The Dragoness: Command of the Flame News

[h2]Welcome back, Commanders.[/h2]

During our breakdown of the Commander's role, we briefly touched on the importance of Revival Spells. These spells, chosen before heading out on a quest, will have a major influence on your overall strategy!

Players can choose from up to three randomly determined Revival Spells each time the Commander returns to take their physical form. Each Revival Spell has its own associated Talents, Skills, Turn Bonuses, Resources, Movement Points, and Mana.

This selection changes every time the Commander returns to the Capital meaning you may not get the same Revival Spells appearing the next time you venture out. Therefore, after completing or failing a mission, the Commander will always be presented with an entirely new choice to make, and a new strategy to pursue!

[h3]A woman of many talents[/h3]

When selecting a Revival Spell, you’ll be presented, initially, with two options. Both options have an associated Talent which will alter certain aspects of the Commander's playstyle. All Talents provide some form of passive buff to the Commander that will aid you on your next quest.

For example, one Talent grants extra movement steps while another grants the Commander an additional 10 Mana. Some Talents provide boosts to combat stats, such as the Blood Rage Talent, which increases the Melee Damage of all your units by 7 but prohibits you from making Ranged Attacks.



Other Talents are less general and are instead tailored toward specific army builds. A commander that likes to recruit units from the fiery Zildarya Camp may want to invest in the Fire Affinity Talent which grants Zildarya units 5 additional shield points. Or, if a player prefers to use Gryphons, there is a Talent for boosting all Gryphon units’ dodge and magic resistance by 5%.

At first, Talents will be randomly assigned to a Revival Spell loadout. However, you can permanently unlock a Talent by building the Training Grounds site at the Capital. Upgrading the Training Grounds further will unlock the ability to choose between any Talent, regardless of the Revival Spell.



[h3]The Oracle of Drairthir[/h3]

Once you’ve sufficiently upgraded your Talents in the Training Grounds it’s time to head over to the Oracle. The Oracle is another structure in the Capital that will need constructing before you can begin utilising its progression tree.

After gathering enough resources, you can then use the Oracle to upgrade your Turn Bonuses. Each Revival Spell comes with three random Turn Bonuses that the player can use after expending all their movement while exploring a map.



A Turn Bonus must be selected before continuing, these can range from recovering extra HP or Mana, adding additional Steps, and gaining extra resources. Like the Talents, Turn Bonuses start out being randomly determined, however, you can upgrade the Oracle to unlock the ability to swap one of the three Turn Bonuses for a specific one.



The ability to select between Turn Bonuses gives the Commander a noticeable advantage when replaying a quest to complete challenges. For example, if a player found that they were lacking in resources, they can select one of the Iron or Granite bonuses. Or, if a player struggled to navigate a particularly expansive map, investing in the Extra Steps bonus may save on precious Food Supplies.



[h3]Magic, amplified![/h3]

Despite her talents, The Dragoness is only able to revive the Commander thanks to the incredible power supplied by Níwenborh’s Magic Amplifier.

The Magic Amplifier is one of many buildings that can be upgraded throughout the game. However, unlike other upgrades, the Amplifier uses a specific resource called Dragon Stone which can be acquired by completing challenges and achieving additional Victory Conditions during quests.

Commanders will need to prioritise how to spend their precious Dragon Stones within the Amplifier’s progression tree. For example, players can upgrade the Commander’s maximum Mana, unlock additional skills to learn on the map, increase the size of the army in town by 1, and increase the maximum resources available through Revival Spells.



Choosing a Revival Spell can feel like a gamble at first, but a veteran commander will soon learn the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Eventually, you will be able to tailor these Revival Spells to suit your play style.

Soon you will be able to create a deadly combination of Units and Revival Spells that complements one another. Just remember that while Talents and Turn Bonuses can be altered, Skills and Resources will remain fixed to that Revival Spell.

Stay tuned as in our next post we’ll be talking more about restoring in the capital of Níwenborh and taking a closer look at the buildings you’ll be able to unlock.

See you soon!

- Crazy Goat Games & PQube

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[h3]Greetings, Commanders![/h3]

Today’s update is all about The Commander, the hero of The Dragoness: Command of the Flame, and the character that you’ll be controlling during your adventures across the Drairthir Peninsula.

The calamitous civil war fought between the Regal Dragons and the Shai-Va brought an end to the long period of peace and prosperity, and the Dragoness, despite claiming a narrow victory, lost many close allies during the conflict.

In the aftermath, riots and insurrection spread amongst the surviving factions, bringing chaos to an already shattered realm. In response to a petition made by the Dragoness, the powerful Elvish Empire dispatched you, the Commander, to quell the uprising and restore peace to the kingdom.



Hailing from a noble house, the Commander is one of the Elves’ finest warriors and leading tacticians.
As the appointed leader of the Dragoness’ forces, it is up to you to reclaim the capital city of Voven-Sal and defeat the forces that are threatening the kingdom.

Accompanying you on your mission is one of the Dragoness’ close advisors, Natiq the Battle Pangolin. Natiq dreams of one day ascending to become a dragon himself, boasting that pangolins are in fact distant cousins of dragons…or so he believes.

[h2]Regal Reincarnation[/h2]

Unfortunately, it seems that victory over the Shai-Va may have been gravely exaggerated as upon arriving in the Drairthir Peninsula you are unceremoniously slain by one of their kin. When brought before the Dragoness it is revealed that a strange magic has separated your soul from your corporeal body…

Thankfully, the Dragoness has the power to restore your physical form, if only for a short while, with the assistance of revival spells and Níwenborh's Magical Amplifier.

Before heading out on one of the Dragoness’s quests, players will be able to choose from several revival spell loadouts, each with a separate Skill, Talent, set of Turn Bonuses, and starting Resources. Commanders will eventually have up to three randomly determined revival spells to choose from at any one time.



A Skill is a spell that the Commander will have at their disposal at the start of a quest and can be used during combat encounters. For example, one revival loadout may have a healing spell while another may be focused on dealing damage.

Talents are passive abilities that confer buffs to the Commander and their army. These vary from boosting specific types of damage (such as ranged or melee), to increasing the number of steps the Commander can move per turn when exploring the map.



Turn Bonuses are a set of three perks that can be selected at the end of the Commander’s turn during map exploration. Once you have exhausted all your steps, choose one of the three options to gain a bonus. Examples of Turn Bonuses include gaining extra resources (Iron, Granite, etc.), gaining additional experience points, or replenishing health or mana.



The potency of these revival spell loadouts can be upgraded back at the Capital in Níwenborh. By spending resources to upgrade the Magical Amplifier you can improve Skills, widen the selection of possible Talents, and unlock more Turn Bonuses.

[h2]Levelling Up[/h2]

Once a revival spell has been selected and you have chosen your army’s starting units, you’ll be ready to head out on a quest. During a quest, you’ll discover many ways of earning experience points and levelling up the Commander!

The most common means of earning experience is by defeating enemies, but other methods include discovering sites of interest, completing side quests, visiting universities, and through Turn Bonuses.



When your commander gains a level, she will be able to choose between two options: upgrade an existing spell to improve its effectiveness or learn a new spell entirely.



[h2]Combat Sorceries[/h2]

The Commander will provide invaluable assistance for your army during battles by utilising powerful spells from her spell book to influence the units on the battle grid.

Hidden Dagger is a vicious spell that doubles the damage of a target monster's next melee attack. Haste allows you to close the gap between you and the enemy by increasing an individual unit's movement range by four spaces for three turns. Conversely, if a friendly unit has taken some serious damage, use Rejuvenation, to heal a target for 10HP every turn for three turns.

Be advised that the Commander has a limited source of mana from which to draw from during every combat encounter, with more powerful spells costing more mana to cast. Mana can be refilled while roaming the map at Mana Pools, overtime after expending all movement points, or bolstered by Turn Bonuses.

[h2]Development Updates: Improved spell FX, Audio polish, and level balancing[/h2]

Recent changes to the game include improved visual FX for the Commander when she is casting her spells (to make them appear more epic!), as well as new voiced audio lines.



We’ve also been working on re-balancing some of the early levels in the campaign based on the feedback we received during our closed beta period, notably Gates of Noita and Ent’s Grove.

For the Gates of Noita we have implemented teaser units from later biomes, reduced the amount of attacking waves (to make the map shorter and more re-playable), added additional resources, a new shop near the gate with "exotic" units, and stronger units to the starting defence force in the gate itself.

For Ent’s Grove we have altered the map layout to discourage the player from wandering and help improve the flow of exploration. We’ve also reduced the difficulty of early encounters and added a new cutscene which signposts new areas for exploration when they are unlocked during the quest.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back in a few weeks’ time to take a closer look at revival spells in more detail.

See you soon!

- Crazy Goat Games & PQube

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[h2]Welcome back Commanders![/h2]

In our last post, we talked a lot about the world of The Dragoness: Command of the Flame, how quests work, and the basics of map exploration and resource management.

Today, we'll be taking a detailed look at the combat system and teaching you how to effectively utilise its associated mechanics!

[h3]Choosing Your Opponent[/h3]

As the Commander of the Dragoness' army, you are charged with ridding the Peninsula of her enemies and fighting the battles she cannot. During your travels, you will face many powerful foes that will stand between you and your goal. During a quest, these encounters are signposted on the map by a monster unit, who will typically be blocking a crucial path forwards or guarding a precious resource cache.

Right-clicking a monster unit on the map will reveal the composition of its associated army. Use this tool to help you decide whether your current units are strong enough to defeat them or and if you should instead retreat and build up a bigger force.

Once you feel sufficiently powerful enough to take on an enemy army, simply move onto the monster unit’s space to initiate an attack.



[h3]To Battle![/h3]

Now that you've engaged an enemy army in combat you'll be brought to a 12x12 battle grid with your commander and units arrayed on the left, and the combined enemy forces on the right. The starting positions of your units are determined by how they are organised in the army management window which you can customise when roaming the map, with the first unit deployed in the top left.



Almost all battle grids contain terrain which will block certain spaces and limit movement. Types of terrain include rubble or raised woodland depending on the environment you're fighting in.

[h3]Your Move[/h3]

With the stage set, it is now time for battle to commence! Below the battle grid you will see the turn order track which shows the order in which units will act. This order is determined by the individual initiative stat of each unit, the higher the initiative, the sooner they can make their move! A unit can perform one of the following actions on its turn:

Common actions

Move - All units have a set number of spaces they can move on the grid. Large monsters will be slow and ponderous while flying creatures can quickly manoeuvre out of difficult situations.

Regenerate Mana – If a unit has access to spells or special abilities, it can spend its action to regain a % of depleted spell points.

Defend – Units can protect themselves against a potential attack by defending, which will give them a % resistance to melee, ranged, or magical attacks until their next turn.

Wait – The unit will patiently wait until the end of the round before they act, useful if you want your enemy to make the first move!

Attack - Use either a melee or ranged attack against an opponent in range.

Special actions

Spell/Special Action - Some units have access to unique special actions, which they can perform by spending mana. Example actions include the Oaken Ent's Slow spell which will dramatically reduce an enemy unit’s movement, and the Harpy's Exhaust ability which diminishes enemy melee and ranged attack power.

Remember, you can only select ONE action per unit each turn so strategize accordingly!

[h3]Statistics Breakdown[/h3]

Every unit that you’ll come across in The Dragoness: Command of the Flame has its mix of stats and spells/abilities.

A unit’s stats are passive values that can be altered via buffs and debuffs. Stats are broken down as follows:

Shield - Represents how much damage a unit can take before it starts losing health. Shields replenish after each combat encounter.

Health – Represents how much damage a unit can take before it is destroyed. Unlike shield, health does not regenerate after a combat encounter.



Melee - Determines how much damage is done when attacking an enemy on an adjacent square on the battle grid.

Ranged – Determines how much damage is done when attacking an enemy from range. Not all monsters have a ranged attack value, but those that do have different effective ranges. Attacking from too far away will result in a lower damage output, so you’ll need to make sure that they are positioned to ensure maximum damage!

Dodge - Determines how likely it is that a unit will avoid an incoming attack. A successful dodge will result in no damage being taken.

Magic Resistance - Determines how likely it is that a unit will avoid an incoming spell. A successful resist will nullify the spell entirely!

Arrows - Units are limited by the number of times they perform ranged attacks during a battle, as defined by their arrow count.

Spells – Magical abilities unique to the unit which can be used in a variety of ways to support allies and hinder enemies.

[h3]Final Blow[/h3]

A battle will resolve once all units on one side have been defeated, at which point you will be presented with a summary that tallies up all the casualties.

Here you will see the enemy casualties as well as your own, indicating exactly how much damage each unit has sustained, and if any were slain. This summary will be extremely helpful when deciding your next move when you return to the map view. You may need to find a source of healing, or even new units to recruit!



[h3]Development Updates: Battle polish, additional audio FX, and UI changes[/h3]

We’ve also been adding some additional polish to the battle system. There is now a visual effect to show which tiles and which units certain attacks will affect, particularly useful for being able to visualise targets for large units.



When units are hit, damage indicators are now dynamic to make combat feel more visceral.



We received feedback from our beta testers about audio during map exploration, so we have now added unique chimes for each of the different resources when they are collected e.g. granite has an earthy grumble and iron has a metallic clink.

When acquiring new unit types back at the capital the player can now see a shortened list of stats and spells in the UI before they spend resources, so they know the benefits of each unit in advance.



That's all for now but be sure to keep an eye out for our next post where we’ll discuss the role and abilities of the Commander.

See you soon!

- Crazy Goat Games & PQube

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[h2]Welcome back Commanders![/h2]

This is the first in a regular series of updates where we'll be taking a closer look at key aspects of The Dragoness: Command of the Flame as well as sharing details on recent progress we've been making.

In this update, we'll be taking a look at the Drairthir Peninsula (the main setting for the campaign), giving a full breakdown of what to expect from the many quests you'll be taking on, and how the map exploration mechanics work.

[h3]A Land of Dragons[/h3]

The lands of the Drairthir Peninsula were once ruled by the Regal Dragons alongside the powerful Va. However, years of war and violence slowly began to corrupt the Va and turned their bravery into cruelty. An unknown force presented the Va with a scroll of dark magic that transformed the once-mighty race into the violent and cruel Shai-Va.

An epic war between the Regal Dragons and the Shai-Va erupted across the kingdom, transforming great cities, including the magnificent capital of Voven-Sal into nothing more than ruins. Eventually, the ruler of the Regal Dragons, the Dragoness, emerged victorious, but the war had taken a huge toll on the land. Chaos and rebellion plagued the various regions across the peninsula, and factions of monstrous beasts emerged. The Dragoness was forced to retreat with her remaining forces to the stronghold of Níwenborh, sending out a desperate petition for aid.

News of this turmoil eventually reached the Elvish Empire, long-standing allies of the Regal Dragons, who immediately dispatched their finest commander to the Drairthir Peninsula.

That's where you come in...



[h3]Exploring the Drairthir Peninsula[/h3]

Upon arrival, you will be immediately greeted by the Dragoness' trusted advisor, Natiq of the house of Battle Pangolins. Natiq will act as your guide and advisor throughout the campaign which consists of several quests commissioned by The Dragoness.

There are several types of quest, ranging from retrieving specific items, defeating difficult bosses, defending areas of importance, or securing specific resources. Every region that you travel to will have a unique feel and distinct environment, and will offer up different gameplay challenges, both in terms of map layout and the enemy armies you will encounter.

NOTE: You can experience some of this variety in our current demo - the first level (Fearann) challenges the player to secure granaries spread out across the map, while the second level (The Gates of Noita) has you defending a fortress from enemy invaders. Commanders will need to balance their army and resources whilst also maintaining a strong force mounted on the ramparts as leaving the wall unmanned will result in an immediate failure!

[h3]Side Quests and Challenges[/h3]

During a quest, you may come across several huts belonging to the Wizard who will offer you side quests in exchange for unique rewards. Other side quests can also be picked up elsewhere on the map, depending on the quest.



Each quest will also have its own unique set of challenges which will yield valuable resources that can be spent back at the capital to improve its buildings and facilities.



[h3]Map Exploration: Maintaining a Healthy Army[/h3]

When exploring a map during a quest, the commander has a limited number of movement points that they can spend per turn before their army needs to be fed. At the end of the turn, a commander has several choices they can make before they carry on moving. These options are determined by which revival spell was selected before embarking on a new quest. Some options allow for passive resource gathering in between movement, while others offer boosts to available steps and damage bonuses.

To maintain a healthy army, commanders will need to carefully plan out their routes and balance food supplies with exploration. Commanders will start each mission with a set amount of provisions but more can be found across the map, with some areas being more resourceful than others. Running out of food will result in an army growing hungry and weakening them in future battles.

There are multiple stages associated with this mechanic:

After just one day without food, your army will be WEAKENED, giving negative modifiers to HP, attack, initiative, dodge and magic resistance. After 4 days your army will become HUNGRY, compounding existing modifiers and adding a reduction to army movement. Finally after 8 days they will be STARVING which considerably decreases the aforementioned stats and adds a penalty to mana points.



[h3]Map Exploration: Resource Gathering & Management[/h3]

Many different resources can be found out in the wild, including Granite, Iron, and Red Crystals. These resources will be your primary currency for purchasing new units, as well as upgrades back at the capital.

Most maps contain several mercenary camps that house a variety of beast units that can join your cause in exchange for resources. Later in your quest, you will also come across other types of resources such as Pyrite and Blue Crystals, which can be used to purchase even more specialised units.



While on your hunt for resources be sure to stop at points of interest scattered across the map. Interacting with these locations can yield multiple results, such as the local universities which can be activated to gain a significant boost to XP and learn new spells.

Alongside universities and mercenary camps, the commander can stumble across mining facilities. Activating these mines will cause a slow build-up of a specific resource over time. Commanders can also find mana wells or treasure troves that may contain precious artefacts that provide several stat bonuses, from improving ranged combat to raising unit defensive capabilities.



But be on guard as some chests may harbour something more devious than gold or trinkets... Some treasure has been rigged to cause an enemy ambush to descend on the commander!

[h3]Peril at Every Turn[/h3]

There is plenty to discover on each map and countless treasures to be found. However, standing in your way are the ruthless hordes of beasts that inhabit the peninsula. Many of these enemies will be guarding powerful items or heaps of resources and treasure. While not all of these battles are essential, it is up to the commander to determine whether the reward outweighs the risk!

Depending on the quest, there will be a variable number of armies placed between you and your goal. In most areas, you will still have considerable room to plan alternative routes and tackle these enemies when you feel your forces are strong enough. To gauge the level of difficulty of these encounters, commanders can simply right-click a target on the map and the number and strength of the units in that army will be revealed.



[h3]Fight Another Day[/h3]

It will take commanders a great deal of skill to juggle managing resources, growing an army, and overcoming the enemy. Remember that backtracking is always an option provided you have enough food to keep going!

If you're struggling to progress in the campaign, you can always revisit previously completed quests and attempt to uncover any missed items, and complete challenges to gain additional resources to help grow your infrastructure back at the capital.

[h3]Development Updates: Animations, new FX, and more![/h3]

We've recently been making improvements to the commander's animations, including her walk/run cycle during map exploration, so that she now moves much faster for a smoother experience!



Units of the same type but different star level now have unique FX tied to them as well as one or two star plates so that players can more clearly differentiate between unit tiers. There is also a new visual and sound effect applied when shields are broken in battle to help highlight their tactical significance.



And finally, upon winning a battle we now have an animated EXP bar to show exactly what the player has earned for their victory!



That's all for now, but we'll be back in a few weeks to take a closer look at the battle mechanics and share more details on the progress we've been making.

Until then!

- Crazy Goat Games & PQube

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[h2]Greetings Commanders![/h2]

Several exciting things are currently going on in the world of Dragoness: Command of the Flame. We have our private Beta in full swing as we continue to refine the player experience, and have also recently made improvements to the public demo version.

We've made several changes surrounding balancing and, most importantly, localization. The public demo now supports the following additional languages:

• French
  
• German
  
• Spanish
  
• Simplified Chinese
  
• Russian
  
• Polish

Along with the aforementioned balancing changes, there is additional 2D artwork, and a tonne of minor bugfixes to make the game experience smoother overall.



[h3]PAX East 22[/h3]

We're also excited to be attending PAX East (21st - 24th April), with our publisher PQube at booth number 11032. If you're at the event feel free to come by as we'll be running demos, just speak to a member of the PQube team! For a clearer look at the show floor be sure to download the PAX East mobile app.

That's all for now but please keep the feedback coming! We really do appreciate your help in shaping The Dragoness: Command of the Flame game as development progresses.

As always, thanks for your continued interest and support,

- Crazy Goat Games

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