Greetings everyone! In addition to human focused content updates, update 1.6 also brings a series of core gameplay changes intended to discourage doomstacking, spread battles out a bit, and enhance cohesion recovery.
Also, we have reduced the price of Goblin Storm to $11.99 US, so if you have any friends who were on the fence over pricing now might be the time for them!
Summer Content Update Part 2:
Reduced max battlegroup size to discourage doomstacking.
Increased cohesion regeneration to make late game unit recovery more viable.
Major overhauls/additions for human unit rosters.
Additions to goblin unit rosters.
Added megabeast unit type.
Overhauled warrior combat and fire protection formulas.
QOL/UI:
Regiment info card revised to be cleaner and better organized.
Warrior info card revised to be cleaner and better organized.
Added resilience to warrior card.
Shifted movement value column in requisition screen.
General Changes/Additions
Megabeast unit type added. Megabeasts get attack bonuses against all settlement/fort types except castles.
Max battlegroup size lowered from 3 to 2 stacking points.
Unit cohesion regain increased by approximately 30% (varies according to training level) while resting.
Unit cohesion regain increased by approximately 20% while idling or in hold and defend stance.
Minimum distance between keeps and other forts increased from 2 to 4 hexes.
Minimum distance between stockades and other forts increased from 2 to 3 hexes.
Warrior Balance Overhaul:
Assault heavy infantry (Hobgoblin Axelords, Trolls) offense increased, defense reduced.
General purpose heavy infantry (Men At Arms (swords), Hobgoblins) defense increased, offense reduced.
Heavy Infantry fire protection increased slightly.
Non-levy light infantry offense increased.
Cavalry melee defense reduced.
Cavalry fire protection increased.
Heavy Archers (crossbows, pavise crossbows), melee offense/defense increased.
Human Faction Overhauls:
New Human Warriors:
Huskarls, elite heavy assault infantry added to Westdale.
Knights of Ingvar, holy templars blessed with high resilience, added to Westdale.
Red Brethren, elite rangers with higher combat and fire value added to Westdale.
Dragoons, mobile light infantry who ride on horseback and fight on foot added to Dunwall.
Templars, holy knights sworn to serve military or monastic orders, added to Helsatia.
Zweihanders, fast-moving heavy assault infantry added to Otcina/Helsatia.
Men At Arms (Warhammers) assault-focused heavy infantry added to Otcina, Helsatia and Nordwacht.
Penitent Templars/Retainers, fanatical knights who seek to redeem their lost honor through glorious death added to Nordwacht.
Tribesmen, an offensive, melee focused variant of foresters recruited from the Glastos hill tribes added to Westdale/Dunwall.
Helsatian Imperial Army:
All Helsatian faction rosters now distinguish between professional imperial/provincial regiments, Landwehr reservists, and conscripted levies. As part of this reorganization the Helsatian Imperial Army now possesses more cavalry, less professional infantry, and vastly more levies.
Added two regiments of Templars, the Order of the Black Phoenix and Order of the Rose. Both orders consist of two companies of knights and a company of fanatical templars.
Added the 1st Garde-Reiter Regiment, a mixed force of Knights and Heavy Knights.
Added Sturm-Regiment Elbenturm, a mixed regiment of Men at Arms, Men at Arms (Warhammers), and Zweihanders.
Added Wacht-Kompanie Elbenmark, a mixed company of Men at Arms and Battle Masters.
Added Sturm-Kompanie von Freising, a veteran Men at Arms company.
Added Wacht-Regiment Drachentor, a mixed regiment of Pavise Crossbows and Grenzers.
Added 6 Landwehr Regiments composed of various levies at a base training level of recruit.
Added 4 Landwehr Schutzen Regiments composed of levy crossbows at a base training level of recruit.
Removed 1 company of Jagers.
Removed 1 regiment of Men At Arms.
Removed 1 regiment of Grenzers.
Removed 2 regiments of Sergeants.
Grand Duchy of Otcina:
Added the Nicov Troll Slayers, a crack zweihander regiment composed of three companies.
Added 3 provincial Sturm Regiments composed of various mixtures of Men at Arms, Men at Arms (Warhammers), and Zweihanders.
Added 2 Imperial Sturm Regiments with integrated crossbow support.
Added 1 Pavise Crossbow regiment.
Converted six levy regiments to Landwehr Regiments with recruit base training.
Removed 1 Retainer cavalry regiment.
Margravate of Nordwacht:
Added the Order of the Penitent Sons, composed of three mixed companies of fanatical retainers and templars.
Added two Sturm-Regiments of Men at Arms and Men at Arms (Warhammers) with integrated Pavise Crossbow support.
Added two provincial Infanterie-Regiments with mixed sergeants and archers.
Added two Festung-Regiments, specialized fortress defense regiments composed of Grenzers, Levy Crossbows, and even Foresters.
Kingdom of Westdale:
Added the unique Sons of Ingvar Company.
Added the unique Red Brethren Company.
Added the Royal Huskarl Regiment, a 2 company regiment of Huskarls.
Added two Civic Guard Regiments, billhook regiments with integrated Men at Arms and attached longbow companies.
Added the Braebog Tribesmen, a regiment of Glastos tribesmen with integrated archer support.
Duchy of Dunwall
Added two regiments of dragoons with 2 companies each.
Added 3 regiments of Glastos Tribesmen with various mixtures of Tribesmen, Archers, and Fyrdmen.
Oslid Kingdom:
Osilid King Hostivit bodyguard replaced with Druzina.
Increased the training level of the Royal Druzina Regiment from crack to elite.
Added the Blackwing Hussars, a third regiment of crack Druzina.
Added the Ivarihrad Palace Guard, a mixed regiment of men at arms and sergeants.
Goblin Faction Overhauls:
New Goblin Warriors:
Avatar of Nargu (Razormaw Hydra) a mammoth sized war hydra in the service of the Belazi Herald of Nargu. The Avatar is Goblin Storm’s first megabeast unit, and each of its individual heads have different combat specializations.
Ironguards, glaive armed elite guards in the service of Warkizek the Ironmarshal.
Pit Raptors for Doruun Hearthkeeper, Pitraptors are cheap light cavalry best used as chaff for more valuable wolf riders or for overwhelming human levies.
Dire Wolves and Pit Wolves for the forces of Doruun Hearthkeeper. These wolves serve as expendable light cavalry. Like all wolves, they ignore broken terrain move costs.
Embermanes and Embermane Pridelords for Doruun Hearthkeeper and Olzumor Flameheart. Embermanes are mystical lions covered in blazing flames. They are solid light cavalry, ignore broken terrain move costs, and possess high resilience.
Gothrang Confederacy:
Added the Avatar of Nargu under the command of Belazi, Herald of Nargu.
Extensive reorganization and expansion of all Gothrang clans to divide large hordes with over 4 attachments into more numerous, smaller units.
Gudhered Dominate:
Replaced Warkizek’s personal bodyguard with Ironguards.
Added Ironguard Horde as an elite shock regiment under Warkizek’s command.
Werchered Clans:
Olzumor Flameheart received the Flameheart Warpride, an Embermane company.
Doruun Hearthkeeper received Sootmane Pride, an Embermane company.
Doruun Hearthkeeper received The Grand Menagerie, a horde of mixed companies including pit raptors, pit wolves, dire wolves, merewyrms, and embermanes.
Doruun Hearthkeeper received the Kennels of Doruun, a veteran regiment of dire wolves.
Reorganized and slightly strengthened Doruun’s infantry hordes.
Expanded Kelvasi Hoofrender’s infantry hordes.
Spring Content Update 2 Development Update
Greetings everyone, I’m here with a quick update on new human unit rosters and interface updates coming in Summer Content Update Part 2.
Summary:
Warrior balance overhaul for all factions.
Total revision of human unit rosters.
New interface style.
General Unit Changes:
I have improved the formula I use to calculate individual soldier combat value to better account for diversity in helmets, chest, leg armor, shields, weapon type, etc. The result is more variation between the warrior types, which helps us reflect small differences in equipment that the old formula missed. Most soldier types will change slightly, in general:
Assault heavy infantry (Hobgoblin Axelords, Trolls) offense increased, defense reduced.
General purpose heavy infantry (Men At Arms (swords), Hobgoblins) defense increased, offense reduced.
Heavy Infantry fire protection increased slightly.
Non-levy light infantry offense increased.
Cavalry melee defense reduced.
Cavalry fire protection increased.
Heavy Archers (crossbows, pavise crossbows), melee offense/defense increased.
Upcoming Human Faction Changes:
The unit rosters of all human factions will be overhauled in SCU Part 2. The new rosters have greater company and regiment diversity. The objective is to enhance both gameplay options and faction flavor. For instance, not all companies of Men at Arms across the factions or even between regiments are identical. Some companies are larger, and some have mixed weapon types. Likewise, for Helsatian factions, Imperial Army regiments are numbered while provincial or special units are named after places. Additionally, each faction has at least one unique regiment that fills a special role such as the Otcinian Nicov Troll Slayers below. We’ll look at the changes coming to Helsatia and Otcina as examples of the upcoming faction overhaul.
Helsatia Overhaul:
Helsatia retains its strong focus on heavy cavalry but also gains a limited number of powerful special infantry regiments. However, its general professional infantry are less numerous and Helsatia relies more heavily than ever on poorly armed, but numerous levies to fill gaps between their elite units.
Cavalry separated into Imperial Knight and Monastic Order regiments.
Monastic regiments are larger, have higher base training, and at least one company of fanatical Templars.
Small number of extremely powerful Imperial Guard regiments in each unit category. For instance, Guard Cavalry, Guard Crossbows, Guard Men At Arms.
Fewer general-purpose professional infantry regiments.
Diversified levies into poorly trained feudal levies and semi-professional Landwehr regiments.
Vastly expanded availability of levy crossbows.
Fewer normal archer regiments.
Otcina Overhaul:
Otcina gains stronger and more flexible heavy infantry options at the expense of even smaller cavalry reserves. Otcina has a heavy infantry regiment for nearly every task, but their low mobility necessitates a more methodical play style than Helsatia to avoid encirclement and destruction at the hands of mobile foes.
Added the ‘Nicov Trollslayers’ the strongest offensive infantry regiment in the game at a base offense value of 2,160 but they have poor defense and are vulnerable to archers.
Diversified Heavy Infantry regiments/companies. Some are offensive specialists with mixtures of Swords, Warhammers, and Zweihanders. Others are general purpose Sword/Crossbow combos. Some even mix elite Battle Masters with Pavise Crossbows to make excellent defensive bulwarks.
Expanded Pavise Crossbow availability.
Diversified levies into poorly trained but numerous feudal levies and semi-professional Landwehr regiments.
Reduced availability of cavalry.
Other Factions:
Naturally, the other human and to a lesser extent Goblin factions will be overhauled as well. Here's a quick rundown of some of the upcoming special units coming to non-Helsatian/Otcinian rosters:
Avatar of Nargu, Razormaw Hydra for the Gothrang.
Dominate Ironguard, glaive-armed elite guard of the Gudhered.
Nordwacht Penitent Brethren, fanatic Retainers led by Templars.
Oslid Norlander Pirates, light infantry skirmish specialists who ignore river and swamp move cost.
Dunwall Dragoons, elite infantry who move on horseback and fight on foot.
Westdalian Huskarls, heavy assault infantry with decent defense and high fire protection.
Westdalian Red Band, elite rangers with integrated leader.
QOL/Interface changes
SCU Part 2 will also bring a series of interface improvements designed to make interfaces cleaner and more intuitive. We initially designed the new interface style for CAOS, but I will be adapting it to Goblin Storm for SCU Part 2 as well. The example below is the new CAOS regiment card, but it should give you an idea of what to expect in Goblin moving forward.
Release Schedule Update:
SCU Part 2 release will be rescheduled to early June, although the extra time allows for more unit testing roster additions as well. SCU Part 3 is still tentatively planned for release in late June.
The Future of Goblin Storm
Greetings everyone, today we will discuss the development plans for Goblin Storm and CAOS-2 moving forward. Xenophon will be continuing Goblin Storm development as a personal project with programming support from Archimedes when necessary, while work on CAOS-2 continues as quickly as numerous professional and personal commitments will permit.
Summary:
More regular update format.
Planned steps for the unit diversity and unit mechanic focused Spring Content Update.
Quarterly progress reports/Q&As called “War Councils.”
Update on CAOS development.
More Regular Update Format:
In the past, we have released large, but infrequent content updates with many months between releases. Moving forward, we intend to make series of updates based around a common theme, such as unit diversity, game modes, map mechanics, etc. The series of updates that form the 2020 Spring Content Update will focus on unit diversity and unit mechanics.
2020 Spring Content Update:
Goblin’s 2020 Spring Content Update (SCU) consists of three planned parts between now and late June. Broadly speaking, the SCU focuses on unit roster additions/rebalancing, including megabeasts, and the addition of special unit mechanics such as regeneration. These new units and unit mechanics serve as a prelude to deeper system changes in future content updates. Here is a brief list of the SCU’s design goals, and the rough order in which they will be approached.
2020 Spring Content Update Broad Goals:
Megabeasts.
Unit strength regeneration trait.
Hardiness trait (passive cohesion regeneration).
New units.
Quality of Life/UI improvements.
SCU Part 1: (Already released)
Named leaders/leader HP.
Diversify goblin clans and unit rosters.
Fort rebalancing.
Starting point overhaul.
SCU Part 2: (Expected release late April 2020.)
Megabeasts, including first player-owned megabeast for the Gothrang tribe.
Additional human/goblin unit diversity.
Named leaders/lore for undead.
Quality of life/UI improvements.
Here's a quick glimpse at the Gothrang's coming Razormaw Hydra, and the distinctive octagonal unit counter style shared by all megabeasts.
SCU Part 3: (Release date to be decided, June 2020.)
Unit regeneration trait.
Hardiness trait.
Additional AI improvements.
War Council Reports:
To improve communication between the dev team and player community, we will be posting quarterly War Council reports for both Goblin and CAOS-2. War Council reports will serve as updates on current and future design goals, a forum for devs and players to discuss future features, and Q&A sessions.
Additionally, during times when other professional and private responsibilities prevent us from working on Goblin or CAOS, we will keep a post a discussion thread announcing the rough time frame we expect to be away. The objective is to prevent long periods of silence.
CAOS-2 Progress Update:
As many of you know, we also have a second project, our World War 2 operational simulation, the Combined Arms Operation Series 2 (CAOS-2). While we were radio silent throughout most of 2019, we were not idle. The orders of battle for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Soviet Union, Italy, and France, totaling 33 orders of battle from 1939 to 1945 are complete and tested. The equipment for each nation has been fully implemented. The combat resolution, artillery, and mechanical breakdown, systems work flawlessly. Similarly, the bulk of maps planned for release have been completed. The crucial bottleneck is programming. Specifically the AI, net code, UI improvements, and of course, bug fixing. There is still much to do before CAOS can enter beta, but work continues.
But for now we will close out this dev blog with a glimpse of the rugged island of Sicily in CAOS-2.
Goblin Storm 2020 Spring Content Update
Greetings everyone, here are the update notes for the first part of Goblin Storm's free 2020 spring content update, version 1.0.5! A new dev blog will be coming out this weekend detailing Goblin Storm's development future as well.
Spring Content Update Part 1:
Named leaders with unique stats, lore, and multiple hitpoints and high resilience added for Goblins and (undead leaders to follow next update).
Increased starting gold by 20-30% on average.
Forts now suffer partial encirclement penalty.
Abbeys now have gold value.
Fanatic combat trait added, which increases combat value in exchange for higher casualties.
Unit/roster additions for goblin factions.
Faction Design Moving Forward: Beyond general gameplay improvements, update 1.0.5 revolves around the introduction of named leaders. Over the succeeding updates, the troops assigned to each leader will be overhauled, expanded, and diversified to reflect the unique backgrounds, eccentricities, and pitfalls of the commanders who lead them.
As a designer and player, I believe the generic goblin clans of vanilla Goblin Storm felt overly similar. Update 1.0.5 begins tackling this challenge by making each leader and their troops feel more unique both in lore and gameplay. Future updates will continue to add new warrior types, war beasts, greater variation in ordinary companies, unique bodyguards, and in some cases, leaders who are remarkably dangerous in of themselves. For some early examples of this new design philosophy, see the forces of Kalzeki Knightbane and Broguma Goblinflayer in this update.
Rest assured, these additions will be expanded to humans and undead in future updates. But for now, here is a small sample of the new Goblin leaders:
General:
Base Gold loot raised from 55 to 60%
Max gold loot raised from 80 to 90%.
Base slave loot raised from 50 to 60%.
Max slave loot raised from 70 to 80%.
Minimum slave take raised from 40 to 60%.
Capital base economy value increased to 4-6.
Capital base population increased from 5-7.
Abbeys gained a gold value between 1-5.
Town base economy increased from 2-4 to 3-5.
Town base population increased from 3-5 to 4-6.
Forts/Combat Modifiers:
All forts (castles, keeps, stockades, walled settlements) now halve the encirclement penalty, instead of negating it entirely.
Increased keep attacker fire reduction from -10 to -20%
Added 10% defender fire bonus to Stockades
Added +15% defender fire bonus in mountains.
Increased Stockade Linf defense bonus from +10% to +15%
Increased Stockade Hinf defense bonus from +10% to +15%
Decreased walled city Hinf/Linf defense bonus from +100% to +50%
Decreased walled town Hinf/Linf defense bonus from +50% to +35%
Decreased walled village Hinf/Linf defense bonus from +40% to +20%
Added 10% Linf attack bonus in light forest.
Added 15% Linf attack bonus in dense forest.
Increased 10% Linf defense bonus in light forest from +10 to +20%.
Increased 10% Linf defense bonus in dense forest from +20 to +30%
Game Mechanic Additions/Tweaks:
Added fanatic trait at company level. Fanatic units gain a +50% combat bonus when executing Attack or Hold and Defend orders but take 30% higher casualties. Fanatic units are marked with a white stripe or two white stripes in the case of fanatic leader units (examples above).
Tweaked skirmish resolution table to make below 1-1 skirmish combat more costly for the attacker.
Increased duration of AI goblin feinting operations intended to misdirect human defenders.
Goblin Gameplay:
Added fanatic trait to all Gothrang Bloodsworn bodyguard companies.
Added fanatic trait to all Gothrang Butcher companies.
Added fanatic trait to Ironfist, Heartrender, Fleshcarver, and Grimhelm hordes attached to Broguma Goblinflayer.
All wolf-mounted units now ignore movement cost of broken terrain.
Replaced all generic clan leaders with named leaders.
New Goblin Warriors:
Added Skulkers, hybrid melee/ranged skirmish combat specialists with a forest movement bonus, used by the forces of warlord Kalzeki Knightbane.
Added Skulker Marksmen, ranged skirmish combat specialists with a forest movement bonus, used by the forces of warlord Kalzeki Knightbane.
Added Skulker Bloodsworn, ranged skirmish combat specialists with a forest movement bonus, used by the forces of warlord Kalzeki Knightbane.
Added Hob. Enforcers, a lighter variant of the standard hobgoblin, found in small numbers inside lesser Gudhered goblin companies.
Added Flayer Warriors, variant of the standard goblin warrior, used by the fanatical forces of Broguma Goblinflayer.
Added Flayer Initiates, variant of the standard Gudhered Initiate, used by the fanatical forces of Broguma Goblinflayer.
Added Flayer Shield Bearers, variant of the standard Gudhered Shield Bearer, used by the fanatical forces of Broguma Goblinflayer.
Added Wolf Lords (Bows), ranged variant of the standard Wolf Lord, used exclusively by the bodyguard of Warlord Ulzelu the Fox of Karstenberg.
Gothrang Confederacy:
Added full horde of fanatic Butchers, the Sons of Tarsumoz, attached to Tarsumoz Snaketongue.
Added 3 hordes of Goblin Skulkers, Skulker Marksmen, and Skulker Bloodsworn, attached to Kalzeki Knightbane. Skulkers are skirmish combat specialists that ignore forest movement cost.
Gothrang Leaders:
Belazi Herald of Nargu, High War Chief of the Gothrang Confederacy, religious fanatic, and head shaman of the cult of the serpent god Nargu.
Herkovas Twice-Hanged, an extremely difficult to kill and possibly demonically possessed war chief.
Hidegzi Ironmaw, a vicious usurper who murdered his way to power with nothing more than beer steins and fists.
Tarsumoz Snaketongue, an aged Butcher blessed by Nargu but long past his prime.
Gyorizek Bull of Keztovasz, a talented but stubborn warchief and veteran of many wars with man and goblin alike.
Replaced Faenraed Clan with Darzeri Spiderslayer, great hunter, tracker, and slayer of eight-legged horrors.
Added Kalzeki Knightbane, skirmish expert and forest warfare specialist.
Gudhered Dominate:
Slightly reduced total number of wolf mounted companies.
Converted some Wolf Marauder companies to Wolf Lancers.
Former Cwellan Clan, now commanded by Broguma Goblinflayer reorganized as infantry-only fanatic shock units.
Gudhered Leaders:
Warkizek the Ironmarshal, Supreme Overseer of the Gudhered Dominate intent on enforcing the dominion of hobgoblins over all other species.
Belludar Serpentcaller, snake Obsessed overseer who surrounds himself with exotic reptiles and drinks hydra’s venom for longevity.
Oszvati Starhelm, a magpie of a hobgoblin obsessed with prestige and wealth.
Broguma Goblinflayer, sadistic hobgoblin overseer willing to waste the lives of any number of lesser goblins to achieve his objectives.
Alizek Bonesinger, a jovial hobgoblin who fashions flutes from the bones of his foes.
Ulizi Wolfgrin, Werchered mercenary in the service of the Gudhered Dominate.
Vzerati Chainbringer, master wolf rider and chief slave raider of the Dominate.
Werchered Clans:
Added Blackclaw Warmasters, a two company elite horde of Wolf Lords attached to Gzyorkan Gryphonstalker.
Re-arranged the company composition of numerous hordes.
Overhauled base training levels for most hordes.
Werchered Leaders:
Ulzelu Fox of Karstenberg, a talented strategist who commands a huge following due to his victories over Helsatian armies. He values tactical flexibility so highly that even his heavily armored bodyguards serve as recon specialists and wield short bows.
Gzyorkan Gryphonstalker, a powerful warlord determined to lead the Werchered tribes on the path of conquest once again. Gzyorkan eschews the skirmishing ways of his people and instead favors highly trained, heavily armored Wolf Lords and Marauders.
Gorrzimor Snowstrider, a traditionalist nomad and veteran of many wars with the undead Knights of the Order.
Olzumor Flameheart, a life-long, battle hardened raider who has roved across the Westerlands.
Flakorzu the Betrayer, a cowardly schemer who murdered his way to power and now leads a clan that resembles common brigands more than a real army.
Anoruun Headhunter, the living embodiment of the traditional Werchered way of life. Anoruun raids widely and often and has no interest in either settling or embracing new strategies or tactics.
Kelvasi Hoofrender, a settled Werchered lord with a seething hatred for centaur-kind.
Doruun Hearthkeeper, Werchered wolf-lord turned settled master of a grand bazaar, caravaneer, and master of a grand menagerie of exotic beasts.
Human Gameplay:
Added 4 centaur regiments to Nordwacht.
Removed Jager companies from Nordwacht.
Replaced all generic commanders with named leaders. But lore biographies will not arrive until next update.
New Human Warriors:
Added Centaur Stormhoofs, light cavalry and recon specialists available to Nordwacht.
Added Centaur Harriers, centaur archers available to Nordwacht.
Added Skulkers, hybrid melee/ranged skirmish combat specialists with a forest movement bonus, used by the forces of warlord Kalzeki Knightbane.
Goblin Storm Update 1.0.4.0 Release Notes
Greetings everyone, here are the update notes for version 1.0.4.0 (formerly known as 1.0.3.6).
Update 1.0.4.0:
Version 1.0.4.0 Checksum (5940)
New map:
Rynweald with a Steppe Summer tileset.
Humans:
Reduced spawn rate for Men at Arms in Castle Garrisons for all factions except Westdale and Dunwall.
Goblins:
Added Initiates, light spearmen for the Gudhered. (Stat card below)
Younglings in all Gudhered troll companies upgraded to Initiates.
Goblin Spears in all Gudhered hordes upgraded to Initiates.
Training level for all Gudhered Slingers reduced by 1 level from Experience to Trained.
Undead:
Phantom movement reduced from 8 to 6.
Largest Ravenous Husk companies for the Feral Undead reduced from 100 to 75.
Slightly reduced the resurrection spawn rate of Ravenous Husk for the Feral Undead.
Bone Rider graphic added.
Beasts:
Changed the composition of the Black Knight's company from 50 Knights to 30 Death Knights and 20 Knights.
Changed the base training level of the Black Knight's Company to Elite.
Changed the base training level of Questing Adventurers to Veteran.
Added a new beast company of mixed Human/Goblin brigands, base training level is Veteran.
Added new beast types: Merewyrm Alphas and Merewyrm Broodmothers.
Added Alphas and Broodmothers to all Merewyrm colonies.
Changed Merewyrm colony behavior to make them patrol a wide radius around their lair and be extremely aggressive.
Increased Wraith company strength from 40 to 75.
Bugfixes:
Fixed a bug that allowed players to select professional Halberdiers as a levy type for any settlement type.
We had also intended to add Undead Horde mode to the random scenario selection pool with this update. However, due to the way we scripted scenario initialization for Horde mode, this will be more complex than initially planned and it will be included in its own mini-update soon.
That's it for today, enjoy and I look forward to discussing the coming Winter Content update with you guys!
-Xenophon
Update 1.0.3.6 Preview & Plans for the next content update.
Greetings everyone, today I want to preview the changes coming in update 1.0.3.6, planned for release next week. This update is intended as an intermediate step between Goblin Storm: Ascension and the free 2019 Winter Content Update planned for release this March.
We have also begun expanding our Overview Guide to help new players learn the game and document lesser known features for our old guards. Feel free to head on over and check out the new sections on facilities (including how to wall settlements) and customizing your levies. Leave us a comment to let us know what other sections or mechanics you would like to see explored as well!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1238031050
Update 1.0.3.6:
1.0.3.6 will feature Ryneweald, a new map which is deliberately designed to play very differently from our previous maps and features numerous large lakes that provide major obstacles for both sides and marshes that enable clever attackers to bypass strong defensive hardpoints. In addition to Rynweald, the update will bring a series of balance adjustments.
New map:
Rynweald with a Steppe Summer tileset.
Humans:
Reduced spawn rate for Men at Arms in Castle Garrisons for all factions except Westdale and Dunwall.
Goblins:
Added Initiates, light spearmen for the Gudhered.
Younglings in all Gudhered troll companies upgraded to Initiates.
Goblin Spears in all Gudhered hordes upgraded to Initiates.
Training level for all Gudhered Slingers reduced by 1 level from Experience to Trained.
Undead:
Phantom movement reduced from 8 to 6.
Largest Ravenous Husk companies for the Feral Undead reduced from 100 to 75.
Slightly reduced the chance of Ravenous Husk spawns from resurrection for the Feral
Undead.
Bone Rider graphic added.
Beasts:
Changed the composition of the Black Knight's company from 50 Knights to 30 Death Knights and 20 Knights.
Changed the base training level of the Black Knight's Company to Elite.
Changed the base training level of Questing Adventurers to Veteran.
Added a new beast company of mixed Human/Goblin brigands, base training level is Veteran.
Added new beast types: Merewyrm Alphas and Merewyrm Broodmothers.
Added Alphas and Broodmothers to all Merewyrm colonies.
Changed Merewyrm colony behavior to make them patrol a wide radius around their lair and be extremely aggressive.
Increased Wraith company strength from 40 to 75.
Beyond 1.0.3.6:
Our plans for the 2019 WCU will be covered at greater length in a separate post late this month and we look forward to hearing the community’s feedback and thoughts as we craft the 2019 WCU. But here are a few ideas to preview ahead of time.
Reduction of Castle availability but increased availability of secondary fortification types such as Keeps and Stockades.
Walled Town/Village defense modifiers are planned to be reduced (they are currently disproportionately powerful).
Centaur tribes will fight alongside the armies of Nordwacht.
Expansion of Goblin unit rosters.
Swamp movement bonus for all non-mounted Goblin units.
Addition of the undead Order of the Scarlet Rose as a defender faction.
Goblin Storm: Ascension Release Notes
Goblin Storm: Ascension
Version 1.0.3.5 Checksum (2C3F)
Greetings everyone, Goblin Storm: Ascension released at 11:30 PST today, and here are the update covering everything that changed!
This is going to be an extremely long set of notes. So here is the quick TL:DR for people in a hurry:
Summary:
New Undead Horde game mode.
New playable Undead Race.
3 new undead factions.
16 new soldier types.
155 new regiments.
Goblin AI battlegrouping logic update.
Buffed trolls.
New map: Keldshire.
Silver/gold frames added to unit graphics
New Game Mode:
Horde
Horde is similar to conquest but designed specifically for undead attackers.
The undead resurrect the population of pillaged settlements as new undead warriors.
Supports slightly higher starting points. This may be adjusted further depending on player feedback.
New race
Undead with 3 factions:
Order of the Scarlet Rose:
Goblin Storm’s first hybrid faction, commanding both legions of the dead and battle hardened human veterans.
Lich Lord:
An iconic undead army with access to all undead unit types including flying phantoms and gargantuan ravenous husks. The Lich’s army has a little of everything but depends on the survival of its sole leader, the powerful Lich Lord.
Feral Undead:
A zombie apocalypse that washes over its opponents like a tsunami of rotting flesh and bone.
Enter the Undead
The playstyle of the undead factions is very different from humans or goblins, and the variation between the Order and the other undead factions is immense and will be detailed in a separate dev blog. But there are some common themes across the undead factions.
Undead companies are non-standardized and often mix different types of melee/fire soldiers into the a single unit.
Undead companies are larger, usually between 75-100 warriors strong.
Undead warriors are typically the weakest in their class.
The Undead lack effective light infantry.
Undead cavalry are great skirmishers, even their heavy Death Knights receive a skirmish bonus.
All Undead factions resurrect the populations of pillaged settlements. The type of undead raised depends on the pillaging faction and the settlement's development level.
Basic Undead Soldier Roster
Heavy Cavalry
Death Knights
Offensive Melee: 10
Defensive Melee: 8
Fire Protection: 12
Skirmish Modifier: +10%.
Resilience: 10%
Heavy Infantry
Ravenous Husks
Offensive Melee: 12
Defensive Melee: 12
Fire Protection: 10.
Skirmish Modifier: -40%.
Resilience: 40%
Grim Wardens
Offensive Melee: 6
Defensive Melee: 6
Fire Protection: 8
Skirmish Modifier: -20%.
Ghoul Bulwarks
Offensive Melee: 3
Defensive Melee: 5
Fire Protection: 8
Skirmish Modifier: -20%.
Bone Ghouls
Offensive Melee: 3.5
Defensive Melee: 3.5
Fire Protection: 8
Skirmish Modifier: -20%.
Fire
Fallen Archers
Offensive Melee: 1
Defensive Melee: 1
Fire: 1.5
Fire Protection: 4
Skirmish Modifier: +0%.
Light Infantry
Rabid Zombies
Offensive Melee: 2
Defensive Melee: 1.5
Fire Protection: 2.
Skirmish Modifier: -35%.
Resilience: 10%
Armored Corpses
Offensive Melee: 1.5
Defensive Melee: 1.5
Fire Protection: 4.
Skirmish Modifier: -40%.
Zombies
Offensive Melee: 1
Defensive Melee: 1
Fire Protection: 2.
Skirmish Modifier: -35%.
Goblin Storm: Ascension Releasing Today
Happy Halloween everyone! We are happy to announce the imminent release of our second major free content update, Goblin Storm: Ascension (formerly the Fall Content Update) at 12:00 PST today, October 31!
This update includes a new race, three entirely new factions, 155 new recruitable units, 16 new soldier types, a new undead centered game mode, and a new map, Keldshire.
Detailed patch notes will accompany Ascension's launch.
Happy Halloween,
Xenophon
Free Fall Content Update Announcement - Dev Blog 10
Greetings everyone!
Today I am happy to announce the Fall Content Update (FCU), our second free content expansion for Goblin Storm! The primary focus of this FCU is the addition of a new race, the undead, with three new factions and a new game mode tailored to undead exclusive game mechanics.
Here is the TL:DR for people who are in a hurry:
Objectives
• Add undead race.
• Add undead settlement resurrection mechanics.
• Add 3 new factions, all undead.
• Add Undead Horde game mode.
• Balance tweaks and additions to existing factions.
When Will it be released?
The Fall Content Update is planned for release in the last week of October.
New Game Mode:
The Fall Content Update is structured around the introduction of a new Undead Horde game mode. Functionally Horde mode is similar to Conquest, but Horde mode features larger armies and a unique undead settlement resurrection mechanics. When undead forces overrun a settlement, they raise its population as undead; the higher the population, the more undead produced. The number and type of undead raised differ dramatically between the three undead factions.
Undead Race
The undead are the third playable race in Goblin Storm, and they will consist of three factions. The Feral Undead are a shambling zombie apocalypse bent on devouring all in their path. The Order of the Scarlet Rose fields a highly disciplined army of both human and undead units. While the Lich Lord commands a wide variety of undead units geared towards wearing their opponents down in battle after battle. Check out the section below for a brief overview of the playstyles and lore of each of the new factions.
Undead Factions
Lich Lord:
Doctrine: Combined Arms Attrition
Strengths: Access to specialist undead types. Phantoms ignore all terrain costs. Fire troops integrated into melee units. Lich Lord grants +20% leadership to all undead within five hexes and serves a powerful hero unit in combat. Efficient at population resurrection.
Weaknesses: Scarcity of cavalry. Lack of dedicated fire units. More reliant on leadership bonuses than other faction. No reconnaissance.
Lore: Lich Lords are extraordinarily powerful undead sorcerers created from the merger of one or more mortal necromancers with the soul of an immortal demon. Consequently, an ‘individual’ Lich Lord is in fact a collection of several distinct individuals amalgamated into a single entity. The outcome of such an unholy union is an exceptionally powerful magic user capable of raising and controlling all forms of undead. Moreover, unlike ordinary necromancers who merely raise and command the dead, Lich Lords share a telepathic link with all their creations. This unique connection enables a Lich Lord to observe and direct the actions of their entire army as if it were an extension of their own body. Blessed with such unparalleled magical prowess and wisdom beyond the bounds of any mortal, a Lich Lord truly is a demigod incarnate. Woe betide anyone unfortunate enough to face such a foe in battle.
Feral Undead:
Doctrine: Wave Attack
Strengths: Abundant light cavalry and reconnaissance. Huge unit sizes. Nearly limitless reserves of infantry, especially zombies and husks. Most efficient at population resurrection.
20% discount on all unit costs
Weaknesses: Lack of leaders. No heavy cavalry. Fight poorly in rough terrain. Poor skirmishers. Limited fire combat ability.
Lore: When a lich is destroyed their creations do not simply scatter to the winds. Instead, the remnants band together with other leaderless undead into malignant packs of ravenous corpses driven by primal hunger and a fragmented collective consciousness. Usually, these packs of “feral” undead pose little threat to civilization and are simply annihilated by professional armies or goblin warbands. However, occasionally, when the circumstances are right, different packs of feral undead merge to create truly terrifying hordes that are capable of overrunning human counties or feasting upon entire goblin clans. They must be stopped as quickly as possible or their numbers will spiral beyond control as the corpses of their victims rise and join the horde.
Order of the Scarlet Rose:
Doctrine: Offensive Flexibility
Strengths: Abundant heavy cavalry – both living and dead. Undead Death Knights do not suffer a skirmish penalty. Leaders apply bonuses to units under their command at a distance like goblin chieftains.
Weaknesses: Lack of professional light infantry. Strong living units are scarce and slow moving. Bone Ghouls are numerous but individually weak. Least efficient at population resurrection.
Lore: The Order of the Scarlet Rose is an ancient Helsatian military and monastic order dedicated to protecting the realms of men by waging war against the goblin tribes on the vast expanses of the Gray Steppe. Although the knights of the Order carved out their own sovereign state on the northern rim of the Steppe, decades of ceaseless combat have long since depleted the Order’s manpower and run their coffers dry. Faced with the imminent destruction of their domain and the failure of their holy mission, the knights of the Scarlet Rose have turned to the forbidden arts of necromancy to bolster their numbers. Today, the last knights of the Order, who still draw breath march to battle alongside their long-dead brethren. Although few would question the Order’s prowess in battle, their reliance upon dark magic has won them few friends in the kingdoms they fight to protect. Even more ominously, the Order has proven itself willing to raid the lands of their fellow human lords in search of fresh peasants to fuel their war machine. Some would call them evil, but the knights would simply call themselves efficient.
Tying it all Together:
That’s it for today, I hope you have enjoyed this brief glimpse into the new undead factions! As always if anyone has any thoughts or questions about the FCU, I would be happy to answer them here or on our community discord. In addition to our continued work on Goblin Storm, we have also begun posting dev blogs and order of battle previews on our forum for our upcoming World War 2 Operational strategy game, CAOS2.
NS2 Forums:
http://www.ns2games.com/forum/4
Discord:
https://discord.gg/nMgqqfU
Development Update, 8-9-2018
Greetings everyone!
This is just a quick update to let everyone know that our programmer, NS2 Archimedes will be temporarily unavailable due to a trip to Finland. Consequently, we will postpone out summer stability update for Goblin Storm until his return in the last week of August.
Work on CAOS will continue unimpeded. I will spend the next three weeks fleshing out the unit rosters and working on new maps. You can expect to begin seeing development updates and dev-blogs for CAOS2 on our company website this weekend. A link to the new CAOS2 forum can be found below.
