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Faction Mechanics

Each of our 4 factions is vastly different from each other so asymmetry and the right representation were key goals. What is the faction feel supposed to be? How do they act in lore? How could we play into their strengths or complement weaknesses? How can we make them really asymmetric?

These were angles I examined to establish a vision for these mechanics with our design lead, create designs for them, pitch them and work on their balancing.

To design a mechanic that facilitates this I looked at the rules of the tabletop game and identified the “Reserve” rules as a potential candidate to base designs on. The resulting mechanic allows Space Marines to produce “off map” units in their reserve to deploy them somewhere on the map with their iconic droppods at a later time. Important aspects of this design task were:

• Convey Space Marine superiority and encourage tactics that fit the faction
• Enabling designers to balance the mechanic to be fun to use and play against
• Representing the experience of the tabletop rule accurately in an RTS context
• Working within the confines of established IP and lore

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Base Building

The base buildings and means of constructing them are tightly connected to the factions’ mechanics and identities. I designed the construction system, how each faction interacts with it and the buildings each faction has. I also worked on balancing them to accurately represent their faction feeling

Each faction also has special buildings which come with unique mechanics or tie back into the core mechanics of each faction. Space Marines for example have a building which can send troops out into the field rapidly. This was designed in conjunction with the reserve mechanic to allow players flexible unit deployment of existing units and not just of units freshly produced into the reserve.