Jun 5, 2020

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Here we have another week. And a new update for you!

First of all we are working on new Bosses and their mechanics. One is already implemented in this update and you can encounter him in the first zone. (His visuals are to be replaced).
We plan to add at least 6 bosses to the game, with each special mechanics and very unique rewards.

Here our concept arts:

Now, let's have a look at the changelog for the new build:

v.0.87.03+36
Conquest mode updates: removed TR dryout from camps and metal tryout from mines, reduced cosmetics assets slightly in the worldmap
Adding french trans.file
Capture village (+ thrower): small fix

v.0.87.03+36
bugfixes
keybinding fix (t/r)

0.87.03+37
Added 'Death Stone' into the starter item collection.
swapped Forsaken and Swampers faction in the zones. Forsaken fort is spawn in 1st zone.
'ruins' barricades gx updates
Added 'Death Stone': a new mutator able to extract (and kill) a trait from any party member
Dead expl. anim. updates
ranged AI updates/fixes
AI level attr.points distribution at high levels adjusted: they will put points into str, conc and vit, but not into agi (to avoid frequent acting and high stamina)
Conquest mode: increased Mines dryout from 0 to 0.5 per day
Conquest mode: slightly made the lower tier factions 'stronger'; higher tier factions will become 'active' a bit later
russian loc. updates
Dead expl. updates
added 'Fast forwarding' toggle (on/off) - as icon and as 'F' hotkey. Is persistent.
Bash, Grab, Pull and Uplift won't apply bonus damage if present, and also won't consume it.
minor refactoring, swamp 'barricades' gx replacements

v.0.87.03+38
fix: Death Stone can't be absorbed
Armourer's Guild: merc lvl is now on pair with player
Preparations for 'Polish' localization;
Valdorian armour +protection increased to +50% (was 25%)

v.0.87.03+39
Death Stone: now can extract also some non-extractable traits
Blood strength: damage modifier reduced 65% -> 60%
villages: more enemies added; 'Bounty treasure' quest fixes
Berserker: levelup xp increased by 30% to slow down his xp gains from duelyst
AI attr.points distribution for late levels updates: STR gains reduced, VIT, CONC gained.
Bounty Hunters adaptive challenge factor reduced by 50%
added new trait: 'Beast preservation'. For all normal beasts, unlocks at lvl 20.

v.0.87.03+40
attempt to fix the 'visual glitch of not animating a character upon hit'
forsaken berserker: added Slow Learner
minor fix: savanna cosmetics on battlefield re-enabled
bugfix

v.0.87.03+41
dead expl. v3 updates: ie. reworked Dead explosion animation
localization additions (cn)
villages defenders reduced a bit
Beast preservation: the damage bonus decays per turn by a %.
chinese localiz. updates
Dead anim. v3. updates

v.0.87.03+42
Recovering crits.: base dr 50%(was 40), Beast preservation: reducedt the damage recovery 70%->10%.
Death Stone: now the its trait lvl decays per battle down to lvl1. Afterward the Death Stone gets 'depleted' (ie. is empty).

Furthermore, following localizations are in the works:

Chinese (50% done)
French (30% done)
Polish (99% done)
Italian (10% done)

we hope that in 1-2 weeks the chinese and polish translations will be ready to go live.
A huge thank to our fans who undertake this great effort!

David

May 29, 2020

Update 0.87.03

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Hello all,

it's been a busy week! Let's summarize the changes and improvements:

v.0.87.03+16
Pneumonia calamity: stamina reduction is -15% (was -20%); village reinf. battlemap: enemy reinf. will arrive sooner
battle quest reward balanced

v.0.87.03+17
bugfixes
Assassin's mark trap: now allies attack the target with guaranteed crit
valdor reaper: added: projectile blocker, preemptive strike, first strike
necro axeman: removed delirium from elites

v.0.87.03+19
moved the resources UI from left-side to top-side; moved the 'notifications UI' from center to left-side

v.0.87.03+20
ranged AI improvements
hmath fixes, battle quest updates
added new BattleQuest: "Escort allies"
small gx updates
Easy diff.: now the world scaling is limited by a specified max-lvl for every zone

v.0.87.03+21
minor fix
Added a fan-based Russian localization
the 'retreat' tiles icons are now by default hidden. If you hold ALT or SHIFT, they get revealed.
battle quest improv.
fixes, ranged-AI improvements
added Barrel thrower to 'Escort allies'

v.0.87.03+22
added missing localized text into translation file
text fixes

v.0.87.03+23
russian trans.text updates
added Forsaken as start faction

v.0.87.03+24
Experimental(!!) 'scaling/relaxing' implementation for world-level calculation (only for epic/deso difficulties)
battle quest updates
vampire lord: foc.ability changed to 'Concentrate'

v.0.87.03+26
bugfix
small gx improv.
added english, russian flag icons

v.0.87.03+25
Normal diff. - changed the world scaling to 'stairs' system, similar to epic/deso diff.

v.0.87.03+27
Forsaken villages reduced in 1st zone
minor perf.opt.
added 2 new music tracks
added elite gx versions of Forsaken

v.0.87.03+29
added new 'Escort traders' battle quest, Forsaken Wrath unlocks at lvl10 for Forsaken
v.0.87.03+28
added missing localized text bonefisher

v.0.87.03+30
Default campaign: fortress's defenders - slightly increased count
Sieges: enemy barrel thrower won't fire if player has >50% of his units 'inside the fort'; Siege enemy reinforcements are now enabled for all difficulties.

v.0.87.03+31
battle quest updates
'Siege attack' battle quest: defenders count increased + thrower
Agressor perk: now will also keep members if that member is of same faction as agressor.
retaliate: target must be hostile to attacker
translation additions (ru)

v.0.87.03+32
added missing trans.text, text updates, russian fonts updates
battle quest update
epic/deso diff.: slightly increased the challenge scaling in the start of zone
Forsaken villages count reduced in 1st zone

v.0.87.03+33
Angel Pact: auto achievement at lvl 15+ (player units only).

v.0.87.03+34
Angel pact: small fix

v.0.87.03+35
new ability: "Toss"; placeholder for new 'grand-boss'
Healer-priest: now creates medicine only on demand (via the mission)
Tiring criticals: lvl1 value= -20 (was -15)

v.0.87.03+36
added new fonts for chinese
charge anim.: attempt to fix the 'hit effect not triggered' bug
keybinding fix (t/r)
Conquest mode updates: removed TR dryout from camps and metal tryout from mines, reduced cosmetics assets slightly in the worldmap
Adding french trans.file
Capture village (+ thrower): small fix

that's it for now!

David

May 12, 2020

"FORSAKEN" update is LIVE!

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Hello all!

There has been a ton of work done and now we are pleased that our major update goes LIVE!

What are the major highlights of this update?

1. Forsaken faction. You can encounter them already in 1st and 2nd zone, and they are mid-tier faction.

2. Character customization. From now on, you have the ability to "equip" each of your character with a banner (in party screen with the small banner icon). There are 30+ banners right now to choose from and many will come soon.

3. Projectile deflection. A brand new battle mechanic. With footman, and some other classes, you will now be able to deflect projectiles from enemies! A great way to protect weaker classes.

4. Forth zone added. Just expect to die here a lot!

This update contains lots of new content, graphics, sound and music, quality of life features, bug fixes, balance tweaks, and overall improvements.

And here the biefy changelog of all changes:

v.0.86.01
Reflexive skin - no stamina cost, instead cost is 10% of current HP (if above 25% HP).
refactor, footman spine2d updates (deflect)
Necro Skin: max DR is 36% (was 30%)
Angel's pact now is guaranteed to consume 2x lethal hits/effect within turn/next-turn.
added new special hex tile 'Tall Grass'. Grants hit-chance penalty for ranged units firing at a character remaining in the grass.
added new feature: projectile deflection; added new class: 'forsaken defender'
spearwall: first 3 hits are 100%, then it's 0%.
for Conquest mode, global XP gain is 2x
Naming sites (showing only when captured by player)
Garrison at any player owned site; garrisoned members autolevel up (75%-100% of main party level)

v.0.86.00
Berserker: removed Improvizer, added Flagrant; Bloodknight: added Masochist & Repose
ironman saving - now also creates backup of previous ironman save.
added new 3 music tracts (1 for worldmap, 2 for battles) b
party screen music - doesn't change from previous screen
battlefield map: enemies are now faced towards player
bugfix (hammering not applying immobilized & weakened effects)
Bloodknight - added Masochist trait, some text fixes
axe werebeast: removed "heavy attack", collosus trait: +75%dmg -> +65%dmg
Healer - now doesnt create medicine randomely while traveling. Created a new mission type - "Create Medicine" so you can tell exactly when to create a med. Missions not applicable are not visible in the mission popup anymore
Revenant start party - added necroreaver javelinier and valdor assassin
crossbow damage -10%, 1-hand axe +20% damage
Projectile blockers now block projectiles with 100% (was 90%)

v.0.86.01+1
when Injured, your max HP in battle is reduced by 33% (all difficulties).
projectile deflection: now also works on the deflector self, and stamina cost=0. Let's see if that won't be OP, but I find it very situational because of positioning & terrain.
campaign camera can be zoomed to 200%
protector % to shield reduced to 33% (was 40%)
Valdor outpost quest: better reward
forsaken updates
conquest updates, added Forsaken Shieldbearer
Relic worshippers - max 1 party to be send after your acquire the relic;

v.0.86.02
'projectile deflectors' units will also deflect 'missed' hits of own allies (to avoid friendly fire)
ranged AI will target 'projectile deflectors' units with much lower priority
conquest updates
spearwall stamina cost=30(was 25), after 3rd hit, hit chance is 20%.
minor fix
Masochist: max. damage modifier is 50% (was 100%)
balancing
tiring criticals: reduced the speed penalty base (-30 -> -15)

v.0.86.02+1
overfocus abilities are now shown in UnitInfo & traits list

v.0.87.01+1

(merged other versions 0.86.00 .. 0.87.01)
Mutators extraction: distribution changed
Mutators extraction: now you get much more after battle
stun recovery triggers earlier on multiple stuns
projectile deflect - made the 'check range and height' a bit more wider (to make the whole feature a bit more reliable)
Urtuk possible mutations added: Repose,Speeder,Rage and Overdose removed.
AI Shamans won't cast berserk on already berserked allies; Mutator absoptions duration reduced -25%
Quick Reflexes boost
"Sharp eyes" mutator made scalable
added 'Reinforcements' to fort sieges (all types, inc. final battle
AutoResolve (conquest) with win result yields mutators (didn't before)
Armourer/Weaponsmith - increased the chance to upgrade (4%->6%) per day
made the garrison UI more compact if >32 members
added 'conquest' button into main menu bonefisher
overfocus abilities are now shown in UnitInfo & traits list

v.0.87.01+2
small updates

v.0.87.01+4
Boiling oil spreading is now at fixed rate instead of RNG
few improv. on siege reinf.
sieges: ranged units are not rooted in the gun port anymore.
Tall grass & Gun port: reduce damage instead of reducing hit-chance
projectile blocker blocks at 95% (was 100% but was causing confusion when not even attackable targets were in range b/c of hit-chance=0%).
reinf. for sieges is disabled for easy dif.

v.0.87.01+5
added new battle quest: 'Troubled villagers' (reiforcem. mechanic)
Boiling oil now spreads also onto hexes where a unit stands
siege reinf. disabled (again) for normal/easy diff., and added new warning messages, and you can't retreat while reinf. arrive and are alive (kill them to be able to retreat)
siege reinf. strength adjustments for all difficulties (scales 25%(easy) up to 100%(desolation))
bugfix: enabled showing achiev.traits in Unit Info screen (was bugged and so hidden)
boil.oil reduced spreading rate by 20%
Sharp Eyes don't scale HP
villagers (all types) have "light foot"

v.0.87.02
added new biome atlas: 'obsidian'
added 'Macemaster' to the types of Weaponmaster, also added strongVs Armour for the random trait as reward.
new music track added
"Protector" made scalable mutator
new battle quest: ReinforcedEnemyVSDefenders
AI: if enemy char. has 'Light Foot' and is blocked by his ally, he will swap with him.
removed boiling oil from one siege map
added better descriptive UI for failing loading save files.
allies AI improvements in many battle objectives/quests
'under siege' allies AI: made more aggessive
added the ability to delete saves
improved condition for siege enemy reinf. for evaluating when we are 'inside fort'
Added 'loading screen' when descending to next zone
village battle (oil): they hold off for the player to attack first
engaging strike & speawall hit won't apply on-hit effects like criticals anymore
prisoner calamity: vampire, revenant added.
banner updates
Vampire & Werebeasts can now be 'civilized' and thus won't injur party members when out of blood/flesh. Added 'Banner selection' to party screen.
update (banner UI in party sc.)
volcano calamity: oil spreads slower and cools off.
boiling oil: lowered damage 15->10%
banners update, alter terrain charges at start is 3(was 6), then you regain 1 charge/turn
config.allowSoftwareMode = true; for soft openGL when hw openGL fails.
added 'banners' for characters. spine2d done. Now we need to just add them.
Vampire perk: now can also exists as non-injuring member (ie. will take only blood wage)
Angel's pact - if depleted, it will show in the traits list (big tooltip)

v.0.87.02+1
Bounty Hunters - added adaptive challenge factor (ie. if you have abundant numbers of members in party, the challenge increases)
added sounds/voice to Forsaken classes

v.0.87.02+2
memory leak fixes
small updates
AI can swap only with its allies. Barrel thrower is now 'rooted', ie. cannot be rammed or swapped(AI).
gx banner fixes (werebeasts)

v.0.87.02+4
added new QoL feature: two buttons for: displaying up to given layers' elevation level in battlefield map
new banners added

v.0.87.03
Forsaken faction added to world (default campaign only), 1st & 2nd zones. 4th zone added (ruins). 3rd zone is "Undergrounds" as before.
Mutator extraction after battle: no more than 2 duplicates
added new trait: Forsaken Wrath (aura)
scavengers: removed Light Foot from: warrior, spearman and axeman for balance reasons
AI: charge, ram and grab won't be rolled at 50% anymore, rather 100% of time if available targets
ally AI won't swap with player-controlled units anymore
'proj. defl.' fixes, other small updates
spine2d updates bonefisher
added 'Forsaken Berserker'; Blood Lust II: MAX HP heal on killing blow 60 -> 70%
projectile deflection: slightly reduced the 'deflection range'
snipe min-range set to 1
more banners added (each strongVS has its own banner!)
banners update (paged UI in party screen & gx fixes)
Delirium: made scalable mutator, ie. charges: 1 (at lvl 1) -> 5 (at lvl 10), start MAX HP is now 40% (was 50%)
removed Delirium from necro warrior and beast puller

v.0.87.03+1
made Delirium extractable

v.0.87.03+2
small bugfix

v.0.87.03+3
bugfix

v.0.87.03+4
Forsaken Wrath: the bonus damage calculation now works same way as Flagrant
Battle quest (EnemyVsDefenders) updates
Battle quest (EnemyVsVIP) updates
added loading screen visuals for next zone descending
minor AI improv.

v.0.87.03+5
copy-editor text corrections

v.0.87.03+6
small sounds updates
ranged AI won't attempt to fire at projectile deflectors and rather try to find a better target

v.0.87.03+7
better descriptions/shouting regarding ranged support: now the camera won't focus at ranged supporter if no fire will occur (because of friendly fire, or obscured LoS or deflection). It will appear only in shout-text & log.
ranged support(in case of a deflect): damage projection updates
ranged support won't fire at proj.deflector targets

v.0.87.03+8
StrongVS trait is now showed also in big tooltip in battle; Forsaken elites: they have 2x strongVS.

v.0.87.03+9
minor bugfix
strongVS Crippled is now applied also to "injured" character.

v.0.87.03+10
fix for 'hanging' text bubble window on screen in battles
bugfix
Forsaken elites: now only 1x strongVS from only a subset (weapons + crippled)

v.0.87.03+12
Forsaken axeman: reduced absorp.count to 2, shieldbearer & defender to 5(!). 50% of elites have strongVS, rest has the 'revenge'.
Forsaken elites: added 'revenge' on death (spawning an ally taunted to the killer)
reduced the quest rate where you could possible get a new recruit
small gx updates

v.0.87.03+13
Bloodknight: removed Masochist
new Village battlemap added
Added 'Max mutator absorptions' info to party screen & unit info screen
added elite visual versions of vampires (lord & vanquisher)
UI updates: LabelElement will bubble mouse clicks
minor bugfix

v.0.87.03+14
CaptureVillageCenter battle updates/improvements
Euphoria damage calamity: reduced max dmg bonus to 20% (was 50%)

v.0.87.03+15
Normal/Epic/Desolation diff. balances (reduced the 'challenge' factor a bit)
forsaken villages biome is 'ruins'

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Apr 10, 2020

Progress (Conquest) update

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Hello everyone!

We’ve been very busy the last two weeks with the new Conquest campaign map, and Urtuk’s new faction – the Forsaken.

We’re still working on the final design, and the Conquest campaign will likely go through many iterations until we can offer the best possible experience for the player.

This new mode features vastly different gameplay from the default campaign. The biggest changes are that you can field up to 12(!) units on the battlefield; capture and exploit sites like camps and fortresses; hire new mercs; manage more resources; and defend your holdings against other hostile factions with the same goal as the player – to seize every site on the world map. Furthermore, you’ll be able to build new structures on the world map like barricades and strongholds. You can also acquire metal from mines and craft gear for your conscripts, villagers who’ve enlisted to serve you.

Medicine will be a very scarce resource in this mode, so be prepared for men under your command to die. You will have a tough (and fun) time in this War of The Realms.

New battle mechanics

We listened to player feedback regarding ranged enemies, and decided to introduce a new counter to ranged attacks: a new trait, Deflection, that nullifies incoming projectiles!
Use any unit with this trait to shield your weaker characters, and arrows fired their way will vanish into oblivion! Of course, certain parameters must be met for a successful deflection, like elevation, range, necessary stamina, and projectile trajectory. Some enemies will also enjoy this advantage, so be wary!

Furthermore, we created a new hex tile, High Grass. Enemies firing at units in High Grass will suffer a -50% hit chance.

Forsaken

This hostile faction lives deep underground, and consists of warriors long dead and forgotten. Many ages ago during the Giant Wars, they were fearless, elite fighters. But after the war ended, the commoners feared their great strength and murderous rage in combat. So it was decided they would be cast out into the Deep Abyss. There they lived in darkness for centuries, and eventually died out altogether. But thanks to an unknown Mutation these ancients rose again, as undead but still intelligent warriors. Now they turn their rage on any who aren’t their own kin!

Visuals for 4 of the 6 Forsaken classes are already done, but class details (abilities, traits, strengths, weaknesses) are still being fleshed out.

We also want the Forsaken to be a bit more challenging than other factions, so hopefully we’ll be able to finish their formation AI in time for release. Programming AI is always one of the most difficult tasks in a strategy game.

That’s it for this update!
Stay well and stay tuned for more!

Mar 27, 2020

New faction & new campaign mode in the works!

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Hi guys!

Since the beginning of March, we’ve been working on a completely new faction – the Forsaken.
These ancient creatures have been cast out and now skulk alone in the darkness beyond the margins of civilization. No man would have the courage to visit the cursed lands they normally inhabit, but now they’ve begun to invade the territories of men!

Their special abilities and traits will pose a great challenge in battle, forcing the player to try new and very different tactics to overcome them.

The second big task for us has been the design, implementation and testing of a new campaign mode: Conquest.
The Conquest campaign will play completely differently from the default Adventure campaign.
Your goal will be to attack and capture sites in one huge world map comprised of fortresses, camps, mines, villages and so on.
You’ll be able to field up to 12 combatants in battle, as opposed to only 6 in the default mode.

Tactical decisions will grow more complex as the battlefields are larger and you’ll face many more enemies. Formations, frontline soldiers, archers and possibly even siege weapons will have to be considered!
Furthermore, you’ll have the option to garrison some of your units in world map nodes to secure different areas against roving hostiles.

Your enemies will have the same goal – they will try to capture nodes, increase their income, and hire new soldiers to fight for them.
There will be more factions in the world map, and each faction can declare war on its neighbours, just like the player!

There will also be a new resource to gather, metal, which will be used to craft new weapons and armour.
You’ll be able to free oppressed villagers and enlist them to fight for you (in which case you can choose their class and gear), or to become a blacksmith or miner. Or you can assign them to manage a fortress and raise its income.

As you can see, Conquest is much more focused on the strategic layer; you’ll have to plan long term to succeed in this much more complex campaign.
We plan to publish a playable build of this new mode in our beta branch soon, hopefully by the end of next week. From there we will gather feedback and suggestions from our beta testers to finish the work as soon as possible, maybe even before final release!

Mar 20, 2020

New update! 0.85.24+18

Urtuk: The Desolation - Mad Sheep Studios

Another week has passed and we are here with lots of improvements, balancing, tweaks and additions. Also we've added a new Vampire class which will wreck you if not handled in time!

The changelog what has been done for the last week:

v.0.85.24+12
Vampires - updates on traits, added Vampire Vanquisher and Lord to starting Vampire chars.
added Vampire Vanquisher; added new ability: "Uplift", AI improv. (flip)
slightly reduced elites spawns (all diffs.)
UI overlapping buttons fix: primary abilities (big buttons) have higher priority over secondary (small buttons) when overlapping
AI combat - now the battle outcome is based on Faction type for any given member in party
werebeasst & vampire virus wont apply through Delirium
Easy diff. - slightly increased difficulty
reduced spawn rate for Bounty Hunters (-25%)
BATTLEFIELD_AGILITY_THRESHOLD_TO_2TIMES 75->85 (more Agi/speed bonus needed to get next turn)
Vampire Lord - Repose has unlocks at lvl 25
Repose - lifesteal reduced 200% -> 100%

v.0.85.24+14
added 2 new siege maps
added new Hex tile: "Oil geyser"
charge: damage applied is 135% (was 100%).
Valdorian armour - also increases armour protection by 25%
battle UI - improved buttons positions for resolutions < 4:3
charge abil. - if the landing hex is lethal, don't allow to jump & show an icon above such hex.
Werebeast campaign: get 100 flesh at the beginning
Vampires campaign: get 100 blood at the beginning
Boiling oil: cannot grow to higher ground (ie. +1 of elev.level) anymore.

v.0.85.24+15
added 2 new music tracks to world map

v.0.85.24+16
In the 1st zone no Valdor fortress is spawn anymore.
Party button disabled if all party members are dead (worldmap screen)
balances, minor fixes
gx updates (oil geyser additions)
Hammering won't apply negative effects when hit was blocked by Aegis, Shield-ally, Delirium or anything which nullifies damage.

v.0.85.24+17
internal build

v.0.85.24+18
maintanance build

Additionally we are working hard on a completely new faction and new battlefield biome graphics! Stay tuned!

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