IMO it is the strategy part that is the key to Wartiles success; if that part of the game is done well then there are people on both sides (RTS and TBS) who will buy. If you follow the forums you should know that they have made changes based on feeedback, while still remaining true to the original design concept. For example, slowing down time. All in all, Wartile is a fair indie game: it is different, well-executed and humble. If you like tabletop games or if you are just looking for something different, tactical.

Official trailerAbout This GameWARTILE delivers a game experience unlike anything you’ve seen before. Bring your collection of miniature figurines to life as they aid you to battle it out in a real time strategy video game. Position your figurines, use their strengths and be mindful of their weaknesses, activate their special abilities and play your action cards to gain the upper hand on the playing field.In the Viking Conquest campaign, players will get their first taste of the charming medieval fantasy universe we’ve been working on for years now. Wartile Launches March 17th on Steam Early AccessIt’s with great pleasure and excitement that we finally can announce Wartile Early Access launch date on Steam to March 17th. With 3 years of development the team are proud and happy, that we have come such a long way and now feel confident to launch Wartile on Early Access.Feedback from the community have been a huge help for us in locating and prioritize our tasks in the game design, but also in how to design features to come. We would like to share some of the feedback with you.

In the 0.4.4 update many players felt frustrated by the combat mechanics and the cooldown system locking down figurines. With the 0.4.4.2 This was changed and navigation of the figurines during combat got much more fluent and the reception was very positive.On Difficulty we raised the bar significantly throughout all Battle Boards and that shows on the feedback.

Still the majority welcomed the change as a step in the right direction, with a few who voiced their fear of it getting too hard to enjoy the story.Knowing that most of you guys love a real challenge and realizing that life as a Viking was no dance on roses, we are currently implementing difficulty levels on each battle board that will unlock when you have completed all objectives on the board. This new level contain more trained enemies and additional encounters, but will also offer you the chance to unlock some unique equipment. The new Board difficulty levels will not break it for those who are just looking for a great experience, but don't want to die trying.From our latest Closed Alpha round we asked our players where they would like to see the next improvements.For the next update we will introduce many new features to Wartile, as the pie chart above states, there is a desire for more playable content, deeper combat and customization. To highlight what we are working on here is a short summery, we will be going into details when we are just about the release the updates, as we work very iterative on each feature.

Just now we are working on adding a Shop where you will be able to spend all the loot you earn. The first thing you will be able to buy is figurine classes, that you can bring with you into battle. Second we are introducing Enemy abilities adding more depth to the combat. Something that was highly requested by the Community. We have started adding Board difficulty levels that can be unlocked by completing all objectives, something that greatly will increase the single player content with a challenging experience and new rewards.

We are also bringing in new Warrior and Spearman versions with their own abilities and different stats. We are also updating the whole story in a effort to add more local lore and story to each battle board. We hope that these new features will be well received.For the next Steam update we will focus a bit on each Figurine Class and how combining their attributes and abilities in the battle matters.Take care everyone and kind regards fromThe Wartile Team. WARTILE Featured in OnlySPWartile is featured this week in OnlySP, with an extensive interview with our creative director Michael Rud Jakobsen.

Check it out.We recently had the pleasure of meeting with Michael Rud Jakobsen, CEO and Creative Director of Playwood Project. Founded in 2014, this fledgling Denmark studio is on its way to publishing its first title: Wartile, a real-time virtual miniatures game set within the brutal age of the Vikings.”Setting the Board”Michael got a taste for independent game design early in his career, working for a small studio called Zeitguyz. “I was much more ambitious, having just come out of design school,” He recalls, “There I worked as an environment artist, and a lead artist I came in pretty early, and there were four or five guys at the moment — the two founders and a few artists.

I came in as an environment artist, and I had just come in directly from school, and I had no real experience in the industry. So it was learning by doing, since there is such a huge difference between what you learn in school and what you do in the industry.”Like many budding game designers, Michael admits that the early days of his career were spent on a very tight rope. “I didn’t get any salary for more than one year,” he says, “I mean, coming straight from school, that was possible because I was used to eating spaghetti I guess or something like that. I didn’t have a huge budget, no family and such.”Not only was this doable at the time, but it allowed him a level of singular commitment to his projects that he enjoyed. “You really embed yourself in the project,” he explains, “It becomes part of yourself.

And the indie companies depend a lot on the individual artists to provide good content and to come up with a lot of ideas, and because they are so small, they give a lot of ownership out to the individual developers. Ownership, and the feeling of doing something in a team, building up and sharing the good moments — everything is so close to you. When you show off the game, you are normally at the exhibitions yourself, so you really get close to the things you are doing and the people who would enjoy the product.

So it was very much about self-driven motivation — the project moves by the energy you put in yourself.”Like any independent studio, Zeitguys faced an upward battle — one that it eventually lost. There, Michael learned a great deal about what kind of struggles he might face one day with his own company. “Sometimes the structure is not in place,” he explains, “There’s no department for human resources. The budget is tight, so if you have a big family to support, it can be tough. You work a lot of hours I think — you also do that at established companies, but I don’t know, sometimes it feels like when you are in an indie company it’s also your responsibility.

Even if you’re just an artist, you kind of share the responsibility to deliver on the different milestones, so it’s also very tough I think. And then it’s unknown, so you don’t know if you’ll get any backing or any investors and stuff like that. So there’s a lot of uncertainty about the next day, or the next week, or the next month.”Read on. We are now in Early Access17 MarchHi fellow Wartile WarriorsI hope you are ready to loot and plunder the spoils of the world, at least the world of Wartile.

As a team we are extremely proud to have reached this huge milestone and are happy to be able to share it with all you guys.Since our last update we have been focusing on getting as many new features into the game as possible, before the Early Access, while also focusing on stability and accessibility. We have not succeeded 100% in all areas, but we will be spending some energy in the upcoming weeks, to improve the accessibility and communication in the game.Lets take a look at some of the new features.The Campaign boardWe have made a big art overhaul on the Campaign board, granting each section (figurine customization, figurine collection, card deck and the new Tavern, its own little box, with a fitting background. It’s a great improvement but still far from done.Unlock-able difficulty stagesEach battle board now unlock up two new difficulty levels. These difficulty levels should offer the player a steep change in difficulty and I most cases better stats and equipment is needed to complete the higher levels.The Norse TavernIn the tavern, you can now view all the unlocked figurines during your play and if you have the gold to pay them and the fame to impress them you can hire them to your collection of Vikings. Changes to the item setup in the customization section.Relics / Way pointsThe relics placed around the maps can now be used to save your progress on the map. If dying later on board, you can choose to load your progress from that way point instead of restarting the whole mission.Story Cards & ObjectivesMost story parts have been changed and we will introduce the main objectives with the main theme 'Spoils of the world'. Feedback Highlights from our CommunityCommunity AnnouncementsWe want to share with you some of the feedback we have received so far from our community through our different channels.

We follow the Steam forum closely and pay attention to all the user reviews we get. We have also made it possible to provide us more detailed feedback through a Google form questionnaire, or just by rating us when leaving the game.To get a sense if we are on the right track, we ask our community to evaluate their experience and here are some of the results.Read on. Patch 0.4.5.1Community AnnouncementsHi EveryoneIt’s now 24 hours since we launched and the ride have been awesome. Honestly, we didn’t know what to expect but we are happily surprised by all the positive feedback and the relative low number of CRITICAL bugs reported.We have tried to address some of the bugs reported, with a small patch.

The skull of Hel now correctly drops after reloading from a Relic / way point. When picking up Skull of Hel the objective now shows completed. Lost Norse battle board have been made slightly easier (Difficulty stages are unchanged). We have tried to fix an issue where Camera get stuck at the start of the level. Please tell us if you experience this bug again. We have added control feature that will identify a known bug and suggest ways to avoid it happen.

The bug can occur when playing with low frame rate and all figurines stop fighting and the player is unable to select units. (The bug is removed by restarting the level.). We have fixed a bug on the way point at coastline that only spawning three figurines instead of four when reloading. We have added tool tips to more objects in the game to help communicate its functions.

You can now see the Multiplayer in the campaign menu, but its locked until the Coastline Battle board have been completed. The one with the monastery and its booming treasures.Kind regardsThe Wartile Team. Patch 0.4.5.3Community AnnouncementsHi everyoneAnother small patch addressing bugs reported by our community, we will keep on crushing these bastards, as they get reported. Fixed an issue where the game would startup in an unsupported fullscreen resolution. Fixed an issue where the mouse will stay within the full screen.

Game now supports AZERTY Keyboards in the options menu. (This is a temporary measure until we finish our custom key bindings menu). Number of owned items in Unit Management now updates when equipping/unequipping items. Summoned Lost Norse figurines from the Skull of Hel, now lose health over time until they die. Summoned Lost Norse can longer interact with interactive objects (levers, items, etc.) or move in and out of caves.

Lost Norse units spawned by the Skull of Hel no longer interferes with ending the game by stepping onto the boat. All boat at Lost Norse battle board tiles should now be eligible for ending the game. Previously the outer tiles would sometimes not count. Fixed a bug that made the 'Key Lever' on Hillside inoperable after loading a waypoint. Fixed an issue with Treasure Chests, that made the random selecting less random than intended.We hope these bug fixes will enhance the game experience for everyone.Kind regardsThe Wartile Team. A collection of popular questions - Wartile Q&A24 March - WartileSince launching Wartile we have closely been following the Steam forums closely and the feedback that you all have written to us through the Google questionnaire.We have made a small Q&A, to give you all a better understanding of our plans for the future and share how how we plan to address some of the problems and desires that you generally have.Q: For how long do you plan Wartile to be in Early Access?A: Our production plans says 5-6 months, so if everything goes as planned that should be it.

But the reality of game development is that its really hard to predict as most games becomes a beast of its own, and some features may take longer than planned.Q: What additional content are you planning on adding to the game?A: We already have three new and unique environmental themes in production. From these we expect to create more than 5 new challenging battle boards both for multiplayer and singleplayer. Patch 0.4.5.428 MARCHWe have just added another set fixes addressing some of the major issues people are experiencing. Content Update on the Horizon14 APRILTwo weeks have now passed without any news or updates but don’t worry we are working hard here at the office in Copenhagen attending to the last details for our first content update, and we are really looking forward to letting you guys play it and hear what you think.Stealth Game PlayWe have just started the final testing of the first content update 0.4.6.0 that we aim to release next week introducing a Battle board with stealth game play, where you will be able to pull, a real Loki plan on the poor Englishmen. We won’t reveal too much, leaving it up to you to discover it by yourself.What to expect from the next Content update 0.4.6.0We appreciate all the constructive feedback we've been getting on Wartile through Steam, we are listening! Content update 0.4.6.0 ReleasedHi everyoneWe are very excited to finally release our first content update for Wartile.

It has taken us a bit longer than we anticipated, but we believe it's a solid update, and one which will add more content while also improving the overall quality of the game.The highlight of this content update is The Rescue battle board that introduces a new stealth oriented gameplay experience requiring you to plan and execute some swift attacks to avoid triggering an alarm thus compromising your mission. To accomplish this a correct figurine lineup and well assembled card deck will make a big difference on the battlefield.We hope that this update will be well received and can ensure you that the next update is in full production. What's cooking Part One21 May - WartileHi everyoneIt's more than about time that we share some details of all the progress we are making with Wartile, we know that we have been silent for quite some time, but we have just been very focused on development and all the new awesome things coming up with our next Adventure Pack and we are really excited to be able to share more about what we are working on. Actually there is so much new content that we have divided it up into three parts, that we will be posting during the next two weeks.Introducing pickupsWith the last update we introduced the pick-up feature where your figurines can pickup an item from the battle board and carry it around almost as an extra ability card. This is now something we want to expand on, by allowing the figurines to pickup items from the battle board that can be used instantly or become handy later on.Oil Bomb carrySimple Oil lamps used by the Heidrun Clan to light up their deep dark caves, can now be picked-up and used as a deadly weapon targeted the enemy, or even used to set fire to structures from distance. This deadly little package brings a dose of fire to your arsenal. Used wisely they can be an effective ranged weapon.A Can of mead Instant useA can of good mead not only strengthen your spirit but let you forget your battle wounds.

Therefore a wise Viking always drink as much as possible during their raids. Small Cans of mead can now be picked up to immediately regain a small portion of your health increase.New battle boardsThe request of more content is our foremost priority and we are working hard to add more great battle boards to the game, we are however also very passionate about delivering content that gives you a new and unique challenge and experience every time we deliver a new battle board.Thor's WrathIt's said that when Thor visit Niefelheim he travel past the Heidrun gateway hidden deep inside the Heidrun dungeons. What's cooking Part Two2 June - WartileHi EveryoneWe hope you all are doing well. From our office in Copenhagen, we do our best to get the next adventure pack ready for release, which should be shortly.

With part two of what’s cooking we will introduce even more great content that we have been working on so let’s get started.Trail of TyrAs your Fame, richness and powers grow, the neighbor Vikings clans start to envy your success. One morning the Viking bandits break through your gates, eager to plunder everything you have rightfully earned. For how long can your withstand the waves of bandits.This battle board directly engages you into battle with waves of incoming enemy bandings rampaging their way to the Jarl’s longhouse.

I recently discovered the corner of YouTube given over to obsessive model-builders, that obsessively caring bunch of people who take pride in their painstaking efforts to recreate famous battle scenes or locomotives or bomb craters on the surface of a planet millions of light years away. There’s something soothing about watching them work and explain their craft, sawing away at balsa struts or getting the mud spatter patterns on tank tracks just right. The Playwood Project’s Wartile appeals to that same sensibility, offering the look of detailed little dioramas and painted miniatures come to life like the Indian in the Cupboard, only this time around it’s Vikings, and sadly, without much in the way of personality.

The gameboards certainly look the part. They’re slices of hex-based terrain that look as though they’ve been carved from cherrywood and covered in green flocking or cottony snow. They’re varied and sometimes quite large, with a surprising verticality to many of the mountainous maps. But it’s the lighting that really sells the fantasy of living miniatures - somehow Playwood have wrangled a lovely tilt-shift effect out of the Unreal Engine, and the boards really look like they’re sitting on the table under tastefully-arranged track lighting.

Unfortunately, the game itself is much less interesting. You control a small band of Vikings, each with his or her own set of unlockable special abilities. You can find or buy them new equipment, and buff their stats with tokens you find in battles. Their looks are updated as you give them new gear, which is another nice visual touch.

Each scenario involves finding a relic of some kind, defeating enemies, or holding control points. While the hexes and miniatures may give off the signs of turns and dice, these are nowhere to be found in Wartile. It’s a real-time game, with movement and actions tied to cooldowns instead of turns.

This is a disappointing decision, to say the least. The cooldowns are fairly fast, but their presence is enough to make movement, particularly during exploration, feel clunky and cumbersome. You can shift-click while moving one character to have the rest of the party follow along, but they’ll only make one move and often it’ll be in an unexpected direction. Shadow complex gamefaqs. During battles, the quick cooldowns undercut any feeling of considered tactics you might get from a miniatures game, because you’ll be moving piece after piece too quickly to put much thought into it.

Defeating enemies or completing objectives earns you battle points, which allow you to cast spells from a card deck you’ve put together beforehand. You’ll also have cards for objects, such as oil bombs and mead, as well as for characters’ special abilities. Here again, the real-time system robs this of any sense of strategy since you’ll simply be spamming heals or ranged attacks as situations develop on the ground.

You have minimal control over your characters’ melee attacks - they’ll stab or shoot whatever’s in range on their own. Enemy AI isn’t great, but it does know that adjacency matters and will back up out of the way once you’ve placed an axe warrior next to one of their troops. Archers will kite your melee fighters around battle zones and plodding after them feels frankly ridiculous.

The effect is that Wartile feels frustratingly like coming across a box full of neglected miniatures and playing a made-up game that has few actual rules. You’ll mostly just be marching your pieces forward, almost as if you were haphazardly shoving goodies and baddies together into a childish mess. That in itself might be passingly entertaining, but Wartile likes creating one-hex choke points around its maps, and since pieces can’t move through each other, even this feels a bit hamstrung.

In fairness, this could very well be a case of a game just being a different thing than I thought I wanted. You could argue, justly, that Wartile has every right to be a real-time game rather than a turn-based one, and that it ought to be judged based on what it wants to do rather than what I wanted it to do. That’s perfectly reasonable, but I’m prepared to say that Wartile doesn’t really work on its own terms either. A real-time game ought to have a sense of dynamism and fluidity; both of these are lacking here thanks to the cooldown movement system. The need to constantly be clicking and dragging miniatures to and fro means mistakes are common, even though there’s very little variety in what you’re actually doing on a moment-to-moment basis.

As beautiful as the gameboards are, it’s awfully difficult to read Wartile. Status effects like stuns and frenzy aren’t clearly communicated visually, and even though your miniatures are frequently animated, they’re completely silent for some reason, meaning you don’t hear grunts of pain or cheers of victory - their triumphant fist-pumping when they down an enemy are mimed.

Taken together, Wartile (which I can’t help but read as “Wartle,” sort of like “turtle”) is a disappointingly hollow experience once the charm of the bespoke dioramas has worn off, which as you might expect happens pretty quickly. There’s little time for tactical considerations, but even if there were, the units aren’t varied or interesting enough for that to have been much to write home about anyway. The gear you find doesn’t change anything meaningful in how units work; a spearman will get better spears, and the magic user will get better staffs, but you can’t tweak their roles to change the way they function. The boards look nice but are riddled choke-points that make movement a chore. And you’ll have to return to missions you’ve completed (each board has three difficulty tiers) in order to level up newly-unlocked characters. Re-purposing content in to pad out the brisk campaign.

It’s a shame, because Wartile looks so much like it should be something special. But for seasoned strategy fans, its beauty is only skin-deep. Wartile feels like it’s the physical artefact of a Norse Jumanji board for which the rulebook has long since been lost.

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