Dev Blog #50: Progress Update – Goblin Update Next Week, Orc Visual Makeover
You’ve already read the headline: The ‘Goblin Update’ will go live next week! Break out your heater shields, dust off your helmets, bid your savegames farewell and get ready for the big update. With the Goblins all new and shiny, and getting all the attention, Orcs have gotten green with envy. We can’t have that, so we’ve taken them to the makeover booth for the most exciting visual rework yet.
Goblin Update Next Week!
If everything goes according to plan, by the end of next week you’ll get your hands on the biggest update we’ve done so far and can try out all the changes and additions since our last update a month ago. Although we keep calling it the ‘Goblin Update’ there is a heap of new features, items, balancing adjustments and more coming with the update in addition to adding a new faction to the game. Battle Brothers will definitely play and feel differently and we are looking forward to your feedback on all the changes and additions we have made.
There’ll be a full faction reveal blog post about the Goblins sometime next week in which we explain the lore of the Goblins as well as their individual units, weapons and fighting abilities in detail so you can get in the right mood.
Just to remind everyone: The coming update will break compatibility with your current save games!
Orc Makeover
We’re pretty satisfied with how Orcs feel in the game overall. They have a clear identity as reckless and ferocious melee combatants who overwhelm the player with pure physical strength and wreak havoc in any battle line. Orcs come off as intimidating and brutal opponents, and fighting them feels quite different from fighting other opponents in the game. Their visual design makes up to no small part their identity in the world of Battle Brothers, so that’s what we’ve been taking a look at this week with our continuous efforts to overhaul all the older assets.
Since those original Orcs visuals were really beginning to show their age, they’ve been completely redone from the ground up. Take a look at the comparison to see how the new Orcs are much more detailed looking. As we’ve previously established about Orcs in the world of Battle Brothers, their skin gets darker the older they become, which is why Young Orcs have the fairest skin. However, in order to give all the Orcs a more coherent look we’ve adjusted their skin colors to be a bit closer together. We’ve also darkened the color palette slightly and tilted it more into an olive hue to better support the menacing look we’re going for, especially with the Young Orcs who previously could turn out quite bright. The faces you see are just some of several different ones available for every type of unit!
The look of weapons and armor is also something we want to take full advantage of in making every faction feel unique and less generic. If you read up on the lore of Orcs you’ll learn that they live in largely nomadic tribes and support themselves by hunting, gathering and taking from others. They possess no knowledge of mining or agriculture, and while they know how to craft metal, they’re not particularly skilled at it, which is why their creations are crude and unwieldy. Orcs already wield those large and heavy weapons that match their physique, but we wanted to really give them a unique armor style as well that is in line with their lore of having limited access to metal and not being able to process it properly.
Young Orcs make up the backbone of Orc society, as Orcs usually don’t have a high life expectancy but are quite reproductive. Their armor now has a more tribal and improvised look than before, and is largely made from resources that Orcs have the means to produce themselves in abundance – a variety of animal hides and bones. To round things up, we’ve also added two new lower tier weapons – the Tree Limb and the Cudgel – for their use.
Berserkers are Orcs that put themselves into a battle frenzy by taking drugs or hypnosis – and some of them are just straight up crazy. They can occasionally be found wandering alone on what could be described as pilgrimages to slay particularly dangerous beasts. If they succeed, they may wear parts of the slain beast as decoration, possibly also in the belief that it confers powers to them. Their armor is therefore made up of various bone elements from their victims.
Orc Warriors are seasoned fighters, as evident from their darker skin color and collection of scars. Years of gathering spoils from raids and battle have allowed them to loot all kinds of armor, break it apart and assemble it into one huge abomination for themselves that actually fits their massive and coarse bodies. As you can see, their armor is made up of various pieces of human equipment, like a helmet’s facemask, a piece of chainmail or a split kettle hat. It’s as much protection in battle as it is a collection of trophies from their past victories. For the finishing touch, ears, fingers and sometimes whole heads are also quite popular.
With the new armor style we’re confident that Orcs now have an even stronger identity in the game, one very much distinct from other factions. The many different looks of armor and different faces now available should also add lot of visual variety to the Orc battle lines that was previously missing.
Do you mean 2nd Bandit Battle Track?
Dev Blog #51: Goblin Faction Reveal
We’re excited to finally be able to reveal the newest addition to the world of Battle Brothers: The Goblins. They come with unique characters, skills, weapons and armor, and lore of their own. All of those things we’ll talk about today, so let’s get going!
The actual update to the game will come together with an extensive changelog later this week!
Introduction
Goblins live in the lands beyond the reach of human civilization, in small states of their own, often encompassing only a single but heavily populated city. Although distant relatives to the Orcs, they don’t have much in common apart from their color of skin.
Goblins have a complex social structure of different castes, the two most important of which are the lower caste and the political caste. The lower caste is the most populated by far, and members are born into servitude to their state or city, with very little rights other than to work for the benefit of the great Goblin state. They can be drafted into service at any time or otherwise assigned tasks with no say of their own. Although they make up the backbone of any Goblin state, they’re considered somewhat expendable, and their individual lives don’t matter all that much in the pursuit of power for members of the political caste.
Unlike most humans, Goblins are not ruled by a single individual, but a council drawn from the political caste. The council decides on any action the Goblin state should or should not take and may mandate the drafting of Goblins from the lower caste led by a Goblin Overseer to perform any task, such as to attack rival Goblin states. Members of the council often change as individuals bribe, scheme or even assassinate to get rid of their rivals and attempt to secure more power for themselves. Although the council will proclaim that any action is for the betterment of the state, in reality, many decisions are the result political backstabbing, such as sending a rival council member to oversee an attack knowing full well that he’ll get killed along with all the other Goblins sent there. A political victory, sure, but also an example of Goblin states repeatedly weakening themselves.
Goblins do not share a language with Orcs and otherwise have little in common, but they are nevertheless able to communicate with them on some level. To avoid roaming Orc tribes raiding their city states they often pay tribute until they’ve passed, and sometimes fight them if they seem weak enough in numbers. Orcs have also been used in political machinations and sent against rival Goblin states – which backfired more than once. Goblins consider roaming tribes of Orcs almost a force of nature outside of their other rivalries. They’re considered primitive, stupid even. They can be avoided at times, used at other times. But there is no stopping nature in the long run.
From a game design perspective we wanted to introduce a faction that fighting against feels very different from our existing factions. Goblins have a heavy focus on ranged combat and lowering the effectiveness of Battle Brothers by applying various status effects. With their ranged weapons they often prefer a defensive tactic and let the player come to them to press the attack, challenging the very stationary approach that dominates many a player’s tactics. Ultimately we want there to be no one superior tactic that is best against all enemies, but the need to always adjust your tactics based on the enemy you’re facing. This makes for a much more interesting and diverse combat experience in the long run, and Goblins are another step into this direction.
Goblin Physique
In Battle Brothers, Goblins are physically weaker than humans and about the size of a large child. Due to their small size they’re unable to wear heavy armor or wield heavy weaponry, and they can’t take a lot of physical punishment before going down. They don’t have the most stamina and they’re also not the bravest, though the latter may be in part due to being essentially forced into arms.
On the other hand, Goblins are dexterous little creatures. They use their small weapons with astounding accuracy to go for weak spots in their opponent’s armor, and because of their size and general skittishness are harder to hit reliably than many other opponents. Goblins are also quite cunning and intelligent, and to make up for their lack in physical strength rely on their wits, on ambushes and dirty tricks, on poison and superior numbers, to wear their opponents down. Because they’re at an inherent disadvantage in open battle, a lot of their tactics revolve around the use of ranged weapons, holding their opponents in place, and flanking them using their Wolfriders.
Goblin Weapons and Armor
Because Goblins are quite crafty and intelligent creatures, they have a whole arsenal of deadly tools available to them. Neither their armor nor weapons are particularly heavy, given the Goblins’ physical limitations, but they’re well made and balanced. Their equipment emphasizes their preference of mobility and ranged combat to wear down their opponents from afar. Their armor is made of leather as well as metal, and they wear mail and a variety of scale armor. All of their weapons and tools can be looted and used by the player, although they aren’t the most damaging ones. Their armor can’t be looted as it would fit only children.
A popular weapon with Goblin infantry is the ‘Spiked Bola’ – small iron balls with metal spikes bound together with rope, to be hurled at a target from a distance. Another specialized tool is the ‘Throwing Net’ – thrown at an opponent, it leaves them unable to move and lowers their ability to defend themselves, until they manage to cut it down. The ‘Jagged Pike’ can keep opponents at bay with its long range and tear terrible bleeding wounds.
Goblin Skirmisher
Goblin Skirmishers are the various types of melee infantry that Goblins employ. They are armed with a melee weapon of Goblin design – pikes, spears, falchions, long knives -, may carry a shield or throwing net, and often have spiked bolas as a secondary weapon to use from range should the opportunity present itself. They’re relatively poor at charging the enemy but quite competent in delaying an enemy charge and holding the line for Goblin Ambushers to pick the enemy off one by one.
Goblin Ambusher
Goblin Ambushers are dedicated ranged troops armed with bows of goblin design and wear light camouflage armor that offers little protection but makes them hard to spot from a distance. Presumably because of their experience in fighting heavily armored Orcs, they’re trained to target weak spots in their opponent’s armor for increased direct damage. Their arrow tips are coated in poison which makes vision get blurry and moving in a coordinated fashion take a monumental effort. The effect of poison slowly diminishes with each turn after getting hit.
Goblin Wolfrider
Goblins breed large wolves for war to use as mounts for their feared Wolfrider regiments. Wolfriders are faster than any infantry on the battlefield and can also move quickly through difficult terrain. This makes them them ideal to circle around a static battle line and attack archers and other lightly armed troops with from the rear, with the wolf supporting its rider by snapping its jaws at the enemy. Thanks to their swift mounts the Wolfriders are hard to pin in close combat and may break off attacks when the odds turn against them or a better target presents itself.
On hitting a Wolfrider unit, either the rider or the wolf may be hit, and they may be killed independently from each other. Killing just the wolf may leave a Goblin Skirmisher to continue fighting on foot, while killing the rider will have you face a frenzied wolf no longer kept in check by its rider.
Goblin Overseer
Goblin Overseers are veterans and members of a higher caste mandated by a Goblin council to lead and oversee a regiment of Goblins in performing a task. They’re clearly recognizable as being in charge due to their ornate armor and helmet, and they carry long whips with which they can whip the common Goblin to perform better, and to get fleeing Goblins back into line.
Because Goblins are drafted into service, the Overseer plays an important part in keeping everything together. Should he fall, Goblins are much more likely to fall into disarray, rout and flee the battlefield instead of soldiering on.
Goblin Shaman
Goblin Shamans are members of a small and secretive caste whose members seemingly possess otherworldly powers. Those powers are no less mysterious and inexplicable to the average Goblin than they are to a human witnessing them, and the nature of their power is a jealously guarded secret. In Goblin society, Shamans are often consulted as oracles, healers and experts on poison, and although not part of the political caste, hold tremendous power of influence.
In battle, Goblin Shamans support their troops by commanding nature itself. They have been witnessed to make vile roots grow from the ground in an instant to hold people in place, and to send a swarm of a thousand black flies onto their opponents. Up personal, however, they are but frail old Goblins with no real weapon.
‘Goblin Update’ Release Notes and Changelog
We’re thrilled to announce that we just released the ‘Goblin Update’ to Steam! After reading about all the additions we made to the game for the past weeks, you can now finally dive into the game and experience them yourselves.
The changes and additions go way beyond adding Goblins. If you haven’t done so already, you can read up on many of the bigger changes in our dedicated posts linked below. Also check out the extensive changelog at the bottom for an overview of all the new features, balancing changes and fixes.
Please note that due to the many changes with the update, your old saves won’t load anymore and you’ll have to start a new campaign.
- Bandit Armors and Worn Armors
- Wardogs, Direct Damage Mechanic and Visual Makeover
- Throwing Weapons and Armor Rework
- Character Backgrounds, Companions and Helmet Rework
- Orc Visual Rework
- All about the Goblin Faction
Enjoy!
Changelog
- Added Goblin Faction with 5 different units, 12 usable weapons and shields, their own music track and sounds.
- Added ‘Line Battle (Goblins)’ and ‘Wolfriders’ scenarios.
- Added a second music track for fighting bandits.
- Added Wardogs and Armored Wardogs as purchasable items. Wardogs can be equipped in the accessory slot and unleashed during battle to chase and pin down enemy units.
- Added Houndmaster background.
- Added more named items.
- Added lots of background specific clothes and hats. Some more background specific stuff is in the pipeline.
- Added Tree Limb and Cudgel as lower tier orc weapons used by Young Orcs.
- Added Morning Star as a lower tier variant of the Winged Mace.
- Added Throwing Axe and Javelin. The Crude Javelin is now an orc weapon again, as originally intended. These weapons have been added to several types of opponents as sidearms.
- Added condition deteriorating with use for ranged weapons as well.
- Added a variety of worn armors and helmets for use by bandits and as starting items for some backgrounds.
- Added a variety of new armors to be bought at cities and strongholds.
- Added cancel button to levelup screen.
- Added warning icon as status effect when a character’s weapon is in poor condition and about to break with the next few attacks.
- Added small animation to using Spearwall skill.
- Added repair icon to all damaged items equipped by a character to make it more obvious that these are repaired automatically and need not be unequipped. This is a purely cosmetic change; equipped items have always been auto-repaired.
- Added new banners to choose from when creating your mercenary company.
- Added three more late game locations with great enemy numbers for a challenge.
- Added ability for the AI to make use of throwing weapons.
- Added ability for the AI to make use of crossbows and added them to the Bandit and Landsknecht arsenals.
- Added lots of other smaller things.
- Changed how weapons and armor interact; weapons now inflict varying amounts of direct damage that may pass through armor (whether by blunt force trauma or piercing through it) and potentially kill a target without destroying every bit of armor first.
- Changed a lot of armor efficiency stats for different weapons that are better simulated with a high direct damage because they aren’t necessarily good at actually destroying armor.
- Changed view range to 7 (up from 6) for all characters.
- Changed range of Crossbow to 6 (up from 5) and Hunting Bow to 7 (up from 6).
- Changed throwing weapons to have a range of 4 tiles and a bonus to accuracy on short ranges which declines rapidly with distance.
- Changed ‘Battleflow’ perk to reduce current fatigue by 30% of the character’s base maximum fatigue (before penalties due to armor are applied) on a kill, as opposed to current fatigue, in order to have characters with more maximum fatigue benefit the most from this. This effect now only triggers on the first kill each turn so that it isn’t disproportionately effective against low-hitpoint targets (such as Goblins), especially in combination with ‘Perfect Focus’.
- Changed ‘Brawny’ perk to also reduce fatigue penalty of helmets by half in order to make it a more impactful pick for tanky characters.
- Changed name of ‘Crush Armor’ skill to ‘Destroy Armor’ to better reflect the idea behind it.
- Changed attribute increase on levelup to use fixed values now per attribute instead of random numbers as before. While we still like the randomized values in principle, they won’t work well with planned changes to the perk system, so we dropped them. We’ll reveal the planned changes to the perk system in time.
- Changed renaming of a character to change their name also in their background description.
- Changed higher tier equipment to be more expensive but left prices of lower tier equipment largely untouched. This is to reinforce a progression of equipment where the player starts with low tier stuff and slowly picks up better gear. Looting better equipment should feel more rewarding this way and there is actually better equipment to save crowns for and spend on in the later parts of the game now.
- Changed starting funds to be higher on all difficulties, especially on Easier.
- Changed reward for contracts to be slightly higher.
- Changed value of some loot items (werewolf pelts, vampire dust, etc) to be slightly higher.
- Changed quivers to show as empty in inventory if they’re, well, empty.
- Changed a few events to take into account how the player needs more crowns now.
- Changed a lot of equipment for AI opponents around for a better progression and less easily attainable high tier weaponry.
- Changed character backgrounds to no longer come with fixed boni and mali to attributes but instead individual min and max values for every attribute.
- Changed starting lineup for the player to always consist of three people with the new ‘Companion’ background which comes with some decent combat skills, weapons and backstories that may include the player.
- Changed all humans, as well as Wiedergangers, to have a new and overhauled look.
- Changed Orcs to have a completely new look.
- Changed Melee and Ranged Skill for player characters in all scenarios to 65 (up from 60).
- Changed bandits on the worldmap to no longer raid villages and only ambush caravans and travellers now. With the Goblins, Orcs and Undead raiding villages, the guys can relax a bit.
- Changed battle at worldmap locations to always start in line battle formation, regardless of terrain.
- Changed enemies killed by allies (militia etc) to no longer drop loot for the player.
- Changed AI to make better use of specialized skills such as Knock Back, Repel, Hook and Rotation.
- Changed UI to switch faster between characters when ending turns.
- Changed lots of other smaller things.
- Fixed pause sometimes not working correctly after leaving towns.
- Fixed town window potentially opening while an event is shown.
- Fixed bug that prevented event cooldown times from working correctly, potentially resulting in individual events firing either too often or not at all.
- Fixed bug that prevented the AI from using Split Shield skill against better shields.
- Fixed bug that prevented the AI from using the Puncture skill in some instances.
- Fixed issue of individual AI characters sometimes defending a position while others choose to engage, especially if they’re far apart. The decision to defend or engage is now always done at group level for consistent enemy group behavior.
- Fixed compatibility issue with Windows 10. Hopefully that’s the only one, but we’ll see.
- Fixed lots of other small bugs and issues.
Doesn't look like that'll ever be possible
I hope so. We have some cool things planned for the undead as well that should further shake things up a bit and require a different approach to battle. They'll also receive a visual makeover and get some cultural identity of their own so that they're less generic undead.
What movie?The new graphical changes are gorgeous. Visually feel like I'm commanding the jolly rag-tag condottieri from Flesh+Blood!
