- Preparation of UI animations and screens - Bugs in the game fixed - Bugs in the editor have fixed - New events for the defensive campaign
- Game documentation - New system of previewing the eventtree archive during gameplay (instead of viewing the entire story, we see the history of the tree)
Here’s what we’re currently working on:
- NPC selection screen (a possibility to choose which NPC we will receive as the first one this year)
- A possibility to view a short summary of the event before its start.
- The view of potential consequences, before and during the event
- Music talks - New illustrations sketches
- New romance events - New game trailer
Kind regards, Marcelina
June 2020 - Dev Diary! Be the one true KING!
Hi! We hope you’re well. We’re okay, and we’ve been hard at work to implement new and updated elements into Be The Ruler. Here’s what we’ve got:
New internal events editor.
After the beta test feedback, we developed lots of new mechanics. Suddenly, our game became much more complex, and we needed a better editor to create more advanced narratives. It took a while, but the editor is almost finished. Soon, we will put into the game all the stories and plot branches we’ve created lately.
New interface.
Currently, in the debug process. After our game became deeper and more unique, the old Reigns-like look just didn’t sit well with it.
New war events and a campaign narrative.
Chain battles into a conquest. Train your troops. Hire mercenaries. And a lot more!
Sabotage, new ability for spies.
Cripple the enemy king’s ability to raise large and loyal army.
After-the-battle events.
Caught some prisoners? Decide what to do with them.
In-game Journal
Check what is happening in other kingdoms.
Revamped map screen.
Click on the province to analyze it’s situation. Check the provinces’ rulers and their vassal-liege connections.
New NPC screen.
Check the person’s family tree and personal attributes. It may come in handy!
Stay tuned!
What is defining our game? Interface - and we will have a new one!
Hello to all our fans, supporters, and players who read about Be the Ruler for the first time.
Before I get to the point, I need to tell you something about the history of this project. We wanted to make a game that offers deep experience in a simple interface, but it looks like we made a mistake when we chose the UI project. We decided to go with an interface similar to Reigns, and because of that, people played our game too fast without reading events carefully and considering consequences.
Old interface
It's not acceptable for us because we put a lot of effort into generating stories and making the entire world in the game alive(these all NPCs, diplomacy, marriages, wars, spying, economy).
Marriage event in the new interface
So, we decided to change the entire interface. From now, Be the Ruler will show procedurally generated stories in a way that players must focus on what they are doing in the game. I hope you will like the gamebook view and you will enjoy it a lot.
Events with an image in the new interface
(these projects are from new GUI designer for Be the Ruler, Jean-Philippe Hugonnet, so now Be the Ruler team is Polish-French team :). We started coding this, and we will announce a new closed beta soon!)
We also heard at alpha tests that you can't make the right decisions because you don't have enough information. We're adding new places, so you will see everything that could help you. Map, when you can check all crucial NPCs in the game with their territories. Journal, when you can read vital information from your kingdom and your neighbors. And we think the most essential - NPC screen when you can find information about attributes and family of your friends, rivals, vassals and other NPC which make an impact on your story.
Keep your finger crossed for us! We are close to finishing!
PS Bonus: Behind the scenes - mockup of NPC screen :)
Raising children
Hi! It's a great time to say more about children in the game. We finished all systems for genetics, attributes, and raising them(events about this are ready and works in the game), and we work on choices when they are adults.
Genetic traits
At the start, we built in the game system of genetic characteristics. It means children inherit some of the attributes describing Player nad NPCs.
Each trait has an impact on gameplay - like "Ugly" makes fertility of character lower and "Attractive" in the opposite - make it higher.
So, when you choose a spouse for the king, or his sons and daughters, you should check which traits you will add to the bloodline because when you heir inherit the throne, you will face these attributes.
Education
When your king has children, you are responsible for educating them. Your decisions in that kind of event will change non-genetic traits for them, also your relationship with children. Having a lot of children can make your kingdom more safely (more potential heirs and royal marriages to increase relations with other kings), but you spend more time taking care and defend them.
Heir
But why should you care about all of this? Because when the first king, Egbert, dies, you will play as his oldest son - with attributes that he earns in the raising process and as the genetics traits. The potential of your future ruler depends on your previous decisions. After the king dies, the super-council Witan gathers up. Witan will decide whether your oldest son should be the new king. Witan is another significant system in the game, and for it, we will write separate note :)
Adult children
When your king is alive, and his children grow up, you will take care of them too, but in the different events. If you have more sons, you must think about their negative emotions to the oldest brother (you can send them to the monastery, on wars, or something else). Your daughters will probably spouses to other kings, princes, or essential vassals. What can happen to them? You will make hard decisions between the happiness of your daughters and your power in alliances.
You also need to take special care of maintaining relationships with your bastards - they are not happy about being deprived of rights to the throne. If you do not treat your bastard well or his mother, he can back with the army of a foreign king and steal your throne.
And when your first son inherits the kingdom, he probably has brothers and sisters, and management of these relations will also be necessary - but it's another subject, and we will write more about it.
I hope you like it the way how we want to figure out maintaining this subject :) we will share more about mechanics under the Be the Ruler soon!
New systems update
Hi Kings! After alpha tests (we're happy for your help and support - thanks to you, our game will be much better and bigger, more than we ever thought), we had a lot to think and to work. Also, as BeardedBrothers.games, we were occupied by premiere our other game - Biker Garage. But, the core team is working for Be the Ruler and achieved big things at this time.
We decided to add most features from the feedback that you sent to us. ;>
Most important things:
Economy
A lot of us told about that you can't manage your country because events, when you earn money/prestige, are too random, and you can't make decisions on how to improve your state. To develop these aspects of the game, we decide to add a few features like: 1. Each province has its earl (NPC). Earls must pay taxes, but it depends on your relations between you and each earl. 2. Each region has one spot for building. It can be abbey, city, mill, mine. You can earn money from each building. 3. Other AI Kings can develop structures too, so fighting for provinces is more interesting now. Also, to gain more money/prestige, you need to maintain your relations.
You'll also see new events based on building and relationships.
Dynasties
Each NPC has it's own family now and can have children. These children grow up, marry other families, and have it owns children. Also, NPCs have attributes which influence to your events and possible choices. As a ruler, you'll have the relationship between each NPCs (based on a history of your activities with particular NPCs and with similar group NPCs). You must be careful because NPCs can start a rebellion to dethrone you or declare independence. Some of the NPCs are kings of other realms; some of them are your vassals - earls. At now, most of your decision will refer to your particular subjects, which serve to you. In the new interface, you'll see a summary of each NPC with links to members of his family.
Conquering and defending / in-game goals
We heard from you that this game doesn't have a purpose and doesn't encourage a player to conquer other provinces. We agreed, so we made some significant changes in this part of the game. For now, you'll see the goal (unite England) in the summary of the Kingdom screen and percentage of your progress. We moved also conquering provinces from a map to events - your marshal or your earls will demand new wars). We also made changes in the war system - now, you'll need to make some preparations before the war, for example, gather the armies from your lands. You can send sabotages, assassins, and spies before the war is starting. When other kings try to conquer you, they must make preparations too, so you can try to disturb it or even stop (for example, by assassinating other kings). We're preparing some surprises as the additional effects of battles, too, so each action must be deliberated.
More detailed info about new systems is coming :-)
The most important things that we have to do now:
1. New interface.
We decided to resign Reigns-like interface, because our game is several times larger, and a lot of players didn't care about what they read, they didn't understand, and they swipe/click and go on. We decided to go to the interface similar to the best gamebooks (like 80 days or Sorcery). We're also adding a lot of information for players (about provinces, NPCs, entire kingdom) to check before making a decision. In the new interface, you'll have up to 4 answers for each event! (Change from 2).
2. NEW EVENTS ;)
We have hard work with our system because we built something big, with one hundred pages of documentation full of attributes, consequences, terms, and more. We promise every gameplay will be an unrepeatable adventure. If you have any ideas what we can add as the adventure to our game, tell us :)
We'll send new updates soon - I hope we'll see you in beta tests!
Be the Ruler Closed Alpha 3rd update
Hi @everyone ! We sent the update of Be the Ruler: Closed Alpha to the Steam.
What we did in this update: - We fixed bugs that you reported to us. - We added the possibility to marry descendants of the king (at age 16 at least) to secure the inheritance, and also we added events to this system. - We added new variations for management events. - We added new graphics to special events.
We're working now on: - fixing the new system, - adding interfaces for player and NPCs
Warning: this version will delete your saves, you will start a new game.
Closed Alpha Tests started
Hi!
I’m happy to show you First Build of Be the Ruler: Britannia Closed Alpha Tests. I hope you will enjoy it and share with us a lot of feedback :)
(if you are not a tester, you could sign up to the tests at the http://betheruler.com )
Primary purposes for these tests are:
we want to know about your general feelings about the game,
how you feel about the interface of the game and what we should change,
testing how the game works on different PCs,
fixing the bugs :)
General feedback about the game, please share on the #btr-alphatesting Discord channel, your thoughts about the interface, please write on the #btr-alpha-interface, and bugs, please send at https://betheruler.com/bug-report/
What is done / what you can test:
700+ events to play, including 2,3,4 and more steps in event trees,
Heir and inheritance system (with voting for and against your heir, based on your previous decisions),
Categorizing each king (and it should make effects on every playthrough),
Story battles (in the result of events),
32 genetic and acquired traits for the king; each one makes the impact on gameplay,
Nine ways to die or abdicate,
Prestige and Resource balance system and events for the system,
Investments (try to build the market town),
Tax Laws,
Abbeys system and events.
Which features are not ready, and we work on it:
Player / NPCs window with traits, wife, children visibility,
1300+ more events (including more romance, diplomacy, spying, raising children events, also more fabular stories)
Vikings raids and invasion,
Franks invasion,
Laws (we just started with the Church laws) system,
Sabotages and assassinations events,
Diplomacy events (conflicts and help events),
Pagans events,
What changes we are already developing:
more detailed tutorial (including gameplay)
making marriages for adult children and having grandchildren,
adding more mumbling effects for NPCs,
if the trait is active in a particular event, you will see this trait before you answer.
Have fun :)
Closed Alpha Tests
Hello!
Nice to see you - that was little silence, but we back with a lot of power... and news. We will send soon new DevLog, but for now, I want to invite you to Closed Alpha Tests and the new website - BeTheRuler.com. You can join to develop our game and tell us what do you think.
At the website, you can read about full list of planned features. We're excited. :)
Death, battles, generating NPCs
We’ve got death graphics now. Because, you know, even a king could die of dysentery. That’s not all, read on.
Development status - what we’ve already done:
Over 320 events and decisions to make
The battle system + tutorial
The game’s ability to generate NPC characters
Random NPC appearance generator, with animations
Marriages
Royal children
Prestige/resources balancing system
Traits system
Categorization of players according to their style of playing
What we’ve been working on last week:
More events and decisions
Battle system tutorial
Death graphics and animations
Implementation of random NPC appearance generator and animations
Mechanics of a dynamic map of England with provinces changing ownership after wars
What we’re going to work on this week:
Event database with the ability to add procedurally generated events
Graphics and animations: king’s deaths and inheritance of the crown
Mechanics of declaring war and conquering provinces
Interface improvements
New events
Often, the Saxon kings built Christian monasteries on their own, instead of letting the church do so. In this way, they stayed in control of lands on which their abbeys were located. We’ve created a series of events to play a bit with this dynamics.
Battle system tutorial
We've added a tutorial to the battle system completed last week. We hope it makes everything clear. Let us know what you think :)
Random NPC appearance generator, with animations
We've implemented NPC generator and connected it with the event system. On the above GIF, the generator operates in random mode. Now we're going to work on events that fully utilize NPCs.
Death graphics and animations
Be the Ruler covers the period between 700 and 1066 CE, so you'll impersonate not one king but the whole dynasty. Prepare to see your kings dying. In many ways.
Work in Progress:
Mechanics of a dynamic map of England with provinces changing ownership
As a Saxon king, you'll have one strategic goal – to unite England. You and other kings will fight for provinces. We're working on a dynamic map of England for you to monitor the change of borders between kingdoms, and to declare wars.
Thanks for reading!
PS:
Interesting fact about early medieval England:
Early Saxon kings maintained power over their most important warriors and family members by giving gifts and throwing parties. Sounds like sick life, until you realize that running out of stuff and booze often meant exile or death.
Devlog #1
Greetings, future kings of the past!
We thought it was a high time to start a series of regular Be The Ruler devlogs. Because things happen and you should know about them.
Development status - what we’ve already done:
Over 250 events and decisions to make
The battle system
The game’s ability to create NPC characters
Marriages
Royal children
Prestige/resources balancing system
What we’ve been working on last week:
More events and decisions
Finalizing the battle system
Graphics for battles
Graphics for the NPC generator
Better presentation of events
What we’re going to work on this week:
Event database with the ability to add procedurally generated events
Battle tutorial
Improving the NPC face generator
Creating the NPC apparel generator
New events: relations with the church
Graphics and animations: king’s deaths and inheritance of the crown
The battle system lets you fight with other local kings, Vikings, and Franks. This week we’ve added the final battle graphics and screens informing about the battle outcome.
NPC generator graphics
https://youtu.be/jN5WN1yR10w In addition to the face generator, we’ve got 20 hairstyles + hats and such, 10 upper-body garments, 10 lower-body garments, 7 sets of hands, and 14 additional elements like coats, collars, and belts.
After the feedback from Reddit and Game Show and Test Facebook group, we’ve decided to improve the event presentation. The accompanying animation is a bit simpler now, and the text appears from left to right. To do: pointer change.
Thanks for reading!
PS:
Interesting fact about early medieval England:
Aethelburh, the wife of King Ine of Wessex, was known as a warrior queen. In 722 she burned down the castle in Taunton, which Ine had built. Probably to prevent its seizure by rebels. Or maybe because the king forgot to erase his browser history, the sources aren’t sure.
