It’s been a while since I’ve posted any major progress on the project mainly because progress has been slow over the past months. I took a mini-break from the hustle and bustle that was November/December. But now I'm back and it's time to post some updates:
- Turret balance Changes
- Spells fully implemented, basic balance
- Turret upgrade cost evened out (10 souls for all levels)
- Hotkey functionality
- Small enemy changes
- Demo map re-worked
- Turret placement changed back to grid style
- Objectives added
- Enemy pathing progression added
- UI elements added
Turret Balancing
Some minor balancing done to turrets to go along with the new grid changes and enemy changes.
Spells Implemented
Spells are now here to stay and have been fully implemented. The 5 spells are Slow, Min Damage, Cripple/Weaken, Silence, Max Damage. The names are subject to change once their tied in 'theme' is decided.
Turret Upgrades Evened Out
The main hurdle for upgrading was balancing the cost/use. Upgrading higher tier turrets cost a huge amount but made it worth it to simply save up for those. This pretty much negated the usefulness of lower tier turrets. Evened out upgrade costs should fix that. All turrets cost 10 souls to upgrade now.
Basic Hotkey Functionality
Spells can be selected by hitting 1~5. Will add a quick select option for turrets further on.
Enemy Changes
Small changes to enemies in accordance with changes to turrets and grid placement.
Demo Map Changes
The demo map is constantly evolving alongside everything else. With the turret grid change and objectives added, the map had to be changed too. It's currently a very basic representation of the final version.
Turret Placement Reverted to Grid Style
This is one of the bigger updates for the game. Originally turrets were placed in a grid layout, before changing to the manually placed locations. After experimenting with the free-form placement for a few months I've decided that the grid layout worked a lot better, and have gone back to that for now. This impacts every aspect of the game, from turret aspd/range/dmg, to enemy move speed and map layout.
Objectives Added
Objectives are another huge addition that were added. They are basically what determines the winning/losing conditions of the level. At current, only a basic version of objectives is done, but they will of course evolve over time with the rest of the game.
Pathing Progression
The changes to enemy spawns and pathing is a major part of gameplay. Implemented along with objectives, enemies will change their walking path depending on certain events / objectives in the level. Should certain objectives be met, the enemy will reroute and try a new path. Should an objective fail, enemies could spawn from a new entrance, creating another area that would need defence.
UI Elements Added
Some minor stuff added to the UI. With spells being added, they now get their own buttons in the main bar. When the player is given a Grave Digger to place, a little shovel will appear above the soul counter.
WHEW! That's a lot of stuff! That being said, my name focus for development is getting objectives and pathing progression ironed out. After that it's all turret and enemy balancing, then hopefully a demo for the current mechanics.
That's all I have for now, see you next time~
