Hello everyone!
Given how extensive v0.9.2’s development is and that is has been a couple months since our last official update, we feel we should give you a heads up on where we are and how things are going.
The short of it is that v0.9.2 is turning out pretty big, making the version number a bit of a misnomer. There are a lot of moving parts involved and some pretty fundamental tech that got overhauled. This means a few things: significant work and bugs, all the bugs, and exciting things in store!
We are now largely past the buggy phase, but there’s still left work to do on the mechanics themselves, tuning, and of course final polish. Most of the UI, for example, is still pretty raw since we were actively moving things around. So everything you are about to see is quite literally work-in-progress and subject to change. That said, we wanted to share all of the work that’s been going on during the silence.
Note: everything you read here is a preview and is subject to change before release. No, really, this is work-in-progress. Nothing is set in stone, until it is!
There is a reason v0.9.2 is our combat update. It really approaches this fundamental mechanic from every direction. We have taken a deep look at soldier units, recruitment, troop management, unit controls, invading armies, and even something as simple as the raider rams and came away with changes.
Rather than disbanding immediately as soon as the barracks is destroyed, soldiers are now organized into fighting companies. These companies come with pre-set names and banners, but you can customize them as you please, and freely transfer soldiers between companies. You also now have the ability to disband specific soldiers rather than simply adding/removing the latest soldier in the barracks.
Recruitment has been overhauled since you can now add soldiers of different types (note: not final art!). These units are unlocked based on meeting prerequisites. For example, Heavy Infantry require a Fort.
You will notice that the selection highlights for soldiers have changed as well. These are now based on the Stance you set for your units.
In the lower right of the HUD, you have additional options for quickly selecting all Infantry, Archers, Cavalry, or all combat units. In addition, you have new buttons for setting stances (Aggressive, Defensive, Hold Position, and Rally to Point). Note that the banners on the outside of the fort match that of the company garrisoning it! Likewise, the company’s rally point will reflect their colors.
Which brings us to the baddies.
Previously, invading armies were a bit rough. You could either pay them or leave an awkward box on your screen for several months until you had the funds. This mechanic now functions as desired, with the ability to wait if you do not want to (or are unable to) pay them off immediately. While the raiders are politely waiting for your hard-earned gold, you will have a reminder in your critical notifications.
And just to emphasize that nothing has been left untouched, in v0.9.2 the humble battering ram will collapse upon death, releasing the bloodthirsty raiders hiding inside.
The other major piece of the v0.9.2 is of course our first pass on mod support. This one turned out to be way bigger of an undertaking than we initially imagined. One would think starting with an engine like Unity would make this straightforward but…yeah…
To summarize, in order to make adding new decorations as streamlined as possible for you, we had to create a new pipeline for handling the addition and removal of buildings outside of the core game database. In the process of doing so, we actually prepared a very handy guide for you, which is now available in the Game Guide. If you are interested in creating your own buildings for Farthest Frontier, you can dive right into it to get a head start!
Then, as it turns out, in order to support the Steam Workshop, we had to create an uploader. While we could have handled this through the command prompt, we are always in the business of doing MOAR. Instead, you can look forward to a dedicated utility specifically made to facilitate your interactions with the Steam Workshop. It should hopefully remove another hurdle from your modding aspirations!
In this initial pass on official mod support, you will have the ability to upload decorative buildings and maps. We want to support other buildings types in the future, but this was an important first step.
Surprise! We are actually going to have the request mechanic all ready to go for v0.9.2. This means you will be able to hop into the Trading Post and request any item that your town desperately needs. The next merchant that is not already on the way will then haul the desired item for you at a premium price.
If your settlement is desperate for Clay to get one of its industries off the ground, or really needs Herbs to stave off an imminent outbreak, you will be able to do so soon.
We are hard at work on getting all this to you as soon as possible. Right now, we expect the playtest to begin towards the middle/end of February with the official v0.9.2 release in March. Then it is on the next big unannounced thing and then onwards to v1.0!
