Our Easter and May Day greetings to you all! Hope your holidays were the same as ours - passed in work and joy. And you are cheerful, in a good mood and ready for a new diary about the results of recent months of work. The main priority of these months was the metagame, and we talked about it a lot lately. So much that we even fed up. Therefore, today we will pause and talk about the rest of the stuff: new features, units, models, speech lines, AI improvements, usability, and a variety of snipers.
Every strategy fan knows that harvesters have their own work, and devastators have their own. And they are not interchangeable. The same for the game development. While some are engaged in the metagame, others - in other things.
Return and improvement of the inventory. Don’t say later that developers can’t hear the grumbling in the community - we can. Inventory definitely will be reworked but we have a head start. And after that, maybe, we’ll find some way to bring back the ammunition.
Convenience of use. Made a simple launch of singleplayer, PVE and PVP sessions, tips on the metagame interface (this is the last time about the meta, we swear).
Repair of repair mechanics. Now tankmen are able to repair several broken components at once if there are enough “working hands”. Progress is displayed on the repair icon.
AI. Vehicles can shoot from all guns now. So while you are using direct control and trying to aim the thinnest armor plate, machine guns won’t be treacherously silent towards enemy infantry. Rejoice all!
Rebalance of battalions. Also we added a new one. Panzergrenadier tank regiment is now available only for Germany. It comes with its Inability to take the regular infantry, air defense units, and 6th lvl tanks, but it compensates with slots for top motorized infantry which is otherwise inaccessible to other commanders. The sight to behold: Armored personnel carriers with infantry, Panzergrenadiers and Brandenburgers in combination with tanks … If you want to implement a blitzkrieg within the game session - Panzergrenadier tank regiment is just for you!
Training days for units. All special infantry has learned how to disguise. Saboteurs and other stealth infantry also can see areas of view of other units. So it has become a bit more profitable to cross the front line, to spoil the blood in the enemy's rear, to be brave and bold.
Improved fortifications. The ability to strengthen the position no longer works instantly, and some tanks have received this feature. Why only some? Because we are testing how useful it will be. Do you think tanks need additional protection like that?
Voice lines. The first three hundred are already voiced and added to the game. Units become angry, desperate, and pleased with the player. They live, in a word. Unfortunately only in Russian for now.
And we pursued on to set up the balance as usual. At this time, we take the example of not the balance of units, battalions or factions relative to each other, but the balance of effort and resource of the player’s attention to the advantage gained. It is no secret that snipers have always been quite dangerous in GEM games and this, undoubtedly, corresponds to reality. But you must admit, this is not fair when there are units, which just need to be spawned to be successful. At the same time, to destroy these units you need to conduct an entire search and neutralization operation. In reality, the life of a sniper isn't that easy. While he is looking for a target, he can be the target for another sniper. Therefore, in Soldiers: Arena, we want to reflect two more important things: the priority of target selection and the possibility of a snipers duel. And over the past few months, snipers have experienced many ups and downs. We increased the noise level of the shot and the time of aiming depending on the distance to the target. But at the same time gave them camouflage bushes and target priorities so that snipers would destroy not the easiest, but the most dangerous infantry targets (machine gunners, snipers, AT-riflemen, etc.). In the future, we plan to add special rules for visibility zones for this group of units, so that snipers can detect each other and create the possibility of the sniper duel at its best.
By the way, you asked many times how regular snipers differ from elite ones. We should start with the fact that this is not the only types of snipers in Soldiers: Arena.
The sniper (regular) has basic shooting skills, the usual viewport and Mauser 98k (Germany) or the Mosin Rifle (USSR) and they need a lot of time to reload after each shot.
The sniper from the saboteurs squad - has the same weapon as the regular one, but proficient shooting and stealth skills, and therefore is not visible throughout the entire line of sight of the enemy viewport.
The sniper from the Brandenburg squad is very similar to a saboteur, but arrives on an armored car along with other Brandenburgers.
The sniper from the NKVD squad is the Soviet analog of the Brandenburger, but walks on foot. The main advantage is that he can detect stealth infantry.
Jaeger Sniper (Germany's collector’s unit) - can detect hidden infantry and have an additional weapon - a machine gun.
Elite snipers - have stealth skill, grenades, several AP-mines and, most importantly, semi-automatic sniper rifle Gewehr 43 (Germany) or SVT-40 (USSR), thanks to which they shoot more often. They are available only in the sabotage and reconnaissance battalion.
There should have been a regular section about funny bugs (and it was already written), but doubts arose as to its usefulness. What do you think, is it worth returning? Or we have place only for the informative stuff in the diaries, but not for the “bloopers”? Leave a comment “+” if you need to return it or “-” if you need to bury it. That's all for today. We wish you all the best as usual!
Today we will talk about the metagame and changes in its interface, new units in the USSR tree and post-match statistics. Because most of the updates of recent months are associated with the metagame, and because diaries are here to inform you about the development process. And if the word “statistics”, for example, doesn’t touch your soul or excite you, but rather evokes a rattling boring nothing ... That does not mean that we shouldn’t talk about it. And maybe you just don’t know how important and interesting statistics are!
What is meta?
We have already written that work on the metagame is the final straight before the release of the Early Access. And no one can underestimate the importance of this work. Here we talked a little about the Soldiers: Arena metagame, its interface and the principles underlying them. Meta is the first and last thing a player sees, and most strategic decisions are made there. In the battalion constructor, he will decide how to play and with what, and only after that he will implement the chosen strategy in session. In the technology tree - a player will think how to spend the accumulated experience, which commander to open and which branch of units to focus on in the first place. Collect allies, communicate with them, go into battle against AI, players or go through a cooperative campaign - also will take place in a metagame. All this and much more should work like a clock so that the player can enjoy the gameplay of Soldiers: Arena. It's hard to enjoy, when matchmaking can’t find opponents, or the Play button does not work for example.
But performance isn’t the only thing. For insrance, matchmaking, the convenience of the battalion constructor and the presence of graphics for the needs of the test were desirable, but not necessary. The number of alpha testers is not so large, and we had the opportunity to bring in everyone. And explain to everyone where to click to create a battalion, to join the session and play. But in the Early Access we would like to avoid complicated tutorials on how to play and use placeholders where artworks should be.
By the way, it is precisely because of the fact that not all artworks have been drawn yet and added to the game, that today we are showing interface sketches, not screenshots. We are pleased to inform you that the largest and most important part of the metagame's functionality works as it should and the much smaller part left to be done.
The sketch above shows the window with the results of the battle. There you can see the basic data about the session: its duration, earned silver, experience and free experience. In the lower right corner of the battalion's icon the damage done in battle is also indicated. For many, the damage and the number of enemy units destroyed is a universal indicator of the contribution to the victory (or loss). But the attentive reader knows that Soldiers: Arena is not so simple and the fight does not boil down to these two indicators. This means that this data will not be enough for the player.
By clicking on the icon of the battalion, you will go to personal statistics and be able to find out all the most important about each unit of each Franz Stammer: how many units were caused, lost, how much they caused damage and gained experience. And here we close the cycle, which began with the creation of the battalion and continued through the session itself. According to statistics and the results of the battle, you can understand whether your strategy good or bad, find weak points in it and fix them in the battalion constructor.
In the lower left corner, you can see statistics on earned and spent silver. It is worth saying that in Soldiers: Arena you will not lose silver in any case, but the amount earned will directly depend on your actions. And here we take into account some other things besides the damage caused:
Ground control - silver earned for territory control. If you play as an infantryman, and in this column, you have a lower value than the allied tankman - this is a serious reason to think about your deck and actions in the session.
Fine and Compensation are the statistics of spent and received silver for a “friendly fire”. In Soldiers: Arena you need to try hard to harm the allies. But those who are trying this hard must pay for allies repairs from their own pockets.
Capture - silver for the capture of enemy vehicles.
Repair is an item of expenditure for the repair and replacement of your units. Consequently, the more cautious you play and the less you wear your units in the face of the enemy, the more profitable the session results will turn out.
In a game where there are support units, it is illogical to boil it all down to the damage dealt. Will engineers be able to compete with tanks in this category? It is doubtful. And that means they have to earn experience differently. The game should encourage with experience and silver the correct performance of combat missions. And in the future, we are going to further deepen this system. Removing the wounded from the battlefield; shooting tracks to immobilize the retreating enemy; storming a group of buildings; creating or destroying engineering structures; grabbing the flags, etc. These listed things are no less important than the damage dealt.
When a game encourages you to fulfill your role and gives feedback in the form of statistics, it is much easier to understand what to do and how. Even for a newbie. Especially for a newbie. In Soldiers: Arena you do not control only one unit for the whole battle and a lot of things happen usually at the same time on the map. So it is easy to get lost in your feelings and analytics of the battle. Detailed statistics can help shape your battalion based on cold and ruthless numbers, not on preferences and expectations. If the scouts do not justify themselves for the tenth battle in a row, but you continue to order them to storm the machine guns ... Maybe you should think about using them correctly or replacing them with an armored car for instance.
Why does the developer need statistics?
For a developer, statistics are even more important than for the player. Especially in such a difficult game with a huge amount of mechanics. In the past diary we wrote that the system is more important than particulars and the situation with statistics is another confirmation of this. We started collecting data from the very beginning of testing, and partly because of this we can now enjoy a good balance already in the early beta. The statistics that the player sees are only a small part of what we collect and use to set up the game. We collect such statistics for each commander and each unit: frequency of use, number of battles conducted, win rate, average values of experience and silver earned in battle, the average duration of the battle, damage done and much more. Based on this data, we group the units according to their complexity, the potential “payback” in the battle and the average contribution to the victory and immediately fix the imbalance.
However, in some moments you can notice an obvious imbalance even without statistics. In the USSR technology tree, there were significantly fewer premium units than in the German ones. And that means less opportunities for development in the branch not starting from the beginning and less unique gameplay. Therefore, we decided once again to shoot two birds with one stone: to correct the imbalance and to fulfill your request. You asked to add Lend-Lease units to the USSR tree, and we did it. So you will be able to drive your Churchill, Sherman and Valentine without waiting for the release of a new playable nation.
By the way, we are still discussing what data should be shown in post-match statistics, so we are happy to read your ideas in the comments. Wish you all the best!
There are a number of questions that you ask more often than others, but not as often as ‘That One’. Today we would like to answer them in a diary. To answer with details, to share some far-reaching plans and, most importantly, explain why things go as they do. Cause we respect the dialogue. And also because sometimes you are perplexed with things that are obvious to us, and we in turn are perplexed at your perplexity. So in order to make Perplexed city uninhabited and leave only young Travolta to walk along its boring empty streets, we wrote this diary.
Will there be an editor?
The question of having an editor is logical, but it is ahead of time. Indeed, usually a release from Best Way comes with a new version of the GEM, and an editor in addition. But the primary role in this bundle is always the game. Everything is done for it. And while Soldiers: Arena remains in Early Access and even some time after - it makes no sense to even talk about the editor, as there is no sense in choosing a university for an unborn child. What kind of editor will be needed for the game will become clear after its release. In any case, Arena can live without an editor, but an editor without Arena - very unlikely. So henceforth we will talk about things that come first.
Priorities and the choice between necessary and very necessary.
Developing a game with limited resources is always a matter of choosing priorities. The button “Do it all at once!” doesn’t seem to work, but when there’s a choice between investing in gameplay or investing in picture, there’s basically no choice. Because the gameplay without graphics can be catchy, and the graphics without gameplay - very unlikely. So the first thing we took care of was the basis of the basics. For Soldiers: Arena it is the “Front line” mode and meta-game. Working in tandem, they complement each other and give freedom for experimentation. At the same time they encourage an experienced player who knows complex mechanics, and without punishing (not so much at least) a beginner who only recently learned about the MoW series. In the game, even the most unexpected decks work, and units never lose their relevance simply because Arena is not limited to how to destroy unit with another unit. A BMW motorcycle with a machine gun, even at the end of the third echelon, can frighten artillery in the rear and group infantry around him, and this is much more important and more difficult to implement than the new BMW model or the animation of climbing into the sidecar.
The main priorities are working rules and a good foundation that will withstand future add-ins. With a working system and rules, content can be added very easily. Remember, the button “Do it all at once!” still can’t be pressed much. For example, you can add a lot of units and beautiful models to them, and then see that half of them duplicate each other, or are just boring, or simply do not bring anything new to the gameplay. Therefore, we first invented and implemented a system that makes it possible to add almost anything without devaluing the units after the creation of new ones. Then we added draft models to it, to have something with which to test and moved on to other vital issues.
When the priority tree bears fruit.
For clarity, let's use the example of the 37-mm Škoda vz.34 UV cannon (also known as PaK 37 (t)), which is planned to be added to the game. As you already know, units come in three types: common, premium and collector’s units. Each of the common ones have their own function, place in the tech tree and a set of interesting mechanics. PaK 37 (t) is not suitable for this category because it is not very different in characteristics from the Pak 38, which is already there, and it was rarely used, so it would be strange to see it in each session. Premium units feel good with their unusual gameplay and the ability to skip a few steps in the tech tree. And it’s not the right place for PaK 37 (t) either, because there is nothing unusual in its gameplay. Collector’s units are usually represented by rare modifications of the base vehicles or ones from small series or just units that do not fit into the first two groups. They are not in the tech tree and cannot be purchased. You can only have them as a reward for the battle. This means that you need no resources except luck to have them, and their competitive advantage over the others is precisely their rarity. So PaK 37 (t), of which very few were created (and even less captured - just 113 units) fits perfectly here. Having designed a working system at the beginning, we achieve several goals simultaneously:
Without the extra headache and damage to the balance, even the most controversial unit can be added.
We reward the user with a rare unit that can show off in front of the allies and do it completely free of charge.
Immediately we get +5 points to realism! Historically rare species - rare indeed in the game.
To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers.(c) Paul Klee
New models, sounds and animations look more pleasant in PR materials and, of course, help to immerse the player in what is happening on the screen, but they complement the gameplay, and not vice versa. And here we come to the Square of Mutual Perplexity, on which there is already a demonstration with the banners “Fight to death to old death animations”, “2009 graphics!” and “You killed the old interface. Don’t even dare to add a new one! ”. Friends, it may happen that the graphics remind you of 2009 because you are looking at a dummy model originally from 2009. Compare, for example, KV-1s on the cover and KV-1s in the screenshot below.
Yes, you are not mistaken - this is the KV-85 on the screen. The sooner you start testing, the better. So the dummy model is just perfect for the needs of the test. We have not replaced all the models, animations and sounds with new ones, not because we don’t want or can’t. It is not really that difficult. The deal here is that this process is rather long ... or expensive. And the “Do it all at once!” button seems to be stuck ...
Here is an example with animations. Recently we remade the system melee combat. Now, if an order is given to go melee, the infantry shoots on the run until it gets close to the enemy and then uses knives, bayonets, or engineer shovels to commit to the brutality. Now it works better and more logically than in previous GEM games, but the work is not yet finished. There is, for example, a conflict of undergoing firing assault on trenches and melee combat. Because of this, it is still impossible to order to storm the trench, shooting on the run, and to stomp the enemy with your boots once you are in. Pretty sure, there will be more improvements on the basis of testing. And at this stage, there is no point in ordering many animations, so that it does not turn out that the infantry can perform aikido and karate, while there is nowhere to put these animations, because the bayonet is suddenly more practical.
They have something to say!
And something really cool of recent times - we started working with sounds. Because where there are certainty and enough resources - we support the “picture” with all we have. Especially since it's not just about graphics. Adding atmosphere to the game and make the units livelier is undoubtedly important. But even more important is that the units give feedback to the player on what is happening and make the gameplay clearer. A commander should receive information about the course of the battle from his fighters, right?
Over 300 lines of the first priority were written and ordered: unit select, penetration and non-penetration, destruction of units, repair, shot down trucks, destroyed guns, ricochets, etc. For each event, we tried to make at least five different lines. To make it live, diverse and informative. The fighters will enjoy your overall success and express concerns about the chosen course for embrasures. Below is a screenshot with examples about the destruction of certain types of units.
We have a lot of content in our plans for the future: new campaigns for a cooperative walkthrough, perks and customization of units, a global map, events, new factions, battalions and much more. But it takes time. BTW these three hundred lines are only a small part of what we need. And if you have a desire to try yourself writing them, feel free to write in the comments your variants. Maybe some of them will go into the game. You can start with the orders “Attack!”, throwing a grenade and the death of a unit. Wish you all the best.
We’ll show some infantry gameplay in this diary. Just to make your wait for the release more pleasant, and discussion in the comments will now be more specific. This was shot during the real session with testers - so it is really hard to come up with something more live than that.
Try not to pay attention to the bug in the display of the cursor. They extremely rarely grow to such sizes. We shall fix it soon.
https://youtu.be/3lVCwtZSfXM
These moments are only a small part of what can and should be shown about infantry gameplay. No matter how badly we want to recreate the whole picture of what is happening ... even having recorded the session from beginning to end, we are unlikely to achieve the goal. Just compare this video with the previous one and notice how much the meditative howitzer gameplay differs from the one of infantry. The picture changes every time the battalion changes: the Bruegel infantry burrows their teeth into the front line, Malevich’s tanks crush resistance along the way, and Bryullov’s artillery depicts the “Last Day of Pompeii”. So we just continue to show interesting and characteristic moments of gameplay, and you would be able to see the whole picture during your first game session.
You most likely noticed that the color scheme, interface and icons have changed a bit since the first video. Work continues and this is not the last change. Do not worry, we realize that the interface should not be overloaded. We also want more realism wherever it does not interfere with the gameplay. And here we have a great solution. In a multiplayer game, the main thing is informativeness and nothing can be done about it. The more you know about the enemy, the faster you get this information - the greater the chances of winning. But in a single-player game, where there is more time to make a decision, we can seriously think about atmosphere and minimalism. Pay attention to the screenshot from the single-player mission, where the interface and icons live by completely different rules. And finally take rest to your nervous system.
Do you like such a format of diaries? Would you like to see more videos and less text or vice versa? What units / battalions / kind of troops would you like to see next time? Wish you all the best.
Thanks for the words of support and feedback on the latest video. Thanks for the constructive (and any other) criticism too. As always, we have read everything and in today's diary we will give feedback on your feedback. Also you’ll read some about the results of the last months, settings, and bugs that were in the video, but already fixed and other.
How naive we were, deciding that the Early Beta footage inscription would save us from kicks into the fps dropdowns, jabs into the work-in-progress interface, and van-dame-like split kicks straight into the T-34-85 dancing on the trench. Okay. Thanks to that we have stuff to discuss today and can show with examples: wherever we can, we keep our promises. We promised that in Soldiers: Arena it will be possible to play on an average PC and even recorded the video on this kind of PC. Promised to show real gameplay without editing, and showed without editing how really slowly Pastorazzi plays with howitzers. We promised to quickly fix bugs and hear your wishes - so we fix and we hear.
Animation bugs. A known problem but we just did not have time to fix it before shooting the video. Notice how smoothly and gently the T-34-85 now rides over the trenches.
Sound. We have already become used to the sounds in the game and, apparently, did not pay attention to how the sounds of small arms brought pain to the ears. German submachine guns and machine guns sounded louder than similar weapons of other nations. Corrected. We customized the models of sound spreading. The main focus is now on big explosions and big guns. Added the whistling of mortar mines and the sound of the semi-automatic AT-rifle EW.141. In general, it has become much more pleasant, but the work must go on.
Interface. Still in work and in some places it will change beyond recognition, Including the icons that we added to the game a couple of days before shooting the video. But you wished to customize the display of interface elements: And we have this already. If information about units and the battlefield is less important to you than realism and cinematic images - you can always turn off almost everything. By the way, opponents of health bars can’t hate us anymore. Cause, technically, these are the health rhombuses, so ... checkmate!
The size of the map seemed too small some of you, guys. The attentive reader knows that the size of the map adjusts to the number of players. This is one of the ways to achieve the perfect balance of epic and realism to deliver maximum impact and read what is happening in the session. Soldiers: Arena is a strategy game about a full-scale ground encounter and fierce battles along the entire front line, and a hidden enemy quest. The width of the optimal map for a 5 vs 5 fight looks like this.
In addition to the usual work on the balance of battalions, fixing bugs, creating new models and special effects, we also did these:
Realistic projectile flight paths. When changing the type of shell, the gun changes the angle so that the armor-piercing flew along a flat trajectory, and the HE shells flew along the plunging one. HE were less likely to fly past the target and better get into the trenches and buildings, and AP shells from, for example the ML-20, will not be casting steel hail and throwing your tank into rock bottom.
Fine tuning of shells and caliber dependencies. For example, the larger the HE caliber, the greater the effective range of the fragments and the damage they inflict on the vehicles. The seismic effect was increased for large calibers also, so that 155 mm now obliterates a trench with a single hit. And 100+ mm shells now break vehicles modules from one damaging hit.
“Arty preparation” mode has been added. This is a variant of firing a position, but without an aiming buff after each shot and accelerated by 33% reload. Good for playing with an artillery battery, when accuracy is less important than an overwhelming and demoralizing effect. Perfect for clearing the territory before allied infantry advance and stopping the offense. It works only for units intended for this. Scare infantry with armor-piercing volleys from ZIS-2 battery isn’t a great idea anyway.
We test mechanics related to experience, unlocking new units and balance of the techtrees. We corrected the distortions and adjusted the cost in order to have a more or less working model of the development of the player and the technology tree by the start of the EA. Most of us have already managed to form our favorite decks, and those who want to continue to use them have to farm like an ordinary player. Strange feeling.
Usability and general understanding. We’re changing interfaces, icons, tips, hotbars, etc., to simultaneously give the player full information about what is happening on the battlefield and not clutter building up on the screen. This task is not an easy one, given the Arena's hardcore nature and the huge volume of what is happening on the screen, but we have good progress made already.
Fought with bugs. In addition to the units dancing in cyclical animations, there were other fun things. For example, the modified shell trajectories did their deal in providing us with comedy. Armor-piercing shells fired from howitzers continued to apply gravity rules for HE, so they very quickly got tired of fighting the weary air of the ‘International-Standard-Arena’ and fell half-way to the target. Some units after the concussion refused to follow orders and dig up the trenches, believing that they had suffered enough and were too old for this sh... shovel work. But the most tragicomic was not even a bug, but a flaw in the rules, was when the cannon remained attached to the carrier after the death of the driver. When someone tries to steal your carrier - it is even strange ... why did someone need it? But when someone is hijacking your carrier with a cannon attached to it and a full artillery crew - this is the officially recorded peak of shame for the player in Soldiers: Arena. And, fortunately, you won't be able to endure it.
As you can see, the game is constantly changing; and videos, gifs or screenshots show exactly the current state, and not the final one. Therefore, do not despair if something does not please you and keep calm. Wish you all the best.
Today we’ll talk ... a little. And, perhaps, discuss in the comments ... a lot. The concept of approximate numbers, the melting point and preview gameplay video of Soldiers: Arena.
As Ray Bradbury reasonably remarked, it was very hot in the discussions and comments under the previous diary. This is partly our guilt, because of the delay ... and yet here comes another one. But you made it worth your while too, right? You’ve decided not to balance evil with good this time. Okay, let's count the draw and move on. In this diary we explained in detail the reasons for all the delays and hoped that now we would be on the same wavelength as the community. Obviously, we still understand the phrase “approximate dates” in different ways. And it’s a time to do something about this.
When the moles of “Releasedates?!” reaches a critical mass, it is difficult to restrain and not to announce the approximate one. And we did not restrain. When we knew that we couldn’t keep up with the schedule, we changed the date. You were burning out from delays, and we were equally burnt out of comments and hurries. Now the temperature has risen to supercritical values and it needs to be brought down. Therefore, today we will provide the hot tea and a gameplay video, and in return it would be jolly handy if you were to provide a dose of kindness, how about that?
The release is still scheduled for the near future, but in order to reduce the amount of sadness from the postponements, let's set it “To be announced” for now. We don’t really want (again) to walk down the Internet under constant “Shame!” screams through the path of atonement, simply because we are making the game better. Next time, we shall change the date to a specific one. The same applies to the price. At least two weeks before the release, they will be listed on the store page.
Despite the fact that the new icons just appeared in the game last week, we, as promised, we shall publish the first gameplay video of Soldiers: Arena now in January. It comes without edits, exclusively showing the rough, angry and loud howitzer battalion gameplay. So we’ll add another “Check!” on the board of fulfilled promises and will continue to work on the full version of the video. We remind you that the pace and style of gameplay differs greatly for different battalions, and animation bugs and old models are still present. More will be to come. You can watch the video now. By the way, do tell in the comments if you were eager enough to watch the video before reading the text :)
In today's diary we will talk about two new multiplayer maps: the Kursk fields and Bazerville. Here you can read about the features of each of them, the importance of gameplay diversity, the differences of maps in Soldiers: Arena and in other RTS games, and add to your collection a new render with Yemelya (ML-20) on it. Unlike its fairy-tale namesake, the Soviet howitzer doesn’t ride on a Russian stove, but still manages to create some magic in the game even without the help of a magical pike, but with the help of its own 152-mm shells.
Disclaimer: On some maps there are buildings of the era of MoW-antiquity, due to the fact that not all permits for demolition and modernization have been obtained yet.
We won't repeat ourselves and speak again about the main principles of creating maps for Soldiers: Arena. If you need to refresh your memory, here are the links to the diaries about Polesie and Village. In today’s issue you can find the distinctive features of the maps in relation to each other and to other strategic games. Let's start from the end:
Interactivity of environment. We always wanted the world to be as lively as possible and give the player a lot of opportunities to interact with it. In most strategic games, you can at best use the terrain as a platform to gather resources or shelter from the fire. In the games of the series it was always different, and in Soldiers: Arena the number of such interaction mechanics became even bigger than in any other GEM-game. You can dig up the whole map with trenches, barricade buildings, hide your artillery behind a camouflage net and hide infantry in already growing bushes, use hills and cavities to your advantage, use burnt wrecks of enemy tanks to hide your own tanks, demine minefield and have fun in general.
Front line. To win, it is not necessary to destroy all enemy bases or units, and the struggle for territory is not limited to points of interest. Although the priorities or places of increased interest remain, in each session you can see some non-standard solutions. Someone manages to dig in the middle of the field and hold a position throughout the battle, and someone loses well-fortified buildings, discouraged by armored cars rush or artillery advance. The non-standard approach in Soldiers: Arena work well and you don’t need to repeat the same actions each game. Build the fort — capture the mine — build the barracks — upgrade the fort…. Naaaah.
Role component is reflected not only in the selection and use of units, but also in map design. Each kind of troops has a landscape more comfy to play on. Depending on which map you are playing on and which units, the priority points of attack or defense can and will differ greatly.
New experience on each map. The above mechanics make it possible to significantly change the gameplay, top units and battalions, even with a simple rearrangement of buildings. But we are not limited to this, and we want each multiplayer map to have its own individual gameplay features. Maps that differ only in weather conditions, a season of the year, or a visual style of buildings, is not our option.
Let us turn to the differences of maps in relation to each other. The village, as the very first map created specifically for Soldiers: Arena, is one of the most balanced, and provides opportunities for the implementation of any specialty. There will always be a spot to hide howitzers, buildings for capturing by infantry, narrow streets for tank maneuvering, etc. At the same time, this is the map with a lot of dense buildings locations in it, and, for example, it is the most convenient for the Infantry Assault Battalion.
Polesie has a swamp in which it is impossible to dig trenches, and only certain islands of solid soil can be strengthened. Two hills with easily overlapped passages that will protect units from direct fire. And there is a mill on the hill, which gives a good overview, which is especially difficult to attack and convenient to defend.
Last week we added a Bazerville map modified to version 3.0. It will be familiar and unrecognizable at the same time for most of the MoW fans. We had to seriously change the location of the buildings, make the ravines a little less deep, remove some buildings and add others so that the position of the sides in relation to the front line became balanced. Bazerville is most similar to the Village map, but is an even smoother version in terms of landscape and location of buildings. So you mustn’t adapt to the landscape most of the time. Lonely buildings are scattered along the entire front line, as are small open and well-sweep spaces. It can be said that Bazerville is the most measured and homogeneous of maps at the moment.
One of the features of the Kursk fields is a large amount of open space, which makes the station and a small group of buildings to the right even more interesting to hold. The rest of the map may seem like a dead zone for infantry. Large open spaces without elevation changes enable machine guns, tanks and cannons to shoot through half of the map without changing positions. The first tests on this one were really unusual. The infantry seemed too weak. Tankmen were afraid to go forward towards the fortified positions of AT-artillery. Mortars and howitzers died as soon as they become visible, and their main advantage in indirect shooting from behind cover was not evident.
Some time passed and a new meta was formed. And then we finally convinced that the Arena formula works. Battalions, who initially seemed less interesting, opened from a new side. The speed advantage of the Motorized Rifle Battalion in relation to other infantry seemed previously insufficient or even insignificant. Due to the large number of buildings and uneven terrain on other maps, armored vehicles did not always excel. In open spaces, their advantage makes the difference, while the Assault Battalion, deprived of the opportunity to move by dashes from building to building, loses its light flare of imbalanceness. A full-length infantry attack often leads to losing, and a cautious game with snipers or strengthening positions leads to victory. Therefore, the Sapper battalion with its additional AT-hedgehogs, barricades and quick digging of trenches becomes more attractive. At the same time, the bias in the direction of howitzers decreased and AT-artillery became stronger due to the possibility of firing at half of the map, taking the place in the center. No buildings and trees cover the view anymore. You just put the battery and wait for the victim.
Nonlinear balance, to which we so sought, is working, and at different levels. And this is a great reason for joy and a little pride. Each map differs not only visually, but also in the gameplay sense, and these differences are more obvious and deeper than in other parts of the series. Also we have a bit more maps before the Early Access than we initially planned. So, where we don’t meet deadlines, we catch up with content, you know. Friends, write in the comments what maps you would like to see in the Arena and which mechanics of interaction with the outside world you lack. Wish you all the best!
As promised in the last diary, we’ll speak today about battalions and how to manage them. We shall reveal some of the secrets, which have been guarded so far. We’ll talk as precisely as possible about what echelons and battle ranks are, and how many troops can be taken into battle. Also, using the example of two tasks and their solutions, we will explain why Soldiers: Arena will be comfortable for players with different microcontrol skills and expectations from the gameplay.
Once again, we remind you that the interface shown on the screenshots is still being finalized and can be changed. Do not rush to get used to it or spin the flywheel of criticism in the comments section.
First, we select a battalion from the list of available ones. There could be an illustration with an almost ready-to-use interface and a draft description under the art, but someone scrawled a cheat code for endless gold on it, so ... Try as hard as you can to imagine the most beautiful interface and then just pick a battalion there. Next, the army constructor window will pop up.
And here we are forced to take a big pause before continue managing the battalion, and explain what the echelons are, and again plunge into some history. The Arena-game began with three major innovations: a dynamic front line, a system of specialties (battalions) and the concept of echelons. We can say that this is the foundation that keeps all the other features on it. We told about the dynamic front line almost on the onset, a bit later we also revealed the concept of battalions, and echelons were saved for last. In fairness, it’s worth noting that we still left some clues, but we hid them behind words such as “early stages”, “middle of the session” or endgame.
Echelons divide the game session into three stages, which subsequently evolve for both teams simultaneously. With each subsequent echelon, the level of available units, the number of command point (CP) and the intensity of the battle grow. In combination with other solutions, echelons help to solve several problems at once, which we attempted to tackle in Soldiers: Arena from the very beginning:
Units should not depreciate. If you love the BT-7 for its speed and cheapness, it makes no sense to give it up. The first echelon will be present in each session and in each session, the BT-7 will be useful.
The need to minimize excess waiting and moments of inactivity. First echelon units are available immediately and you do not need to save CPs for them, just to choose the order of spawn (more on this in one of the following diaries). In most cases, by the time the first echelon units are finished, the second one is ready. Thus, a player with phantom threads of nerves and low resistance to defeats will not be able to lose all his favorite units at once, lose the game and lose himself on a downwards spiral of existential apathy. Well, ok, he can always lose himself, but we have diminished the reasons for this.
Make the pace of the game smooth and constantly growing. The first echelon makes it possible to study the enemy’s battalions relatively calmly, test its defenses, strengthen your own and warm up. The second is for the full-scale battles along the entire front line and the culmination of the game, which often makes it clear how it will end. The third echelon is a battle of top units and a fight to the last.
Emphasize the features of the battalions. For example, a battalion of medium tanks is especially good at the first and second echelons, and by the third, when top heavy tanks and cannons arrived, it slows down a little. It is necessary to be cautious and go to a fight if only having a numerical advantage.
Create a lot of interesting game situations and non-linear balance. Some will say that when on the first echelon, only the howitzer commander has the leFH 18 and this is NOT interesting situation at all, and the T-35 of the heavy tanks commander is something too nonlinear. But such is life - there is never equal conditions in it. In addition, such mastodons are very expensive. For example, leFH 18 at the first echelon is available only in one copy and occupies slightly more than half of the available CPs. But losing such a unit, it makes the situation very uninteresting for you, and nonlinearity may also enter a downhill experience.
Add realism! There is nothing realistic in the fact that only Tigers and Katyusha participated in the battle. We want to show the alignment of forces on the battlefield and the interaction of army types as plausible as possible.
Echelons are divided into slots (4-5 usually). In the battalion constructor window, you will see that only certain types of units with a unit level limit are suitable for each slot. For example, in the second slot, you can put only support infantry and firing points of 5-th level maximum. In addition, each slot has its own “capacity”. So to put there ten medics or three Pak-38 - is a strategic question.
When selecting the slot, at the bottom of the “Recruits” panel you will see all the units from among those already open that are suitable. As you can see, playing for a certain kind of troops, you are not limited to this particular kind.
The battle rank (BR) is the cost of the unit and at the same time the indicator of the capacity of the echelon. On the unit card, the BR is displayed in the lower right corner. A unit's BR may differ depending on the chosen battalion since the units native to the specialty of the battalion receive a discount of about 20-30 percent.
Each echelon has its maximum BR value: 12, 17, 22, respectively. The first digit to the right of the echelon name shows the used BR, the second shows the maximum one. The smaller the difference between these values, the better you prepared for combat.
We are committed to ensuring that in Soldiers: Arena the fate is not decided only on the clicking speed of the players. Those who do not do well with microcontrol will not feel useless. Specialization battalions and the correct managing of them make it possible to emphasize your style and your abilities. Consider the example of two tasks, how much the gameplay may differ, the density of presence on the map and the requirements for micro, depending on your build.
Now this battalion (accessible only to the USSR) is assembled so that it can be played as safely as possible and only a few units at a time. KV-2 are expensive, clumsy and not very accurate, but they can keep the enemy in suspense well while being out of reach. Well, relatively so ... howitzers, airborne, top AT-guns are still dangerous, but you usually have time to react and fallback. Yes, and keeping track of two units is not so difficult. About the cons: very bad control of the map, shooting from the respawn area is as accurate as predictions of entering the Early Access, and the reconnaissance and support of the infantry constantly has to be requested to the allies. With such an assembly, the loss of each KV-2 is unbearable pain, and the support of allies leveling your weaknesses is a necessity. But if you soberly assess your strength on microcontrol, like to break the plans of enemy artillery and shoot monstrous projectiles through half of the map - this choice is for you.
Task number two: maximum micro+stealth+map control*quantity(-survivability) = sabotage and reconnaissance battalion.
If in childhood your parents forcibly sent you “to learn piano” and now you think that someone should answer for this - take it without thinking. The battalion is assembled so as to have the maximum amount of infantry to control the map, reconnaissance, actions behind the front line and dirty sabotage. You’ll have many units, but sensitive ones. And the better your micro skill, the stronger this battalion. If you just frame the units and send them to rush ... well, then this battalion will seem useless to you. But if you know how to pave the way through the enemy's defense line with the auto attack turned off, constantly using DC for throwing grenades, invoking artillery strikes and firing, while not forgetting the other units scattered throughout the map - this will be pain and dirt, dirt and pain, and I don’t know ... pain in the dirt.
Each battalion has similar peculiarities and can be managed in completely different ways. For example, the first one can play through spamming BT-7As and infantry support, while the second one through sniper superiority and sitting in the bushes. Style, pace, requirements for micro and situational overpowerness of units is determined only by your preferences. Speaking of preferences. Write in the comments which battalions with unusual specialization and combinations of units you would like to see in the game. It is possible that Santa Claus will hear you out.
Friends, before saying goodbye, the Best Way team wants to wish you all the best for the coming year. A year that will be interesting and significant for all of us. Be kind, cheerful and exercise much! It is soon now.
The time has come for the next Feedback diary. The one who reads could know some about settings, balance, AI, interfaces and matchmaking. There will be a regular rubric about funny bugs too. And we'll show the technology tree of the USSR, because you asked, and we don’t mind.
In the previous diary we already wrote that now there is the possibility of reconnection to the session, but this is only one of the obvious advantages of the infrastructure changes that Soldiers: Arena has undergone in the past six months. The opportunity to enter the game as a spectator, player rating, matchmaking and optimization are also included. These are those works for which we had to delay the Early Access release. Obviously, nowadays, no one will be surprised by matchmaking systems or reconnect to the games, but in order to implement them on GEM2, we had to work hard. And the time for the execution of these works was very difficult to calculate. Therefore, we had to keep this information secret and hide it behind the words “optimization” and “network code”, although we incredibly wanted to share it.
Such large-scale changes always bring new bugs and a lot of work on reconfiguring the game, but it was definitely worth it. Time is relative, and the fact that you had to wait for Early access a little longer paid off when creating the session. In 2019 it would be strange if one couldn’t plunge himself into battle with the infrastructure not working. Soldiers: Arena should be not just a good game, but also the most responsive and convenient game on the GEM and some of these changes are ready. Now we are already using the matchmaker, but the number of players in the test is not enough for it to work at full strength, so it will definitely be refined after the release. At least now we can answer your questions about how the commanders will be balanced and the opponents can be chosen. Three basic parameters are taken into account:
The maximum level of units in player’s army. It is bad to play with 53-K against Tigers!
Battalion specialization. It is bad to play with other four tankmen against five infantrymen! By the way, it is hard to say bad for who.
Personal player ratings. It is bad to play bad! The magic of numbers and raw statistics. The better you play, the stronger the opponents.
Need to talk more about the ratings. Everything is quite logical about it. Player keeps climbing progressively until a certain point, and the higher he rises along the food chain, the stronger the opposition and the more he loses for poor performance in a game. But it will be possible to rise in the rating even when losing the game. You know, no balancer will save you from playing with people who do not care what happens in this very game and there are situations when it is almost impossible to win. And those who contribute the most should be rewarded. Since the battles in Soldiers: Arena are not just down to the destruction of enemy units, the statistics will take into account other useful actions: hijacking enemy vehicles, fights for the territory, building capturing, and so on. Obviously, it is easier for some units to destroy the enemy ones, but this does not mean that their contribution to the victory is proportionally the greatest.
Responsiveness of the game. Added in-game hints not only on the gameplay, but also on the interface elements. Making the rules of the game more understandable. Now, if, for example, you shoot with 88-mm at a light tank engine, it will be broken in 100% cases. Breaking the gun barrel is no longer a random event upon hit. You shoot into the barrel - you break the barrel.
AI. Units become smarter and annoying moments appears less often. For example, before there were unpleasant interruptions, when units began to run into each other because of the intersection of paths, even when they were far away from each other. Now the traffic rules have been mastered. At your requests (numerous, it is worth saying) tankmen stopped taking their place on the machine gun even before the previous gunner let out his last breath. Now they wait a few seconds, before leaning out of the hatch. This is in addition to being able to order them not to lean out at all.
Rules of the game. Significantly accelerated the set of points in the case of capture of 75% of the map. Now, if you have been forced to stay near the respawn, you will not endure shame for too long. The coefficients of the influence of players on the size of the map were changed so that the battle would become a bit more spacious. We configured the storming of buildings. Skill and weapons of a fighter have even more weight. One stormtrooper, for example, may win in a confrontation against an entire detachment of riflemen recruits.
Playtests. We tested the game at low levels, since it is from them that new players will start, and it is their balance that must now be given special attention During the last few months the most powerful tanks were Pz.Kpfw.III and T-28. We are glad that at low levels the game does not lose intensity and does not seem boring, but on the contrary has its own charm. Cheaper units make it possible to think less about saving and play more carelessly. On the screenshots of the USSR technology tree, all units of levels 1-3 are open, so that you can understand what we are talking about.
As always, we fought against bugs. More changes - more bugs, you know. There were damn a lot of changes in the last six months, which meant there were quite a lot of bugs ... At first, it was easier to say what works, than what does not work. Now the situation has stabilized, but memories of ringing silence, which fell on select players during the games causing utterly terrible experiences, are still alive in the memory of many. Or for example the smoke screens, because of which the game began to eat twice the resources as usual. Or how about the barrels of guns which broke down even with the slightest contact with the allied vehicles, which gave you the feeling that you were watching a professional football match. And certainly one can never forget if they were unfortunate enough to see at least once how fighters shot in the direction opposite to which they were staring at ... and turned their weapons accordingly. Creepy stuff to see and it feels good knowing that you will never see it.
In the next diary we will write in detail about the process of recruiting an army and forming your battalion. We will try to remove all the misunderstandings and clear our understatements so that we have to explain less when showing the gameplay video. We really don’t want to do it with an unfinished interface, but it may be necessary. Not to show the gameplay before the start of sales is not an option. In the meantime, wish you all the best, guys!
Despite the fact that we now are at an evening, it’s a new day’s dawn in the development of Soldiers: Arena. The day, in which “Releasedate?” will henceforth be turned into the request to “Patchdate?”. The day, in which there will be more certainty and fewer secrets. The day in which the cocoons of the diaries will turn into butterflies of the patches. And today, at the dawn of this day, let's talk about the nearest plans and some very important developments, about what to expect and what not to expect from the Early Access version.
It's a new dawn it's a new day it's a new life for me.
Nina Simone “Feeling good”
In the past diary it was said that the release slightly delayed by the work on the interface and improving the stability of the network code. We did our best to avoid it, but another small delay is inevitable. As always, we know exactly how to use the extra time to benefit a project. Now it is possible to complete a number of works that we’d like to see ... completed ... already at the start of the Early Access (EA). Well, you know, all those little things from which the new day will become a little more encouraging.
Control. Make interactive hints on gameplay, session and metagame interfaces. Add a classic RTS mouse mode (LMB for movement, RMB for attack), the ability to drag icons onto the hotbar from the general menu and make controls more intuitive.
Metagame. Create battalion autofill templates for those who want to fight as quick as possible. Adjust the price and balance of the ingame currencies: “silver” and “gold”. By the way, we are just starting work on the balance of the economic component. And if we assume that the final version is Sunday, then the EA ones will be Wednesday at best. Considering that at first the game will be paid, now the priority is to fill it with content.
Statistics. Refine windows with statistics on utility units, session results, game history. There is a small chance that we will have time to finish the replay structure. All this will help analyze the errors and understand where your team lost and which of your units turned out to be the most effective.
Commands. Add the ability to create and enter the game teams of real bros, proven over the years, victories and defeats. And of course, adjust the balance of autofit opponents.
Campaign! From morning till night we worked so that the campaign for the USSR devoted to the first weeks of the Great Patriotic War was ready for the Early Access. It shall depict the bloody summer of 1941 with all the consequences: the blitzkrieg and audacity of the German attacks, durability, and counterattacks of the Soviet army, pain and hardcore, typical for MoW.
Say you just can't live that negative way,
If you know what I mean;
Make way for the positive day,
'Cause it's news (new day) news and days.
Bob Marley “Positive Vibration”
According to preliminary, but rather confident forecasts, Soldiers: Arena will be available at the end of January 2019. The cost of the game is still under discussion, but we will try to name it in the next month. Pros that you’ll get for your hard-earned money:
Ability to play earlier than others and support the development with word and deed.
New gaming experience. Soldiers: Arena is really very different from other games in the series. To the already familiar and favorite mechanics we added a large list of new ones.
Two game nations, more than two hundred units and three dozen commanders with a unique gameplay.
Singleplayer/co-op campaign. One at the start of Early Access and another at readiness. We create each mission in such a way that it can be played in cooperative mode with friends, and so that each player can choose which units to call and what to do, cause leftovers from the host’s table isn’t enough for true coop experience.
Skirmishes and battles against advanced AI, which in most cases will be better than your teammates.
Multiplayer game. We’ve made the game for this part after all! Meaty 5 VS 5 fights at a pace at which sitting in the bushes will not work. A huge selection of tools and tactics in order to arrange a holiday for you, and a gray hopeless weekday for your opponent. Detailed statistics for each unit to understand which part of your battalion screwed it up. Matchmaking to find rivals and teammates of your level. A balancer who won't throw you in a team against four filthy artillerymen.
Support and quick patches. We kept in touch with the community for all three years from the creation of the page and are only going to gain momentum. Your tears, battle roar and the joy of victory will be heard and taken into account. Bugs will die, and features will be added. Early access is just the beginning.
First echelon kit. Those who first come to the front must receive well-earned reinforcements. This shall include a premium account for three months, gold for the purchase of several premium units (2-5). The balance of gold is still not definite, so exact figures are hard to say at this point. And most importantly, two exclusive units that cannot be obtained in other ways: Pz.III Ausf.N and T-28E with a L-11 gun.
FPS drawdowns and bugs. New patches for the new day. And they will surely come with the occasional and unpleasant bug-surprises.
Crashes. Speaking of surprises. We have a lot of enjoyable ones. Crashes in Soldiers: Arena even in the test version are not a common sight and regardless not a critical one. Now, if you are thrown out of the game at the end of the session or at the end of the fourth hour of the mission, you don’t need to tear your hair out and sprinkle ashes on the keyboard. Just click “reconnect” and continue the day of anger.
Old models that we will change after the start of the EA. Many new animations and sounds are also in the plans for this period. You should be prepared for such situations.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long.
Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven”
Friends, we remind you that it makes sense to skip the Early Access stage, when the game will be paid, for those who are not ready for the cons listed above. The game will not be polished to a shining condition. Therefore, we would like to see among the early adopters those who understand the essence of the EA and are ready to look beyond some things. For those who are not ready - in fact, it is better to wait until the game becomes free to play. You will save both money and nerves.
Buying the game in Early Access makes sense to those who want to see everything earlier than others, support the development and participate in it. This is an option for those who feel that they always wanted to give a shoulder and lend a helping hand to BW, but did not know how to do it. Well, even for those who are interested to see how Soldiers: Arena is changing and to be able to condescendingly tell beginners that one stormed Best Way office even BEFORE vanilla and the time that seems to be good ‘ol days for today's youth is actually a modern tale compared to what happened “back in the day”.
Anyone who wants to take advantage of this opportunity is welcome to the development front. And at the front, as you know, it’s hot and hard, one day is considered for two. Wish you all the best, have a good evening and ... good morning.
