Turn-Based Tactics The Lamplighters League - turn-based tactics in pulp 1930s setting from Harebrained Schemes

[KateMicucci]

AndyS above actually puts it quite concisely: the retro thing (as in the example AndyS uses of the matinee callbacks of Indiana Jones, and even Star Wars before that) only really works if you kind of take it seriously, get into the spirit of the thing [...]

They have to treat the whole thing as empty signs and references, because that's just what you have to do, that's all that's left if you take the heroic White guy and his adoring mate out of the picture. It's the politically correct thing to do, and probably what their education tells them is the right thing to do, and what their dinner party friends would be horrified if they didn't do.

Here are some details about the whole pulp thing:

Besides having one of the longest names in gaming history, the title is unique in its mashup of turn-based combat and its 1930s pulp adventure set in an alternative universe.

Gitelman is an industry veteran and Harebrained Schemes has worked on titles like the Shadowrun trilogy, Battletech and Crimson Skies. The latter was also set in the 1930s and Gitelman said he loved the timeframe.

I asked if it was inspired by Indiana Jones, but Gitelman said he went back to the original source material in the pulp adventure comics of the era. The idea was to create a rich narrative alongside deep tactical gameplay.

“People say it’s like Indiana Jones or it’s The Mummy,” Gitelman said. “But we went back to the pulp fiction, the primary source materials.”

Source: https://venturebeat.com/games/the-l...kes-turn-based-strategy-to-the-1930s-preview/

Comics???

 

[KateMicucci]

The closest I've ever gotten to "pulp" is playing Ultima: The Savage Empire and listening to some The Shadow radio shows. But the look of this game really doesn't illustrate the time period at all. It's not like you can't make it cartoonish looking; Team Fortress 2's look is often described as "pulpy" (when everybody isn't wearing hot pink cosmetics, that is), and most everyone likes how that game looks.

The tricky thing is that people like to treat it as a genre when it's really just a medium whose nature dictated mostly fast-moving, tightly-plotted short stories. I'm in the middle of playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance and that game reminds me of pulp fiction in the sense that it reminds me stories by historical pulp writers like Harold Lamb or maybe H. Bedford Jones. Like if Lamb had lived long enough to help craft video games, KCD is very much the sort of thing he'd do. But most people wouldn't think of it that way because to them it's just historical fiction.

Of course "pulp" is just a marketing term now for low-info zoolinneials. That's not really what they're doing, and pulp magazines were more expansive than just adventure stories, and the kind of adventure story they're trying to pull of was itself more expansive than just pulps and the 1930's. The devs' repeated insistence that they've studied so much pulp is what makes me suspicious that they in fact didn't. It would be more accurate to say that they're trying to do early 20th century orientalism, but stripped of any sense of the strange, foreign and exotic (because that's racism).

I would be excited for this game if the art style imitated the adventure magazine covers, if there were fewer female agents, if the female agents didn't wear pants and have shaved heads, and if the non-whites wore their native costume instead of that shit they're currently wearing.

 

[Hace El Oso]

Why are they not capable of doing this? I don't think the race and sex of the protagonist are central to what they're trying to get from the concept, nor is the race of the antagonists. You can replicate the sense of adventure, risk and derring-do in old pulp stories in plenty of ways. To use Crimson Skies as an example again, it recreates the swashbuckling and heroic nature of old adventure stories perfectly while still remixing the conventions of the genre enough to feel fresh and adding in new sorts of characters you might not have seen often in those original stories. I don't think you have to be a heterosexual white man to be excited by roguish heroes engaging in risky adventures; everyone enjoys this kind of thing because it's exciting, hence the widespread success of some of the popular pulp-inspired things you mention such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

You can’t have adventure without risk, danger and the unknown. You can’t have risk, danger and the unknown when everyone, from a British aristocrat to a Russian count to Siamese Princess to the Sultan of Zanzibar, have the same ultra-pasteurized non-threatening character, language, attitude, perspective. They can’t even match The Goonies.
This reminds me of the Hercules or Xena TV shows from the ‘90s where every village, whether under attack by Thracian slavers or Manticores, was populated by the contents of a Beverly Hills Starbucks.

 

[Üstad]

Why the Pixar artystyle

 

[Harthwain]

Comics???

That's what they said. Interestingly enough Lemming42 mentioned Crimson Skies, which was also something Gitelman worked on, so this could be a good approximiation of what they're aiming for when they mean "pulp":

For pulp fans, this game is right up your alley. It’s set in the 1930s of an alternate timeline, where aviation routes replaced highways, where the United States and much of the world has been fractured into new nation states, and where militias and pirates rule the skies. And, like Bill Barnes, Air Adventurer, it’s packed with gasbags and wild aircraft.

John Howard, the lead designer for the game, told IGN Insider the inspirations for “Crimson Skies”: “Real-life pirates of the 16th century. Crazy Nazi prototype aircraft. Old Errol Flynn movies. Swing music. Black Sheep Squadron. The Flying Tigers. The Hell’s Angels. Indiana Jones. Betty Page. Vargas and Petty pin-ups. The golden age of Hollywood. The 1930s in America was the last truly romantic period in modern history. More than anything else ‘Crimson Skies’ is a personification of the ideal of what it was like to be cool back then.”

The pulps obviously should have been included in Howard’s list of influences. [...]

The creators of “Crimson Skies” haven’t stopped with just a game. They have extended the concept with a downloadable “pulp” magazine, Spicy Air Tales, and a half-dozen online novellas; Action Air Weekly, with news about aircraft and aviators in the “Crimson Skies” world since 1928; Atlas World News, with details from politics to entertainment; and Warriors of the Skies, with profiles of characters from the game. There are also a couple of episodes of a “vintage” radio program available for downloading or online listening.

Source: https://thepulp.net/pulp-articles/crimson-skies/

 

[Heroic Liberator]

It would be more accurate to say that they're trying to do early 20th century orientalism, but stripped of any sense of the strange, foreign and exotic (because that's racism).

Pretty much. It certainly won't be no Temple of Doom.

 

[Lemming42]

I would be excited for this game if the art style imitated the adventure magazine covers, if there were fewer female agents, if the female agents didn't wear pants and have shaved heads, and if the non-whites wore their native costume instead of that shit they're currently wearing.

Thanks for cutting to the heart of it and telling me specifically what's "wrong" with the game, rather than galloping off on a wild goose chase about genre labels. Yes, it does appear that you may see a woman with pants and short hair in this game - no great surprise given that it's set in the 1930s, a good decade or so after many women in America started wearing pants for fashion and short hair became popular, and these characters appear to be tomb raiders and other sorts of adventurers.

As for the national stereotypes, there probably is something fun to tap into there (and could be done without being particularly "offensive", ie by reinterpreting and celebrating the Anna May Wong "Dragon Lady" character archetype, as many have done before) but I don't blame them for seemingly not wanting to enter that minefield.

Of course, this is meant to be an alternate timeline/universe which gives them plenty of room to mess about with things like cultural norms and aesthetics anyway. I'm not sure what the divergence point is meant to be in this timeline but there's a lot of interesting things you can do with an alternate 1930s in which, I dunno, the economy didn't collapse (or collapsed even sooner and worse like in Crimson Skies), certain countries fractured or didn't fracture, certain countries fell to fascism or didn't, etc. You could even set the divergence point further back and have it so that the British Empire crumbled in the 1850s (or perhaps really went for it with their West Africa Squadron anti-slavery stuff, to the point of invading America), or something, causing culture and technology to take a different turn by the 1930s.

That's what they said. Interestingly enough @Lemming42 mentioned Crimson Skies, which was also something Gitelman worked on, so this could be a good approximiation of what they're aiming for when they mean "pulp":

That is extraordinary; I had no idea about the connection. That's actually made me quite a bit more hopeful for the game's story, even in the face of Harebrained's (IMO) crappy writing in the Shadowrun games. Crimson Skies really managed to tap into something incredible.

 

[KateMicucci]

Thanks for cutting to the heart of it and telling me specifically what's "wrong" with the game, rather than galloping off on a wild goose chase about genre labels. Yes, it does appear that you may see a woman with pants and short hair in this game - no great surprise given that it's set in the 1930s, a good decade or so after many women in America started wearing pants for fashion and short hair became popular, and these characters appear to be tomb raiders and other sorts of adventurers.

You're being disingenuous. There's a difference between a woman with short hair, and a buzzcut. That character looks like she belongs in The Matrix. The woman with the arm tats looks like she just came off the set of a Blade sequel. And then there's the black woman from Strange World. There was no "pulp" inspiration for these characters. They're inauthentic and out of place.

My father told me a story about how the family was shocked the first time his mother wore pants. And that was in the 1960's. But sure, pants weren't unheard of. One or two women in pants wouldn't be a big deal. We can have an Amelia Earhart. But they're all dressed like that. There's little variety in their costume, and the costume is bland. Look at the adventure media from the time and see what women were actually wearing.

Nyoka, Jungle Girl.

Spoiler

Jane Graystoke

Spoiler

Queen Ayesha from She

Spoiler

And everything doesn't need to be muddy earthtones either. The Fall (2006) would have been a good reference. If thr game looked like this I would definitely try it.

Spoiler

 

[Lemming42]

Looking at the cast of characters in the best screenshots we have so far:

It's hard to put into words how profoundly I don't care about the length of videogame characters' hair, but: I can't see any women with buzzcuts. I think there's some androgynous twink with one. I'm seeing a woman with an era-appropriate platinum blonde short curly cut, an (Asian?) woman with chin-length black hair, and a woman with long-ish auburn hair. Plus what looks like a woman wearing a pilot's hat and goggles (is she buzzcut lady?). Then there's five boring looking guys, one of whom is a samurai or something.

I'm also seeing a range of costumes, though I'd agree with you that the art design is pretty unimaginative-looking and monotone and everyone seems stuck in a collection of dull gear, save maybe for that vaguely East Asian looking woman sat down on the bottom left there.

 

[KateMicucci]

 

[Lemming42]

Oh, I see her now - I think she's stood at the back in the group shot, on the right.

Funnily enough I think that actually looks like one of the less boring character designs - if she's wielding some kind of magic and/or mad science artifact there (which I assume from the ability tooltip) then her weird appearance presumably signifies her as being occult-y and strange.

I've got more of a problem with the character designs for the men, who all look very dull and seem to have been stuck in near-identical shirts and trousers. We've got a Japanese samurai and a Persian thief, and they're both dressed the same! It'll be hard to tell any of them apart at a glance from the tactical view.

 

[KateMicucci]

You can only use 3 guys at a time so it'll be fine

 

[cyborgboy95]

Dev Diary 4# — Infiltration into Turn-Based Combat

Hi everyone, I’m Evan Pongress, Lead Tactical Designer for The Lamplighters League. Let’s talk about what has become one of my favorite parts of the game: Real-Time Infiltration!

Infiltration

In the game, you’ll control a small and desperate handful of Agents who must contend with a much larger and far more dangerous foe: a vast and sinister organization calling themselves the Banished Court. Facing them in a head-on battle would be suicide, so covert tactics – stealth, theft, sabotage, and assassination – is the order of the day.

Nearly every mission involves you secretly entering enemy territory, going where you’re not supposed to go and doing what you’re not supposed to do. “Infiltration”, then, has been a key core fantasy that we wanted to build our tactical game around from day one. Features like Takedowns, Hiding and Cloaking, Noise, and AI Awareness all exist to support that infiltration fantasy, which we’ll look at in further detail below.

Real-Time

Early in development, the team made a decision that would profoundly affect all game and level designs from then on: when not in turn-based combat, the player would infiltrate enemy territory in real-time. It was simply more intuitive, more exciting, and less effort for us to sneak around in real-time than when we play-tested in turn-based mode. Infiltration wanted real-time. There are many reasons for this, but a good example of what fun moments real-time can provide is when you hide an Agent on the opposite side of a statue or pillar, scooting around to stay out of sight as a patrol of Enforcers marches by. We found that moment, fraught with tension and suspense, harder to achieve in a turn-based context.

Over the course of our development, we ventured down many, many roads. It was a long journey, but in the end we had to listen to what the game itself wanted, providing us with a set of principles and features that brought everything into focus and gave us the real-time experience we were looking for.

Let’s dive in!

Mission Start

Every mission, you will choose three (and later, four, in larger, more complex missions) Agents to complete a particular objective, whether it be to destroy, steal, sabotage, or assassinate an important target. Each mission begins in real-time mode, and you’ll control one Agent at a time with either the keyboard/mouse or a gamepad. Non-controlled Agents can either tag along in “follow mode” or be detached to hide out of sight. You can switch between Agents at any time.

Your Agents walk by default, but you can also sprint with the added risk of making more noise.

Exploration and Ambush

Throughout real-time infiltration, your goals are to:

1. Explore the environment
2. Locate, keep tabs on, and avoid enemies
3. Look for Takedown opportunities
4. Look for opportunities to use the environment to your advantage
5. Set up to execute an ambush and enter combat

There are many rewards for exploration. Hidden items can be found tucked away both within combat areas and in shadowy corners: consumable items like Bandages and Frag Grenades; campaign currencies like Supplies and Intel; and even Lore items that shed more light on the world of The Lamplighters League. Some of these items may be behind locked doors or impassable walls; the traversal abilities of the Real-Time Roles will help there (more about them below).

Perhaps the biggest benefit to exploring is seeing where the enemies are, and how they’re moving around. Enemies have Awareness – sight and hearing – and can detect and investigate suspicious activity. They’ll come looking if you pique their curiosity, so it’s in your best interests to stay hidden until you’re ready to strike. Your Agents can Hide behind cover or even in tall grass, letting them surveil the area without being detected themselves.

Combat is inevitable; at some point you will have to “go loud” to accomplish your objectives. You do, however, have a lot of power to shape that fight before it happens. First, each of your Agents has a special Takedown ability depending on their Real-Time Role, allowing you to quietly (or not so quietly) remove enemies from the fight before it happens. In addition, the environment itself has many opportunities to exploit. Oil barrels can be punctured to flood the area with flammable oil, ready to be set on fire with a Shock Mine, or a precariously hanging torch, or a crate of dynamite conveniently surrounded by goons. Water barrels can similarly be emptied and then electrified (again with a Shock Mine) to shock unsuspecting enemies standing within. Be creative!

Once you’re ready to fight, you can position your Agents for the perfect ambush. You’re able to manually enter Turn-Based Mode at any time, which gives you access to each Agent’s combat abilities. You can move your Agents into position, set up Overwatches, then attack to start the fight. Your Agents always receive a 15% to-hit bonus on the first round of combat, so make it count!

Once you take the shot and the enemies are alerted, they get a “defensive move” to either seek cover or advance. If combat starts because they detect your Agents first, however, then they take their defensive move immediately.

If you do get caught, it’s not the end – combat begins! Each of your Agents has their own unique set of attacks and abilities that give you plenty of tools to turn any stealth slip-up into a combat success. We’ll be talking more about combat in next week’s dev diary.

Real-Time Roles and Takedowns
Each of your Agents is assigned one of three different Real-Time Roles:

• Sneak
• Saboteur
• Bruiser

These roles give your Agents at least two abilities each: one for traversal and one to permanently KO enemies, also known as a Takedown.

Sneaks

Examples: Celestine, Jian, Lateef, Purnima

Sneaks have a variety of tools to move through enemy territory undetected and get to where they are not supposed to be. First, enemies cannot detect a Sneak when the Sneak is behind them, which is important for their Takedown, Sucker Punch. Sneaks are also much more quiet when sprinting, allowing them to cover ground quickly without arousing suspicion.

For traversal, Sneaks can Clamber up the side of certain sheer surfaces without a ladder, accessing areas that other roles cannot.

For the Takedown, the Sneak can creep up behind a target and Sucker Punch then, quietly dropping them to the ground with a single hit. Sucker Punch is best used on lone sentries or single patrols that stray too far into the shadows.

Saboteurs

Examples: Alexandrite, Ana Sofia, Eddie

Saboteurs use their knowledge of technology to outwit their opponents and access restricted areas. They can Pick Locks to open most locked doors, giving you access to whatever is hidden on the other side without needing to find the corresponding key.

By far the most versatile Takedown, the Shock Mine is a small noise-maker that can be thrown near an enemy to lure them away from their post. No mere toy, the Shock Mine will detonate in an electrical burst when stepped on, knocking out the target – and both igniting any oil or electrifying any standing water beneath it. Shock Mines reward creativity and are best used to lure single enemies away from groups to dispatch them at a safe distance.

Bruisers

Examples: Fedir, Ingrid, Judith

Bruisers are not concerned with subtlety; their approach to infiltration is hard, fast, and loud. They can Bash through any weak walls in their way, opening new paths for you to explore or use to escape. The crash of tumbling stone may draw enemy attention, however, so be on your guard.

Their Takedown, Slam, is equally brusque: when engaged, the Bruiser charges forward to knock out up to three enemies in a line. Brutally powerful, but also loud, Slam is best used on small groups of enemies or as the first flying elbow into combat.

Takedowns Limitations

Takedowns are a powerful weapon in your arsenal and can turn an impending difficult fight into an easier one. They do have limitations, however.

1. Takedowns are only available in Real-Time Mode. Once in Turn-Based Mode you’ll need to rely on your Agents’ combat abilities to down your foes.
2. Takedowns are limited by charges. You’ll have a finite number of Takedowns to use per role, so choose your targets wisely. Be on the lookout for a “Second Wind” pickup, however, which can refill one Agent’s Takedowns and Signature abilities!
3. Takedowns leave bodies behind that patrolling enemies can find, sending them into a frenzied search for perpetrators. Keep your location in mind when planning Takedowns!
4. Some of the stronger and more… unusual enemies are immune to Takedowns! You’ll know them when you see them, so if they’re around, you’ll need to be extra careful!

More to Come
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at the Real-Time Infiltration mode of the game. Just as infiltration inevitably leads to combat, our next dev diary will take a closer look at the Turn-Based Combat part of the game, where your individual Agents and the nefarious foes they face really come alive.

 

[Squidhead]

All this makes me wanna do is finish playing Invisible Inc.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Dev Diary #5: Turn-Based Combat

Hello everyone! I’m Brad Kraeling, a Senior Gameplay Engineer for The Lamplighters League. I’m super honored to be able to take you on a tour of a few of the systems that make our Turn-Based combat full of exciting choices, challenges, and strategies.

Time to Go Loud!​

In our last dev diary we talked about Real-Time Infiltration and how you can shape the conditions of the fight through stealth and trickery. Now let's take a look at what happens when it's time to "go loud:" where the guns come out and the fight begins!

Your Agents, Your Tactics​

Action Points​

During Turn-Based Combat, you take control of the Lamplighter Agents and their unique abilities. Every player turn each Agent on the team starts with two Action Points (AP) These points are used to do a variety of different things in any order you’d like!

Examples:

• You could use one point to advance towards the enemy and then another point to shoot at an enemy!
• You could use one point to retreat into cover and another to reload.
• You can use a special ability and follow it up with Signature ability!

Turn Order: Full Flexibility​

Each Agent doesn’t have to use all their AP in a fixed order one after the other. You can switch between Agents whenever you’d like and you’re given full flexibility with how you’d like to execute your Turn Order strategy. So if you’d like Ingrid to run to cover within melee range of a group of goons, and then have Eddie shoot them, and then have Ana Sofia retreat into cover and buff her allies before switching back to Ingrid to use her Signature on the goons before finally switching back to Eddie to reload in preparation for the next turn, you can! The freedom to decide the exact order you’d like things to happen really allows for interesting strategies to emerge and it can also really help change the tide of a battle that isn’t quite going according to plan.

Unique Special Abilities​

Each Agent has unique special abilities that act as different tools in Combat. We’ve talked about some of the great abilities player Agents have in some past diaries. It’s been great to see all the theories / potential combo ideas folks have. (Seriously big shout out to the YouTubers that have paused at basically every shot of the announcement trailer and Gameplay First Look in search for more info – y’all are awesome ). I won’t be focusing too much on specific abilities in this diary but I will say that each Agent being so different gives tons of opportunities to set up really cool plays and lots of combat variety depending on your playstyle. In future diaries we’ll be diving into more details on Agent abilities and how different characters can synergize with one another to create effective combinations.

Ideal Conditions​

Agents have different Range distances and conditions where they are most effective. For example, the sniper Purnima will have a much greater Hit Chance to successfully shoot a target that is farther away from her than one that is super close. Additionally, her passive, Dead Eye, gives her a bonus Crit Chance to deal bonus damage if she is positioned above her targets. In contrast, Agents like Ingrid are melee units, and where they do the most damage is right up close and personal. Learning each Agent’s most ideal fighting conditions is key for unlocking their full battle potential – and it is really fun managing different individual Agent strategies while also combining their strategies to work as a team.

A Tactical Playground​

Whether you’re fighting on city rooftops, in a jungle, or in the depths of a tomb – keep an eye on your surroundings! There are many opportunities to use the environment to your advantage during your mission.

​

Cover and Line of Sight (LOS)​

All Agents and enemies have Line of Sight (LOS), and can only attack what they see. The areas outside of your Agents' combined LOS is called the Fog of War – where information on the details of enemies are less known. The battlefield has many different obstacles and objects that provide Cover for Agents and enemies, and Full Cover like high walls and fences can block LOS.

Most ranged abilities in the game have a Hit Chance that can be impacted by cover conditions, so keeping an eye on cover situations can help in avoiding damage as well as outputting more damage. For targets that aren’t completely obstructed from LOS by an attacker but still behind cover there are two main types of cover bonuses; Half Cover (example: a short crate) and Full Cover (example: a tall wall). A unit in Half Cover is 30% harder to hit by ranged attacks, and one in Full Cover is 60% harder to hit. However if a ranged attacker targets an in-cover unit from the side or from behind they will get a Flanked bonus – having no Hit Chance reduction and gaining increased Crit Chance. These bonuses stack with the other Hit/Crit chances that are in play – so you could offset the penalty of attacking an enemy in Half Cover by taking advantage of other bonuses; like the one gained by attacking an enemy from High Ground.(+30% Hit Chance). Keeping an eye on the position of your Lamplighters and the enemies on the field will help you manage risk and line up clean shots.

Hazards & Interactable Objects​

In The Lamplighters League, there are hazards and objects that can be used to your benefit or to your demise depending on the situation. It is very wise to keep an eye on the ground and objects around the battlefield – because even a small puddle of water could help you deal immense amounts of damage or could even save the life of one of your Agents. For example, enemies standing in a puddle of water may think they’re safe, but if you were to find a way to electrocute the water it would shock anyone standing in the puddle. Or, if an enemy has lit one of your Agents on fire, running into a puddle of water will help extinguish the flame, preventing it from causing more burn damage.

There are also objects that can be targeted in order to get some immediate effects. Some of them, like the Kerosene Drum, spread Oil in an area around them. A Hanging Lantern could be shot down, creating Fire below it – but if the ground below the lantern was covered in oil, the fire would spread, potentially harming more units.

The hazards can interact with each other – so you could use water to help put out a fire, making the ground once again safe to traverse.

Also, of course, there are Exploding Crates for when you need a big blast – but be careful! Enemies can also target these sorts of things – using them as cover may not be the best idea!

Displacement​

Some abilities, such as Judith’s Shield Bash, can be used to displace enemies and knock them out of their position. This can be super effective to help move an enemy into a hazard like fire for some bonus damage, get them out of cover to help land easier shots, or getting them into a better spot for another Agent to follow up on with an attack.

But one of the more effective uses for Displacement is using it to knock enemies into Cover or other obstacles! Displacing most units into another unit or a solid object will cause them to become Knocked Down. Knocked Down units have to spend their entire round to stand back up again – making it one of the best crowd control debuffs for mitigating a unit’s usefulness.

Also – keep an eye out for positions where you could displace someone off a high ledge or bridge! Some enemies are able to be one-shot-killed if you displace them off of high places.

​

The Stress System​

Being attacked in combat is stressful. In The Lamplighters League you can use the stress of your enemies to your advantage! But you also have to pay attention to your own Agent’s stress levels as well. Let’s dive into the rules!

What is Stress?​

• Every time any unit is attacked, they will accrue a point of Stress.
  • Note: Hits AND Misses both accrue the same amount of Stress. So even missed abilities have some effect!
• Stress is represented by the pips above the unit’s Health Bars.
• When a unit reaches maximum Stress, they will Stress Break.

​

Stress Breaking​

When a unit Stress Breaks and hits max stress, something happens!

• For Enemies:
  • Some enemies Flee and will cower for a turn.
  • Some enemies go Berserk and attack a nearby target – friend or foe!
• For Player Agents:
  • Stress Broken Agents will lose 1 AP their next turn.
  • More effects to be revealed later…

Finish Them!​

Additionally, when a nearby enemy is Stress Broken, your Agents get access to a special move: Finisher. Finisher is a melee move that will kill most Stress Broken enemies in one hit. It’s very strong! Different units will have different levels of Stress tolerance, so building up stress on a target will be more effective on some enemy types than others. Additionally it’s worth noting that a Stress Broken enemy will only be in this vulnerable state for one turn, so it’s important to seize the opportunity when it arises! Whispers and rumors also speak of some Agents who can take further advantage of the stressed out minds of their opponents.

​

The Banished Court​

Worthy Adversaries​

You have options, but so do your foes. Once your turn is over, the enemies will retaliate. Oftentimes the Lamplighters will be outnumbered greatly, so it’s important to think strategically! There are a variety of different enemy units – each with their own abilities, ideal battle conditions, and things to look out for.

Each House of the Banished Court has different types of enemies they are known for – some enemies can be much scarier than others, but that's something we will dive into more in the next diary.

​

Area Clear!​

After a successful fight, Turn-Based Combat will end and Real-Time Infiltration will once again begin! Most missions have multiple opportunities for combat, so be sure to proceed with caution, explore the area, and get ready for your next fight!

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of Turn-Based Combat in The Lamplighters League! We’re excited to see how you'll play with these systems and fight your way to victory. Stay tuned for more – the next diary will contain intel that was very difficult to gather safely: details about the powerful enemies of the Banished Court.

Want to keep the conversation going? People in our alternate take on the 1930s communicated via letters, telegrams and psychic visions, but most of you only have access to two out of the three, so you can drop by the Forum or the Discord to talk to Harebrained Schemes developers and other fans about The Lamplighters League. The bravest among you may even venture to follow us on Twitter. Also, consider adding the game to Wishlist on Steam!

Brad Kraeling​

Senior Gameplay Engineer​

Forum: HBS_BradKraeling
Discord: Bradshaw#2057

 

[deuxhero]

AndyS above actually puts it quite concisely: the retro thing (as in the example AndyS uses of the matinee callbacks of Indiana Jones, and even Star Wars before that) only really works if you kind of take it seriously, get into the spirit of the thing [...]

They have to treat the whole thing as empty signs and references, because that's just what you have to do, that's all that's left if you take the heroic White guy and his adoring mate out of the picture. It's the politically correct thing to do, and probably what their education tells them is the right thing to do, and what their dinner party friends would be horrified if they didn't do.

Here are some details about the whole pulp thing:

Besides having one of the longest names in gaming history, the title is unique in its mashup of turn-based combat and its 1930s pulp adventure set in an alternative universe.

Gitelman is an industry veteran and Harebrained Schemes has worked on titles like the Shadowrun trilogy, Battletech and Crimson Skies. The latter was also set in the 1930s and Gitelman said he loved the timeframe.

I asked if it was inspired by Indiana Jones, but Gitelman said he went back to the original source material in the pulp adventure comics of the era. The idea was to create a rich narrative alongside deep tactical gameplay.

“People say it’s like Indiana Jones or it’s The Mummy,” Gitelman said. “But we went back to the pulp fiction, the primary source materials.”

Source: https://venturebeat.com/games/the-l...kes-turn-based-strategy-to-the-1930s-preview/

Comics???

If they had a Tintin (or Tom Swift) esque kid adventurer, he'd at least be recognizable at a distance from his height.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Dev Diary #6: Banished Court: Scions & Monsters

Hey, you there! Freeze!

You've been caught by a Banished Court patrol. Nothing else for it: you'll have to fight your way out of this one.

Easier said than done. You've got pistols, shotguns and flamethrowers pointed right at your face, and that's not all: a four-legged creature looms just behind the patrol, its gaping eel-like jaw bristling with craggy teeth. It isn't interested in the Court soldiers—the only blood it wants is yours.

Think it can't get worse? Behind the squadron of soldiers and monsters is a man with Hollywood hair and a mechanical suit that looks straight out of a pulp sci-fi magazine. In his hand is a long, sharp rifle that crackles with blue sparks.

"Don't be shy," says Trace Marteau. "Come, witness my genius up close!"

Soldiers, monsters and a Scion, one of the three fearsome leaders of the Banished Court? Who do you have to thank for this mess you're in?

Well, allow me to introduce you. Back again for your reading pleasure, I'm Lead Narrative Designer Jill Scharr, but the real stars of today's show are Senior Gameplay Engineer Brad Kraeling and Senior AI Engineer Allie McNulty.

As a Gameplay Engineer, Brad arms our enemy combatants with weapons, abilities and passives. Then Allie steps in and teaches the combatants what to do with the tools Brad gave 'em. Did I mention she also helped build our conversation system, so the combatants know what to say and when to say it?

Today the three of us are going to show you just some of the enemies you'll face in The Lamplighters League. But first, let's set the stage…

Monsters and Men​

The Banished Court has no shortage of recruits for its mercenary army. But humans are fragile things. The Great War proved that. So the Banished Court's three factions each bolstered its army with creatures whose strength and ferocity far outstrip human reckoning.

House Strum harnessed an ancient curse—one the ancient Egyptians sealed away 5000 years ago— to raise an army of Infernals. Burning with the curse's flames, these shambling corpses can set an entire battlefield ablaze.

Trace Marteau discovered his engines of industrial progress had an unexpected side effect: spectral bleedthrough better known as Shades, the unhappy denizens of a desolate afterlife. He's now the proud employer of both the living and the dead.

Today we're going to delve into the depths of the third faction, House Nicastro. Led by its scion, Lady Nicastro, high priestess of a millennia-old cult dedicated to an undersea god, this eldritch faction commands packs of deep-sea monsters called Tidespawn.

Tidespawn​

Able to chase its prey even on dry land, Tidespawn wreak close-range havoc with their bristly teeth and claws. If a Tidespawn decides to make you its next meal, the best thing you can do is keep your distance—if you can.

Abilities: Teeth & Claws​

Hello Lamplighters! My name is Brad and I’d love to break down the Abilities the Tidespawn has and what to expect from these deadly creatures on the field.

When the team designed the Tidespawn, one desire became clear: we wanted these creatures to be brutal. Big nasty claws and terrible teeth—if one of these things got close enough it would not be a good time at all. They can also take more hits than most human Court enemies—so be wary! Let’s tear into what makes these Tidespawn so vicious…

House Nicastro Passive: The Ravenous Salt - Every time a Tidespawn Crits, the target will gain an additional point of Stress damage.

Rend - The Tidespawn tears into its target, dealing damage and inflicting the Poisoned status effect. This is the go-to basic attack of the Tidespawn, and it helps set itself up for Mutilate.— POISONED: Poisoned units will receive damage and Stress every turn until they are no longer affected.

Mutilate - When targets are poisoned, the teeth come out! The beast uses Mutilate to bite a Poisoned target. But watch out! If another Poisoned target is nearby the Tidespawn can use this ability on them for free. This makes Tidespawn incredibly dangerous to fight against if your Agents are all Poisoned and grouped together. It also makes fighting more than one Tidespawn a dangerous effort—because they can frenzy and get a lot of attacks out!

Horrid Roar - When the Tidespawn roars in a direction, any of their enemies caught in the area will suffer Stress Damage. The roar also displaces any target it affects. Be careful around obstacles when the Tidespawn is near, because a loud roar could Knock Down your Agents, which can be devastating for your strategies.

AI Behaviors: An Appetite for Destruction​

Hi everyone! My name is Allie McNulty and I'm here to talk to you about the AI behaviors driving some of our enemies. The Tidespawn is one of our first enemies to really take the capabilities of our AI systems and let it stretch its legs. It informed how some of our more intense enemies, like the Scions, could work.

Unlike the common Banished Court goon, Tidespawn are melee attackers that prefer to be up close and personal. They have been tuned for more aggressive movements, foregoing cover of any kind in order to close distance to their target. This allows them to unleash their full potential and provide pressure to the player's front lines.

The enhancements over regular troops don't end there. Tidespawn also take advantage of the way their abilities combine through some uniquely customized AI behavior. This allows them to chain abilities together for devastating results. When this opportunity presents itself, the Tidespawn can be seen attacking one player after another without burning down their AP by making use of stacking bonuses and extra actions.

Watch out for packs of these creatures; they thrive off Poisoned targets… Scary stuff!

Narrative: What the Tide Brought In​

What are the Tidespawn? Where do they come from? The priests of the Devouring King's cult have spilled an ocean of ink advancing one theory or another. Those in the innermost circle, of Nicastro blood or married into it, don't wonder. They know. But that secret is not for undrowned ears.

Affectionately nicknamed "mermen" during pre-production, the Tidespawn began with a vision: part hound, part moray eel.

During the course of The Lamplighters League, the Agents may find letters, diaries and reports about the Tidespawn, inscribed by both their handlers and their victims. Collect enough lore and you may penetrate the murky depths of their terrible existence—if your mind can bear to comprehend the truth.

​

Scions​

The Agents of The Lamplighters League are a rough and tumble bunch. Be it ghosts or mummies or horrors of the deep, they can usually fight their way out of just about any scrape they find themselves in, even if they only make it out by the skin of their teeth.

The Scions are a different challenge to face. When one of them appears on the field the Agents may have no choice but to run—or die.

Over the course of the game, you'll encounter all 3 leaders of the Banished Court, each the heir to a powerful family or fortune. There's Lord Strum, a militant aristocrat and former explorer with a private museum full of artifacts he "found" in his travels. And don't forget Trace Marteau, a celebrity industrialist and founder of the worldwide manufacturer Marteau Industries.

A Fight For Your Life Against Lady Zorana Nicastro​

The first Scion you'll encounter in the campaign is Lady Nicastro, the Scion of the ancient and dreaded House Nicastro. Wielding twin rapiers and an array of dark powers bestowed upon her by a dead and dreaming god, Lady Nicastro loves nothing more than the thrill of the hunt—and the rush of the kill.

Abilities: A Superior Threat​

Hello it’s Brad again—this time with some secrets about Scions and Lady Nicastro specifically. Be careful! These are dangerous secrets and gathering this information has been exceptionally dangerous.

For the combat design of the Scions we approached it with a goal: “What would it look like if an Enemy had a full kit of abilities and passives just like an upgraded player Agent? What if they had a strong strategy and knew how to use it?”

For Lady Nicastro, we really wanted to make fighting against her scary, so we thought of a kit that blended precise blade slices and movement with the power of the occult. Additionally, she can deal out a lot of Stress to her targets, and can capitalize off Stressed minds. Here is a breakdown of her main passives and abilities to look out for if you ever dare to fight against her...

Passive: En Garde - When Lady Nicastro’s turn starts she gains Evade. — EVADE: If a target has Evade, incoming attacks will automatically miss, consuming a stack of Evade.

Passive: Momentum - Whenever Lady Nicastro attacks, she gains a Free Movement.

House Nicastro Passive: The Ravenous Salt - Every time Lady Nicastro Crits, the target will gain an additional point of Stress damage.

Slash - Lady Nicastro's Basic Attack. Deals damage and inflicts Bleeding on her target. — BLEEDING: Units that are Bleeding take damage every time they move.

Abyssal Dart - Lady Nicastro throws a poisonous dart at the target, applying Poisoned and dealing damage. — POISONED: Poisoned units will receive damage and Stress every turn until they are no longer affected.

Torment - Lady Nicastro uses occult magic to cloud the area with darkness, reeducing the Line of Sight Range for all player Agents, making it hard to tell where Lady Nicastro is. Additionally those Agents will receive 1 Stress Damage per turn, while this effect is in play.

Ecstatic Slaughter - This is Lady Nicastro’s most devastating move, but can only be used when Torment’s effects are active. This attack deals extra Damage per Stress to her target, and because her other attacks and passives inflict Poisoned and bonus Stress, there is a good chance your Agents will be a bit Stressed while fighting her—so even the most healthy Agent with high levels of Stress could be wiped out in a single blow. Watch out!

AI Behaviors: A Stressful Combination​

Allie, here again, with some more AI musings. This time we take a look at one of the most fine tuned and lethal kinds of AI. Welcome to the top of the AI food chain: a House Scion.

These terrifying characters are built around fully custom AI behaviors unique to each Scion. The behaviors specifically play to the strengths of the character and their themes.

Early concept art for a House Nicastro ceremony.

In Lady Nicastro's case, she attacks from the shadows and seeks highly Stressed targets to deliver lethal blows, only to once again escape into the darkness. To add to the confusion, she moves … a lot. She is almost always repositioning just out of visual range and constantly changing up her targets. You never know where she may come from, who she will attack or if she is waiting around a dark corner to interrupt your agents' attacks. Watch your backs!

In order to do this, Nicastro builds combos with her abilities knowing that some of her attacks result in free movements and stress (two of her driving themes). This creates the opportunity for her to build several chains of attacks. She may unleash a dark cloud of Torment over the play field, reducing the vision range of every player character and their allies. Once the darkness sets in, she might throw a wave of projectiles from the shadows to stress select targets from a completely new location, only to follow up these attacks with an Ecstatic Slaughter, which is a deadly attack that multiplies damage based on stress of the target.

Take care to keep your most vulnerable Agents out of her reach, if you can. Lady Nicastro loves to torment the stressed. I'll let Jill tell you why.

Narrative: The Burden of Power​

Zorana Nicastro knew from birth that she was special.

Tracing its roots back over 2000 years, her family had produced princes and prophets, clergy and kings… but in the years and decades before her birth, it seemed the bloodline had run dry. The family prayed day and night, swearing oaths of salt and seafoam that a Nicastro heir would see their god resurrected—if only He would bless them with one.

Now the head of her House, Lady Nicastro will fulfill her family's millennia-long dream—or die trying. The Agents you array against her aren't obstacles. They're prey. And Lady Nicastro loves nothing more than the ecstatic slaughter of the hunt.

But to raise her dead and dreaming god to His primordial glory, she needs the help of an ancient and mysterious power, one the old heroes of the Lamplighters League died to protect.

The Banished Court has put all its energies into finding and harnessing that mysterious power—but the three Scions who lead it are of three minds on what to use it for. Lord Strum and Trace Marteau have their own plans, and they have little interest in bowing down to a waterlogged monstrosity.

Next Time, on The Lamplighters League​

House Nicastro's abyssal horrors and eldritch Scion are only a fraction of the enemies your Agents will face over the course of your tactical pulp adventure. Next Dev Diary we’ll be taking a look at some stuff y’all have been asking about: Allies, Supplies, & Customization.

To hear more about ancient curses and science gone wrong, consider adding The Lamplighters League and the Tower at the End of the World to your Wishlist on Steam, Epic, or Xbox Game Pass.

Want to keep the conversation going? People in our alternate take on the 1930s communicated via letters, telegrams and psychic visions, but most of you only have access to two out of the three, so you can drop by the Forum or the Discord to talk to Harebrained Schemes developers and other fans about The Lamplighters League. The bravest among you may even venture to follow us on Twitter.

 

[Skorpion]

Out of curiosity did this studio pick up a bunch of people from the xcom2/firaxis team? I had heard rumors many left that company but Im clueless to the veracity of any of that. This definitely has a certain feel to it.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Out of curiosity did this studio pick up a bunch of people from the xcom2/firaxis team? I had heard rumors many left that company but Im clueless to the veracity of any of that. This definitely has a certain feel to it.

Paging Roguey and Infinitron in case they might know something.

 

[Roguey]

Out of curiosity did this studio pick up a bunch of people from the xcom2/firaxis team? I had heard rumors many left that company but Im clueless to the veracity of any of that. This definitely has a certain feel to it.

Paging Roguey and Infinitron in case they might know something.

Not to my knowledge. Shadowrun Returns took a lot from XCOM so that's an obvious inspiration for what they do.

 

[Skorpion]

Out of curiosity did this studio pick up a bunch of people from the xcom2/firaxis team? I had heard rumors many left that company but Im clueless to the veracity of any of that. This definitely has a certain feel to it.

Paging Roguey and Infinitron in case they might know something.

Not to my knowledge. Shadowrun Returns took a lot from XCOM so that's an obvious inspiration for what they do.

Alright, not knocking it or promoting it for that. The latest Dev diary post just really made me see a lot of influence so I was curious.
Kind of hopeful this game is crunchy and interesting despite the disney animation style but in modern day I reserve all judgements until release.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Dev Diary #7: Upgrades and Customizing your Campaign​

Upgrades and Customizing your Campaign​

Hello again! By now I hope you’re starting to get a sense of what The Lamplighters League is all about… You’ve heard about some of the Agents you’ll recruit and send on missions. You’ve learned about Real-time infiltration and takedowns. You’ve read about the Banished Court and their otherworldly monsters, as well as the tools and mechanics you’ll use to fight them.

This is all part of the core experience, and your choices about what Agents you recruit and which ones you choose to upgrade are at the core of how you grow and shape your campaign with your time and investment.

However, all this is just a baseline, the first coat of paint on a set of miniatures you’re building for your adventure. Yet to come are the fine details, the metallic paint and drybrushing… additional choices and systems that make your campaign different each time. These options let you focus on the different strengths of your agent and help you build your own playstyle… And maybe, just maybe you’ll give your agents new capabilities you never expected.

Hi, I’m Patrick Lipo, Lead Designer on The Lamplighters League and with me again is Senior Designer and combat master Campbell Tran. We’re here to talk about the advancement arcs you’ll experience over the course of your search for The Tower at the End of the World.

Loading out with The Supplier​

Let’s start simply… Loot! In addition to the Consumables you can bring on your missions and collect in the field, you may also gain pieces of Equipment as rewards for missions… including armor and special mods for your weapons.

These will increase your combat survivability, but can also enhance your chosen playstyle, whether it is a Speed Suit to give you higher mobility or a Power Talisman for added crit damage. You may even acquire gear during your runs on specific Houses, from fireproof Strum Garments to a poison-inflicting Nicastro Talisman… both of these will come in handy if you face off against a Strum Infernal who wields fire and is weak to Toxic attacks…

Still, there are times where you need items now and you can’t wait to find a mission that will award you what you need. Lucky for you, you’ll have some friends in your corner.

One of the first companions you’ll meet in the course of the story is Captain Nicky Konstantaras, Locke’s personal pilot. His trusty seaplane is a vital lifeline that delivers you to the remotest corners of the globe… and can transport a variety of items back to the hideout.

A skilled smuggler and purveyor of goods, he brings in equipment from locations far and wide. If you give him supplies and he can use them to barter for items and equipment from his sources. This starts with handy items like sterile Bandages and Molotovs, but with the help of other allies in the hideout he can eventually acquire tougher armors, military explosives, unique healing concoctions, and special weapon mods.

He’s basically a one-stop shop that lets you shore up any areas where your capabilities might be lacking. Having trouble with the stress that House Nicastro dishes out against you? Get yourself some Stress Remedies to avoid breaking during your mission. Is Fedir’s movement not fast enough for your needs? Get him a Speed Suit. Gear up!

Refining Your Team with the Help of Allies​

As the campaign progresses, you will have the opportunity to send extra agents on Search Expeditions to track down new Agents to recruit… but sometimes you will instead locate a new Ally, a non-combatant who (if you can deliver them from the clutches of the Banished Court) will offer support back at the Hideout.

For example, take the Weaponsmith, Danys Belfort. An ingenious inventor with a knack for blending mechanical and alchemical processes, he can make potent use of Aether, a mysterious substance that you can acquire during your team's excursions. Danys and other allies can work this material into useful perks for the League. These upgrades can affect all Agents in your team, and allow you to refine your playstyle: take advantage of your team’s high number of attacks by adding armor shredding, enhance their melee combat capabilities... the more Aether you apply, the more they can create.

Your Allies can also craft Accessories, unique mystical items that you can equip on your Agents to even more potent effect such as the Bombadier’s Brace, a Weaponsmith invention which lets you toss grenades and other offensive items without expending AP. Or keep an Agent flush with ammo with the regenerating capabilities of the Endless Bandolier.

Danys is only one of the Allies you can rescue. The Cartomancer, Madame Mei, is another. A scholar of The Undrawn Hand, Madame Mei will prove instrumental in the effective use of the Lamplighters' most powerful weapon.

By funneling Aether into the Cartomancer's upgrade tree, you can increase the number of cards you will gain, expand the size of your Agents' Tableaus, and improve the variety of cards that you have access to. Madame Mei can also improve the League's mastery of Stress —both resisting its effects, and inflicting it on others.

The Undrawn Hand, or This is Not a Card Game​

So to recap, every one of your characters has their own suite of abilities and their own upgrade path. You can also unlock perks and equip gear and consumables from your allies and Captain Nicky. Now, beyond all that you have The Undrawn Hand, your ace in the hole for fine-tuning how you’ll take on the Court.

The Undrawn Hand is a deck of cards that has the uncanny ability to change a person’s fate. It is the signature relic of the Lamplighters, filled with cards that look blank when drawn but show themselves for Lamplighters that tempt fate in service of the fight against evil. With it, you will create builds unique to your friends playing Lamplighters, with opportunities to unlock the most potent of combinations.

If it needed to be said, this is still a classic turn-based tactical game with movement and combat mechanics in the style that you are familiar with. Here’s how the Undrawn Hand comes into play:

When you complete a mission, you will return with new blank cards: some are acquired in the field, and some are granted as perks from the Cartomancer’s upgrades. These cards will reveal their contents to you once they are drawn, after which it’s up to you to choose how to play them on the Tableaus of the Agents who were present in the mission.

These cards have unique properties, rarity and power level, and you can play them (or not play them!) as you will. Some provide special abilities, such as The Shieldmaiden, which allows an agent to target an ally and give them a temporary resistance to damage. Others can fill gaps in an Agent's capabilities. The Rogue, for example, can grant a holdout pistol to any Agent—even a melee character like Ingrid. Cards can grant passive perks as well. See The Changeling, which grants its wielder Invisibility whenever they complete a Sprint movement, or The Sadist, which reduces its Agent's Stress whenever they make an enemy suffer a Stress Break. There are even some Devil’s Bargains in there, such as The Reaper, which heals its wielder on each enemy kill, but also ticks down their health slightly on each turn.

These all feed into playstyles, where you can make your version of Eddie or Celestine your own. Place The Leech on an agent that outputs a lot of attacks in a turn like Eddie, and its ability to inflict bleeding and heal you for each attack will seem that much more enticing. Tired of waiting for your favorite ability's cooldown to elapse? Drop in The Sage to reduce cooldowns on crit (and if you happen to have an Assassination Talisman Weapon Mod to equip, you can pump up your crit chance for an added benefit!)

These cards remain on your Agents’ Tableaus for the duration of the campaign, providing their active or passive effects consistently until overwritten or replaced. Cards can increase in level and potency if you manage to play a duplicate of the same card on top of it, or you can play a new card on top of it, removing the previous one for a payout of Ink. Ink is another mystical currency that can be accumulated from discards and other sources, which can then be used to upgrade cards you already have on your Tableaus.

You can raise your Agent’s card to as high as Level 5, but it can be difficult to build your cards to that level of power! It can take luck, or a lot of focus and a lot of Ink and enhancements from the Cartomancer to get up there. It’ll be even harder to reach those high levels with the rarer cards.

You’ll find that adapting your strategy to the opportunities that present themselves through the Undrawn Hand can lead to unique and unexpected experiences… Plus, when a mission goes south and you think you’re in trouble, often an unexpected combination of Undrawn Hand abilities can get you out. Remember that when a horde of Tidespawn try to close with you, and you realize that combining The Salamander and The Weaver lets you lay down areas of fire and let them burn as you slow them in their tracks.

Stress Breaks and Breaking Cards​

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though! Remember a couple of weeks ago when you were introduced to Stress Breaks? When it happens to an enemy it can be cause for celebration, but when your own Agents break there is a special effect that you should keep in mind.

In these cases your Agent will be dealt a Breaking Card at the end of the mission. A Breaking Card applies a negative effect on your character that lingers as long as it remains on the Agent’s Tableau. Perhaps your Crit Chance is 0 because you drew The Misfortunate. Maybe you gain extra stress if you are attacked while in cover, thanks to The Highwayman.

A Breaking Card is played on that Agent’s Tableau, and it may even cover one of your good cards, negating its effect! When this happens, you’ll have a couple of choices... You can take the Agent out of mission rotation for a couple weeks and let them rest (the Break will disappear after a couple of weeks). Or, if you’d like, you can play through that limitation… adjust your playstyle and adapt! If you complete a mission successfully with a Breaking Card, you will complete a Breakthrough, removing the offending card and granting you a windfall of Ink you can use to upgrade other cards. The choice is yours.

Plot your Path, but Adapt to the Unexpected​

There you have it. With equipment, Allies and the Supplier, you’ll have a number of ways to lay out, plan and advance the campaign in the directions you choose. You can take your destiny in your hands. However, you must heed the voice of fate from the Undrawn Hand… There will be times when you must adapt to new situations as well as times when unexpected luck presents you with an advantage you did not expect. It is in those moments that we hope you will be surprised and delighted by experiences in The Lamplighters League… Each session can be very different from the last, even if you start from the same place. Enjoy!

Want to keep the conversation going? People in our alternate take on the 1930s communicated via letters, telegrams and psychic visions, but most of you only have access to two out of the three, so you can drop by the Forum or the Discord to talk to Harebrained Schemes developers and other fans about The Lamplighters League. The bravest among you may even venture to follow us on Twitter.

Patrick Lipo​

Lead Designer​

Discord: Patrick#5015
Paradox Forum: PatrickLipo

Campbell Tran​

Senior Designer​

 

[Alienman]

Cards...

 

[gurugeorge]

Dev Diary #7: Upgrades and Customizing your Campaign​

Upgrades and Customizing your Campaign​

Hello again! By now I hope you’re starting to get a sense of what The Lamplighters League is all about… You’ve heard about some of the Agents you’ll recruit and send on missions. You’ve learned about Real-time infiltration and takedowns. You’ve read about the Banished Court and their otherworldly monsters, as well as the tools and mechanics you’ll use to fight them.

This is all part of the core experience, and your choices about what Agents you recruit and which ones you choose to upgrade are at the core of how you grow and shape your campaign with your time and investment.

However, all this is just a baseline, the first coat of paint on a set of miniatures you’re building for your adventure. Yet to come are the fine details, the metallic paint and drybrushing… additional choices and systems that make your campaign different each time. These options let you focus on the different strengths of your agent and help you build your own playstyle… And maybe, just maybe you’ll give your agents new capabilities you never expected.

Hi, I’m Patrick Lipo, Lead Designer on The Lamplighters League and with me again is Senior Designer and combat master Campbell Tran. We’re here to talk about the advancement arcs you’ll experience over the course of your search for The Tower at the End of the World.

Loading out with The Supplier​

Let’s start simply… Loot! In addition to the Consumables you can bring on your missions and collect in the field, you may also gain pieces of Equipment as rewards for missions… including armor and special mods for your weapons.

These will increase your combat survivability, but can also enhance your chosen playstyle, whether it is a Speed Suit to give you higher mobility or a Power Talisman for added crit damage. You may even acquire gear during your runs on specific Houses, from fireproof Strum Garments to a poison-inflicting Nicastro Talisman… both of these will come in handy if you face off against a Strum Infernal who wields fire and is weak to Toxic attacks…

Still, there are times where you need items now and you can’t wait to find a mission that will award you what you need. Lucky for you, you’ll have some friends in your corner.

One of the first companions you’ll meet in the course of the story is Captain Nicky Konstantaras, Locke’s personal pilot. His trusty seaplane is a vital lifeline that delivers you to the remotest corners of the globe… and can transport a variety of items back to the hideout.

A skilled smuggler and purveyor of goods, he brings in equipment from locations far and wide. If you give him supplies and he can use them to barter for items and equipment from his sources. This starts with handy items like sterile Bandages and Molotovs, but with the help of other allies in the hideout he can eventually acquire tougher armors, military explosives, unique healing concoctions, and special weapon mods.

He’s basically a one-stop shop that lets you shore up any areas where your capabilities might be lacking. Having trouble with the stress that House Nicastro dishes out against you? Get yourself some Stress Remedies to avoid breaking during your mission. Is Fedir’s movement not fast enough for your needs? Get him a Speed Suit. Gear up!

Refining Your Team with the Help of Allies​

As the campaign progresses, you will have the opportunity to send extra agents on Search Expeditions to track down new Agents to recruit… but sometimes you will instead locate a new Ally, a non-combatant who (if you can deliver them from the clutches of the Banished Court) will offer support back at the Hideout.

For example, take the Weaponsmith, Danys Belfort. An ingenious inventor with a knack for blending mechanical and alchemical processes, he can make potent use of Aether, a mysterious substance that you can acquire during your team's excursions. Danys and other allies can work this material into useful perks for the League. These upgrades can affect all Agents in your team, and allow you to refine your playstyle: take advantage of your team’s high number of attacks by adding armor shredding, enhance their melee combat capabilities... the more Aether you apply, the more they can create.

Your Allies can also craft Accessories, unique mystical items that you can equip on your Agents to even more potent effect such as the Bombadier’s Brace, a Weaponsmith invention which lets you toss grenades and other offensive items without expending AP. Or keep an Agent flush with ammo with the regenerating capabilities of the Endless Bandolier.

Danys is only one of the Allies you can rescue. The Cartomancer, Madame Mei, is another. A scholar of The Undrawn Hand, Madame Mei will prove instrumental in the effective use of the Lamplighters' most powerful weapon.

By funneling Aether into the Cartomancer's upgrade tree, you can increase the number of cards you will gain, expand the size of your Agents' Tableaus, and improve the variety of cards that you have access to. Madame Mei can also improve the League's mastery of Stress —both resisting its effects, and inflicting it on others.

The Undrawn Hand, or This is Not a Card Game​

So to recap, every one of your characters has their own suite of abilities and their own upgrade path. You can also unlock perks and equip gear and consumables from your allies and Captain Nicky. Now, beyond all that you have The Undrawn Hand, your ace in the hole for fine-tuning how you’ll take on the Court.

The Undrawn Hand is a deck of cards that has the uncanny ability to change a person’s fate. It is the signature relic of the Lamplighters, filled with cards that look blank when drawn but show themselves for Lamplighters that tempt fate in service of the fight against evil. With it, you will create builds unique to your friends playing Lamplighters, with opportunities to unlock the most potent of combinations.

If it needed to be said, this is still a classic turn-based tactical game with movement and combat mechanics in the style that you are familiar with. Here’s how the Undrawn Hand comes into play:

When you complete a mission, you will return with new blank cards: some are acquired in the field, and some are granted as perks from the Cartomancer’s upgrades. These cards will reveal their contents to you once they are drawn, after which it’s up to you to choose how to play them on the Tableaus of the Agents who were present in the mission.

These cards have unique properties, rarity and power level, and you can play them (or not play them!) as you will. Some provide special abilities, such as The Shieldmaiden, which allows an agent to target an ally and give them a temporary resistance to damage. Others can fill gaps in an Agent's capabilities. The Rogue, for example, can grant a holdout pistol to any Agent—even a melee character like Ingrid. Cards can grant passive perks as well. See The Changeling, which grants its wielder Invisibility whenever they complete a Sprint movement, or The Sadist, which reduces its Agent's Stress whenever they make an enemy suffer a Stress Break. There are even some Devil’s Bargains in there, such as The Reaper, which heals its wielder on each enemy kill, but also ticks down their health slightly on each turn.

These all feed into playstyles, where you can make your version of Eddie or Celestine your own. Place The Leech on an agent that outputs a lot of attacks in a turn like Eddie, and its ability to inflict bleeding and heal you for each attack will seem that much more enticing. Tired of waiting for your favorite ability's cooldown to elapse? Drop in The Sage to reduce cooldowns on crit (and if you happen to have an Assassination Talisman Weapon Mod to equip, you can pump up your crit chance for an added benefit!)

These cards remain on your Agents’ Tableaus for the duration of the campaign, providing their active or passive effects consistently until overwritten or replaced. Cards can increase in level and potency if you manage to play a duplicate of the same card on top of it, or you can play a new card on top of it, removing the previous one for a payout of Ink. Ink is another mystical currency that can be accumulated from discards and other sources, which can then be used to upgrade cards you already have on your Tableaus.

You can raise your Agent’s card to as high as Level 5, but it can be difficult to build your cards to that level of power! It can take luck, or a lot of focus and a lot of Ink and enhancements from the Cartomancer to get up there. It’ll be even harder to reach those high levels with the rarer cards.

You’ll find that adapting your strategy to the opportunities that present themselves through the Undrawn Hand can lead to unique and unexpected experiences… Plus, when a mission goes south and you think you’re in trouble, often an unexpected combination of Undrawn Hand abilities can get you out. Remember that when a horde of Tidespawn try to close with you, and you realize that combining The Salamander and The Weaver lets you lay down areas of fire and let them burn as you slow them in their tracks.

Stress Breaks and Breaking Cards​

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though! Remember a couple of weeks ago when you were introduced to Stress Breaks? When it happens to an enemy it can be cause for celebration, but when your own Agents break there is a special effect that you should keep in mind.

In these cases your Agent will be dealt a Breaking Card at the end of the mission. A Breaking Card applies a negative effect on your character that lingers as long as it remains on the Agent’s Tableau. Perhaps your Crit Chance is 0 because you drew The Misfortunate. Maybe you gain extra stress if you are attacked while in cover, thanks to The Highwayman.

A Breaking Card is played on that Agent’s Tableau, and it may even cover one of your good cards, negating its effect! When this happens, you’ll have a couple of choices... You can take the Agent out of mission rotation for a couple weeks and let them rest (the Break will disappear after a couple of weeks). Or, if you’d like, you can play through that limitation… adjust your playstyle and adapt! If you complete a mission successfully with a Breaking Card, you will complete a Breakthrough, removing the offending card and granting you a windfall of Ink you can use to upgrade other cards. The choice is yours.

Plot your Path, but Adapt to the Unexpected​

There you have it. With equipment, Allies and the Supplier, you’ll have a number of ways to lay out, plan and advance the campaign in the directions you choose. You can take your destiny in your hands. However, you must heed the voice of fate from the Undrawn Hand… There will be times when you must adapt to new situations as well as times when unexpected luck presents you with an advantage you did not expect. It is in those moments that we hope you will be surprised and delighted by experiences in The Lamplighters League… Each session can be very different from the last, even if you start from the same place. Enjoy!

Want to keep the conversation going? People in our alternate take on the 1930s communicated via letters, telegrams and psychic visions, but most of you only have access to two out of the three, so you can drop by the Forum or the Discord to talk to Harebrained Schemes developers and other fans about The Lamplighters League. The bravest among you may even venture to follow us on Twitter.

Patrick Lipo​

Lead Designer​

Discord: Patrick#5015
Paradox Forum: PatrickLipo

Campbell Tran​

Senior Designer​

Nice item art, it has to be said.

 

[Harthwain]

Cards...

Fuck you, Hard West 1 was cool!