Hey everyone! We've been working hard on collecting impressions from the crazy release day yesterday and several changes have been made. Here's the list of changes in todays version:
Story mode:
Several card awards have been added for completing chapters
Balance changes:
Increased damage output for "Firecracker"
Hero Tieto - Double hands attack no longer steals gold
Story 1.1 to 1.5 difficulty increased
Basic attacks on all villagers/townpeople/peasants
New cards:
6 New Action cards
1 New World structure card
2 New highwind creature cards
1 New Hologev creature card
3 New world cards
In addition, the following in-game fixes are implemented: IMPROVED End game screen buttons are clearer to avoid confusion IMPROVED Header and item grouping in the market has been improved IMPROVED Cards are highlighted instead of zoomed in when selected in-game IMPROVED Some in-game events have been made slightly faster
ADDED Button to toggle friends list from within the friends list
FIXED Number of action points in-game was sometimes displayed incorrectly FIXED ZzZ disappeared when you selected a card FIXED Selected / chosen card is placed back down when turn ends FIXED Avatars could not be purchased for research points FIXED Building cards could randomly not be placed after the first game FIXED Potion cards could randomly not be used after the first game FIXED In-game messages popped up behind other elements such as cards FIXED Taunts popped up behind everything FIXED loading flickering between missions FIXED Several server bugs have been fixed
This release is ready to download, so go ahead and keep us updated on Discord!
Thanks for playing!
Devlog #6 - Early access release!
Everyone!
The day we've waited for has finally arrived - Dragon Evo was released in Early Access today! If you haven't yet bought it, don't miss out on the 10% launch discount, and add it to your wishlist so you don't forget ːsteamhappyː
What to expect
The game you get to play today is still evolving, and we're very much open to feedback on the different mechanics and systems in the game. The game itself is fully playable - play the single player modes, match up against friends, form clans, unlock and upgrade cards and build decks!
Please let us know on Discord or in the Steam forums if things aren't working and we're ready to help and fix!
A preview of the story mode is available, but the story itself isn't implemented or added yet, this is still being worked on.
What's next
We're going to be taking in all the feedback we get in the following days to find out which things to focus on next, so let us know if you have thoughts on how the game could evolve, improve or change!
We hope you enjoy the game - see you online!
Early Access release candidate goes gold!
Hey everyone!
Only two days to go until we're out in Early Access, and we've been working super hard to fix the final few bugs reported by our play testers and reviewers. Today we released what will hopefully be the last preview build - an Early Access gold build if you will!
The last few weeks have been packed with quality of life improvements, improvements to the onboarding and tutorials as well as incorporating tons of feedback from the play tests - we're so thankful for everyone who contributed!
Screenshot from one of the new advanced tutorial screens
The whole team is preparing for release day, and if you haven't dropped by our Discord yet, don't hesitate to do so!
Patch notes - preview build 0.8.800
Hey everyone!
We're getting closer and closer to the final Early Access build! A new update has been pushed to address issues reported during the last weeks play testing. Thanks a lot to everyone who has been streaming the game, playing and reporting issues.
Please continue to report any issues you find.
Game balance:
The Research point cost for hero starter packs and avatars have been reduced to prevent excessive grinding
The Research point payout per game has been slightly increased
Action points per turn has been permanently changed from 2 to 3
New features
The in-game help system has been enabled, you can find it on the main menu
A reworked and improved card movement system has been implemented
Vastly improved visual representation of targetted cards and board items
Added animations to display action point and gold increase / decrease
Added visual cues as to why certain in-game actions aren't allowed
Bugfixes:
Fixed an issue where using certain cards would cause the game to break
Fixed several AI issues
Server performance and stability has been improved
Patch notes - preview build 0.8.7366
Hey everyone!
An update has been pushed to address some of the issues reported recently. Thanks a lot to all playtesters and (p)reviewers who are reporting issues. Please continue to report any issues you find.
Game balance:
Experimental change: Increase action points per turn from 2 to 3
New features
Added an in-game settings button
Bugfixes:
Fixed an issue where the AI would attack with cards that couldn't attack
Fixed an issue where attacking with some cards would not trigger attack back damage
Fixed an issue where pressing "Continue" after an adventure would take you to the campaign screen
Fixed several issues related to card placement and movement
Pach notes - build
Hey everyone!
An update has been pushed to address some of the issues reported recently. Thanks a lot to all playtesters and reviewers who are reporting issues. Please continue to report any issues you find.
New features:
The tutorial presentation has been updated
Bug fixes:
The AI turn speed has been increased a bit in scenario and tutorial matches
Resolved an issue where some cards were missing their image
Resolved an issue where some cards were missing an action
Resolved an issue where the tutorial didn't end when you killed the hero card
Resolved an issue where cards in the third tutorial were overly eager on killing themselves
Devlog #4 - Cards and rewards
Cards and rewards
One thing we haven't talked about in much detail is the different card types, how they work together and how you unlock and get new cards! Now that the launch is getting closer, we're really excited to share this update with you!
Card types
In Dragon Evo, you'll soon discover that there is a variety of different card types. Each card type has a specific (or several specific) purposes, and they all work together to form your deck and the cards you play in each game.
Your deck consists of two card types:
The hero card
This is the "leader" of your deck. This special card must survive at all costs - if you fail to keep your hero alive you lose the game. The opponent hero card is also your main target - killing the opponent hero wins the game. The hero card has an assigned slot on the board and cannot move from this slot - however, it can often attack from this slot as long as you use positioning to your advantage.
Regular cards
These are the other cards in your deck. Regular cards come in different categories: vehicles, items and creatures. Vehicles generally affect other cards in play - either yours or your opponents. They often have more health than your normal cards, but are vulnerable to fire damage. Item cards are also played onto free slots on the board but are usually discarded immediately after being played. Their main ability is to switch up or majorly alter the game situation. Lastly, the creature cards. These cards often stay on the board for two or more rounds, deal and take damage, and can be used for board control. You'll learn a lot about these cards, their different bonuses and abilities as you play the game.
As you progress in the game, you learn how to master and experiment with combining, timing the order and positioning of all your deck cards.
In addition to the cards you have in your deck, you can also use other types of card during the game. These all behave differently.
Building cards
These are special cards that you unlock as you play, and after being unlocked are available to build in any game. Building cards are like "blueprints" - after they have been unlocked, you can build any of them during the game on one of the two available building slots. Building cards generally provide automatic bonuses and actions after being built, such as additional firepower, gold generation or other attributes.
Action cards
These cards are consumable - that means they are permanently removed from your collection after they have been used. They are however easy to collect and you will normally have an abundance of different action cards to choose from during each game. You can use up to four different action cards per game, and they can be used to heal your creature cards, put out a building on fire or restore a cards special abilities if it is poisoned or stunned.
Event cards
The event cards are chosen at the beginning of each game, and they are played automatically at a random time during the game - either for you or your opponent. In the beginning you have two unlocked event cards and you unlock new event cards as you play. Once you've unlocked a new event card it is added to your collection and available to choose from at the start of each game. However - you only get to choose from three randomly picked event cards from your collection. Event cards majorly switches up the game rules for a short period of time - for example duplicating your cards as you play them, increasing or decreasing certain card attributes or even removing cards from your board.
Unlocking new cards
Unlocking and upgrading cards (more on upgrading cards in a different devlog) can be done using Research Points (RP) - an in-game currency that is earnt in one of four different ways:
Playing games
Each game you play will net you a certain amount of research points. Depending on your effort during the match you may be rewarded with extra research points - and if you win you get even more!
Single player story and adventures
The single player campaign and standalone adventures have special rewards such as research points if you win them. Take on extra hard missions for extra big rewards!
Completing achievements
Completing weekly, daily or one-time achievements will net you a nice research point reward. The more you play - and win - the better the rewards!
Selling cards
As you collect new cards you may realize you don't need certain cards. If you don't want to spend them to upgrade other cards, dismantling (selling) them will pay research points.
To unlock new cards you spend research points to buy unlock packs. An unlock pack will unlock one new card in one of four different categories: event cards, building cards, action cards or creature cards. When you unlock a new creature or action card you also get one copy of that card!
Unlocked event cards are added to your collection and immediately available to choose in the start of games, and unlocked building cards can be built immediately after being unlocked. When you unlock a creature card or action card, you also get a copy of that card.
Collecting cards
The unlock packs are how you unlock new cards to add to your collection, but one card of each is not enough! To get more cards, you open card packs. Card packs are available after each match you play, and at regular intervals when you log in. In addition, card packs are available as mission rewards, achievement rewards and bonus items.
Card packs cannot be bought for research points, but the cards you have unlocked are added to the draw pool for card packs. Each card pack contains 2-4 cards, and the cards you get in the card pack are automatically added to your collection and can be used in decks, in-game or to convert to research points.
Summary
Creating a fair system for collecting and unlocking cards is hard, but after a lot of testing, we truly believe this system will work for everyone. The more you play, the more you get - investing time in the game both increases your game skills, and the variety of your card collection.
Please let us know what you think, either in our forums or on Discord!
Devlog #3: In the pipeline
Here's a tiny development update from us here at Bromantic Games.
Build status
We are currently putting the final touches on the build that is going to be sent to approval by Steam for our Early Access launch - February 24th. As we mentioned in our last devlog, all major planned game features have been implemented and we're in full bug-fixing mode. As a small indie studio, "bug free" is a bold statement, but we're getting pretty close! Our current list is down to a mere 50 quality of life improvements based on some very early rounds of test feedback!
Early test round with the tutorial
Pre-release testing
We will open the game a few days early for some selected testers and reviewers, to see that everything is ready for launch. After launch, feedback from our players and supporters will guide us on where to go next, but the foundation is already pretty solid!
Come chat with us!
Want to see clips or talk with us? Join us at our discord server. Until then thank you for supporting us!
Devlog #2: Gearing up
First of all, we hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and were able to spend some time with friends and family.
At the end of last year we were finally able to settle a release date for Dragon Evo - more on that later!
What to expect from the Early Access release
We're happy to announce that all major planned game features have been implemented. As a small indie studio, "bug free" is a bold statement, but we're getting pretty close! As always, feedback from our players and supporters will guide us on where to go next, but the foundation is already pretty solid. What will you see and experience in the initial Early Access release?
Single player campaign
The first chapter of the Single player campaign is ready and will be released chapter by chapter each week after the Early Access release. The first part will be released on the release date, and we look forward to sharing the rest of the story with you.
Single player adventures
Looking for some interesting challenges instead of just pvp matches? We have created some really fun and challenging single player adventures for you to test your skills.
Ranked multiplayer
You will be able to test your skills against other players in ranked or unranked matches against human opponents. You can also add friends to play friendly matches which won't affect your rank.
Rewards and booster packs
Our card and rank progression system is integrated in all modes. All ranked matches and adventure games will reward you with different cards and items that allows you to rank up, discover new cards and features.
Deckbuilder
The deckbuilder is ready to go in the initial early access release. We'll keep improving the deckbuilding features and work with players to extend and improve it.
AI Development
We've put a lot of effort into creating a true-to-life AI which behaves and plays like a real opponent. While there's still progress to be made to make the AI unbeatable, the AI reacts to changing situation and adapts its tactics to utilize the entire game feature set to take you out.
We're still working very hard on balancing, bug fixing and polishing, and we'll keep doing that until the Early Access release on Feb 24th.
We hope to see you in-game very soon!
Devlog #1: Animations and AI
Welcome to the first devlog! Today we're summing up everything that has happened since the Steam page went live a little over a week ago!
Steam page launch update
After launching the Steam page, we've received lots of feedback from players with questions about everything from AI to campaign and card packs. We'll soon be posting a detailed overview of how the game works with some gameplay examples, so stay tuned. In the meantime we'll try and answer any questions you have if you get in touch!
AI update
One of the two major things we've been working on after the Steam page went live has been the AI. Providing a great single player experience is important to us - whether you want to try out a new deck or card combination, or if you're playing the single player campaign or adventures, we always want you to be adequately challenged.
Since we're a small team with limited resources, we've decided to not implement a neural network AI in the veins of some other card games, but rather go for a deterministic / heuristic AI which tries to play out one or several known strategies. We call it a "plan-based" AI, where the AI will plan ahead with a goal in mind and then try and execute that plan. The AI re-evaluates its plan throughout the entire game to make sure it's still both valid and a good idea, so there's a good chance you can try and counter its plan. If you do, expect it to come up with a new plan to defeat you!
The AI will evolve over time with additional capabilities, plans and strategies. We'll share more as we keep working on the AI and its features!
Animations and oomph
One of the feedback comments we got most often since the trailer release and Steam page launch was that the game lacked a certain ... "oomph", if you will. We agree that it looks great sometimes, but there was still work to be done to replace the placeholder animations with something that has a bit more "POW" to it.
This week we worked on adding action and movement animations to make sure that the game feels more "alive".
In addition to hit animations, bleed animations, attack and movement animations, we also added target reticules when dragging and dropping cards, with different icons for different action types such as moving or attacking.
We also added a snazzy little animation when killing a card.
Moving forwards
We're still working hard on getting the game closer to early access release, and there's lots of stuff to show, still. Until next time!
