Progress Update: Requested Features, Tutorial Materials, and More!

This post comes at a time when a lot is in the works for the game: the combat update, numerous patches, bug fixes, a custom soundtrack, and long-requested features being finally implemented. Many of these things are still a ways off, but this post will aim to highlight how far along these features are, while also revealing some new features that are still in development.


IN DEVELOPMENT:

These are features that are currently being actively developed! Stay tuned!


 

COMBAT UPDATE:

The largest feature still in development will be shipped with patch 0.3.8 — The Combat Update. If you’re not familiar with some of the planned changes, you can see some of them here.  Due to the sheer size of this patch, it may be another week or two before it moves close to launch.

 

TUTORIAL MATERIALS:

New players have a noticeably difficult time getting into the game– this is mainly due to a lack of an introduction or tutorial to the game, followed by insufficient user interface cues for key mechanics in the game such as dice rolling. This will change soon!

In the coming weeks, more tutorial information will be released to help new players understand what they’re getting into when playing Battle Squares: this info will be made available on the website, and existing help articles will be updated. Additionally, numerous UI tweaks and additions will help to make game elements more clear and intuitive to help eliminate confusion at all stages of the game. Note that a full in-game tutorial is planned in the future once all the major reworks have been completed, so look out for this as well.

 

GAME RE-CONNECTION:

One heavily requested feature is the ability for players to reconnect to an ongoing game that they’ve disconnected from (Usually due to a temporary loss of internet service). This feature will be implemented in patch 0.3.8 with the combat update!

 

CUSTOM SOUNDTRACK:

A custom theme-music soundtrack is currently in development and should be made available with the release of patch 0.3.8! Additionally, look for additional soundtracks to be added to the game with the release of new game boards down the road!

 

 

Login System Online!

A quick update that isn’t in this week’s patch notes: login systems for Battle Squares are now online!

This means that players will need to create a [free] account in order to play the game. This is a security feature but more importantly allows for tons of new systems to be implemented in the future such as progression systems, chat systems, and more!

Please note that as of now, accounts can only be created inside the game client and not on the website. Accounts previously created on the website are not a part of this system and you will still need to create a new account for Battle Squares if you don’t already have one. Sorry for the inconvenience on this part.

That’s all for now! Hope to see you all in-game!

Huge Upcoming Changes!

Hello!

 

With the re-launch of Battle Squares, we’ve seen numerous item changes, bug fixes, board changes, and new content to enjoy. While looking at some of the commentary you guys have provided, over the next few patches you can expect some really large changes to the game.

 

New items? Yes of course.  New powers? Mhmm. New squares, item stats, a new board, and a completely reworked UI? All of these things you can expect, but the set of changes I’m talking about are even bigger than these– and why? Because these changes are targeted at how one of the game’s core mechanics works: Battling.

 

Battling is a straightforward endeavor; You choose to attack, or you choose to retreat. In these turn-based round robin conflicts, the winner is pretty clear most of the time: the person with the better stats almost always wins. While the game offers some interesting ways to get the upper hand on your opponent outside of battle, there are really only a simple set of rules governing when it makes sense to fight, and when it doesn’t. If your opponent has better stats than you, you’d better hit that retreat button and forfeit the AP. While this simple system is mildly entertaining and simple, its very lack of complex and diverse interactions can make for a lot of uninteresting outcomes. While stats should be a main factor in determining a victor, other things like player choice should also be considered as well as creating meaningful interactions between players. (Yes, other than just mashing one or two buttons).

 

So without further adieu, let’s get into some of the planned changes. Keep in mind these are mostly tentative, and highly subject to change before they’re actually implemented.

 

STAT CHANGES

Some stats have been renamed, and new stats enter the arena!

Attack – Increases the damage of physical attacks. Remains unchanged.

Critical Strike – Increases the chance of dealing significant bonus damage on physical attacks. Remains unchanged.

Defense – RENAMED to Armor. Armor increases your resistance to physical attacks.

NEW – Spell Power – Increases the damage of magical attacks.

NEW – Aptitude – Increases the chance that magical attacks can critical strike. (Magical attacks typically crit for more than their physical counterparts).

NEW – Spell Resist – Increases your resistance to magical attacks.

NEW – Agility – Increases your chance to dodge incoming attacks. Attacks that are dodged deal no damage.

NEW – Energy – A stat used only in combat to determine how many actions a player can perform on their turn. More on this later!

 

And with these new stat changes comes a host of new possible items! Stay tuned for those.

 

COMBAT OPTIONS

 

Players have  10 max energy which is used to execute actions in combat. When a battle starts, players start with 5 energy and at the start of each player’s turn they gain +1 energy.

 

Basic Actions

Basic Attack – Deals 1.1-1.8 damage per ATK you have, plus a random value between 1-6.  This attack has a chance to critical strike, and critical strikes deal 2.2-3.8 damage per ATK you have plus a random value between 3-9.

(This is unchanged from the current version). This is a physical attack. Costs 2 energy to perform.

 

Pass – Skips your combat turn and generates +1 energy.  

 

Retreat- Ends the battle with you paying AP to the opponent. (Unchanged).

 

Combat Skills

And now for the largest part of the change… Combat Skills.

 

At the beginning of the game, every player will be able to choose 3 combat skills. These skills give the player extra tools to use in combat such as castable spells, special attacks, or other abilities with effects ranging from in-combat healing, or weakening your opponent to perform a deadly combo. While combat skills are still being planned and tweaked, here are just a few that players will be able to choose from.

 

 

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Performs a special attack which deals (175% normal attack damage + 1 per ATK) physical damage. This attack cannot be dodged.

 

 

Relentless Strike 

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Rend

Performs a special attack which deals (50% normal attack damage) physical damage instantly, and another (30% normal attack damage) for the next 3 turns. 

 

 

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Power Strike

Charges up your weapon and gives you +3 Spell Resist for 1 turn. Your next basic attack will deal (110% normal attack damage) physical damage plus (2 damage per Spell Damage) spell damage.

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Fists of Fury

Launches four quick attacks at your opponent, each dealing (60% normal attack damage) physical damage. If all 4 attacks land successfully, you deal an additional 15 magic damage to your opponent.

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Psychic Blast

Fires a psychic blast at your opponent, dealing (2.5 damage per Spell Power + 4) spell damage. On your opponent’s next turn, they may not activate items.

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Torchfire Bolt

Shoots a torchbolt at your opponent which deals (2 damage per Spell Power +7) spell damage. Your next torchfire bolt against your opponent deals 10% more base damage.

**Note that Energy costs are not listed, as the numbers are still being tweaked.

 

 

These are just some of the combat skills in store! Keep in mind that these are still tentative and a lot is still subject to change as tuning happens. Still, feel free to leave a response either here or on the forums with your thoughts!

 

 

Update: Changing Platforms

In the coming weeks, you can expect to find more than game patches being released for Battle Squares. With this post comes a somewhat key decision to switch the platform from web-hosting to a downloadable client for players to use.

What does this mean for the average player?

  • Reliable UI Appearance (There were some issues with this for users with lower-resolution monitors.)
  • Better performance.
  • Faster load times.
  • Browser-independent support

Originally, this was intended to be a browser-based game, however with the growing patch updates and compatibility issues that have been encountered recently, it’s become more and more apparent that the game platform would have to change. Switching the game from a web player to a standalone won’t be easy, but ultimately this is the best route for the game (And it was inevitable!) . Keep an eye out for future updates on this.

Update 0.0.2!

Recent update: 0.0.2

Added support for a countdown timer during online play– when it reaches 0, that players turn is over.

IF the countdown timer expires, that player will have 20 less seconds to take their next turn, down to a minimum of 20 seconds. After 4 missed turns, that player will be permanently disconnected from that game.

Adjusted the position of the Active Player Box, still working on finding the optimal dimensions for online play.

To all testers: Please feel free to test out the new countdown timer feature as it’s currently very error-prone. While no errors have been found as of yet, it currently has not been tested in every possible scenario.