Age of Fear The Free World 
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RATMEN ARRIVED!!Apr 12, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, after a long wait, we've finally added a completely new faction with complex stealth mechanics! Please enjoy our latest release. Have fun and take care, Les & AOF TeamRATMEN!!Mar 10, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, it is with immense pleasure that we announce the completion of the Ratmen faction, which will be introduced to the Age of Fear series on April 12th! Hidden beneath Sorodon, the Ratmen are a clever faction that excels in stealth. In the dark corners of their territory, these elusive creatures have perfected the art of staying unseen and unheard. Though their units may seem weaker than those of similar factions, the Ratmen make up for it with their unmatched skills in backstabbing and surprising attacks. Living in an underground world full of tunnels, the Ratmen can move quietly and strategically. Their expertise in covert tactics and surprise makes them a strong force, capable of turning the tide of battle unexpectedly. Emerging from the depths of Sorodon, the Ratmen create uncertainty and fear, establishing themselves as a unique and unpredictable presence in warfare. With just a few weeks to go, be ready! Take care, LesHAPPY NEW YEAR!!Dec 23, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsHi everyone, with this post, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This year has been quite busy for us; we released a new game while working on the upcoming Ratmen campaign. The Age of Fear series was enriched with several new features, such as continuous area effects, burrowing, and a whole new array of spells. We have also added a new mini-boss, Sandworm, and a new minor hero (playable by all factions), Dancer Zarah. Also, yesterday we released a complete pack of voiceovers for the Ratmen campaign. Therefore, the scenario is almost complete and requires only a few minor tweaks before full release. As always, all feedback is welcome. Enjoy your time off! Take care, Les & AOF TeamVOICEOVER AUDITIONS!!Nov 2, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsOver the last few months, we have finalized the story and battles for the Ratmen campaign. There is still a lot of polishing to be done; however, the campaign is now playable from start to end. We have also introduced new mechanics, such as end-of-turn auto-invisibility for Ratmen, added a brand-new hero (Zarah, the dancer), and fine-tuned the AI to better utilize stealth. We are also in the process of ordering a voiceover and conducting auditions. We have selected a few options that align with the theme of the game. I kindly ask for your feedback on which one is the most suitable. The auditions are provided below in a zip file (10MB): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/td6sc1mphahjjahzzbtwk/voiceover-auditions.zip?rlkey=mrhblcy9jvt5gp6oig2uzrwr0&dl=1 Please comment on your favorite option and suggest any improvements. I'll share your feedback with the voice actors so they can align with notes. Take care, Les & AOF TeamRATMEN CAMPAIGN UPDATE!!Aug 23, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, after a bit of waiting we have pushed another update to the Ratmen campaign. Right now, around one-third of content is playable and includes a few interesting additions like stealth missions (where your units need to remain undetected), sewers maze and Sorodon's bazaar (with obligatory drunken dwarves fight!). We have also added a few items which improve the morphed form of heroes, e.g. Spider form of Lexa can be made quite powerful. I hope to add ever more items and work on polymorph mechanics. We also re-numbered all campaigns as chapters so new players aren't confused about the order of campaigns. For modders - we have modified battle tasks and separate conditions can be made mandatory, e.g. it's possible to force players to open certain Treasure Chest. Please enjoy and, as always, any feedback is welcome. Take care, Les & AOF TeamYOU ASKED AND WE LISTENED!Jun 9, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsYOU ASKED AND WE LISTENED! After a long wait we finally released the stand-alone version of our series! This package includes not only all games in the series, but it will also be updated with any and all future releases and DLCs. This means a purchase today entitles you to everything coming down the Age of Fear pipeline once it arrives! (please note that the Day of The Rat campaign is being actively developed and not all content is available yet.) We are now adding Workshop and finalising other bits to enable all features (it should be ready in an hour or two). For current series owners - please visit the bundle for a neat upgrade option. Take care, Les & AOF TeamSANDWORM!!Jun 2, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, It has been a while since the last update, but now we are back! In this patch we introduced a new mini-boss - Sandworm! Sandworms are colossal, worm-like creatures that live in the desert. As it tunnels through the sandy dunes of the desert, the sandworm leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. This mini-boss will be unlocked as the game progresses and has quite a few interesting properties, e.g. it stays burrowed and can swallow your units in one turn. There are a few possible strategies to defeat it, but I leave it for you to discover. Btw, Sandworm will be playable as a separate hero in the coming release of a new addition to the series. We are almost finished with the build and hopefully we will be able to push it out tonight or during the weekend. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44051197/f3cd5aa04fb6d3d37f222a7eb64dfff103988215.png THE FIRST FIVE PEOPLE WHO DEFEAT SANDWORM ON EXPERT DIFFICULTY (AND POST A SCREENSHOT) WILL RECEIVE A FREE KEY FOR OUR NEW GAME! (Sandworm is not available in the Age of Fear: Free World.) Take care, Les & AOF TeamCRAFTING REVISITED!!Feb 28, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, over the last few days we have released a number of patches focused on further ui enhancements (e.g. gesture scrolling of listings) and also substantial changes in crafting. Changes: Gesture scrolling has been added to listings, e.g. team units, items' list, bestiary, etc. Items have been consolidated into fourteen themed sets (from the previous thirty one) which should make the crafting interface easier. Required attributes like Alchemy, Blacksmith, etc. display hints about units that provide them.Resource items provided after battles will be geared towards craftable items (i.e. ones which you know and also have all needed attributes). Blood Sacrifice is a new skill for Blood Mage which allows you to gain a bit of MP in exchange for HP (it's to balance Meditate which the good side enjoys). AI for finding hidden units has been almost completely reworked and its actions should reassemble what a human player would do. As always - all feedback is welcome. I have a special request to all Steam Deck owners - please send me your feedback, especially about new ui features! Take care, LesSTEAM DECK ENHANCEMENTS!!Feb 17, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, over the last few weeks we were working on customisations required to play the series on Steam Deck. You must have noticed after this patch are larger fonts, buttons and other interactive elements. Larger UI is necessary for much smaller screens; however, we hope to strike the right balance between desktop and console UI. Other changes are activated only in Steam Desk mode and include sensitivity settings to select units and zones (my thick fingers...) and a whole new way to show help and tooltips (by long-press). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33896060/cb19b29d89b036bca89df73b6c73ec8acc4c7a68.png While at it we have also fixed a number of issues and back-implemented a few pending mechanics: Chaos Demons and Greenskins campaigns now have battle tasks and we are working on adding them to Dwarves and Forest campaigns too (thanks to Willisama). Resource items given are more targeted at craftable (known) items. Barkskin gives +2 Defence - combined with Bear Form and Nature Wisdom makes Dryads into a formidable melee unit (but time-limited). Dispel Magic is more reliable and burns a fixed amount of MP Disintegration damages a fixed amount of HP. Escape key can be used to close most of the dialogs. Bugfix for spawned units overlapped themselves (this is still being worked on). Bugfix for occasionally non-exploding Gunpowder Barrels. Bugfix for static objects blocking units with Hit-and-Run. Bugfix for Burning units not-detonating. ...and many more (including re-balance of several units). There are a few more improvements to be made, including the Steam Deck-customized hints, touch-pad tutorial and also guide how to bind keys in the most effective manner. As always, any feedback is welcome. Take care, Les & AOF TeamHAPPY NEW YEAR!!Dec 28, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHappy New Year to you all! That was quite a year, both personally and also in series development. We have made many fixes and patches, and also added a few great additions like pushing mechanics, illusions, AI heroes, taunts, light sources, just to name a few. Our to-do list is still quite long and we still have many awesome features to implement. We have also made good progress on the next game in the series with a completely new Ratmen faction. I am also about to upload a new trailer (hopefully you can watch it now). If it all goes well, we should be able to release it in 2023. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35060157/ed37731079bffa0560e4a1e80a863a88995ade04.png That said, I would like to wish you all the best in New Year 2023! Happy gaming! Take care, Les & AOF TeamLIGHT SOURCES AND BLACK FRIDAY SALES!!Nov 19, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi everyone! Recently we have been focused on improving stealth mechanics and also adding better support for items in our series. First of all, some of you have played games with items enabled on all units and you might have noticed additional attributes like Armour Proficiency, Mage Master, etc. added to those units. That should help with better immersion and make your allies more interesting to equip. Secondly, we have introduced the Light Sources trait on some units and static objects. Night battles have now a few fire stands placed which makes sneaking around much more difficult. Thirdly, the Forest faction has a new unit - Dryad Blade Dancer which is a low health melee unit, but with powerful attacks and Projectiles Reflection. The skill is still a bit experimental, but it adds another decision layer - will you take a risk of an arrow being reflected onto your archers? As usual - all feedback and bug reports are welcome! Enjoy your weekend and Black Friday sales! Take care, Les & AOF TeamBERSERKER'S RAGESep 13, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, today we released yet another patch with a few new features and several bug fixes. Meanwhile we continue to work on the next game in the series (we aim to release in 2023). Please keep watching our page for the new trailer (soon!). CHANGES: Natural Wisdom also gives +1 base HP when morphed (Cave Bear, Dire Bear, etc.) Divine Intervention is a new skill for Paladins and Inquisitors and gives them extra chance to auto-resurrect after battle A number of helmets and armors were made unavailable to spellcasters (also description was altered) Berserker's Rage is a boost for melee units (with Berserker attribute) which lasts while unit is in melee Bugfix for multiple attacks (in melee) - sometimes the range of consecutive attacks is reduced. We fixed it to be the same value. Multiple text edits (thanks to BobbisandLouis) Take care ,Les & AOF TeamSTEAM DECK (ALMOST)!!Aug 24, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, recently we have been working on making our games launch on Steam Deck and we have first results: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33896060/6928ac245e1321cc7843eb8f153354dc4daa47b8.png (the photo is courtesy of Micah - thank you very much for all your help!) It required re-implementing substantial portion of our graphics rendering engine and we still have a few edges to smooth out. Aside from that, Steam Deck is quite flexible in terms of controls and our game can use both touchpads as well as the main touchscreen. For the brave souls that want to try it on Steam Deck: we have tested it on Proton Experimental as of 2022/08/19 (not Proton default!) go into Compatibility mode and set it to Steam Linux Runtime As usual - any feedback is welcome! Take care, Les & AOF TeamBUG FIXES AND HOLY PROTECTION!!Jul 15, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, this patch is full of bug fixes and tunings. We are slowly refactoring our code for the new Java 17 and the overall performance should be better. Change log: Traps (as well as a few other special objects, e.g. cauldron, barricade, explosive barrel, etc.) can be placed without using turn. We are still tuning AI for this logic update. Slippery is less potent (10% slip chance and 30% chance of pushing away in melee). We track a few last triggered Global Events and make sure the same ones won't be triggered. AI moving invisible units is much faster (previously animation time was the same as normal move). Holy Protection attribute for Inquisitors and Valkyries. This attribute makes units immune for Necromancy and Death spells. Units with Hit and Run aren't able to attack again after retreat. Poisoned invisible units won't be revealed (till they die). As usual, all feedback is welcome! Take care, Les & AOF TeamBUILDINGS AND TAUNTS!!Jun 19, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, I hope you are well in the current heatwave. Don't forget to drink a lot of water! In this patch we are releasing quite a few new features (list below). The most noticeable are changes to Sea People and their base - we are introducing the new mode where you need to purchase buildings in order to unlock advanced unit types. We balanced that with adding more resources and gold to the campaign. Further optimisations for AI processing speed - we took advantage of several Java 17 features and managed to speed up some AI routines. This is still work in progress, but I hope the effects are noticeable already. The above changes to the Sea People base where advanced units must be unlocked by buildings. 'Taunt' skill for Sea Divers, which makes AI focus attacks on a poor chap. It opens quite interesting tactical possibilities. New trait 'Wanted' which units can earn after scoring 25+ kills. Similar to 'Taunt', it makes AI to focus attacks on that unit. In the shop units' list, units can now be inserted between other units. Hover your mouse in a small space between units, then confirm with a right click. New trait 'Dragon' for well... dragons ^^ It makes Dragons resistant to a number of tactics and hopefully will eliminate cheesing those mini-boss fights. New spell 'Force Push' for mages. Who doesn't want to be a Jedi? Detector is a passive detection mechanism for Totems and Evil Eyes, and also heroes (via All-Seeing Eye amulet). It completes the existing detection skills like Clairvoyance, Scan (Sensors), Dark Vision and Sharp Eyes. Regrowth costs 100exp per use (exception: Mandrake Root). As usual, any feedback and bug reports are very welcome! Take care, Les & AOF TeamJAVA 17 AND MORE!!May 26, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHello all, I hope you are having a good time. Recently we have been frequently patching all games in the series and it's a good moment to list all changes. Those are substantial chances, therefore please keep reading. We upgraded to the more recent Java 17 (previously we embedded Java 10 with our games). That gave us access to many new features and optimisations. In our tests, the game engine is working around 40% faster. Complete attack types are displayed in the lower part of the screen. Our items system often results in layered effects for an attack, for example, a strike could be Fire- and Cold-based (at the same time), could be causing a Stun and also reducing Defence. With this version we display all effects a given attack has. Open World battles feature a Retreat option where you can abandon battle for a small gold penalty. This feature was requested quite long ago, but we finally got to it. Fog and Slippery are new battle conditions to be found in Swamps and Winter levels respectively. Fog is reducing the range of projectile-based attacks and spells, Slippery occasionally causes units to slip and lose an action. Disease was refactored significantly and now infected units will happily spread it around. This is a part of tactics coming in new games in the series. Polymorph spells and skills are also moving effects to and from morphed units. For example, poisoned Dryad changing into Bear will carry over the poisoned status. Lamp of Blood (in Krill) campaign is working as a pre-battle action (to be used during Deploy Turn). We hope to add more skills like that which allow players to modify the battlefield before battle. A few new detector-like skills were added, for example Scan for Guardians. The AI is also more efficient with the use of Invisibility. Angela received a secret (and very powerful!) weapon. It's hidden in her campaign - who will find it first? As always, any feedback is welcome! If there are bugs or issues (especially after Java update), please post them on forums in the bugs-section. Take care, LesPUSHING UNITS AND AI HEROES!!Apr 24, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all! Over the last few weeks we have deployed a few new features and other patches, and it's time now to produce a meaningful change log (I am sorry for not being up-to-date with those!). Pushing units around it the major mechanics we introduced about two weeks ago. Many explosive spells will now move units a bit, just enough to make space for your units to squeeze between and reach those vulnerable shooters and mages. Several units also received Pushing attacks due to their size, e.g. Ogres, Troll Throwers, etc. A few existing skills like Shield Bash or Power Attack are also moving enemy units upon hit. Knights have now a more effective Greater Charge upgrade where their charges cause more damage (and obviously push enemy units out of the way!). The Charge ability can be disabled for one turn, for example when you want to engage a spellcaster in melee (and block him from using spells). We have introduced enemy heroes as mini-bosses in campaigns and random battles. So far a few enemy units were considered special thorough campaigns, but those were just like ordinary units with names (and more chatty!). We have upgraded those to hero status (which gives them a few extra Hit Points and several resistances) to give that extra challenge to players. A dozen new resource items were added, e.g. Fire Opal, Black Gold, Moonstone, etc. We are also working on several other features, mostly related to Ratmen faction and stealth mechanics; however, those will be available in our new game in the series first. As usual - please let us know if you spot any bugs. Also, any feedback is welcome! Take care, LesCOW AND BALLADS!!Mar 21, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, we have just patched our games again, this time with a number of additional units, improved skills and enhanced traits system. We continue to work on new faction (Ratmen) and also on its unique Stealth mechanics. First of all - new units: Cerberus is a new fast-attacker for Chaos Demons. Just like Wolves, it can be upgraded to a hit-and-run unit, however Cerberus also deals extra Fire damage. Elder is yet another upgrade for floating Evil Eyes from Chaos Demons faction. We have packed it with anti-magic skills, therefore all spellcasters beware! Crabman joins the Sea People as a durable blocker with Power Strike ability. It's definitely a nice addition to your line of Sea Divers. Cows also join the ranks of all monsters and beasts. Just like fearsome Pigs and Chickens, those slow land cruisers can completely decimate all grass around. Then we also upgraded some existing boys with new skills: Bard has its own unique skill Ballad which adds experience points to units not participating in a battle. Polymorph spells were added with a cooldown which triggers after the unit comes back to its original shape. Also, thanks to conversation with Stagz we refactored the traits system a bit to make it more playable, i.e. traits can be removed with Mutagen potion and the game also clearly displays the number of traits a unit can learn. Everyone is invited to our discussions: https://steamcommunity.com/app/431700/discussions/0/3186865924601088525/ Take care, Les & AOF TeamWE SUPPORT UKRAINE!!Mar 1, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsI think everyone knows what's going on in Ukraine at the moment. Ukraine was attacked by its neighbouring country with an overwhelming military power. There is no place for tanks and artillery strikes on civilians in the 21st century. I don't know the details of the problems there; however, there is absolutely no excuse for such brutality like it's taking place now. Those differences should be resolved at negotiating table instead of invading the whole country and then threating the whole world with nukes. The Age of Fear team is completely anti-war and against any violence. However, we want to make people more aware what's going on. You will be surprised how much disinformation is around - please use real news channels to see what's going on. As such, we substantially lowered the prices for the Age of Fear series for anyone in Ukraine (this is not a promotion - I would give away our games for free, but Steam doesn't have an option to make games free for just one region). Take care, AOF Team (this is the statement of our values and original message was edited because a few people felt differently. we also removed links to news because, as someone rightly pointed, they might be biased.) Edit: there were many comments since we published this post. For all people who still think Ukraine 'deserved' such brutality, I think you should watch this: https://youtu.be/YqUYpEjcEHkMUTAGEN CHANGES (AND MORE)!!Feb 28, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHi all, the last couple of weeks were busy as we were finalising the Ambush feature for the Age of Fear series. This is the part of wider Stealth mechanics and will be ready for the next game in the series. To accommodate new logic, we had to refactor huge amounts of code and, among other things, we managed to cross a few things from our todo list, i.e. enhancements to traits system, deploy-turn actions and random generation of maps. Let's start with the traits system. The common request was to give an option to remove unwanted traits - to address that we expanded the Mutagen potion functionality and, while it is still accelerating traits, it can be also used to remove them (from the Skills menu in the Recruitment screen). The Mutagen potion is also classified as a rare item now, therefore it should be more common as a loot in battles. We have added a new class of actions which can be executed during Deploy Turn, e.g. Sea Witch can now invoke Rain or Wind, and Juggernaut Golem can invoke Earthquake. However, those skills come with a twist - instead of a mild battle disturbance, the much more nastly version can be invoked! For example, calling an Earthquake can result in a Volcano eruption! This logic will be extended in future patches. A logic responsible for random objects placements was improved and more fair use of objects was introduced, e.g. previously there were almost three Crates spawn per battle, now it's only one and a bit, and barrels, anvils, tables, etc. are created instead. This is quite a sizable patch and I hope everything works fine. As usual - all feedback is welcome. Take care, Les & AOF Team
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