Lots of work on the Map Editor this week. Maps can now be made, saved, loaded, and played. Currently can only play vs yourself and there is no way to specify a faction/leader for a player if it is set as random. A true players setup screen such as appears in Skirmish should be available soon. After playing a game it also returns back to the title screen instead of back to the editor.
Noticing some issues with scrolling the map inside the editor that will be addressed this coming week. There are bound to be other glitches to be ironed out, so do not start working on your masterpiece just yet, but please do give it a try.
Bug Fixes
Player two details now properly show on preview pane when loading or saving a replay
Game Balance
Witchhunter cost reduced from 25 to 20 gold
Crypts now grants +2 Attack instead of +1 Defense
Weekly update notes
New Features
Map Editor - work continues, can now lay down terrain, as well as flood fill terrain. Settings popup now opens to adjust map settings, and victory conditions, still need to add set player faction and leaders, as well as save.
Bug Fixes
Camps no longer affected by overrun and fear forced move effects
Deathknight will no longer overrun into zombie created by Rebirth ability when killing its target. As such, Rebirth now prevents overrun from occurring.
Balance Changes
Crypts no longer promote friendly units into ghouls, instead they now provide a heal effect like villages
Misc.
Campaign map 3 difficulty adjusted down (enemy can no longer build units on this map) as feedback was consistently pointing to this map being too difficult so early on.
Map Editor progress is coming along a bit quicker than I expected, should be usable next week except for defining events and some quality of life tools.
Weekly update notes
Feature Updates
Map Editor now included, though at this point is not yet usable. Currently can only create a new map, and switch tools. This feature will come together over the next several weeks.
Key binds added. Currently the following new keyboard shortcuts are now available:
Scroll map: Arrow Keys
Zoom in/out on map: Page Up and Page Down
Show Game Menu: Escape
Show Leader Power popup: TAB
Undo: Backspace or left square bracket
Submit Turn: Enter/Return or right square bracket
Balance Changes
Alera's Range Reduction power and the Archdruid's Storm Call powers swapped (Empire already has a way to reduce enemy range via Seraph and Fae already had way to reduce enemy move via Druids, so swap brings each more options)
Etheral trait no longer halves damage from combo points
Treants are now Academy units, and Unicorns are now Castle units
Bug Fixes
Prince's Move Out power now works as per description, only refreshing units on buildings which can actually produce them
Fixed Prince's passive description to properly reflect his ability to reduce unit costs
Deathknight affected by Necromancer power no longer kills target on overrun
Misc <*> Leader powers and costs now saved as part of game data itself, such that future changes to leader powers will not affect in progress online games or games loaded from saved game file. This will only affect future changes however, and the changes in this patch will take effect in such current games.
Feature Plan List
I have mentioned a few times about sharing the planned feature list for Shattered Throne, and I am finally doing just that.
This includes everything I have ever thought about adding to the game, and it is likely that items will be dropped, pushed, or added over time. That is the necessary disclaimer. The items on this list are listed in roughly the order I expect they will appear.
I will update this list at semi regular intervals when there is enough change to show. I am planning on the Early Access period lasting about 3 months.
EARLY ACCESS PERIOD
Custom Map Editor [[IN PROGRESS]]
Steamworks support for custom maps
Ensure camera moves to show teleport action destination
Update scoring algorithm
Show grid overlay option
Full rework of online game display
Multiple online game options with leaderboards
Display new Steam names when changed by user in online matches
Send Steam notification when online game turn is available
Add music to Skirmish setup display
Allow saving and loading of Skirmish games
Additional Tile Flavors (plains with flowers)
Additional Terrain types (Swamps, Deserts, Chasms, Shoreline)
Additional Skirmish maps
Puzzle Maps
Challenge Maps
Hard Mode Campaign
Steam Achievements
In Game Unlocks tied to Achievements
Steam Trading Cards
Ambient effects (drifting cloud shadows)
POSSIBLE EARLY ACCESS ITEMS (may be pushed to post release)
Switch Camps to Banners with improved graphics
Show attack outcome on hover over target
Show undamaged unit HP (as optional setting)
Reset Campaign progress option
Add music and turn change indication to replays
Added graphical effects on campaign map (glow on banner hover)
Adjust or remove zoom effect on campaign map
Gamepad Support
POST RELEASE UPDATES (potential updates, contingent on sales/interest)
Upload/download replays
Additional factions and leaders
Seasonal online game leagues
Boss battles
Private online game leagues
Player created custom campaigns
Bug and balance changes will be scattered throughout as identified.
Weekly update notes
I was out of town most of this last week, so there were only a few changes this week.
Interface - Unit stats now have tooltips when the icon is hovered over
- Can now right click for details on a current space when details are already open for another space
- New level up sound effect
- New Icon next to experience bar with appropriate tooltip
New Features - Can now use mouse wheel to zoom in or out during game, only of use for those with large monitors. Action zoom does not apply when zoomed in.
Bug Fixes - Music volume settings now working as intended
- Opponent's last turn's moves now properly shown when continue an online match
Balance Updates - Camps now have a defense of 2, and 32 health (was 0 def and 50 health)
Weekly update notes
The first weekly update is now live. It includes the following updates:
Gameplay - Piercing trait now cancels Fortified blessing
- Siege trait now cancels Dodge, Parry, and Skirmish traits
- XP thresholds for level ups decreased across the board
Bug Fixes - Exiting an online game by quiting without actually finishing the turn no longer submits the turn and breaks online game
- Gold medal now properly displayed when unit reaches Hero level
- Campaign games now properly saved when choose to Save and Exit
- Action Zoom now off by default on new installs.
Misc - Campaign Scenarios 8 and 9 have been updated for better flow and objectives
- AI tweaked to be a bit less inclined to turtle, and more likely to advance
- Game Icon changed to be the same in all instances except for window icon when playing in windowed mode
Thanks again for playing and reporting issues. I was hoping to get the fix for Music volume not working, but it turned out to be trickier than expected, so hopefully that will make it in next week's update.
The action plan going forward
Early Access has a general poor reputation, and the general consensus is that the key to a successful one is developer interaction and regular updates. Towards that end, I wanted to put out my general plan for early access so everyone will know what to expect and can hold me accountable.
I plan to have weekly build updates. This begins this week with a small update to address a few key issues. This update should be available tomorrow evening. I will be keeping to changes which are relatively safe for this first update, as I will be unfortunately away from my dev machine for a good portion of this coming week. As such, the second update will also be on the smaller side, addressing identified issues and any bugs.
After that, you should expect the first major addition to begin coming together, which will be the in game scenario editor. Even though this will not be completed in a single week, I will make it available as is each update, to gather feedback and show the ongoing progress.
Once this feature is completed, the second major feature to be worked on will be more fleshed out online play options, which specifically will bring additional game types (such as beginner, advanced, small map, and large maps), as well as leaderboards for each and notification through Steam when turns are available to play.
The third and final early access phase will revolve around fleshing out the available scenarios in the game, including specifically, puzzle and challenge maps, as well as a hard mode campaign. This will also introduce achievements with in game unlocks to work towards.
Small fixes, quality of life improvements, and balance fixes will be sprinkled throughout each of these phases. At the conclusion of this final major update, the game will go into full release. The updates however will not end there, as I will continue to support and improve the game, as well as plans to add further major inclusions (additional factions, leaders, and player built campaigns).
I typically keep track of development tasks as a simple list, and will be posting this list at least once a week as well, as new items are added, completed, or have their projected completion time changed.
-Mark
Factions and Early Access Goals
Shattered Throne features 3 unique factions to choose from. In addition to each faction having its own play style, I also wanted each unit type to be useful throughout the entire game, by having each provide a distinct role. I also wanted to minimize or avoid having any hard counters to certain units.
Empire: The most straightforward and easiest faction to learn. The Empire focuses on attacks which target multiple enemies and are integrated strongly into the combo mechanic. They also feature good resilience, with tough units and access to the best healer in the game in the priestess. A well placed Cathedral can also be extremely difficult for an opponent to overcome. One downside however is their lack of flying units, having only the Seraph, which is an expensive support based unit. The Empire also lacks any game changing super unit (such as the Wraith and Gryphon).
Undead: Probably the most difficult faction to get to grips with. The undead take a while to establish themselves, but once assembled, can steam roll across the battlefield. They feature extremely strong support units in the form of Deathknights with their attack increasing aura, and the Necromancers which summon zombies from enemies they dispatch. The Undead also feature several means of moving the enemy units around to focus their attack, as well as several beneficial on death effects. To counteract this though, they are relatively slow and have very little healing (they rely on their General to provide healing or champion level Necromancers).
Fae: The armies of nature are all about speed. Right from the start of the game, Sprites dominate board positioning and their other units can quickly threaten nearly anywhere, making them ideal at attacking unsupported units. As their units are more fragile in general, they must use these hit and run attacks and board presence to keep ahead economically and eventually surround and overwhelm their enemies. The Gryphon is especially terrifying, well planned, they can rip and tear through a battle line with their ability to gain an additional turn upon killing a target.
Having such different factions makes balancing them quite the challenge. In fact this is the primary reason in deciding to release as an early access game. I need help identifying imbalances to ensure each faction has an even chance against all the others. Because of these differences, each is quite capable of absolutely dominating an opponent in the proper circumstances. Those circumstances however should require careful play to setup, and pulling such a devastating move should be recognized as an impressive feat.
Scenario design is also something I want to get right. At the end of each game, you will be presented with a short form to provide feedback. Do not feel like you need to leave a comment, even submitting a blank form is useful, as it collects metrics on the game you just played, such as how long it took to complete, how much gold left over unspent, and several others which will be incredibly useful going forward in properly tuning the scenarios to provide the best fun and challenge.
A finally big thank you to everyone who has decided to help shape this game while it is in early access.
