Gladiator Command
About the Game
Blending deep gladiator management simulation with strategic combat, Gladiator Command lets you build and command your own Ludus in ancient Rome. Recruit unique gladiators, train them in specialised skills, equip them with legendary weapons and armour, and lead them to victory in brutal arena combat and prestigious tournaments.
Core Features
Gladiator Management System
- Recruit and train gladiators with unique traits and personalities
- Develop three core stats: Strength, Agility, and Charisma through specialised training
- Manage gladiator health, energy, and status across training and combat
- Unlock powerful skills and abilities as gladiators progress
- Handle injuries, recovery, and permanent death consequences
Combat System
- Real-time passive combat with strategic positioning and movement
- Dynamic energy management system affecting attack timing and frequency
- Crowd support mechanics that influence rewards and combat outcomes
- Critical hits, dodges, blocks, and special combat abilities
- Detailed combat logs tracking every action and outcome
Training & Progression
- Three specialized training types: Weapons (Strength), Speed (Agility), Performance (Charisma)
- Staff management system with trainers, medics, and scouts
- Injury prevention and recovery mechanics
- Skill point allocation and stat perk unlocks
- Training intensity levels affecting XP gain and injury risk
Equipment & Economy
- Deep equipment system with weapons, armor, and shields
- Dynamic market with fluctuating prices and daily stock refreshes
- Equipment affects combat stats, speed, and protection
- Gold and prestige economy for purchasing and upgrading
- Equipment tiers from basic wooden gear to legendary items
Arena & Tournament System
- Daily arena matches with difficulty tiers and rank progression
- Boss encounters with unique opponents and special rewards
- Tournament system with 8-participant brackets and elimination rounds
- League competition between gladiator schools
- Spectator mode for tournament matches
Management Features
- Day/night cycle with planning and execution phases
- Financial management with income, expenses, and bankruptcy risk
- Event logging system tracking all game activities
- Save/load system with comprehensive game state persistence
- Relationship system between gladiators and staff
Development Status
Gladiator Command is currently in Early Access (Version 0.540) and actively developed. The game receives regular updates with new features, balance improvements, and bug fixes. Join our community to provide feedback and help shape the future of gladiator management simulation
Development log
- V0.543 Changelog7 hours ago
- V0.542 Changelog13 days ago
- v0.541– Gladiator Command19 days ago
- v0.540 – Major Update20 days ago
- V0.533 – Gladiator Command26 days ago
- v0.532 - Gladiator Command32 days ago
- v0.53133 days ago
- V0.530 - Major update37 days ago
Comments
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This looks eerily similar to certain other game named gladiator manager...
I guess I won't know if I don't try it though, maybe I'll be back here
Well, give it a shot. I think the games most similar to mine would be Football Manager (obviously nowhere near that level yet) and probably Gladiator Manager, but that has turn-based combat. I wanted a management game inspired by my childhood favourite, Swords and Sandals, but where you can watch your actions unfold in real-time combat
literally unplayable due to the shit mechanic of charging me money for scouting thats not being, and cannot be used. dont charge me money for something, unless i actually use it. if i need to spend 2 weeks training my first dude up, dont fucking give me MAYBE enough money to do so before being game over'd thanks to fucking scouting fees for a service i used ONCE.
That's some passionate feedback lol. I have removed the scout upkeep from the game.
and now the main issue is the "energy" system. instead of that, just go with an action system, as in each character gets 1 action per day instead of a bar that may or may not, based on RNG, fill up enough to actually be used. im getting absolutely shreded in tournaments, and i have to assume its because EVERY time i go in with half stamina because the only way to recover stamina is by leveling up and praying top RNGesus that i got a full recover, or sitting around for 4 days and seemingly falling further behind the enemies in stats.
and really, since you ALREADY only allow 1 action per day per character, the energy system only serves to make everything worse than it should be. i understand the thought process behind including it, but it runs completely counter to everything the game is trying to do.
i wanna like this. i loved swords and sandals and similar games back in the day. but i suspect the main issue here is that youre working on this yourself, and know the calculations personally too well to accurately judge the playability of the game. a good rule of thumb is : youre not dark souls. any mechanics that are outright punishing the player just for being here, should be removed completely. any mechanics that only serve to add tedium, only serve to detract from the game. that is not to say that the grind isnt and cant be fun, but when you have mechanics that actively work against your ability to play the game it changes from grinding to tedium.
Great feedback, you're absolutely right. I've had several people on Reddit struggle with stamina when entering battle, likely due to not resting their gladiators properly. The new Action Point (AP) system is a great idea. I've linked it to the Agility stat: low-intensity actions like training or arena matches cost 1 AP. Higher agility allows assigning more points to higher-intensity actions, which should support mid-to-late game development.
You're also right that I'm a solo developer still learning about user experience. Reddit feedback has helped a lot. Honestly, I’m thinking of printing out my new mantra “I am not Dark Souls” and framing it above my desk.
And don’t worry, I don’t mind your direct approach. I prefer blunt feedback no sugarcoating, just root cause fixes. Just like my codebase.
The updated version is now live, including the new feature and a related bug fix.
Would be nice to see recruits available before needing to sell a gladiator.
Thanks for the feedback. You are quite right. Easy to implement and good benefit to the player. I put in a quick hotfix. Tested it briefly seems to work. Will need to tidy it up a bit tomorrow. Look a bit ugly when you have to scroll when there is 5 cards. Its 2am here so need sleep lol.
level scaling based on my characters STATS instead of progression? no fucking thank you.
It is based on day progression. I am tweaking it to make progress slower.
yeah dont do it like that. you WILL end up frequently with the following scenario : its is now impossible to progress because i spent too many overall days training/healing whatever and didnt do everything optimaly.
scale based on ACTUAL progression, which should be some kind of ranking system or something similar. scaling based on time spent is a recipe for disaster.
Good point. This is all new to me and I am now starting to get more feedback so always happy to make adjustments. I can definitely rework it to scale based on prestige instead of days. That way it reflects actual progress like wins or rank, not just how much time has passed. So the player wins a match they gain prestige from victories and if they lose combat they lose prestige. So if the player is having a hard time and lost a few matches can recover. Your thoughts?
it might be a good idea to actually play some incremental game instead of jumping on the node buster band wagon. you make a much better game when you actually understand the genre rather than are just trying to copy 1 specific game.
I would like it more I think if more difficult opponents show up as your prestige increases, but then there is also say, 1 enemy at prestige 0, 1 at prestige 5, 1 at prestige X - I don't know how quickly it scales, but just giving people guardrails. Like if I'm close to broke, all my gladiators die, and I have to go buy a new one and they all kinda suck, would I ever recover from that otherwise?
Keep in mind I am replying when this comment was 15 minutes old, probably should have refreshed the page first to see if anyone else already commented in the past couple days.
Yeah, you're absolutely right. If a player loses their gladiators on day 40, it would be really tough to catch up using fresh recruits.
My only concern is that if someone has a high-level gladiator, they could farm low-level enemies indefinitely to earn easy money. Since earnings are based on Charisma, a high-Charisma gladiator could make over 200 gold per day with zero risk.
Hmm... I could maybe implement a system where, if the combat rating difference is too large, the match can't be scheduled. I’ll need to think this through.
Thanks again for your feedback, really helpful.
Been playing this game last few days and have to say i literally made an account to say really cool concept and quite fun but man i struggle with the early part of game. Finally learned if a keep a low level gladiator to spawn easier enemies i can get high charisma on main for money.
Ha thanks, I am not sure I had that workaround as the intention for early game lol. I am still tweaking balance while fixing bugs. It seems early game is tough and mid-game starts to get quite easy. Just bare with me while I try to find the right balance.