[DevDiary 4 - Character Progression]

13 hours ago, Luthghasgo said:

Question about Character Levels.

In JA2, a character leveling up wasn't a regular experience, with the average merc capable of going a long-time without seeing one.  This article seems to imply that the rate of mercs leveling up is more common, which means a lot more getting into the 7, 8, 9 and 10 range which was reserved for only the most grizzled veterans and legendary names in the past.

Will that be the case in JA3?  Or will the leveling be as distanced and hard-earned as before?

Thanks for the question! I would say the level-up speed for each individual character is slower than many other games (both tactical and RPGs) - this is both because of legacy reasons and because we have more characters to level up than most other games. Still, level 10 is reachable, although not easily, throughout the campaign with your I.M.P. merc that starts at level 1. Keep in mind that we are still tweaking game balance so this may yet change on the road to release.

[Making a Mercenary]

Just wanted to drop in and share that I am very happy with the reaction I am seeing here. Fauda is one of my favorite new mercs as well and I think she fits the gritty world of Jagged Alliance very well. We needed several rounds of casting to get her voice right and I am pretty happy with the end result and can't wait for you guys to hear it.

[DevDiary 2 - Legacy and Writing]

I want to add my voice to the choir here. Working together with Ian on JA3 is a rare privilege! He is a really cool colleague and a tremendous creative asset for the project!

Not to mention that his creations inspired me and gave me many pleasant hours of gameplay just like with the others commenting in this thread.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

16 hours ago, Kordanor said:

I'd like to pick up this point again. The new trailer had been released, and the same phenomenon is still visible as I described before: AT 2:51 you can see a shotgun attack, and if you go frame by frame, you can first see one single bullet coming out of it, showing the calculation and trajectory. Only then there is the shot with a animation of "fake bullets".

Does this mean, that even the new trailer is showing an outdated engine?

Hey Korandor,

Glad you picked this up! The new trailer actually doesn't suffer from the problem we discussed before but there is a reason behind what you are observing.

Different weapons and even ammo are more unique in JA3, hopefully more realistic as well. Specifically shotguns often have a close range "area attack" combined with their normal simulated attack, the idea behind this being that some kinds of shotgun ammo inflict practically guaranteed collateral damage at close range (unless there is an object that shields the target from the blast). This is also indicated by the cone you can observe while the attack is being set up. The collateral damage is much less than the damage from the simulated attack but can sometimes be useful to finish off an enemy or wound someone standing next to the intended target. On the other hand, an ally in the way makes things more complicated in this case, creating interesting gameplay situations and decisions.

Different attacks may use one or many simulated bullets. If this was a assault rifle on autofire every individual bullet would've been simulated instead.

More on this when we dissect combat in the next Dev Diaries!

Edit: Funny how this is related with the discussion for missing at point blank range we had in the very same thread. In case of the shotgun blast shown on the trailer, you will usually deal some damage to close targets, but it will be much less than with an accurate attack.

[DevDiary 2 - Legacy and Writing]

It is emblematic about game development in general 🙂

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

9 hours ago, LoboNocturno said:

Others then the recruitable 40 mercs from AIM or MERC there should be also several other playable characters that we will meet in Gran Chien as RPCs.

Thanks for your thoughts! I just wanted to clarify that while other playable characters are in the game and can join you, they are included in the number above (40). Don't want anyone being disappointed, expecting 40 mercs in the roster at start.

All of these characters are fully fleshed-out and with comparable number of lines and other content as the AIM mercs.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

6 hours ago, Kordanor said:

Thanks for your answer regarding the ballistics!

Speaking about turn based being used to simulate real time activities:
(and I agree that you can miss at point blank because everything is moving)

In the trailers we can see that characters mostly have 10-15 Action Points.

Is the assumption correct, that the total AP scale changed? Can you still "keep" some points for the next turn?
Also I assume that with "only" 15 AP, you will not simulate the difference of movement vs shooting anymore, will you?
The Manuals of JA, JA DG and JA2 all basically spend a page on explaining that a fast and a slow person can travel different distances, but shoot the same amount of times, which in JA is reflected in AP for shooting being lower for people will less total AP.
This already led to some weird situations in JA1/2 due to rounding. With 15 AP max, the rounding would be even worse if you keep the system, so I guess you removed that?

Thanks for the interesting questions. I plan to go more in depth when the combat DevDiary (or possibly DevDiaries?) comes up at a later time but it is good to know what you find interesting in advance and it might impact the content of the said DevDiary.

[Reaper as a character?]

This is more in THQ marketing department's domain, however looking at their other titles I am certain there will be many differently themed trailers on our way to release.

[Reaper as a character?]

I like Reaper as well, however we have not announced the full merc list at this time. Keep your eyes peeled for future announcements and trailers if you want to see if your favorite merc made it in to the roster!

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

3 hours ago, Edqar said:

Will there be custom merc creation possibility (own character) like JA2?

Can't talk about this subject at this point, sorry.

Edit: To clarify, I am not in a position to announce any unannounced features (or their absence), so I might sound like a broken record every time anyone asks me "would X be in the game". I am allowed, however, to elaborate on some details about announced features and especially what we have already talked about in a DevDiary.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

16 hours ago, Hendrix said:

YES, you should be able to miss at point blank range. Shit happens, people stumble, get surprised, scared, adrenaline spikes and simple fuck ups etc. A Mercs experience should reduce the likelihood of it occurring though.

Your thoughts as well as the thoughts of the people farther in the thread are in sync with my own... More importantly, the turn based combat is an abstraction for a real battle - I imagine these people are moving and dashing throughout the battlefield, not staying in place like statues, one might drop down, move unpredictably, unexpectedly push the gun barrel of the other when they are standing so close and so on.

Let's talk more about this when the combat DevDiary happens!

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

1 hour ago, Wigen said:

But is it possible for you to release such tools in the future?

Possible? Yes. It is possible that we don't release them as well.

Edit: We do know that such tools are both important and desired and you passion here is appreciated!

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

On 12/2/2022 at 11:22 AM, Hendrix said:

Will there be mod-support/tools? 😁

I can only quote what we said at Gamescom:

Quote

We are not talking about mods now. However, we know that JA community is very passionate about modding and the series is alive after all this years because of mods.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

8 hours ago, Solaris_Wave said:

Thank you, Haemimont_Boian for finally posting the much awaited start to the Developer Diaries. It has been excellent and reassuring reading!

Do you often read the General Discussion forum threads? There are plenty of excellent suggestions for JA3 from several posters and myself. Have you had a chance to read through my Weapon Characteristics & Other Suggestions thread? There is a lot of in-depth information in that thread that I hope can be considered for the game. Realistic and believable weapons are a paramount factor in a game such as this. If they are not done right, it will detract from the game. The bottom line there is that arbitrary weapon balancing (or 'game balancing') is never as good as realistic balancing because realism balances itself.

Hi Solaris_Wave,

Even if we don't react and reply in all threads, rest assured that we are reading everything! I just want to limit the discussions I engage in a bit in order to get other work done 🙂

There is a fine line between realism and gameplay demands in every game. For example, while the weapons in JA2 (and even more so in 1.13) felt very realistic, one could argue that their "effective combat ranges" weren't due to the size of the maps. Or that you shouldn't survive a headshot with a firearm as often as you did in JA2... Or that the damage should be more lethal in general...

As stated in the DevDiary, we want our combat to "feel" as realistic as the combat in JA2 felt and we are always evaluating the design and balance issues from this perspective. That being said, it is not the only possible perspective - individual expectations for realism in specific situation vary and the gameplay demands sometimes present difficult choices before us. You will be surprised how many design discussions we had in which two "gun nuts" on the team didn't quickly agree about which approach will be more realistic or when we had to balance gameplay considerations, realities of development and realism against each other...

For these reasons, while I think JA3 is more realistic than almost all tactical games out there, even than JA2 in some aspects, I am certain some specifics will clash with individual expectations as well.

One popular topic of discussion in the design team is "should you be able to miss with a firearm at point-blank range in a turn-based tactical game?" Currently this is possible in JA3, as it was in JA2, however you would be surprised how many people find it unrealistic due to their own expectations. What do you think?

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

On 12/2/2022 at 8:30 PM, Ivan Dolvich said:

What about destructible environment? In JA2, this feature played quite a role, offering different ways to approach combat. For example, you can blow up the entire outer wall of a building and make a path that wasn't mapped out in advance by the level designer. I hope you keep this because the screenshots make me feel like this pretty important part won't be in JA3.

I will comment more on this in a future Combat focused DevDiary, but I can assure you that the scenario you described is certainly possible in JA3 as well. I think you can see an example of a wall being destroyed in one of the trailers.

 

Edit (found it!):

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

3 minutes ago, Wigen said:

Why would video developer diaries also be welcome?

Because it would be nice to see how individual people in the studio worked on the game (artists, designers, music creators, etc.) What was the work on the game like from their perspective 🙂

Don't forget about hearing our horrendous accents 🙂

Edit: Also, the dog mascot, I distinctly remember a dog mascot from the videos that we shot...

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

54 minutes ago, Wigen said:

@Haemimont_Boian I have a technical question regarding the next dev diaries.

Will there be video materials showing the backstage of work on the game in addition to screenshots from the game? I know that in other productions such film materials were also released.

There was a camera crew in our office yesterday and the day before. We also have some pretty interesting footage from the months before.

I will be very disappointed if I don't see video materials, although they sometimes might be released separately from the DevDiary articles.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

14 hours ago, Grim said:

Thank you for this first dev diary, I've been waiting for it eagerly, as many other people here!

This is a clear presentation of the main features of the game, its philosophy, and that's a good starting point!
But I can't wait to learn about the details, of course. When can we expect the next dev diary, and do you have a plan to release more at a regular basis?

Thanks for your kind words - they mean a lot both to me and to the Dev team!

Yup, barring something unexpected, DevDiaries should come on a regular basis from now on. I am not authorized to reveal the schedule, but it exists (!) and you will soon develop a feel for the timing.

[DevDiary 1 - Game Vision]

Hey Korandor!

Thank you for the many interesting questions and most importantly - for your interest in the game! I am very excited to finally be able to share some more specific info, although I will have to keep some details for later DevDiaries.

16 hours ago, Kordanor said:

Great start! Well written!

I think what most of us are very interested in and also which hadn't been quite cleared up is the ballistics calculation.

In interviews it was mentioned that there is a per bullet realistic calculation, but in trailers that doesn't seem to be the case.
It looks like each shot (Shotgun, Burst) is only calculated once for all bullets, and then each bullet just gets an additional check whether or not it hits.
E.g. in all scenes, all shots of a burst hit exactly the same point. Also from the damage, you can see that a bullet which goes "through" one character but doesnt do damage, then hits the character behind it. In the scene with the shotgun on the other hand, you can see a "calculation bullet" traveling first, impacting, and only then, all the rest is happening, and the actual "spread" is just an animation at the end.
It would be great if this can be cleared up. For example: If 50m away there are 3 people standing side to side (not behind each other): Would it be possible to hit ALL of them with a burst or shotgun (even though you wouldn't be able to specifically aim that way), just because of spread. Or will you only ever (like the videos suggest) hit a single one of them.

Trailer shots are sometimes recorded many times over and over, so it is important to guarantee the same outcome for each "take". In the specific trailer that you analyzed this was not done in the best way, resulting in the wrong impression. In addition we were still hammering out some kinks in the bullet simulation, which is one of the more involved and demanding systems in the game.

Both accurate and inaccurate shots are randomized and follow different trajectories, damaging objects and units on their path, penetrating objects and bodies depending on ammo properties and materials and causing chaos and collateral damage. Without going into further detail (saving this for a combat DevDiary) I will say that barring bugs and trailer fakery, they should behave as you expect them to - e.g. a missed attack might hit another character standing next to the target and an accurate attack does damage to objects on the way before and after the target (if it penetrates its body).

16 hours ago, Kordanor said:

A second interesting topic for dev diaries would be the characters.

We already know from Interviews that it's going to be ~40, with about 30 veterans.

But the only indications about their development were stats by Buns which were 100% the same as before (which could just be temp) and some comments about Tex which seemed to be a bit of a continuation of the story.
The great thing about JA was also always the characters, and that included their development.

Ivan only speaking Russian in JA1, but having learnt English until JA2.
Hamous being introduced in JA1 as native, then having joined AIM in JA DG, then going on his ventures with his Ice Truck, where you then can recruit him as encounter in JA2.
Lynx and Buzz, where Buzz was introduced in JA DG and they were a couple, and then between JA DG and JA2 they started to hate each other, and now they are enemies.

So the question is: Do you continue their story from where JA2 left off? (Will their story have developed, their relationships, their stats)
Do you consider any of the Games since UB as "canon" or do you "ignore" if anything story related happened there?
Will you have a "Hall of Fame" type of thing, where you can look up the history of the Mercs which are not present in JA3 to see what happened to them?
 

JA3 is set very closely after the events in JA2 (there isn't a time gap, like it was the case with JA1 and JA2) so we decided it is best to keep close to the original stats. Their stories and bios are developed as much as you can expect in this short period.

What do you mean, there were JA games after Sir-Tech😉??? Seriously, we are not considering these titles as canon. In any case, many of them are set after the events in our story.

Alas, there isn't an Alumni/Hall of Fame page, but you will learn what happened with some familiar characters. The Hamous/Ice Truck encounter is a nice example of our preferred approach.

[An introduction and a promise]

18 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Cant wait for more infos!! 

Can you estimate how much time it will be at least till the marketing team gives go to the dev diaries? 

I can't wait for this as well, but unfortunately I am not really in a position to provide such an estimate. I thank you all for your patience - I believe both the DevDiaries and the game itself will be worth the wait.

[An introduction and a promise]

867, give or take a few (at least according to our developer database)

[An introduction and a promise]

Hey Wigen,

It is certainly possible to go prone - we feel that the ability to have fine control over your actions in combat, such as choosing your stance, is a key element that differentiates Jagged Alliance from almost all the tactical games out there! I can also confirm that vision range is limited and you cannot normally see all enemies.

I can't comment on the camouflage at this time, suffice it to say that there is an involved stealth system that we will present in detail some day.

Sorry for dropping so rarely on the forums - I have been very busy with development recently (good news is that the game is coming up excellent)! I expect to be here more often once we have green light for the dev diaries from marketing.

[An introduction and a promise]

Gamescom was awesome! We thought the reaction was very positive and it felt like a huge morale boost for the entire team 🙂

 

Personally, I am happy that we finally shared some concrete info about the game!

[An introduction and a promise]

23 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

@Haemimont_Boian Do all mercs get full voice acting in and out of battle? Do they also interact with each other? Example: Some mercs wont work with someone they dont like. Are they commenting every situation? (fear, wounds, anger, alerts, mistakes, humor)

 

The mercs and their personalities are very important for me because they are the soul of Jagged Alliance. Without them its only a generic tactic game. I hope you can answer these questions in the near future. 

Excellent questions and I believe we have good answers for them! Our team is currently at Gamescom, giving interviews and making presentations and I know that some of the answers will be revealed there, after the press embargo expires. Keep an eye out for articles and interviews published directly after Gamescom!

[An introduction and a promise]

14 hours ago, Morcar said:

When will you go into the Players Questions, or when will we getting more informations ?

Thanks!

While I can't wait to answer all your questions, we are still waiting for green light from THQ marketing and really can't talk about anything specific before we have permission. My personal expectation is that specific information will be coming soon, but I have been wrong before 🙂