It’s time to dive into the most common areas of the game on your road of vengeance. Today we talk about the arenas of Warlander where Bruce will spill the blood of his enemies but might also have the opportunity to do different things that may help him bring down the Techno Order.
There are several different types of arenas, each representing different areas of the Warlander’s world. In each of them, a certain number of enemies will spawn and your mission is to kill them all. How are you going to do it? It’s completely up to you. The game offers you several ways to deal with the enemies. You have the “Old School Way” - where you take the battle to them and use your sword to cut through the waves of enemies. That way you utilize our unique take on the tactical combat - aiming and real-time mesh slicing - in order to kill enemies effectively. Also, you can take “the Forest way”, where you can use the druidic powers you unlocked and obtained through the run in order to kill your enemies in all kinds of special ways. Using powers like the Vine that can grapple opponents and throw them around, or the Stake that you can fire from a distance and kill an opponent or remove part of their armor is one of many possibilities. Or, you can try the “Timber falls” way, where you use the interactive parts of the environment in order to kill Techno forces. See those logs that are supported by that fragile-looking pillar? It would be a shame if you could throw your sword, cut it and make the logs fall on Techno heads… Or would it?
Of course, all those ways of killing enemies can be combined, so you can shoot the exploding barrels with the Stake and destroy several enemies at once. Or you can aim and throw your sword to decapitate an opponent and kill him instantly. This way, it’s up to you to test and try different strategies and explore different ways of fighting every opponent you meet. It also offers you the possibility to adapt and change your style of combat in order to kill some tough or rare opponents.
Some of the arenas will have a special encounter - a boss fight. These enemies are quite rare, and going against them is going to be quite challenging. Every boss is different, has different abilities and it’s up to the player to develop strategies in order to kill them. Of course, if you die, your journey begins again, and the path of vengeance is again upon you.
Clearing the arena means that you can continue your journey and progress to the next point on the map. After some combat encounters, players will be able to explore the arenas and find different lore notes. Each of these individual notes is actually a small part of a whole - we cannot reveal much more than that for now. Some areas will also have points of interest that will spark a dialogue between the protagonist and his sword (yes, the sword is alive, but that’s another story altogether).
As you can see, we managed to keep the main feature of the Warlander - tactical combat with real-time mesh slicing - and to fuse it with roguelike progression. We believe that this approach plays at the strengths of our unique take on tactical combat as each arena will provide you with different challenges always keeping your mind, reflexes and yes, your sword, sharp; while the roguelike progression offers the unpredictability and the sense of going into and against unknown dangers with each run.
After the important announcement last week (if you missed it, go here to read it first!) we wanted to honor our agreement with the community and inform you about the game’s development. We’ll take this opportunity to show you one of the aspects of the game being (re)made for the current version of Warlander. This time we’ll talk a little bit about the map which you use to traverse the game’s world. Keep in mind that all of this is still a work in progress, so your feedback is quite welcome!
When you start the game, you’ll see a procedurally generated map of the world with the interconnected arenas, each with different challenges. As you can see in the example given here, you may choose your path and encounters will vary. Also, because of the procedural generation, the map will be different for each run.
MAP - WORK IN PROGRESS
In most of the encounters, you’ll have the opportunity to show your swordsmanship skills and kill all the opponents. In some, various bosses await you and you must fight like there is no tomorrow. Other encounters are more rewarding and give you the possibility to heal yourself, obtain an upgrade from the great Devourer or get a random buff that will last until the end of the run. Or, you may risk it and enter an unknown node and face perils or blessing with equal chance.
Each time you reach an intersection, you are offered a choice and it’s up to you to decide where the path will take you. Do you take the road with fewer enemies but fewer possibilities to earn XP and body parts, thus devoiding yourself of upgrades? Or, do you go full rampage mode and look for as much combat as you can, to crush anyone who dares to challenge you? Each choice has its ups and downs, but in the end, it’s your choice that drives you on the path. And remember, vengeance cannot be sated - only tempered.
By offering the players a choice to forge their own path, and by changing it each time you start the game, we believe that the game feels new each time it’s started. Each run will feel different and offer a unique set of challenges and benefits. We’ll talk a little bit more about the arenas you’ll face in the weeks to come, and we hope this blog about the map and the way the game will work was interesting enough for you. As always, wishlist us on Steam, and also join us on Discord, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Until next time, CDG Team
Warlander Devblog #17: The state of Warlander - Slicing so far and in the future
Greetings all!
We talked a lot about Warlander in the past months and presented you with the most important aspect of the game - combat and its features. We also showed you the Shrine of Seers as one of the many environments of the game (you can check the other environments in the video here). Now, we need to talk about the future of Warlander - where it is now and where it will be in the months to come...
Warlander was initially conceived as an ambitious project. When the original concept was presented, the whole team was quite eager to jump into it and be a part of something as great as this game. However, the scope of the project turned a little too huge for an indie team, even one as highly motivated as ours is. We are sure that we created a unique take on stamina-based combat and an interesting setting that has all the hallmarks of a great IP. In order to avoid doing wrong by it, we decided to take a streamlined route to finish the game. To do that, Warlander is in the process of genre pivoting. While the main gameplay features - tactical combat, slicing, aiming - will stay the same, the form of the game is going to be changed. It will become a roguelike combat-focused action game set in a procedurally generated world. We believe that this shift represents a perfect match for what we want to make in terms of gameplay. Also, this is something that is both achievable and more importantly completely keeps the focus on the main feature of Warlander - combat.
The Procedurally generated map is divided into three thematic tiers, each with its own perils and mysteries. Arenas will be quite different - in most of them, Bruce is attacked by the members of the Techno Order and must kill all the enemies by using combat and environment. In others, Bruce will have the opportunity to approach the Devouring Tree (aka the Tree from the Trailer) and offer pieces of enemies to it to obtain access to new combat powers. And of course, you will also have the opportunity to fight with different bosses. If Bruce fails and is killed at any point during the run, the Forest resurrects him, but at the cost of the player needs to start the new run.
As you can see, this structure offers a unique experience for each playthrough, since no two runs are alike and thus every player is granted with a special - personal, so to speak - adventure each time a game begins. Arenas with combat will have randomly generated enemies so the players may try different strategies and the battles are never the same. Random setup of the environment which players can use to kill enemies makes every arena feel different and memorable - “Do you remember that time when I squashed Technos under a ton of rocks?!” All this is in line with our (and we believe yours, too) idea to make Warlander a unique and challenging game, where players will have the opportunity to test their swordsmanship.
Second, our goal is to make a game that will test your skills. Making a challenging and engaging game is never an easy task. Numerous rounds of testing are needed in order to balance it properly, especially a roguelike type of game. That's why we decided to pursue the Early Access way. Our initial timeline remains the same, with small adaptation - the release of EA version in early 2020, and full release later that year. That’s why we kindly ask you to support us in EA and give us the much-appreciated feedback that we plan to use in order to make Warlander an engaging experience. Now, we know that a lot of people don’t like the EA or had a bad experience with it (or great, and thus have quite high expectations of games in EA). Still, we love Warlander and we decided to do all that it takes to deliver it to our community. That’s why we’ll keep you informed and updated about the progress regularly, so you can see our commitment for yourself. By being part of the EA community, you will be giving us invaluable feedback and influence the development of the game in the right direction.
That’s all for this week... And that was a lot. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of the game in the days and weeks to come. Remember to add us to your wishlist on Steam and also to follow us on Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and join the Discord as well!
Warlander Devblog #16: In The Hands of an Experienced Player
Greetings to all!
July has seen a number of videos and streams covering Warlander's Pre-Alpha Demo. We've covered the influencers in the previous blog post - you can find it here:
While the influencers did an excellent job covering the Demo, we wanted to provide you with a video that explains Warlander's mechanics and abilities in greater detail.
Warlander Devblog #15: Exploring The Shrine Of Seers
This blog post reveals some lore behind the Pre-Alpha Demo’s location - the Shrine of Seers…
In July, we have released Warlander’s Pre-Alpha Demo to influencers. The primary point of the Demo was to test the public opinion on new changes to Warlander’s combat. But, we decided to add just a sprinkle of narrative to the Demo, mostly to add some context to Bruce’s exploration of the level and not to make it into a pointless arena-to-arena slog.
To our surprise and satisfaction, even that sprinkle of dialogues and cutscenes provoked great interest in the influencers and the audience - they wanted to learn more about Bruce, his sentient sword Ferguson and the particular place where their quest took them to. While we cannot reveal much without wandering straight into spoiler territory we will provide some information about the Shrine of Seers to our readers.
The Shrine was built in ancient times as a dwelling for a mysterious creature known to the Druids as the Many-Eyed. It soon became a gathering place to those of the Cult who were blessed with a gift of second sight by the Old God. Those Druids, who will become known as Seers, channeled the visions of the past, present and the future through Many-Eyed and partook of the knowledge of the Forest. The Shrine became a home for the Seers as well as their final resting place. It is said in the Cult that those buried there become one with the Shrine, the Many-Eyed and the rest of the dead Seers...
After the fall of the Cult to the onslaught of the Techno Order, the Shrine of Seers became one of the rare safe havens for the Druids. But, the Druid numbers were severely reduced by the short and bloody conflict against the Technos and the Clans under their command. Seers of the Cult were also affected and the Shrine slowly but surely fell into decrepitude, looking more like a gathering of recluses than a thriving community of augury and learning that it was before the war.
Yet, the fall of the Cult did not stop the Technos from pursuing the remnants of the Druids. Relentlessly they worked on weakening the Forest, destroying huge tracts of trees and purging out any Druid hideouts. The Druids, and the Forest, resisted when and where they could and managed to prevent the Technos from penetrating into the inner recesses of the Forest, where the holiest - and most important sites of the Cult are - including the Shrine of the Seers.
Then, something unthinkable happened. Somehow, the Technos were able to bypass the protections of the Forest, to reach and conquer the now almost defenceless Shrine. From then on, they worked on reshaping the Shrine to suit their needs… Whatever they may be. The results of the Technos’ efforts you have seen for yourself...
And, that brings us to the end of the info we can share with you while avoiding spoilers. But, you might wonder… Why would Bruce and Ferguson wander into a Shrine overrun by Techno forces? Not without a good reason, we can assure you!
We are currently hard at work implementing the changes based on the information we’ve gathered from the Pre-Alpha Demo. Stay tuned - we will be releasing new information on this! Until then, wishlist us on Steam, and take the conversation to Discord, Facebook and Twitter.
Yours,
CDG team!
Warlander Devblog #14: Dismemberment In vivo
After several months spent in our dark cave, crafting and honing Warlander’s Pre-Alpha Demo, we have finally brought it into the light and presented it to the world! It is never easy showing something you’re proud of to people, let alone the world but the initial reactions are overwhelmingly positive and we are both satisfied and grateful for that.
Here is a small list of influencers (so far) that have helped us to show Warlander to our future players. Many thanks and blessings of the Forest upon all of them!
MrH3d4ch3 summarised his Warlander combat experience.
“It's quite slow and that was one of the things that put me off when I was watching some gameplay of it on IGN. But, once you got it in your hands it feels a lot better. … The slow hits make you think what you're gonna do…”
Jason pointed out, while still getting accustomed to the combat style…
“This game punishes you for going all in… like, you can’t get greedy at all!”
In the end, he gave his verdict of Warlander’s combat “... that kind of combat, that kind of like having to read the field and knowing the right time to attack… that’s always fun and it got me hooked.”
“Stamina based would be the term for describing this combat system, but it’s much deeper than that actually - in Warlander it’s very important where you land your hits, so you can’t just spam attack and win…”
He also pointed out some interesting details that happen during combat.
“Sometimes, even when it seems like you decapitated your enemy, you will have to do an extra strike, because apparently there is still 10% head left - really nice attention to detail. Or, for example, you can cut off their legs than do an Execute move…”
We’re hard at work continuing to reach more influencers so more of you can hear their thoughts and opinions and experience Warlander’s Pre-Alpha Demo for yourself. Please stay tuned as we will surely expand the list of influencers who have decided to showcase the Demo!
We talked a lot about the game, its assets and combat, but what do “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free“ say after playing Warlander? Look no further.
In the last couple of weeks Warlander underwent a lot of changes. We worked on the gameplay and the way combat works, and went through intensive testing in order to get feedback from the only relevant people that can give it - the players. So we decided to share some of the impressions we received from the testers:
“Enemies are interesting, and I have the feeling that the game punishes you if you make a mistake, and I like that. Some of the powers like sword throwing are interesting and the interaction with the environment is fun as well. I feel that the tagline of the game “Tactical Swordplay” really connects with the game.”
Ana
“The graphics look really good. I think that the game pushes you to think before you act. The enemies also look as they are thinking and being tactical. Enemies show variety, both in looks and behaviour - I love the art and graphics. I loved the targeting - you get to see where the hit will land and that’s great!”
Alex
“Slicing is great, you can kill enemies pretty fast if you know what to do. I think that not everything should be explained in a game… let the players explore and find out for themselves. I would love if I could explore a little bit more, to see what’s hiding behind that door or corridor…”
D.J.
“Targeting and aiming are quite interesting, but what is great is dismemberment… it’s really incredible! The skill tree is great. It’s enjoyable and easy to understand and it does not overwhelm you with information.”
Mathew
These are just a few short testimonials from the people who played the Demo. Soon, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy our newest gameplay video, so stay tuned. And don’t forget to wishlist us on Steam, and join us on Discord, Twitter and Facebook.
Yours truly,
CDG Team
Warlander Devblog #12: Trials of the Forest
Greetings to all!
The internal testing of gameplay changes has finally begun! Almost all of our team is hard at work collecting and processing the data so we can refine and perfect the changes to Warlander's combat. Of course, we will share the most relevant takes from the tests - possibly even a video of the new gameplay once we are satisfied.
So, stay tuned for our next devblog! Until then, we wanted to share one of Warlander's wallpapers with all of you - called "Bound by the Blade."
Just right click on it and save it wherever you like.
Please wishlist us on Steam, follow us on Twitter and Facebook if you haven’t already and come talk to us on Discord!
Devblog #2 revisited - Off with their hands...and legs...and torsos!
For the past few weeks, the internet has been buzzing with talks of slicing, dicing and dismemberment. So, we want to join the conversation and remind the world about one of Warlander's core mechanics.
We hope you'll enjoy it and find it inspirational as well!
GDC Team
WARLANDER DEVBLOG #2: SLICE AND DICE
Let’s talk about innovative slicing mechanics of Warlander! It is unique from both gameplay and technical aspects, and we will cover both in this blog.
Imagine a situation where you find yourself surrounded by enemies. You have nothing else but your trusty light-blade. How will you defend yourself? Will you decide to cut off a leg and cripple an enemy, throwing him out of the fight? Will you try to sever your opponent’s arm to disarm him? Or you can try to behead your enemy with one swift strike? In Warlander you can do it all, based on your decisions and aiming skills.
Progression of your skills and powers actually depends on the slicing mechanics and your skill at aiming. As you fight enemies you will be able to cut off arms, legs and heads and collect them as bloody trophies. They won’t just hang on your wall as decoration, but we will discuss all of this in greater detail in a separate blog post.
How did our slicing mechanics came to pass, you might wonder? One morning, our creative director woke up and thought to himself “How about a game where a barbarian carries a lightsaber?” This was the initial design idea that defined Warlander.
One of the main inspirations for the combat system was Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, mainly because of the ragdoll physics and the feeling of cutting enemies with a lightsaber. But, combat in Jedi Academy is light-footed, fast paced and has a feeling of “zero gravity” to it. Not appropriate for our massive but nimble barbarian!
Another game featuring slicing mechanism is Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. This game features a “blade mode” where the protagonist slows down time and cuts his enemies to pieces. We find this very satisfying and entertaining but risk-free. This is why we implemented our slicing mechanics in real time. In Warlander, enemies will defend themselves and strike back while you aim and slice.
So, guided by the question posed by our creative director and inspired by the aforementioned games (among many others) we decided to create our slicing combat mechanics because we wanted to give a sense of control to our players. Unlike in modern hack and slash games where characters perform complex choreography of cuts and slashes with one button pressed, the players control the blade in Warlander. We don’t want the game’s engine to decide the place where the sword will strike, and what kind of injury it will cause. Instead, we leave all of these decisions to the players and we believe this makes our combat more challenging, skill-based, immersive and ultimately fun.
We posted some GIFs of our Warlander’s combat showcasing the slicing mechanics on Reddit a couple of months ago. The initial response of the community was overwhelmingly positive and we can assure you - the slicing mechanics feel as good as they look! A lot of people also wanted to know how did we achieve the real-time mesh slicing in Unity. So, we’ve spoken to Danilo - our programmer lead. A word of warning - it is a bit tech savvy!
“At first, we created a system with a predefined sliced-up body, basically a group of individual body parts that would be created by slicing up the original body mesh inside the editor. Once the parts were set-up, they would be added to a character who would carry them around hidden.
Then, when a body part was cut, we would replace the original body mesh with this predefined group of meshes that the original skeleton would continue to control - minus the sliced one - that would be dropped on the ground using physics.
We were not too happy with results, as a predefined cut will always show on the same place no matter where we hit the character. Also, seams would be visible on places where the remaining parts of the body meet.”
“That’s why we created a new system that calculates precise cuts in real time based on the direction the blade was moving. We would construct a plane using the weapon’s velocity vector, then we would detect bones above and below the plane and create separate meshes for each group. We would go through each bone of each group and collect vertex weight data. Any vertex not weighed to any bone in the group would be discarded from group’s mesh.
Of course, we would have to add vertices where the plane intersects with the original mesh and cap the holes in a new meshes, mapping cap faces to a meat texture. If that particular cut was also a killing blow, we would assign a ragdoll system to each group and let the physics do the rest.”
We hope that Danilo’s explanation gives you an idea of how we achieved real-time mesh slicing.
That’s it - for now - about Warlander’s slicing mechanics! Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates about Warlander! Also, you can follow us on Discord, Twitter and Facebook. We will post as often as possible and would love to get your feedback and questions.
