Siberian Dawn
Mission Display Additions And A Free Game
- Added “DATA” before the page number on the Data display when it is showing card details.
- Made the deck numbers for RP and TP darken when there are not the active deck in that phase.
- Added a card icon next to each deck value to show connection to mini icon added below.
- RP and TP deck values flash when a card is added to that deck.
- Added mini icons next to each resource pod (R,G,V,B) to show the action they have when clicked.
- Added Strength of an Action to bottom of data display when a Tactic is selected, so player can see the value of the action before it is Set to the unit selected.
I have also today made the first game I made, for Android free until the 6th April for everyone in lockdown so if you have an Android device maybe give Grindle Oni A a try for free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Winterflood.GrindleOniA
Winterflood
Reflecting on Negatives and Keeping Positive
In the real world I have been working on this game on my own for the last 6 years in my spare time as I also look after my elderly mother who can’t get out, so especially at the moment my priority is 1,00 times more towards looking after her, as I am the only person she has to do this, than worrying about the wall of negativity.
So to put it simply I am not worried about the negativity on the game as it is not really important in my world. There are people who are not going to like this game, who seem to be the most vocal, but there are plenty of games out there that will appeal to them. I could spend months making changes to try to make them like the game and still have other people not like something I have done, and I expect their negative opinions will still sit on the game regardless of what changes I make. They posted their opinions and moved on elsewhere now so why should I expect them to return at some point?
Some who have played the free base game have said about simplifying the game and removing a lot of the stuff in it, but there are others who have paid for both expansions and I believe are enjoying the game so why should I then take parts of the game away from these people who have invested in it for a reason. I am focusing on positives for the game and how I can add not subtract from it, and if I change big parts of the game it would not be the same game any more and I might as well have made a new game instead.
During the last few months I have returned to my novel writing and continuing the series I started with the Last Mask Tradition but haven’t been able to do much on with working on Siberian Dawn, and I have also been working on a sequel to Siberian Dawn that will be another deep game, which will probably overwhelm the majority of people, but I don’t do simple as there is plenty of that out there already.
With Siberian Dawn I have also decided to scrap the Campaign mode as I don’t think it would offer enough of a different experience than just playing the missions on their own. But I have been working on a replacement mode called Crisis which uses a Rouge-Like structure and gives the player something different from playing the missions. Still a lot to do with it but I think it will be a significant addition that will give a lot of replay value to the game.
So I am not worried about the wall of negativity or people who this game is not right for, and instead I am focusing on keeping things positive and concentrating on what is really most important. It is up to you if you want to keep adding bricks to the wall of negativity or instead be positive, but I am not letting it drag me down any more.
3.0 The End Of The World Update?
Introduction
Today Siberian Dawn receives it biggest update so far with the release of version 3.0 “The End Of The World Update?” giving you some big game updates along with the release of Mission Pack 2 with 3 new full Missions that complete chapter 1 of the Siberian Dawn story. Below I cover the changes 3.0 brings and what is in the Mission Pack 2 DLC, which is available now in store.
Fate Helix Sub Hub Added
Where previously you had to either have Overseer game sense or a piece of paper to judge what fates had been drawn from each pile of fate cards now there is a handy Fate Helix Data Sub Hub available. When you have to pick a Fate deck to draw from you will now also get a pod showing “?” and clicking on this will bring up the Sub Hub, or you can open this at any time from the Data Hub.
You will find in the Fate Helix Sub Hub two tables. The one on the left shows you the contents of each Fate deck and the values of all the cards in that deck, and the table on the right shows you all the Fate draws from each deck since that deck was shuffled. So you can now see what you have drawn since a reshuffle and using the other table what you could expect to draw. This brings a new tactical edge to the game and also gives a clearer picture of how the Fate mechanic works in Siberian Dawn. You can of course continue to play with just you game sense and not click on the “?” the choice is yours.
Status Cards Have Act Ability Added
At the start of a Mission you had very little to do in the Tactics phase until you deployed a unit but now each of the 4 Status Tactics cards now has an Act ability that will give you one of the resources in the game for the cost of C equal to the card Rank, 1 or 2.
Focus will give you 1 Ü in the Bank, Cover will give you 1 Vitae, Withdraw will give you 1 Glory, and Heavy Cover will give you 1 Influence on each flank. This expansion of the Status Tactics cards gives you new choices in the early game for increasing your resources but also offers a dilemma latter for using these card for the resource gain or the tactical option.
Threat Glows Red When Modified
The Threat Level track will now flash red when it has been modified to give you a clearer indication that there has been a change in the Threat.
Union Heroes Upgrade
The two Union hero units, Rank 7, had abilities that worked while they were in your hand and not deployed which wasn’t very useful, and they really needed to be more powerful units. So now Voetov has gained Shield instead of his making Union units cheaper to buy when he was drawn, and Secka has gained a new ability called Force instead of the Flock ability she previously had, which works in a similar way but at the start of each Round she gives +1 C for matching Bloc symbols with other deployed Union units.
Litalis Cards Upgraded
Each Guild in the game has a mechanic speciality, Animus is Flock, Conscientia is Draw, and Silentium is Echo, but the Letalis Guild didn’t have a clear speciality. Now they have their abilities based on the current Threat Level and the higher the Threat the more they will give you from their abilities making them far more interesting than previously and also giving you a new tactical decision for reaping a greater reward if you can handle a higher Threat Level.
Strategist Fixed
Fixed Strategist bug for if she was dropped as the last card in hand and she still activated her redraw ability. She always draws cards equal to those left in hand not including Strategist so the game now displays her drop action as with no effect if she was the last card in hand.
Mission Pack 2 Added
Mission Pack 2 gives you the second 3 Missions of the Siberian Dawn story, completing the first chapter of this tale. These missions bring a unique set of objectives to be completed that will push your strategic abilities to new levels beyond what has come before. With new cards, hostile units, and challenges for each Mission this pack takes Siberian Dawn and the Lore Engine to the next level.
The fight against the Dawn in IH54 comes to a conclusion with this update and the fate of the Union and Siberian Dawn is now in your hands.
Will this be the end of the world or the start of a new dawn?
3.0 Coming Soon
Currently testing the new missions for Siberian Dawn and you can expect these to arrive in the next few weeks along with a number of additions to improve the game, and here are the highlights of what you can expect to see with 3.0
Status Act
The four Status Tactics cards will each gain an Act ability with 3.0 that will let you use Command points to increase one of your other resource values, giving you more options in the mission for using Command and adding early mission choices for the Tactics phase when you don’t have any deployed units.
Fate History
When you have to pick a Fate with 3.0 you will be able to open the Fate Helix sub hub and see a table showing the cards in each Fate pack, and also get a history of the previous draws for each Fate deck from the last shuffle. This will also be available on the front screen of the Overseer Data sub hub to view at any time.
Threat Flash
The Threat Level track in 3.0 will flash red whenever it is modified to make a change more clearer.
Mission Pack 2
Mission Pack 2 will be added with 3.0 giving you 3 new missions that cover the final half of Chapter 1.
Android
And finally, with 3.0 Siberian Dawn will also be available on Android, with the same content released on PC at that point.
So if the testing goes smoothly 3.0 should be with you soon.
State Of The Union 2.0
https://steamcommunity.com/app/922880/discussions/0/1636416951447570744/
Siberian Dawn 2.1 – May The Fourth Be
This update gives you a 4th tutorial that shows you some of the important things that the Core game adds to Siberian Dawn, including Anarchy and the Bond system. The tutorial also shows you some of the more powerful units you can use.
Now on to finishing the Android version, so any feedback is welcome.
Siberian Dawn 2.0 – The Smartly Dressed Update
After several months of hard work version 2 of Siberian Dawn was uploaded today and there has been a lot added to the game to make it a superior version to what was available previously. The various additions are covered below and I hope you enjoy this new version of the game, and please let me know what you think as this is how I can continue to improve the game and if I am doing things right.
HD Upgrade
Upgraded all the graphics to HD so game can be played in sharper 1080 resolution. This can be switched to old resolution on front menu and if you can run HD the game will start for the first time after update in HD.
Learning Improved
Added three detailed, interactive tutorials to take you through all you need to know to play the base game. These can be found in the mission menu.
Oversight has been removed as the tutorials fill the role of teaching the game as you play a mission and have made this obsolite.
Orientation is now replaced by the tutorials for learning the game and it is now a series of guides to help support the game a give information about the various parts of a mission.
Interface Updates
Menus have been changed but this is currently a work in progress and one of the next updates will bring an improved look to them.
Changed the Ü used on the Bank pod to a B to make it more intuitive and distinct from the Union Credit pool.
When an action resolves if it is going to change the value of a pool the pod for that pool will now glow green or red to show this.
Card Updates
Updated deployable unit cards, changing how Defence and Distance are shown, both were just numbers that might not have be distinct but now Distance is shown in the middle of a set of arrows and Defence is a number of squares running around the life box.
Updated action tactic cards to match the above unit update and make them clearer. Range is now shown with an arrow graphic and Strength is shown with an X. Both of these values are also shown on the right column of tactic so they can be clearer seen when in hand.
The Road Ahead
This update has added a lot but still work continues on the game and here a few of the things planned
Tutorial covering Core game additions
Upgrade menus
Graphics and art updated
Content Control menu
Game play and world videos
Finish Mission Pack 2
Android version
Mostly Positive
Mostly positive...
Today I am mostly positive. The game is currently mostly negative, but I am mostly positive and celebrating today, and my painting on this post might give you a clue why.
To mark today I was planning on releasing something of a celebration for Siberian Dawn but obviously I am busy working on 2.0 so haven’t had the chance yet to work on the celebration, but I do plan on adding it in the near future when 2.0 is done and everyone is happy… well probably not everyone, hopefully a few at least, or a couple maybe.
2.0 is still going well, currently finishing the code to run the tutorials and then I will work on the tutorial scripts that need to be put in this code. So keeping it positive today, and looking forward to revealing Project 50 post 2.0.
Winterflood
The Road to 2.0 Update
Have now updated all the graphics in the game to HD. It has taken a while as there was a lot to do with over 100 cards to rebuild and a lot of code to update to make sure it is all being displayed correctly, but that is done now and I can move onto improving the training and building the new menus.
Included a picture with this update showing a comparison between SD and HD on a HD screen so you hopefully can see the improvements and how there is also more space between the screen elements, which should makes things clearer.
So just a quick update so you can see I am still busy working on the game and what I have been up to with it.
Apparently you can't view the image large on here so here is a link to a full size version - https://boardgamegeek.com/image/4738862/winterflood
A Second Dawn ?
DOA
The launch of Siberian Dawn in September was a bit disappointing to put it mildly due to a number of different problems that were not directly connected to the gameplay itself, which I believe was perfectly fine. I am not going to go in to extensive detail about the problems but with mistakes made with a test group that I believed wanted to play the game and offer feedback but ended up being mostly a silent front I launched the game having to believe in what I had at that point and see what happened. I also probably foolishly believed that it would get more support from different websites that I talked to but that never happened.
Not Physical
One big mistake I made was with the rules and teaching the game, I treated it like a physical card game and presented the rules in that manner. I am now fully treating it as a digital game and looking at how to present it clearly for that medium, with better Orientation and a new training mission. I have also not been able to present the world of Siberian Dawn fully yet either. There are mysteries to reveal and much more background that I want to present to best show off this game and where it is developing. Narrative and world building are important here so I want to get it right. And as I am now concentrating on this fully being a digital game there are new areas of the game that I can explore without considering it as a physical game.
One Vision
People may also not be aware that everything in this game is done only by me, so although you are getting one person’s vision with me handling every part of the game you are also getting one person’s perspective, which without feedback might sometimes make mistakes as with teaching players the game. I have had a couple of people offer great comments post launch which have helped improve the game but apart from these it has again been silence, so I have to trust what I am changing is best for the game and that people are interested in playing Siberian Dawn. It also takes a while for me to do all the things I want to do with the game, so I have not abandoned the game as some might speculate but I am busy making these changes.
Version 2
So at the moment I am currently working on version 2 of Siberian Dawn with a large number of improvements that I hope will give the game a solid base that can then have future expansion easily added, while allowing players to quickly get into the game and fully enjoy the experience. Below are the planned improvements and there will still be an Android version hopefully when version 2 is finished, but obviously I didn’t want to release the launch version of the game on Android when there were problems, mainly with training, that needed fixing first.
New Oversight tutorial missions
Restructured Oversight
1080 HD version of the game
Graphics and art updated
Content Control menu
Game play and world videos
Finish Mission Pack 2
Android version
What Next
It would be great to have feedback, and if people talk to me and show an interest then I will talk about the game more, it is the best way to develop this, but obviously if it is still silence then I will not use my time to talk about what I am doing but use it elsewhere instead.
Stephen