Hello everyone,
This month, we've spent some time getting work done on the squads system, which will allow for better and more dynamic use of infantry. This system is still in its early stages, and still needs work in regards to pathing, UI and general behavior, but here are some videos on the progress:
As you may assume, we'll need to iron out squad pathing, so that units don't overlap into small clumps. Ideally we'll have a system where squads can be ordered to spread out further or closer, as well as being able to set a firing line for them.
Obviously the reinforcing system needs a lot of work. The idea will be that your Recruit resources are used to reinforce lost squad units, and certain buildings that "store" Recruits will automatically replenish them if they're nearby. Of course, as seen in this video, this results in some strangeness, like squads more or less becoming unkillable if enough Recruit reinforcements are present, and the fact that the squad seems to endlessly move backwards. The former can be solved by reducing the range of these Recruit buildings and also giving them a relatively small storage size for Recruits, while the former can be solved by introducing squad leaders and followers/section leaders to each squad. We've actually looked at a document that Relic put out on how this works internally in the Company Of Heroes games.
In addition to squad logic, we've added a few units to test out that will serve as an important component of the squad system. Infantry squads can be comprised of different units internally, such as squads having a machine gunner and rocket launcher amongst the rest of the plain riflemen.
For the Empire's basic Rifle squads, this includes a Machine Gunner, which can fire without deploying, but deploying provides additional accuracy. In this sense, it's a unit that can provide additional firepower for offensives, but is better suited to holding the line.
The next infantry unit are mortars, which replace the Machine Gunner in Rifle squads if the proper Annex is attached to the Academy that produces infantry. These provide additional firepower at a much greater range, though of course this is a tradeoff for being unable to fire while undeployed and being unable to target aircraft.
We've also added a Chemical Gas Sprayer, which is intended to be an upgrade for the Empire's Grenadier units (close assault infantry). These do not deploy to fire, but instead are intended to improve the Grenadier squad's ability to combat fortified positions with toxic gas, which can also damage light vehicles with its corrosive effects.
On this note, we're also planning on replacing the C&C/OpenRA-method of handling infantry taking cover. This currently works just as it does in C&C, where infantry will go prone when under fire from certain weapons. While this does have some mechanical benefits like improved defense and lowered speed while under fire, this system was never especially great, and always seemed like it was never thought out much past the way it worked in the original C&C in 1995, and also seemed somewhat redundant, given how easily infantry can be slaughtered by machine guns and artillery in those games.
For our revised system, we plan on taking a page from the recent game MENACE, and adding a separate suppression system, where some weapons build up a suppression meter in infantry units, which forces them to the ground when this meter maxes out. Suppressed infantry will obviously move at a crawling speed, and have reduced accuracy, but do have better protection against most weapons while in this state, and suppression will apply to the entire squad, not just individuals. This will be an elegant way to keep weapons like machine guns relevant in their anti-infantry role, without either making them too damaging against infantry (and thus leading to the C&C problem of infantry being largely useless), or nerfing them into irrelevance. In this way, you won't get the C&C problem of entire groups of infantry being instantly obliterated by explosives and machine guns, however these weapons will still force infantry into a reduced state, while friendly forces can advance and close the distance.
We've also added some new vehicles that are intended to work in tandem with the planned Annex system. The Empire now gets a basic Medium Tank, equipped with a 75mm cannon and an MG on both its turret and hull.
This isn't super exciting by itself, but depending on the Annexes applied to the vehicle factory, this unit can be updated into other units types, such as the Tank Destroyer and Assault Gun variants.
Other unit variants are planned, too, such as variants for the Halftrack, one of which is a Cruise Missile Launcher, and another which is a chemical gas thrower that can suppress infantry and cause debuffs to vehicles. The Heavy Tank will also get variants, such as versions with improved firepower and anti-air capabilities, as well as a version with a large chemical projector that creates a close-range explosion reaction for demolishing buildings and vehicles.
We've also added one of the Empire-Warband hybrid units, the Ironworm. A fast-moving light tank intended to ram enemy vehicles, it also is equipped with flamethrowers and an autocannon with a limited traverse. This unit can be acquired by capturing a Warband vehicle factory while playing as the Empire.
We've also had one of our contract artists working to create hipoly renditions of some of the soldier types that will appear in cutscenes. Here is the Consortium hazard trooper (not yet textured, of course).
That's all for this update. Next month we plan to have more fleshed out in the map editor tools, a working early iteration of skirmish, and more and more units.
Thank you all for the continued support.