Of AIs and UIs - Warnament Dev Update #9
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[h2]The Most Important Things About Warnament[/h2]
When's the release? We're aiming to go into Early Access by the beginning of 2024
What happens now? You can play Warnament's closed beta for as much as $0.99. It is updated bi-monthly, and includes map editor & multiplayer mode, along with the access to the devs’ eyes & ears
And what if I don't? There's also a free demo here on Steam. It doesn't have all the features but also gets regular updates, including some new content:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1201700/Warnament/
With that aside, let's finally talk about what's new in Warnament!
[h2](Inter)Face Off[/h2]
Some heroes do not wear capes. When a game has a great UI, nobody really notices it. But when it's janky & clumsy - it will haunt your players no matter how engaging the gameplay is.
Apparently, this was Warnament's case. We decided to solve this problem like big boys: we called a professional designer lady to make things look smart.
There was a lot of very professional communication when we were discussing prototypes, moving objects around in Figma, and incorporating cutting-edge usability ideas into our game. This process is far from being finished - it took us about a month to make the main menu look shiny. But the results are starting to show already:
Oh, and while she was at it, Julia the UI/UX designer suggested a new version of Warnament's logo as well. Here's some more ‘old vs. new’ content:
Which one do you like more? You're very welcome to join our Discord server, and discuss it with us in person!
Next step would be, of course integrating this style into the rest of the game. And while we were at it, we made new covers for these humble developer updates, and for our YouTube videos, too (don't forget to subscribe, if you haven't already):
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
And while menus, windows, and video covers were being taken care of by a pro, we could concentrate on making Warnament's gameplay more complex! And that’s exactly what we were up to.
[h2]Event Management
[/h2]
In Warnament, there are six ideological institutions to choose from, and now that choice matters even more - and choices that your opponents (human or AI) make will influence your experience, too! We have introduced a wide array (6 per each political institution) of new random events, that are specific to the regimes in power in neighboring countries.
For example, one of your citizens might start a political scandal by participating in an anti-government rally in a Democratic country next door. Or one of your Communist neighbors might decide to nationalize all business enterprises in their country - including those owned by your citizens. In any case, you get to deal with the consequences.
These events may turn out quite well for you, bringing additional Prestige points, but choose carefully because it's also very possible to ruin your relationship with a neighbor and find yourself in a state of warfare.
[h2]Can a Robot Write a Symphony (of War)?[/h2]
In 2023, it is not uncommon for a human being to be negotiating with an artificial mind. We couldn't stand aside, and now you will have to deal with way more sophisticated computer opponents.
From now on, bots rely heavily on relationships with you and other countries, when making decisions. If you're on good terms with someone, they will be more likely to agree to your conditions when negotiating. And vice versa: what started as a petty squabble, might turn into a holocaust.
There are many factors that influence your relationships with other countries. Some of them cannot be easily changed: for example, if someone's in conflict with your country's ideology. But if you've got some Prestige points to spend, you can refer to the new feature, allowing your diplomats to oil the wheels of international affairs.
By the way, sometimes being enemies with someone might be a good thing, too: you see, AI opponents don't like it when a country attacks another country, so declaring a war results in a strong relationship penalty. So you might try and provoke someone (like, by using good old insults - as seen in real life) to start shooting at your troops, so you could convince other rulers to fight on your side.
[h2]Up Next[/h2]
Next month we will continue adding more depth to the gameplay: for example, by adding mini-goals to motivate the players, especially in the early stages of the game. Another thing we're working on is ultimatums: an option to demand something from another country and automatically start a war if the conditions are not met in a timely manner.
And here's a little bonus for those of you who would like a more in-depth look at game development: Oleg Chumakov, head of Luden.io, wrote an article for Defold official blog, in which he's talking about our studio's experience with this very interesting engine. There's part about Warnament, too!
See you in a month, with more exciting Warnament-related news!
