Community Maps Spotlight #31

Hello everybody, it’s great to see you! The month of April sure flew by, huh?

Before we dig into today’s entries, one of our picks from a couple of months ago has received an update!
* Whargarbl’s map, “Thieves Den”, got bumped to version 2.45, which you can access with the code: HNCN3HQ5

With that out of the way, let’s dive into the entries for this month!

Tetrahex v1.17 by Sedgehun

1. Tetrahex v1.17 by Sedgehun – Code: Y73FQT7Q
This map is wild fun if you enjoy larger scale fights with lots of units. Built with competitive play in mind, this map gives each player four barracks to recruit units from, and thirty-two villages to fight for control over. With the potential for so many units to show up on the battlefield, you’d best have your wits about you.

Sorched v1.06 by justyoureventualruler

2. Sorched 1.06 by justyoureventualruler – Code: RCVLFF2U
The two opposing teams of this map are separated by several chokepoints, with those closer to the middle being particularly narrow, while those out to the sides give you some leeway. I found this to be great fun for a casual match!

Project Oblivion by Xmo5

3. Project Oblivion by Xmo5 – Code: ZBX68SBF
Another well-made battlefield from Xmo5, a veteran mapper of the competitive community. Neutral villagers stand in place to create spaces that can’t be occupied by either player, while the abundance of flagstone gives you room to evade aerial attacks. May the best player win!

Delistrie Crossing by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made Map – Delistrie Crossing by Armagon – Code: U9U5UF2E
I decided to dip my toe back into making skirmish maps this month with this small-scale four-player free-for-all! Gates make the central villages not especially accessible at the start, but as those doors come down roaming the map becomes easier and chaos can ensue. Just make sure not to overextend yourself and leave your stronghold exposed!

The deadline for the next Community Choice is May 28th!
If you’d like to see one of your creations in the Community Spotlight, you should hop onto the Wargroove Discord and post it in #community-choice. Even if your map or mod doesn’t get top votes from the community, we check the channel often, and efforts that stand out will absolutely be considered for the Spotlight! The creation with the most thumbs up will be the Community Choice winner, so don’t wait too long to submit your entries!

See you next time folks!

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Community Maps Spotlight #30

G’day everyone! The first quarter of 2021 has flown by, and we’ve already made it to the Easter weekend! I’m back once again to bring you a choice selection of the Wargroove community’s finest offerings, so let’s get right into it!

Ryota's Adventure Definitive Edition by CyanShaman

Ryota’s Adventure Definitive Edition by CyanShaman – Code: Q2D96SYA
This delightfully tricky puzzle map had me stumped in deep thought for a good while. I had a number of occasions where I felt I’d gotten close to the answer, only to hit a snag and be forced to take a few steps back and rethink my options. Solving this puzzle proved so satisfying that I simply had to share it.

Graveyard Shift v1.7 (Fog) by Whargarbl

Graveyard Shift v1.7 (Fog) by Whargarbl – Code: S8HNA4GD
Don’t let my screenshot fool you. As the name implies, this skirmish map was built with fog of war in mind, which perfectly suits the graveyard theme it’s aiming to deliver. I found the use of neutral undead villagers here really interesting. Not only do they suit the theme well aesthetically, but they functionally turn their tiles into spaces that can be moved through, but never occupied by a unit. I had a lot of fun playing this and I suspect you lively folks will too.

Caesar's beach day by that_1_guy

Caesar’s Beach Day by that_1_guy – Code: 6KLHAWND
Another well-made puzzle that demands you put your understanding of Wargroove’s mechanics to the test. It’s not quite so fiendish as today’s opening entry, but I found it to still be a very enjoyable brainteaser well worth my time.

Oceans Apart 1.1 by Xmo5

Oceans Apart 1.1 by Xmo5 – Code: EDE824RW
This is certainly one of the larger 1-on-1 skirmish maps I’ve featured; but it’s a well-tuned one that gives you all the space and Barracks you need for an epic battle. This is an ideal testing ground for you and the rival in your life.

Community Choice Award: Wargroove Expanded Editor 3 Mod by Emo Tarquin Mod Download
For the most devoted modders in the community, sometimes the already robust editors included with Wargroove were simply not robust enough. This mod, when enabled, grants a creator access to a number of editor functions and game assets that normally aren’t available to our players.

These developer-facing features were often made for very specific use-cases, so they can be tricky to use if you aren’t already comfortable with poking around the game’s assets to figure out how things work.

The upside of this mod is that people playing your maps don’t need to have downloaded the mod themselves in order to play your content. This is due to the fact that the mod is using features that exist in the Wargroove engine already. You simply turn on the mod while editing, then turn it off and re-save the file once you’re done.

Face the Horde Co-op & Versus Maps by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made Maps:
Face the Horde 2P: Sandy Springs by Armagon – Code: BQ9AXZCS
Face the Horde VS: Hellion Expanse by Armagon – Code: ACS6SDPK
I’ve got two bonus maps for you guys today! They’re multiplayer follow-ups to my Face the Horde scenario from the last spotlight.

If you missed it, the premise is that you face off against endless waves of randomly-selected units that will steadily grow stronger over time. Killing enemy units is your only way of earning additional money, and the more powerful the unit you slay, the greater the reward. Your task is simply to survive for as long as possible.

The desert-themed Sandy Springs is a co-operative take on this concept, with two players trying their best to keep each other alive against the relentless AI. The moment one player loses their Commander or Stronghold, the game is over for both of them.

The volcanic Hellion Expanse is a competitive variant, where the players are totally separated from each other, but will face off against the exact same waves of enemies on either side. The goal here is to outlast your human opponent. Once one player falls, if the other can survive until the end of that turn, they win the match. I’m quite pleased with how this turned out, so hopefully you guys enjoy it too!

The deadline for the next Community Choice is April 30th!
If you’d like to see one of your creations in the Community Spotlight, you should hop onto the Wargroove Discord and post it in #community-choice. Even if your map or mod doesn’t get top votes from the community, we check the channel often, and efforts that stand out will absolutely be considered for the Spotlight! The creation with the most thumbs up will be the Community Choice winner, so don’t wait too long to submit your entries!

Until next time, y’all take care folks!

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Community Maps Spotlight #29

Welcome one and all! I hope the day finds you well!

Before we dig into today’s entries, one of our picks from the last spotlight has received an update!
* Wigkx’s map “Oasis” got updated to version 1.5, which you can access with the code: C45SXSW3

With that quick tidbit out of the way, let’s get to the new highlights!

Heavensong's Unrest by Laberca

1. Heavensong’s Unrest by Laberca – Code: RBYGCT9E
This campaign sees the dashing general Ryota take a leading role as unrest takes root in the Heavensong colonies. Unrest that may soon embroil all of Aurania. I found myself pulled in by the story as it unfolded, but was also pleased that the missions were plenty enjoyable enough to keep me interested. All-in-all a great campaign!

Thieves' Den v2.29 by Whargarbl

2. Thieves’ Den v2.29 by Whargarbl – Code: F5G5GMZL
With fortified hideouts in the map’s corners, true to its name, this is a real playground for thieves. The large open fields grant quick traversal to the fleet of foot, out on the prowl for a village to raid. I really appreciate Whargarbl’s knack for making their maps look eye-catching without hurting readability and preserving competitive-friendly gameplay.

Ice Castles by Alpha_75159

3. Ice Castles by Alpha_75159 – Code: C62VFD9Y
This map is more open than it appears at first glance, thanks to the beaches connecting the bridges. There’s plenty of defensible terrain to take into consideration when plotting your moves, and even some room for naval units to join the party, though you won’t be seeing any warships or harpoons here. I really like the creative sense of design displayed in this map. Alpha has successfully created something very distinctive, whilst also taking gameplay into account.

Ranked Ladders by Fly Sniper

Community Choice Award: AutoMMR by Fly SniperMod Download
The Groove of War players have been running their own ranked leaderboard system for a while now, but it wasn’t without its issues. Building on prior work by community members Reena and CMAvelis, Fly Sniper won today’s Community Choice with this mod that functionally brings ranked play to Wargroove.

Taking part in ranked matches is quite simple! You can register to join the ladder in the #lfg-bots channel of the Wargroove Discord. Doing so will have the bot send you details on how to install the AutoMMR mod, as well as a text file containing an authentication key that identifies you as a player.

Whenever two players registered on the ladder play a match with the mod enabled, the game will automatically report the outcome of the match to the bot and update your matchmaking rank accordingly. If a more structured competitive experience is something you’ve been wanting, definitely give it a look! Almost all the top players have been using it.

Face the Horde: Barrbel Fields

Bonus Dev-made Map – Face the Horde: Barrbel Fields by Armagon – Code: VD43MLE6
This is an endless defense map, where you must keep your Stronghold and Commander alive as long as possible. The enemies that spawn are determined by a series of RNG rolls that take place depending on the AI’s current level of power, which escalates with every passing turn.

To encourage aggressive play, the player has no villages, but relies on gaining gold from killing enemy units. The amount of gold gained depends on the unit killed. Presently it gives 60% of the dying unit’s gold worth to the player. This means with careful play your level of power can rise enough to keep the enemy at bay, but it can very quickly fall apart if you make costly risks that don’t pay off.

If you’re able to last more than 30 turns, the difficulty gets turned even more against you, as enemies will start to take less and less damage the longer the match goes on. With this current setup, I was able to last until turn 42. I’m looking forward to seeing someone beat this!

The deadline for the next Community Choice is April 2nd!
If you’d like to see one of your creations in the Community Spotlight, you definitely should hop onto the Wargroove Discord and post it in #community-choice. Even if your map or mod doesn’t get top votes from the community, we check the channel often, and efforts that stand out will absolutely be considered for the Spotlight! The creation with the most thumbs up will be the Community Choice winner, so don’t wait too long to submit your entries!

Until next time, y’all take care folks!

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Community Maps Spotlight #28

G’day folks! I’ve got a lot to cover today, including some fun news that will likely be of interest to the creators in our community. Let’s start by diving into today’s highlights!

Warship (2p) by Deminobody

1. Warship (2p) by Deminobody – Code: FW24BMCB
This is an impressively well-made scenario map that will feel very familiar to you if you’ve ever played Battleship. Both players pop down ship formations, and then take turns firing off bombs at each other’s fleets. It keeps track of the spots you attacked, hit and missed, with victory going to the first player to wipe out their opponent’s fleet. All-in-all a fantastic map!

Tales of a Fallow Era by Faust

2. Tales of a Fallow Era by Faust– Code: DV2KNUSX
This campaign sets out to expand on the lore of Felheim by diving into a period of time where the undead roam free, untethered and unchecked. The overall presentation is excellent and the mission designs were pleasantly varied and interesting!

Freezer Fun: A Wargroove Quiz by ABC

3. Freezer Fun: A Wargroove Quiz by ABC – Code: JDFMMJZF
Think you know Wargroove? Then Ragna’s got just the quiz for you to put your knowledge to the test! To move across the map you have to approach the door and correctly answer a piece of Wargroove trivia. Get it right, and the door moves a space further. Get it wrong and Mercia takes a hit. I was really impressed by the number and variety of question types. The writing was a particular standout as Ragna delivers every question clearly and in rhyme.

You can (not) be puzzled -v11.1- by Neg Everyday

4. You can (not) be puzzled v11.1 by Neg Everyday – Code: 84ZQX6LJ
This puzzle campaign presents several satisfying brainteasers with a variety of different objectives ranging from taking out every enemy unit, to successfully planting Greenfinger’s vines in specific locations. I feel like Neg landed on a nice level of difficulty, and they really went the extra mile by building a level skip portal into each one, so if you find yourself stuck you can still go on to play the others and come back to the stumper later.

The Grand Faction Wasteland War by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: The Grand Faction Wasteland War by Armagon – Code: YV6SCRG2
Four players, each controlling three commanders from their chosen faction. Players are eliminated if they lose all three of their commanders, or their one and only stronghold. I’m quite pleased with how this one came out!

As maps that use entire factions are something I think it would be cool to see more of, I whipped up a template so players on PC can easily make their own without having to do all the time-consuming work in the event editor to make it happen. The zip below contains a text file that explains how to install and use it.

The Community Choice Award is making a comeback!
You may have noticed that recently the official Wargroove Discord was combined with that of the Groove of War community’s, bringing all our players together under one groovy umbrella! A few months ago, we put the Community Choice Award on hiatus with the intention of bringing it back after this merge took place. The time for its return has finally come!

Let me break down how this is going to work. If you’ve played or made a map, campaign or mod that you think deserves to be highlighted in the community spotlight, you can hop onto the Wargroove Discord and post it in #community-choice. All posts should include the name of the creation, the author’s name, the download code, a screenshot and a description.

Every month we’ll set a deadline and watch this channel. The creation that has received the most thumbs up reactions from the community by the end will be the winner, earning it a spot in the next Community Spotlight!

The first deadline for this newly revised Community Choice is March 5th, so if you’ve got something you’re itching to share, get on it!

Wargroove Birthday Streams!
In case you missed it Wargroove turned two years old a few days ago. To celebrate the occasion, we hosted a bunch of streams in collaboration with members of the Groove of War community, which ended up being a lot of fun!

The day started strong with an art stream by Chucklefish’s ever-delightful pusher of pixels, T3nshi. What followed was a casual fun stream between some of the community’s best players, with commentary provided by the always-passionate SneakyDragon and our lovely community manager Pilgrim. Later a bunch of the Chucklefish team got together for a couple of fun matches and a fireside talk about Wargroove’s development. Lastly, Barrett of the Groove of War community played host to a series of great showmatches, including an amusing 2v2 where two of Wargroove’s best players, Saikoya and Emo Tarquin, were paired off with Chucklefish’s much-less-experienced Shubeans and Pilgrim.

All in all, it was a really great time, and I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who came along to take part and an extra special thank you to the Groove of War folks who helped to make the day possible. The team at Chucklefish is immensely grateful to have such a friendly and supportive community.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and have a lovely weekend!

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*DOOT DOOT* Wargroove turns two years old!

Woah, what a wild two years and genuinely, from myself and the entire Chucklefish team, thank you for supporting our lovely little game. We can now officially say that Wargroove has had over 1,000,000 unique installs across PC and console! 

Since launching February 1st 2019 we’ve had: content updates, bug squishing, new languages, the PS4 release, a physical launch for PS4 & Switch, modding beta, community competitions, Xbox Game Pass for PC launch, events, livestreams, Groove of War tournaments, awesome merch including a vinyl record, big chonky Caesar plush and even launched *massive* free DLC, Wargroove: Double Trouble!

This year we’ll be celebrating in style with our new community partners Groove of War in an action-packed all-day streaming event with art, community streams, competitive head-to-heads and a developer roundtable. Take a look:

MONDAY FEBRUARY 1ST (all times in GMT)
11:00 – 12:00 CF Mystery Wargroove art with T3nshi
12:00 – 14:00 SneakyDragon (Casual fun)
14:00 – 15:00 Zeronix (Ryota chess or campaign exhibition)
15:00 – 17:00 CF (Ragna Roulette, Dogball)
17:00 – 18:00 CF Fireside dev chat with Shu, Supernorn and Armagon (hosted by Pilgrim)
18:00 – 19:30 CF #TeamShue vs #TeamPilsaikgrimoya showmatch (hosted by Barrett)
19:30 – 21:00 Emo Tarquin vs Saykoya Project Groove showmatch (hosted by Barrett)
21:00 – 22:30 (Special guest) Neuro vs Ragnarokette showmatch (hosted by Barrett)
22:30 onwards Super Secret Sedgehun Thing…

As this is a developer, Groove of War and community effort we’ll be going live on different channels throughout the day but will be rehosting on the ChucklefishLive Twitch, so keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, if you want to come hang out, ask questions and get involved you can do so over on our Discord! Until next time, enjoy this lovely cover of Cheeky Ruckus by FirahFabe…

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Community Maps Spotlight #27

Hey guys! Great to see you with us here in 2021! Chucklefish is back at work and I’ve got a bunch of new map highlights for you, so let’s dive right in!

Paradise Lost v1.56 by Whargarbl

1. Paradise Lost v.1.56 by Whargarbl – Code: TL4VD9JB
This is definitely one of the larger 1v1 skirmish maps I’ve found myself recommending. Not only does this map play well mechanically, but it also uses decorations in a rather striking fashion, giving the battlefield a more organic feel without getting in the way of readability. Good stuff!

Windy Grounds - 1.1 by Alpha_75159

2. Windy Grounds – 1.1 by Alpha_75159 – Code: 37AVFKQA
With one barracks well-positioned to support your stronghold and the other primed for an assault on your foe’s; you shouldn’t underestimate the value of getting aquanauts into the central water tiles. From those locations merfolk can critically strike with relative safety; that is unless your opponent’s prepared some archers to handle the situation.

Warped Horizon by Xmo5

3. Warped Horizon by Xmo5 – Code: JVG7ZCMR
I had a lot of fun with this one! Each player’s barracks are positioned pretty far back, so the ability to plan ahead can make or break the fight for you. Thanks to the central wall tiles leaving a single narrow chokepoint, the villages next to them can become crucial barriers to your opponent as they look for opportunities to attack your stronghold. Thieves can also be incredibly strong here due to the hideouts being so close to the center of the map.

Oasis 1.4 by Wigkx

4. Oasis 1.4 by Wigkx – Code: M4GTD7J2
With the beach and bridge presence around the middle, this map is more open than it first appears. It’s important to make sure you’re carefully checking your spacing from your opponent’s units unless you want a nasty surprise.

The Auranian Faction War by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: The Auranian Faction War by ArmagonCode: 6V9RGWX9
I’d been wanting to make a map that pits entire factions against each other for quite some time, and finally decided to take a shot at it. In essence, rather than picking a single commander, you are choosing all three commanders from the faction they represent. Victory is achieved either by defeating all three of the enemy’s commanders, or by destroying the single stronghold they share. Which faction is the strongest when their commanders’ powers combine? Now’s your chance to find out!

That was the first Community Spotlight of 2021! I’m really looking forward to seeing what kinds of awesome stuff you guys make this year! If you’re one of the new players who just joined our community over the holiday break and want to know how to make your own levels, I’ve put together a couple of video tutorials to get you started!

Until next time, take care folks!

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Community Maps Spotlight #26

Hello everybody! I hope you’ve all been doing well!

Before we dig into today’s entries, a couple of our picks from the last spotlight have received updates!
* Deminobody’s map “Bizarre Bazaar” got updated to 1.2, which you can access with the code: NVZ6APEK
* Wigkx’s “Himalaya” also got a revision, and now is version 1.3.2, which you can grab using: DCX75H93

With those updates out of the way, let’s get to the new highlights!

The Cherrybowl v2 by Sicilica

1. The Cherrybowl v2 by Sicilica – Code: 297YBC38
Another really cool custom game mode from the creator of “Simple Defense v3”. The objective is quite simply to have any one of your units reach the opposing team’s end zone. At the start of each round you get to decide the formation of your team. Once both players have set them, the walls come down and the game begins.

Units cannot hurt one another, so it’s a game of pure strategic positioning, where you must take the different movement speeds of your units into careful consideration. Naturally the Thief and Mage make excellent runners, but their incredibly high mobility also makes them very good at filling gaps in your defensive line when you want to block your opponent.

Honestly, I initially had concerns about this mode having a clear first or second turn advantage, but things are impressively well-balanced. While the player who moves first in a round gets to take the initative; the player going second has the advantage of being able to see the formation their opponent adopts, and plan their own accordingly. After a couple of points have been scored, there’s a fun halftime show and then the starting player switches so each player experiences both sides of this dynamic.

All in all, this is a really fun custom mode that I highly recommend playing with a friend!

Gone with the Wind by ABC

2. Gone with the Wind by ABC – Code: UENNKQ6A
This puzzle map presents a lot of options to work through, which makes deciding what to target pretty tricky. I appreciated the layers of complexity and really enjoyed picking it apart, so I thought you guys might too!

Winter Madness 1.3.3 by Alpha_75159

3. Winter Madness 1.3.3 by Alpha_75159 – Code: EYBDMB43
This is one of the higher economy 1v1 maps I’ve shared in community spotlight. There’s multiple fronts to fight on, and retaining control of the water can really give you the edge, as only the barracks and hideouts in the corners can produce ballista, trebuchets and riflemen. Sending aquanauts along the central river can be incredibly useful as well.

Triple Threat Portal Battle by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: Triple Threat Portal Battle by Armagon – Code: NM5AZTVC
Following up on my previous portal-focused maps, I decided to take a stab at something more freeform. Like a typical skirmish, your objective is to defeat the enemy commanders or destroy their strongholds, but in order to enter their territory you’ll need to use the portals dotted across the map.

You can send your units through any portal on the map to one of three arenas, with each player having their own arrival points in each one. You can freely switch the destination of the portals as many times as you want on your turn, allowing you to potentially move many units between different arenas at will.

To emerge victorious, you need to keep control of your own territory, while conquering that of your opponents by aggressively taking advantage of the portals.

Falstino Ruins by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: Falstino Ruins by Armagon – Code: G4UP5M35
I really enjoy making four player free-for-all maps, so here’s a new one for you! Taking control of the wealth of resources in the center can give you an edge in the match just as quickly as it’ll paint a bullseye on your back. With enemy barracks positioned so closely to your own Stronghold, you’d best be on your guard.

That’s all for today! As Chucklefish will be on Christmas break at the time the next entry would normally be due, you can expect the next community spotlight to come in the new year. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you guys make over the holiday season and sharing the highlights in January!

Until then, stay safe and look after yourselves. I wish you all the very best!

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Happy International Caesar Day!

It’s that time of the year again where we celebrate gaming’s best armoured good boy, Caesar. If we’re being honest, the reason this post exists is because we wanted to take trip down memory lane and wax lyrical about how much we love his cute, floofy face.

But before we kick off, we’d like to shout out to our merch partners The Yetee, who are helping us raise money for The Humane Society International by selling these brand-new cute ‘Doggo Allover’ tees. The Humane Society is one of the biggest animal protection organisations in the world, and do fantastic work including saving dogs from the dog meat trade. We’re waiving all profits which will go directly to charity, so check them out if you’re feeling generous and looking for something cool for yourself or as a gift! (They also come in black).

Without further ado, let’s dive into it!

At Chucklefish we are absolutely dog people. We often have 2 of them roaming around the office on any given day and if you’ve followed us on social media or watched our game credits, then you’ll know they’re an essential part of the development team. So, back in 2017 when we first started working on Wargroove, we knew immediately we wanted to have some kind of faction or unit that featured a dog. You can see below exactly how that went.

Early concept for Wargroove featuring ‘dogcopter’ and ‘scubakitty’ units.

We wanted dogs to have a meaningful part in Wargroove, which is how we came up with the individual dog units and how we eventually ended up with Caesar as you know him today.

However, the search for the perfect kind of dog was difficult. We looked at dozens of images of dogs in armour, spend 2 days straight spamming one another with pictures of dogs we wanted to cuddle and protect, but ultimately decided that Caesar was to be a Great Pyrenees. They’re strong, powerful, and they do the cute thing where they look like they’re smiling all the time.

We also had the absolute pleasure of seeing Caesar come to life in The Line’s Wargroove intro scene which can be viewed here. The goal was to show the deep-rooted bond between Mercia and Caesar, but demonstrate that he was a strong, independent good boy too.

Storyboard concept from The Line.

We also got to celebrate his adorableness in plushie-form when we partnered with The Yetee! They did such a wonderful job making him as cute and cuddly as possible, but you just know that Caesar would be ready to protec and attac when he needed to be.

For today only you can grab yourself an ADORABLE Caesar plush for only $5!!!
From Rivals to Buddies!

Caesar also took time out of his busy schedule of defending Cherrystone Queendom and getting belly rubs to join the cast in both TINY METAL: FULL METAL RUMBLE and Rivals of Aether! He’s gotten into all sorts of hijinks this year; you can pick up TM:FMR DLC ‘Caesar’s Rescue’ completely free, as well as a free Buddy option in RoA today!

TINY METAL: FULL METAL RUMBLE DLC ‘Caesar’s Rescue’. What a good boy!

It’s been over a year since Caesar hit your screens, and we hope to see his snoot again in the future 👀. Thanks for reading through and celebrating just how wonderful Caesar is with us!

Iorek, Professional Cosplayer and Chucklefish staff member ❤️
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Community Maps Spotlight #25

Spooky salutations to you all! I have emerged from my crypt to bring you more wonderful maps from the Wargroove community!

Before we dig into these fresh new entries, I wanted to let you guys know that some of our previous picks got updates since my last post!
* Xmo5’s map “Sidewinder” got updated to 1.5, which you can access with the code: XHMU23ZX
* Alx_kami’s “Thief Please” also got a snappy revision to version 1.5, which you can grab with: 9ZB4BZ9E
* Fadedsun’s “Safe Haven” has now hit version 1.3, which you can get with: H6642ZFZ

With those updates out of the way, let’s get to the newest highlights!

Bizarre Bazaar by Deminobody

1. Bizarre Bazaar by Deminobody – Code: NVZ6APEK
True to its name, this map centers on a grand bazaar that surround the players’ strongholds. Inaccessible to flying units and vehicles, you’ll need plenty of infantry or some well-positioned cavalry if you intend to win by taking them down.

Celestial Pioneer by Best Sakuya NA

2. Celestial Pioneer by Best Sakuya NA – Code: HWT5AMHZ
Back with another competitively-oriented skirmish map, Best Sakuya NA delivers on their usual quality here. Crossing the center can be fraught with peril, especially as with three barracks a side and a ban on vehicles, there likely won’t be many openings. Break through however, and victory is yours for the taking.

Triple Pass by DarkChieftain525

3. Triple Pass by DarkChieftain525 – Code: GF2W977N
I have something of a soft spot for smaller-scale skirmish maps that manage to give you meaningful decisions in your approach. Appropriately for a map this size, you won’t be bringing any trebuchets, ballista or riflemen to the fray, so I hope you’ve got confidence in your tactics with a smaller army!

Himilaya 1.2.1 by Wigkx

4. Himilaya 1.2.1 by Wigkx – Code: PA63GVWL
Air units can be very powerful on a map so mountainous, but if you can effectively control the center, you’ll have access to a wealth of targets with some very defensible positions to support you. That said, with trebuchets banned, controlling that central zone can be harder than it seems.

Portal Pressure by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: Portal Pressure by Armagon
Codes: 3LU3KKCG (Normal) ZECMKUEQ (No Commanders)
I wanted to take another stab at the multi-arena concept, but with a slightly different twist. With this map, there are only strongholds on the center battlefield, however all of the surrounding arenas have portals you can use to send units to this primary arena. You can only teleport a unit while your pedestal is unoccupied.

Aside from the resources the side arenas provide, some units are only available in these spaces. Want a dragon on the prime battlefield? You’d better be prepared to clear a path to one of the portals in the top-left arena. Wondering how to get those villages in the water behind your stronghold? I guess you’ll have to see if you can get an aquanaut through from the bottom-left! Could really use a trebuchet or ballista to fortify your back line? Only the barracks in the top-right arena can make those.

I’ve made a point of banning commanders whose grooves can impact the outer arenas, so your success in those crucial zones is going to be highly dependent on how well you manage your funds!

That’s it from me folks! I hope you all have an appropriately spooky Halloween and I’ll see you in the next spotlight!

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Community Maps Spotlight #24

G’day everybody, thanks for joining me for this month’s spotlight where I’ll be shining a light on the fantastic efforts of the Wargroove community who continue to whip up awesome maps and scenarios for everybody to play. I’m quite pleased with the selection this month, so let’s dive in!

Fortress of Pord by BadScra

1. Fortress of Pord by BadScra – Code: QHMXLUNL
I was really pleasantly surprised by just how polished and well-balanced this 2v2 map felt. With the gates and choke points around the center, sea units play a very important role in determining the victors.

Twitchy Tributaries 1.21 by Emo Tarquin

2. Twitchy Tributaries v1.21 by Emo Tarquin – Code: XBPUJKNC
This scenario pits two players in a head-to-head fight with a twist. There is a third player on a separate island who is both spectator and Lord over the game; with the ability to trigger game-changing events on their turn. They can summon free units, give players gold, modify health and groove levels, create smoke screens and so much more.

As the name suggests the mode is intended to create a dungeon-master-like experience – one potentially influenced by a livestream audience – where the Lord could choose to set goals for each player, dealing out rewards for their success, or doling out punishments for their failures

It’s an impressively robust scenario with far too many unique qualities for me to cover properly here. If you’ve got a few friends primed for a good time, this one’s worth a look!

Sidewinder 1.3 by Xmo5

3. Sidewinder 1.3 by Xmo5 – Code: VSWL2LWB
Sidewinder as a map has seen a few iterations, growing more polished each time. It’s been a popular staple with the competitive community, and with this most recent update it felt like it was high time I feature it here.

Simple Defense v3 by Sicilica

4. Simple Defense v3 by Sicilica – Code: WT75ZMQX (2P) PZ6CEND4 (3P)
This map pits players in a battle of AI-controlled wave defense. The main objective is to keep the enemy units from reaching the end zone at the bottom, with each unit that slips in taking off one of your five lives. Your ultimate goal is to outlast the other player.

There are a couple of key twists that make things really interesting. First, every enemy unit you kill is sent to your opponent’s board, making things more difficult for them. Secondly, every one of your own units that is killed will respawn under the control of the AI and come after you. Using units in a sacrificial way is very dangerous, so you need to take full advantage of the very slow health regeneration at the end zone to preserve your units as much as possible.

All in all, a great mode that’s really fun to play with a friend or two!

Thief Please 1.4 by Alx_kami

5. Thief Please 1.4 by Alx_kami – Code: 5BCMS7M7
This skirmish map places a heavy focus on using thieves to get the edge over your opponent. The central structure gives you room to take advantage of the thief’s ability to bypass gates, whether escaping with ill gotten gains, or taking position to hit your next mark.

The kicker is that the hideouts with red banners around this structure are perfectly positioned for a quick cash drop, but they can’t be used to recruit anything.

Fort Misery by Armagon

Bonus Dev-made map: Fort Misery by Armagon – Code: HXD77WQL
It’s been some time since I worked on anything for solo players, so I decided to build this small mission that sees Wulfar attempting to take over a fort currently occupied by the undead. It’s quite well-defended, so you’d best scout carefully before you go charging in!

That’s everything for today’s entry! Until next time, take care folks!

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