Dev Update — Building the Soldiers Who Rise With You

Steam post image ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to share a new development update for Rise of the General.

This update is about one of the systems I care about most:

Recruitment

In many games, recruitment feels like buying stronger units from a list.

That is not what I want for Rise of the General.

In this game, you do not simply collect soldiers.

You discover people through war.

Some are ordinary. Some are reliable. Some are dangerous. Some may become the kind of person your army is built around.

The main idea

You command many soldiers, but only a few become trusted.

Every recruit can be shaped by several things:

• Class — what they are naturally good at

• Repute — their potential

• Stats — their raw ability

• Traits — what makes them memorable

• Personality — how they behave

• Loyalty — whether they truly follow you

• Condition — whether they are healthy, wounded, exhausted, or shaken

A recruit should not matter only because their numbers are high.

They should matter because of what they survive, how they perform, and whether the player chooses to trust them with responsibility.

How recruits are discovered

I do not want recruitment to feel disconnected from the war.

A recruit might be noticed because:

• they held the line longer than expected

• they survived a hard battle

• a scout reports something unusual about them

• they perform well during training

• an officer recommends them

• they show potential during a battlefield event

You might notice a quiet recruit watching the officers, the wounded, the exits, and the supply carts.

You might assign someone to lead during training and discover they are not loud, but the men still follow their hand signals.

That is the kind of recruitment I want.

Not just:

“This unit has better stats.”

More like:

“Who is this person?”

“Where do they belong?”

“Can I trust them?”

“And what could they become if they survive long enough?”

Trusted units

As the player rises, some soldiers can become more than basic recruits.

They can become:

• trusted units

• squad leaders

• role leaders

• officers

• loyal followers

• rivals

• future commanders

That means army placement is not just about filling empty slots.

It becomes a judgment call.

Do you place someone where their class fits naturally?

Do you give a promising recruit a chance before they are ready?

Do you protect a wounded soldier and risk weakening your line?

Do you remove someone from a role because they failed, or because you are trying to save them?

Those decisions can affect loyalty, morale, role fit, and future growth.

Why this matters

This system supports the main fantasy of Rise of the General.

You do not start as a legendary general.

You rise through war, earn trust, build a reputation, and slowly gather the people who may one day stand beside you when the battlefield gets larger.

The player commands an army.

But the army is built from people.

I’ll keep sharing more as combat, squad management, camp training, and recruitment continue coming together.

If the project looks interesting, wishlisting and following the game help a lot at this stage.