Adding a Core Gameplay Mechanic

The key mechanic that the entire gameplay revolves around.

Hello everyone! Let me tell you about some very important changes to the game — I would even call them fundamental changes for the entire project.

But first, I’ll start with major but non-core updates:

1. Complete visual overhaul of nearly all scenes. The game now looks significantly different and, in my opinion, much better. Here are before/after screenshots:

   (Main Menu, Historical Campaign, Training Battle, and Campaign Selection scenes):

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   (Main Menu, Historical Campaign, Training Battle, and Campaign Selection scenes):

2. Gradual addition of various visual improvements.

3. And finally — the core mechanic of the entire game, around which player progression and gameplay will revolve: the Card & Headquarters Research system.

   From now on, only Tier 1–3 Vehicle Cards, Tier 1–2 Spell/Order Cards, and Tier 1 Headquarters are unlocked by default and can be added to your deck. To use all higher-tier cards and headquarters, you must research them in the dedicated Research scene.

   All vehicle cards are divided by Tier and by type: Light Tanks, Medium Tanks, Heavy Tanks, Tank Destroyers (TDs), and Self-Propelled Artillery (SPGs). Each type has its own separate research tree, which can branch internally to offer meaningful choices.

A similar research system applies to Order Cards and Headquarters.

• At the moment, the research mechanics are implemented only for the USSR and Germany nations, as the US nation’s special abilities have not yet been adapted for the multiplayer mode.

  Research XP is earned from online battles and is calculated separately:

  • Vehicle Cards — based on the number of enemy vehicle cards destroyed;

  • Order Cards — based on the number of Orders played;

  • Headquarters — based on destroying the enemy HQ.

  Since research XP is earned exclusively from online battles, the following important feature was added:

  Battle vs AI added to Online Mode. If no opponent is found within 30 seconds, the game automatically starts a battle against a bot. XP for research is also awarded after these AI battles started in Online mode.

Currently, the bots’ AI is quite weak, and I’m actively working on significantly improving (“leveling up”) their intelligence. In the future, this will allow adding XP rewards for battles started in dedicated PvE modes as well (not everyone enjoys PvP, so alternative PvE progression paths should be available).

This was a very brief overview of the changes. The game is constantly evolving, so I only highlight the biggest updates. See you in the next dev update!