Wartales - turn-based mercenary band RPG by Northgard developer - Skelmar Invasion DLC coming December 10th

[LESS T_T]

https://wartales.net




https://af.gog.com/game/wartales?as=1649904300

Spoiler

It has been a hundred years since the world saw the fall of the once great Edoran Empire at the hands of an unprecedented plague that swept the nation. In the turmoil and uncertainty that has followed, mercenary work, banditry and thievery across the land is abundant, as honor has long since become an almost entirely forgotten virtue.

Now, prepare to lead a group of unscrupulous characters who revel in such activity in a massive open world where combat, death and a thirst for riches will shape and define your day to day life. You are not special, the chosen one or a once in a millennia hero ushering in a new era of peace. Your goal is solely to survive and thrive in this harsh and hostile world.

Only the bravest and most ambitious can hope to see their story written in the Wartales!

• Journey through the gigantic world of Wartales and explore each of its corners in your quest for notoriety, wealth and recognition.
  
  
• Explore lively and vibrant villages, vestiges of a forgotten time, abandoned mines, deserted camps and more that litter this vast continent as you unravel the history of the world.

• Fight your way out of perilous situations with a new twist on tactical turn based combat, as you are confronted by wild animals, fearless bandits and more...
  
  
• Recruit new companions with numerous unique specializations, skill sets, weapon preferences resulting in a plethora of possible builds.
  
  
• Accept contracts that will see you defend, liberate and save the many inhabitants of the land, be they good natured people just trying to make their way or those with less honorable motives...
  
  
• Collect bounties! From the most insignificant petty thieves to the lands most notorious figures, there’s no such thing as a profit too small to take.

• Enhance you and your companions capabilities with a deep and intuitive RPG progression and crafting system.
  
  
• Improve your group’s equipment by gathering materials and crafting powerful new weapons and tools.
  
  
• Develop your camp, adding new amenities, tools & equipment to increase your group’s morale and efficiency.

Why Early Access?
“Because our goal is to make Wartales the best game it can possibly be, and working alongside our wonderful community in Early Access is the most sure fire way to go about that! Early Access provides us an avenue to to collaborate with our players to ensure that not only does Wartales become the best game that we can possibly make it, but ultimately is an unforgettable experience for as wide a range of players as possible.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“Our current estimation is around 12 months but it could be even sooner, depending on how quickly we are able to reach our milestones and implement all of our planned features and content. But there’s no rush, we just want to ensure that whenever the final release may be, the game is exactly where it needs to be.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“Throughout Early Access, we plan to release a number of updates that will add a vast array of new content to the game, ranging from additional regions, more diverse opponents, new battle rules and modes, and additional content for every aspect of the game and more. Alongside these updates we will be seeing regular improvements, bug fix and balance patches.

We expect Wartales to change and grow wildly over the course of the Early Access program, and are fully committed to working closely with our players push the game to where it needs to be for its eventual full release.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“The early access build contains essentially the full experience of the game as we envision it, but the content of the game is limited to a few regions at this time. As we update the early access, you can expect balancing changes and a lot of additional content, but the game is already in a great place and we are excited for you all to experience it!
For the full description of the game's current state, please refer to the "About this" section.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“Wartales will have a set introductory Early Access price before a small increase upon its official release.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We plan to heavily involve the community in our development of the game, so any and all feedback, comments, suggestions and criticism is more than welcome. As such, we encourage our Early Access users to join us on Discord, where the whole development team is available and looking forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions. We will have an in game feature that allows you to send direct bug reports and we will also be closely monitoring the Steam Community forums.”

 

[Infinitron]

Well spotted, LESS T_T.



https://www.pcgamer.com/wartales-is-a-gritty-mercenary-epic-from-the-makers-of-northgard/

WarTales is a gritty mercenary epic from the makers of Northgard
Don't starve. Or run out of money, catch the plague, or get eaten by wolves.

During the PC Gaming Show, Shiro Games—the studio responsible for Northgard, Evoland, and Darksburg—revealed its next project, WarTales. A strategy game in a medieval setting, WarTales gives you command of a mercenary company, challenged with keeping them fed and paid as you explore plague-ravaged kingdoms. It's got a strategy layer that's part survival, part management sim. Then there's the turn-based battles, of course.

"I was always a fan of the good old Heroes of Might and Magic game series," says game director Nicolas Cannasse. "We wanted to have interesting fights between different troops but of course we wanted it to be in a different setting, with larger maps, not hexagons, and more freedom for the player to fight, and to do it with skill. So we also looked at games such as Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity, which are more from a traditional RPG style. We wanted to find a blend between classical strategy, a very tactical strategic game, and RPG games where the emphasis is on player choice."

The engagement mechanic is an example of that. Once in close combat opponents are locked together, which makes manoeuvring matter, but your mercenaries have abilities that might let them escape engagement, or force enemies to switch who they're engaged with. Those mercenaries are randomly generated, with "different jobs, different weapon styles, different skill sets", and can be trained further at camp.

Those skills will be necessary to defeat WarTales' toughest enemies. "We also have a concept of a champion," Cannasse says, "which is a single unit like a boss fighter that can play several times per round and is very powerful. You have to find a very different way to approach this kind of character."

Though it's taking inspiration from RPGs, don't expect WarTales to have magic or elves. "No wizards, or no goblins or trolls," Cannasse says. "It's not the classical fantasy universe you will have in many, many games. It's really medieval." This gritty setting contains its own version of medieval organizations and events, like the Church, and the Great Plague, but with a different spin. "For instance, in our universe the plague doesn't actually kill people." No, it just gives them a hunger for meat that, if unfulfilled, robs them of their minds and essentially turns them into zombies.

Expect a grim world, then. One where wolves and thieves prowl the wilderness, leaving the road is unsafe, and starvation can be a concern. While there is "definitely a survivalist aspect in the game", Cannasse says the studio toned it down a bit in development "because initially it was very, very hard and we kept on dying."

If you'd rather make WarTales more brutal, iron man mode will be an option, and the default difficulty setting only gives you two checkpoints—one at the start of your most recent battle, and one at the last village you visited. "When you save it just overwrites your current save and you don't get to save anywhere you want," Cannasse says.

You can, however, travel anywhere you want. Each region on the map can be visited in any order, though some encounters will be tougher and you'll want to come back to those later. But it won't mess with the plot if you do. "Unlike some other open-world games, WarTales doesn't have a main storyline," says Cannasse. "Each region has its own side story and they all make up together a big story of the world."

WarTales will launch in Early Access on Steam later this year, and should stay in Early Access for "about one year, one and a half" before it's done. Only some of the regions will be available in this version, though each will be complete before it's added. Cannasse estimates that even at launch there should be at least 10 hours worth of exploring, fighting, and trying not to starve in WarTales, "but of course the final goal for the game is much larger than that."

A demo of WarTales will be playable during Steam's NEXT Festival, which runs June 16 to June 22.

 

[Old Hans]

that looks pretty good, although I was telling my friend the other week about how tired I am of games that have generic bandits

 

[Alienman]

Early access. RIP.

 

[Shrimp]

I was cautiously optimistic when they announced it at yesterday's E3, but seeing the 2021 release date actually being the release of the early access version is a bit disheartening. I guess I'll have to wait 1½ year.

 

[cyborgboy95]

If you'd rather make WarTales more brutal, iron man mode will be an option, and the default difficulty setting only gives you two checkpoints—one at the start of your most recent battle, and one at the last village you visited. "When you save it just overwrites your current save and you don't get to save anywhere you want," Cannasse says.

I wish they would also include the ability to save-and-quit... regardless, promising game. Will keep an eyes on this.

 

[Thonius]

BB but with legs?

 

[Tigranes]

BB but with legs?

This would be incredible news, though the inclusion of legs is disappointing.

 

[jac8awol]

Except for one mention of "randomly generated" this might just be good.

 

[Rahdulan]

BB but with legs?

I have nothing against dwarves, but do you really wish BB looked like this?

 

[Mazisky]

BB but with legs?

I have nothing against dwarves, but do you really wish BB looked like this?

I would have payed the game twice for having legs and working animations, I know it's unpopular opinion here but hey, that's why I play videogames on a modern PC and not on a nokia 3210

 

[J1M]

The Northgard tech team is extremely competent. Hopefully their designers know what makes turn-based fun.

 

[Thac0]

Is playing Northgard worth it? I own this actually from a random humble bundle, but RTS is a tertiary genre for me so I never touched it.

 

[jackofshadows]

Is playing Northgard worth it?

From my limited experience, it's much more suited for multiplayer, that's where any real fun lies. And I don't recall the game having an actual user-friendly in-game functional for that. So if you're ready and willing to find some comms to play with... then maybe.

 

[Tomas]

I would have payed the game twice for having legs and working animations, I know it's unpopular opinion here but hey, that's why I play videogames on a modern PC and not on a nokia 3210

Nothing wrong avoiding getting busted

 

[Riddler]

Is playing Northgard worth it? I own this actually from a random humble bundle, but RTS is a tertiary genre for me so I never touched it.

If you have some friends to play with then sure!

 

[Catacombs]

If you have some friends to play with then sure

Therein lies the problem

 

[J1M]

Is playing Northgard worth it? I own this actually from a random humble bundle, but RTS is a tertiary genre for me so I never touched it.

It is a good game. Campaign is enough to see if it is worth putting more effort into.

It does enough differently than other RTS games to feel fresh. I consider it one of the best games released that year.

 

[Thac0]

Is playing Northgard worth it? I own this actually from a random humble bundle, but RTS is a tertiary genre for me so I never touched it.

It is a good game. Campaign is enough to see if it is worth putting more effort into.

It does enough differently than other RTS games to feel fresh. I consider it one of the best games released that year.

Might give it a spin then.

If you have some friends to play with then sure!

it's much more suited for multiplayer

Most of my friends have trash taste in games sadly.

 

[LESS T_T]

Steam Next Fest demo:

 

[fantadomat]

Early access. RIP.

EA have become quite the cancer this days. Every game ends up in endless EA. I am already thinking of making some scheme and fuck off with the gibz.

 

[Darth Canoli]

EA have become quite the cancer this days. Every game ends up in endless EA. I am already thinking of making some scheme and fuck off with the gibz.

And you don't even have to run anywhere, you already live in Bulgaria...

 

[Shrimp]

I tried the free demo for a bit. It's pretty short but it seems pretty fun, definitely going to keep an eye out for more news about the game.

 

[Aemar]

BB but with legs?

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1527950/discussions/0/5296777170374999046/

Originally posted by JayTwoPointOh [Shiro]:
Wartales features a very sophisticated leg system at launch, with the ability to walk, run and stand (amongst a number of other actions that require legs) all supported and playing an important role in both the story and overall gameplay.

We hope you enjoy the game and the tireless work of our dedicated leg team, who are still yet to be allowed to sleep.

James

 

[Aemar]

I tried the free demo for a bit. It's pretty short but it seems pretty fun, definitely going to keep an eye out for more news about the game.

Played the demo, it definitely shows potential. Extremely strong BB vibe. Wishlisted to keep an eye on it.