Development Update #7: Multiplayer Duel Mode and Battle Terrain System

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Greetings warriors of Calradia!

In this development video, we take a look at a new multiplayer game mode, as well as, an update to the battle terrain system.

We hope you enjoy the video!



INTRO
Greetings warriors of Calradia and welcome to Development Update #7.

As always, we will be taking a look at some of the recent and upcoming changes to the game. We hope you enjoy the video!

MULTIPLAYER DUEL MODE
En garde! First up, we have a new multiplayer game mode that is currently in the final stages of internal testing and, providing everything goes well, will be coming to the beta version of the game with the next major update.

Duel mode pits you against other players in single combat in a true test of individual skill.

Upon joining a duel server, you will be free to select from all available classes before spawning in a neutral hub area. From here you can initiate a duel, switch your class, or roam around the map and watch any ongoing duels.

The map is made up of an assortment of arenas to support duels across all class types, and provide you with a dedicated space to fight in without any interruptions or distractions.

To issue or accept a duel request with an opponent, you simply need to look directly at them and press the ‘F’ key. If both parties agree, the game tries to find a suitable arena before teleporting you both and starting the duel.

The duel takes place over multiple rounds, with the first person to take 3 rounds being declared the winner. When a duel is successfully concluded, the winner takes a share of their opponent’s score, with higher value targets bringing larger rewards. This is reflected on the scoreboard where you can see who is top dog and try to compete for their position on the table!

BATTLE TERRAIN SYSTEM
Next up, we have a fairly significant change that we have been working on for some time now and is getting to the point that we’re ready to show it. But, before we go on we just want to be clear that this is still a work in progress and subject to change, and with the scale of this update, it is likely that work will continue on this well into the future.

The Battle Terrain system is a new approach to how scenes are selected for field battles in relation to the location of the combatants on the world map.

Currently, whenever a battle begins, the game checks the terrain type of the world map location and randomly selects from a connected pool of maps.

With the new system, the world map has been divided into regions, with each region being connected to its own specific scene.

The system also takes into account the location and direction of the parties within the region and uses this to determine where each side will spawn in the battle.

This update aims to give you a more immersive and strategic experience that allows you to take the terrain into account when planning your battles.

NEW TOWN AND CASTLE SCENES
And just while we’re on the topic of scenes, we want to highlight the 6 new siege scenes that will be making their way to the beta version of the game in the next update!

These new Empire and Vlandia maps consist of 4 cities and 2 castles, so if you’re on the lookout for a new place to call home, the next beta update might be a good place for you to start!

PILLAGING
Perhaps real estate isn’t really your thing, and you’re more into demolition. Well, this next update is one for you!

Pillaging is a new option that was made available to successful besiegers in the recent e1.5.8 beta update. With this update, conquerors are able to pillage or devastate settlements upon capturing them, netting them a quick boost to gold and morale in exchange for damages to the settlement and its inhabitants.

NEW BATTANIAN HELMETS
Next up, we have an update on the Battanian armoury which was recently expanded in the 1.5.8 beta version of the game with the addition of 9 new Celtic inspired helmets.

BATTLE MISSION UPDATES
Next, we have a couple of battle-related updates.

First is a small improvement to the death camera that will be coming with the next beta patch. This update changes it so the camera cycles through characters of high importance first, such as lords, companions, generals, and sergeants.

And second, was a recent change to the killfeed that can be found in the 1.5.8 beta version of the game. This change added an option that allows you to remove the names of non-hero characters from the killfeed, making it more compact and less obtrusive.

SANDBOX MODE
As our penultimate feature in this update video, we are pleased to announce the arrival of a classic sandbox game mode.

Sandbox lets you jump into the game with a clean slate, letting you forge your own path in Calradia without the main storyline to guide you.

With sandbox character creation, we are introducing body weight and build sliders to both story and sandbox mode so that you may further customise your character.

While creating your sandbox character, you will also need to select an age group, which will determine the number of skill points that you start with. Furthermore, your character’s culture is linked to your starting position on the world map, allowing you to decide where your adventure begins.

DLSS
And finally, if you are playing the game on an RTX graphics card, make sure to download the recent 1.5.7 hotfix that allows you to active NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling image upscaling technology.

OUTRO
And that’s it for Development Update #7. Thanks for taking the time to watch the video, we hope you enjoyed it! If you have any comments, suggestions, or feedback you would like to share, please make sure to leave a reply in the comment section below.

Thanks again, and we’ll see you next time!
 
Finally, biomes map roster for battle terrain removed in favor of node based scene-specific ones !
This is amazing news to me, i was very loud about this for a long time!
I would personally preffer a huge set of custom made battle maps, only not having a terrain/climate tag assigned to it (where you get the same map on different locations), but it having a specific place, a tile, on the main map (a square or a hexagon) where only that specific map spawns, and it reflects the main map surroundings and terrain.
Hail @cuce !
 
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The way Battle Terrains being organised is SO much better done than currently done, will feel much less repetitive and also make is feel like we're 'arriving back' to certain parts of the map. Sandbox is a very welcome return (although if we are honest with ourselves, should've really been in the EA launch). Good to see I can now be CHUNKY. Also nice to see some nice settlement scenes (can I just say... damn, that last Vlandia -assuming city- is absolutely gorgeous, and very excited to go find out which one it is!)

Duel Mode looks like a neat addition, with a nice bit of depth compared to similar modes in Warband; I'm curious to see how it works in practice!
 
That Battle Terrain System is very BIGG. Didn't expect a big change like this will be made by TW but I'm very happy to be wrong about it. Must be a hard decision to make. I really appreciate that you guys decided to do a revolutinary and time-costly change. This gave me hope.
 
the battle terrain system looks very promising. but are all the scenes ready for the next update?
 
When the battle terrain system will be added to game? Is it contained in the 1.5.8 beta patch?
It seems like a really big change and Callum didn't say it's coming next patch so it's coming soon™ I presume. Most likely the 1.6 update, whenever that'll be.
 
This looks very promissing, loved the change how battle maps are chosen, it makes so much more sense with the new system!

The duel mode looks cool too, just a shame it still uses pre-made classes, guess someone at TW was killed too many times by naked Jedi masters and got some trauma from it :lol:
 
The battle terrain system is absolutely huge. If I understand it correctly, you will never get the game map if you're fighting two different battles in Vlandia and Battania, for example. Am I right?
Also, how do you create the maps themselves? Are they fully man-made, or do you also draw the heightmap from a specific area on the world map and them add details?

Nitpicky suggestion: Please add roads to these maps, especially when there are bridges.
 
Actually this new Battle Terrain System can give a meaning to castles and make them more useful.

For example, if a Northern Empire party is got caught by a Khuzait party in a region which has a castle in it, the simulation can take that castle into account and look if that party can escape under that castle and have the help of the castle garrison. If the way of the NE party is blocked by the Khuzait one, the garrison will not be included in the calculation. But if they can escape to the castle, they will lose some men on the way but they garrison of the castle will help them and simulation calculation will change accordingly. Seeing that they will lose the battle, The Khuzait party can give up the offensive on the NE party and retreat.

This can solve snowballing issues, make castles more useful, compansate for the parties not being able to take a shelter in castles when they are being chased, make friendly territory safer and enemy territory more dangerous. Lots of benefits really.

But I think it requires finer regional grains because current regions seems very big and can take multiple settlements in it. This means lots of maps requirement and means much work for map makers.

The coolest part for players will be the battle scenes in which we can have the castle or town on our back and have the help of the garrison in the battle scene. It would be really cool to bait a big party in a fight and retreat under the walls of a castle and cause them a significant damage. We usually lose the battle and be a prisoner to a much stronger army if we get caught in the current state of the game. This feature can give us another chance when we are caught by a party. We can get rid of the enemy without being prisoner with the help of castle garrisons and cause them to leave the battle. Or the party that we are attacking can take that shelter and we wouldn't want to get close to it and we can retreat after chasing them for a while and killing some of them.

But for this to happen, towns and castles should be present in the battle scene but I couldn't see the town of Sanala in the video on the place it should be.

This is a revolutinary suggestion to an already revolutionary feature but the game will be far more greater that it already it is with the change, I strongly believe.

Edit: When I thought about it again, every castle and town needs their own unique scenes before this feature can be implemented so this feature must wait for a long time to be in game even if it got approved. But I wonder if something like this can be made in the future and want to hear devs opinions about this.
 
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