Dev Update #05 - Back to Combat!
Welcome adventurers!
Now that we’ve shown you how much our character models have improved as an appetizer, let’s move on to the main course - combat! If there is one thing that people have always agreed on, it’s that Solasta: Crown of the Magister was a fantastic combat simulator. So, does Solasta II share this strength?
You better read the entire article properly lest our fierce ferrets Kaiju and Soba be nibbling your ankles.
[h2]Good old Turn-Based Combat[/h2]
First things first, yes Solasta II will still be Turn-Based. Not a very surprising decision considering we’ve always said that we want playing Solasta to feel similar to playing D&D on Tabletop. Rolling initiative, taking time to make your decisions, playing in turns one by one…
Those monsters’ initiative rolls are nasty, 21, 20 & 19? Hope the Sorcerer isn’t in range…
Not to say that RTwP (Real Time with Pause) doesn’t have its own advantages - for instance it makes combat much faster, which can be a boon when the enemies are much weaker than your party. Buuuut that’s not what Solasta II is going for!
[h2]Find your own tile to stand in![/h2]
One question we’ve seen quite a lot: is Solasta II still going to be grid-based? The answer to this one is a little more complex, but long story short: Yes, Solasta II will still be grid-based… in combat!
Remember we’re still in pre-alpha, so the combat grid and UI are still subject to change!
What does it mean? When it comes to combat, as stated before we want to stay true to Tabletop - so every character and monster will still occupy their own tile, just like before. However due to how movement is computed in Unreal Engine 5, characters will now take the shortest path to their destination instead of walking “tile to tile”. This will make their movement less robotic as they won’t have to touch the center of each tile they’re moving through (thus being able to turn more naturally instead of being limited to 45 and 90 degree angles).
Keep in mind they still have to start in a tile and end in a tile! There might be a slight difference in the quantity of movement used - as some eagle-eyed fans pointed out, a character in the trailer has 2’ (feet) of movement remaining - but unless you’re moving very large distances it should be scarcely noticeable. In fact, some of you may remember the Tabletop rule where every other diagonal movement is doubled: the result is somewhat similar to what is currently implemented in Solasta II.
You can also dash by double clicking where you want to go instead of clicking the Dash action in the UI.
Outside combat, there is no grid anymore - characters can freely move around and turn as they wish, they are no longer constrained by invisible tiles. Again, this makes movement feel much smoother and natural, especially when using the direct control movement scheme (WASD / Gamepad).
[h2]Wait wait wait, we can move using WASD / Gamepad?[/h2]
Yes! We’ll give you more detail in a future article about the different control schemes, but just know for now that during exploration you will have the option to choose between indirect control like in Solasta I (clicking to tell your party where to go) and direct control (using WASD or the gamepad to move your party around).
You mean I get to choose? And swap whenever I want?! The best of BOTH world!
During combat however, it’s back to indirect control as you will have to navigate the grid, and direct control would feel very awkward there.
[h2]More information, and easier to access[/h2]
If you played Solasta I, you know that there was tons of information available to you during combat… but it wasn't always easy to find. Some would be in the combat log, some would be icons that you had to recognize, either on the mouse cursor or on the enemy’s portrait at the top of the screen… Not an easy task for a newer player!
Daisy bows are for long range combat Daisy, what are you doing running into melee range Daisy.
Which is why we’re putting more effort in Solasta II to make it easier to get access to such information, so that there will be less frustrating moments like “wait, how the heck was I supposed to know that?!”
You may also notice that we’re showing hit chances when targeting the enemy - in the future, this data may only appear depending on your difficulty settings and the party’s level of knowledge of the monster you’re targeting (you’d need to know its AC).
The combat log will still be here to show you all the details you need, so you can scream when you end up rolling 1 & 3 with advantage.
Now, I don’t want to show you too much of the game before the demo goes live but… I think we can share one last screenshot, as some of you may become familiar with it pretty soon. Also, quick shout out to the newest member of our Game Design team who handcrafted these tutorial screenshots I’m sharing in this article. They look twenty times better than what I would have come up with on my own. Thanks buddy!
Death Saving throws baby! Get ready for some home grown, organic game overs!
[h2]Community Stream #04 Friday 24th[/h2]
What’s better than an article talking about Solasta II’s combat encounters? An opportunity to talk about it directly with a dev! Come and join me in our 4th Community Stream on Friday 24th, and let’s talk violence!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2975950/Solasta_II/
Article by Tactical Myzzrym
Follow us on:
Now that we’ve shown you how much our character models have improved as an appetizer, let’s move on to the main course - combat! If there is one thing that people have always agreed on, it’s that Solasta: Crown of the Magister was a fantastic combat simulator. So, does Solasta II share this strength?
You better read the entire article properly lest our fierce ferrets Kaiju and Soba be nibbling your ankles.[h2]Good old Turn-Based Combat[/h2]
First things first, yes Solasta II will still be Turn-Based. Not a very surprising decision considering we’ve always said that we want playing Solasta to feel similar to playing D&D on Tabletop. Rolling initiative, taking time to make your decisions, playing in turns one by one…
Those monsters’ initiative rolls are nasty, 21, 20 & 19? Hope the Sorcerer isn’t in range…Not to say that RTwP (Real Time with Pause) doesn’t have its own advantages - for instance it makes combat much faster, which can be a boon when the enemies are much weaker than your party. Buuuut that’s not what Solasta II is going for!
[h2]Find your own tile to stand in![/h2]
One question we’ve seen quite a lot: is Solasta II still going to be grid-based? The answer to this one is a little more complex, but long story short: Yes, Solasta II will still be grid-based… in combat!
Remember we’re still in pre-alpha, so the combat grid and UI are still subject to change!What does it mean? When it comes to combat, as stated before we want to stay true to Tabletop - so every character and monster will still occupy their own tile, just like before. However due to how movement is computed in Unreal Engine 5, characters will now take the shortest path to their destination instead of walking “tile to tile”. This will make their movement less robotic as they won’t have to touch the center of each tile they’re moving through (thus being able to turn more naturally instead of being limited to 45 and 90 degree angles).
Keep in mind they still have to start in a tile and end in a tile! There might be a slight difference in the quantity of movement used - as some eagle-eyed fans pointed out, a character in the trailer has 2’ (feet) of movement remaining - but unless you’re moving very large distances it should be scarcely noticeable. In fact, some of you may remember the Tabletop rule where every other diagonal movement is doubled: the result is somewhat similar to what is currently implemented in Solasta II.
You can also dash by double clicking where you want to go instead of clicking the Dash action in the UI.Outside combat, there is no grid anymore - characters can freely move around and turn as they wish, they are no longer constrained by invisible tiles. Again, this makes movement feel much smoother and natural, especially when using the direct control movement scheme (WASD / Gamepad).
[h2]Wait wait wait, we can move using WASD / Gamepad?[/h2]
Yes! We’ll give you more detail in a future article about the different control schemes, but just know for now that during exploration you will have the option to choose between indirect control like in Solasta I (clicking to tell your party where to go) and direct control (using WASD or the gamepad to move your party around).
You mean I get to choose? And swap whenever I want?! The best of BOTH world! During combat however, it’s back to indirect control as you will have to navigate the grid, and direct control would feel very awkward there.
[h2]More information, and easier to access[/h2]
If you played Solasta I, you know that there was tons of information available to you during combat… but it wasn't always easy to find. Some would be in the combat log, some would be icons that you had to recognize, either on the mouse cursor or on the enemy’s portrait at the top of the screen… Not an easy task for a newer player!
Daisy bows are for long range combat Daisy, what are you doing running into melee range Daisy.Which is why we’re putting more effort in Solasta II to make it easier to get access to such information, so that there will be less frustrating moments like “wait, how the heck was I supposed to know that?!”
You may also notice that we’re showing hit chances when targeting the enemy - in the future, this data may only appear depending on your difficulty settings and the party’s level of knowledge of the monster you’re targeting (you’d need to know its AC).
The combat log will still be here to show you all the details you need, so you can scream when you end up rolling 1 & 3 with advantage.Now, I don’t want to show you too much of the game before the demo goes live but… I think we can share one last screenshot, as some of you may become familiar with it pretty soon. Also, quick shout out to the newest member of our Game Design team who handcrafted these tutorial screenshots I’m sharing in this article. They look twenty times better than what I would have come up with on my own. Thanks buddy!
Death Saving throws baby! Get ready for some home grown, organic game overs![h2]Community Stream #04 Friday 24th[/h2]
What’s better than an article talking about Solasta II’s combat encounters? An opportunity to talk about it directly with a dev! Come and join me in our 4th Community Stream on Friday 24th, and let’s talk violence!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2975950/Solasta_II/
Article by Tactical Myzzrym
Follow us on:
Say hello to Sakura, our Art Director’s adorable little furball! 
When Thierry doodles fanart while watching Netflix, the results are not quite exactly the same as when most of us do…
It is also important for artists to check in-game from time to time. Is that an old character model? Is the lighting off? Etc… 
We’re also leaning back into more classical medieval fantasy codes, with characters that are more visually appealing overall. You know, how characters in med-fan shows always have white teeth or look fairly fine after trekking in the woods for two weeks. That doesn’t mean everyone will look perfect, far from it - but that should reduce the amount of uncanny valley some Solasta I faces gave off. 
Thank you Thierry! I’m very excited to see what happens next with the Character Models!
Thank you! Look forward to our Character Creator once it’s implemented!
We humans have to get back to work, you adorable little freeloader!
Playing around with face paint on our party's halfling.
Our dwarf in his trusty heavy armor.
Another cute lady halfling, this is the first NPC you'll be talking to in the demo!
Part fighter, part cleric, full-time hero - experimenting with multiclassing.
The number of "we have BG3 at home" memes that Solasta: Crown of the Magister churned out...
Kaiju doing some code review to make sure your characters don’t fall through the ground.
