Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles News

[p]So someone requested Fog of War on the map, to improve a sense of exploration and making the world feel a little less known.

Had a long think about it, then made it (uploaded yesterday with a bug to inventory that's fixed now) and it's now available fully functional on Beta.

I think it's quite a nice feature, it makes exploring feel more progressive and less predictable.
And its fairly easy to clear the fog, so not too obstructing.

One for feedback for sure, lemme know what you think![/p][p][/p][p]Changes:[/p]

• [p]added fog of war on the map[/p]
• [p]fog of war is removed from discovering settlements, building in an area or visiting fixed purchasable location[/p]
• [p]fixed the inventory[/p]

The resource depletion for faction settlements has rendered them not very valuable, this was introduced in that big balance patch.

So to counter this the following changes have been added to the beta patch (which is growing quite big)
-Resource locations near other faction settlements are now owned
-Highlighting a resource location will show if they are owned in red and show the owning faction
-Resource locations near tradable settlements have the largest capacities of 250 units on the map.,
-Resource locations range indication is capped at about a 100 units, so the amount will show but the rings won't grow larger , for practical reasons



I think this should correct the situation and actually add more value to the faction /npc settlements as with depletion turned on they now sit on some of the most valuable deposits on the entire map. So good to trade, good to grab ;)

lemme know if any new issues arise.

Hi everyone,

Amongst the patches and the secret project (join the discord to learn more about that), I've been working on the next themed free content update for Bulwark.

So just gonna drop some teasing images here. These are of the "Behemoth Class" surveyor which has been discussed and requested first on the forums here. And it is coming and will be one of the main additions for that upcoming (likely late summer) update.



So this is going to be a three tier upgradable big ass surveyor. I am thinking you need to both buy the various tiers and make sure the commander building it has maxed out resources of everything to get all the tiers. It's going to be wildly OP and thus wildly expensive as it should dominate any combat engagement. (we all want something OP eventually right?)


I also want to address the following:
I read a user review criticising my use of small DLC as it gave them a feeling of only owning part of the game. And I think that is an absolutely fair criticism, we enjoy games in a time where there is so much exploitative by game makers and publishers. So fair enough.

But let me provide my reasoning and lets have this discussion. So Bulwark is doing good but it's no Manor Lords, this is by all accounts a niche experimental game with a mid sized/small but dedicated audience. Folks who enjoy the risks the game takes by deviating from established norms and tropes. And I hope you all enjoy the continued effort I put into free content updates regularly in what is now over a year of dedicated support, even if recently I am also working on another project simultaneously. Your continued support is amazing and motivates me to keep going! Couldn't do it without you. (and the Behemoth is a nod to that gratitude).

But to also always need to find a stable source of revenue. But steam revenues are super launch driven and you make the long tail revenue proportionate to a the launch. So a lot at the start, not so much later on.

Small DLC offsets the deep discounting Steam forces on games nowadays (to gain visibility in festivals and seasonal sales, to get opportunities like daily deals etc). It allows me to sell bundles (which are really popular and always on sale) and have extra tools so the game can be discounted without succumbing to bargain bin practices and the slow slide into zero revenue.

So it's a vital tool in being a gamedev that's (working towards, not there yet) somewhat independent of needing a launch hype every few years. And not abandoning games at some time after launch. Something I had to do for Falconeer after 1-2 years cuz it just wasn't paying the bills. (Something I deeply regret and am using all your support to remedy in the near future, tease!!!).

I chose DLC items that feel harmless, some ships, some cosmetic stuff mostly, a few extra units here and there. And it's all a few bucks at most. Now the reason there is now quite a lot of DLC is that I do some every time I make a major free content update, so when I added the mongress trading pack, there were also free ships added in that free update, and every DLC represents a major free update that came with it. And there have been a lot!

For me all of this doesn't feel exploitative, would I prefer not to do it? Hell yes. I would love to sit here make video games and get them to my audience. Even for free, that's why I did the Moonpath Mods for Skyrim. But in the end I have a family and a house and a 17 year old car..;) and I need to survive.

Being a dev that is passionately bound to improve and support their game year after year has seen me use every tool Steam gives me to survive and use them well.

I hope that clarifies things a bit. I know selling of separate bits and bobs might feel like you are missing out, but has over the last year or so literally enabled so much free content and updates. The revolution update, the edge update all the smaller content drops. The game has had daily deals, those are opportunities Valve only provides to games they feel deserve it. And making smart use of Steam's features is part of that.

Again thank you for all the support and keep also dropping both your honest criticisms and your desires. I do appreciate both and will keep working at making this game (and the Falconeer) worth your purchases.

Cheerio,
Tomas

Hi everyone another regular update.

here's the modest changelist.

• Increased the zoom out/height of the camera to go from a max of 120 to 160
  
• added pyro rockets to the Verne , both in practice and inventory
  
• improved the formation flying of capital airships so they are behind and above the plane of the surveyor , and in tighter formation (less bumping)
  
• improved model and shader for Crabton Boss
  
• improved shader for murenal
  
• improved model and shader for mosaur
  

the next beta patch should actually contain two experimental features I've decided on

1. fog of war on the map, so places not in range of your buildings or traderoutes remain hidden on the map, this to make exploration and unlocking of the map also feel like progression. Should hopefully add a sense of satistfaction and make certain unique buildings like the lighthouse and surveyors hq more usefull

2. A little countdown on how much population is still required for the next soultree unlock. Perhaps even showing which unlock is next. Visible when you engage the resource flow mode. to give folks a little bit more of a hint that something unlockable is coming up..

That is all for now, :)
cheerio,
Tomas

p.s don't forget to leave a user review, nearly at 1100!!