The current version of ArmCom, Beta 1.5, appears to be fairly stable and is getting over a dozen new downloads per day. I’m really happy to see how many people are enjoying the game, and am encouraged by the amount of suggestions and requests for future features.
After fixing some of the more minor bugs over the past few weeks, my plan is to start a new Beta 2 version in which I can start adding a number of new features that, unfortunately, will break compatibility with previous saved games, simply because they introduce significant changes to the structure of the game. These include:
- New crew system with more character, detail, and flexibility. Crew will have more types of injuries, may need medical attention both in the tank and after the battle, and will be more flexible in terms of recruiting and swapping out crewmen to a reserve pool. KIA crewmen will be memorialized in the main menu screen.
- New campaign calendar; right now this is far by the flattest aspect to the game, and doesn’t really make sense for how the game has evolved from its roots. The new calendar will focus on the most important events in the calendar, and will give the player a better sense of where they are within the campaign.
- New random events and optional missions on the campaign day map, which make moving across the map more interesting and give more choices to the player. These will take the form of radio transmissions from HQ giving the player the chance to fulfill a task for bonus VP.
- Overhead views of tanks and other vehicles, with an animated display of penetrating hits.
- Better ‘tutorial’ messages. I’ve already made changes to the start of the game that will make it easier and more clear for new players to understand how to set up their tank and crew, but these types of pop-up messages will become a standardized feature that can be disabled by more experienced players
- Better, more detailed season effects and colours on the campaign day map. Right now these are pretty basic, with seasons always starting on the same calendar day, but there’s room for some more randomness in how seasons are triggered and displayed.
- Finally, the introduction of a new campaign and the beginning of more flexibility to add different types of campaigns in the future.
I figured it made most sense to start on all of these at once, since many of them will required players to start a new game anyways. So I don’t anticipate releasing a new update to ArmCom for some time, but when I do, it will be an unstable test release with most if not all of these exciting new features in the game.
In the meantime, please keep enjoying ArmCom and keep those suggestions and bug reports coming in.