With work on the last big update now on the way, let’s take a look at what we’re going to do with enemy factions on the worldmap in order to make the world more interesting and dynamic, and how it’ll affect you as the player.

Enhancing the presence of factions for a more dynamic world is one of the goals of the upcoming update, and this includes enemy factions. Previously, enemy locations, like bandit camps, just got different banners assigned randomly, which then were also used by any parties created by that location, and that was it. Now, we’re going to introduce actual independent sub-factions, like orc clans and goblin states, which occupy territories on the worldmap and seek to expand them.

Orcs, goblins, bandits and undead each received half a dozen or more new banners on par in quality with the new mercenary banners introduced not long ago. You’ll be able to see by those banners on the worldmap where a faction holds power much like you currently do with noble houses. Take a look below to see a very strong orc faction fond of grates in the southern part, smaller goblin and orc factions bordering them, and a strong goblin faction to the north.



Factions are most active near their territory – sending out patrols, hunting or raiding parties, and actively defending their territory against intruders. While this was somewhat the case before already, it now also applies to contracts. In previous versions we often had to spawn locations and enemies all around the world artificially as part of contracts, just to give you enough to do. With a steadily increasing number of different contracts, however, we can now go back to having contracts appear when there is actually a specific threat in the vicinity, safe in the knowledge that there’ll always be some kind of work to be found.

For example, settlements bordering orc territory are now much more likely to require your help in fighting off orcs, and conversely, destroying that single orc camp near a town will erase that threat, and thereby the need for contracts against orcs, for good. Or at least until other orcs make their way into this part of the world. If you prefer to stay clear of orcs for now, you’re advised to just travel to a different part of the land where orcs have less of a foothold. Of course, those orcs may then expand their territory and grow stronger while you’re not there to keep them in check.



To underline further that you’ll be fighting not just randomly spawned parties, but parties actually belonging to factions and doing their part in helping theirs to expand, the combat engage screen now shows banners of all enemy factions involved in a battle in full detail on the right, and your own banner, as well as the banners of all allies taking part in the battle, to the left.

With work on the last big update now on the way, let’s take a look at what we’re going to do with enemy factions on the worldmap in order to make the world more interesting and dynamic, and how it’ll affect you as the player.

Enhancing the presence of factions for a more dynamic world is one of the goals of the upcoming update, and this includes enemy factions. Previously, enemy locations, like bandit camps, just got different banners assigned randomly, which then were also used by any parties created by that location, and that was it. Now, we’re going to introduce actual independent sub-factions, like orc clans and goblin states, which occupy territories on the worldmap and seek to expand them.

Orcs, goblins, bandits and undead each received half a dozen or more new banners on par in quality with the new mercenary banners introduced not long ago. You’ll be able to see by those banners on the worldmap where a faction holds power much like you currently do with noble houses. Take a look below to see a very strong orc faction fond of grates in the southern part, smaller goblin and orc factions bordering them, and a strong goblin faction to the north.



Factions are most active near their territory – sending out patrols, hunting or raiding parties, and actively defending their territory against intruders. While this was somewhat the case before already, it now also applies to contracts. In previous versions we often had to spawn locations and enemies all around the world artificially as part of contracts, just to give you enough to do. With a steadily increasing number of different contracts, however, we can now go back to having contracts appear when there is actually a specific threat in the vicinity, safe in the knowledge that there’ll always be some kind of work to be found.

For example, settlements bordering orc territory are now much more likely to require your help in fighting off orcs, and conversely, destroying that single orc camp near a town will erase that threat, and thereby the need for contracts against orcs, for good. Or at least until other orcs make their way into this part of the world. If you prefer to stay clear of orcs for now, you’re advised to just travel to a different part of the land where orcs have less of a foothold. Of course, those orcs may then expand their territory and grow stronger while you’re not there to keep them in check.



To underline further that you’ll be fighting not just randomly spawned parties, but parties actually belonging to factions and doing their part in helping theirs to expand, the combat engage screen now shows banners of all enemy factions involved in a battle in full detail on the right, and your own banner, as well as the banners of all allies taking part in the battle, to the left.

A new contract variant, overhauled Necromancers and Fallen Heroes, balancing changes and bugfixes - all this and more in this week's update!

Please note that this is likely going to be the last update to the game for a while. As explained in last week's roadmap, we'll now start working on the last big update to the game. Because most of the upcoming changes are interconnected, we'll have to do this as one big package to be released when everything is done. Of course, we'll always keep you up-to-date with what we're working on in our dev blog posts right here!

• Added 'Defend Settlement' contract against greenskins.
  
• Added overhauled Necromancer with new visuals and additional skill.
  
• Added new Fallen Hero Wiedergänger and potential bodyguard for necromancers together with a few new lootable armors and helmets. The classic skeleton variant will eventually be replaced as part of the upcoming undead overhaul, but remains in the game for now.
  
• Added hint to injury tooltip reminding the player that injuries will only heal if the company has medicinal supplies on stock.
  
• Changed introductory contract to no longer show the 'Hire at least 3 more men' objective once the player has done so but not yet completed the other objectives.
  
• Changed introductory contract to have one less opponent in the final battle on lower difficulty levels.
  
• Changed bonus effect of 'Spear Mastery' perk to having the 'Spearwall' skill no longer be disabled once an opponent manages to enter the Zone of Control, and continue to work on any further opponents attempting to close in.
  
• Changed attribute gain per levelup to be slightly higher for initiative.
  
• Changed position of fatigue and morale bars in panel for selected character of tactical UI.
  
• Fixed amount of provisions/ammo/medicine not being properly displayed in red when at zero on the worldmap.
  
• Fixed raiders stopping their attack on a settlement when the player cancels an ongoing 'Defend Settlement' contract.
  
• Fixed issue with 'Defend Settlement' contract getting confused about kidnappings that didn't happen because the player already killed all attackers before they could act.
  
• Fixed player being able to fast travel by ship to hostile settlements and get contracts there.
  
• Fixed morale flags not getting removed in after-combat-report for suvivors with permanent injuries.
  
• Fixed inventory filters resetting on actions such as equipping an item.
  
• Fixed 'Bruised Leg' injury not reducing initiative like it should.
  
• Fixed 'Footwork' skill being usable when rooted.
  
• Fixed various minor issues.

A new contract variant, overhauled Necromancers and Fallen Heroes, balancing changes and bugfixes - all this and more in this week's update!

Please note that this is likely going to be the last update to the game for a while. As explained in last week's roadmap, we'll now start working on the last big update to the game. Because most of the upcoming changes are interconnected, we'll have to do this as one big package to be released when everything is done. Of course, we'll always keep you up-to-date with what we're working on in our dev blog posts right here!

• Added 'Defend Settlement' contract against greenskins.
  
• Added overhauled Necromancer with new visuals and additional skill.
  
• Added new Fallen Hero Wiedergänger and potential bodyguard for necromancers together with a few new lootable armors and helmets. The classic skeleton variant will eventually be replaced as part of the upcoming undead overhaul, but remains in the game for now.
  
• Added hint to injury tooltip reminding the player that injuries will only heal if the company has medicinal supplies on stock.
  
• Changed introductory contract to no longer show the 'Hire at least 3 more men' objective once the player has done so but not yet completed the other objectives.
  
• Changed introductory contract to have one less opponent in the final battle on lower difficulty levels.
  
• Changed bonus effect of 'Spear Mastery' perk to having the 'Spearwall' skill no longer be disabled once an opponent manages to enter the Zone of Control, and continue to work on any further opponents attempting to close in.
  
• Changed attribute gain per levelup to be slightly higher for initiative.
  
• Changed position of fatigue and morale bars in panel for selected character of tactical UI.
  
• Fixed amount of provisions/ammo/medicine not being properly displayed in red when at zero on the worldmap.
  
• Fixed raiders stopping their attack on a settlement when the player cancels an ongoing 'Defend Settlement' contract.
  
• Fixed issue with 'Defend Settlement' contract getting confused about kidnappings that didn't happen because the player already killed all attackers before they could act.
  
• Fixed player being able to fast travel by ship to hostile settlements and get contracts there.
  
• Fixed morale flags not getting removed in after-combat-report for suvivors with permanent injuries.
  
• Fixed inventory filters resetting on actions such as equipping an item.
  
• Fixed 'Bruised Leg' injury not reducing initiative like it should.
  
• Fixed 'Footwork' skill being usable when rooted.
  
• Fixed various minor issues.

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!

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 big update, once published, will then be followed by a couple of smaller updates for balancing, bug fixing and further improvements based on your feedback until the game is ready to be released.

It means that Battle Brothers will not be released in 2016. We’re looking at a release in early 2017 and you’ll be the first to know once we have a set date – most likely to happen when the last big update is live. It’s important to us that the finished game feels complete, polished and well worth its price, so we’ll take the time necessary to ensure just that and won’t rush anything.

It also means that some features that were considered at one point in development or another have been cut and will not make it into the game for now. While some concepts simply won’t fit anymore with how the game has evolved, others would still be cool to have but also require a lot of time to do right. Time that we then couldn’t spend working on other things. Game development is often about hard choices and setting priorities – what feature best to spend our limited time on? What feature will benefit the game the most? Our choices on what’s most important are reflected in the list above. If ever there is an expansion to Battle Brothers, we may revisit some of the concepts that didn’t make it into the game at first.



That’s right. The game has just been updated to version 0.7.0.10 with a new contract, balancing changes, a multitude of AI improvements and a couple of bug fixes. Find the changelog below.

• Added new 'Defend Settlement' contract type.
  
• Added '-nosound' command line parameter to start the game without any sound or music.
  
  
• Changed loot in lootscreen to be sorted by type.
  
• Changed amount of ammunition and medicinal supplies dropped by enemies as loot to be lower.
  
• Changed 'Spear Mastery' perk to have spearwalls inflict full thrusting damage on a hit, and no longer give a bonus to hitchance.
  
• Changed mechanics and cost of 'Rally the Troops' skill to better synergize with everyone's resolve, as well as the 'Sergeant' perk.
  
• Changed 'First Aid' and 'Drink Antidote' skills to be usable only when bleeding or poisoned, respectively.
  
• Changed AI to make more intelligent use of the 'Puncture', 'Lash' and 'Decapitate' skills.
  
• Changed AI to better handle engaging into enemy spearwalls when equipped with a shield or throwing weapons.
  
• Changed AI of more intelligent opponents to be less prone to gift the player free attacks by charging without any action points left on arrival.
  
• Changed AI to better handle range advantages and disadvantages when deciding whether to engage or hold a defensive position.
  
• Changed AI to make use of the wait function in more situations as to waste less action points.
  
  
• Fixed wardogs not being affected by night time.
  
• Fixed issue with dead wardogs that could result in other things not working properly down the line.
  
• Fixed 'Sprained Ankle' injury not lowering initiative like it is supposed to.
  
• Fixed 'Shoot Stake' skill being able to knock back rooted targets.
  
• Fixed issue with contract-related footprints not appearing if accepting a contract immediately after traveling by ship.
  
• Fixed contract-related worldmap parties sometimes not being attackable by other factions even when they should.
  
• Fixed behavior of worldmap parties not being properly saved and restored in some cases.
  
• Fixed various minor things.

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!

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 big update, once published, will then be followed by a couple of smaller updates for balancing, bug fixing and further improvements based on your feedback until the game is ready to be released.

It means that Battle Brothers will not be released in 2016. We’re looking at a release in early 2017 and you’ll be the first to know once we have a set date – most likely to happen when the last big update is live. It’s important to us that the finished game feels complete, polished and well worth its price, so we’ll take the time necessary to ensure just that and won’t rush anything.

It also means that some features that were considered at one point in development or another have been cut and will not make it into the game for now. While some concepts simply won’t fit anymore with how the game has evolved, others would still be cool to have but also require a lot of time to do right. Time that we then couldn’t spend working on other things. Game development is often about hard choices and setting priorities – what feature best to spend our limited time on? What feature will benefit the game the most? Our choices on what’s most important are reflected in the list above. If ever there is an expansion to Battle Brothers, we may revisit some of the concepts that didn’t make it into the game at first.



That’s right. The game has just been updated to version 0.7.0.10 with a new contract, balancing changes, a multitude of AI improvements and a couple of bug fixes. Find the changelog below.

• Added new 'Defend Settlement' contract type.
  
• Added '-nosound' command line parameter to start the game without any sound or music.
  
  
• Changed loot in lootscreen to be sorted by type.
  
• Changed amount of ammunition and medicinal supplies dropped by enemies as loot to be lower.
  
• Changed 'Spear Mastery' perk to have spearwalls inflict full thrusting damage on a hit, and no longer give a bonus to hitchance.
  
• Changed mechanics and cost of 'Rally the Troops' skill to better synergize with everyone's resolve, as well as the 'Sergeant' perk.
  
• Changed 'First Aid' and 'Drink Antidote' skills to be usable only when bleeding or poisoned, respectively.
  
• Changed AI to make more intelligent use of the 'Puncture', 'Lash' and 'Decapitate' skills.
  
• Changed AI to better handle engaging into enemy spearwalls when equipped with a shield or throwing weapons.
  
• Changed AI of more intelligent opponents to be less prone to gift the player free attacks by charging without any action points left on arrival.
  
• Changed AI to better handle range advantages and disadvantages when deciding whether to engage or hold a defensive position.
  
• Changed AI to make use of the wait function in more situations as to waste less action points.
  
  
• Fixed wardogs not being affected by night time.
  
• Fixed issue with dead wardogs that could result in other things not working properly down the line.
  
• Fixed 'Sprained Ankle' injury not lowering initiative like it is supposed to.
  
• Fixed 'Shoot Stake' skill being able to knock back rooted targets.
  
• Fixed issue with contract-related footprints not appearing if accepting a contract immediately after traveling by ship.
  
• Fixed contract-related worldmap parties sometimes not being attackable by other factions even when they should.
  
• Fixed behavior of worldmap parties not being properly saved and restored in some cases.
  
• Fixed various minor things.

Huzzah, the new perk & injury update of Battle Brothers just left the beta branch and is now ready to be played by everyone. A big thanks to all of you who tirelessly reported any bugs these past weeks!

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.

• 2 new contracts
  
• 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.
  
• Lots of smaller improvements and bugfixes

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



Stay tuned for next week’s roadmap of everything big that’s still to come while Battle Brothers is in Early Access.

Huzzah, the new perk & injury update of Battle Brothers just left the beta branch and is now ready to be played by everyone. A big thanks to all of you who tirelessly reported any bugs these past weeks!

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.

• 2 new contracts
  
• 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.
  
• Lots of smaller improvements and bugfixes

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



Stay tuned for next week’s roadmap of everything big that’s still to come while Battle Brothers is in Early Access.

Another week, another update. The 0.7.x version of Battle Brothers is about ready to leave beta with a few more fixes and balancing adjustments by Friday this week. Afterwards, it's on to new things!

• Added a new contract type.
  
• Fixed two minor events not triggering correctly.
  
• Fixed random events triggering too close to hostile locations.
  
• Fixed event log not properly scrolling to the last entry.
  
• Fixed issue with roster tooltip on characters with permanent injuries.
  
• Fixed additional ignore armor percentage of named two-handed weapons not being shown in the tooltip of their attack skills.
  
• Fixed rare issue with two-tile melee weapons being able to hit targets that should be unreachable due to difference in height levels.
  
• Fixed rare issue with Hoggart in the introductory contract spawning at an inaccessible tile.
  
• Fixed various minor things.

Another week, another update. The 0.7.x version of Battle Brothers is about ready to leave beta with a few more fixes and balancing adjustments by Friday this week. Afterwards, it's on to new things!

• Added a new contract type.
  
• Fixed two minor events not triggering correctly.
  
• Fixed random events triggering too close to hostile locations.
  
• Fixed event log not properly scrolling to the last entry.
  
• Fixed issue with roster tooltip on characters with permanent injuries.
  
• Fixed additional ignore armor percentage of named two-handed weapons not being shown in the tooltip of their attack skills.
  
• Fixed rare issue with two-tile melee weapons being able to hit targets that should be unreachable due to difference in height levels.
  
• Fixed rare issue with Hoggart in the introductory contract spawning at an inaccessible tile.
  
• Fixed various minor things.