With a heavy heart, I decided to completely discard the combat system I had programmed a few months earlier. As a reminder, it was a turn-based, tactical combat system, which is currently found in many other games and has often been done better than I could ever do it.
Instead, I went back to an original thought I had about the game: I wanted the whole simulation to be more like the old football manager games. You should watch the fight from the outside and call in some commands from time to time. Whether your people really do what you want them to do is up to them. With a rather abstract and text-based approach I bring – at least that’s the hope – the battle back into the mind of the observer.
The new combat system
Basically, there are formations on both sides, which are defined separately by the weapon type and the expertise of the people. These then move one after the other. Fighting continues until everyone is dead, surrenders, retreats or flees from the battle.
Not only health, but also morale and exhaustion play an important role. Exhausted warriors can’t do much more than fend off attacks. Low morale leads to panic and fleeing from the battlefield if, for example, the person next to you has been killed. In addition, a combat participant can also receive various statuses in battle such as a broken bone, bleeding, or similar effects that affect the battle action, but also beyond. With a broken bone, for example, one is no longer able to work effectively for at least a few weeks.
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