talk about the editor, as there is no sense in choosing a university for an unborn child. What kind of editor will be needed for the game will become clear after its release. In any case, Arena can live without an editor, but an editor without Arena - very unlikely. So henceforth we will talk about things that come first.

Priorities and the choice between necessary and very necessary.

Developing a game with limited resources is always a matter of choosing priorities. The button Do it all at once! doesnt seem to work, but when theres a choice between investing in gameplay or investing in picture, theres basically no choice. Because the gameplay without graphics can be catchy, and the graphics without gameplay - very unlikely. So the first thing we took care of was the basis of the basics. For Soldiers: Arena it is the Front line mode and meta-game. Working in tandem, they complement each other and give freedom for experimentation. At the same time they encourage an experienced player who knows complex mechanics, and without punishing (not so much at least) a beginner who only recently learned about the MoW series. In the game, even the most unexpected decks work, and units never lose their relevance simply because Arena is not limited to how to destroy unit with another unit. A BMW motorcycle with a machine gun, even at the end of the third echelon, can frighten artillery in the rear and group infantry around him, and this is much more important and more difficult to implement than the new BMW model or the animation of climbing into the sidecar.
The main priorities are working rules and a good foundation that will withstand future add-ins. With a working system and rules, content can be added very easily. Remember, the button Do it all at once! still cant be pressed much. For example, you can add a lot of units and beautiful models to them, and then see that half of them duplicate each other, or are just boring, or simply do not bring anything new to the gameplay. Therefore, we first invented and implemented a system that makes it possible to add almost anything without devaluing the units after the creation of new ones. Then we added draft models to it, to have something with which to test and moved on to other important issues.

When the priority tree bears fruit.

For clarity, lets use the example of the 37-mm koda vz.34 UV cannon (also known as PaK 37 (t)), which is planned to be added to the game. As you already know, units come in three types: common, premium and collectors units. Each of the common ones in have their own function, place in the tech tree and a set of interesting mechanics. PaK 37 (t) is not suitable for this category because it is not very different in characteristics from the Pak 38, which is already there, and it was rarely used, so it would be strange to see it in each session. Premium units feel good with their unusual gameplay and the ability to skip a few steps in the tech tree. And its not the right place for PaK 37 (t) either, because there is nothing unusual in its gameplay. Collectors units are usually represented by rare modifications of the base vehicles or ones from small series series or just units that do not fit into the first two groups. They are not in the tech tree and cannot be purchased. You can only have them as a reward for the battle. This means that you need no resources except luck to have them, and their competitive advantage over the others is precisely their rarity. So PaK 37 (t), of which very few were created (and even less captured - just 113 units) fits perfectly here. Having created a working system at the beginning, we achieve several goals simultaneously:

• Without the extra headache and damage to the balance, even the most controversial unit can be added.
• We reward the user with a rare unit that can show off in front of the allies and do it completely free of charge.
• Immediately we get +5 points to realism! Historically rare species - rare indeed in the game.

To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.(c) Paul Klee

New models, sounds and animations look more pleasant in PR materials and, of course, help to immerse the player in what is happening on the screen, but they complement the gameplay, and not vice versa. And here we come to the Square of Mutual Perplexity, on which there is already a demonstration with the banners Fight to death to old death animations, 2009 graphics! and You Killed the old interface. Dont even dare to add a new one! . Friends, it may happen that the graphics remind you of 2009 because you are looking at a dummy model originally from 2009. Compare, for example, KV-1s on the cover and KV-1s in the screenshot below.
Link Yes, you are not mistaken - this is the KV-85 on the screen. The sooner you start testing, the better. So the dummy model is just perfect for the needs of the test. We have not replaced all the models, animations and sounds with new ones, not because we dont want or cant. It is not really that difficult to understand. The deal here is that this process is rather long ... or expensive. And the Do it all at once! button seems to be stuck ...
Here is an example with animations. Recently we remade the system melee combat. Now, if an order is given to go melee, the infantry shoots on the run until it gets close to the enemy and then uses knives, bayonets, or engineer shovels to commit to the brutality. Now it works better and more logically than in previous GEM games, but the work is not yet finished. There is, for example, a conflict of undergoing firing assault on trenches and melee combat. Because of this, it is still impossible to order to storm the trench, shooting on the run, and to stomp the enemy with your boots once you are in. Pretty sure, there will be more improvements on the basis of testing. And at this stage, there is no point in ordering many animations, so that it does not turn out that the infantry can perform aikido and karate, while there is nowhere to put these animations, because the bayonet is suddenly more practical.

They have something to say!

And something really cool of recent times - we started working with sounds. Because where there is certainty and enough resources - we support the picture with all we have. Especially since it's not just about graphics. Adding atmosphere to the game and make the units livelier is certainly important. But even more important is that the units give feedback to the player on what is happening and make the gameplay clearer. Commander should receive information about the course of the battle from his fighters, right?
Over 300 lines of the first priority were written and ordered: unit select, penetration and non-penetration, destruction of units, repair, shot down trucks, destroyed guns, ricochets, etc. For each event, we tried to make at least five different lines. To make it live, diverse and informative. The fighters will enjoy your overall success and express concerns about the chosen course for embrasures. Below is a screenshot with examples about the destruction of certain types of units.
Link We have a lot of content in our plans for the future: new campaigns for cooperative walkthrough, perks and customization of units, a global map, events, new factions, battalions and much more. But it takes time. BTW these three hundred lines are only a small part of what we need. And if you have a desire to try yourself writing them, feel free to write in the comments your variants. Maybe some of them will go into the game. You can start with the orders Attack!, throwing a grenade and the death of a unit. Wish you all the best.

[ 2019-03-30 14:08:10 CET ] [ Original post ]