Merc Tactics
Version 1.4: Generated buildings, Doors and New AI
We are releasing version 1.4 today, a major new release with many new features, including:
- Procedurally generated buildings + furniture
- Doors
- Rewritten AI
- Improved grenades
- Improved Rock fields
Procedurally generated buildings + furniture
The algorithm can generate any size of building. The layout varies widely and is optimised to provide good cover in battles. Walls, roofs, doors and windows and furniture are laid out randomly with random multi-layered textures.
Doors
Doors are automatically created in generated buildings.
If a soldiers path passes through a door, he will open it automatic. The open/close door button appears when your merc stands next to the door. Doors cannot be opened, or closed if there is someone blocking the way. Door open/closing actions can be undone. The AI behaviour has been adapted to handle doors.
New AI Algorithm
The AI algorithm has been completely rewritten. The AI now uses an "optimal cover" algorithm. It analysis all nearby squares and chooses the one with the best cover and return fire ability and accounts for potential movements of unseen enemies. This results in harder to defeat enemies, but also makes soldier movements more realistic. The AI tends to stand off more, and try to get interrupts, rather than rushing in. There is also a flanking behaviour, which kicks in after a certain number of missed shots. Also, if AI thinks enemy is hiding behind doors, they might try back a entrance.
Improved grenades
There is now a grenade throw skill, which can be upgraded. The higher the skill the further grenade can be thrown. Also, the grenade trajectory calculation has been improved. Enemy now throw grenades more frequently, but with less accuracy (depending on difficulty level).
Improved rock fields
Rock fields look more realistic and provide better cover. Rock fields now appear in vacant parts of villages.
Other improvements
- Improved shaders
Soft shadows has been improved. Any many shadow artifacts have been fixed. Note: there are now two extra settings: hires shadows and soft shadows. Disable "hires shadows" if you are using an old PC and are noticing low frame rates.
- Undo can now undo weapon changes and open/close doors
This allows the player to see if a grenade throw will work out well and then undo the weapon change if it doesn't.
- Improved pathfinder.
Accounts for doors and does not reveal unseen enemies. Faster calculation of inaccessible areas.
- Movement path display improvements
Move path shows remining action points, rather than APs required. APs can be seen even if object obstructing
- Improved design of HUD, improved lazy update.
- Auto weapons tweaked to reduce spread.
- "Detach Attachments" button automatically detaches scopes and silencers from guns in inventory
- User can switch between using WASD and arrow keys to pan the scene. Because of this change some hotkeys have changed:
'C' key now toggles between crouch and stand posture
'E' key exchanges weapon from holster
'L' ends turn; ends deployment mode
- Wider diagonal interrupt kill zone.
- AI HUD displays out of range message more clearly
- The tutorial speech bubbles close automatically when the camera moves
- Interrupting soldier now only shoots at soldier that moved
- Ben Dabi expansion stops once there are no more enemies.
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Ah also, some features are not in the demo version, but in the Beta version ? Can i access the beta somehow ? Reserved for a Patreon or something ? Or simply not yet ingame ?
There is a full version of the game available to beta testers. I can send you a link if you email me at edwelch@astronautz.com
Oh nice, email sent from contact at jeux1d100 dot net
Thanks
Got the link, thanks. Is it normal main screen says 1.3.2 while Demo is 1.4 ?
My apologies. Sent the wrong link by mistake. Check your email again, I have sent the correct links
Thanks again !
In the meantime, i figured it out, changing the version from the link.
Good stuff ;)
Nice progress since last time i’ve played !
- I’d like a free camera as it seems it’s 3D anyway. Also, rotate with MMB maybe ?
- I’d like to (double) click to move, instead of drag the path, that’s the most annoying thing right now, for me. I often select a merc, find a spot to go, click, and... I can’t, i have to find my merc again, click and drag a path to the spot.
- I’d like to sneak/walk/run to do less or more noise and use less or more AP per move. Run could be 1/3 more distance per AP but can’t fire this turn.
- I’d like to see a cone or something to be sure what is in my field of view.
- I’d like to peak in corner, so i could fine from behind a wall, maybe more AP needed. per shot.
- I’d like to see an icon when i target an enemy showing my chance to hit as a raw number instead of a picture.
- I’d like to open/close doors at will from any 3 tiles next to the door. Unless i’ve missed something, it’s only from the one tile in front of the door, and i didn’t see the option to open/close many times while i just sit next to the door ?
- I find everything too expensive. Healing cost a lot (400) before you can really afford it. Recruiting the third merc is 3500 while i have 2000. The second one with the gun was fine, as it’s "just" a good loot to give. Shops buy very low and sell very high. So as a begineer to the game, first couple of hours feel really slow and quite laborious. IMO, the start should be faster, to ease the introduction.
Hi Tchey,
Glad you like the new version ;)
- I’d like a free camera as it seems it’s 3D anyway. Also, rotate with MMB maybe ?
I will consider it
- I’d like to (double) click to move, instead of drag the path, that’s the most annoying thing right now, for me. I often select a merc, find a spot to go, click, and... I can’t, i have to find my merc again, click and drag a path to the spot.
That feature had been planned, however I did not have enough time to implement it in 1.4, because of time constraints
- I’d like to sneak/walk/run to do less or more noise and use less or more AP per move. Run could be 1/3 more distance per AP but can’t fire this turn.
I'm not a big fan of sneaking. They have that feature in Jagged Alliance, but you never know if you've been heard of not and it just means more grinding
- I’d like to see a cone or something to be sure what is in my field of view.
you could use the overwatch killzone for that. When you hold CTRL the merc rotates in direction of mouse and a zone of circles are displayed in the squares where you have line of sight.
- I’d like to peak in corner, so i could fine from behind a wall, maybe more AP needed. per shot.
That would negate the AI's strategy of trying to interrupt enemy as they come out of cover.
- I’d like to see an icon when i target an enemy showing my chance to hit as a raw number instead of a picture.
the hit chance is shown as a colour at the moment. I will consider adding a number.
- I’d like to open/close doors at will from any 3 tiles next to the door. Unless i’ve missed something, it’s only from the one tile in front of the door, and i didn’t see the option to open/close many times while i just sit next to the door ?
You can open and close from two squares at the moment. You are right it should be possible from three squares. I have that planned for next version.
- I find everything too expensive. Healing cost a lot (400) before you can really afford it. Recruiting the third merc is 3500 while i have 2000. The second one with the gun was fine, as it’s "just" a good loot to give. Shops buy very low and sell very high.
If the player had unlimited money, there would be no challenge. As it is the player has to figure out a how spend more efficiently. To buy the third merc you need to find the missing pharmaceuticals and sell them to the fence, then you will have enough money.
So as a begineer to the game, first couple of hours feel really slow and quite laborious. IMO, the start should be faster, to ease the introduction.
Can you elaborate? What should be faster?
Faster, i mean having 3-4 mercs and a few items to use and spare. Currently, as a noob, i find it a bit slow paced to reach that point.
The Ctrl + mouse to check the overwatch only gives a very narrow vision, like 2 tiles large, that’s all the merc sees ?
About sneaking, then what about silenced tools and guns ? I’ve seen them ingame, so why i should use them if i cannot approach unnoticed ?
Challenge level is relative to player’s taste. I like more room to try and fail, vs have too little options if i fail one i mostly need to restart. I usually prefer one long deep playthrought more than retry more. It’s your game sure, but options > no options.
***
Also, how random is the campaign ? The map is always the same i think ? What about events ? Is the first merc always there to recruit for a gun ? The secord merc always there for 3500 credits ? The shops always in the same village ? The cellphone etc ?
Nice "little" game you have here, curious to see how it will grow. also, thanks for Linux support.
> Faster, i mean having 3-4 mercs and a few items to use and spare. Currently, as a noob, i find it a bit slow paced to reach that point.
I could start off with 2 mercs instead of one, but then I would have to add new characters and re-balance everything. I plan to add a new character, but I have to prioritise things.
> The Ctrl + mouse to check the overwatch only gives a very narrow vision, like 2 tiles large, that’s all the merc sees ?
No, but by moving it back and forth you would be able to see which squares the merc has a line of sight
> About sneaking, then what about silenced tools and guns ? I’ve seen them ingame, so why i should use them if i cannot approach unnoticed ?
Silenced guns allows you to take out one enemy without alerting everyone else. The enemy can't hear you coming, they can only see you (You will see "zzz" in the enemy HUD if it hasn't been alerted)
> Challenge level is relative to player’s taste. I like more room to try and fail, vs have too little options if i fail one i mostly need to restart. I usually prefer one long deep playthrought more than retry more. It’s your game sure, but options > no options.
You mean you do not want to retry fighting a battle?
>Also, how random is the campaign ? The map is always the same i think ? What about events ? Is the first merc always there to recruit for a gun ? The secord merc always there for 3500 credits ? The shops always in the same village ? The cellphone etc ?
Most things are random, but somethings are fixed. The map changes completely each time you create a new campaign. The first and second merc are always in the villages at the begining, but sometimes Warski ask for pistol and sometime armour. The location of stuff (shops etc.) always changes.
> Nice "little" game you have here, curious to see how it will grow. also, thanks for Linux support.
Thanks very much ;)
About retrying a mission, yes i like to be able to do so. However i don’t like "roguelite" stuff we see everywhere these days : play, die, unlock one new item, play the almost exact same but with some slight variation, die, unlock, play the almost exact same....
In Mercs Tactics it’s different, but i feel i could easily waste a game not being "really good". Healing cost a lot, mercs and items are expensive and quite rare, and money is scarce. So a few bad steps could lead to certain failure without possibility of return. I simply want to be able to be just an average/bad player, and still have fun.
i never played a full game yet so maybe it changes later.
Good about the random map, i felt the games i played before (months ago) were within the same map, but it seems it’s only "similar".
I have more time these days i will see how far i go, if i go !
> Healing cost a lot, mercs and items are expensive and quite rare, and money is scarce.
What level are you playing at? On Easy and Normal the scrap merchant pays more money for guns.