Bow, new missions and more Dev Diary
Hello, centurion.
Summa Expeditionis continues its advance, marching in column with a firm step. In this development update, we share with you some more than interesting news:
Bow
The most requested weapon, the one you asked about the most during the demo and playtesting. It should be noted that, historically, the bow was a weapon that Rome had to incorporate more out of necessity than tradition. Following the Hellenistic tradition, the Roman considered infantry combat noble and dignified, while killing the enemy from a distance was seen as dishonorable.
For this reason, at several stages of the Roman Empire, we find that archer units were composed of foreign recruits from conquered peoples with a greater archery tradition (especially the Mediterranean Levant). In any case, the Romans evidently knew the bow and used it for hunting, so on other occasions it was common to see legion archers from the lower strata (a sword was much more expensive than a bow).
Having made this clarification, and as those centurions who have been following us for some time know well, Summa Expeditionis aspires to be a historically accurate game, so the bow is a weapon that the legions of the time of Augustus and Agrippa surely used.
Are you missing any other weapon or tool? If so, please share it in the comments.
Tier System
In Summa Expeditionis, you embark on the Roman military adventure. To this end, we have designed a tier system that will limit the size of the camp and the number of troops that can follow your orders. This represents the trust that Roman commanders place in you.
Think about it: your century has been massacred, you are the only surviving officer, but you don't have the trust of your generals; you must earn it. So, at the beginning of the game and after recovering the legion's standard, you start to make a name for yourself among the commanders, and you are allowed to rebuild a camp and command a contubernium of 10 men (tier 1).
The missions from your superiors will become increasingly complex and ambitious, and you will gradually build a name for yourself and climb the ranks in your military career. Once you have advanced enough, you will receive a message from your superiors (you will rise in tier) authorizing you to expand your camp (larger area) and recruit more men under your command (up to 20 in the second tier).
Through this system, Summa Expeditionis will feature a progressive advancement where the difficulty of maintaining your camp will increase steadily.
Barbarian Raids
At the beginning of the game and during the first tier, your combats will always be offensive. To rescue your comrades and obtain tools and resources, you will have to raid barbarian camps. But from tier 2 onwards, you will attract the attention of certain enemy chieftains who will start to take an interest in what you have achieved. Therefore, you will be the one who has to defend against barbarian assaults.
At this point, the game adds a new layer of difficulty in which keeping your century alive depends not only on obtaining food, water, and shelter. Enemy attacks will test your skills as a commander.
Full patch notes below:
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Combat
- Stamina consumption has been added for performing attacks and blocking with the shield.
- Waiting times between attacks and the maneuverability of spear attacks have been modified.
- A new weapon type "bow" has been added.
- A new "slot" for the bow has been added.
- A new weapon option at the start, "Auxiliary Bow" and "Small Quiver," has been added.
- A new weapon type "arrow" has been added.
- A new type of backpack for arrows (quiver) has been added.
Interface
- Stamina has been added to the stat view of characters we approach.
- Animals now have their life and stamina displayed when aiming at them.
NPCs
- Animals now also consume stamina when attacking, and their attack can be interrupted with another attack.
- NPC AI has been given the ability to use bows.
- The decision-making of NPC AI with ranged weapons and their aiming ability has been improved.
- Animal stats (damage, speed, health, stamina, attack speed, colliders...) have been modified. Heavy attacks have been limited to large animals.
- NPCs now search for nearby weapons if they are under attack and unarmed.
Gameplay
- Controller compatibility has been added (possibly with Steam Deck as well, although I don't have one available to test directly yet).
- The game start has been modified with a cinematic illustrating the ambush before the story.
- The initial mission line has been expanded, extending the current content to 4 episodes and modifying the progression to make it easier.
Bug Fixes
- Some bugs related to the new combat system have been resolved.
- Fixed a bug that caused NPCs to move away after being given orders.
- Fixed a bug that did not properly load the legion insignia when loading a saved game.
- Fixed a bug that duplicated objects and NPCs in some random camps.
- Fixed a bug that caused projectiles to hover in the air near bonfires.
- Fixed a bug that caused servants not to receive the correct orders in formation.
- Fixed a bug that caused torches to sound despite being extinguished.
Combat and gamesense
