Devblog 22

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Source: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1373910/view/541099439761129676

Devblog 22 - Three Empire War Update

Released: 2025-03-07 17:54

Disclaimer: Features discussed in this post reflect what is currently under development and may change in the future. This upcoming update and test will be a special one. The third side, the Pagans will finally be introduced into the game, which is expected to bring a new dynamic to the conflict. This update will also be adding several other foundational features like a trade economy (including new resources and equipment), new win conditions, the new Avatar system, and more!

The goal of this and the upcoming few updates is to get all remaining foundational features in for an Early Access release on Steam this year. Early Access for Anvil Empires won't be the end, but rather the beginning of a process to build out the vast and expansive vision we have for Anvil Empires. Similar to Foxhole, Anvil Empires won't be built over night and will require long stretches of testing and iteration in a real world setting, a process that will continue well into Early Access.

PAGANS

Anvil Empires was always designed to support multiple warring factions. The Pagan faction will finally be introduced into upcoming tests. For now, their visuals will be unique but their structures, weapons, and equipment will be equivalent to the other sides. Factions will gain unique gameplay elements during Early Access development.



Forged in the frigid southern waters of the Wayward Sea, we’ve tempered our souls within its shining jewels, our Aranic isles. Still, the gods demand new lands with rich soil fed with the lifeblood of our enemies. So, north we sailed. We will claim this new land, this Calligo, in their honour.

MULTIPLE WIN CONDITIONS

A proper win condition system has been implemented. Previously, win conditions were enforced in an ad hoc manner, but now there is a comprehensive system that tracks win condition information on the back end and displays it to players on the map screen.



With this new system, there will be multiple types of win conditions. The first win condition, Military Victory requires capturing a certain number of enemy Keeps. The second win condition, Cultural Victory requires building a certain number of Temples and holding them for a period of time. Building a Temple is only possible later in an Age and requires an immense amount of resources to be pooled together by the entire faction, including new Trade Resources (see below). Only one of the three empires can achieve any given Win Condition, but different Win Conditions can be achieved by different factions.

TRADE ECONOMY

Having a functioning trade economy has always been a major goal for Anvil Empires. The Town Marketplace was introduced several tests ago to allow players within the vicinity of a town to trade with other players. The next step is to begin enabling trade between players from different towns. To that end, new localized trade resources and equipment are being introduced.

TRADE RESOURCES

There will be three trade resources and they will only exist geographically in certain parts of the world. They will rotate to a random new location at the start of every in-game year. The three trade resources will be:

• Flax Seeds - Dried into Linen
• Lead - Smelted into Lead Ingots
• Resin - Processed into Rosin (existing resource repurposed into a trade resource)

Since these resources are localized, the most efficient way to procure them will be by trading with other players at the Marketplace (or at least this is the goal). These resources will be required to produce specialized, but not essential weapons and equipment.

NEW WEAPONS & DAMAGE TYPES

While many existing specialized weapons and equipment will require trade resources, two additional new weapons will be added as well. The first is the Mace, which is a new melee weapon that deals Crushing Damage. This weapon will be the most effective at damaging enemy stability and knocking over targets. As a side note, The Combat Axe will also now require trade resources and has been repurposed to deal Cleaving Damage, making it the only melee weapon that can damage siege weapons like Battering Rams and Catapults.



The second new weapon is Burning Oil, which can be used by those manning the parapets of a Fort. Burning Oil can be thrown from the tops of Fort walls down at an attacking force, leaving a burning patch of fire on the ground that deals damage over time to any enemy that walks into it. Burning Oil also deals Burning Damage, directly damaging siege engines like Battering Rams on impact.

AVATAR SYSTEM

The Avatar system is based on some concepts that were explored very early in the project but didn't work out at the time. The goal behind the Avatar system is to provide a better framework for deployment resources, one that can eventually simulate the raising, movement, and upkeep of armies more accurately.

Instead of Food being the resource for deployment (or Soldier Supplies in Foxhole), Avatars will be required instead, each one representing a single soldier that can be deployed into an army. The production of Avatars are conceptually like the training of units in an RTS, except they are controlled and trained directly by players through in-game activities like gathering, building, and combat.



There will be different types of Avatars in the future, but in the first version there will be two: Apprentices and Soldiers. Players start out controlling an Apprentice Avatar and can train them into a Soldier. Trained Avatars can be stationed at Homesteads until they are shipped out via Caravan to reinforce a contested position like a Keep or Camp. Assembling a large army will require the mustering troops in the form of Avatars, from many Homesteads across a faction.



Avatars can also gain veterancy levels. When deploying at a Homestead, Town, or Camp, players must select an Avatar, taking control of that Avatar and gaining it's attributes and veterancy levels. Players can also switch their Avatar at any time to another one stationed at their Homestead. The shipping version of Avatars will be a basic building block that will be expanded upon in the future.

GRAIN MILL

The Grain Mill replaces the last of the legacy refinery structures in the game. This structure grinds raw ingredients into processed ingredients, turning Wheat into Flour, and various Seeds into animal feeds.



Players can manually operate the Grain Mill to grind ingredients or attach a Hand Crank Adapter that can be hooked into the power system for automation, much Trip Hammers or Saw Mills. The coarseness of ground ingredients can be controlled by pushing a lever at the side of the structure. The correct Coarseness determines the final quality of the outputted materials.

OTHER FEATURES

Other key changes coming in the next update are listed below. For even more changes, be on the lookout for the release notes when the dev branch drops.

• Marketplace Improvements - Barrels of items can now be sold directly at the Marketplace
• Siege Engines - Swords, Bows, and all hand held weapons other than Combat Axes and Burning Oil no longer damage to siege engines
• New Build Interface - When building a structure, a new dedicated widget is displayed that shows both required and submitted materials
• Homestead Area Changes - Homestead areas are now square and those built in Town areas snap to the building grid of the Town
• Homestead Corridor and Bridge Pieces - Homesteads now have new Corridor and Bridge pieces to connect larger Homestead structures together
• Cart and Caravan Visual Upgrade - The Cart, Hand Cart, and Caravans have had their models updated to more polished standards
• Cart Passengers - Additional players can now sit at the back of Carts

Be sure to add Anvil Empires to your wish list on Steam. If you want to join the community, head over the to official Discord or Subreddit.



Source: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1373910/view/541099439761129676

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