While you wait for Update 1, which will address all common feedback from the initial Early Access version of Expeditions: Samurai, we thought we would take this opportunity to talk a little bit about how the core gameplay of Samurai has evolved from Rome, and the thinking behind these changes.
Every Expeditions game undergoes a few gameplay changes compared to previous instalments, both to keep the series feeling fresh, but also to support the themes of each game's distinct setting and story. This dev diary will delve into the most significant change we've made to Samurai, being the addition of stealth mechanics, and show how this new aspect of the game plays together with other new features.
Having noticed an enemy ambush in the forest ahead, players have split their party and snuck them one by one into position to start combat on their terms and execute a devastating counter-ambush.
The major new element in Samurai is the inclusion of stealth systems and associated AI behaviors. Now, Samurai is not and will never be a full stealth game, but the addition of stealth is a way to make enemies act more human and to make the transition between real-time exploration and turn-based combat more smooth, dynamic, and interesting.
In Conquistador, when you got into a fight, there was a loading screen and you would be put straight into combat. In Viking and Rome, you would enter combat directly from dialogue or by hitting a manually placed trigger. In both cases, as soon as the game determines that combat should begin, all enemies immediately know what's up and where you are.
Taking away this omniscience introduces the dynamics of stealth: enemies now need to see you, or see an ally who's already fighting you, or hear you moving around, hear shots being fired, etc. This adds a new dimension to the sort of tactics and cunning you can use to give yourself an edge.
Enemies have heard a gunshot, and have moved to investigate the source of the disturbance. Line-of-sight indicators display how close the player is to being identified as a threat.
If enemies have a direct line of sight to you, they will begin to identify you as a threat. How long this takes depends on the difficulty you're playing on. Once they realize that you are a hostile target, they will pull you into turn-based combat. If you manage to break line of sight before an enemy has fully identified you as a threat, they will come searching for you, seeking out the area where they saw you last.
Your footsteps also make noise, which will cause enemies to turn and look if they hear you. Walking on wood or in puddles makes more noise than other surfaces, whereas walking on the iconic tatami floors is quieter.
A group of enemies have found the dead body of an ally, and in response they have formed up around the entrance to a ruined Buddhist temple where they are prepared to face the player.
Certain actions or objects are considered particularly alarming. For example, if an enemy sees the dead body of an ally, they will immediately raise the alarm, calling their friends in to join them in searching the nearby area. If they clear the area and don't find you, they will enter "High Alert" mode, which will alter their patrols into an aggressive search pattern or cause them to form up into tight defensive groups. Once enemies are in High Alert, they will never go back to their previous behavior.
A player has told their party to stay put while they've snuck ahead with Ishiko, and now consider executing a stealth takedown. Ishiko's Shinobi class abilities are ideally suited for stealth, and the tatami floors in this wealthy manor dampen the sound of her footsteps.
In Samurai, stealth is very much intended to be an optional additional dimension to the core gameplay, and a way for you to control how and when to engage hostiles. Though you may be able to tackle certain encounters fully without entering combat if you are particularly skilled at stealth, you are never expected to play this way.
This is further supported by another major change: the ability to split your party. We considered this a crucial feature for stealth to work, since sneaking around with a group of 4-6 people is very awkward. Taking individual control of your party lets you move in a more careful and controlled manner in restricted areas. Moreover, splitting your party is an organic and natural way to be tactical about how you're engaging hostiles, in contrast to the "preparation phase" in Conquistador and Rome or the much-maligned half-turn in Viking.
The Preparation Phase from Conquistador and Rome does make a return in some scenarios. When tackling this work-in-progress encounter in co-op, players can split up and each handle one side of the fight. Whoever captures the elevated cliff can provide fire support to their friend below.
Splitting your party was a big change in terms of how we do quest scripting; since we can no longer count on all the player's followers being nearby their main character, there are a lot more variables to account for in dialogue or in our more scripted story moments. However, having that feature provided a foundation for our third major addition to the Expeditions series: 2-player co-op.
Co-op has consistently been one of the most requested features of previous Expeditions games, and this time we decided to go for it. Adding co-op to such a story-focused game has been a huge technical challenge, but we always knew it would be, and we knew our simultaneous turn order system that we introduced in Rome would make it a fun and fluid experience.
Stealth, co-op, and the ability to split your party are new features that all work together to add a new dimension of fluid real-time gameplay, improvisation, tactics, and just sheer amusing shenanigans to the Expeditions formula. Individually they were all daunting features to introduce, but together they vastly increase the possibility space of the game. We're extremely proud of how it's all come together.
In a future dev diary, we plan to delve into combat, as well as all the new tools and options available during the real-time part of the game, from how tactical items can now be used outside of turn-based mode, to the many environmental interactions we're adding. In the meantime, if you are eager to stay in the loop and talk directly to some of our developers, consider joining our Discord server!