Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

TBS Age of Wonders: Planetfall - AoW gone to space

vota DC

Augur
Joined
Aug 23, 2016
Messages
2,259
Azracs were....Harad.
Anyway they never did overpowered units like in AOW1 anymore. In Aow3 they had the goblin plaguedoctor that in vanilla was pure shit: very frail, you could resist his special attack, his special attack was a touch but unlike the storm sister it didn't stun the unit so even if successfull the turn after they will butcher your doctor. Bu you haven't any superpower unit.
In Aow 1 instead....well you mention the elephant.....and it was nerfed!
3 attack, defense, damage, resistance, 30 mp, 9 hp and wall crushing. That was after two nerf. Original values were 4 damage and 12 hp!
Both elves factions despite being the bosses in the campaign were FAR weaker than their allies. Dark Elves low level melee units suck even now and in the first version the executioneer had only 3 damage. Elves Nature Elemental lacked healing and ENTANGLE STRIKE, just had entangle.

Also a funny thing is that the azrac swordsman has -1 defence because lightly armored and that make sense....but gameplay wise means halfling slinger has more staying power, so the shield used by azrac is just cosmetic.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
Both elven factions have good archers, seducers, priests with a stun, decently strong heavy cavalry (tier3), incarnates are awesomely cool. I like them. I'm not sure if there's any AoW1 race I'd call feeble. They all have at least two cool, unique things to them.
 

vota DC

Augur
Joined
Aug 23, 2016
Messages
2,259
Well having a unit that is one tier stronger but I would say that prepatch Elephant was...tier 3!
Level 2 cavalry has 7 or 8 hp, base damage usually 3.
Level 3 goblin tank is troll that has 3 defense and 12 hp: same staying power. Level 3 lizard tank has 4 defense, 4 damage and 10 hp, has parry and fire strike that isn't that powerful, will win against elephant because high attack but it is slower and can't crush wall....so azrac t1 unit can be a weak t3 tank and beat all t2 tank.

It is realistic but crazy: they could do the same with age of empires giving 600 hp to wild elephants too but they didn't dare for gameplay sake.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
Get a huge map and a lot of codexers and I would be down for Codexer PBEM Madness. Especially in AOW1 with 12 players.

AOW1 has some mods, like Warlorck's.
I finally managed to install Warlock's mod on Windows 10, and figured out how to switch between them without breaking things. As for finding a whole bunch of potential players for a huge map - not so sure there. It'd be a nice goal though. I recently made a small 6 player map and am struggling to recruit enough people for even that, although that might just be because we already have many running.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
How you did it?

Just announce it here yo, Codex has lots of AOW lovers.

Ought to be better and easier than SMAC PBEM playing where we literally have to send the e-mails to each other.

Well, it was trial and error, but I unzipped the Warlock mod http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=810 to my AoW directory, then unzipped this http://http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1115 ontop, and made sure to copy its 3 exe files over warlock's three exe files. Then I ran rules2.bat once.
I found I was then unable/too stupid to figure out how to use MS DOS to switch rulesets, like I think people did back in the day.
However, I noticed that what I'd done thus far had created a 'Warlock' subfolder in the Release folder, containing both the modified game executable and the modded pfs files.
Both the default and the modded game executables always reference whatever pfs files are in the default location, ie in the Release folder (and not any subfolder, just the main Release folder). I also found, to my irritation, that if you install multiple versions of the game they will all pick one installation's Release folder to point to. So much for modding the game without interfering with my PBEMs in 1.36.

The pfs files contain most of the changes, ie to units, spells, city training rosters etc. The modded game executable is responsible for the change to hero level-up cost changes and limits (ie no more brainless 10 DEF maxing, thank god). You can actually mix-and-match these two segments of the mod by running the Warlock engine with the 136 pfs files, or the base game engine with the Warlock pfs files, although I see little reason to do so. So to switch mods I have a backup of 136 and of warlock pfs files, and I copy-paste whichever over into the Release folder. And I use whichever of the two game executables.
Will happily try to explain further if I was unclear, but I found it a bit confusing myself.

Also another needed patch regardless of modding or not, is this https://github.com/int19h/aow-patch/blob/master/README.md
It fixes a graphics error/crash that crops up in windows 10.

And cool, I will announce it here sometime. I recently got 5 or so people back into the game by looking at the emails on the turnlogs at the heavengames website and emailing 50 of them.
 
Joined
May 8, 2018
Messages
3,535
Dev Diary #2 – World Building said:
Hi there, this new DD is about World Building. The premise for this intricate Planet-based sci-fi game started to come together when we gave the factions a common origin and a shared history, as opposed to having aliens first meet each other in outer space.

Central to the setting of Planetfall is the Star Union, a shattered galactic empire that once spanned thousands of worlds. As one of the survivors, you emerge from the dark age to craft a new future. You travel to one of the lost worlds of the old empire, where you will find many marvels among the remnants of this once great civilization.

Imagine the world of Fallout on a galactic scale, with players competing to establish a new future. The world is loaded with wonders, hidden secrets and ancient rivalries. Scraps of information scattered through the game world allow the player to piece together the horrible fate that befell this great civilization.

index.php


This is one of the first mood images we did: a ruined capital world establishing the sci-fi monumental architecture. Notice the propaganda mural which made it into the announce trailer. Then there is a nice contrast between the destruction and the ship making planetfall which signifies a new hope.


Reasons why we made the Star Union central to the setting are plentiful:
  • Lore and Exploration: The remnants of the Star Union are everywhere – like ruins of the roman empire sprawled across Europe and the Mediterranean. Discover its urban centers, research labs, weapon test sites and the origins of your faction.

  • Universe Consistency: In the game you’ll visiting many worlds. The Star Union is an overarching entity explaining why similar structures or NPC factions reappear in the galaxy.

  • Shared History for Factions: Room for factions and characters to have ancient beef to settle. Like there is this insectoid slave race called the Kirko that has been freed from its shackles. (not all playable factions are humanoid in origin)

  • A different take on Research: Research is about rediscovery the secrets of this ancient empire, adding a narrative to this mechanic.

  • Whodunnit? Who or what brought the empire down? Maybe they’re coming after you as well. Maybe the techs you’re rediscovering are the ones that caused the cataclysm.
Here are a few examples of elements that constituted the Star Union:
  • The Nexus: The thousands of worlds of the Star Union were connected through a network of wormholes, called the Nexus. This allowed FTL travel and fast communication between the worlds. After the Collapse clusters of stars at the heart of the Union ominously disappeared and gravitational storms made travel through the Nexus impossible. The surviving factions were marooned on the outer frontiers of the Union, light years apart.
  • CORE: As the Star Union grew from dozens to thousands of worlds, the Union deployed a governance system at the heart of the Nexus called CORE (short for Conscientious Omnipresent Regency Engine), which gathered and processed data from across the Union. At the start of their term, Emperors and Planetary Governors would be connected to CORE, opening their minds to the immense interstellar dataflow.
  • Vanguard: The Vanguard originate from the expeditionary forces that were sent out to claim new worlds on the frontier of the Union. The Vanguard are hardened pioneers and marines with few ties to the old world; the effects of time dilation matter little to them. When they arrived at their destination, the Vanguard found out the Nexus had gone black, and they had no way to return. In the time they had been traveling, the empire they were sworn to protect had fallen. Because of this delay, the Vanguard resemble imperial forces from before the fall.
  • Paragons: The Union’s privileged citizens and praetorian military. Named after the Paragon Augmentations company that provided them with the extensive bionic implants that unnaturally extended their lives. One of the NPC Factions in the game.
  • Terratech: This biotech company did the Empire’s Terraforming and ran scary genetics programs. You’ll see their facilities popping up on various worlds, as well as embedded in the origins of various post-collapse factions
  • (Edit - Whoops this journal is getting long - must bring it to a close)

index.php


In-game Lore illustrations. The various interstellar corporations and institutions have left their traces on the worlds of Planetfall. You’ll see them reflected in map structures, units, factions, secret technologies and quests and lore entries.

Dev Diary #3 – The World Map Sector System said:
Hi there! The gameplay of Planetfall is split over the world map and the tactical combat map layers, as in the vintage Age of Wonders. In this post we’ll be looking at one of the biggest structural changes to the world map: the Sector System.

Planets: But let’s first start with the overall world map. It now wraps horizontally, so maps feel like Planets. Of course, this has strategic consequences too as you are no longer able to camp in corners. Planets are built from a combination of distinct landscapes, such as frozen wastes, lush jungles, and deserts, with their own alien flora and fauna. There are five main land biomes + oceans, which have varied resource yields to be exploited through research.

At the start of a session, you can choose a planet template, or shape your own. All procedural generated planets get a name and are plotted on the Star Union’s galaxy map. You can create desert worlds resembling Tatooine, the feral jungles of Avatar, or the infernos of Hell. There’s loads of settings, like you can control the amount of Star Union Ruins on that particular world.

Sector System: A patchwork of bordered areas call Sectors make up the surface of planets. This sector system has a big impact on the world map gameflow. They come in a number of types:
  • Wilderness Sectors follow natural boundaries and reflect their terrain. A Sector contains one biome and a number of natural terrain features - these define the sector's base resource yield. Players can expand their colonies into Wildernesses and coastal waters and develop them.
  • Landmark Sectors contain high value, large Imperial ruins providing unique benefits. Landmarks “occupy” the sector. This means they can be annexed by your colonies, but you can’t found a new colony on them.
  • Dwelling Sectors: Contain the bases and cities of NPC Natives. Smaller spawner-like camps you can clear through diplomacy or force. Larger habitats work like landmarks in the sense they they occupy a sector..
  • Additional Structures and Effects: Next to sector occupying Landmark and bases, there is a collection of secondary structures to be found. They include resource nodes, pickups and visit sites. Then there are defenses and hazards that work as status effects for the entire sector.
index.php



The Sector interface brings it all together. This sector contains a Landmark: the Xenolife Institute, and a crystal node + a Targeting Array as sector defense.


The Sector System offers new gameplay possibilities:
  • World Building: All Sectors are named (including wildernesses) hinting at their contents. Landmarks such as the Xenolife Institute in the screenshot above have bits of lore added. Sectors have their own mix of inhabitants, resources, dangers or mysteries, this way each Sector tells its own little or big story.

  • New City Expansion mechanics: Colonies are expanded by adding sectors to them, these sectors can subsequently be specialized in one of the main resource types and further upgraded. Landmark Sectors provide unique benefits to the colonies. Higher level landmarks unlock new city upgrades, or unlock new Doctrines. We’ll be delving into cities and doctrines later.

  • Sectors as strategic Goals: In AoW3, cities were the only real strategic targets on the map, whilst in the older AoW games you could flag individual resource nodes which lead to grieving tactics. Sectors can be conquered individually (also taken from enemy cities), thus forming secondary strategic goals.

  • Diplomatic Interaction: Sectors come into play during border disputes. Players may lay claim to lands by building Forward Bases in sectors. Sectors make good diplomatic trading items in order to settle disputes. Trading one of your precious cities was often a bridge too far, but redrawing the borders by trading sectors is less painful.
index.php



In this screenshot a cheeky Kirko is asking for our Pleasure District Sector.


Next week Arno will talk about the improvements of the new engine - This is my last journal for a couple of weeks. Next to a major milestone delivery next week I also have a “delivery” in the family planned.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
Semitransparent bikini UI still pisses me off, but the terrain looks just fine, surprisingly.

in the older AoW games you could flag individual resource nodes which lead to grieving tactics.
Dear god these devs are such faggots
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
New dev diary about the engine. https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...tfall-dev-diary-4-creator-engine-4-0.1109158/

The next diary will be about the combat system.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #4: Creator Engine 4.0

Hi there, here is some news from the tech department. We’ve been working very hard to improve the Creator engine for Planetfall and I’ve been asked to write this week’s Dev Diary about some of the big changes we’ve made.

The first thing we decided to do after the release of AoW3 was to move over to 64bit. At the time, we were really struggling getting all the DLC content running within the ~3GB memory limit and the modders among you will also know that this really limits what you can do when you want to add cool new units and structures.

The second project we started was focused on improving the visuals. We spent quite some time figuring out what kind of lighting technique would be best for Planetfall. How realistic should it be? What fits best with the art style? Physical Based Rendering (PBR) gave some great results but it had as drawback that it can make things look too washed out, reducing the colorfulness, and we really wanted to create colorful planets! In the end we made some modifications to the PBR algorithms until they gave the results we wanted.

Below is a screen shot that demonstrates how the surrounding environment, in this case just the terrain, influences the lighting of the object.

index.php


Here are some screenshots that show the difference between Planetfall and AoW3.

index.php


index.php


Of course, this is not all that we’ve been working on. We’ve also added to the renderer:

· Full anti-aliasing support

· Soft shadow support

· Optimized for high res-displays (4K) – Interface scaling

· DirectX 11 (AoW3 uses DirectX9)

· Improved multi core support


Another system that we improved is what we call the snapshot renderer. In AoW3 all of the unit icons needed to be handmade and this was quite time consuming. In Planetfall units can be upgraded through the unit-modding system and we really wanted to see this reflected in the icons as well. The new Snapshot renderer allows us to generate unit icons on the fly in-game, based on the unit-mods that are enabled. it even takes the player colors into account!

The screenshot below shows how the Kir’Ko Frenzied is posed in one of our Tools, along with an actual shot of it taken in-game.

index.php


And the icon in use in the game:

index.php


Many more improvements were made to our tools / networking / procedural generation but we need to keep something for the upcoming Dev Diaries. Next week Tom will talk more about the combat system!
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
Meh, the graphic improvements are marginal and don't really matter. The dwarf in the power armor looks cool, though. I hope next time there will be something juicy.
 

fantadomat

Arcane
Edgy Vatnik Wumao
Joined
Jun 2, 2017
Messages
37,087
Location
Bulgaria
What improvements,it just missing a filter. Texture quality looks the same. And who the fuck cares about graphics,it is a fucking 4x game,gameplay is important,not their reskinning of models.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
Here you go: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...anetfall-dev-diary-5-tactical-combat.1110293/

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #5: Tactical Combat

Hello everybody! Today’s Dev Diary is about the basics of tactical combat. Just like in Age of Wonders 3, combat is a very important part of playing Planetfall and one of the biggest challenges we had was keeping the feel of AoW3 combat whilst developing a system that is more focused on ranged combat than melee combat.

index.php

A group of marines approach a Psi-Shrine guarded by Spacer pirates

Accuracy and Hit Chances
One of the first things we decided was that we needed to bring hit chances back into the game, having ranged weapons always hit makes combat feel stale and predictable, while the chance of an attack failing adds a level of excitement and tension. It also allowed us to add more gameplay to the combat environments, long range attacks would have their accuracy reduced, as would attacks on units behind cover. The terrain now has different height levels, and shooting at a unit that’s lower than oneself grants a bonus to accuracy. Units can also deploy smoke screens to protect their units in areas without cover.

index.php

Aya Sashimi, a Vanguard hero, takes a pot shot at a distant Dvar walker.

One issue is that many people really, really dislike missing attacks. To help fix this every attack has a chance to Graze a target instead of missing it. Grazing shots do half damage, and any special effects attached to the attack are either weakened or disabled entirely. The chance of a graze happening is up to 25% of the chance to miss, so:

Code:
Chance To Hit   |   Chance To Graze   |   Chance To Do Nothing
    90%        |         10%         |           0%
    75%        |         25%         |           0%
    50%        |         25%         |           25%

This gives the player more of a sense of control, since if a shot is good enough it’s guaranteed to do something, only the most reckless and ill-advised attacks have a high chance of achieving nothing at all.

Overwatch and Staggering

Overwatch was another feature that we decided early on to add. Units in overwatch guard an arc of hexes in front of them, and the first enemy unit to act or move in one of those hexes will get shot at. Melee units get a special type of multidirectional overwatch which they enter even if they attacked during their turn, giving them a free attack against any unit who tries to move past them or shoot them at point blank range.

In order to counter overwatch, we added the Impact system. High Impact attacks, such as explosives and melee attacks, can Stagger the units they hit, knocking them out of overwatch and allowing your own units to act safely. Staggering will also knock units out of guard mode, and reduce their action points, limiting their options in their next turn. Stagger a unit enough times, and it will not be able to act at all!

index.php

A group of troopers are ambushed by a Spacer rocket attack

Quick Q&A

When this Dev Diary was announced, I got an awful lot of questions and requests for explanations, far more than I could fit in today. So, I’ve picked a few of the most interesting questions to answer:

Will some races (such as space dwarves) be able to drop turrets and deploy them during battle?

The Vanguard specialize in drones and autonomous robots, their engineer unit can deploy a turret while their T4 specializes in launching various types of drones in combat to provide defensive and offensive support.


Will there be the possibility to burn battlefields down, effectively creating fire barriers?

The Promethean specialize in weapons that leave areas of the battlefield on fire, providing area denial abilities. They can also mod their units to be immune to this fire, or even gain buffs from it, allowing them to reshape the battlefield to their advantage.

index.php

The Promethean Phoenix Walker can set large swathes of the battlefield alight, and regenerates health while standing in flames

Are there any insta-death abilities, like disintegrate in AoW3?

There are indeed! For example, the Plasma Disintegrator Module is an end game mod for laser weaponry, allowing attacks to strip armor and giving a chance to insta-kill tier 1 and 2 units.


What formula will be used to calculate damage?

AoW3’s damage formulas use flat damage reduction, which does not cope well with the wide range of damage values we need for this game, so we’re using a formula that reduces damage proportionally.

I = Incoming damage
D = Actual damage taken
R = Damage resistance (sum of shields, armor and elemental resistance)

D = I x 0.9^R

The formula also has diminishing returns; the first few points of resistance reduce damage by roughly 10% each, but as more is stacked, this decreases rapidly. The difference between 10 and 11 resistance is only 4%.


And that’s it for this week. In next week’s dev diary we’ll be taking a closer look at tactical combat mechanics and units!
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...lanetfall-dev-diary-6-combat-units-1.1111252/

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #6: Combat Units 1

Hello all! This DevDiary is the second in a series looking at tactical combat. Today we’re going to have a look at some of the in game units, looking at what abilities they have and what possibilities they bring to the battlefield!

index.php


Each unit presented here fits into the same place onto their races’ roster, they’re all the first T2 combat unit the race has available. As you will see, we’ve been working hard to make sure that each race has their own distinct tactical feel on the battlefield.


The Vanguard Assault Bike

The Assault Bike is a high speed vehicle designed to engage enemy units at medium to close range, it mounts powerful, high impact laser weaponry but sacrifices armor along its flanks to make up for it.

index.php


The Assault Bike’s main attack is its Focused Laser Array, a medium range (5 hex) single target attack which does a moderate amount of thermal damage. The attack also counts as a High Impact attack, meaning it will stagger many units, knocking them out of Defense Mode and draining their action points. The blast hits so hard, in fact, that Light Units will be knocked into an adjacent hex, allowing the Bike to knock units out of cover or into dangerous terrain hexes.


As a secondary attack, the Assault Bike can reconfigure its weapons to spray laser fire over the 7 hexes directly in front of it. This attack lacks the punch needed to actually displace its targets into another hex, yet it can still stagger enemy unit it hits. The short range makes this a risky maneuver, but it can be devastating if used correctly.


To quickly run over the rest of the unit card:


  • The unit has 45hp and 4 armor, making it highly durable; however the Exposed Flanks property means it loses two points of armor when attacked from the back or sides.
  • 40 movement points indicates this unit moves very quickly (Standard move speeds are 40, 32 and 24)
  • The unit takes less damage from Psionic Attacks, but more from Arc attacks. This is standard for all Mechanical units.
  • The unit is Stagger Resistant, meaning it cannot be staggered by High Impact attacks, though it can still be staggered by Massive Impact attacks, such as those from artillery.
  • All Vanguard Units gain a morale bonus while fighting in Arcadian terrain.
  • This unit is also currently in friendly territory, meaning it recovers an extra 6hp per turn on the world map.
  • Heavy Unit is a standard property given to most vehicles and larger units. It is the source of the unit’s stagger resistance, and also means the unit will not turn to face its attacker when shot at.
  • Skirmisher Unit means that this is an advanced, combat focused unit.

The Kir’ko Hidden

The Hidden are one of the descendents of the Kir’ko queens, who were wiped out by the Star Union. Bred as guerilla fighters, the Hidden championed the cause of Kir’ko rebellion from the shadows. As with all Kir’ko females, the Hidden have powerful psionic abilities, which they use to both attack and elude their foes.

index.php


The Hidden attack with psionic sniper rifles, having both a high powered shot which uses up all their action points, and a short range snap shot which they can use after moving. The damage output of the rifle is slightly lower than that of other sniper rifles, but this is balanced out by the fact that psionic attacks completely bypass a unit’s armor (though they are still blocked by shields)


The Hidden also have the ability to teleport short distances across the battlefield using Shrouded Step. Shrouded Step also creates a 7 hex smoke screen at the location the unit is teleporting to, providing a safe place to hide for the Hidden and its allies.


As its name suggests the Hidden is also a capable stealth unit, with Universal Camoflage granting it concealment in all types of terrain. It also has a special Defense Mode called Evasion, where the standard defense mode makes a unit 25% harder to hit, Evasion makes a unit 50% harder hit.


Looking at the rest of the unit card:
  • 45hp and 1 armor mean this unit is fairly fragile. It relies on not getting hit to stay alive.
  • 32 move points is the standard move speed for most units
  • All Kir’ko units get a morale bonus when fighting in Fungal terrain.
  • Like most snipers, the Hidden can use Overwatch. Improved Overwatch means that she gets an accuracy bonus for overwatch shots.
  • Rapid Regeneration is a standard Kir’ko ability, meaning the unit heals an extra 6hp per turn on the world map.
  • The Kir’ko are all latently psionic, and when they form groups this psionic power manifests itself as a protective shield. Swarm Shields grants a Kir’ko 2 shields when it is adjacent to another Kir’ko.

And that’s it for this week! Next week we’ll continue this series looking at the Amazon and Dvar units that fill in this role!
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
>The unit has 45hp and 4 armor, making it highly durable;

>45hp and 1 armor mean this unit is fairly fragile.

Either this is one of those funny dev unit power/use descriptions that become amusingly outdated once people actually start playing the game for a while, or each point of armour has a significant impact.

Also I like the continuity of movement points right through the entire franchise. 40 MV in AoW1 means light cavalry, and it does in Planetfall too.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...lanetfall-dev-diary-7-combat-units-2.1112188/

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #7: Combat Units 2

Hello all! This is our 3rd combat dev diary, and today we’re looking at two more units, this time from the Dvar and Amazon races! These units sit in the same place in the roster as last week’s units, they are the first tier 2 combat unit their races can unlock.


The Dvar Bulwark

While most Dvar combat units are based on modified industrial machinery, the Bulwark is a dedicated gunnery platform designed to guard Dvar facilities against thieves and aggressive native fauna. As a sop to the idea that not all threats require lethal force, the Bulwark can fire non-lethal rounds, but its main function is to put as many bullets into as many things as possible.

index.php



The Bulwarks main armaments are its autocannons, high damage no-frill ranged weapons with the simple purpose of killing whatever they are pointed at. While the autocannons can be fired actively, their main strength comes from being used in Overwatch. Typically a unit in Overwatch will fire a number of shots at a target equal to the number of action points it had when it entered Overwatch. So, a unit might move, and then enter Overwatch with 2 AP remaining, giving it two shots at the first thing to enter it’s overwatch zone. The Bulwark’s Unlimited Overwatch means that the unit always fires 3 shots (the maximum) regardless of action points, it also means the unit can fire on more than one unit during overwatch (normally a unit will leave overwatch after attacking). Putting out this volume of fire does apply a penalty to the weapons accuracy, but this is small price to pay for the volume of damage the unit is capable of.

As a secondary attack, the Bulwark can also fire off a concussive volley, a ranged attack with a very high chance to stun and biological or cyborg unit it hits for a single turn.


Looking at the rest of the unit card:
  • 40hp and 2 armor make this a fairly typical tier 2 unit in terms on defense
  • 24mp puts this unit at the low end for move speed, which is common for Dvar units. This is more an issue for the world map, Dvar armies are strong but take a longer time to get to were they need to be.
  • All Dvar units gain a morale bonus in Arid terrain
  • Being mechanical makes the Bulwark resist psionic damage, but weak to arc attacks.

The Amazon Lancer

Typically deployed to patrol the vast forests where the Amazon’s conduct their research, Lancers are the pinnacle of self sufficiency. The Arrowtails they ride do not require fuel, and their laser weapons do not require ammunition, allowing Lancer’s to remain deployed for extended periods without support.

index.php


The lancer’s main armament is actually closer to a glaive then a traditional lance. It’s a fearsome melee weapon, and can also be used to shoot out a medium laser blast. As is typical of melee units, the Lancer will automatically go into melee overwatch at the end of its turn, giving it single a free attack against any opponent who moves or acts in an adjacent hex. Its melee attacks also stagger opponents, which further increases the unit’s potential for disrupting enemy formations.


In combat, lancer groups typically use wolf pack tactics. One group of lancers will approach the enemy head on, relying on their energy bucklers to protect them from incoming fire. While the target is distracted, other lancers will use their superior mobility to move into flanking positions, where they can maximize their damage.


Looking at the rest of the unit card:
  • 50hp, 1 armor and 3 shields make this the tankiest tier 2 unit we have seen so far. However, Energy Buckler is front facing, meaning it loses its shields when flanked. Shields also do not protect a unit against melee attacks.
  • 40mp makes this unit one of the fastest things on the battlefield.
  • The Flanker ability means that the unit does an extra 25% damage on all flanking attacks (on top of the 20% bonus that units normally receive).
  • Amazons are all experts in Forest Warfare, they get morale bonuses when they fight in forests (Forest Affinity) and can move more quickly through them (Expedited Movement Forest)
  • Like the Vanguard, Amazons prefer Arcadian terrain, and also get a morale bonus from that.

Quick Q&A

It’s been pointed out that there’s still a huge list of questions that I left unanswered last week. I won’t be able to answer all the questions, because we still have a lot of dev diaries to write, but I can answer a couple more now!


Is it still defender gets to move first, attacker gets to retreat?

Yes! Defenders and their allies always go before the attackers, and only attackers may retreat. We don’t let defenders retreat because we can’t prevent the attacker just attacking them again, which would lead to a lot of frustration.

Is there combat concealment or is it abstracted so, for example, a unit in a wheatfield ("cover") gets extra defence?

There is no fog of war in combat, you will always be able to see where all the enemies units are. However, there are things like long grass on the battle field which provide a defensive bonus to the light units within them (they get harder to hit). Heavy units cannot make use of these bonuses however, typically they destroy things like wheat fields when they move onto them.

Will there be impassable terrain in combat, e.g. stretches of river? If so, will there be units/abilities that bypass this?

Yes, there will be chasms, indestructible rocks and other types of blocking terrain in combat. You’ll be able to get past them by flying or floating. A very small number of units also have the ability to simply move through obstacles.


And that’s it for this week! Next week we’ll be going back to the World Map.
 

Edija

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 17, 2017
Messages
670
Location
The Dead City
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Hate to be "that guy" but the units really look uninspired and bland. Some are just downright comical, in a bad way. I felt some of that with AoW 3 too, 2 had a vastly superior art direction imo.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
So this game will have ammunition and fuel resupply? That's very good, sounds like the gameplay could be as good as the art and setting is bad.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...all-dev-diary-8-the-global-resources.1113138/

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #8: The Global Resources

Hello there! Today we're going back to the world map, and starting with an overview of the global resources in Age of Wonders: Planetfall. Next to some familiar items from Age of Wonders III you’ll notice that there are many changes and additions.

index.php

Resource bar icons (left to right). Energy, Cosmite, Knowledge, Influence, Global Morale, Tac Ops, Strat Ops, Doctrines. Reputation is next to leader face.
  • Energy. Energy is the main universal currency in the game. It is used for the production and upkeep of units, colony structures, unit modules and operations. Energy is generated by your colonies and no empire can go without it. Energy can be traded, and can be found as nodes and pickups on the map.
  • Cosmite. This rare material has an origin beyond the void and is required for advanced units and unit modules. Cosmite is mainly gained from map nodes (Craters!). The rarity of this material means that high tier units can’t be mass produced and Sectors containing Cosmite are highly contested.
  • Influence. Influence is the diplomatic currency used to manipulate other players and NPC factions, it can be used for things like asking NPCs to surrender locations, hire NPCs mercenaries, and to make diplomatic pronouncements. Influence is gained by performing Quests and from an inherent generation of your empire. Cooperative Doctrines and friendly play styles give bonusses on Influence generation.
index.php

Quest for The Growth NPC Faction with influence among the rewards.

  • Reputation. Your reputation determines how other Empires and NPC factions see you. Reputation modifies your Influence gain and Global Morale. Similar to AoW3’s alignment, your Reputation is influenced by your in-game actions.
  • Knowledge. Knowledge is used to rediscover and apply the lost technologies of the Star Union. You might notice there are two Research like slots in the top bar of the latest screenshot, more on this later!
  • Tactical Operation Points. After feedback on AoW3 we’ve decided to split “Casting Points” for Planetfall in two. Tactical Operations Points are used to launch the Operations (Air strikes, Psi Storms, etc) you can call in during tactical combat, when a battle takes place within your Operational Coverage. The Tac Ops value resets every turn.
  • Strategic Ops. Used to launch Strategic Operations that are used on the world map. Strategic Operations include summons, sector (de-)buffs, and covert actions.
  • Doctrine Slots. Determines the amount of global doctrines (e.g. empire wide bonuses) you can have active at once.
  • Global Morale. Overall morale of your empire affecting Unit Morale and the Happiness of your colonists. It is influenced by the wars you enter and how justified they are perceived to be.
Note there are more variables but they are not global. Like colony food and production capacity.

Got Questions? Feel free to ask them. In future journals we’ll be going in-depth on the topics these resources govern.

Finally I’d like to use this space to give my thanks the community members sending the flowers and the well-wishes for the birth of my second child! Much appreciated. Everybody is doing well. Now I’m back to the relative quiet of the office
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...d-map-structures-i-exploration-phase.1114088/

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Dev Diary #9: World Map Structures I: Exploration Phase

Hello there! In an earlier diary we took a look at the structure of the World Map with its sector System. Today we're going to explore the world map a bit more, and take a look at some of its new systems and locations, especially the ones relevant in the early game. You’ll see there is plenty of danger lurking in the worlds of the Star Union.

index.php

Note the Yellow Scanner Markers in the Fog

Scan Range
We have added a new means to explore and surveil the world map. Next to Vision Range, your empire's units and structures project a Scan Range which allows players to detect units in the fog without disclosing all of their details. This system helps you set scout targets, as structure guards are detected by this system (which show up as yellow), but most importantly it detects enemy and NPC marauder stacks (which show up as red). This acts as an early warning system. AoW games always had long movement ranges compared to vision ranges; so you often got attacked out of the blue, scan range make this more balanced. Scan Range can be increased and can be made to disclose more information like which player or faction owns the detected stack through research.

index.php

Vanguard OWL scout kitted out with mods.

Pickups with Bonus Events

Your scouts will be on the lookout for pickups, which may be both defended and undefended. As you would expect, there are pickups associated with all resources. In Planetfall we added something new, sometimes a Pickup will spawn a bonus event in addition to its standard reward. These bonuses include items, map locations, units, and there are events affecting relations with NPC factions. Of course, all these events and bonuses are themed around the main resource.

index.php


NPC Faction Bases

Soon enough you’ll meet sectors occupied by one of the NPC (Non-Primary Combatant) Factions like the Autonom, Growth or Paragon. These NPCs claim sectors using bases, like players do. For you to claim a sector you’ll have to remove of the base through friendly of unfriendly means. Be careful not to make too many enemies though, as Bases will Spawn raiding stacks of that faction if relations turn hostile. These spawns are associated with Events, so players will at least receive a warning before angry groups of monsters start attacking them! NPC Faction Bases look like mini-dwellings, feature unique combat maps and are removed from the map when conquered. We’ll discuss Dwellings and NPC interaction in a later dev diary.


index.php

Intelligent Plants block our expansion. How do we deal with them?


Marauder Bases

Of course, Planetfall also includes monsters that cannot be negotiated with. It is of vital importance your scouts map out Spawners locations before they start eating your colonists. A typical marauder is The Hopperhound. A giant locust that can jump great distances and rip through armor.

Hazards
The destruction of the Empire left many marks on the planets you will explore, with some sectors filled with hazards that make settling unattractive and exploration dangerous. Hazards come in multiple types (Nuclear Craters, Void Rifts, Bio War Residues, ets), and drastically debuff both economic output of sectors and units positioned in them. Hazards originate from crater locations and can be removed after researching Hazard Removal Technology.

index.php

This particular Hazard is extra nasty as it spawns units

So you might have to hold off claiming hazard-struck sectors until you have the necessary technologies. Late game, after you have rebuilt a society from the ashes of the Star Union, you will be able to unleash powerful world map operations that can spawn new cataclysmic hazards of your own. War ... war never changes.
 
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
6,712
Location
Mouse Utopia
Insert Title Here Strap Yourselves In
Scan Range: AoW games always had long movement ranges compared to vision ranges; so you often got attacked out of the blue

Combined with another dev comment calling the brief flagging of income structures with flying or concealed scouts ''griefing'', it sounds like they're are trying really hard to make a hugbox. In the past games, you either send out single troops ahead to scout, which are easily outnumbered and killed but are no great loss, or you send your main force which isn't easily as likely to find itself outnumbered, but is a huge loss if it happens. That's always an interesting choice.

Of course there were also units with Vision or concealment that could scout safely, Towers to give vision, units fast enough to run forward scouting *and* get back to the safety of the main stack. But not always.

If you can send out a ''main stack'' with no forward scouts, and that stack can simply see an enemy stack coming thanks to scan range, that sounds like the game could really turn into trench warfare. Whichever side is weaker in a given spot will be far, far harder to surprise, they will have a much easier time picking their battles. It's much too early to judge, but this mechanic might be a bad thing, because I deeply enjoy how brutal it is scouting against another human player. I do hate having scouts killed by neutral Area Guards, but I blame mapmakers for those.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom