Slitherine is ending this year with a flurry of announcements and releases. Their flagship Field of Glory franchise will be getting a new installment in the foreseeable future, though this time players will jump straight into the High Middle Ages and engage in knightly combat.
Field of Glory 2: Medieval will be a standalone game, but will closely follow the same design principles as its Ancients-set brethren in both gameplay and graphics. The developers at Byzantine Games are continuing to center their game design to reflect historical outcomes. So far they have been highly successful in their titles and FoG 2: Medieval looks to continue that streak.
Ancients vs Medieval: What’s the Difference?
The developers are taking a safe approach in their game design, meaning that FoG 2: Medieval will closely resemble its predecessor in how it functions, its features, and mechanics. The turn-based combat will stay focused on breaking enemy morale and cohesion rather than maximizing physical damage to the opposing army. However, there are several key gameplay and design elements that differentiate Medieval from the previous title.
Following the focus on historical accuracy, the developers indicate that combat will be rebalanced to illustrate vital dynamics of Medieval combat, such as emphasizing the role of heavy cavalry. Moreover, new unit types and scenario customization options will be added to give that Medieval flavor to the game.
Designwise, Medieval’s graphical style will be thematically and visually distinct from Ancients and so would not make sense to include as a shoe-horned DLC expansion. Finally, there are significant UI improvements as well as terrain additions that further gives the game its own flair and identity.
What to Expect From Field of Glory II: Medieval
One of the many strengths of the Field of Glory franchise is the attention to historical detail. To that end, Field of Glory 2: Medieval will have 58 army lists for 29 different factions at launch covering all sorts of combat cultures, from feudal armies focusing on combined arms warfare between knights and footmen, to nomadic cavalry armies with a wide variety of fast and mobile light cavalry units. Attention to historical detail also translates to the inclusion of 12 epic historical scenarios, which cover a number of major engagements of the 11th-13th centuries across Northern and Central Europe, such as the Battle of Hastings or the Battle at the Kalka River.
The graphical style in Medieval will also retain the tabletop-inspired aesthetic with distinct and informative terrain (albeit not to scale) alongside colorful and visually appealing units. There have also been requests to add more readily-available and clear information on the effects terrain has on the status of different units. However, the developers indicated that there will be no hand holding in the game and that it’s up to the players, role-playing as aspiring generals, to use the tools at their disposal to find information on how various elements affect their forces.
Field of Glory II: Medieval Screenshots
One of the defining features of the Medieval period was the presence of color and visual flair. Field of Glory 2: Medieval does a wonderful job of showing such wonder. Check out some never-before-seen screenshots of the game above.
Slitherine will be doing a game reveal stream on their Twitch channel on Thursday November 12th 17:00 PM BST and invite all those interested to join.
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