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

[Lemming42]

Hard West 1's card system was pretty cool but it was a bit of a mess. This looks a lot less hectic, just a way to finalise and tweak character builds.

 

[Harthwain]

Hard West 1's card system was pretty cool but it was a bit of a mess. This looks a lot less hectic, just a way to finalise and tweak character builds.

Maybe so, but I really enjoyed how cards allowed you to change the game by giving you access to different abilities.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Dev Diary #8: The Race for the Tower​

On a small hidden island in the Mediterranean, a man stands before a map of the world, and wonders how long any of it will last.

This man is Pelham Locke, the last surviving member of the Lamplighters League, and he knows something few others know: that a long-lost ancient ruin, the bridge between the mundane and the supernatural, the mythical Tower at the End of the World… has been found. And that its discovery may well doom us all.

Because the ones who found the Tower aren't explorers or scholars or scientists. They're a power-hungry secret cult called the Banished Court. The Court's three Scions want the energy source at the Tower's crown: the wellspring of all magic known as the Bright Storm.

The Tower at the End of the World is the bridge between the mundane world and the Bright Storm, the source of all magic.

Standing at the top of the Tower, in the eye of the storm, the Scions will possess the ability to remake the world exactly as they see fit.

The Lamplighters League stopped the Banished Court from reaching the Tower once before, in 1916—at the cost of their own lives. Now it's 1932, the Court is ready to try again, and Locke has given up looking for heroes of his fallen comrades' caliber. The best of the best are long gone. He'll have to settle for the best of the worst.

Guess what, all you scoundrels, rogues and misfits. This is where you come in…

Today you've got Lead Narrative Designer Jill Scharr here to introduce you to The Race for the Tower.

Ticking Towards Midnight​

Week to week, you'll have to decide where your focus belongs. Sabotaging the Court? Strengthening your own team? Or preparing to enter the Tower? Choose wisely… every week, the Court grows closer to victory.

As you study the World Map planning your next move, you'll see three Doomsday Clocks at the top of the screen. These indicate how close the Houses are to being ready to enter the Tower. Each of the three Houses has its own Clock because this is a race. Whichever House wins becomes ascendant and gets to define the future of the world, and none of them want to be written out of the picture. For the Lamplighters, this means there are three opponents, not just one.

The three Houses advance their plans each week, but you can interfere with them by undertaking sabotage missions. Literally sabotage: we're talking steal their resources, destroy their radio networks, and even assassinate their generals.You'll recognize a sabotage mission by the red pips of Threat across the top. If you skip this mission, that Threat will be added to the House's Doomsday Clock and they'll be a little closer to remaking the world. But if you complete your sabotage there, you'll prevent that Threat and additionally reduce the House's Clock a bit.

Each Clock is divided into segments that represent the major stages of their plans. When a segment is completely filled, the House hits a Breakpoint and advances toward the Tower. Their monsters and minions grow stronger and their influence over the world increases. And critically, once a House crosses a Breakpoint, there's no going back. Lamplighter efforts can reduce a Doomsday Clock down to a Breakpoint, but never below one.

House Marteau is one step closer to victory.

The Courts move quickly and the Lamplighters can't sabotage everything, so you'll have to choose your missions carefully. Inevitably, the Doomsday Clocks will tick up.

If any of the three Clocks fills completely and hits the final Breakpoint, that's game over, for you and for the world as you know it. But there's still a ghost of a chance to pull things back: a Last Stand mission you can run to stall them for a short time. The stakes are high, though. Last Stands are difficult, and failure means losing the world.

Each of the Banished Court's three leaders has their own vision of a "perfect world." Lord Strum wants an empire beneath his boot. Lady Nicastro wants to resurrect a monstrous deepsea god and drown the world in His waters. And Trace Marteau—well. He just wants to usher in a future with his name on it.

Marteau Industries Proudly Presents…​

Imagine, if you will… a world where no one is hungry. No one is tired, or sick, or injured. A world where everyone has a job.

He brought you the Marteau-Mobile. He brought you the Home Radieau. Now, beloved industrialist J.T. Trace Marteau proudly presents… The Hereafter.

The future is here. Get on board… or get out of the way.

Trace Marteau would tell you he's the hero of this story. That his alliance with the power-mad Strum and the fanatical Nicastro is one of necessity only, all part of his double-secret plan to give humanity everything it never knew it desperately needed.

It all started in the 1920s, when Marteau Industries' research and development wing stumbled upon another dimension—a realm of the afterlife they dubbed the Lacuna.

The company quickly realized that by creating portals in and out of the Lacuna, they can move people and supplies across the globe in a matter of seconds. But the technology leaves cracks in the fabric of reality… allowing ghostly Shades to cross back over to the land of the living.

Marteau's Crossroads technology damages the veil between this world and the next… allowing Shades of the dead to slip through the cracks.

Trace Marteau doesn't see a problem, though. He sees an opportunity. He'll crack open the barrier between this world and the next, fill the Lacuna's infinite wastes with factories, and secure himself a workforce to operate his assembly lines for life… and for the hereafter.

An endless assembly line of the damned.

So if Trace Marteau and his two fellow Scions have already found the Tower, what's stopping them from making their dreams our reality? Well, it's one thing to stand at the top of the Tower and feel the energies of raw creation raging around you. It's quite another to actually control that energy.

That's why each of the 3 Scions are erecting conduits, hidden all around the world, that will help them channel the Bright Storm into their desired outcome. For Marteau it's Dimension Drills. With the full force of the Bright Storm powering their turbines, these massive machines will pulverize the barrier between life and death. No one will live, no one will die. Everyone will work for Marteau Industries.

Dimension Drills breaking the barrier to the Lacuna.

So while Locke and the Agents prepare to enter the Tower themselves and stop the Court once and for all, they'll need to sabotage the Court's plans, destroy their conduits, steal their supplies, and disrupt their lines of transit.

Will the Doomsday Clocks reach midnight? Will the Banished Court remake the world to their own design? Will Locke's team of scoundrels succeed against impossible odds?

Time Is Running Out​

Only you can answer these questions by preordering The Lamplighters League and the Tower at the End of the World or adding it 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.

Jill Scharr
Lead Narrative Designer​

Forum: JillScharr

 

[gurugeorge]

You know, this reminds me, I've often thought that Charlie Stross' Laundry mythos would make a great setting for this type of game. It would afford more opportunities for a bit of an adventure feel like Disco Elysium too (more opportunity to solve problems by methods other than fighting).

 

[Reinhardt]

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.

so many artefacts stolen from indigenous cultures of bipoc of color! are we the baddies?

 

[Modron]

are we the baddies?

Don't worry your great great grandchildren will repatriate them and the local museums will even be able to hold onto them for a day or two before they disappear never to be seen again.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[lycanwarrior]

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/th...ing-mission-confirms-its-a-hot-goty-contender

The Lamplighters League's opening mission confirms it's a hot GOTY contender​

The next strategy game from the Battletech devs is shaping up nicely

Ever since it was announced two short months ago, The Lamplighters League has quickly become one of the most exciting turn-based strategy games of the year. You may remember I got to see it in action at GDC last month, albeit with developers Harebrained Schemes firmly in the control seat. Happily, I've now been able to play its opening tutorial mission for myself in my own time, and yep, it's looking pretty special, folks.

When I watched the developers play the game last month, I came away impressed by its deep, tactical, turn-based combat, and the real-time sneaking you can do between its big fights. That impression holds up now I've been able to play it for myself, too. Think XCOM mixed with a dash of Desperados 3 (albeit in a pre-WW2, alternate 1930s setting) and you're pretty much there. It also has a cast of incredibly stylish agents to play as, too, as you fight to save the world from three evil factions who are all trying to get their mitts on ancient, supernatural artefacts to help them rule the globe with an iron fist.

To begin with, you take control of Ingrid and Lateef skulking through the streets, rooftops and docks of Marseille as you chase down a secret package gone astray. Evil forces have nixed the courier who was meant to be delivering it to you, so you'll need to take matters into your own hands to track it down - and that means introducing hordes of gas-masked brutes to the business end of your fists and pistols. Eventually, you'll also meet up with Eddie, completing the trio of characters first unveiled in the announcement trailer up the top there.

The opening mission is a mostly linear affair, teaching you the basics of its infiltration mode before letting you loose on its three main combat encounters - although I was also pleased to see a second, optional route with another very worthwhile fight down it at one point, plus a big boss encounter at the end. During infiltration, you're walking around the environment in real-time, sneaking past small groups of enemies, grabbing resources such as grenades and bandages, and investigating objects as you move closer to your objectives. Your agents will occasionally chat amongst themselves in these sections as well, and they all seem like very good hangs based on what I've heard so far. Certainly a more amiable bunch than the mercs in Jagged Alliance 3, that's for sure.

Attacks zoom right in, giving you a good look at the action.
Each agent also has certain abilities you can make use of during infiltration as well. As a bruiser, Ingrid can knock down walls and charge into enemies to take them down, while Lateef can sneak up on enemies from behind to knock them out, and scamper up walls and ledges to get round obstacles. Eddie, meanwhile, is a saboteur, allowing him to pick locks to get into sealed rooms, and lay down shock mines to distract guards and potentially take down whole groups of them (or at least whittle down a bit of their health) if you happen to place one in a conveniently located puddle. Because yep, there are hazards aplenty in The Lamplighters League, and taking advantage of them to thin out the crowds will be vital to your agents' success.

These three infiltration types aren't unique to Ingrid, Lateef and Eddie, though. All ten of the game's unlockable agents will fall into one of these three baskets, but their individual skills in combat will, of course, vary much more widely depending on who you end up recruiting. I quite enjoyed Eddie's turn as a dual gunslinger, allowing him to target two goons in a single action point, while Lateef's nimble reflexes made him a decent choice for taking the high-ground with his pistol and overwatch ability (although he is more accurate up close, to be fair). Ingrid, meanwhile, is a melee-based brawler, so she'll need to get up close and personal to deal the most damage. Being so early on, it's hard to say exactly how this particular group will develop just yet, but even at this stage they appeared to be pleasingly distinct from the aggro-drawing Fedir, the dark magic-wielding Celestine and warrior hun healer Ana Sofia I saw in my previous hands-off GDC session.


The boss fight was easily the highlight of this opening mission, though, which pitted your budding trio against a Scion and their gaggle of minions. Scions are big powerful henchpeople belonging to one of the three villain factions, and the one blocking our heroes' exit in this particular mission was Lady Nicastro, a fearsome presence with an evil-looking mask and an equally evil-looking large health bar. You're encouraged to escape rather than engage her head-on at this point, although the layout of the docks means you'll need to be very crafty indeed to make it through completely undetected.

Indeed, I accidentally ran straight into her as I tried to make my way to the getaway plane on the other side of the docks, and a tense fight broke out that saw her cover the battlefield with mysterious, hazy smoke clouds that cloaked both herself and her accompanying goons. She was a formidable opponent, and I only just about made it out alive. It was a thrilling conclusion to the opening mission, and I can't wait to see what else lies in store.

If all that sounds like it might be up your street as well, then make sure you bookmark The Lamplighters League's Steam, Epic Games Store or Microsoft Store pages to keep up to date with its development. Alas, there's still no word on its release date just yet, but we'll definitely let you know as and when it gets announced.

 

[GhostCow]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/th...ing-mission-confirms-its-a-hot-goty-contender

The Lamplighters League's opening mission confirms it's a hot GOTY contender​

The next strategy game from the Battletech devs is shaping up nicely

Ever since it was announced two short months ago, The Lamplighters League has quickly become one of the most exciting turn-based strategy games of the year. You may remember I got to see it in action at GDC last month, albeit with developers Harebrained Schemes firmly in the control seat. Happily, I've now been able to play its opening tutorial mission for myself in my own time, and yep, it's looking pretty special, folks.

When I watched the developers play the game last month, I came away impressed by its deep, tactical, turn-based combat, and the real-time sneaking you can do between its big fights. That impression holds up now I've been able to play it for myself, too. Think XCOM mixed with a dash of Desperados 3 (albeit in a pre-WW2, alternate 1930s setting) and you're pretty much there. It also has a cast of incredibly stylish agents to play as, too, as you fight to save the world from three evil factions who are all trying to get their mitts on ancient, supernatural artefacts to help them rule the globe with an iron fist.

To begin with, you take control of Ingrid and Lateef skulking through the streets, rooftops and docks of Marseille as you chase down a secret package gone astray. Evil forces have nixed the courier who was meant to be delivering it to you, so you'll need to take matters into your own hands to track it down - and that means introducing hordes of gas-masked brutes to the business end of your fists and pistols. Eventually, you'll also meet up with Eddie, completing the trio of characters first unveiled in the announcement trailer up the top there.

The opening mission is a mostly linear affair, teaching you the basics of its infiltration mode before letting you loose on its three main combat encounters - although I was also pleased to see a second, optional route with another very worthwhile fight down it at one point, plus a big boss encounter at the end. During infiltration, you're walking around the environment in real-time, sneaking past small groups of enemies, grabbing resources such as grenades and bandages, and investigating objects as you move closer to your objectives. Your agents will occasionally chat amongst themselves in these sections as well, and they all seem like very good hangs based on what I've heard so far. Certainly a more amiable bunch than the mercs in Jagged Alliance 3, that's for sure.

Attacks zoom right in, giving you a good look at the action.
Each agent also has certain abilities you can make use of during infiltration as well. As a bruiser, Ingrid can knock down walls and charge into enemies to take them down, while Lateef can sneak up on enemies from behind to knock them out, and scamper up walls and ledges to get round obstacles. Eddie, meanwhile, is a saboteur, allowing him to pick locks to get into sealed rooms, and lay down shock mines to distract guards and potentially take down whole groups of them (or at least whittle down a bit of their health) if you happen to place one in a conveniently located puddle. Because yep, there are hazards aplenty in The Lamplighters League, and taking advantage of them to thin out the crowds will be vital to your agents' success.

These three infiltration types aren't unique to Ingrid, Lateef and Eddie, though. All ten of the game's unlockable agents will fall into one of these three baskets, but their individual skills in combat will, of course, vary much more widely depending on who you end up recruiting. I quite enjoyed Eddie's turn as a dual gunslinger, allowing him to target two goons in a single action point, while Lateef's nimble reflexes made him a decent choice for taking the high-ground with his pistol and overwatch ability (although he is more accurate up close, to be fair). Ingrid, meanwhile, is a melee-based brawler, so she'll need to get up close and personal to deal the most damage. Being so early on, it's hard to say exactly how this particular group will develop just yet, but even at this stage they appeared to be pleasingly distinct from the aggro-drawing Fedir, the dark magic-wielding Celestine and warrior hun healer Ana Sofia I saw in my previous hands-off GDC session.


The boss fight was easily the highlight of this opening mission, though, which pitted your budding trio against a Scion and their gaggle of minions. Scions are big powerful henchpeople belonging to one of the three villain factions, and the one blocking our heroes' exit in this particular mission was Lady Nicastro, a fearsome presence with an evil-looking mask and an equally evil-looking large health bar. You're encouraged to escape rather than engage her head-on at this point, although the layout of the docks means you'll need to be very crafty indeed to make it through completely undetected.

Indeed, I accidentally ran straight into her as I tried to make my way to the getaway plane on the other side of the docks, and a tense fight broke out that saw her cover the battlefield with mysterious, hazy smoke clouds that cloaked both herself and her accompanying goons. She was a formidable opponent, and I only just about made it out alive. It was a thrilling conclusion to the opening mission, and I can't wait to see what else lies in store.

If all that sounds like it might be up your street as well, then make sure you bookmark The Lamplighters League's Steam, Epic Games Store or Microsoft Store pages to keep up to date with its development. Alas, there's still no word on its release date just yet, but we'll definitely let you know as and when it gets announced.

This reads almost exactly like the review of fire emblem engage that I had chatgpt write. That makes me think a lot of different things

 

[Lemming42]

Hmmm. Watched ChristopherOdd's video and I can't figure out the idea behind "Infiltration Mode" at all. It seems so dumb - the whole objective of Infiltration is to avoid getting into turn-based combat. You know, the very reason you're playing the game. If you choose to stay in Infiltration mode, you're robbing yourself of turn-based combat, but if you go into combat, you're robbing yourself of Infiltration mode gameplay. The idea is obviously that the two modes dovetail together, but it doesn't work - turn-based combat is essentially a failure state if you get caught sneaking around. If you decide then to focus on the TB combat and just use Infiltration as a way to set up a combat encounter... then you'd be better off skipping Infiltration entirely, because every takedown you do just ends up making the resultant combat easier and less interesting by weighing the odds more and more in your favour, in a game that already looks fairly easy.

On top of that they have to have the stupid arbitrary limit on takedowns to force you into combat eventually, because otherwise some players would just spend the whole game avoiding... the game. But the takedown limit is annoying, especially because it looks like you have no indication how long any given mission will be and therefore can't plan ahead to ration your ability uses correctly.

Plus the combat, when it did start, looked pretty basic. Not quite as eager on this game as I previously was now.

Story and characters seem okay, though I got a laugh out of them introducing the enemy mooks as disillusioned, depressed WW1 veterans before immediately inviting you to violently kill them in increasingly cowardly and brutal ways.

 

[Reinhardt]

Story and characters seem okay, though I got a laugh out of them introducing the enemy mooks as disillusioned, depressed WW1 veterans before immediately inviting you to violently kill them in increasingly cowardly and brutal ways.

so ALL enemy mooks are white men. and killing white men is ok.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Watched ChristopherOdd's video and I can't figure out the idea behind "Infiltration Mode" at all. It seems so dumb - the whole objective of Infiltration is to avoid getting into turn-based combat. You know, the very reason you're playing the game. If you choose to stay in Infiltration mode, you're robbing yourself of turn-based combat, but if you go into combat, you're robbing yourself of Infiltration mode gameplay. The idea is obviously that the two modes dovetail together, but it doesn't work - turn-based combat is essentially a failure state if you get caught sneaking around. If you decide then to focus on the TB combat and just use Infiltration as a way to set up a combat encounter... then you'd be better off skipping Infiltration entirely, because every takedown you do just ends up making the resultant combat easier and less interesting by weighing the odds more and more in your favour, in a game that already looks fairly easy.

We could probably blame Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden for emergence of this subgenre.

Story and characters seem okay, though I got a laugh out of them introducing the enemy mooks as disillusioned, depressed WW1 veterans before immediately inviting you to violently kill them in increasingly cowardly and brutal ways.

so ALL enemy mooks are white men. and killing white men is ok.

There were some masked wimminz with swords too.

 

[Nortar]

If you decide then to focus on the TB combat and just use Infiltration as a way to set up a combat encounter... then you'd be better off skipping Infiltration entirely, because every takedown you do just ends up making the resultant combat easier and less interesting by weighing the odds more and more in your favour, in a game that already looks fairly easy.

We could probably blame Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden for emergence of this subgenre.

And it worked pretty well in MYZ.
So I guess it all depends on setup and difficulty of the encounters.
I did not watch the vid, if it looked easy, perhaps it was made on easy mode.

And if we keep comparison with MYZ, it was intended to be played on the hardest difficulty.

Spoiler

On easier settings there was health recovery after combat, so it did not really matter if you go in guns blazing and survive by the skin of your teeth.

But on V.Hard it was very important to set encounters up by taking off stragglers in stealth and then starting combat on your terms to minimize losses.

 

[negator2vc]

The RT Infiltration + TB Combat can work quite well. It's all depends on how it's implemented.
For ex. what advantages/disadvantages the player has if he choose to go directly in the TB part.
While I prefer a TB only style I can see how this style of gameplay can work.

 

[Grunker]

Hard West 1's card system was pretty cool but it was a bit of a mess. This looks a lot less hectic, just a way to finalise and tweak character builds.

Maybe so, but I really enjoyed how cards allowed you to change the game by giving you access to different abilities.

I tried real hard to like Hard West but I dunno, always got bored

 

[ArchAngel]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/th...ing-mission-confirms-its-a-hot-goty-contender

The Lamplighters League's opening mission confirms it's a hot GOTY contender​

The next strategy game from the Battletech devs is shaping up nicely

Ever since it was announced two short months ago, The Lamplighters League has quickly become one of the most exciting turn-based strategy games of the year. You may remember I got to see it in action at GDC last month, albeit with developers Harebrained Schemes firmly in the control seat. Happily, I've now been able to play its opening tutorial mission for myself in my own time, and yep, it's looking pretty special, folks.

When I watched the developers play the game last month, I came away impressed by its deep, tactical, turn-based combat, and the real-time sneaking you can do between its big fights. That impression holds up now I've been able to play it for myself, too. Think XCOM mixed with a dash of Desperados 3 (albeit in a pre-WW2, alternate 1930s setting) and you're pretty much there. It also has a cast of incredibly stylish agents to play as, too, as you fight to save the world from three evil factions who are all trying to get their mitts on ancient, supernatural artefacts to help them rule the globe with an iron fist.

To begin with, you take control of Ingrid and Lateef skulking through the streets, rooftops and docks of Marseille as you chase down a secret package gone astray. Evil forces have nixed the courier who was meant to be delivering it to you, so you'll need to take matters into your own hands to track it down - and that means introducing hordes of gas-masked brutes to the business end of your fists and pistols. Eventually, you'll also meet up with Eddie, completing the trio of characters first unveiled in the announcement trailer up the top there.

The opening mission is a mostly linear affair, teaching you the basics of its infiltration mode before letting you loose on its three main combat encounters - although I was also pleased to see a second, optional route with another very worthwhile fight down it at one point, plus a big boss encounter at the end. During infiltration, you're walking around the environment in real-time, sneaking past small groups of enemies, grabbing resources such as grenades and bandages, and investigating objects as you move closer to your objectives. Your agents will occasionally chat amongst themselves in these sections as well, and they all seem like very good hangs based on what I've heard so far. Certainly a more amiable bunch than the mercs in Jagged Alliance 3, that's for sure.

Attacks zoom right in, giving you a good look at the action.
Each agent also has certain abilities you can make use of during infiltration as well. As a bruiser, Ingrid can knock down walls and charge into enemies to take them down, while Lateef can sneak up on enemies from behind to knock them out, and scamper up walls and ledges to get round obstacles. Eddie, meanwhile, is a saboteur, allowing him to pick locks to get into sealed rooms, and lay down shock mines to distract guards and potentially take down whole groups of them (or at least whittle down a bit of their health) if you happen to place one in a conveniently located puddle. Because yep, there are hazards aplenty in The Lamplighters League, and taking advantage of them to thin out the crowds will be vital to your agents' success.

These three infiltration types aren't unique to Ingrid, Lateef and Eddie, though. All ten of the game's unlockable agents will fall into one of these three baskets, but their individual skills in combat will, of course, vary much more widely depending on who you end up recruiting. I quite enjoyed Eddie's turn as a dual gunslinger, allowing him to target two goons in a single action point, while Lateef's nimble reflexes made him a decent choice for taking the high-ground with his pistol and overwatch ability (although he is more accurate up close, to be fair). Ingrid, meanwhile, is a melee-based brawler, so she'll need to get up close and personal to deal the most damage. Being so early on, it's hard to say exactly how this particular group will develop just yet, but even at this stage they appeared to be pleasingly distinct from the aggro-drawing Fedir, the dark magic-wielding Celestine and warrior hun healer Ana Sofia I saw in my previous hands-off GDC session.


The boss fight was easily the highlight of this opening mission, though, which pitted your budding trio against a Scion and their gaggle of minions. Scions are big powerful henchpeople belonging to one of the three villain factions, and the one blocking our heroes' exit in this particular mission was Lady Nicastro, a fearsome presence with an evil-looking mask and an equally evil-looking large health bar. You're encouraged to escape rather than engage her head-on at this point, although the layout of the docks means you'll need to be very crafty indeed to make it through completely undetected.

Indeed, I accidentally ran straight into her as I tried to make my way to the getaway plane on the other side of the docks, and a tense fight broke out that saw her cover the battlefield with mysterious, hazy smoke clouds that cloaked both herself and her accompanying goons. She was a formidable opponent, and I only just about made it out alive. It was a thrilling conclusion to the opening mission, and I can't wait to see what else lies in store.

If all that sounds like it might be up your street as well, then make sure you bookmark The Lamplighters League's Steam, Epic Games Store or Microsoft Store pages to keep up to date with its development. Alas, there's still no word on its release date just yet, but we'll definitely let you know as and when it gets announced.

Ingrid is a bruiser? Is she a transmale or something?

 

[Harthwain]

I tried real hard to like Hard West but I dunno, always got bored

Well, it's a very specific game.

In my case it helped that:

1) The Luck mechanic and cover create the Wild West-like shotouts. Combine this with how items, weapons and cards work and it's a very nice tactical game. I also very much enjoyed moments where you could "set up" before entering combat.

2) I did enjoy the mixing of the paranormal elements with the Wild West setting. In Hard West 1 it is done just about right.

3) You can do each scenario/mini-campaign as you see fit, giving you a bit of a flexibility in how you do things.

 

[cyborgboy95]

The Lamplighters League Devs Play — It's time for Sabotage! | Gameplay Video

 

[roshan]

Will this game have a 2D isometric mode? If not I won't play it.

 

[gurugeorge]

The Lamplighters League Devs Play — It's time for Sabotage! | Gameplay Video

Hmm, the gameplay looks pretty good actually. I like the readable floating info tags, and it seems you can be quite creative. Both of them look quite nerdy, which is reassuring.

 

[J1M]

One of the things I dislike about current tactical game design is that the entire branch of tactics around treating some pieces as expendable or intentionally absorbing a hit is eliminated. Every unit has a name and is expected to make it home, usually uninjured.

 

[Axioms]

One of the things I dislike about current tactical game design is that the entire branch of tactics around treating some pieces as expendable or intentionally absorbing a hit is eliminated. Every unit has a name and is expected to make it home, usually uninjured.

Puzzle tactics.

 

[ArchAngel]

One of the things I dislike about current tactical game design is that the entire branch of tactics around treating some pieces as expendable or intentionally absorbing a hit is eliminated. Every unit has a name and is expected to make it home, usually uninjured.

I agree, I have yet to play any of these "tactical" games that do not have expendable soldiers. This shit started with those Mutant Chronicles and now there are so many of them.
EDIT: OK, I played and finished Hard West 2. But I still didn't like that kind of gameplay.

 

[Axioms]

Even as far back as Fire Emblem you wanted to savescum whole missions to not lose unique class characters and stuff. I guess having a set cast of units helps with balance or some shit. As always, I blame the Japanese and their weird design paradigms.