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Broken Lines - WW2 narrative tactics with simultaneous turn resolution

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
https://brokenlinesgame.com




https://af.gog.com/game/broken_lines?as=1649904300

https://www.portaplay.dk/portfolio/broken-lines/


*Trigger warning: game has wimming soldiers in WW2 western Europe setting.
event-screen.jpg
https://bigbossbattle.com/broken-lines-squad-squabbles-and-symmetrical-strategy/
It all begins when a plane full of reserves are shot down over enemy territory. You then take command of a slowly growing team as the survivors locate one-another around the scattered debris and surrounding countryside. The first level is an exceptional tutorial for anybody unfamiliar with how the underused tactical style works, and before long you’ll be planning out and adapting moves like a pro.

Another thing that the first level manages to stress extremely well is the effect of flanking in the game. Flanking and subsequently cover, is something that is rarely touched upon in most real-time games. The tactical element of Broken Lines definitely gives you time to pause and think about how best to draw enemy fire away and get units into a strong position. Suppression, cover and flanking are truly king, and you’ll be spending most of your time attempting to pull and outmaneuver enemies rather than directly engage them. This is handy, as everybody in Broken Lines is particularly squishy.

Now, tucking up behind cover and waiting it out is a viable tactic in most turn-based game. But Portaplay’s decision to go with the planning-pre-execution style which I mentioned earlier changes it. Broken Lines will pause allowing you to give instructions to each of your units, be that moving from cover to cover, using abilities or moving along to a new destination via waypoints. However, while you are doing this the enemy is also making their plans. Then it’s execution time. The enemy will actively try to flank you, and are normally positioned better than you and on the defense — this all combines to create a pressing urge to keep moving up. It’s almost impossible to resist this, and it’s also silly.

Planning out moves isn’t reduced to as simple a level as clicking and dragging however, you can also set stances for the characters. At its best, this is reminiscent of the likes of Jagged Alliance and Fallout Tactics — a stance can change a lot. If you run then you cover more ground and might even dodge a few shots, but if you kneel then you can keep stealth on your side and you might even be able to get your shotgunner up behind your enemy.

Once combat is over you get to manage your team, re-equipping them or unlocking abilities for them. The weapon of the character defines the class and subsequently how they attack enemies. Something we’re starting to see a lot more in modern games and a welcome addition, as it allows you to retool a team a lot deeper than, say, a D&D title.

Throughout the campaign there’s more than just surviving and levelling up to be done. Each of the eight characters have their own goals in the situation, with a clear divide between the hardened veterans who intend to take advantage of the situation to aid the war effort and the rookies who just want to get out of there alive. It’s not a 1/1 divide though, some have more cunning, stealth ideas for how to solve situations, while others are more gung-ho.

Regardless of which way you go, the campaign twists and turns to match your style. Lead the veterans to a gung-ho attack on a depot and the story will change, believe the paranoid rookie who believes there’s supernatural elements afoot and the fog which enshrouds the land will take on a new form.

Between its decision-led story and the clever way of managing tactical decisions, Broken Lines definitely remains one to watch for fans of the squad strategy genre.
 
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anvi

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I would love a JA2 type game but this looks kinda primitive. Also I don't like that thing about bury the bodies and go back or just go straight back. Stuff like that you would be able to make a decision in reality based on something, but some game screen it just sounds like an excuse to say tough shit you were ambushed while burying the bodies and you lost 2 guys.
 

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko

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Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Bubbles In Memoria
Steam page:


https://steamcommunity.com/games/926580/announcements/detail/1617272666787357121
Though the summer holidays are now upon us, we’re still working away at Broken Lines, and so we thought it would be a cool idea to give you all a feel of what working on Broken Lines is like!

Know your Squad

The experience that you get out of playing Broken Lines heavily depends on how you manage the squad and what choices you make. What is also vital to your success is knowing the characteristics of the squad members, so to help you out, we have begun introducing the squad members with more detail about their personality.

This week, we started off with Avery.

093d52930afd17dc92dbb6f7937885efd46ef257.jpg


Avery is a hot-headed Scotsman who is quick to make decisions but is also terrible at dealing with the consequences if something goes wrong.

Discord

Did you know that Broken Lines is on Discord? If you are interested in getting to know the team behind Broken Lines join us today at: https://discord.gg/AvkDwuU

Our rapidly growing community will be thrilled to meet you!

Tips from the Game

Finally, we’ve got some screenshots from the game itself. Some of you may be beta testers, but for those of you that are not, we think you’ll be happy to see these screenshots. After all, not only do these images show you what the game will look like, but they also have vital tips about the mechanics found in Broken Lines.

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Tip 1: You cannot shoot through your allies, make sure that each squad member has a clear line of sight!

ef93e1bdd61b0ae270e6ab4c9b4c1680f1d2bc74.png

Tip 2: Grenades have an area of effect. If used well they can be devastating against the enemy. But always be careful, grenades will harm your squad members if they are in the blast range.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/926580/announcements/detail/1618399198867410226
Broken Lines Weekly News Blast 2
19 JUL @ 5:55PM - DARKFALL

Hello everyone and welcome back to our second weekly news blast from Broken Lines. In this edition we are going to continue with our 'Know your Squad' segment, help you find us at Gamescom, and share some of the fun that we have when developing the game.

So without further ado, let's begin!

Know your Squad
Last week we introduced Avery, the hot-headed Scotsman, giving you vital information to the character’s back story, and how you can expect him to act in the game.

This week, we’ve got a (sort of) new character to introduce - Conner.
We say sort of because Conner featured in our teaser trailer,so many of you would have already got to know her.

1323f470c6b8cc47619f872ed43f30275a7d1d84.jpg


Even on her good days, most people tend to keep their distance from her, but considering that she thinks that people just get in the way, that suits her just fine!

If you want the full story behind Conner, check out the teaser trailer.

0.jpg

YouTube™ Video: Broken Lines Teaser
Views: 1,581
Add to wishlist: https://bit.ly/2MusmUx Broken Lines is a squad-based tactics game with a serious story, told from the perspective of the individual soldiers.


Gamescom

Will you be attending Gamescom 2019? We sure will be! Head on over to the Indie Corner in hall 10.2 to meet us, get some awesome swag and try out the game!

Game Development Fun

One of the funniest parts of developing a game is when you finally finish a new feature and test it out for the first time.

Why is that you ask? Because it is almost always going to have a few unforeseen bugs that can be pretty funny to see (and frustrating to fix).

Take this, for example, the characters all moved ok, but their leg positions were entirely wrong!

562b83067f93b2a4ada6b1dc040aa821e71fd380.png


Other times, the issues would only trigger with specific interactions. Like in this example, the soldier’s model was ok in normal play, but when he got damaged by one of the player’s characters, he would suddenly transform into what could only be described as an opera singer!

Those are but a few fun stories from the world of Broken Lines development. If you found them to be interesting, we recommend that you follow our various Social Media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokenlinesgame/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brokenlinesgame
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brokenlinesgame/
VK (Russian only): https://vk.com/brokenlinesgame

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12 Rate up
 

Jimmious

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Looks interesting. I like that there are more and more people that try to implement a simultaneous turn system
 

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The squad has crash-landed behind enemy lines, in the heart of Eastern Europe. With no officers, no leaders, and no intel, they must find an unbreakable resolve if they are to survive.
But with only their training and instincts to guide them, survival becomes a difficult goal. First of all, they need to learn to work together to have any hope of coping with the challenges ahead.
Each survivor has their own views on what to do, and their own principles on what is acceptable. Some want to investigate what caused their crash, others want to stay low and avoid detection by the enemy. There are even whispers of desertion.
It is your task to be the unseeing hand that will guide this ragtag group of soldiers through their struggles. Make your decisions wisely, for they will have real consequences on the fates of the survivors.

Key Features:
- Tactical RPG with diverse characters. Experience the story through the eyes of each soldier as they fight for survival in an alternative WW2 setting
- Turn-based planning with simultaneous execution
- Authentic tactical choices: suppression, destructible cover, realistic ballistics, and camouflage are at your disposal.
- Rogue-like campaign structured with different narrative paths, resources, and permadeath
- A challenge for even the most experienced gamer. A far-reaching moral system means that the soldiers may desert at any moment if you prove to be incompetent
- An emotional story, tense atmosphere, and multiple endings based on the decisions that you make
 

Infinitron

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As Broken Lines approaches the final stages of development, we want to create a series of developer diaries that will help us demonstrate and explain the game to you.

Our first video sets the stage by giving you a brief overview of the game's core features.
 

Infinitron

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The Broken Lines Dev Diaries return as we take a look at one of the basic aspects of combat - shooting.
Though it may seem like a trivial feature, a lot of attention and detail has been put into every shot taken by every soldier.
Check out our video to learn more!
 

Infinitron

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This game is starting to look kinda cool tbh. Commandos meets Frozen Synapse? I can dig it. The female soldiers are acceptable within the tradition of weird/pulp WW2 fiction (they're actually calling it a "WW2-like setting" on their Twitter account now)
 

anvi

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Yea it sounds promising, I look forward to playing it 2058 with every other early access game :argh:
 

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The third episode of the Broken Lines Dev Diaries is here. Join us as we take a look at the tactical movement implemented in the game.

As some of our developers can confirm, tactical movement is a key element of military training.

Use the system that we've built to your advantage and you will always come out on top of the tactical situation at hand.

Check out our video to learn more!
 

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth


Welcome the fourth installment of the Broken Lines Developer Diaries.

Today we are taking an in-depth look at the cover mechanics implemented in Broken Lines. If you are familiar with the Tactical RPG genre you may already know about the importance of using cover to your advantage; our game is no exception!

So sit back and enjoy learning how cover works in Broken Lines.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
New trailer:



Looks like this was delayed to Q1 2020: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pres..._of_War_to_Nintendo_Switch_and_PC_in_2020.php

LONDON, UK, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 — Publisher Super.com and developer PortaPlay announced today a Q1 2020 release date for the upcoming alternate-history World War II (WWII) title, Broken Lines. Broken Lines, coming to Switch and Windows PC, is a narrative-driven tactics game where a group of soldiers ends up deep behind enemy lines after their plane crashes. In this alternate version of WWII, enemies are both mysterious military units and the soldiers’ own hopes and fears as they confront the mental and physical horrors of war during their struggle to return to friendly territory. Broken Lines combines a tactical-RPG playstyle with a “pause and play” format. This offers players more fluid and realistic gameplay with the action automatically pausing when new dangers appear, allowing the player to respond to the new tactical situation.

“We partnered with Super.com because we knew they would help us bring Broken Lines to completion and showcase it to a wider audience, and today, we are pleased to announce that partnership is coming to fruition,” said Hans von Knut Skovfoged, Creative Director at PortaPlay. “We believe traditional turn-based strategy gamers will tremendously enjoy Broken Lines, and there’s plenty to love for those that crave a rich story-driven experience and a look at the impact that war has on the human psyche.” “We’re honored to work with PortaPlay to bring Broken Lines to market,” said Anna Grigoryeva Director of Investment & Publishing at Super.com.“It’s a special game that we expect players will appreciate as something new, and it’s exciting to be part of the product’s launch, ongoing development, and release.”

Broken Lines is a tactical combat game with a heavy focus on character and story that offers a fresh, accessible, and innovative approach to unit control. In the game, players manage a squad of soldiers fighting through Eastern European battlefields on a desperate mission to get back behind friendly lines. As the soldiers make their way through the war-torn landscape, their experiences will continually shape their personalities and their relationships with each other, building up a storyline that reveals the true impact of the horrors of war — and perhaps something more.

Hmmm, it was February 29th for a day: https://steamdb.info/app/926580/history/?changeid=U:13703862
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth


Welcome to the fifth installment of the Broken Lines Developer Diaries.

In this edition we focus on the primary weapons and their abilities. Each primary weapon has a normal auto-fire mode, and a special ability that the player manually acticates.

So, sit back and enjoy learning about how weapons work in Broken Lines.
 

LESS T_T

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They really need to think about thumbnails.
 

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