Contingent
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FAQ

Post has published by Jared Merritt

What is Contingent?

It is an action-roleplaying, real time strategy hybrid – with melee slasher combat!

To keep it simple, we call it an ARPG – RTS.

When is it set?

It is set in post Roman Britain, in 520CE. This is during the settlement and subsequent invasions of the Germanic people in Britain.

When will it launch?

Our current ETA is 2025/2026.

You’ll be able to gain access to Contingent in Q2 2024 for our initial combat alpha, with the beta coming in Q4 2024. Occasional public tests will be available closer to launch for stress testing.

Exact dates to be confirmed, and all dates are subject to change at any point! We will not release half finished content to the general public.

What is your main focus, singleplayer or multiplayer?

Multiplayer is our core focus, as it will enable the game to grow competitively and help fund the development on an ongoing basis post launch.

While the vast majority of our singleplayer systems are complete, we have a lot more work to complete for environment design. We are looking to raise additional funding through stretch goals to complete this for launch.

What platforms will it launch on?

The game is currently under active development on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.

Will you support modding?

We will be supporting modding!

Our plan is to release a clean structured C# API. Models will be supported in FBX formats. We will release example assets and rigs in .blend format. We will provide access to core frameworks via reflection for experienced modders.

With regards to code structures, we know how much of a pain it is to maintain mods. Our practice for public API’s are to retain functionality and deprecate functionality in a sustainable and easy to manage way.

Mod authors will have access to upcoming adjustments to the API ahead of releases to ensure support of their mods on launch day of each update.

With regards to security, we are partnering with a leading penetration analyst with experience exploiting vulnerabilities in software and games, and will take all reasonable steps to mitigate security exposure to our players.

How historically accurate is Contingent?

We get a lot of questions regarding historical accuracy, so to ensure discussions are proactive we’ll go into detail here.

First and foremost – we are not historians! We are people making a fun game first, which just so happens to be set in a historical period.

We aim for Contingent to be as accurate as possible within our capabilities. We work directly with experts in the late/post Roman period to establish core cultural and historical accuracy, and ensure we have the correct tonality and context for the period.

That said, this period is one of the least documented with regards to contemporary sources – there are not many particularly high quality finds for weapons, armour and even housing, so we will project as best as possible based on what we know.

As a result, there will be minor inaccuracies, such as some items not exactly matching finds, incorrect / generated names due to gaps in our knowledge. Please bear in mind these are not done with malice.

With regards to corrections, we will aim to resolve all reasonable corrections, but there may be constraints / logical restrictions on corrections (completely remodelling an item for example wouldn’t be logical). Please make all suggestions in the #historical-accuracy channel in the Discord.

Crowdfunding

When will the Kickstarter launch?

We will be crowdfunding in 2024!

Should I wait until Kickstarter?

Yes, absolutely!

We only have Early Founder as an option for those who wish to be a part of the game from the very beginning, and to receive behind the scenes info and updates.

Kickstarter backers will have access to a separate set of rewards, but will still have the opportunity to access the game at the same time as Early Founder supporters – you lose nothing by waiting!

We’re well aware of the failures of early access or Kickstarted content. That’s why we won’t launch our Kickstarter until we have all of our core gameplay complete, and systems ready to go.

Champions (Combat)

We’re working on our final design right now – once everything is in we can confirm more!

What PoV is the game?

You can play in either first person, or third person.

Are there any FoV limits?

There will be, but these will be fairly lax.

What are you going to do to fix 'X' combat exploit?

We have a unique combat system, so chances are the issue you’ve mentioned either doesn’t exist, or we’ve already tackled it.

Either way hold on until we’ve revealed our new system, then we’d love to hear your feedback!

How are your animations done, and will they be balanced?

We’re using a mixture of motion capture and hand-animated motions (for precision).

We’ve taken into account readability when creating these animations, and have also taken precautions to make sure they can’t be abused on a system level.

What are your hitboxes like?

Players will have 16 hitboxes, covering the hands, forearms, biceps, neck, head, chest, stomach, upper legs, lower legs and feet.

How will executions work?

If a player is not killed instantly with the last hit they take but have fallen below the health threshold, they fall to the ground.

During this time they can be revived, or you can execute them with a gruesome finisher!

Will there be mounted combat?

Yes, you’ll be able to fight from horseback with all weapons (some are more practical than others!).

How dangerous are AI?

The average soldier is pretty weak in comparison to players – a couple of good hits will kill them. They’ll also take more hits to kill you, but be careful you don’t get swarmed! No-one can block attacks from every direction.

Command (RTS)

What's the difference between Champion and Commander views?

In Champion view, you’re in the traditional melee combat view. This is where all of your personal fighting will occur.

With one keypress you can immediately switch to Commander view, which will allow you to order your troops around from the top down with a tactical map.

Won't I be switching back and forth all the time?

No – units in Contingent are intelligent and position themselves correctly in combat situations – it is a design decision to avoid the micro-management necessary in other RTS titles.

Archers won’t sit and take a cavalry charge coming at them for example, they’ll try to keep themselves alive by heading for friendly units or nearby high ground… Unless you force them to hold position!

You can also control units from Champion view with a simplified order system for quick reactionary commands in the heat of battle.

Can I control units from Champion view?

Yes, but only with simplified commands. There will be more automation for commands done in Champion mode.

How big will the units be?

We’re not able to confirm this just yet – it’ll change once we’ve finalised the combat.

How many unit categories will there be?

There will be a selection of categories to utilise on the battlefield.

  • Swordsmen
  • Spearmen
  • Archers
  • Cavalry
  • Siege

Campaign

Singleplayer features are heavily dependant on our Kickstarter and the stretch goals that are hit

Can I capture locations?

Yes you can. You’ll be able to become a lord within a faction and claim your own land through conquest or politics.

How do relationships work?

Each character has a relationship with every other character in the game. This will trend towards positive and negative based on their opinion of you.

For example, sharing the same culture as another person would provide a boost, whereas burning down their villages would likely cause a bit of a sour mood.

Depending on their opinion of you and how threatened they are, they may choose to try hunt you down – or they run away to fight another time with better odds. Careful though – cornering an enemy, however scared they are of you, could be dangerous.

How does recruitment work?

Units are trainable at towns where there is enough required manpower. You can train these men into units by dedicating a portion of your purse and some time to beat them into shape.

Once fully trained, you can reinforce these units with additional troops. Units are always trained by default at minimal strength, so remember to reinforce them later!

Will there be voice acting?

Absolutely. All major questlines will have voiced characters.

If stretch goals are met to have full voicing, that will be added in post-launch.

Will kingdoms need 'casus belli' to declare war on one another?

No they won’t, although a ‘just’ war will increase the opinion of the subjects towards the war effort, and decrease the negative impacts from long term combat on both the lords and peasantry.

Nobody wants to fight all the time, and it’s important to recoup your strength, otherwise nearby kingdoms may get a little too interested in your unprotected land.

What factions are planned?

There are 43 planned factions – each with its own characters and goals. Most will share a culture, so visually will look very similar to other factions.

If you want to see all 43… read on!

*inhales*

  • Anglia
  • Atrebatia
  • Bernicia
  • Bryneich
  • Buellt
  • Cat
  • Ce
  • Ceredigion
  • Cerin
  • Cerniw
  • Circind
  • Dalriada
  • Dumnonia
  • Durotrigia
  • Dyfed
  • Ebrauc
  • Elmet
  • Fib
  • Fidach
  • Fortriu
  • Fotla
  • Galwyddel
  • Gewissae
  • Glouvia
  • Glywysing
  • Gododdin
  • Gwent
  • Gwynedd
  • Kent
  • Lindsey
  • Luitcoyt
  • Lundein
  • North Pennines
  • Powys
  • Regia
  • Rheged
  • South Pennines
  • Strathclyde
  • Sussex
  • The Fens
  • Wessex

How does religion work in Contingent.

Yes – it was a time of transition for many people in this period, and religion is one of those elements. You’ll notice it affects peoples opinions of one another, and can also be used as a reason for war.

We are not aiming to create a theological recreation in this period, and as such religion is simply another means of influencing the population and characters.

Multiplayer

What game modes are planned?

All game modes are available in two flavours:

  • Regular – Vanilla PvP
  • Commander – PvP, with AI squads under the command of players

We have a selection of game modes for launch:

  • Conquest – Attack opposing enemy strongholds and villages while defending your own!
  • Siege – Assault a fort with all manner of siege engines and warriors, or repel the invaders from your walls
  • Battle – A traditional field battle, a fight to the death with only one life!
  • Team Deathmatch – Battle to deplete the enemy tickets, while staying alive as long as possible to preserve yours

Is there a ranked game mode?

You can expect 1v1 duel and 5v5 goldrush ranked modes on launch.

We intend to support a number of gamemodes with ranked in the future, based on demand.

What sort of progression is there?

You’ll be able to gain Silver and Experience from playing matches based on your performance, which will enable you to purchase weapons, armour and more!

At the end of each game you’ll also receive Loot, the quality of which depends on the result of the team and how long you were in the match.

If you want to wield your rewards you can, or you can scrap it for Crafting Materials to upgrade your weapons, or create entirely new ones!

Will it be grindy?

We reward you regularly and often with in-game rewards. You won’t be grinding, but it will take a fair amount of time to find really special gear – unless you’re lucky of course!

You’ll also receive a super rare lootbox with each rank you achieve in our ranked game modes! Generally the better the player, the better the equipment.

Will you have voice chat?

Yes! We expect to hear a mixture of hard-bass and soldiers taunting you as they cut your head off.

You will be able to mute on either a per-person basis, use a ‘whitelist only’ option, or disable voice chat completely.

Voice chat is always push to talk.

How will you handle targeted abuse?

Players are punished according to the severity of their offence.

We will use a variety of automated systems to prevent this abuse, as well as manual reviews for disputed cases. Offenders will receive anything from a warning to a permanent chat and voice ban. Appealing when a decision was originally correct will result in a more severe penalty.

If a player has a known history of racism, or extreme targeted abuse, they will not be able to compete in any eSports in Contingent, under the Right to Compete agreement.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for derogatory terms. If a player is caught using any such terms at any point, they forfeit any prize money they may have earned in any current tournament, and may receive further serious sanctions.

Where do you plan to have server support?

Server support may change over the lifetime of the game depending on demand, but on launch we intend to support the following regions:

  • North America
  • South America
  • Western Europe
  • Eastern Europe
  • Asia

Customization

Can I pay to get equipment?

You’ll be able to purchase Gold to exchange for some equipment. The very rarest equipment will only be earnable by playing the game, so you’d best get to chopping off heads!

How will crafting work?

We can’t confirm any details yet, but you’ll be able to craft all sorts of weapons and armour with custom components. For the components or items you don’t want, you can salvage it to craft something else!

Are there any items / skins, and how do they function?

There are hundreds of items in Contingent.

Each item is also comprised of unique components. These can be switched interchangeably – think changing the crossguard, pommel, or blade out for a different one so that your item is truly unique.

This results in thousands of unique item combinations, and we plan to continually add more and more variations to the game as time progresses!

Will trading be in the game?

Trading between players is planned, however this likely won’t be available on launch.

Not all items will be tradeable, such as backer exclusives.

Will I be able to play as a woman?

You’ll be able to select either a masculine or feminine body type.

What races/ethnicities will be supported on launch?

Here is a list of our planned ethnicities to be supported on launch, with more to be added later:

  • Arabian
  • Black
  • Chinese
  • Indian
  • Japanese
  • White

The density of available customizations will also increase over time, so check patch notes regularly to stay up to date with new ethnicities and cosmetic options.

Will I be able to make weird faces?

Morphing the face into unnatural shapes isn’t a ‘planned’ feature.

That being said, if you manage to do so. we won’t patch it out – good luck!

What body morphs are available?

You won’t be able to morph bodies on launch, this feature will come post-launch.

Is there any visual nudity?

You’ll encounter occasional nudity in some singleplayer quests. There will be no nudity in multiplayer.

Clans

Will Binary Spiders fund prize pools?

Absolutely. We intend to run monthly tournaments – prize pools will increase directly with player counts, and we intend to run in-game promotions to bolster prize pools with revenue directly from the game.

How does clan progression work?

The XP you earn will provide an equal amount to your clan, which will enable you to unlock exclusive cosmetics, voice lines and executions!

How does ranked work with clans?

In all ranked modes, where you play with a team full of your clan, you can work your way up the clan leaderboards!

If you’re high enough on the leaderboards, you’ll qualify for the monthly tournament, which is held on the last weekend of each month. You’ll then be able to compete for a cash prize!

Technical Requirements

What engine are you using?

Unity.

What kind of PC will I need to run the game?

We can’t confirm exact specifications just yet. That being said, we intend to have the game run on as many devices as possible, so there is a good chance your PC will be supported, especially if it meets the current Steam Hardware survey averages.

Future Content

Do you have any DLC planned?

Yes – we have planned additional expansions which will make it into the game free of charge if we achieve our stretch goals.

The Fall of Western Rome
An expansion adding additional factions from mainland Europe, and focusing on the power vacuum that drew once friendly neighbours into becoming fierce rivals.

Syria Ablaze
An expansion focused on the precursory warring and betrayal in the Middle East between the Byzantines and Sassanids in the early 6th century, adding additional local factions.

How regular will updates be?

We can’t confirm an update schedule just yet, but we intend to have light patches which introduce new items and skins on a regular basis, with major patches coming a few times a year to introduce additional content.

Could we have 'X' from 'Y' period?

Contingent is set hard in the 6th century, so we’ll only consider items that could feasibly have made it to this period. Relics are possible, or any that exist in any planned future factions.

Will your fights look like fights?

pepeS

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