Okay! Another update/blog and still no update 0.6.0?
The thing is, game development is complicated :D
But on a more serious note, we simply want to add a lot of changes, features to the game. And because we are awesome here is a look at all the upcoming changes. Some stuff might have been mentioned before but we think that having a decent overview is worth it.
So let’s start with an image dump! More precisely, how all the different defense structures and traps will change when you upgrade them in-game.
Damage Aura (Sketch)
Slowing Aura (Sketch)
Catapult
Heliofocus
Balista
Spring Trap
Arrow Trap
So what's next? Like we have mentioned before we are reworking how upgrading will work in the game. Our goal is to drop (as much as possible) small incremental upgrades in favour of more substantial ones. For instance, Helliafocus will now have 4 different upgrades:
Meltdown ??? crystals
Heliofocus now ignores target armour.
Speed of Light ??? crystals
Beam now moves ??% faster.
Ignition ??? crystals
Heliofocus now ignites targets for 50% of tower damage over the duration of ? seconds if they are caught in the beam for too long.
And one more ;)
All numbers are ? because stuff is still being balanced and changed.
Incomplete look at all the different new upgrade icons WIP
Moving on. Balance. Now, this is a tough one. A decent portion of the players feel that, currently, the early game is to difficult and you don’t have enough tools to finish levels perfectly on the first try. And while we think that you, possibly, shouldn’t be able to just breeze through every level on the first try the first levels are introductory levels and everyone should be able to get through them with relative ease. And because we are implementing a new upgrade system we are also going through every level and looking how we can make it better.
Especially because some traps won’t act in the same way they did previously.
Like the Spring Trap!
It’s still work in progress but the idea is that now enemies won't be thrown in a random direction but you will be able to predict where they will “fly”. So in theory, you can 'juggle' enemies.
What more? 5 new levels with a new boss unit and new traps. Bug fixes, balance changes, improved first impression (new intro cinematic) and more!
See you next time!
Don't forget to follow us on social media.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeacurityBreach https://twitter.com/soaphog
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Defense structure progression
Hello again!
Well, what can we say besides that we are still working on that mysterious big update? Nothing really BUT we also know that keeping people/players informed is essential. Because of that, we want to show you something!
As everyone who has played or is playing the game currently knows, you don't see any changes in defences when you upgrade them in-game. The stats are increasing, they are more powerful and you are destroying enemies so much more efficiently. Yet you don't see it being represented visually.
Well, that will change! And you don’t have to just take our word for it! Here is a glimpse of what you will see and can expect with every defence in the game!
Let's start with Balista
Jumping in with Spring Trap next
And finishing with an Arrow Trap preview!
See you next time!
Don't forget to follow us on social media.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeacurityBreach https://twitter.com/soaphog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeacurityBreach/ https://www.facebook.com/Soaphog/
Patch 0.5.4. available
Updates:
Level panning is now possible via "WASD" keys
It's possible to see tower ranges in build mode by holding "Alt" key
Light columns were added to destroyable object scenario props
Status icons for the attackers were added
Chapter 1 difficulty rebalance
Navmesh updates: units will less likely get stuck in a prop or near stairs
Upgrade reset now refunds 100% of crystals back
Dialogue editor now has mouse wheel scrolling option
New upgrade button
Building select screen shows stat icons now
Music fade in added
Last available level is now selected by default
Sound effects are limited when multiple same sounds are player at once and pitch shift was added for them
Aura activation button is no longer visible in a build phase
Added click sound to difficulty selection buttons
Damage aura details in level displays duration now
Several props added to the editor
Heliofocus description updated
Increased Heliofocus base damage by 20%
Removed armor from Priests
Fixes:
Stat display issues fixed
Camera no longer gets affected by fps and game speed
Catapult scorch visual effect is less obstructing now and no longer persists after level restart
Blur no longer turns on and off again when going from building selection to dialogue window and when clicking reset upgrades
Fixed a case in the level editor when group numbers won't be displayed after loading
Arrow trap now properly updates it's range if a tower or prop that was blocking it gets removed
Fixed an issue in the editor where clicking geometry, wave, and dialogue buttons fast resulted in darker background
Catapult adjustments so it's possible to attack enemies that are very close to it and one tile lower
Pillar prop no longer allows weird building placement options
Prop preview in the editor when trying to place it on a half block is fixed
A few optimization fixes
Short update about the upcoming update!
Hey, defenders of Solarimere,
So we stated that we are aiming to release the next update with the new Levels, enemies, story elements and other exciting stuff on last Friday. And as you can see, that didn't happen.
It just wasn't ready. We needed to work a little bit more on balancing, bug fixing and other general improvements.
But don't worry. It's still happening and we are aiming for this Friday.
See you then!
Upcoming Update
Hey!
Time to give you an update on what we have been doing. In short, A LOT of exciting stuff.
Currently (as in today) the plan is to release a BIG update for our game next week. The new update will include 5 new levels with a story, new enemy units, a new trap, balance changes and bugs! Wait, bugs? No no no, bugfixes.
The new stuff!
You have already seen the new slowing trap in the previous blog but for those who missed it here is the concept sketch that we love!
Now that's a winner!
Now let's talk about the new enemy units!
The GIANT (name is work in the progress if you have a great idea feel free to write it in comments)!
A slow behemoth of shark that can take a lot of punishment but also has the sweetest smile of them all. Just look at this glorious T-pose and his small little hat, cuteness overload! Definitely one of our favourites!
Cutest enemy of them all!
Next one is this chapters boss, General Throl. He is the right hand of King Nerus and a fierce warrior. In his eyes, Aerians are focusing too much on frivolous things and lack warrior spirit to stop the Aquator invasion!
ATTACK!!!
Throls major ability is to give other units around him a speed buff so they can overwhelm your defenses. He smashes his hammer on the ground and lightning strikes all nearby attackers (3 tile radius) which buffs them to move and attack faster (+25%) for 5 seconds and are visually electrocuted
And that would be it right now. We won't show any new levels just right now because in our eyes seeing them for the first time in-game is a more rewarding experience. Also, we can’t comment on any bug fixes or balance changes right now because even if the update should be only week away things can change!
But there is one more thing we should add. We are thinking (not promising anything yet) about streaming/showcasing on Steam all the new stuff next Friday when the update hits Steam. So get ready for that! Sweet Mother of Fishes knows that we aren’t!
See you next time!
Don't forget to follow us on social media.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeacurityBreach https://twitter.com/soaphog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeacurityBreach/ https://www.facebook.com/Soaphog/
Level Editor User Manual
Workshop Level We were messing around with our Level Editor, trying out different stuff (trying to break it). Created some levels that were decent but weren't a good fit for our main campaign. Not wanting to let it go to waste we put it on Steam Workshop. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1625394739
Guide And while we are talking about Level Editor a quick reminder. Currently, we don't have a tutorial implemented in the Level Editor but for those who want to create their own MASTERPIECES we hope this nifty guide can help you. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1575155747
P.S. The best user-created levels we will highlight here and on our social media ;)
New Trap WIP
Time for a quick update!
While we are working on several aspects to improve our game (balancing, new enemy unit, story etc) not everything would be an engaging read. Because of that, let’s tease you with a new tool in your arsenal!
We always want to give players a chance to have meaningful choices when it comes to how they want to tackle our levels. Or to have the ability to develop their own playstyle using their favourite defence mechanisms. And thus far we were missing one of the Tower Defense game classics - slowing aura.
We are happy to say, that it’s no longer the case. Well… we are working on adding it.
First designs concept.
Something simple to understand, a noxious mushroom that emits gasses that would slow Aquator units.
Cute!
But because we wanted for it to work similarly to our Dmg booster aura (click on it to activate it for a limited period of time) we had to add a mechanism that ‘forces’ the mushroom to emit those gasses. Quick sketches for ways it could work.
But it didn’t feel unique enough and then a silly but awesome idea was born!
Winner winner chicken dinner!
Now that’s something different! A chemist that is ready to put his own health at danger just to protect his home!
And because we are awesome a WIP gif of the animations
Up and down, up and down!
See you next time!
Don't forget to follow us on social media.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeacurityBreach https://twitter.com/soaphog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeacurityBreach/ https://www.facebook.com/Soaphog/
Patch 0.5.3. available
First update of the year focuses on fixes, improvements and balance changes. Thanks to everyone who reported issues and gave feedback!
Fixes and updates:
Navigation mesh updates to reduce the number of units getting stuck, walking through some decorations and towers
Priest drum sound no longer gets stuck
Slightly optimized building placement code to reduce overhead
Fix for perfect score not being awarded with health permanent upgrades
Quarter blocks preview icons in the editor now have a background to discern them easier
Aura tower ability icon does not get rotated when placed on a wall for easier access
Spring tower fix for assassin units transitioning from the wall
New decoration items and blocks added to the editor
Editor spawn point replacement fix
Updated asset loading to prevent the main menu popping up during editor loading
Few typos fixed in tower upgrade descriptions, level dialogues, and tips
Balance changes:
Pressing Alt key during build phase will display defense range
Spring and arrow traps are more likely to affect multiple enemies at once, delaying their hit a little bit
Level 4 and 5 difficulty adjusted
Merry Fishmas!!!
We all hope that you will have great holidays ;)
Patch 0.5.2. available
Tower balancing and fixes:
Damage aura tower effect radius is now shown when the building is placed
Damage aura tower cooldown resets when the wave starts
Damage aura tower damage increase effect increased from 10% to 15%, scaling increased from 2% to 3% per tower level, from 2% to 4% per permanent upgrade
Damage aura tooltip update
Heliofocus ignition upgrade cost reduced from 500 to 250
Miner upgrade cost reduced from 2500 to 1500
Enemy balancing and fixes:
Assassin HP bar position tweaked for crawling animation
Assassin path preview fix for a case where no normal path is present (only wall crawl)
Priests no longer destroy barricades in seconds
Enemies getting stuck in certain places (chapter 1 level 5 for example) was fixed
Level balancing and fixes:
Updated Pengworth, Gooserod, Chickatoon, Pelicarden, Puffinor, Flamingate geometry to prevent attackers from getting stuck in various places.
Nerfed Gooserod and Eagledon difficultly slightly.
Other fixes:
Prop removal price increase now properly resets after the map ends
Crystals no longer get stuck
Some of the decorative props updated to prevent building towers in them
Level editor water toggle hotkey disabled during text field input
Damage Aura (Sketch)
Slowing Aura (Sketch)
Catapult
Heliofocus
Balista
Spring Trap
Arrow Trap
Incomplete look at all the different new upgrade icons WIP
Cute!
Quick sketches for ways it could work.
Winner winner chicken dinner!
