[Developing] Arkanon campaigns

[Fey]

this thread is for the development of my campaigns on the Arkanon tileset. related thread here about the tileset itself:

I'll be updating the OP of this thread periodically with new levels. for now, I have only one, and it's not even on the Arkanon tileset, but it's part of the campaign so screw it, we're starting the thread lol. here's a link to the rough draft of level 1:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yiITJiJdbkWy4w6sfdCMzg4Czoz8LIfU/view

for ease, I included the latest exe from Klofkac. if you'd rather grab v3.0 yourself, the thread's right here:

and here's some more information about the first level, including a full map image

Spoiler

FULL MAP IMAGE:

Spoiler

lotsa rough draft crap. no new EVA or voiceovers for the scripted lines, the swordsmen are using placeholder frames from sard flamers, lasgunners need realignment, things don't have their proper names when moused over, some other stuff... there's also no mission intel or tactical map yet. but it should be a playable mission from any start location. albeit an easy one, since it's just level 1. except maybe on hard mode? it can get a little spicy, I guess

I took a more traditional approach with the tutorial level in Summers' Solstice and gave the player a feel for some changes in the tech tree before introducing a simple but kinda scary AI opponent in the second phase of S01V1. this one is more akin to S01V2, but is built much more like a tutorial level. the player MOSTLY gets the basic infantry, Sardaukar Riflemen, to work with. some Trike-equivalent units are introduced a bit later, and there are scarce Sardaukar Troopers, Flamers and Buzzsaws to find as well. the idea of giving the player a mostly homogenous deathball and asking the player to go have fun is so I can introduce the more eccentric enemy units in a controlled and low-pressure environment. the player is more likely to be observant of the enemy units' qualities in this kind of scenario

those heavily-armored Mavrys buggies are probably the biggest threat on this map. that's why there are some Sardaukar Troopers included in the mix, even on hard mode. sure, you can tank their hits with Scythe Bikes, AKA Scythers, and gun them down with Riflemen eventually, but they're essentially minibosses at that rate

as for the enemy units, lasgunners are fine against infantry. not as efficient as riflemen, but they deal respectable damage to light armor and very slightly better damage against structures or heavy armor than bullets-based weapons do. the other enemy infantry, those paladins, are the tankiest infantry unit in the ga,e. their energy shields stay up until they take a swing at their target in melee. attempting to crush them (like with Buzzsaws) will EMP the crushing vehicle, temporarily stunning it and slightly damaging it. Harvesters are EM-shielded and cannot be stunned, not that you get to run any paladins over with those on this mission, but I'm just saying. and while you might think a sword does little damage to armor, they do have a small slash wave projectile because what they're carrying is less a sword and more a hyper-stylized handheld plasma cannon

hard difficulty puts a crapload of paladins at the final enemy position you assail before phase two of the level, and Shock Turrets will return fire on your forces

there's a new gameplay mechanic introduced in this campaign where although your infantry can still heal to 50% while idle, like in SS, leaving them near Barracks will heal them up to 100% over time. on this mission, friendly Barracks can do this for your infantry. not that I intended to make the player wait, or slow down the action, or anything... the heal crates scattered around the map are global. if the player picks one up, units on the other side of the map will be healed too

although this mission is designed to be non-linear, the start location system adds another layer of non-linearity. I hope to leave an impression on the player with its level of detail, despite how brief a mission it is.

I did test runs on hard mode from all three start locations to make sure the rough draft works correctly. these clips will expire eventually. for now, here they are:
top left: https://streamable.com/bq4f9o
top right: https://streamable.com/fg8lbw
bottom right: https://streamable.com/5r2nys

that's all for now. any feedback while this crap is under development is greatly appreciated!