EXCLUSIVE: Play the Happy Bastards Combat Test NOW

What you’re about to read here is (kinda) a secret: If you’ve been in the Happy Bastards Discord, you can have access to a super-exclusive early combat test build for the larger game that we are making! That’s right, when we said we’re recruiting you bastards to help us in the gave dev process, we weren’t kidding! 

We WANT you to play, to poke at the seams, and tell us what you like (and what you don’t like as much) as we continue putting together the world that Kev and his highly disposab….we mean VALUABLE…mercenaries inhabit.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THE COMBAT DEMO:

The combat mechanics test for Happy Bastards here gives you one sample of how a dungeon run could work. Also, REMEMBER that this is just one part of what we have in store for the final game! With that out of the way, here’s what you need to know!!

KEV
The boss

You….

•       Select which Bastards go in and tag out.
•       Tell them what to do and where to go.
•       Yell out special commands from the sidelines.

YOUR BASTARDS FOR THE COMBAT DEMO:

GARY
Bouncer – the pushy bastard

•       Shoves enemies around on the battlefield – push ‘em onto traps!
•       Can manipulate objects in the environment like spiked balls and boulders.
•       Push squishy ally bastards out of harm’s way.

BONZO
Gladiator – the bastard always looking for a fight

•       Loud mouth that draws attention of the enemies (or makes them flee).
•       Can take a beating with his sword and shield.
•       Good defense AND provide counterattacks.

CLIVE
Alchemist – the bastard with a short fuse

•       Tosses firebombs at enemies.
•       AoE explosions & DoT single-target damage for a deadly distance combo.
•       Hurt? Clive cleanses debuffs and can heal your bastards.

JENNIE
Deadshot – the long-distance bastard

•       Reliable ranged damage with her crossbow.
•       Insta-overwatch makes her deadly – don’t cross her path!
•       Has a special aerial move that gives her a height advantage.

LIZZIE
The disposabl—errr, we mean CAPTIVE—bastard

•       Captured enemy forced to fight for you.
•       Tough, powerful, inflicts bleeding damage.
•       Must be commanded each turn.

KEV’S COMMAND POINTS

Kev does his best work bossing around these bastards from the sidelines!

EACH ROUND you get 3 KEV POINTS – use ‘em or lose ‘em!

TAG-TEAM SWAP!

You’ve got 5 bastards in your roster, but only 3 can be in-battle.

You can swap in/out a bastard every round – it uses a Kev Command Point.

Each bastard has a specialty, so plan out WHEN to tag in the right bastard for the job!

YOU ONLY ATTACK – AND MOVE – IN STRAIGHT LINES

No diagonal, no circular radius.

Positioning really matters.

CONTROL ZONES & OVERWATCH

Walk into a melee fighter’s zone of control and it’s a fight to the death!
Step out and the enemy / bastard will get a free hit.

Some ranged attackers have a specific overwatch zone passive.
Enter the zone and you’re taking an arrow to the dome!

TARGETING & LINE OF SIGHT

MELEE: Only attacks adjacent enemies in straight lines.

RANGE: Attacks at range, but MUST have line of sight.

BALLISTIC: Attacks at range, but IGNORES line of sight.

Terrain, objects, and enemy characters can break line of sight for ranged attackers. You CAN shoot through an ally but you risk friendly fire… unless you’re directly adjacent to that ally.

MORALE

EVERYONE is impacted by Morale on the battlefield. KEEP THOSE BASTARDS HAPPY!

UNHAPPY: Goes last in the turn order – requires 1 Kev Point to motivate.

HAPPY: Many combat bonuses & wants to fight autonomously (and will kick ass).

DEMORALIZED: When someone hits “0,” they will flee. (HINT: Make enemies flee!)

TERRAIN & MOVEMENT

Grab the high ground, take advantage of traps and objects in the environment, such as explosive barrels or spike balls, and be one clever bastard.

Characters can’t climb higher than 2m without a ladder, and will take fall damage when dropping from higher than 2m. (Hint: throw enemies off cliffs!)

TARGETING & LINE OF SIGHT

You also need VERTICAL range if you’re attacking from a distance. After all, you can’t shoot through the ground to hit a target!

Terrain, objects, and characters can break line of sight for attacks. (EXCEPTION: Your allies won’t break line of sight)

Positional bonuses, such as High Ground, Point-Blank, and Blindside, give your Bastards the upper-hand! Postition matters and is the key to success. Each targeting mode has its own bonuses.

GOT ALL THAT? NOW TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

We want you to dig into this combat test and REALLY let us know what you think. We have a ways to go and we want to prove out what works here. We want to make Kev’s world that much better–and we can’t do it without your help. Thanks, again, to all you Happy Bastards for your continued support.

…wait. You’re just hearing about the Happy Bastards Insiders program for the first time!?!?!

You can get the whole sales pitch that goes into all the awesome things you’re missing out on in this blog post or this one. 

OR you could just go straight to the Happy Bastards Discord and join in on the fun TODAY!