We’re Witching Hour Studios, an indie game developer based in Singapore, and we’re excited to bring you guys a preview of RAVENMARK: Scourge of Estellion, our first game for iOS! Ravenmark is an isometric turn-based strategy game that draws on influences from forebears like the venerable Fire Emblem, Advance Wars and Final Fantasy Tactics, yet presents an strategy experience like no other. [A Giant Tale on A Pint-sized iPhone?] In a land known as Eclisse, where a great sun and three moons rule the azure skies, the ruling Empire of Estellion is beset by a great scourge from their past – the sun-eating mystics from the forgotten nation of Kaysan. You’ll follow the stories of a host of conflicted characters under siege, as they struggle for survival under the weight of ruthless ambition and political intrigue. Each campaign in the game presents an account from a different side of the war, so this campaign’s dastardly villains may just become the next campaign’s heroes. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel (Gameplay footage is from an alpha build and does not reflect the final performance of the game.) [A Game of… Placements] Skirmishes from the story are fought on 2D isometric battlegrounds, where the player will command a host of warriors to defeat the enemy’s armies. These battles are essentially turn-based; players may key in battle commands for all of their controllable elements without timed pressure at the outset of a combat turn. When the player is satisfied with the commands issued for that turn, hit START and watch the carnage unfold! The acting speed (or Initiative) of a combat element will determine the sequence of actions in a given turn... Players must carefully consider how the order of actions will play out on the battlefield, or risk annihilation! [Incisive, Effective Commanding with Standing Orders] Players can issue “Standing Orders” to their controllable elements; Standing Orders are A.I. assisted commands that repeat a certain type of action each turn without requiring the player to re-issue the order. Each unit can be given a basic set of standard actions such as moving forward and attacking the nearest enemy, or standing their ground and attacking any unit that comes within range. Standing orders would be given to all units at the start of a battle and are carried out every turn. As a commander making decisions throughout the rest of the battle, you'll have a set number of Command Points per turn to alter the orders or action of chosen elements, so choose wisely to turn the tide of battle! [Formations – Boon or Bane?] Unique to Ravenmark is the “Formation” system, which allows you to bind together up to three identical player elements on the fly, in order to share abilities of attached Support elements, or gain new formation-only abilities! These abilities are often crucial to winning a battle. But be warned: Formations also leave your elements with greater chances of being flanked from the side or rear! A general must be careful when to create Formations and when to break them up… Watch Formations get into position in the story sequence below: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel ------------ A grand, rousing soundtrack accompanies this epic tale and its battles – it’s all scored by indie game music maestro Josh Whelchel, who’s also composing for bigwigs like Mojang (of Minecraft fame). The battle track in the trailer was done by him; check his other work out at www.jwmusic.org! On 11 November (if all goes well), Ravenmark will be launched for the iPhone at a launch price of US$2.99, with Retina support out of the box. We intend to make a separate iPad edition of Ravenmark – which will be universal! So if you have iOS devices big and small, we plead for your patience while we try to get the universal iPad edition out the door after this iPhone release. Anyway, TouchArcaders, the most important thing is - what do you want to see? Just for you guys, we can put up concept art, information about the world of Eclisse and its rich lore, maybe a music preview... We know you guys are the most hardcore of hardcore iOS gaming fans who love this stuff, so tell us and we'd love to oblige! ---- Nov 7th update - For those of you reading about RAVENMARK for the first time, we're serving up a juicy new action-packed trailer from the final build, with shiny re-done UI! Enjoy! Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Advance Wars has almost no RPG elements besides basic leveling, Fire Emblem has a few RPG elements (equipments, level up to 20, class promotions), and Final Fantasy Tactics is heavy on RPG elements. How about this game? Ravenmark is looking good overall, although the battle scenes seem a bit bland (still pictures with damage animations) at the moment.
Heya Haruhi! I'm Ian, the creative lead for Ravenmark. Cheers for the comment! Having stills for the battle scenes was a decision we made since we have some great artists but lack animators. Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve on what you've seen? Also, the game is more in the vein of Advance Wars where there's next to no RPG elements -- for now. We're trying to get the game out first and add those bits as we go along. Was thinking of doing upgrades, much like Kingdom Rush.
I know right! Hahahah, we haven't finalised the sound for death yet so we decided to have a laugh. =D
Asynchronous online multiplayer. It's the killer/hallmark/make-or-break feature for nearly any turn-based strategy title on iOS, and often marks the difference between a single player experience of a few hours (brilliant though it may be), and a game that will live for years. (It is also a new paradigm within gaming, and the one thing mobile gaming devices can do on a whole different level than other platforms. To my mind, this genre of games is the single greatest asset of iOS and Android, other than the unique control methods offered by the touch screen and the portability.) Once the multiplayer appeal and persistence is there, releasing expansions/DLC/IAP, building a good rep and hyping a sequel/other game by the same developers, and most other forms of financially meaningful activities (stuff that will get you dough ), becomes a considerably more accessible process. Carcassonne lives on in great grace thanks to its multiplayer, whereas the Neuroshima Hex forum thread is filled to the brim with requests for asynchronous online play. Final Fantasy Tactics is awesome without it, but would have been absolutely groundbreaking with it...
Heya, Ayjona. Thank you for the comment! That's the long term goal for Ravenmark. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to accomplish that right now. Our short term goal is to have a hot seat function, down the road at least. With what resources we DO have, however, we're using to build a campaign world as a home for all the stories we intend to tell! If Ravenmark does well enough, we have every intention of having asynchronous online multiplayer. Just the idea of it is exciting! The opportunity to play the various nations in multiplayer! =)
Oohh SG developer. I hope to see a CO system like in advance wars. Unique units, abilities, strengths and weaknesses for a given team/commander
Heya Nabs, Well! We have 35 unique units, each with their own unique abilities (with more to come as the story progresses.. I think we have about 80 odd units in total.) Also, each nation is played in a different way - Estellion is slow and sturdy, preferring to plow through a battlefield, while Kaysan prefers to overrun their opponent with waves and waves of elves (*cough* fodder *cough*) with speed. The other nations, Esotre, Ard-ru, Lyri and Scipin also have their own styles, but you'll find out about them along the way! You can read a little bit about the nations towards the bottom of this post: http://www.witching-hour.net/?p=73
Well, with that goal in mind (or even just the hope for it, if it is never realized ), you'll have my money at launch. I must say that the game looks just splendid. The unit art style (both characteristic and unique, and just plain nice), the artwork, the glimpses of gameplay and tactics, the interface, hell, even the unit names (Hallow Frogs, Corpsejumpers and Earthbound Windswepts... there's a poetic ring to them, and I get the impression of a gaming world with far more character and depth than your typical, generic elves-and-orcs-and-drunken-dwarves-rumble-in-mordor setting), building our own formations, support elements, the large number of units and nations... it all seems well presented, thought-out and carefully planned, and to offer depth (both story-wise, and strategically) beyond most iOS games. Also, the additional in-canon info on the webpage (such as nation descriptions) is *very* well written. Surprisingly so. As something many iOS titles (and computer games in general) lack, and as another particular point of interest (and, when not up to my arbitrary standards , point of contention and discontent) for me, this makes Ravenmark seem all the more professional and polished. Another one for the top five wishlist For me, with some *very* few exceptions, the more tactical options, choices, maneuvers, possibilities, stats and complications in a strategy game, the better. (This probably holds true for almost all games I enjoy, but for turn-based war games in particular.) And while I could not quite tell from the trailer, there looks to be quite a lot of strategic depth in Ravenmark. Seems like there is plenty of unit abilities and unique traits, and the part about dynamic formations and support elements that add attack/defense options and status buffs sounds great! Are there elevation bonuses? Terrain penalties? Many circumstantial adjustments of stats/percentages/risks and chances? Also, while this might sound nerdy, anal and nitpicky (wo4ds which go so well together ), I really like the fact that you just an initiative/acting speed system. If it works anything like it usually does in turn-based games, this mechanic does a lot to alter, break up and vary the flow of combat in interesting ways. This is what I have been missing in most of the otherwise really good turn-based warfare titles for iOS (FFT, Shrouded: Pantheon Cycle, UniWar, Eustrath, Neuroshima Hex, Battle for Wesnoth, etc). Not to say that some of these games do not already offer lots of depth, but not enough for my peculiar tastes
Heya Ayjona, thanks for the kind words. Gives us the drive to make it that much better! I appreciate the fact you noticed the unit (we call them 'Elements' actually!) names and world notes. We spent a lot of time making sure everything sounded right. Truth be told, Brian (key scriptwriter) and myself (campaign world writer) come from writing backgrounds. So story is of utmost importance to us. =) To be quite honest, the code for terrain bonuses/penalties, elevation bonuses are already coded - but we decided to take it out for now. While people like us (you and me both!) enjoy such depth, it becomes a deterrent to most players. What I -can- promise though, is circumstantial adjustments of stats/percentages/risks and chances! Things like flanking, morale, commander auras, attached elements, formation bonuses and the likes!
Touting my own horn and all that jazz, but as someone who has been writing both professionally and privately for 10 years, I can tell And that, probably as much as the hope for future multiplayer and the perceived (and most probably real) tactical variation, will garner much hype for you among the likes of me I decry that omission for my own sake, but understand where you are coming from In an age where even Civilization is simplified, what else can a developer hoping to eat every now and then do? They intend to add it further down this twisted road we call incremental development See previous page, and my question regarding the same. (iOS 5's turn-based features already exists, in the form of custom asynchronous multiplayer, but yes, the inclusion of support for such in iOS 5 will hopefully encourage many developer to add asynchronous support to their turn-based games.)
Heya Lifein2D! Sorry to disappoint, but multiplayer won't be in the initial release of Ravenmark. We do have plans to implement it down the road though. Before then, you can enjoy the world of Eclisse and the sprawling story we've put together! You could join Calius and his men as they fight their way to safety behind enemy lines; follow the retired General, Vidius Harper, as he struggles to hold back the Suneater incursion; find out what's going on in the royal court.. many tales are woven together to paint a bigger picture of what is going on in the world at large! =)
Cheers, man! We've been having this discussion here in the office for ages about multiplayer. While we really want to have it, it's just beyond us right now. I hope the story is enough to keep people interested for a time, while we figure it out. And I hear ya about the simplification of gaming.. I think it's hard not to adapt to what (most) people are looking for. We were toying with the idea of doing a hardcore mode where everything is activated and the AI makes you cry. =D
Looks great! Couple questions: Any chance hardcore players can have an option to turn on terrain and elevation bonuses that you took the time to code in? Like a 'hard' version of the campaigns? Would love to see some kind of commander units or heroes or a CO system that others have mentioned. Do you "buy" units in some way before each battle? Do units persist between battles on some way? Are there 'neutral' or mercenary units earned in some way that can be used by any side?
Heya Trystero, thanks! For that, I.. need to talk to my team and look at the timeline. Since getting the story in perfectly is paramount right now, I really can't promise you anything at this point. I don't think it'll come any time soon at this point, honestly. Sorry! Well.. here's the answer: The troops, or 'Elements', as we call them will be led directly by commanders. Each will have their own abilities and styles of use as well - also a decent story and background for each, accessible in the game Codex. Since the campaign is so story driven, we decided it best to have the armies set for each map. Mostly for balancing issues. Who knows? We might have that option down the road too. (Jeez guys, trust me when I say that everything you guys are asking for is on this giant 'To Do' list I have floating on my desktop - so much to do, so little time and resources! If Ravenmark takes off well, I will endeavour to make sure each and every one is addressed.)
