Battle Brothers Pre-Release Thread

[rapsdjff]

Not worth it to rent a booth. But you could always interview us outside of Gamescom

 

[vonAchdorf]

It's probably too expensive if you don't manage to get a deal with some indie booth.

Yeah, but I'm still puzzled how The Great Whale ended up booking their own booth with ~800 copies sold. Maybe they're just bad at business.

Judging from your preview, the TGW people have worse judgement than the Overhype guys, maybe because they were London bankers before settling in the Spanish sun to make a game. :D

 

[Thonius]

Nice shield! With St. George ( Slav WIKI ) Is that a sign of bunch slav-related weapons and armor?

 

[Dr Skeleton]

The specialty of axes to quickly depose of shields works well and makes for a unique choice in weaponry. That's not something we want to take away from or make overly complex, so the 1 damage on hits being deflected with shields is universal for all weapons outside of the Split Shield skill. When deliberately going for the shield with the Split Shield skill, the damage to shields still varies depending on weapon used, of course.

Oh, I'm fine with split shield and axes being the counter to shields, it just seems to me that even going by the current shield durability values 1 damage is almost purely cosmetic. I could be wrong though, I'll see how it plays in the game.

 

[agris]

The specialty of axes to quickly depose of shields works well and makes for a unique choice in weaponry. That's not something we want to take away from or make overly complex, so the 1 damage on hits being deflected with shields is universal for all weapons outside of the Split Shield skill. When deliberately going for the shield with the Split Shield skill, the damage to shields still varies depending on weapon used, of course.

Oh, I'm fine with split shield and axes being the counter to shields, it just seems to me that even going by the current shield durability values 1 damage is almost purely cosmetic. I could be wrong though, I'll see how it plays in the game.

rapsdjff I don't know if your damage system is using the AD&D 1/2e convention of pierce/slash/blunt damage, but I do think it would be interesting for all 1h p/s/b weapons to do a a different amount of shield damage (2/1/1?) while 2h p/s/b weapons do another set (3/2/2?). Maybe it's too crunchy for what you guys are going for, but if you outline it clearly such that DAMAGE TYPE plus HANDS equals this much shield damage, that's not too complicated.

I'm not talking about Split Shield fyi, I'm talking about the new system you outlined in the update.

 

[rapsdjff]

Update released to Beta Branch!
Here we go – the new update is now live for the beta branch of Battle Brothers!

What’s new?
This update started out with two major goals: reworking the perk system and introducing more complex injury mechanics. Both are included in this update, and while were were at it, we’ve also included lots of other changes and additions. Here’s the shortlist of features.

• A new contract
• 25 new illustrated events
• 18 new and detailed mercenary banners to pick from for your company
• 3 new character traits
• 2 new character backgrounds
• An ironman mode
• A reworked perk system, less constricted and with more perks to choose from
• New injury mechanics with different types of injuries and usable temple buildings
• A talent system whereby more talented characters regardless of their background can reliably reach high skill
• More powerful but also more rare named weapons, armor, helmets and shields of every type hidden across the world
• More tools to use in combat, like bandages and poison
• Changed shield mechanics in combat
• Changes to weapon progression and balance
• New sounds for humans; every character uses one of six different voices now to shout and scream. More sounds for all voices incoming.
• Various bugfixes and smaller improvements, such as to AI

Note that this update is not compatible with older savegames. You will have to start a new campaign!



Why put this in a beta branch first?
This update makes changes to many of the game’s mechanics with a rework of the perk system, the introduction of temporary and permanent injuries, and lots of smaller things all over. Extensive changes like these will inevitably upset the game’s balance and introduce new issues. Participating in the beta is optional for everyone that wants to experience the new content now and doesn’t mind a few hiccups – we’re thankful for your feedback and bug reports! Everyone else may want to wait a few weeks until the game is more balanced and any issues that popped up have been ironed out.

Please report any issues you encounter in the forums here. Do not leave them as comments to this dev blog, they’d only get buried and lost.

How do I access the beta branch?
In order to access the beta branch of Battle Brothers you need to do as follows:

• Go to your Steam library.
• Right-click on ‘Battle Brothers’ and select ‘Properties’.
• Go to the tab labeled ‘BETAS’.
• Select ‘beta’ from the drop down menu.

Steam should now download the beta branch and once it is finished you can normally run it via your Steam library.

Also includes a larger player banner on the worldmap when zooming out, as requested by agris.

 

[Brancaleone]

Wow, there is even a falcata!

 

[Jagged Appliance]

Time for another playthrough

 

[Modron]

Already spent like 80 hours in this, am waiting for camp followers addition before I dive back in. Harder to resist as you guys keep piling on good stuff.

 

[Sranchammer]

The Citizen Kane of indies


Please add camp whores, thanks.

 

[Dr Skeleton]

It would be nice to be able to check what are the effects of injuries you inflict on enemies during combat. Can't find a way to do it right now.

 

[tiagocc0]

Crushed nuts (Can't have kids anymore)

 

[Gregz]

Update released to Beta Branch!
Here we go – the new update is now live for the beta branch of Battle Brothers!

Very fast turnaround guys, nice work. Time for a new playthrough!

As an aside (feature requests):

-I hope hireable classes rotate in towns more quickly now. I quit my last playthough because I couldn't find the classes I needed to create the party I wanted.
-Audio should mute when alt-tabbing to windows
-Overland travel can be tedious when RNG gives quests across the map, more fast travel options and perhaps mounts would be great.
-It should be possible to inspect hirelings for 'talent stars' on stats before hiring them.

 

[Helly]

I don't remember if that was something doable in the previous versions of the game, but right now I can pay for beer with money I do not have, which got me to -5000 crowns for example.
Was it on purpose?

 

[Zdzisiu]

I don't remember if that was something doable in the previous versions of the game, but right now I can pay for beer with money I do not have, which got me to -5000 crowns for example.
Was it on purpose?

Haha its not a bug, its a feature! You run a band of alcoholics and they are premanently in debt, they only take contracts to pay their debts and buy some more beer!

 

[Got bored and left]

Ha, that's interesting. Accruing debt could actually be kinda cool, with your creditors sending people after you when you refuse to pay money back and stuff!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Ha, that's interesting. Accruing debt could actually be kinda cool, with your creditors sending people after you when you refuse to pay money back and stuff!

And you kill them, sell their loot and pay off the debt. Basically free money!

 

[Zdzisiu]

Ha, that's interesting. Accruing debt could actually be kinda cool, with your creditors sending people after you when you refuse to pay money back and stuff!

And you kill them, sell their loot and pay off the debt. Basically free money!

Isnt it how it works in real life? Or is Eastern Europe doing it wrong?

 

[oscar]

Injury system is a very welcome addition and also greatly toughens the financial situation. Also left me firing some otherwise good mercs if the permanent injury was too crippling, while some I kept because it wasn't too bad (e.g losing an eye what also looks cool) or even had some good side effects (brain damage).

The new stat levelling stars are a great idea as well and means while the initial stats are what you expect you can still get some surprises, for instance your farmhand might actually have excellent potential as an archer even if he starts off rubbish.

So far I've been using that perk that gives you a free max-rolled stat boost (as if you have just levelled up but obviously not granting a new perk) quite a bit, seems the most powerful of the second tier. Overall the system looks much more balanced, interesting and flexible then 99% of mercs going Utility to pick up Brawny.

 

[Hobo Elf]

When do the devs hope to get this game to a feature complete state? This game looks good but I don't want to burn myself out on early access.

 

[Thonius]

I want to put a hand's on a dead's merc money.
I mean it's not like there a bank system or reliable mail system, so its hard to send money to family from a middle of nowhere. So if I hire a guy for something like 1.5k gold and he dies next fight some return would be nice.

 

[tiagocc0]

I want to put a hand's on a dead's merc money.
I mean it's not like there a bank system or reliable mail system, so its hard to send money to family from a middle of nowhere. So if I hire a guy for something like 1.5k gold and he dies next fight some return would be nice.

Paying them weekly (can't remember if it is weekly) is a better game mechanic, it means that they may have family or that they hide it somewhere, when you travel other people might travel along with your company, they are just not shown, or each city you stop by they could just spend everything on beer. There are many possibilities and they don't translate well as a game mechanic other than paying them like you said you would.

There could exist a contract as well where you give your word that his payment must be given to someone else, a guarantee that if he dies his family won't lose the money.
There even contracts of this kind that would give more money in case someone dies.

 

[LizardWizard]

Ironbro mode is great as it stopped my irresistible urge to save scum new hires.

 

[Agesilaus]

Healing doesn't work in the beta version; my mercs don't regain health between battles.

 

[rapsdjff]

You're aware that medicinal supplies are now used to treat injuries and no longer required for healing hitpoints, so their number isn't indicative of any hitpoint healing, right?