Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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Been trying this game the past few days. I like it, but I am not very good at it.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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I find the lack of documentation...................disturbing.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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dbt1949 wrote:I find the lack of documentation...................disturbing.
Yes, they haven't done that part yet. If it helps any, the devs have made a ton of let's play vidoes that are really fun to watch. They answer most questions about the game. You can find them here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/OverhypeStudiosDev
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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Thanks!

The figure graphics would look great for Star Wars figures.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Played enough to give myself a gaming hangover today and got my characters between levels five and six. I'll need to start thinking of specializations soon aside from 3 range and 9 melee specialists. I'm not sure where to go with skills. I need to find a better synergy for my men. Right now, I don't shift weapons because my fatigue is already way too high. I have 3 crossbow men, 2 Bill Hook men, and 7 men with Arming swords or Noble Swords, both with sword types with kit shields.
Spoiler:
Once I started encountering goblins and event driven bandits, I saw exactly how poor my synergy and lack of adaptability can be. Bolas and master swordsmen and getting stunned and super fast wolf riders and lots of other fun stuff.
Does morale really affect anything? I put points into it when it's +4 and that's about it.

I really dig on the fatigue dynamic, though it is my bane in the game. I've jacked my armor mostly whenever I can and now all my guys get exhausted usually by turn 5 of a battle and they don't carry extra stuff at all. I didn't put points in fatigue for the first three level of most of my men because they never exhausted. That's starting to come back an haunt me.


This should be solid when it's finished. I still seem to be at a point where I'm fighting new critters and I imagine as the game progresses there will be a lot more new critters, so game discovery is still high and enjoyable.

Is there an end game?
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Malacheye »

I've been kicking the tires on this game the past couple of days and i really like it...

For my second campaign start, my 8 characters are level 3/4. nobody has died yet...

A few questions/observations...

-Having dedicated bowmen doesnt seem to be a good idea. My melee guys always get in the way and get all the kills, so that the bowmen are constantly running around trying to get LOS without hitting their own brothers and not getting as much experience. It seems to me that having the quick hands skill and a crossbow for everyone to fire at the start of a battle and then using a melee weapon is the best way to go...any thoughts?

-Is it a good idea to wait, save your gold, and buy a few decent warriors instead of filling up me ranks with fishermen, peasants and thieves. Caravan protectors followed next by Retired soldiers seem better, but even these might eventually be replaced by veteran soldiers with more skills...any suggestions here?

-So far, a hound master, tailor, bowyer seem worthless. How do i get them to use their skills and make some armor or bows that are better than what im using or get me some more coin. I bought a dog, put him into battle against a bandit thug and in one turn, dog was dead. 130gold for the dog down the drain. Its not like it saved my life, cuz I won the battle easily.

-Im not having any luck with random encounters. If I do happen to find a town with a quest and im supposed to kill bandits or wolves or ghouls, then I get to fight, but I patrolled for 6 days all over the western side of the continent (the quest where you get bonus money for bandit heads), spent a small fortune in food and after it was all over, got a measly 300 gold without killing a single bandit.

-Is it worth it to save and buy the expensive armor and/or weapons or save the money to buy better men?

-Do i have to equip broken weapons in order to repair them or is there a command to repair whatever is in my stash?
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

I am not expert. I bought the game shortly before you did but...
Malacheye wrote:-Having dedicated bowmen doesnt seem to be a good idea. My melee guys always get in the way and get all the kills, so that the bowmen are constantly running around trying to get LOS without hitting their own brothers and not getting as much experience. It seems to me that having the quick hands skill and a crossbow for everyone to fire at the start of a battle and then using a melee weapon is the best way to go...any thoughts?
I haven't had too much of a problem with this but I have a roster of 12 men. My crossbow men take the high ground they can find take two or three rounds of shots at non engaged enemy and then flank to go after archers or hit the guys locked in combat. If my chance to hit is 40% plus, I'll fire into a group and I rarely hit my own guys.

In my second start, I got up to 12 men quick and started shield walling my way to wins. Going for better and better armor/helms and then better shields. But once you get to 100 in the armor/helms upgrades, it takes a serious toll on you men's fatigue.
-Is it a good idea to wait, save your gold, and buy a few decent warriors instead of filling up me ranks with fishermen, peasants and thieves. Caravan protectors followed next by Retired soldiers seem better, but even these might eventually be replaced by veteran soldiers with more skills...any suggestions here?
I was wondering the same thing. I have no idea what you get from hiring how and the wiki doesn't seem to help. So I just filled up with low level crappy guys to get my roster to 12 ASAP. It's worked for me but I can't help but wonder if I could have chosen some good skill guys if I knew how professions worked.
-So far, a hound master, tailor, bowyer seem worthless. How do i get them to use their skills and make some armor or bows that are better than what im using or get me some more coin. I bought a dog, put him into battle against a bandit thug and in one turn, dog was dead. 130gold for the dog down the drain. Its not like it saved my life, cuz I won the battle easily.
I didn't even know crafting was part of the game until I looked at the wiki and saw that a tailor could make wolf hide armor. I have no idea how they work and I've never even noticed a bowyer or hound master. Such is the life of early release I guess.

-Im not having any luck with random enc ... le bandit.

Weird. I like the patrols best. I usually get the hunt dire wolves quests and they appear almost instantly. The one that asks me to patrol roads and collect heads for bounty is the one that takes for ever and I rarely find anyone on the road.
-Is it worth it to save and buy the expensive armor and/or weapons or save the money to buy better men?
I went equipment and crappy guys. It's served me well but I don't know if it is the right decision.
-Do i have to equip broken weapons in order to repair them or is there a command to repair whatever is in my stash?
There is a command but I'll be damned if I know what it is. I'm guessing it's combination on the mouse.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Is there a way to follow enemies? I hate clicking on someone, going to their spot and only to have them move and me stop or have them change direction and me not course correct and lose ground.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

Just a quick tip on the "patrol the roads" contract that pays gold per head on return. You don't have to stick to the roads. You can go anywhere basically. That's a very lucrative contract. I just finished the second one of those and turned in 49 heads at 85g per head. Moola!
LordMortis wrote:Is there a way to follow enemies? I hate clicking on someone, going to their spot and only to have them move and me stop or have them change direction and me not course correct and lose ground.
No, and they will run and dodge and use every dirty trick they can think of to get away from you if they think you're stronger than they are. I try to anticipate where they are going and cut them off by taking an angle on them. People have asked for a "follow" command though, so we'll see.
Malacheye wrote:-Having dedicated bowmen doesnt seem to be a good idea. My melee guys always get in the way and get all the kills, so that the bowmen are constantly running around trying to get LOS without hitting their own brothers and not getting as much experience. It seems to me that having the quick hands skill and a crossbow for everyone to fire at the start of a battle and then using a melee weapon is the best way to go...any thoughts?
I have the quick hands perk and the bags and belts perk on both my archers and they both carry a billhook. On the first turn I use the wait command with my melee troops and let the archers both get off their shots. Then when melee is joined, if there's a clear shot, they'll shoot again. If not, I switch to billhooks and station them 2 hexes away from an enemy that's tied up. Billhooks have a range of 2 hexes and they pack a wallop. They also attack over the guy in front of them. I think my archers have killed as many with those as with their bows. Also bear in mind if there are two enemy guys stacked 2 deep on a battle line. Your archers should always target the back guy. It will show the shot is blocked by the front enemy but so what? It gives you an even better chance of hitting one of the two.
LordMortis wrote:Does morale really affect anything? I put points into it when it's +4 and that's about it.
It does indeed. When you kill the enemy, some of your guys will break out the high morale flag (little blue flag). If you lose men, or a guy gets wounded and things are going badly, one of more of your men will start flying a little white flag indicating their morale is wavering and they're about to break. If they break, they will run away. Not a good thing. In the Utility perk tree there are some "captain" morale skills that pump up the morale of the men within a certain number of hexes away from the captain.
LordMortis wrote:Do i have to equip broken weapons in order to repair them or is there a command to repair whatever is in my stash?
No you don't. When you're in your stash, hover your mouse over the item and you'll see a tooltip popup that shows that you can hit ALT-Right Mouse to set it to repair in the stash.
Malacheye wrote:Is it worth it to save and buy the expensive armor and/or weapons or save the money to buy better men?
As a rule, don't buy what you can find on the battleground. As the game goes along, you'll be fighting progressively tougher foes and those foes will be equipped with better and better equipment, which they will kindly leave on the ground for you to pick up after you kill them. My company is fitted out in fine armor and weapons courtesy of the folks I killed. I save my money for better men, food, repair tools (when needed) and crossbows (as early as I can afford it). I also will buy war dogs whenever I can find them. They're great to run down fleeing archers and goblins.
Malacheye wrote:I bought a dog, put him into battle against a bandit thug and in one turn, dog was dead. 130gold for the dog down the drain. Its not like it saved my life, cuz I won the battle easily.
War dogs are primarily used to run chase down runners or provide support when you need a distraction or things get desperate. Later on you can get them with armor but they are very expensive and should be used sparingly in the right situations. I have one that killed two bandits and saved one of my guy's life before he died. So that was worth it.
LordMortis wrote:Is there an end game?
One was originally planned but currently there is not. It's all procedural sandbox with no end. You get more and more powerful until right when you think you're invincible, one day you run into something really, really nasty and it takes you out. We'll see if they add anything else before release.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Malacheye »

Thanks, guys...good answers. Im gonna start again and see what happens...
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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I think I have as much time watching videos of how to play this game as I do in the gametime itself.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Stuie »

LordMortis wrote:
-So far, a hound master, tailor, bowyer seem worthless. How do i get them to use their skills and make some armor or bows that are better than what im using or get me some more coin. I bought a dog, put him into battle against a bandit thug and in one turn, dog was dead. 130gold for the dog down the drain. Its not like it saved my life, cuz I won the battle easily.
I didn't even know crafting was part of the game until I looked at the wiki and saw that a tailor could make wolf hide armor. I have no idea how they work and I've never even noticed a bowyer or hound master. Such is the life of early release I guess.
There's crafting? :shock:

I've been going the cheap fodder route on my mercs, and building them up over time. I could have hired better guys, but that cheap beggar and the brawler next to him seemed so much more attractive than the ex-Caravan Guards and such. Less of an investment if they die, too. lol

I'm up to four archers, all with the quick hands/billhook build. Loving it. The other seven (I have one axeman who fills in where needed) make a shield wall, and the archers can whack away from the second row.

Dogs... I found town with a kennel in one (aborted) playthrough, and I had dogs for half my men. They were great at distracting enemies to keep my guys alive, rushing archers, and basically reeking havoc. They just need to be held back until the time is right or they will meet a quick end.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Stuie wrote:There's crafting? :shock:
No idea how it works. I just read a bowyer can make a wonky bow and a tailor can make wolfhide armor in the wiki when I was trying to learn about crafts and to see if there were any special items I should be aware of. Looking up crafting battle brothers on Google I come to.

http://battlebrothersgame.com/dev-blog- ... thers-faq/

(From 2014)
Q: Will there be magic for the Battle Brothers like spells or enchanted items?

The player won’t be able to command a magic-user in the sense of a wizard or similar. However, there will be some items with magical properties to be found in the world. They’ll be rare and hard to get, but some will come with unique active skills that allow for otherworldly feats. In addition, some enemies also drop crafting materials (e.g. vampire dust) which can be crafted into a variety of accessory items, sometimes with magical properties.

Generally, we want to keep things down to low power fantasy and promote a certain asymmetry between the player and the opponents in the game; Battle Brothers will always be common humans in a pseudo-medieval setting that sometimes have to go up against non-human and supernatural foes. It is for this reason also that we try to avoid skills for the player that feel clearly unrealistic and superpowery (e.g. shooting 3 arrows at once) to keep things grounded a bit.
http://battlebrothersgame.com/what-is-battle-brothers/
The game consists of a strategical layer, or worldmap, and a tactical combat layer. On the worldmap you can choose where to travel next in order to find places worth looting, enemies worth pursuing or towns to resupply and hire men at. This is also where you manage, level up and equip your troops, craft equipment and engage in discovering ancient mysteries through study of dusty tomes. Once you move close to an enemy force or potentially dangerous place you will switch to the tactical combat map where the actual fighting takes place. Both the worldmap and the combat maps will be procedurally generated so no two playthroughs will ever be alike.
Apparently studying tomes and crafting are integral parts of the game I have seen nothing of so far.

Makes me wish even more that I better understood classes. Sadly the wiki was of no real help.
I've been going the cheap fodder route on my mercs, and building them up over time. I could have hired better guys, but that cheap beggar and the brawler next to him seemed so much more attractive than the ex-Caravan Guards and such. Less of an investment if they die, too. lol

I'm up to four archers, all with the quick hands/billhook build. Loving it. The other seven (I have one axeman who fills in where needed) make a shield wall, and the archers can whack away from the second row.

Dogs... I found town with a kennel in one (aborted) playthrough, and I had dogs for half my men. They were great at distracting enemies to keep my guys alive, rushing archers, and basically reeking havoc. They just need to be held back until the time is right or they will meet a quick end.
Now you make me want to start over so I can make all my archers and billhook users dual purposed.

Edit:

Now I really want to start over. I found the list of characters and what they do

http://battlebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Br ... ackgrounds
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Stuie »

LordMortis wrote: Edit:

Now I really want to start over. I found the list of characters and what they do

http://battlebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Br ... ackgrounds
Wow that's helpful! Thanks for posting the link. Also, from readin that page, it appears the "crafting" is a random event given the right conditions (tailor in party + proper materials), not something you can invoke at will.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

I may just false restart (tonight? this weekend?) and hunt for characters I want while redoing my build to be more specialty.

I currently have 3 archers, 2 billhooks, 7 shield bearers.

I think I will work toward 4 archer/billhook utility professions, 2 one handed users, and 6 shield bearers.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by dbt1949 »

LordMortis wrote:
Stuie wrote:There's crafting? :shock:
No idea how it works. I just read a bowyer can make a wonky bow and a tailor can make wolfhide armor in the wiki when I was trying to learn about crafts and to see if there were any special items I should be aware of. Looking up crafting battle brothers on Google I come to.

http://battlebrothersgame.com/dev-blog- ... thers-faq/

(From 2014)
Q: Will there be magic for the Battle Brothers like spells or enchanted items?

The player won’t be able to command a magic-user in the sense of a wizard or similar. However, there will be some items with magical properties to be found in the world. They’ll be rare and hard to get, but some will come with unique active skills that allow for otherworldly feats. In addition, some enemies also drop crafting materials (e.g. vampire dust) which can be crafted into a variety of accessory items, sometimes with magical properties.

Generally, we want to keep things down to low power fantasy and promote a certain asymmetry between the player and the opponents in the game; Battle Brothers will always be common humans in a pseudo-medieval setting that sometimes have to go up against non-human and supernatural foes. It is for this reason also that we try to avoid skills for the player that feel clearly unrealistic and superpowery (e.g. shooting 3 arrows at once) to keep things grounded a bit.
http://battlebrothersgame.com/what-is-battle-brothers/
The game consists of a strategical layer, or worldmap, and a tactical combat layer. On the worldmap you can choose where to travel next in order to find places worth looting, enemies worth pursuing or towns to resupply and hire men at. This is also where you manage, level up and equip your troops, craft equipment and engage in discovering ancient mysteries through study of dusty tomes. Once you move close to an enemy force or potentially dangerous place you will switch to the tactical combat map where the actual fighting takes place. Both the worldmap and the combat maps will be procedurally generated so no two playthroughs will ever be alike.
Apparently studying tomes and crafting are integral parts of the game I have seen nothing of so far.

Makes me wish even more that I better understood classes. Sadly the wiki was of no real help.
I've been going the cheap fodder route on my mercs, and building them up over time. I could have hired better guys, but that cheap beggar and the brawler next to him seemed so much more attractive than the ex-Caravan Guards and such. Less of an investment if they die, too. lol

I'm up to four archers, all with the quick hands/billhook build. Loving it. The other seven (I have one axeman who fills in where needed) make a shield wall, and the archers can whack away from the second row.

Dogs... I found town with a kennel in one (aborted) playthrough, and I had dogs for half my men. They were great at distracting enemies to keep my guys alive, rushing archers, and basically reeking havoc. They just need to be held back until the time is right or they will meet a quick end.
Now you make me want to start over so I can make all my archers and billhook users dual purposed.

Edit:

Now I really want to start over. I found the list of characters and what they do

http://battlebrothers.wikia.com/wiki/Br ... ackgrounds

Thanks! Bookmarked that page.
No more beggers!
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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And now the game crashes after the current update. Early Releases. :grund:
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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LordMortis wrote:And now the game crashes after the current update.
Did you report it on Steam? The devs are super fast to fix any issues like that.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

ColdSteel wrote:
LordMortis wrote:And now the game crashes after the current update.
Did you report it on Steam? The devs are super fast to fix any issues like that.
I did not but I delete my save game (which I was going to do anyway) and tried twice more because I'm obstinate. The fourth time it came right up.

Now I have a party of 7 so far nothing but jokers, farmhands, and wildmen. I will also accept Lumberjacks, Raider, Swordmasters, Squires if I can ever afford them.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Stuie »

dbt1949 wrote:No more beggers!
My band of beggars is doing just fine thus far. Admittedly I'm still playing on easy mode though until I actually understand what I'm doing.

I think I've over-armored my guys from a fatigue perspective... there are a couple fighters that can barely take one action after several turns. I also need to learn to let them rest when there's no good reason to take an action. Slow, steady progress....

Now that I've saved up a decent amount of money, I'm wondering if I need to cut some of these beggars loose and hire some *real* mercenaries. But I've grown so attached to all of them!
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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Around my first turn when I get into the world map all of a sudden the Steam Interface pops up in the middle of my map. I have to minimize it.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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How do you contend with an "army" of archers.
I mean you're sitting there with your heavy infantry and maybe 2-3 archers.
The heavy inf is going to tire quickly chasing these light armored archers and becoming pin cushions in the mean time.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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dbt1949 wrote:How do you contend with an "army" of archers.
I mean you're sitting there with your heavy infantry and maybe 2-3 archers.
The heavy inf is going to tire quickly chasing these light armored archers and becoming pin cushions in the mean time.
Wardogs are for just this situation. Unleash the hounds and they'll run those archers down in a hurry. Barring having any of those, you can chase them by using any available cover. A lot of battlefields have concealment hexes and you can always get LOS relief behind trees and bushes. Also, use a man with a kite shield to chase. Those give extra protection against ranged attacks.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Don't know if it was a game update or my standing getting better but the game just got more interesting.
Spoiler:
faced my first vampires and got my ass kicked. Shield wall are not viable. I also was faced with pissing off one the factions by refusing to give up a package I was delivering, which I did. That was a first.

Vampires suck.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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ColdSteel wrote:
dbt1949 wrote:How do you contend with an "army" of archers.
I mean you're sitting there with your heavy infantry and maybe 2-3 archers.
The heavy inf is going to tire quickly chasing these light armored archers and becoming pin cushions in the mean time.
Wardogs are for just this situation. Unleash the hounds and they'll run those archers down in a hurry. Barring having any of those, you can chase them by using any available cover. A lot of battlefields have concealment hexes and you can always get LOS relief behind trees and bushes. Also, use a man with a kite shield to chase. Those give extra protection against ranged attacks.
Thanks, that was good info.
Unfortunately Goblins won't chase you when you go into hiding. You'll even lose a guy or two running for it. Wardogs are good for a broken enemy but ain't worth a shit otherwise.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

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dbt1949 wrote:Unfortunately Goblins won't chase you when you go into hiding.
No, the hiding is to prevent them from shooting you full of holes while you chase them.
dbt1949 wrote:Wardogs are good for a broken enemy but ain't worth a shit otherwise
Goblins are a PITA but they are really weak. A lot of the time you can kill them with just a blow or two. They're very mobile though. I've found the wardogs do a nice job chasing the PITA goblin archers down because the dogs are so fast. The armored dogs are best of course. Once they catch them they can kill them in a few chomps. It's better to have multiple dogs of course. One dog isn't going to do a lot. The problem is that they're so expensive.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Does the paper doll slot in the upper left hold anything but war dogs?

I haven't done much with dogs because they are rare and expensive. I buy them when I see them but I don't usually slot them because I don't want fatigue hit.

All 12 of my characters now have quick hands and a crossbow so if I ran across nothing but archers, I think I'd be OK... even if most of my guys are exactly skilled marksmen.

Wiki says there is crossbow upgrade. I'm wondering how you find that sucker.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

LordMortis wrote:I buy them when I see them but I don't usually slot them because I don't want fatigue hit.
I wonder if the Bags and Belts perk prevent the fatigue hit? I always stick the dogs on my archers because fatigue isn't an issue for them. They all have that perk but I haven't paid any attention to whether it causes fatigue on them to equip or not.
LordMortis wrote:Does the paper doll slot in the upper left hold anything but war dogs?
Good question. I don't know. I think eventually that may also be used for mounts (horses, etc.) Currently, I think the goblins ride wolf mounts.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Another new type of critter fought today and my first two named items. One of my guys is up to level 8. I've decided to start clearing some of the red places on the board. So far, none of them is over my head. :horse:
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

Huge update is out on the Beta Branch. Completely reworked perks, new talents system, new company banners, new injury system and lots more.

Image
Update released to Beta Branch!
AUGUST 24 - RAPSDJFF

Here we go – the new update is now live for the beta branch of Battle Brothers!

What’s new?
This update started out with two major goals: reworking the perk system and introducing more complex injury mechanics. Both are included in this update, and while were were at it, we’ve also included lots of other changes and additions. Here’s the shortlist of features.
A new contract
25 new illustrated events
18 new and detailed mercenary banners to pick from for your company
3 new character traits
2 new character backgrounds
An ironman mode
A reworked perk system, less constricted and with more perks to choose from
New injury mechanics with different types of injuries and usable temple buildings
A talent system whereby more talented characters regardless of their background can reliably reach high skill
More powerful but also more rare named weapons, armor, helmets and shields of every type hidden across the world
More tools to use in combat, like bandages and poison
Changed shield mechanics in combat
Changes to weapon progression and balance
New sounds for humans; every character uses one of six different voices now to shout and scream. More sounds for all voices incoming.
Various bugfixes and smaller improvements, such as to AI

Note that this update is not compatible with older savegames. You will have to start a new campaign!

Why put this in a beta branch first?
This update makes changes to many of the game’s mechanics with a rework of the perk system, the introduction of temporary and permanent injuries, and lots of smaller things all over. Extensive changes like these will inevitably upset the game’s balance and introduce new issues. Participating in the beta is optional for everyone that wants to experience the new content now and doesn’t mind a few hiccups – we’re thankful for your feedback and bug reports! Everyone else may want to wait a few weeks until the game is more balanced and any issues that popped up have been ironed out.

Please report any issues you encounter in the forums here. Do not leave them as comments to this dev blog, they’d only get buried and lost.

How do I access the beta branch?
In order to access the beta branch of Battle Brothers you need to do as follows:
Go to your Steam library.
Right-click on ‘Battle Brothers’ and select ‘Properties’.
Go to the tab labeled ‘BETAS’.
Select ‘beta’ from the drop down menu.

Steam should now download the beta branch and once it is finished you can normally run it via your Steam library.
Pic of the new powerful named weapons:
Enlarge Image
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by Sepiche »

I haven't tried the last few updates, but this game just keeps getting better and better. Really solid, turn based fun, even at this stage.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Haven't touched the game since the last time I posted. I will watch here to see when this leaves "the beta branch" and then I'll have to find time to get back to the game.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by tgb »

Sounds good and I'll be checking it out tonight, but I really wish they'd put this much effort into fleshing out the world. Last time I played it still seemed very barren and empty.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

tgb wrote:Sounds good and I'll be checking it out tonight, but I really wish they'd put this much effort into fleshing out the world. Last time I played it still seemed very barren and empty.
Physically it didn't feel that way for me. Emotionally, I felt barren and empty, as if there needed to be a point. Like it was meant for something different than being a sandbox game but that's all it aspired toward. Of course, I don't know what they actual design intent is. Even in the short enjoyment I have, they released several new types of critters which engaged in different tactics, which was always fun.
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

Here's a new let's play by the developers showing the new injury and perk system. I also notice they've added Ironman mode, which is nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EuYT8k8lTc
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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ColdSteel
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

LordMortis wrote:Physically it didn't feel that way for me. Emotionally, I felt barren and empty, as if there needed to be a point. Like it was meant for something different than being a sandbox game but that's all it aspired toward.
I feel the lack of meaningful goals as well. I posted the below in the Steam suggestions section and got a developer response. It sounds like they are planning to add goals and scores. Quite encouraging.
Victory conditions and final score

I've seen some comments on a gaming forum I belong to saying that the game feels empty to them because there are no overarching goals to strive for in the game. While games with similar tactical play such as X-Com have a story, BB is a pure sandbox currently. Playing the game I can see why some might feel it is kind of empty of big goals.

Fortunately, I think this could be very easily fixed by adding a few victory conditions and a final game score. This would provide goals for those that want and need them while preserving the sandbox experience. I also think implementing both of these things would not be that hard to do from a development perspective.

A few possible victory conditions:
- Your company accumulates a certain amount of gold.
- Your company wins a certain number of battles.
- Your captain earns estates of his own and a noble title.
- Your company eliminates a certain rival company.

Alrmost everyone likes end game scores and graphs to see how they did and to compare how they did with others. It allows you to compete with your friends for a high score and for bragging rights and provides a strong goal when playing.

I think adding these things would provide that final "something" that the game still seems to be missing.
rapsdjff [developer] 22 minutes ago
It's a good suggestion. The game will receive several long-term goals to work towards, different ending screens and a kind of rating with the last big update later this year.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by LordMortis »

Woot!
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by dbt1949 »

Now all I have to do is find out how to win all the time.
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aka dbt1949
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by ColdSteel »

Dev Blog #82: Roadmap to the Finish Line
Battle Brothers has come a long way since it entered Early Access over a year ago, in April of 2015. Every update has brought it a step closer towards being a finished game – and there’s still a few more steps to take. Read on to learn what changes and additions are yet to come!

What’s still to come?
With the perk & injury update live and stable, we’ll now start working on the last big update to the game before it leaves Early Access. This is going to be the second-biggest update after the big worldmap update earlier this year and will take us several months to complete.

Here’s the list of major points we’ll be working on:

- Three different ‘Greater Evil’ end game crises for you to get involved in – a war between noble houses, a greenskin invasion and an undead invasion. Each will come with its own set of contracts, events and changes to the world.
- An overarching goal to work towards throughout your campaign, and the ability to retire at any point to receive an illustrated ending screen telling of your accomplishments.
- A more lively and dynamic world, with more opportunities for you to shape it, and more relation between what is going on in the world and contracts on offer.
- A memorial wall screen where your fallen Battle Brothers are listed with their deeds.
- An overhaul of the mood and desertion mechanics on the worldmap.
- An overhaul of the undead faction with new visuals and lore, unique lootable weapons and armor, and the introduction of new enemy types with their own fighting style.
- An overhaul of ghouls as independent beasts that are more interesting and challenging to fight.
- More contracts and events to change things up.
- Various improvements to usability in both combat and on the worldmap.
- Steam achievements.

Not included in that list are the countless smaller additions and improvements we’ll be doing along the way. As usual, all the major points and most of the minor ones will be explained in detail in future dev blogs as we go along, so you’ll always know what we’re working on and why.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
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Re: Battle Brothers (Indie TBS)

Post by tgb »

Don't they also say something in that same post about the changes meaning the game is pushed back to '17? Or was that another EA roadmap I read?

It's getting tougher and tougher to tell one from another.
I spent 90% of the money I made on women, booze, and drugs. The other 10% I just pissed away.
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