Work on the last major system of the game, the mining system has started. But first, I would like to introduce the UI changes made to the mastery system and go deeper into the unlockable rewards that can be attained by mastering the game. Lastly some thoughts on a beta test will be shared.
The topics for this DevLog are:
Mastery System
Mining System
Beta Test
Let's begin!
If you go back to the second DevLog you can see the early implementation of the mastery system UI. It has been a long way since then and now it looks like this: One of the key features that I wanted for the system was that one should be able to see all the future unlocks, which is now possible. There are a total of 50 objectives per energy to complete in order to gain full mastery. Needless to say, the art for some of the later unlocks are a work in progress. The mastery system allows you to unlock game changing features by completing various objectives from all the different aspects of the game. One unlockable is the energy farm (two per field): It automatically collects energy within an area. Other unlockables include the ability to auto buy upgrades, offline farming and a super advanced robot that walks around and picks up energy for you.
OBS: The mining system is very early in its development and may change drastically.
Work on the final major progression system of the game has started. It is currently called the mining system, although it might be renamed. It revolves around expeditions and crystals. The system is unlocked at level 30 and here is an early screenshot of the expeditions tab:
Expeditions are mining missions that you start that take some time. To start an expeditions you must spend crystal fragments, which is what you can see an inventory of in the picture. Crystal fragments are also the reward for completing expeditions. The hope is that you will receive a crystal fragment of a higher rarity which can be used to start a more valuable expedition. You will be able to start multiple expeditions simultaneously. The idea is that you can go and work on expeditions every now and then when the main game is in a slower phase, maybe you are waiting for enough energy to buy some upgrade.
The the mining you do as part of the expedition system also affects the main game, in a very important way! Another reward you will receive from completing expeditions is crystal XP. The work on the crystal system has not started yet, but the plan is that you will be able to level up crystals by completing expeditions. Crystals will occasionally spawn in the fields of the main game and give you bonuses. The bonuses will be determined by the player as there will be spec trees to spend points in. There will be one active tree and one idle tree which you can switch between, to better tailor the game to your play style.
When the mining system is done, which should be in about a month, then it is time for a proper beta test. There have already been some beta testing from friends at work but also people who have contacted me on the Discord, but this will be the proper beta test. I will be reaching out to the ones that have joined the Discord and ask them if they want to participate, so if you are interested, don't hesitate to join us here: https://discord.gg/62FCUKa5G3.
Hopefully the next DevLog will be the the one where the release date is announced!
The game is inching closer to its completion but there are a lot of things which hane not yet been discussed in the DevLogs.
The topics for this DevLog are:
Power Up System
Decor System
Early Access
Let's get into it!
As you play more of the game you will soon realize you cannot pick up each energy manually, it's better to leave it to the robot helpers. But power ups are things you absolutely do not want to miss.
They spawn randomly, last only a few seconds, but if you manage to pick them up, the rewards are great! Here is the summoning horn power up ready to be picked up:
Power ups can be upgraded using power up tokens which you get one of each time you level up, starting at level 12. You can spend the power up tokens here and modify the power ups to your liking: The summoning horn spawns a bunch of energies when it is picked up. It can be upgraded to make it spawn more often, make it spawn even more energies and it can also be made to have a chance to spawn large energies. Large energies explode into several regular energies when picked up.
Other power ups do things such as spawn temporary robot helpers, increase energy pick ups for a while, increase spawn rates and much more.
The Hub is your base of operations. In the beginning, it looks something like this: This clearly won't do and you will have to pimp your hub in the way you want. That is what the decor system is for. You can spend energy in The Hub to buy decor tokens. These tokens can be traded for decor items. Besides looking dazzling, the decor items actually increase the XP gained when picking up energy. With some hard grinding you can pimp your hub to look more like this: Some decor items can be interacted with and have their own related achievements. There are many more decor items to unlock, but I don't want to show all of them off here.
The UI for buying decor tokens and decor items is still work in progress, but right now it looks like this: Yes, this decor item shows you how many hours you have played!
Lastly I wanted to touch upon early access. I mentioned that I was considering launching the game in early access in DevLog 01. This is no longer the case and the game is nearing completion. Instead, the game will be released in full. There game is going to offer several hundred hours of play time. A smaller beta among friends and some people who contact me is going to be held to ensure the game's quality.
If you are interested in participating in a beta, feel free to contact me on Steam or on Discord.
There is now an official Discord server for the game: https://discord.gg/62FCUKa5G3. Come hangout and discuss the game!
It has been a while since the last DevLog. Progress is steady and a lot has happened.
The topics for this DevLog are:
The Quest System
The WIP for the Mastery System
Remaining Work summary
Let's get into it!
After the introductory tutorial is finished players will encounter quests every now and then. Quest are short, about two minutes and if you manage to complete the objective you get an energy and XP reward. A wack-a-mole quest in action.
Quest occur in a random field about every fifteen minutes. For now there is only a wack-a-mole quest but the plan is to implement a few different quest types. Quest give the player a reason increase engagement for a short period, if they choose to.
The mastery system is used to unlock really awesome, game-changing rewards! You progress in the mastery system by doing everything in the game, essentially mastering every aspect (unlockign achievements, leveling up, buying upgrades etc.). When you have completed a number of objectives you receive a reward. There are ten rewards per field. Here is the mastery window (WIP): The unlocks include: Auto buy option for upgrades, energy farms that automatically pick up energy, offline production and much more!
I have not yet talked about the power up or decor system in a DevLog but that will have to wait. To round up this DevLog I want to look at what work remains. The largest not yet finished parts to be developed are:
Gardening System
Tower System
Balancing
The Gardening and the Tower System are both planned to be small side games. These games are not very time consuming and are there for you to focus on whenever the main game is in a somewhat slower phase. Gardening and Towers do of course grant you bonuses in the main game. For example: Plants will be able to spawn randomly in fields and boost energy spawn rates. The further you progress in teh gardening system, the more powerful the plants become.
Balancing is an important part of an idle-clicker game and can really make or break a game. Therefore it will be something I will put a lot of time into, to make sure it is just right.
I have just updated the graphics of the game logo. Let me know what you think!
There is now an official Discord server for the game: https://discord.gg/gGyTZbCm. Come hangout and discuss the game!
About one month after announcing Energy Collector I though it would be fitting to take a look at what is going on with the development. Also, I would like to show some of the game's systems in more depth. You can expect similarly structured DevLogs about every 1 - 2 months. The topics for this DevLog are:
The Currency System
WIP for the Tutorial System
Early Access
Let's get into it!
The simplest and yet the most important part of an idler-game is of course the currency you acquire. The main currency in Energy Collector is energy and there are eight different energy types. There are also a few different token types used for buying specific upgrades but more on that another day.
The game is played on fields in a three-by-three grid and in the center of this grid is a field called The Hub. At The Hub you can buy permanent upgrades for energy. You can think of this as your base of operations. The remaining eight fields is where you collect the eight energy types. The way to collect energy is to place the mouse above an energy: But as you get deeper into the game you will unlock more convenient ways of collecting energy. Each field has its own storage of energy. But eventually you will have to buy upgrades that cost multiple energies: This means that you will have to transfer energy between the fields. Collecting energy and transferring them to where you need them is one of the main aspects of the game.
I am currently working on the game's tutorial. Everything is work in progress, but this is very much subject to change. In the current iteration there is a button in the top left which shows you what to do next. The tutorial is essentially a series of quests which slowly introduces you to the game's system. The tutorial quests do not have any rewards. However, the idea is to convert the tutorial into a quest system once the tutorial is completed. From then on, players can complete quests for various rewards.
Part of working on the tutorial has been to make sure that the game is easily understandable and intuitive. To that end, some of the icons have been made clearer and are now more distinguishable in the UI: If you want, you can compare this to the current trailer :)
Lastly, I would like to talk about the launch model for the game.
The original idea was to launch Energy Collector when it was completely done and plan for eventual large patches post-launch. However, Early Access games are immensely popular on Steam and there has to be a reason for that. Other than me being able to get feedback, I think players enjoy getting in early in a game's development and seeing it grow. However, I do not want to ship something that feels unfinished. If I do Early Access, then I would ship the game almost completely finished and use the feedback to really make it perfect and work on new features that weren't originally planned for the game.
That is why I am thinking of releasing my game for Early Access. With Early Access, it might be easier to extend the scope of the game and flesh it out with many more systems and features. However, if this is to be done properly, I want to plan for many more features post-early access launch. Essentially a detailed road-map of what's to come. I am currently thinking about constructing such a road-map.
Let me know what you think! Is Early Access something you would like for this game?
There is now an official Discord server for the game: https://discord.gg/gGyTZbCm. Come hangout and discuss the game!
