Ground of Aces - The World War II base building game
Created by Blindflug Studios
You missed our Kickstarter? We still offer rewards like the "Become a NPC" reward here on Backerkit. For the alpha, go to our website www.groundofaces.com.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
The progress of the alpha and what’s coming next
12 months ago
– Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 08:38:12 AM
Hey everyone! Today, we want to give you an update about the current state of the alpha and its release timeline.
Our programmers, designers and artists have been working tirelessly and have made great progress. As of now, they have implemented:
Building system
Resources, degradation & storage system
Workbenches
Game time systems
Day & night cycle
Alpha map design with biome
New 3D models of resource piles and workbenches
New 3D models for the NPCs that can be randomly generated
Automatic 2D portraits of NPCs
New UI designs, graphics and overlays
Mood system and base moral system
Worker task routines (adjust schedule of crew and assign priority of tasks)
First set of leisure activities
You can see an overview of the current build in this video:
We are proud of what our team has achieved and can’t wait for you to try these features out.
Now what is next?
Our team is still hard at work and a few more features are needed so we can give you an alpha that properly represents the main gameplay pillars of GROUND OF ACES. That’s why we have to adjust the timeline and plan the alpha release for Q1 2024.
And there is one new thing we want to do before the alpha release: In early Q1, we want to do a mini-PLAYTEST with a limited number of participants. Participants will be selected from the Discord, based on how active they are on the server. They must be an alpha backer from Kickstarter or have pre-ordered the alpha via Backerkit.
What is the difference between the mini-playtest and the alpha release?
The playtest version will only be available for a limited time for a small group of people, and its primary goal is to test basic technical aspects. This helps us to prepare for a smooth alpha release.This version will have limited features in comparison to the alpha version.
The alpha version will have no time limitation, you can freely play it as long as you want, and everyone who paid for the alpha version will get the alpha build. As an alpha player, you will have the chance to share your feedback and input with us and help form the game in this early stage of development.
Again, thank you for your support and for your patience! We are looking forward to sharing the alpha with you, seeing you play it and hearing your feedback.
- Blindflug Studios
PS: We started a new video series:
Base Builder Monday
These weekly videos will be in-game footage of Ben playing the game and building things based on your ideas and wishes. Ben will be using the latest builds straight from our production team and you will be able to see exactly what the game looks like AS IT IS BEING DEVELOPED on a weekly basis. This means you will have regular insights into the latest mechanics, functions and assets of the game. On our Discord and in the comment sections of the videos you can give ideas, feedback and suggestions as to the content and what you would like to see the following week!
Tune in our game dev livestream - TODAY at 7pm CEST!
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Oct 18, 2023 at 09:35:59 AM
We're doing our first game dev livestream today! It starts at 7pm CEST (5pm UTC) on Twitch. So depending on when you see this mail, this is very soon, the livestream is live right now, or you can watch the recording of it after the stream is finished.
Our game designer Jeremy will be part of the stream to discuss the current state of the alpha and we will present new behind-the-scenes material, including a closer look at our new NPC models! Plus, you can ask us your questions and nerd out about all things WWII and base building games.
Save the date: Livestream on the 18th of October!
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Oct 03, 2023 at 09:10:12 AM
See exclusive new material in our livestream!
We are planning a livestream for the 18th of October, in which we will discuss the development and the current state of the alpha directly with you. We will show you behind-the-scenes material like a premiere of our new NPC models. The livestream will take place in the evening, 7pm Central European Time. We are planning to do it on Twitch and/or YouTube. Exact details will follow in the week of the livestream when we remind you with another update post.
Reminder: Complete your Backer survey!
Around 90% of you have completed the Backerkit survey, that's amazing, thank you!
229 people are still left, so if you haven't completed the survey yet, please complete it this week because we will lock the orders for most rewards on the 5th of October (we need to prepare the orders of the physical rewards). Check your email and spam inbox for a mail from Backerkit for the backer survey, or go here to activate a resend of the survey link.
If you still can't find the Backerkit mail, please write a comment here under the post or send us a message directly. Our community manager Nuria will check the Backerkit system and give you your personal survey link.
To our backers at the pledge level of €1,250 and above: You don't need the survey, we will contact you directly to arrange your special rewards. This will happen at a later point when we're further along the fulfillment process.
How is development going?
Work on the alpha version continues! And we want to share some behind-the-scenes material here.
Our 2D artist Dave is reworking and expanding the user interface designs, as you can see here in a current screenshot of the development build:
Screenshot of the current development build
Our programmers have been focusing on programming and testing the resource management and building system, and they also worked on the in-game time system. Here is a video showing how the night & day cycle is set up in our game engine by our programmer Matej:
Here is a special video from one of our programmers, Nicolò, who tested the particle effects when the in-game time is sped up (and this poor deer had to be the test subject):
Our 3D artist Brian is focused on grayboxing more 3D models:
Grayboxes of advanced resources (WIP)
Brians workstation while working on workbenches (work work work)
(When Nuria took the picture, there was a discussion going on between Brian and Nicolò about the correct placement of the saw on a WWII saw table and where the NPC would need to stand. The Google Image screen that you can see here was used in the discussion but not as base for the model.)
After the grayboxing the models need to be overpainted. Here are some work-in-progress examples:
Overpaint work of 3D models (WIP)
Our other 3D artist Frédéric has reworked the NPC character models so that they can have more body types and facial features, to give them more personality and variation. We will show you footage of the new models in our upcoming livestream on the 18th of October. We will also talk about how we plan to fulfill the "You or a relative as a NPC" reward.
New research books for work on the NPC models
If you want to see more behind-the-scenes tidbits, like funny bug situations, you can find more of that on our Discord:
We also started sharing more BTS content on our social media channels:
We hope you enjoy these various insights into our game dev work (including bugs and weird glitches, which is a normal part of the process). Thank you again for being part of this journey!
PS: Standard reminder but we gotta mention it to make sure ;): If you haven't already, you can wishlist the game on Steam, it really helps a lot:
Backer survey is open! And a visit to the British Imperial Museum 🛩️ 🇬🇧
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Aug 30, 2023 at 07:02:24 AM
Check your mail and fill out the backer survey!
Most of you should have now received a mail with a link to your BackerKit survey. Please respond to your survey, so we can get the necessary information to fulfill your rewards (like how to credit you in the credits, your address for shipping, etc.). The deadline for the survey is the 2nd of October. We will send out reminders.
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. If you missed your chance to get a reward like the accessto the CLOSED ALPHA, this is your chance to get them now.
To our backers at the pledge level of €1,250 and above: We will contact you directly to arrange your special rewards. You don't need the survey, which is why you won't get that mail today.
A visit to the British Imperial Museum
Our game producer Moritz and game designer Jeremy traveled to London over the weekend and visited the British Imperial Museum for research purposes. We shared many photos on our Discord (you get the invite through our newsletter), but we can post a few here as well:
How is development going?
Our programmers and artists are working diligently on the alpha version and we can share some behind-the-scenes material here.
Our 2D artist Dave is working on improving the user interface design:
WIP User Interface
3D artist Brian is working on new map and resource objects:
WIP of new objects for the map and resources
And our programmer Nicolò, who is also organising the QA department, has shared some funny bug situations in our Slack, including this one:
Please keep in mind: bugs are normal in this stage of development! All of this is a work-in-progress.
If you want to see more, we continue to share pictures and videos on our Discord:
And don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam:
Thank you so much for your continued support!
Alpha Development in Full Swing! + Backer Survey Info
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 07:31:17 AM
Hello everyone, we hope you are all having a great summer!
Alpha development is in full swing!
Our game designer has been focused on preparing a development and scope plan for the alpha version. Since the last weeks, all our developers are primarily working on laying the foundation for the alpha with the goal of getting it ready for later this year.
Screenshot: A selection of slides from the game design plan
We can share some behind-the-scenes videos from the visual work from one of our programmers, who is testing and refining the basics for the building process and the grid system. (All the footage here is a work-in-progress.)
Some of these clips were shared on our Discord as well.
Don’t forget, you can help the game by wishlisting it on Steam. So if you haven't already, wishlist it now!
Backerkit survey starts at the end of August
The start of the backer survey is planned to start at the end of August. Setting up the system with Backerkit took longer than expected because we adjusted our plans, so we can set up a "Pre-Order Shop" with Backerkit as well. We decided we want to give new people who didn't participate in the Kickstarter also the chance to buy the alpha access and help us test the alpha version of the game.
As a reminder, in the Backerkit survey we will collect the needed information for the physical rewards (like shipping address, T-shirt size) and your name for the credits. You will also have the chance to add rewards as add-ons if you missed something you wanted during the Kickstarter.
A shout-out to our fellow Swiss game developers at Diditopia Games, who have launched a Kickstarter and a demo for their game Plank Builders.
Plank Builders is a captivating yet relaxing construction game. Magical marbles have the ability to make stuffed toys come alive. Together with the monkeys, the player can plan and construct different buildings made out of wooden planks. Find all the monkeys and help them to come alive too!
