Note from Developer

[[gbx]JasonShields]

Hello Steam gamers! I’m Jason Shields, creator of Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy. I thought this might be a good location to talk a little bit about Absolute Tactics and why I wanted to make it. I’ve been working in AAA games for a long time now, but his is my first proper indie game release, and I’m so extremely excited to be getting it out into the world after more than 5 years of hard work.

I love all types of games, but Tactical RPGs have always been my favorite genre. To borrow some text from my recent PC Gamer interview… some of the isometric, turn-based classics that I grew up on, are where I really drew my inspiration from for Absolute Tactics. Shining Force 1 & 2 on Sega Genesis had the coolest characters to me, so I knew for sure I wanted actual characters with unique personalities, as opposed to the more “paper doll” approach of some games. Vandal Hearts 1 & 2 on PS1 had these awesome stories and utter brutality of the enemies that has really stuck with me over the years. And Final Fantasy Tactics, of course, had amazing levels and scenarios, and fantastic player choice while building your units’ playstyles. So those were all things that I thought about while making Absolute Tactics.

For the tone, I really want Absolute Tactics to feel like a playful, fun adventure, all while being wrapped in a darker story. So while it’s not meant to be an overly funny game, working on Borderlands games for the past 15 years has definitely taught me that all games don’t have to take themselves overly seriously. Even though the situation for our heroes is dire, I do want them to deal with it with a bit of levity.

One quick hint! Buffs and debuffs are extremely useful in Absolute Tactics, so using some classes with these types of skills are one way to turn the tide in battles. Dual-classing is generally the way to go in order to get a wide array of skills for each character, to make them useful in as many situations as possible. For example, a defensive class like Saboteur who places traps, or the Guardian class who places barricades, can benefit a lot from pairing those with a class like Necromancer or Fire Mage, who can launch some ranged skills from behind their defensive lines. Or you might choose to pair a Skill-point-hungry class like Grandmaster or Sorcerer with the Skill-point-regenerating class of Conduit to create a powerful and self-sustaining Skill machine. Just remember that some enemies are weak to Skill damage, and some are weak to Physical damage, so it’s not always wise to put all your eggs into one or the other.

I will be working on Absolute Tactics long after release to fix any bothersome issues that might come up. The best place to let us know about those is the Akupara “absolute-tactics-bug-reporting-and-feedback” Discord channel here: {LINK REMOVED}https://bit.ly/3DwxMHw. We are small dev team of basically two people, but I want to be as reactive as possible to help players have the best experience possible with AT. Riv and Buddy from Akupara will be spending time reading all feedback and reporting bugs, so you might see them responding to threads as well.

Your positive reviews mean all the world to a small game like us on Steam, so your support is much appreciated! XD

Thanks again and good luck as you take on the Daughters of Mercy!

Jason Shields

[[GER] Tobi]

Originally posted by JasonShields:

Hello Steam gamers! I’m Jason Shields, creator of Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy. I thought this might be a good location to talk a little bit about Absolute Tactics and why I wanted to make it. I’ve been working in AAA games for a long time now, but his is my first proper indie game release, and I’m so extremely excited to be getting it out into the world after more than 5 years of hard work.

I love all types of games, but Tactical RPGs have always been my favorite genre. To borrow some text from my recent PC Gamer interview… some of the isometric, turn-based classics that I grew up on, are where I really drew my inspiration from for Absolute Tactics. Shining Force 1 & 2 on Sega Genesis had the coolest characters to me, so I knew for sure I wanted actual characters with unique personalities, as opposed to the more “paper doll” approach of some games. Vandal Hearts 1 & 2 on PS1 had these awesome stories and utter brutality of the enemies that has really stuck with me over the years. And Final Fantasy Tactics, of course, had amazing levels and scenarios, and fantastic player choice while building your units’ playstyles. So those were all things that I thought about while making Absolute Tactics.

For the tone, I really want Absolute Tactics to feel like a playful, fun adventure, all while being wrapped in a darker story. So while it’s not meant to be an overly funny game, working on Borderlands games for the past 15 years has definitely taught me that all games don’t have to take themselves overly seriously. Even though the situation for our heroes is dire, I do want them to deal with it with a bit of levity.

One quick hint! Buffs and debuffs are extremely useful in Absolute Tactics, so using some classes with these types of skills are one way to turn the tide in battles. Dual-classing is generally the way to go in order to get a wide array of skills for each character, to make them useful in as many situations as possible. For example, a defensive class like Saboteur who places traps, or the Guardian class who places barricades, can benefit a lot from pairing those with a class like Necromancer or Fire Mage, who can launch some ranged skills from behind their defensive lines. Or you might choose to pair a Skill-point-hungry class like Grandmaster or Sorcerer with the Skill-point-regenerating class of Conduit to create a powerful and self-sustaining Skill machine. Just remember that some enemies are weak to Skill damage, and some are weak to Physical damage, so it’s not always wise to put all your eggs into one or the other.

I will be working on Absolute Tactics long after release to fix any bothersome issues that might come up. The best place to let us know about those is the Akupara “absolute-tactics-bug-reporting-and-feedback” Discord channel here: {LINK REMOVED}https://bit.ly/3DwxMHw. We are small dev team of basically two people, but I want to be as reactive as possible to help players have the best experience possible with AT. Riv and Buddy from Akupara will be spending time reading all feedback and reporting bugs, so you might see them responding to threads as well.

Your positive reviews mean all the world to a small game like us on Steam, so your support is much appreciated! XD

Thanks again and good luck as you take on the Daughters of Mercy!

Jason Shields

hi Jason
3 things caught my eye:

1.
With my RTX 2080 TI I hear the fans very much because you can not set a FPS value or there should be the option V-Sync.

2.
At the very beginning where the farmer's wife runs out screaming so where the motion animation unnatural from maybe you can generally make it look more natural.

3.
In some places, for example the chimney in the village at the beginning, the textures look strange with a kind of edge as if something had been taped with scotch tape.

Point 2&3 could be taken care of in the future but the 1. point is annoying

Otherwise Jason I like your game very well and mega important for super many reviews fixes bugs, kummunizert with the games as good as it can and feedbacks record and implement. <3

[Lucyfar]

The more tactics games on Steam the better, keep up the good work. I've put it on my wishlist and will buy it on a sale because i'm poor lol

[SardonicReserve]

Congratulations on your release, Jason. To echo the above comment, the more tactical games out there, the better! It’s my most beloved genre, and I’m happy to have added yours to the mix. I appreciate the focus you’ve given to environmental interactions such as with destructible and placable objects or terrain effects. Every SRPG brings its own little nuance when it comes to promoting some unique aspect of a the strengths of utilizing a movable area, and I love to see it.

I wish you and the team success in this and all your future endeavors!

[[gbx]JasonShields]

Originally posted by GER Tobi:

Originally posted by JasonShields:

Hello Steam gamers! I’m Jason Shields, creator of Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy. I thought this might be a good location to talk a little bit about Absolute Tactics and why I wanted to make it. I’ve been working in AAA games for a long time now, but his is my first proper indie game release, and I’m so extremely excited to be getting it out into the world after more than 5 years of hard work.

I love all types of games, but Tactical RPGs have always been my favorite genre. To borrow some text from my recent PC Gamer interview… some of the isometric, turn-based classics that I grew up on, are where I really drew my inspiration from for Absolute Tactics. Shining Force 1 & 2 on Sega Genesis had the coolest characters to me, so I knew for sure I wanted actual characters with unique personalities, as opposed to the more “paper doll” approach of some games. Vandal Hearts 1 & 2 on PS1 had these awesome stories and utter brutality of the enemies that has really stuck with me over the years. And Final Fantasy Tactics, of course, had amazing levels and scenarios, and fantastic player choice while building your units’ playstyles. So those were all things that I thought about while making Absolute Tactics.

For the tone, I really want Absolute Tactics to feel like a playful, fun adventure, all while being wrapped in a darker story. So while it’s not meant to be an overly funny game, working on Borderlands games for the past 15 years has definitely taught me that all games don’t have to take themselves overly seriously. Even though the situation for our heroes is dire, I do want them to deal with it with a bit of levity.

One quick hint! Buffs and debuffs are extremely useful in Absolute Tactics, so using some classes with these types of skills are one way to turn the tide in battles. Dual-classing is generally the way to go in order to get a wide array of skills for each character, to make them useful in as many situations as possible. For example, a defensive class like Saboteur who places traps, or the Guardian class who places barricades, can benefit a lot from pairing those with a class like Necromancer or Fire Mage, who can launch some ranged skills from behind their defensive lines. Or you might choose to pair a Skill-point-hungry class like Grandmaster or Sorcerer with the Skill-point-regenerating class of Conduit to create a powerful and self-sustaining Skill machine. Just remember that some enemies are weak to Skill damage, and some are weak to Physical damage, so it’s not always wise to put all your eggs into one or the other.

I will be working on Absolute Tactics long after release to fix any bothersome issues that might come up. The best place to let us know about those is the Akupara “absolute-tactics-bug-reporting-and-feedback” Discord channel here: {LINK REMOVED}https://bit.ly/3DwxMHw. We are small dev team of basically two people, but I want to be as reactive as possible to help players have the best experience possible with AT. Riv and Buddy from Akupara will be spending time reading all feedback and reporting bugs, so you might see them responding to threads as well.

Your positive reviews mean all the world to a small game like us on Steam, so your support is much appreciated! XD

Thanks again and good luck as you take on the Daughters of Mercy!

Jason Shields

hi Jason
3 things caught my eye:

1.
With my RTX 2080 TI I hear the fans very much because you can not set a FPS value or there should be the option V-Sync.

2.
At the very beginning where the farmer's wife runs out screaming so where the motion animation unnatural from maybe you can generally make it look more natural.

3.
In some places, for example the chimney in the village at the beginning, the textures look strange with a kind of edge as if something had been taped with scotch tape.

Point 2&3 could be taken care of in the future but the 1. point is annoying

Otherwise Jason I like your game very well and mega important for super many reviews fixes bugs, kummunizert with the games as good as it can and feedbacks record and implement. <3

[GER] Toby - thank you for this! I'm sure you're aware by now that today's patch should fix #1 by adding FPS Caps, Resolution Settings and V-Sync. Apologies again that these were not there out of the box but I'm glad we were able to add them quickly. I will add your other notes to our board. Thank you again for your feedback and support!

[[gbx]JasonShields]

Originally posted by Netto:

The more tactics games on Steam the better, keep up the good work. I've put it on my wishlist and will buy it on a sale because i'm poor lol

Netto - I couldn't agree more! I love these type of games so much!

[[gbx]JasonShields]

Originally posted by SardonicReserve:

Congratulations on your release, Jason. To echo the above comment, the more tactical games out there, the better! It’s my most beloved genre, and I’m happy to have added yours to the mix. I appreciate the focus you’ve given to environmental interactions such as with destructible and placable objects or terrain effects. Every SRPG brings its own little nuance when it comes to promoting some unique aspect of a the strengths of utilizing a movable area, and I love to see it.

I wish you and the team success in this and all your future endeavors!

SardonicReserve - thank you very much for this note! And yes I totally agree! I tried to put a handful of new wrinkles into the SRPG formula and I'm glad you're noticing them! Thanks again for your note - your support means a lot!

[[GER] Tobi]

Originally posted by JasonShields:

Originally posted by GER Tobi:

hi Jason
3 things caught my eye:

1.
With my RTX 2080 TI I hear the fans very much because you can not set a FPS value or there should be the option V-Sync.

2.
At the very beginning where the farmer's wife runs out screaming so where the motion animation unnatural from maybe you can generally make it look more natural.

3.
In some places, for example the chimney in the village at the beginning, the textures look strange with a kind of edge as if something had been taped with scotch tape.

Point 2&3 could be taken care of in the future but the 1. point is annoying

Otherwise Jason I like your game very well and mega important for super many reviews fixes bugs, kummunizert with the games as good as it can and feedbacks record and implement. <3

[GER] Toby - thank you for this! I'm sure you're aware by now that today's patch should fix #1 by adding FPS Caps, Resolution Settings and V-Sync. Apologies again that these were not there out of the box but I'm glad we were able to add them quickly. I will add your other notes to our board. Thank you again for your feedback and support!

Jason, you are welcome to try new content in the future, where your competition is running out of steam, show that you are the Final Fantasy Tactics&Co for the PC and don't limit yourself and when the story is already finished add new modes like sandbox mode or add secret bosses try to make Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy celebrate its fifth year. <3

[dark.solitude]

I wonder when the developers will finally understand. If the hero behaves like a clinical idiot, talks like a clinical idiot, the Player will want to strangle him with his own hands.
As well as "geniuses", who believe that players do not know all the mechanics of such simple toys, this is about a tutorial. If a developer has never played advanced games like Disgaea 1-5 or Agarest-Zero, this does not mean that players have never played them.
I play the Gog version, and judging by the beginning, it will soon be a pity to purchase the game.

[FlorisDeV]

Jason, this an astonishing game I almost can't believe it was done by 2/3 guys. I almost finished the main game and was wondering when the DLC (Hordes) levels would come?

[All Zebest]

I'm new to the game, but I'm charmed by the artistic direction and the gameplay. I feels very polished and I can't wait to delve into it as soon as I can.