Lardcore Brings New Game & Control Settings to the Battlefield
Well, Well, Well, haven't we been busy! Hogs of War Lardcore is now fully equipped with a set of brand new options that can assist you across the battlefields of Saustralasia.
Headshot Damage: previously an entirely unused setting leftover from the original game, all bullet based weapons will now deal extra damage on headshot (note that this does not include healing items like the Medical Darts!). When turned on this sees:
Pistol, Rifle, Tranquiliser & Machine Gun damage increase from 20 > 25
Rifle Burst damage increase (per shot) from 15 > 18
Shotgun (including its Super' variant) damage increase from 30 > 38
Sniper Rifle, Heavy MG & Pillbox MG damage increase from 40 > 50
Regular damage numbers will be scored if the bullet does not hit the pigs head when turned on, or if headshot damage is turned off in the settings menu.
3D/2D Minimap: Alongside maintaining the game's original 3D minimap style, we've also introduced the option to change this piece of UI to a newly designed 2D style. This top down approach provides players with a different perspective on how to navigate around any given map, while still including key details like the location of map crates and resources. Expect to see more future updates to the 2D minimap going forward!
Mirrored Mode: So as it turns out, the way the original game looks is actually Hogs running in mirrored mode! At some point in the late 90s the decision was made to flip the game's visuals to what we now know, leaving the unmirrored version out entirely. So we've decided to bring it back, providing players with the ability to switch between the two. The unmirrored view completely changes the way the player must navigate around the maps and approach gameplay, as we hope it provides yet another avenue of exploration and layer of depth to both modes of Single and Multiplayer.
Mirrored View (how the original game was released)
Unmirrored View (how the game was intended to look before being flipped)
Both mirrored & unmirrored views will be available in Lardcore!
Colourblind Icons: Having observed the pitfalls of other game titles and developers, our approach to providing an accessibility option for colourblind players simply required the question - what part of gameplay in Hogs is most important to distinguish? Why, the teams of course! Rather than attempting to apply coloured filters that could negatively impact Lardcore's details - we instead began experimenting with basic shapes that could be used to identify who is who.
This approach was then expanded further via the idea of having team specific icons that maintain Hogs's original stereotypical representation. When turned on within the frontend menu - a key will become available for player's to famililarise themselves with which icon represents which team, as this listing will also be accessible within the Pause Menu in game as well (in case you forget!).
The icons will appear above the head of each pig, growing and shrinking in size depending on the camera's distance to whichever pig. And remember, if you don't see a name, rank or icon floating above the head of a nearby Espionage pig - then they are the enemy!
New Control Options: Alongside the original Vibration setting, our Controls screen now brings you two additional choices.
Inverted Aiming (On/Off): whenever you scope in with a bullet based weapon in the original game - you will note that the up and down inputs via the D-Pad are inverted. For most veteran players this is normal, but its not everyone's cup of tea, so in Lardcore you'll have the ability to turn it off at your leisure.
Aim Assist (On/Off): the ability to aim consistently in Hogs is perhaps one of the hardest things to do, even for those troops with a little more experience on the battlefield. Because of this, we needed to provide a method of assistance when using power and angle based weapons. So, when Aim Assist is turned on, you will now be greater by the appearance of a marker that will pinpoint in real time where your angles are going to hit, while appearing after the X button has been held down for power weapons.
Previously troublesome angled weapons like the Mortar (including it's Aquatank variant) should now be a piece of cake to use and understand, as that's the key part we hope this new setting will bring newer players.
Long term we would like to create a new method of navigation for the pigs, given that not everyone enjoys the original tank controls, as once again its our hope to provide the fanbase with the best of both worlds.
As the end of another year in the trenches approaches, Saustralasia awaits news from the front as to when Lardcore will release, and we're happy to say that such news is close at hand, along with several other very special announcements that will be coming before 2026 is up. Till then, its bye for now!
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