Haemimont_Boian

Thanks you for the interesting ideas, this was an inspiring read, as usual! Some of the things work a bit like you expect, particularly regarding enemy alertness (it is not randomized, but affected by range, noise strength and weather) and all the others are fine ideas for the future and for the "ultra-realism mod" I am sure the community would come up with.

Very destructible - walls, floors and roofs can usually be destroyed, but some solid components like concrete columns cannot 🙂 Yes, you can smash something like a crate and go in this position. Larger objects like cars leave destroyed "husk" and will not disappear entirely and also often create secondary explosions. No. An explosion will leave soot and residue, but not dig a crater. Thank you for your enthusiasm for the game!

Nightvision goggles are equipped in the head slot and currently they are an alternative to equipping an armored helmet. There are also various weapon components (sights, flashlights...) that serve a similar purpose, so it is entirely possible to take a different approach there. We haven't changed the AP scale/balance recently - the variation you are seeing is normal since AP depend on character stats, character level, morale, tiredness and other status effects. Enemy sight is somewhat limited when the enemies are unaware (in exploration mode) to facilitate stealth combat. Suspicious enemies, like ones that discover a dead body will have their sight increased. In combat against aware enemies basic enemy sight is no different than mercs' sight, although, once again, it may be improved by e.g. a weapon component.

Excellent question! The short answer is that the weather does indeed affect gameplay and especially combat conditions, both for you and for the enemies. For the long answer you will have to wait for the second combat DevDiary 🙂

Hey Lunokhod, Thanks for the feedback! There is a reason behind the change that might seem a little bit strange at first - the red cross can be interpreted as the symbol of the international Red Cross and its use is forbidden in games. If you are interested in the subject, you can read further on it here: https://earlygame.com/gaming/red-cross-is-forbidden-in-video-games

Yeah, these are not in-game screenshots but rather old mock-ups created by artists, they have never been proofread.

These names are just placeholders we used at the time.

Thanks for the feedback, definitely something to be taken into consideration and perhaps there is a way to improve the presentation as well!

Currently inaccurate attacks may hit other objects or characters but not the targeted character in another body part - this was shielded explicitly, because it created too much confusion, e.g. "What do you mean I missed but I actually hit him? I aimed for the torso, how this became a headshot?"

Ammo management is very much present in the game. There are different kind of bullets as well (AP, HP, etc.)

The shot travels on a different trajectory than intended and may hit other objects or characters on its path (note that even accurate shots have slightly different trajectories as well). The noise from the shot may alert enemies as well. Shotguns combine a close low-damage range area attack with a regular attack. An accurate shot will do a lot of damage but even an inaccurate one will slightly wound characters standing close. It is an accuracy penalty to the entire attack but it is not a flat penalty and depends on distance to the target and the weapon as well. Damage for burst/auto attacks was lowered for balance reasons, the alternative was to make the attack very inaccurate (or with too few shots) and this didn't feel right. I will stop answering questions for now because I was told to keep a bit for the stream, however I will be back after it 🙂

Can't wait to talk more about this in the next combat DevDiary but I can give a short explanation now! We don't use a pod system (frankly we find it too artificial). If an enemy becomes aware (for example hears a noise or sees someone getting wounded nearby) he will get a short reposition phase that allows him to move a short distance or rarely make a single attack without movement, but if your stealth approach is successful, the weapon silenced, etc. the enemies will instead become surprised and not reposition immediately, remaining vulnerable. Basically the reposition phase is meant to allow the enemies to switch from "ambient" to "combat" positions making the encounter more interesting, reward stealth approach and make enemy behavior outside of combat more natural (they shouldn't always crouch behind cover, after all).

Merc loadouts are intentionally somewhat basic, especially for rookies/cheap mercs. More expensive mercs have more attractive loadouts and some mercs have unique items as well. Still we didn't want any merc to start "perfectly geared" so you may improve them during the course of the game.

No, not all stats have corresponding perk lines. We experimented with this on paper but the perk design felt way too forced this way and these stats have other uses as well.

I agree with you 100%. It is a delicate balancing act and we want the players to take the mercs seriously. Overall, we aim for the same balance as in JA2 - some "very quirky" characters but they are the exception, rather than the rule.

We are still not commenting combat issues in-depth, but I think it is ok to answer these few questions quickly. 1. You activate Overwatch as an action and choose an area to Overwatch. You will interrupt enemies in this area with attacks and the number of attacks depends on your remaining AP. 2. I've forwarded the feedback to our art team. Personally, I like how it looks when seen from normal gameplay camera and don't find it more over the top than the exploding head from JA2. Edit: This assumes we are talking about the same effect, there are several blood effects in the game, so it will help if you include a link or screenshot. 3. We have effects similar to what you're describing, however they are currently not tied to dust from destruction, but rather gas and smoke grenades and another class of effects that I can't talk about yet. 4. You can't aim at body parts when you are firing at someone blindly (e.g. through a thin wall), however you can try to hit a specific body part at long range, as long as the target is in sight. A weapon mod like a proper weapon sight will help in this situation and might turn a hopeless shot into a reasonable one.

This is just a cosmetic effect sometimes used automatically during a long movement action ending in cover, not a special skill.

Regarding I.M.P. customization, please don't set your expectations too high here. We much rather have more mercs than more aesthetic options for the I.M.P. merc and ultimately these are made using the same resources. Although you can choose a portrait that has associated looks, as I said above, there is no in-depth customization.

Thanks for your comments! I can assure you we don't aim to have XCom-like core gameplay in JA3. In this particular case 2/10 means that 10 grenades fit in one inventory slot. This is an approximation for their weight/bulkyness and does not imply in any way they are replenished "magically" or you can't have more of them. Inventory space depends on your Strength stat and plays a heavy role in the game.

Love this 🙂 There are some NPCs loosely inspired by Dev team members in the game, but no Boyan brothers yet... There was a poster of a circus ringmaster named Boyan in one of our older games (just so you can imagine the true nature of our jobs).

I.M.P. portraits were not ready at this time, but rest assured there will be a (selectable) portrait on release!

I can definitely see your point of view here. We went back and forth a couple of times on the issue, but finally decided that it makes sense that a trained explosive expert can recognize the "perfect spot" to plant or throw an explosive so it inflicts maximum carnage. Still, it is a balance issue as well. We want the Explosives stat to be impactful and to make a difference in this situation.

A bit early to talk about this, however mishap represents the chance to fumble the attack and throw inaccurately, sometimes with disastrous or hilarious consequences. It depends both on merc stats, grenade type and external factors, it might be "none" in a particular situation but this will not always be the case.

The I.M.P. character currently does not have an unique talent. This was a conscious decision because we wanted to keep a "blank slate" there, keep the A.I.M. merc talents unique and with the high degree of I.M.P. customization even a choice between several other Talents might not fit the way you imagine the character.

Yeah, you can save the points to spend them later.