Beta: Physics, Attack Controls & AI Overhaul, Shield Blocking, Open Field Map

Hi everyone,

Combat improvements have been stacking up over the last 6 months, so we decided it was time for an update.

This one turned out rather massive; with a new map, a major physics overhaul, revamped attack controls, smarter AI, and a bunch of long-requested features that are finally starting to feel like what we’ve always envisioned.

⚔️ Combat & Controls

• 🛡️ Shield Blocking (WIP): Initial implementation of blocking with a rough shield animation set. Functional, but still needs refinement.
• 🖱️ Mouse-Driven Attacks: Attacks now scale with mouse drag speed, making them feel faster and more responsive. The old “trigger” feel is gone.
• 🎯 Improved Aiming: Upper body aiming has been reworked — thrusts and swings now land more reliably and track better.

🕴️ Physics & Movement

• 🤖 Physical Simulation Upgrade: Characters are more physically simulated than ever, with improved balance and reduced reliance on artificial forces. They behave more human-like, with muscles only stiffening up when needed.
• 🦶 Procedural Footsteps: Foot placement is now handled procedurally, with proper hip movement and smoother animation.
• ⚖️ Dynamic Balancing: Characters lean their upper bodies and use their arms naturally to recover balance when stumbling or shifting weight.
• 🏃‍♂️ Locomotion Overhaul: Full rewrite of character locomotion. We've moved away from motion matching for better responsiveness and performance.

🧠 AI

• 💢 Smarter, More Aggressive: Enemies now land hits more consistently and press the advantage. Facing spearmen is especially dangerous.
• 📏 Tactical Movement: AI keeps better striking distance, cuts you off, and surrounds you more effectively when outnumbered.
• ⚔️ Battle Line Behaviour: AI now holds formation, keeping allies to their sides and enemies in front.
• 🗺️ Command System (Early Prototype): You can now issue basic movement and formation orders. It’s early, but the foundation is in place.

🌾 Other Updates

• 🗺️ New Field Battle Map: Open terrain map added — great for staging skirmishes in a completely open space.
• ⚜️ Heraldry (First Pass): Basic heraldry generation added. It’s random for now but will evolve with more structure and meaning.
• 🧾 New Main Menu (WIP): The main menu’s gotten a little love.
• 🐞 Bugfixes & More: And many, many smaller changes and bugfixes.

🛠️ Installation

The build is now live on the [beta] branch.

Let us know how it plays — and happy ‘strifing!