v1.0.3i
Latest update and bug fixes posted a moment ago:
Put limit on credits at 2 billion to negate negative bug
Fixed bug with credits going into negative amount - this will fix for retroactive games as well where credits have gone negative
Fixed bug where journal was not reporting bets, fight purse amounts
Fixed bug where fights from previous season did not refresh
Combat: Slightly lowered chance of enemy using combat stims
Species: Changed species label of Berserk to Hyper
You may need to close Steam and re-open for the new update to patch immediately.
Latest Updates - v1.0.3d
Hey everyone!
Several patches today combined here.
Here is a list of today's changes that are now live:
Weapons: Adjusted bonuses - increased critical % and hit % per weapon tier
Armor: Adjust bonuses - higher tier armor has more HP but less AP while lower tier armor has more AP but less HP.
Barracks: Modules now show upgrade cost
Armory: Equipment assigned to gladiators in training or hospital are now counted
Arena: Simulate button, added sound
Research names and labels now dynamically generated
Fixed bug that prevented bazaar from being cleared
Changed slave salary from 0 to "none" in Bazaar
Fixed staff capacity bug
Fixed inaccurate staff capacity bonus from barracks upgrades
Fixed staff bug from previous update that cleared out hired staff members
Thanks for the continued feedback.
Latest Updates - v1.0.2f
Hey everyone!
One small patch and two sizeable one combined here. Here is a list of today's changes that are now live:
Enemy owners will now pit highest level healthy gladiators against human
Enemy owners now replenish roster with slaves if roster gets too low and they can find no suitable free agent or waiver wire gladiators to recruit.
Reduced gladiator salary reductions from player fame bonuses
Businesses: Removed maintenance, showing revenue instead on property screens
Increased chance of permanent injury
Adjusted fight attendance to account for both owner's fan base
Increased fight attendance multiplier for championship fights to be higher
Added damage bonus to hit from behind label
Gladiators: Increased speed at which enemy gladiators train
Fixed issue with mail being too far to the right.
Staff: Fix bug where maximum staff restriction would not refresh when hiring
Owners: Changed speak button to trade
Waivers: Remove gladiator from Past Fighter list if previously owned
Forfeits: Fixed bug where forfeits were not being warned of if two fights in same day
Expertise: Fixed bug where melee and kinetic defensive expertise labels were swapped
Credit Lenders: Fixed bug where loans would not appear if too far in debt to repay
Rookie League: Fixed bug where promoted rookies were still technically in both Rookie League and Blood League
Thanks for the continued feedback.
Latest Updates - v1.0.1h
Another busy day!
Here is a list of today's changes that are now live:
UI: Fixed doctor stat not being displayed properly
Combat: Increased damage melee vs ranged from 50% to 100%
Draft: More draft instructions
Draft: Added countdown to draft
Combat: Higher chance of injury
Combat: Human Hit Chance now 5% instead of 10%
Weapons: Attack Action Points now 2, 3, and 4 for the different weapon types.
Adjusted kill ratio, permanent injury ratio to occur more regularly
Owners: Added proper facility bonuses for opponents training fighters
Cybernetics: Bug not removing other injuries when permanently injured
Mission Center: Add a "Last Mission" status label so player can see if succeeded or failed mission at a glance
UI: Changed draft tab to "All" instead of "Academy" since that is the data it is showing (all academy fighters).
UI: Added more description to draft label
Thanks for all the feedback so far.
Latest Updates - v1.0.1b
Thank you again to everyone today that pointed out bugs and balance issues. I will continue to fix and improve things as they come up.
Here is a list of today's changes that are now live:
Combat: Fixed counter-attack/death bug
Combat: Increased melee damage bonus to 50% from 25%
Combat: Decreased Hresh species bonus - hit chance
League Owners: Fixed a bug where roster data was incorrect
League Owners: Increased recruitment rate of competing owners
League Owners: Proper competing owners are now showing based on player species selection
Gladiators: Fixed duplication issue when having an injured fighter in both hospital and training.
Gladiators: Fixed bug where renaming fighter in Rookie League renames Blood League gladiator instead
Save System: Fixed load Game bug if deleted previous save game fixed
Save System: Fixed bug with staff not generating humans
Save System: Fixed bug where players were not able to manually overwrite saves
Draft: Fixed bug with restarting game from menu and the game automatically drafting fighters
Staff: Added limit for each type to 10 with notification if trying to hire more than 10
Staff: Fixed melee and ranged order for doctors in both medical and staff screen
UI: Owners roster, added close button instead of x
UI: Resized several windows for consistency, moved several buttons
Combat: Adjusted opacity/tint of grid tiles
Combat: Fixed anchors for new Tab label
Combat: Added tab instruction to switch targets
I look forward to continuing to balance the game mechanics and AI (that's the fun stuff) based on everyone's thoughts!
Age of Gladiators II: Launch Time!
Age of Gladiators II is finally ready!
I hope very much that you all enjoy the game. You will find that it is a lot more complex than the first Age of Gladiators - I took many of the suggestions from the players of the first game and implement them with this one. Ultimately, it was my intention to build a living, breathing gladiator league of the future - I hope that I was able to achieve this for you.
Thank you everyone for all of your support! It has and continues to mean the world.
Combat!
Thought I would take a moment to provide a brief overview of the new combat system in Age of Gladiators II.
Combat Dynamics
The number of combatants that are possible for each match are as follows:
1 vs 1
2 vs 2
3 vs 3
For the 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3 battles, group tactics should be considered and there are many approaches an owner can take toward this.
Perhaps having one of your gladiators engaging in crowd control through the use of special equipment (weapons jammers, sensory scramblers) is one way of approaching a battle. Or perhaps utilizing a gladiator that constantly heals using special equipment (trauma injectors, nano-leeches), stims (vitality and stamina), and species abilities (Karthaarn with fast coagulating blood).
Or maybe you simply want to roll in three damage-dealing heavies with no special capabilities, that is an option as well!
Action Points
Each gladiator has a specific number of Action Points based on their physical attributes and armor. A gladiator can either boost their Action Points through species abilities (the Skeel with their Hyper ability), combat stims (speed and aggression modifiers), or special equipment (adrenal boosters).
Action Points allow a gladiator to move, take actions, and attack. Once a gladiator’s Action Points are done, they cannot do anything more for that turn.
Hit Points
Each gladiator also has a set number of Hit Points. Once they lose all their Hit Points, they are defeated. The chance of them being killed is determined by their opponents killer instinct. The higher the killer instinct, the higher the chance the losing gladiator will die.
As with Action Points, Hit Points are determined by a gladiators physical attributes as well as the armor they are wearing. Hit Points can also be boosted with combat stims (vitality and stamina) during battle.
Hit Chance & Damage
A gladiator can issue either melee or ranged damage during battle depending on the weapon they have been issued before combat. The amount of damage is determined primarily by the gladiators physical attributes – ranged damage is determined by Vision and Aim while melee damage is determined by Strength and Coordination. The weapon equipped by the gladiator also contributes to their overall damage as well.
Hit Chance is determined also by a gladiator’s physical attributes (Aim and Perception for ranged, Coordination and Reflexes for melee.) A gladiator’s equipped weapon will also carry bonuses boosting the overall hit chance of a gladiator as well.
As with the previous combat stats, both ranged/melee damage and ranged/melee hit chances can also be boosted through the use of combat stims.
One thing I did away with is misses. I don't think anyone likes to see their fighter keep swinging and missing, especially when they are at point-blank range. So what I did instead was add glancing blows in place of missing - each attack will do some damage, just not the full or critical amount if the attacker doesn't squarely hit their target.
Initiative
Initiative determines which gladiators move first. Initiative is determined by gladiators physical attributes, as well as their overall morale. Initiative can also be boosted at the beginning of battle through the percentage of the fight purse you choose to share with your gladiator.
It’s critical to gain the first turn in battle, so make sure you keep a close eye on your squad’s initiative before committing them to the arena.
Combat View
The combat system has two views isometric and birds-eye. You can select which one you like while in the arena.
Arenas
There are currently four arenas in the game, but I intend to release more in the coming months!
Missions
As a gladiator owner, it seems a waste to have such highly trained and equipped fighters sitting around for long periods of time. So the option now exists to send them on missions.
Missions can be a rewarding in a variety of ways, from credit infusions, extra cloning tissue for your labs, accelerated research, new gladiators, and more. Before you are able to send gladiators on missions, you must first build a mission center for your headquarters. This is where your gladiators prepare, strategize, and equip themselves for the operation.
About Missions
Once the mission module is constructed, you will have access to the various missions posted on the mission board.
Missions are categorized as either lawful and unlawful.
Gladiators with a lawful alignment cannot be assigned to unlawful missions and vice versa. So if you want to engage in a variety of missions, it is a good idea to recruit both lawful and unlawful gladiators. You will find that most gladiators fall under the lawful alignment, however unlawful ones can also be found if you send your scouts to recruit from the prisons.
Be cautious though, if the league catches wind that you are engaging in unlawful activity, you may be fined a substantial amount of credits
Mission Selection
There are close to a hundred different missions in Age of Gladiators II.
Here are some examples of both lawful and unlawful missions available:
Assassinate a competing gladiator
Hijack a convoy of clones
Attack a remote village and send them to the cloning vats
Send gladiators to erase files of a local credit lender
Recover stolen research from a band of pirates
Blackmail an old gladiator trainer
Recover an ancient weapon from a dangerous temple
Hijack a freighter transporting combat stims
Steal a rare art piece from a rich collector
Once you have selected a mission, you will next need to assign a maximum of three gladiators to the operation. The stronger a gladiator's stats are overall, the more that gladiator will contribute to the chance of a mission succeeding.
As your gladiators level up and gain power, they will also be more effective in successfully completing the operations they are tasked with.
It is important to note that gladiators will not be available to fight when assigned to a mission and may also suffer from fatigue and injuries - so manage your roster and consider the missions very carefully before assigning gladiators to them.
Inventory System
Inventory & Slots
With Age of Gladiators II, I wanted to create a unique inventory system that caters to a variety of different gladiator templates and builds.
Each gladiator has 6 inventory slots in total. These slots can be filled with any combination of weapons, armor, combat stims, and specialized equipment. More on that below – but first the various equipment available to a gladiator.
Weapons
Age of Gladiators allows a manager to equip gladiators with either ranged or melee weapons. A shrewd manager will know from a gladiator’s physical attributes which type of weapon to equip. Ranged weapons have the advantage of allowing a gladiator to attack from afar - but melee weapons enjoy significant damage bonus versus ranged-wielding fighters. So choose carefully.
It is also important to equip weapons based on your opponents armor mitigation type - more on that in the next section.
Here are the weapons available through either the bazaar or missions:
Axe – high damage
Sword – medium damage
Vibroblade – low damage
Rifle – high damage
Carbine – medium damage
Pistol – low damage
The highly technological nature of the weapons during this time period provide varying combat stat bonuses as well.
All weapons provide bonuses to a gladiator’s melee hit chance % and critical chance %, so as well as a damage, it is also important to take these stats into consideration as well.
Armor
Gladiators are able to use three types of armor:
Heavy Armor – high damage mitigation
Medium Armor – medium damage mitigation
Light Armor – low damage mitigation
Armor mitigation is split between energy damage mitigation (ranged) and kinetic damage mitigation (melee). Some armors are evenly split between the two while others skew in either melee or ranged.
Further, due to sophisticated servo-motors and advanced technology, armor also provide combat stat bonuses for action and hit points.
So a lot of consideration should also go into shopping for and equipping armor.
Special Equipment
Here is a list of special equipment:
Force Field – upon activation deflects a % of damage for one turn
Sensory Scramblers – % chance of stunning a target for one turn
Trauma Injectors – heals an amount of damage for one turn
Adrenal Booster – provides extra action points for one turn
Nano-Leeches – leeches a % of health from a target for one turn
Armor Shredder – reduces the mitigation % of target armor for entire match
Weapon Jammer – causes ranged weapon malfunction for one turn
These provide an extra dimension in combat and can definitely make the difference between victory and defeat.
Combat Stims
Combat stims are one-time usable boosts to physical attributes. For example, a speed combat stim, when used, will provide a +50 boost to a gladiator’s action points and dodge chance. A strength combat stim will provide a boost to a gladiator’s melee damage and block chance.
These boosts last the entire match.
Inventory Slots
As mentioned, gladiators possess 6 inventory slots in total. The heavier a weapon or armor set, the more inventory slots it will take up:
Axe (high damage) – 3 Slots
Sword (medium damage) – 2 Slots
Vibroblade (low damage) – 1 Slot
Rifle (high damage) – 3 Slots
Carbine (medium damage) – 2 Slots
Pistol (low damage) – 1 Slot
Heavy Armor (high damage mitigation) – 3 Slots
Medium Armor (medium damage mitigation) – 2 Slots
Light Armor (low damage mitigation) – 1 Slot
Combat Stims – 1 Slot
Special Equipment – 1 Slot
So as you can see, you can certainly equip a gladiator in heavy armor and a rifle for 6 slots in total – good for a lot of damage dealing and mitigation, but that won’t leave any room for vital special equipment or combat stims that can provide crucial benefits on the battlefield.
Conversely, if you have a fast and agile gladiator with lots of action points, it might be a be an idea to try equipping them with a pistol and light armor – this will then leave you with 4 extra slots to equip special equipment and combat stims!
A gladiator’s expertise when leveling can further add to the efficacy of a particular weapon or set of armor.
It was my intention to provide as much freedom as possible for managers to try different play styles and fighting techniques. So don’t be afraid to have fun and experiment with your gladiators!
Opposing Owners
The year is 3008 AD and a new season is upon us. My character, an ex-gladiator Karthaarn named Fenuun, has so far managed to eke out a good existence in the league.
But there exists another owner in the league named Cornelia who has dominated every season since the league has come into existence.
Her regular season record is incredible. Over the last eight seasons, she has managed a 358-114 (.758) record. As well, her squad through the years has performed very well in the playoffs (10-6) and championships (1-1).
Because of her exemplary record, she has managed to attract a legion of rabid fans (5,597,444 and counting).
Hers is an example of a well-run franchise.
Compare that to another fellow in her division, an unfortunate Vorccine owner named Stitchstab. Under his fine stewardship, his team has managed a putrid 196-276 (.416) all-time record with no playoff or championship appearances.
His fans are far from legion, numbering 523,285 in total.
Overall, Cornelia is the bane of both her division and the league.
Standings
The standings are important. Teams are judged by win percentage at the end of the 59 match regular season. The top sixteen owners (out of sixty) at the end of the season will enter the playoffs and engage in one battle each for four deadly rounds.
In the event of a ties at the end of the season, said owners are ranked by kills. If two owners are tied in kills, the team with the least amount of deaths next takes precedence. And in the unlikely chance that both owners are still tied in three categories (wins, kills, deaths) then it is determined by alphabetical order.
The 3007 AD season was a good one for my squad:
Our record: 41-18 (.695).
But looking in the other divisions, Cornelia of course was just a bit better, winning the regular season with a 42-17 (.712) showing.
Cornelia drafts extremely well, is shrewd when it comes to waiver wire and free agent acquisitions, and is patient in developing her young fighters. She is a fine owner.
I can take consolation though in the fact that I managed to beat her in the 3007 AD championship round, despite losing my two of my top three fighters in the process. It hurt to lose those gladiators, but the playoffs are unforgiving and to the death. Unlike the regular season where a defeated gladiator may have a chance at survival, any gladiator defeated in the playoffs is automatically killed.
Cornelia is a tough adversary, one that will likely plague me for years to come.
