Warmonium - A Heroscape-like game

[caps]

This game Warmonium is pretty neat and pretty relevant to Heroscapers. I tried it this weekend and look forward to playing it more.

It is super Alpha right now. It won't even be available for Early Access on Steam until the end of this month (I think). But if you can get your hands on a key to be an alpha tester (and don't mind playing a game that is so early and rough around the edges) it is worth your time.

Some other links in case the landing page above doesn't work:
- Warmonium Wiki
- Warmonium Steam Page
- Warmonium Discord server invite link

[Unhinged Manchild]

I just played a bit last night, and aesthetically it looks SO MUCH like scape.

It doesn't play exactly the same, but it's close, and I'd hazard a guess that most scapers would enjoy it. The primary differences I saw between it and scape:

-In the current alpha build, you build armies with points and figures have cards with active and passive abilities, along with move, attack, life, etc stats. Stats are comparatively inflated here - we have life of 10 for squads and 30 for heroes. Attack and defense values typically range in the 5-10 area. Combat is really similar to Heroscape, 50% hit per attack number, 33% defense per defense number. Number of hits - number of shields = damage against life.

-Each turn, you may activate a "champion" (hero) first, and then up to two squaddies. If you do not move a champion first, you can activate up to four squaddies. If you activate a champion of a certain given race AND you have a squad of that same race, you can move up to four squaddies as long as those squaddies all match the champion's race. In effect, basically everything has bonding and you pretty much always want a squad AND a champion in your builds. I tried squads only (no champion) and it just doesn't seem to hold up especially versus a champion and squads which share that champion's race.

-Warmonium allows move > attack > move (think super canto from Fire Emblem if you're familiar with that game.) So, you may move 0, attack, and then move all 6 spaces of your move afterward, or you can move 2, attack, and then move the rest (4,) etc etc. IMO seems pretty powerful for ranged units (kiting,) but I have yet to use any range 1 units to really see how they hold up.

-It seems like each figure has/will have multiple activated abilities, and none of these count as or replace normal attacks; they can be used anytime during the turn. I played a robot champion (aka unique hero) that had an activated ability melee attack which dealt 4 true damage and then reduced the defender's defense by 2 for the rest of the turn. So, I can move in, hammer smash some poor squaddie, shoot him in the face via normal attack, and then walk away with the rest of my move. (Oh, and LEAs are still a thing, although I'm not under the impression it's an exact replica of Heroscape's LEAs, it looked similar enough.)

-There are height/elevation changes on the map, but they don't cost extra move to climb up or down. Every space that you move horizontally counts as 1 move, regardless of how high/low it is (not sure if water tiles or other tiles cause this to change yet, but I imagine they do/will) but with two major exceptions: Figure height is still a thing - if you have a height 5 figure, you can't climb up a 6 hex step. Also, fall damage is a thing, and it appeared that it stacks per level past your figure's height. If my height 5 figure jumped off a level 9 cliff down to a level 1 ground, it seemed like 3 combat dice were rolled against him.

-Warmonium doesn't seem to offer any benefits to being on high ground OTHER THAN how it helps reduce your figures' exposure via LOS.

Anyway, yes this is an alpha, but it is decently polished in it's current state. There's a map builder, and online pvp is implemented, with plans for AI games and an AI campaign, and a mode where players can tinker with their own game rulesets/mechanics, apparently. I want to keep my eyes on the game, it looks promising, a good digital offering.

[caps]

Some maps I've been making in the map editor

Spoiler Alert!

Mostly just porting over some of my Heroscape maps so far. I think Warmonium maps are often much bigger (well, IDK, they only have two premade maps in the game right now), but I prefer more "instant action" style matches like in Heroscape tourney-style maps.

[Unhinged Manchild]

Originally Posted by caps

Some maps I've been making in the map editor

Spoiler Alert!

Mostly just porting over some of my Heroscape maps so far. I think Warmonium maps are often much bigger (well, IDK, they only have two premade maps in the game right now), but I prefer more "instant action" style matches like in Heroscape tourney-style maps.

Ye I'd imagine you have seen the kinds of scape maps that the devs seem to be into - I think their Heroscape map philosophy (those massive kinds of maps with high bridges and 8+ height mountains, etc) clearly carries into Warmonium's design. They want the spectacle of those big Heroscape maps but without being bogged down by the movement rules of Heroscape.

To some extent it works, but I think they are missing that certain special something for sure. Whether it be glyphs or the height bonuses as you are arguing for, but I can't put my finger on it yet.

[caps]

Yeah, your rules elements absolutely impact how maps can be balanced. I think I know how to tackle that conversation with them next...

[quozl]

Have you still been playing Warmonium? What do you think? I see it's on sale today.

[caps]

I have played it but have been plagued by my usual issue of real life getting in the way of video game time, so I haven't played it a *lot*.

I think it's good! Definitely the closest thing to a digital version of Heroscape that I've seen. The map editor is fun and pretty easy to use (though last time I was in there it didn't have any line of sight blockers, but that feature is/was on the way). The different factions are fun and distinct. They do actual hitboxes and line of sight, like an automated version of Heroscape's line of sight rules, which is neat. I look forward to seeing everything they do with it--they have plans to add good mod support for alternate rules, for instance. I won't be shocked if someone is able to make a Heroscape mod for it at some point.

My 2 main complaints are:
- high ground has a dramatically reduced effect on gameplay. It doesn't cost extra to move up, and you don't get any extra attack, defense, range, etc. for having a height advantage. Falling damage is still a thing, though. There is still some advantage to high ground in that you can see more of the map so it is easier to find targets and hit them. To me, the way height advantage makes for really interesting counterplay between armies is one of subtle things that makes Heroscape great. The devs say most of the interesting map counter-play comes from the fact that...
- ...many of the factions really lean into terrain-dependent abilities, so that map-makers have to make maps with a variety of terrains in advantageous positions in an attempt to balance out various matchups. I feel like that's going to be easier said than done and will ultimately limit map creation and the competitive meta. Truly terrain-dependent figures are really hard to balance and make effective in the Heroscape meta--I don't see a reason that Warmonium will be any different. Then again, maybe the terrain-dependent abilities aren't as dramatic in Warmonium as they can be in Heroscape. I am not familiar with all of the cards since I mostly stuck to the robot faction.

But even with my complaints, I recommend getting it and playing it. It is a special game. And if it is successful and they're able to add the mod support they've talked about, we'll probably be able to get Heroscape (and more!) from it.

[Unhinged Manchild]

Originally Posted by quozl

Have you still been playing Warmonium? What do you think? I see it's on sale today.

To piggyback off of what caps said, I don't think most of the figures in Warmonium are too terrain dependant. I'd compare the average WM figure to scapes Nerak: they work very well even while not in their preferred terrain. IIRC most of the terrain bonuses amount to one of either +1 attack OR +1 defense, and in a game where even the weakest figures have like 10 life and 4 defense, the terrain bonuses seem quite minor. Luckily, a few of the champions can create hexes of their favored type with their abilities, so their squads aren't all completely dependent on the map for those terrain-based buffs.

The most "broken" (use that lightly for now) terrain related thing is 1 champion who literally glides across water for free (0 move cost, so if you have 20 water tiles in a row, she can move across all 20 of those and then begin spending her actual movement number.) However, she is range 1 and susceptible to LEAs, so she's quite mild, but hilarious when you can scoot across a huge portion of a map because of a line of water tiles, which normally cost 2 move per space.

I was just talking to one of the devs last night, they are releasing skirmish AI for the game and a horde mode within the next week. So, players can fight an AI with various difficulty settings for fun while the game exits the alpha (150-200 alpha players from various parts of the world, so finding "randoms" is quite a dice roll right now.) Horde mode sounded interesting, but I have no clue what comes in it, sounds like you build an army with X number of points and then every few turns more enemies spawn on the map to try and kill you.

Anyway, $10 for a game that seems to be inspired by Heroscape (and has its own original characters + abilities) is worth it to me. Supposedly, there will be a campaign with lore and ****, but that's coming later this year, I believe.