RTS They Are Billions - steampunk/zombie RTS from Lords of Xulima dev

[LESS T_T]

Features of the campaign, updates: https://steamcommunity.com/games/644930/announcements/detail/1813167203023788148

Campaign Development (II)

Greetings!

Today we would like to tell you a bit more about some of the upcoming features of the Campaign: The Train and the Research System

The Train

During The Campaign you will mostly have to deal with reconquering a big territory currently occupied by the infected. In this future world there is just one city standing: Empire City, where most remaining humans live. At the beginning of the game, the Emperor commands you with the task to expand the empire throughout the infected territory. You’ll have to build colonies that will be connected by a railway network.

In the campaign, the train will always play a role in the colony-type missions. In these maps the Command Center will be located next to the railway tracks that will run across the map.

The train convoy will arrive at the colony once a day with a payload of colonists from Empire City to populate the colony. Therefore, in the Campaign, houses will initially be empty and "disabled" until the colonist arrive.

As well as adding realism and coherence with the game story and the style (steampunk), the train enhances the gameplay mechanism:

Structures cannot be built on top railway tracks:
That's something obvious of course, but it presents a new challenge to both expanding and protecting the colony. Colonies will always have those open gaps for the infected to sneak in. Make sure you place your units and towers to defend them well.

The train can destroy the infected:
The train will destroy all infected units that cross paths with it! But don't worry, your units cannot be harmed. They will just be pulled apart and let the train pass. This feature can be used to your advantage.

The Train won't come to the colony while it is attacked by a swarm:
So the train will delay its arrival the next day.

Colonists just arrive to the colony once a day:
So you should take this into account when deciding when to build houses, or other buildings.

You can upgrade the train by researching specific perks in the Research Tree:
So when it comes to the colony it will bring not just colonists, but also resources and gold.

The Research System

During the campaign you will have access to the Research Laboratory in between missions. There you can use the Research Points you have won by finishing missions, or found while exploring the Old Fortresses.

The Research system will have a really big impact in the gameplay. Consider that in the beginning of the Campaign you’ll start will a very low level of technology that will allow you just to build these elements: Tent, Wood Wall / Gate, Mill, Tesla Tower, Quarry, Sawmill, Fisherman and Hunter Cottages and the Ranger. And by contrast, at the end you may finish with highly sophisticated units and buildings that will allow you to develop much more powerful colonies than the current ones in the Survival Mode.

The Research Tree has more than 90 research perks. Some of them will allow the unlocking of new buildings or units. Others consist on upgrades for buildings / units, or general improvements for your colony. There will be a great variety of them, so every player can have a unique experience while deciding how to evolve their colony. It won't be possible to research all the perks in the tree, so make sure your research strategy matches your playing style!
But don't worry too much about weather you are choosing the right perks. The missions will be very open and can be played in different ways. As in the Survival mode, you will need to adapt your colony for every challenge. But also, you will always have several missions available so you can decide to play them in the order that better fits your technology level.

Here you have an preview image, sorry about it being in Spanish, we will translate the Campaign when is fully completed.

By the way, the current mayors system of the Survival Mode won't be available for the Campaign as their bonus and features interferes with the Research System that will be much more complex and deep and leave the Mayors system just for Survival and Custom Maps.

Some more features for the Editor (V. 0.15.16)

We have just updated the version, fixed some reported bugs and also added a few more elements, taken from the campaign, to enrich your custom levels gameplay and narrative.

Signs

You can place signs in the map to show more information (names, warnings...) about regions of different parts of the map. They are activated by units (with right click as any other interactive element).

Multi-purpose Machines: The Communicator and the Transmitter

You can place these machines in the map and set an script that will be executed when a unit interact with the machine (right click). These elements are useful when you need to trigger an event in an specific moment (instead of automatic events), and when a unit reaches that point in the map.
For example, you can now create more tactical maps where the player must reach and activate those landmarks to win the game.

And that's all for now. In the next update we will talk about the World Map and Missions!

See you soon!

 

[Alienman]

Structures cannot be built on top railway tracks
That's something obvious of course, but it presents a new challenge to both expanding and protecting the colony. Colonies will always have those open gaps for the infected to sneak in. Make sure you place your units and towers to defend them well.

Not sure how I feel about this. I'm having trouble as it is, without having big holes in my defenses.

 

[thesheeep]

Structures cannot be built on top railway tracks
That's something obvious of course, but it presents a new challenge to both expanding and protecting the colony. Colonies will always have those open gaps for the infected to sneak in. Make sure you place your units and towers to defend them well.

Not sure how I feel about this. I'm having trouble as it is, without having big holes in my defenses.

Agree, I find this entirely retarded.
Age Of Empires 3 had the same bullshit that you couldn't build gated walls on top of railway tracks. And for no reason, really.
Just make a gate, ffs, it's not that hard to come up with that idea. And make it have less health than typical walls so it will still be the most vulnerable spot. But having guaranteed open gaps in your defenses is just a big no-no in a game all about turtling.
Don't think I'll play this campaign if that is not changed.

 

[you know what time it is]

I'd imagine the amount of infected and other stuff would be different from pure survival.

 

[thesheeep]

I'd imagine the amount of infected and other stuff would be different from pure survival.

Still, it's just bullshit. There is no logical reason there couldn't be a gated wall on top of a railway track.
I'm also extra salty about this because AoE3 fucked up walls so badly with this (and with the fact that everyone could shoot straight through walls lol)... I love walls in my RTS games and I hate when they aren't done properly.

 

[Alienman]

I also love my walls

 

[Alienman]

Hehe, but think about it. They live in this zombie infested world, and still haven't figured out how to build a gate for trains. No wonder there is only one city left standing.

 

[Destroid]

 

[The Wall]

Hehe, but think about it. They live in this zombie infested world, and still haven't figured out how to build a gate for trains. No wonder there is only one city left standing.

Yeah, the one that has me as a ruler, Emperor De Wall. Empress De Gate and me make a nice couple and ensure safe future for humanity!

 

[LESS T_T]

Dev response about that: https://steamcommunity.com/app/644930/discussions/0/1842440600598800820/?ctp=3#c1842440600601650707

Hello,

I have given your suggestion to the Dev Team and they tell me that maybe you should wait to test how the train works before ask for rail way gates. Anyway they have added that "There are more ways to defend the colony than walls".

Kind regards.

 

[Alienman]

Interesting. But what could it actually be, except putting a meat wall of soldiers in the way?

If it is like that, I don't like it. I don't want to sacrifice my men just to block the zombies out, just feels unrealistic, and besides that is for last ditch defenses!

 

[thesheeep]

Will this go down in history as "Gategate"?

 

[Infinitron]

June: https://steamcommunity.com/games/644930/announcements/detail/1741112499833374169

Campaign Development (III)
2 APR @ 6:56PM - NUMANTIAN GAMES

Greetings!

Today we’ll talk about the World Map and some other elements about the upcoming Campaign Mode of They Are Billions.

The World Map

If you followed the development of our last game, the RPG Lords of Xulima, you should know that we love World Maps. They’re a great way to put the player directly into the context of the game while showing their progress. Every game should have one!

In They Are Billions, we’ve taken the integration of World Map with the game even further. For an RTS game, having a world map where you can design your own strategy is a must. As the World Map is unveiled as you progress in the Campaign we will just show a few pieces to not spoil anything. Also, sorry about they are still in Spanish.

Some words about the game setting: They Are Billions is set in the 23rd Century, two hundred years after civilization has collapsed from the pandemic that turned billions of humans into hungry, infected savages. In this lethal world, there’s just one city left standing, Empire City. Built by Empire Leader Quintus Crane, it has prospered and grown inside a huge meteor-impact crater. The Great Crater border serves as a massive natural barrier allowing humans to live safely from the infected.

Quintus wants to expand the Empire outside the Great Crater. Your role in the game, as a young general chosen by Quintus, is to command the reconquest of the wild territories where the infected roam free. And this is where the game starts. You have no knowledge of the world other than what you unveil by progressing in the campaign. In the first mission, called "The Hidden Valley", you’ll have to build the first colony using only the most rudimentary technology (tents, rangers and hunters).

Once a mission is successfully completed, the surrounding parts of the world map will then be revealed, granting you access to more missions.

After the first mission, you’ll have several options to choose from. Select a mission to see all the info: description, goals, rewards... Also the level (difficulty) of the mission will be displayed with red skulls, ranging from 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest). The level of development of your colony (what technologies you have chosen to research), and your play style, will also impact the difficulty of the missions. Use all this info wisely to choose your next target in order to progress in the campaign.

Some missions are blocked by swarms of infected as you can see in the first screenshot. You’ll need to obliterate them before you can continue on that path. We’ll tell you more about the Swarm Attack Missions and the Empire Army in the next update.

What are missions like?

In a few words: They Are Billions is They Are Billions, and not Starcraft, Supreme Commander, Age of Empires or any other game. They Are Billions has its own style and philosophy of play and we will always remain faithful to its essence. They Are Billions is about survival in a world devastated by billions of infected. It’s about letting players develop their strategy as best as they see fit, adapting to any adverse situation using their skills and resources.

There won't be missions be scripted such us "create exactly three units of this type; build seven structures in this place price; rescue four snipers that are in this position and then destroy this damn town while such a character is directed to... and if you do not do exactly that, the mission will fail... ". No thanks. That takes away the player's freedom, going against They Are Billions’ spirit. The campaign will be similar to the survival mode but on a grander scale. Of course each mission will have objectives, but they’ll be more like "Build a colony of 10,000 settlers on the "Poisonous Swamp", or "Get rid of all the Frozen Lake Giants". How you achieve that goal will be left entirely up to you.

It’s true that tactical missions will rely more on narrative and ambiance because they’re more about exploration. You’ll be able to roam freely inside the abandoned human strongholds where they take place.


What about Tutorials?

At Numantian, we’ve never been big fans of game tutorials, especially when the tutorial is external to the game. We prefer the game to be as self-explanatory as possible, with all the necessary help integrated into the interface, becoming easily visible just by moving the mouse. We like to learn through experimentation and exploration instead of following a step-by-step guide. What could be more boring?! Having said that, the survival mode is quite brutal for inexperienced RTS players. That’s why, during the campaign, some game management basic-information messages will appear at the beginning. We’ll keep them to a minimum, so they won’t become a nuisance to the experienced players.

As in the campaign, you’ll start with very few buildings and units, but the learning curve will be much more progressive than in the survival mode. To be honest, They Are Billions was meant to be played in the campaign mode first, and only after that, in the survival mode, and not the other way around as it has been.


Campaign Score, Permadeath and difficulty

Another often controversial subject of They Are Billions is the Permadeath system that makes it more similar to rogue-like games. We’ve always thought this was the right way to go because it works perfectly for this type of game. It enhances the tension and fear that the colony will succumb to the infection. This way, the game is experienced much more realistically. Recording and loading would ruin the game experience because your decisions while playing in permadeath have real risks and consequences while if you are allowed to reload the game, your actions don't carry risk anymore as you can go back in time, so to speak, and redo it in another way.

The campaign has 50 missions, which total 40-60 hours of play. Obviously the permadeath system won’t apply to the whole campaign. It’d be tragic to have to start again after playing for 40 hours!
During the campaign, the permadeath system works as usual. You can exit the game and continue the same mission when you want, but you can’t reload an old game. If you fail the mission you’ll return to the campaign map and decide whether to start the same mission again or start a different one to gain some improvements by developing the research tree.
But be aware that this doesn’t mean that you can repeat the mission over and over again without consequence...

The campaign score, which will be equal to the sum of the scores of all completed missions, will be displayed in the campaign dashboard. Each mission has a maximum score based on the chosen difficulty chosen, and that you will earn when you successfully complete the mission. Watch out because each time you fail a mission, 10% of that score will be permanently deducted until you reach a minimum of 10% of the original score. By doing this, we’ll reward you for finishing each mission with the least possible attempts, and we’ll avoid metagaming situations like, “I start the mission and explore everything and with that information I start the mission again.”

Regarding the difficulty, we’ve implemented quite an original and effective system. Instead of selecting the difficulty level at the beginning of the campaign, and not being able to change it again, you can set it at any time from the campaign dashboard. That difficulty (accessible, challenging, brutal...) will only affect the mission you are about to play and, of course, the mission score (the score factor). This way, if a certain mission is too hard, you can always make it easier, but at the cost of losing victory points.

Unlike in the Survival mode, a mission score will only depend on its level and the selected difficulty, and not on the number of settlers, wonders, or lost units ... This is because we prefer not to encourage artificial game strategies devised only to increase the score. If you want to raise your score, select a higher difficulty level.

We believe this to be the fairest system. Focusing the game on getting the highest campaign score will encourage you to play with greater challenges, and also to replay the campaign at more difficult levels to reach a higher score that, by the way, we’ll publish on the Global Campaign Leaderboard. Game on!

Development Scheduling

We’re 100% focused on finishing the campaign so it can be released as soon as possible. If all goes according to plan, that will be June 2019. The gameplay will unquestionably be finished by then, as it’s almost at 75% right now, but other elements like the video cinematic, voices, translations, or other stuff may take us longer than expected.

Therefore, we’ve decided not to add new content to the survival mode until the full game with the campaign is released. Working on the campaign modifies everything in the game, while updating new content for the survival uses a lot the development resources, and we firmly believe that most players prefer to have the campaign sooner than having an updated Survival but with a more delayed Campaign.

Having said that, the exciting news is that with the big launch of the campaign, the survival mode will be updated with two more themes and features like new units and structures. If will be finally the 1.0 version!

Of course we’ll continue updating the game to fix bugs and other issues. And while you patiently wait, you can play the more than one thousand custom levels already available in the workshop. Indeed, the editor came much earlier than what we’d planned precisely to give more content to the players while giving us enough time to develop the campaign.

And that's all folks! In the next update we will talk more about the campaign and the swarm attack missions.

See you soon!

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.numantiangames.com/2019/05/01/they-are-billions-update-campaign-development-iv/

THEY ARE BILLIONS UPDATE: CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT IV

Greetings!
As we mentioned in the previous update, we hope to launch the final game with the Campaign in June. We are working very hard on all fronts in parallel: Missions of the Campaign, new interface for the Campaign, testing and balancing, cinematics, voices and sound effects, new units, translations, and some other surprises we have planned.

The name of the Campaign will finally be The New Empire, which we believe summarizes the goal of the campaign very well: to build the new human civilization, after the zombie apocalypse, under the leadership of the Great Emperor, Quintus Crane. In addition, this New Empire mimics the ancient human empires, especially The Roman Empire, both in its aesthetic and in its imperialistic and conquering behavior. And all of this mixed with a rudimentary steam-powered technology and a world devastated by zombies… What do you think?



Campaign Dashboard


We have almost finished the new interface for the campaign. There are still some icons missing – we are using provisional ones – but, we can show you the most important elements. We hope you like it. The interface has the same Steampunk touch as the rest of the game, but we also wanted to bring it closer to the New Empire, with its symbols and flags.

From the Dashboard you can access three sections using the large buttons on the top right: Campaign Map, Research Laboratory, and Hero Stats Screen.

On the Campaign Map, you’ll find the map that grows and unveils as you advance in the campaign. From there, you can consult the available missions and start playing them.

From the Research Laboratory you can unlock new research that grants you access to improvements for your colonies. Click here for more information.

Finally, from the Hero Stats Screen you can see all the Hero related information including the tree of improvements. We will talk about this in the next update.

Also in the Dashboard, you will find the following elements:

• Progress of the Campaign (in the center at the bottom).
• User account screen where the current difficulty level and the button to change it appear at all times.
• Total Empire points that represent your power within the Empire, necessary to dispose of your army in swarm attack missions, and overall campaign score (both bottom right).

Swarm Attack Missions

As the Campaign progresses, you will find swarms that will block the way of the expansion of the Empire. You will have to destroy them by placing the defense units and structures of the Imperial Army.

In these outdoor missions you will have to face a swarm of infected, which you will have to destroy while defending the Official Outpost located in the center. If the Outpost is destroyed or infected you will have lost the mission.

When you start the mission, the game will be paused while you use the Outpost to select the units and defenses to deploy. Rangers and wooden barriers will always be available, as well as all the units and defenses that you have unlocked from the research tree so far.

Each unit or defense costs a certain number of Empire points. Once they run out, you’ll be unable to deploy more defenses. When you have finished with the deployment, just press the Start button and the game will begin and the swarm will be unleashed.

Use the terrain as a natural defense, and plan which type of defense is the most advantageous, according to the size and types of the swarm. The attack missions are very fast, and a little crazy, and very easy to lose. In any case, we think they are great fun. May Fortune be on your side!

That’s all for now!
In the next update we will tell you about heroes and tactical missions.
See you soon!

 

[Infinitron]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/644930/announcements/detail/1621770561046537588

The Credits Song - Make it out alive
9 MAY @ 6:56PM - NUMANTIAN GAMES

Greetings!

As you probably know, before launching They Are Billions on Steam we had a presale campaign with special limited editions in which one of the rewards for supporting the development was to appear in the game credits.

As appreciation to all our awesome backers, we have produced a theme song for the game credits as a tribute to the more than 3,000 people who, through their support and collaboration, have help us to make this project a reality.

The theme song was composed and directed by our great composer Nicolás Diteriks, who also played the piano. Alice Dixit has lent us her amazing voice, and they are both joined by a wonderful group of talented performers: Lucas d'Angelo on the guitar, Igor de Ferran on the bass and Pablo Ramirez on the drums.

We hope you like it. On behalf of the entire team, thank you all very much for your support!

Note: The new credits will be available in the game in the next version.

Collector's Edition and Price Change

We are now very close to the final release of They Are Billions that includes the new Campaign mode, with more than 60 hours of play. From this week the base price of the game will no longer include the Early Access discount and its final price will be $ 29.99.

We are also working in the collector's edition, that will include the soundtrack album remastered to the highest quality and the digital book "The Art of They Are Billions", that contains hundreds of images with sketches, tests and final artwork of TAB. The Collector's Edition will come out as an extension (DLC) so anyone who wants to can upgrade from the basic edition. Its price will be: $6,99.

And that's all for now, see you soon in the next update: Tactic Missions and the Heroes!

*If you are a backer and can’t find yourself in the credits, please let us know at: gomez@numantiangames.com. We will be updating the credits in the game with every new version.

 

[anvi]

I played this game, it pissed me off massively. Another shitty indie.

 

[anvi]

REALLY?

Ok this game is a total scam and you are pigshit stupid if you defend it in any way. You are supporting something that is half of a good RTS yet super hyped because it presents it in a gimmicky (and shitty) roguelike way that disguises its own lack of depth. I can explain why this is, but HAVE YOU EVEN PLAYED IT? My god there is barely any game. Go play Forged Alliance, repent.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.numantiangames.com/2019/05/27/they-are-billions-update-heroes-tactic-missions/

THEY ARE BILLIONS UPDATE: HEROES & TACTIC MISSIONS

Greetings!
Today we will talk about the heroes and tactic mission in They Are Billions.

The Campaign will finally have 48 missions, 23 of which are about building colonies, 15 about attacking swarms of infected and 10 will be tactical missions. As it happened to us with Lords of Xulima, the duration of the final game is much longer than we had anticipated as, according to our testers, it can take between 60 to 80 hours to complete it !?!

To finish the campaign it will only be necessary to build the 23 colonies. The rest of the missions are all optional, but surely you will need to play them to advance in the technology tree, and destroy the swarms that block the routes to new territories.

It is a long campaign but also very diverse, the tactical missions will specially bring a very different touch to the game. Testers’ recurring comment is that we could have created a completely new game just with them. We hope they’ll enrich the gameplay experience and will also help bring lore to the story behind They Are Billions. Something that testers also appreciate is that in these missions you can finally enjoy the graphics and animations of the zombies up close, compared to the zoomed out way you normally play in the colony mode.



The Heroes

At the beginning of the campaign you will have to choose between one of the two heroes. This is an important decision because the chosen hero will be accompanying you throughout the whole campaign and you won’t be able to change it. Although they have different game styles they are both very well balanced, so just choose the one you like the most. You can always play the campaign again with the other hero to enjoy a different game experience.

Heroes only play in tactical missions. If the hero dies the mission will fail.
At the end of a mission the heroes can go up one level and you can improve them by acquiring new perks. Each hero has a different perk tree. At the beginning you can choose between one of the 4 perks of the central part, from there you only acquire the perks adjacent to an already unlocked one. In the end, the hero will become a very powerful unit and you will clearly be able to feel his progression as you advance in the tactical missions.



The Tactical Missions: The Ancient Fortresses



The objective of the tactical missions is to recover some important technological artifacts that can be found inside the old human fortresses. These are the ten locations you can explore:

• The Last Bunker
• Alpha Communications Center
• The Weapons Factory
• The Foundry
• Hydra Power Plant
• The Prison
• Gamma Medical Center
• The Steel Fortress
• Omicron Laboratory
• Phoenix Project

While exploring the fort you will find valuable objects that will grant you research points (scientific material…) to progress in the technology improvements tree, and empire points (books, old paintings, statues…) that will please the New Empire and provide you with greater influence over the Imperial Army.

Valuable items appear in random places in each game, you can locate them using the mouse cursor. Any valuable object will light up and you can send your unit to pick it up. This objective is optional and it’s not necessary to find them all to complete the mission. You will also find useful objects such as hand-grenades and medical kits, and many interactive elements.

We recommend that you explore the fortresses, little by little, carefully checking everything out, and using the elements of the scenario to your advantage.

News from the past



When a tactical mission is completed, you will also receive an old newspaper clip with a fragment of the history of the infection that ravaged the world. When completing all of them, you will finally find out where the “Billions” in “They Are Billions” came from.

(If you want to know what it says you’ll have to explore the ancient fortresses)

And that’s all for now. In the next update, we will publish the trailer of the campaign and announce the final release date.

See you soon!

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Really looking forward to this.
All of this has got me wanting to play Lords of Xulima again as well

 

[anvi]

It is garbage... Why would you want to play this?

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

I really liked it. Like the artstyle, love tower defense games. The game just ticks a lot of boxes for me

 

[anvi]

It isn't TD though because you just block the entrance, double the wall thickness, build a few towers to shoot shit, and you are set. Do that in each entrance of your base, grow until you get strong and then end the game. Really basic shit. It is like a good RTS but with 80% of the game missing. Get Dungeon Warfare or the sequel, best Tower Defense games out there. For a real RTS get Forged Alliance or Supreme Commander 2 and mod it. Or the early C&C games.

 

[anvi]

Here looks a far better game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/682530/MarZ_Tactical_Base_Defense/

Or get a real RTS like Forged Alliance or Supreme Commander 2. Or the early C&C games.

 

[LESS T_T]

June 18th: https://steamcommunity.com/games/644930/announcements/detail/1611639997285827572

Trailer: The New Empire Campaign (Available on June 18th)

At last! The highly anticipated They Are Billions Campaign will be available on June 18th. Here at Numantian, we recommend that you ask your boss for at least one month off. That’s because, and you are being warned, the campaign is addictive - really addictive. Check out the teaser trailer of The New Empire. We hope you enjoy it!



The campaign will, of course be included free with the current game, and also it will be available in the 12 languages currently supported by They Are Billions.


Two new map for the Survival Mode
Along with the campaign, two new scenarios will be unlocked for the Survival mode: The Deep Forest and The Caustic Lands.

- As The Deep Forest is the most accessible, it will now be the first scenario available, so that new players’ first contact with They Are Billions is not so brutal.

- The Caustic Lands, on the contrary, will be the hardest of all the maps. The most dangerous infected live here and you’ll face the Doom Colony that can occupy up to 30% of the map. Scary!

In addition, the rest of the scenarios have been modified in the level of difficulty and include new dangers... No spoilers here!

See you soon!

 

[Destroid]

I see gategate got to them, at 1:18 in the new trailer you can see a train gate in action.