Spies & Soldiers
Hot Fix: AI Starving Units Movement Bug
Updated Demo & AI
Updating the demo will reset your game limits, so even if you had previously maxed out the available matches you can try out the new build with another round of games. A fresh start for everyone!
UPDATED AI OPPONENT
We've been working hard on the AI and it is now much more dynamic and puts up a proper challenge. We fixed a bunch of issues that could sometimes cause it to hang, added some new features (it should now be able to handle most actions in the game), and tuned it's responses to be more varied so it shouldn't be as easy to bait or get stuck in loops.
But the most exciting thing is that the AI now runs on it's own background thread - this means that it calculates it's turn at the same time as you, instead of waiting for your orders to be submitted. The turns are MUCH faster now, with the AI often putting in it's orders before you even finish yours!
RANDOM PLAYER COLORS
We've added a palette system that allows us to have random player colors, adding variety to each match. No more being stuck with just red and blue!
MAP TWEAKS
We've done a bit of an overhaul on how the map generator works under the hood (ask Ben about 'Poisson Disc sampling' over on our discord if you want the deep dive details), which has improved the look of the coastlines a lot. We've also changed how region control is indicated, it's now a colored border instead of flat shading, which allows the maps to shine through a little more. There's a few other cosmetic tweaks such as roads etc., with more still to come...
BUGS & STABILITY
We've significantly overhauled the Windows build, which should be MUCH more stable and less system-hungry than before. We've also stomped a lot of bugs, huge shout out to our Discord community for all their help reporting them.
MAP VERSIONS & GAME RESET
Due to the changes to the map generation system, we've had to version the games. This means you won't be able to load into any old matches - sorry! You can clear them one at a time, but if you'd like to remove all your old games (handy if you've had some broken games), you can hit F7 to reset the game and delete all local games.
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
If you take the new build for a spin, come by the Discord to let us know what you think of the new AI! Is it challenging? To easy? We'd love to hear your feedback.
See you on the server!
Melbourne International Games Week!
We're honored to have Spies & Soldiers included in the Melbourne International Games Week Steam showcase! Jim and Luis will be streaming the game, so come and see what it's all about.
We'll also be hanging out in our community Discord, so swing by and say hello!
JOIN THE SPIES & SOLDIERS DISCORD!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1094450/Spies__Soldiers/
New AI Opponent!
Initially we intended to simply update the existing AI prototype, but it turned out that we had to rebuild it from the ground up to get the features we wanted. It's still using our original utility system, but has been extended and made more modular so now it can consider much more complex actions, and most importantly - be tuned and extended further in the future.
We still have another whole phase of AI development on our roadmap, but this version is already leagues ahead of what was previously in the game.
Fire up a solo practice game and take it for a spin. We'd love to hear your feedback on how it holds up! Let us know if you find any weird behavior or bugs.
Best place to share your thoughts is over on our Discord server, we're always happy to chat about the AI if you have questions or thoughts
Game Design Chat
AI Deep Dive
We are doing regular dev streams for Melbourne International Games Week over the next few days, including a design chat about new features and a sneak peek at our upcoming plans, as well as the devs playing the latest build. Swing by and say hello!
Hot Fix: Game Notifications Bug
Hot Fix: Game Notifications Bug
Hot Fix: Squashing Bugs
=== BUILD NOTES: VERSION 0.24.3 ===
- Fixed a bug that would cause errors the first time a player joined an online game, if they disabled email notifications.
- Fixed an issue that occasionally caused the game to hang on the claimant screen, making it impossible to submit the first turn.
- Demo end info text now pops up automatically when returning to home screen after the game limit has been reached.
- Selecting an empty slot when keeping a title now disables all buttons while loading the title into that slot.
- Formatting tweaks to the title screen while the title is being generated.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Copying match codes from the Play Friend window doesn't work. Paste works fine though.
- City and castle portraits still show the old generic portraits during turn resolution.
- Uncommitted Muster and Train orders aren't currently being saved if you exit the game before submitting your turn.
Hot Fix: Squashing Bugs
=== BUILD NOTES: VERSION 0.24.3 ===
- Fixed a bug that would cause errors the first time a player joined an online game, if they disabled email notifications.
- Fixed an issue that occasionally caused the game to hang on the claimant screen, making it impossible to submit the first turn.
- Demo end info text now pops up automatically when returning to home screen after the game limit has been reached.
- Selecting an empty slot when keeping a title now disables all buttons while loading the title into that slot.
- Formatting tweaks to the title screen while the title is being generated.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Copying match codes from the Play Friend window doesn't work. Paste works fine though.
- City and castle portraits still show the old generic portraits during turn resolution.
- Uncommitted Muster and Train orders aren't currently being saved if you exit the game before submitting your turn.