Indie Dead Monarchy: Open-World | Turn-Based | Mercenary Management | RPG - Fully Released May 19th 2023

[Galdred]

Thanks for the feedback, taking a few pages out of MnB is not a bad idea at all. Bloodline idea is also very interesting idea and something I too was considering after playing some the Total War games

Also, your own game looks very intriguing, I like the art style

Thank you

I think you have to decide whether your game is going to be squad tactics or large scale (ROTK, Total War etc), where the latter usually requires some level of abstraction (like generics that stack) to be workable. Not always though, think JA2's militia.

Honestly, I wouldn't be satisfied until I did both. How far you choose to expand your kingdom will ultimately decide how much management you would be doing. I want to retain the sense of "intimacy" you get when you manage "unique" units but also give the players a huge end-game goal which is attempt to manage a kingdom that works against you. So the game would scale between squad tactics and large scale depending how far you choose to expand. At this point, we'll just have to wait and see how feasible it really is and the feedback I get will help determine that too. At the end of the day for me personally, I like the idea of small scale tactics gradually escalating to larger scale but in terms of "scale" the cap in a battle is 50 or 25/25 which won't be something you can easily field.

Actually, here too, you could do things like Mount and Blade: upgradable troops that are only customized by choosing how to upgrade them in the troop tree + unique heroes.
That said, micromanging a large force one guy at a time would be pretty taxing in TB, and in MnB, casualties can snowball pretty fast.

 

[Bantichai]

Thanks for the feedback, taking a few pages out of MnB is not a bad idea at all. Bloodline idea is also very interesting idea and something I too was considering after playing some the Total War games

Also, your own game looks very intriguing, I like the art style

Thank you

I think you have to decide whether your game is going to be squad tactics or large scale (ROTK, Total War etc), where the latter usually requires some level of abstraction (like generics that stack) to be workable. Not always though, think JA2's militia.

Honestly, I wouldn't be satisfied until I did both. How far you choose to expand your kingdom will ultimately decide how much management you would be doing. I want to retain the sense of "intimacy" you get when you manage "unique" units but also give the players a huge end-game goal which is attempt to manage a kingdom that works against you. So the game would scale between squad tactics and large scale depending how far you choose to expand. At this point, we'll just have to wait and see how feasible it really is and the feedback I get will help determine that too. At the end of the day for me personally, I like the idea of small scale tactics gradually escalating to larger scale but in terms of "scale" the cap in a battle is 50 or 25/25 which won't be something you can easily field.

Actually, here too, you could do things like Mount and Blade: upgradable troops that are only customized by choosing how to upgrade them in the troop tree + unique heroes.
That said, micromanging a large force one guy at a time would be pretty taxing in TB, and in MnB, casualties can snowball pretty fast.

Yeah that would be the same as in my game as well, with casualties snowballing quite fast just due to the nature of combat, in a 25vs25 battle some of your units are bound to die. I should probably take a look at MnB again after the combat portion is implemented and polished

 

[Bantichai]

Hey guys, just posting another small teaser in between the bigger combat update that I should be able to showcase sometime next week. Implemented a few new monsters with their basic idle animations working as well. Also made a few slight adjustments to the camera, mainly just allowing it to zoom closer. Not sure if I'll be keeping it as it's mainly just for showcasing the units up close.

 

[Infinitron]

DarkUnderlord Devtag for Bantichai - Dead Monarchy Studios

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Bantichai.

Just don't promise content after release, and then just drop the projectt like the guys at OverHype did. That's all.

 

[Commissar Draco]

No hand painted maps, sprite based units and turn based combat no shekels offered; why you choose to give us this dated 3D Unity graphic shit which looks like made around 2000 but run in snail pace on modern machines instead?

 

[Bantichai]

Bantichai.

Just don't promise content after release, and then just drop the projectt like the guys at OverHype did. That's all.

Actions will always speak louder than words, but since we are in a social environment where words are our primary source of communication, I'll just say this. As a gamer that has been burned already by multiple game companies, part of the reason why I'm doing this is to attempt to set an example that others should follow

 

[Bantichai]

It's unfortunate, but you will be held to account for other people's sins. That is what going on kickstarter means.

Yes, I've already seen it happen multiple times. However, I never factored kickstarter into my plan because I am self-funding this project. Any company that hasn't produced at least one game or its members haven't worked on other successful titles will always be subjected to scrutiny. From a gamer's point of view it's fair enough and it's not really their own fault. From an upcoming developers point of view, sometimes the smallest vote of confidence goes a long way. If we cut every new sapling that attempts to grow, were cutting out potential new experiences

 

[Bantichai]

No hand painted maps, sprite based units and turn based combat no shekels offered; why you choose to give us this dated 3D Unity graphic shit which looks like made around 2000 but run in snail pace on modern machines instead?

I'm a one man dev team, so it's not plausible for me to do everything. Even if it was, not sure if you've developed a game before or modded but eventually if you create everything from scratch you'll grow to hate your own creation, you won't be able to stand it. All the immersion and magic will be gone because you know exactly how everything is created, the only thing that might give you a glimmer of satisfaction is when you make the AI do something you want. There is no element of mystery from a developers point of view and when that happens once the initial excitement wears off, you will burn out and stop.

That's why I've openly stated that I do use asset store models not only to help speed up the development but to keep myself engaged in the project. I've gone with "dated 3D Unity graphic shit which looks like made around 2000" because it invokes a sense of nostalgia in me. It gives me AOD, Fallout 1-2 vibes and I absolutely love it. My game may never appeal to a mass audience nor did I really intend it to initially. If my game can appeal to a small loyal following that truly appreciates what I do, then that is enough. When the demo comes out, perhaps you will be one of those people

Ps. On my computer it runs at 60fps.

 

[Bantichai]

DarkUnderlord Devtag for Bantichai - Dead Monarchy Studios

Thank you, that would be a great help

 

[Bantichai]

Hey guys, my first devblog is up and goes over the combat mechanics and new improvements to combat in general.

 

[Bantichai]

Part 2 of Combat Mechanics will be up hopefully sometime next week. There will be a few changes from Part 1 that I will highlight right away in Part 2

 

[Bantichai]

Second combat update may take a little longer than expected. Currently reworking a few things. Progress is still advancing at a good pace, I am currently implementing combat abilities and should have teaser if not a full combat devblog in the coming weeks.

 

[Bantichai]

 

[Bantichai]

This is the interface overhaul, quite a bit of work has been done. There is a 3D view port for the current selected character, the whole general aesthetic of the art style has been overhauled to better fit the "Medieval Context". Status effects bar in the top left corner, may end up just merging it with the stat bar in the bottom right corner, IE accessible on the second page. Shortcut bar has been reworked, max is 10 slots, there is still a 5 ability cap abilities you select, the other 5 are basic utility skills available to all units. Reworked tooltips, more condensed, grid info in top right hand corner.

I've been updating the interface to accommodate for the new abilities. I've designed and accounted for 100 abilities and implemented 95 of them. Obviously they still need lots of testing but they are functional and execute as intended. I will be doing a devblog and another development video probably sometime late this week

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Good job on the interface!

 

[Bantichai]

Good job on the interface!

Thanks, still more improvements to come

 

[Bantichai]

Hey guys, a few more pics showing a few more improvements. For the combat interface, grids have been scaled back. They now only show during movement, I've gone with this decision to make the levels feel more "natural" as opposed to being flooded with tiles. The other improvement is the first version of the inventory. Still trying to find the time for another full on video update.

 

[Bantichai]

Just another one, showing where the items go. Also the filters are based on which slots you click. IE clicking on the chest/armor slot will auto filter all the armors. I've tried to clear up as much clutter on the interface to try and keep it clean and simple.

 

[Bantichai]

Just a little update, things have changed a bit but I am still working on this everyday. The main reason for the change is addressing the "animation speed issue". In finding a solution, I happened to produce an unwanted effect which gradually grew on me. I'll just say that it has reshaped the combat system as whole. In regards to the actual solution, it ends up with the AI more or less all making their turns and decisions at the same time.

More info will come out in the months to come and I am still aiming for a demo.

 

[Bantichai]

Hey guys, so I managed to hire a modeler and I have been working with him to design armor in Dead Monarchy. As I've said before, I'm going with a more grounded and realistic approach to armor. Here is a WIP screenshot for one of the sets we've been working on.

 

[SmartCheetah]

Will it work somewhat similiar to Battle brothers? I mean, would you be able to equip that armor to your lads, or they will have predefined armor based on their class/cost?

 

[Bantichai]

Will it work somewhat similiar to Battle brothers? I mean, would you be able to equip that armor to your lads, or they will have predefined armor based on their class/cost?

I'm aiming to have at least 3 equipment slots for armor. Head, Body, Legs. If all goes well and we can minimize clipping between sets I'll extend it to 5. Head, Arms, Chest, Legs, Feet. Everything is still work in progress but you will definitely be able to equip armor to some degree. If I couldn't equip armor in my own game, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Can I play as a barbarian?

 

[Bantichai]

Can I play as a barbarian?

You can wear nothing but a loincloth and wield a giant axe. Do you approve?