Before I get into the combat test map info, I want to mention that this update also includes a fix for the hammer cursor. The focus point for clicking was a little off, so it should work much better now.

It's finally here! The combat test map is set up and ready for testing and feedback. This version of combat only includes the player's attacks, special attacks, and blocking. You can get to the test map by using the "New Combat Button" in the main title screen.



Monsters also move, strafe, and can get knocked down and stunned. Monster attacks and dodging will be in a future updates along with stamina use and weapon variation.

For now though, I'd love to get your feedback on how attacking and using special attacks feels. I also removed the slow-motion after getting some really good feedback that it looked more like frame-hitching or lag. I might come back to it, but for now I think it looks better without it. The jump smash attack still has some slow-motion in it.

You can also check out the new blocking system even though monsters don't attack. Let me know if the UI for it makes sense.

Would love to hear your feedback so I created a thread for the new combat system. Very excited to hear what you all think!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/664000/discussions/0/3185654583883795176/

I decided to start posting more frequent updates on the combat system as I work on it, almost like patch notes. That way you can see the progress. It's really close to being ready for initial testing for look and feel.

https://youtu.be/emNsnY-iInA
One thing I noticed after posting the combat announcement yesterday was all of the slow motion was turned off in most of the gifs. The video shows the correct slow motion as well as the new sword hit sounds.

A few things I'm still working on:

• The character slides a few times during the fight. That's because she's still playing her attack animation and the system isn't set up yet to turn off movement until the animation is completed.
  
• Monsters aren't attacking yet so I'm able to string combos together and perform special attacks without worrying about them. For the video, I did try to simulate attempting to keep one Ratman away from me using kicks and shield bashes.
  
• The smash attack doesn't have it's AOE or knock back in yet. I wanted to show it so you could see the slow motion effect for it as it is different from the other attacks. The slow motion kicks in while she's in the air rather than when the hit occurs. I think it's a neat effect.

The new blocking system is also in. You'll see in the gif above that when I start to block a meter appears over my character. When it drains, the shield icon turns red and my character is forced out of the block. I'm actually still holding down the right mouse button when this occurs, which is why there is a delay before the bar begins to refill.

After releasing the right mouse button, the bar fills back up. You can't start a new block until the bar completely fills and leaves the screen. While the bar is filling up, pressing and holding the right mouse button does nothing. But if you are holding the right mouse button down, you will go back to blocking as soon as it finishes filling.

Originally I was going to make holding a block cost stamina, but I think having two bars to pay attention to when blocking will be distracting and difficult. So I'm going to change it so only entering block mode costs stamina and it doesn't drain as you hold it. This does mean however if you run out of stamina, that you won't be able to block until you regain enough.

Higher tier shields might reduce the block bar drain and increase the block bar regeneration.

Once i clean up some of the transitions I'll make the test map. That way you can run around and beat up Ratman and check out the new system. Then I'll add more parts of the system (like monster attacking, stamina use, etc.) just like normal updates!

The new combat system got a lot bigger than I originally intended, which is why it has taken me longer to get a playable prototype working than I first thought it would. But I also think it is a lot cooler and more fun...it's a complete overhaul. This is going to be a really long announcement, so let's dive in!

The new system is more tactical and fluid than the current system. In combat, you will need to learn your enemies' tendencies, watch what they are doing, use special attacks to even the odds against multiple foes, and plan your attacks, blocks, and dodges accordingly. There are seven major components of the system. Targeting, the basic "combo" attack, blocking, special attacks, states, stamina, and monsters.

All attacks, blocks, and dodge rolls, use stamina. Getting hit will also reduce your stamina a small amount. Stamina will no longer be used when sprinting, so you will be able to sprint as much as you want! However, you won't be able to sprint if you are completely out of stamina. I'm going to re-balance the basic stamina, the stamina gained from "fitted armor", and stamina potions to work with the new combat system. The new combat system will not use the three gem power-up system so all of that will be removed.

Stamina is regained by standing still, not attacking, and not blocking. I might allow it to regenerate slowly while walking so you can gain some back without having to stand still and get pummeled. When you are out of stamina, you can still perform the basic attack but you cannot block, dodge roll, or use special attacks.

Before attacking you will need to lock onto a target using the TAB key. Note, if you don't have a target selected and left-click, the system will target a monster if there is one nearby. Once you have an enemy targeted your character will automatically face it, allowing you to easily strafe around it. Pressing TAB again will cycle through available targets if there are any. And pressing ESC will cancel your target allowing you to move freely.

The basic combo attack consists of two quick attacks followed by a medium and a long attack. These all flow together much better than the current standard attacks. Stamina use occurs with each attack and increases with each attack in the combo. So stamina use starts very small for the first two attacks and the last attack uses a medium amount. Damage increases with each attack in the combo. The basic attack can be canceled at any time by releasing the left mouse button until the fourth attack hits, then you must wait for animation to end and the character to reset to idle to perform another action.



Blocks an enemy melee attack if you are standing in front of them. Uses stamina to start blocking and continues to use stamina while holding the block. A block is only effective for a few seconds, after which enemy attacks will break through your block. Short cooldown after you stop blocking before you can block again. The cooldown will be displayed as a block meter that appears near your character. When the meter fills up to maximum it will disappear until you start blocking again.

These are attacks that are earned as you level up. Using a special attack creates a global special attack cooldown that affects all other special attacks. So you can't spam them. The cool down might be reduced based on what kind of ore your weapon and/or shield are made from. These attacks use hotkeys will be editable in settings.

Some special attacks can place a monster in a special state, such as "stunned". These are explained below in each special attack description. The cooldown for special attacks will be displayed similar to blocking. Each special attack has a "speed" that relates to how quickly the attack occurs and how long it takes to finish, freeing you up to perform another action such as running, rolling, blocking, attacking again, etc.

I'm still adding the slow-motion effect to some of these special attacks so in the gifs below not all of them have it yet.

• Kick (R)
  
  • Fast speed attack. Uses a small amount of stamina, does not do damage, puts enemy in knocked down state for a medium duration and knocks back enemy a short distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Short cool down.
    

• Shield Smash (F)
  
  • Medium speed attack. Uses medium amount of stamina, does small amount of damage, puts enemy in a knocked down state for short duration and knocks back enemy a long distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Better shields do more damage and increase knockback duration. Medium cool down.
    

• Shield and Strike (Z)
  
  • Long speed attack consisting of a quick shield hit and a melee attack follow-up. Uses medium amount of stamina up front. Shield hit puts enemy in stunned state for short period of time. Strike follow up attack does extra damage. Stunned enemies take more damage from all attacks. Can be canceled until sword follow-up attack hit, then must wait for animation to end. Swords do more damage. Better shields can do some damage and increase stun state duration. Medium cool down.
    

• Power Attack (X)
  
  • Long speed attack. High stamina use. Does double damage. Cannot be cancelled. Axes do additional damage with this special attack. Long cool down.

• Smash Attack (V)
  
  • Long speed attack. High stamina use. Does damage to all nearby monsters. Has chance to put enemies in stun state. Cannot be cancelled once started. Hammers have increased chance to stun and an additional chance to put one enemy in knock down state and knock it back. Long cool down.
    

• Dash Attack (Middle Mouse Button)
  
  • Long attack. High stamina use. Does damage, puts enemy in knock back state and knocks enemy down. Ram Helms do more damage. Cannot be cancelled once started.
    Long cool down.

Monsters can perform normal and special attacks. Unlike the current system, two or more monsters can and will attack at the same time. No more taking turns! In addition, the health bar blink will be removed. Monster attacks will be slowed down a bit and/or have a "charge up" so you will have time to react before the attack lands.

If a monster is not attacking, it will do a "got hit" animation. This can cause a delay before a monster attacks as they have to wait for the animation to finish before attacking.

Attacks can place monsters in two different states. Knocked down and stunned. A monster that is an in affected state cannot be affected by another state. So a stunned monster cannot be knocked down or stunned again. After a monster recovers from a state, there is a cool down before they can be affected by a new state. So you cannot just keep kicking and knocking down a monster over and over again.

Large monsters (such as elementals, treants, etc.) cannot be knocked down or knocked back. Instead, they take additional damage as they stand their ground. These creatures can be stunned, but doing so will require a diamond or blood stone shield.

Monster attacks are not interrupted by attacks that do not create a state. So it is possible for you and a monster to hit each other at the same time. Special attacks that create a state (stunned, knocked down) can interrupt a monster's normal attack if it places the monster in a state.

However, while performing a special attack, monsters cannot be put into a state. You have to dodge or block these if you want to avoid taking damage or being put in a state yourself! And some monster special attacks (such as the Orc smash attack) cannot be blocked!

For example, Ratmen might have a special attack where they perform 3 or 4 quick stabs. And Orcs will be able to do a smash attack. Once a special attack has started, it will finish, unless the monster is killed. Normal attacks and special attacks will look different and some may have a "charge up" animation so you will be able to determine how to react.

Special attacks will likely be limited to Brute versions of monsters. In that case, Brutes will be a bit more common. Spellcasters remain the same as the current system. Note, monsters CAN place you in a state even if you are doing a special attack. So avoid these attacks! The only exception is the Dash Attack and the Smash Attack.

Low level monster spawns will also be reduced to only spawn one basic monster and sometimes a spellcaster, but not two melee oriented monsters. This gives new players a chance to learn combat and level up and learn a special attack or two with a knockdown or a stun without being overwhelmed. These state based attacks will be important when facing more than one monster.

Monsters can also dodge attacks by jumping away. They probably won't do this often, depends on what feels fun. When a monster does this it will either stay put for a bit, charge right back in, or perform a special attack that closes the distance quickly. When a monster dodges back, be prepared for anything!

The new combat system also has improved sound effects and different sounds for the blade (sword and axe) and the hammer hits. No more "clang!" sound. There will also be better feedback when you are hit (right now I'm thinking a very slight camera shake) in addition to the floating damage numbers. And there is a weapon trail that flows with your weapon when you are attacking with it. The new system has does some cool slow-motion effects for attacks that hit, reinforcing the feedback.

So combat will not only play better, it will look and sound better too!

At the moment I have targeting, the basic combo attack, four special attacks, the stun and knocked down states, and most of the monster movement parts of the system done. Once I clean this up a bit I'll release the test map so you can try out the basics. Then I'll be adding the monster attacks and reaction AI, stamina, the new blocking system, and other parts of the system over time. Once it's all on the test map and we're happy with it, I'll incorporate it into the game!

A few bug fixes in today's update.

• Fixed a bug that caused a save to fail to load due to a legacy aspect of farms interacting with the new save system. The legacy code has been removed. Check your farms after loading this save to make sure they are set to the correct crops.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the drop-down menu for anti-aliasing to display incorrectly.
  
• Added a controller toggle to the options menu. If you want to use a controller, you have to activate this toggle. This was to fix an engine issue with the character rotating when a controller was plugged in but not in use.

Also, I posted this video to my Twitter account yesterday of the new combat system. Focused on syncing up the attack with the monster reactions. Also replaced the current "clang" sword hit sounds with something that sounds more like a sword hitting a creature. Really happy with how it is coming together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omXcaP8qrhE
I'm at the point where I am happy with the new combat system design. I decided to add a couple of things to make it more fun, so tomorrow I'll be posting more information about that!

Edit - I'll be posting the new info about the combat system tomorrow (Wednesday) as I'm super close to having the first prototype ready for a test build and want to show some videos of it before writing about it. Apologies for the delay!

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
jon@hammerhelm.com

• HammerHelm Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/helm_hammer
  My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  Discord Channel: discord.gg/8326Jef

Tonight's build includes a revamp of the save system to clean up a couple of areas that could cause a save to fail and to make it a bit faster. Overall you shouldn't notice a difference, except the slightly faster saves. It's a big update to the system however. Next I want to update the quest system to make it more sturdy as well.

This update also includes a couple of sound effect tweaks. Both the level up sound and the town alert sounds have had their base volume reduced. They were too loud compared to the other sounds and were quite jarring.

With the combat revamp, updating the animations is turning into quite the chore. I might actually seek out some help to get them updated. In the meantime, I'm going to leave them as is and focus on finishing up the prototype. So when the test map is live, it will likely have the animation I posted in the announcement a couple of days ago. Once I get the animations updated, I'll change them out. But to finish the system I don't need to wait for the animations.

Working on integrating some combat animations that I have. The current animations all reset back to the idle after each attack which is why it feels a bit off. The new ones chain together more fluidly.

In the gif the animation looks like it is playing faster than it actually does. It's about 70% of the speed in the gif. You'll also notice that a couple of times her sword clips through her head. Working on fixing the animations, but wanted to show the progress.

The animation is hooked up to the new combat system so if there was a monster there, it would be taking hits from the four chained attacks.

I'm also working on a part of the system for continuing vs. stopping an attack too. Letting go of the left-mouse button or pressing block won't immediately stop the attack like it does now.

Once you've gotten to a certain point in the chain, you're committed until the animation reaches another point. So it'll be a risk to get that one more hit in. As, if the monster decides to attack as well, you may not have time to block or dodge away and you'll hit each other. Once I have it hooked up to work with the monster AI, I can tweak the points were you can stop attacking so it feels natural.

Also changing out the sounds as the sword clang for hits is a bit abrasive. The new sounds will sound more like slashes and blunt hits. And as you can see, I added a weapon trail for effect too. :)

He's almost done! This is the first texture pass just to get the colors down. Next will be the final texture, modeling and texturing his weapons, and adding some of the straw to his wrists like the concept.

Right now the Scarecrows only appear in one quest. With this guy looking so good I'm definitely going to have to use them more!

A couple of updates to food and some bug fixes in today's build!

• If your town is out of Meals, the Dwarves will eat raw veggies. This produces a mood debuff, but not as bad as not eating at all.
  
• Updated the alert text when you are our of Meals to say "Meals" rather than "Food" - this was confusing since this message can appear when you do have raw food.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused you to be unable to pet Nika after loading a save.
  
• Hunters will now always be in their Hunting spot when they are hunting. There was a bug that sometimes caused them to appear under the world, making them inaccessible.
  
• Chopping a tree will no longer cause the power attack UI and lightning on your character's hand to get stuck.

I'm also working on a couple of really big behind the scenes changes to shore up two of HammerHelm's most important features - the quest system and the save system.

Both of these have been around since the very early days of HammerHelm's development and have been added to and added to over the past 4-5 years. They need an overhaul.

Thankfully it's not as big of a job as it sounds so I'll also still be working on the combat system while I rewrite parts of the quest and save system to make them faster and less prone to errors.

Today's build includes the updated townspeople UI. The new UI is much bigger, allowing for larger text and larger buttons. It's also (hopefully!) easier to understand as well.

You can view the townspeople in either a large format or a compressed format. The compressed view is the second image. This setting is saved so if you prefer one view over the other, you only have to select it once.

There is a separate button for "Rename NPC" that you click and then pick the NPC you want to rename. A lot of people didn't even know you could rename the townspeople so I think having a distinct button should help.

The assign jobs, swap jobs, and change goal buttons should also be easier to find and understand. There is also a cancel button that appears when you click to rename or swap jobs. So you no longer have to close the UI to reset it if you change your mind. And there are toggles next to each job name that you can use to find Dwarves with a specific job much faster.

The new UI also displays the Dwarf's current goal, whether it be chopping a tree, getting resources, or working at their shop. These change in real time while the UI is open.

In addition to the new UI, I also added a button click feedback sound to a lot of buttons that didn't have it. I'll be doing that more as I find more buttons that are missing the sound.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
jon@hammerhelm.com

• HammerHelm Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/helm_hammer
  
• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/8326Jef

Been a while since I talked about the roadmap for HammerHelm so I figured today would be a good day to given an update.

The main three focuses are going to be the new combat system, UI and quality of life improvements, and more content. There are some other things I want to get done as well.

Hoping to wrap this up this weekend.


Will be working on this after the Townspeople UI. Really want to get a playable test map to you all asap!


This is mostly just tedious work to update all of the structures to use the new system. I think it looks way cool though so it'll be worth it!

Both are in the modeling phase


These will fit both male and female and two of these will be early access exclusives

I want to add some more quests to the early game so you don't get repeat quests as often. Especially some more Story Quests.

I'll do this some time after finishing the new combat system.

Aside from bug fixing, I also want to tighten up the save game system and a few other behind the scenes things.

I think that's a solid list of things to finish before leaving early access. I still feel really good about leaving early access this year. Thanks again everyone for all of the feedback and support!

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
jon@hammerhelm.com

• HammerHelm Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/helm_hammer
  
• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/8326Jef