Genre: Turn-based strategy (TBS), Indie, Card & Board Game
Space Grunts 2
Update v1.15.0: New FRIENDLY life forms!
A short but sweet update this week: NPC's! I was planning on adding NPCs for a while now, but I had to figure out their usefulness first.. which I did! You'll now find that NPC's can be holding red-keys, power-data cards or just random items.
I hope to add more functionality to them in later stages, maybe small quest/assignments they want you to do before they can help you out, but for now, it's fun seeing other faces around the space station ;)
Based on feedback, I also added the Modifier cards and Perma-buff cards to the pause screen (this actually took up most of the work for this update!). So if you forgot what your active modifier cards do (those you gain in-between levels after leveling-up) just pause the game, and select it for a reminder!
While working on that part, I also came to the funny conclusion, that perma-buff cards (unlocked by completing a full run and defeating the boss) didn't.. uhm... actually.. activate! :D oopsy! Fixed now ;)
Don't forget to leave a little review if you enjoy the game! It helps me a LOT getting the game more attention and that in turn allows me to keep working on it for a bit longer.
Full changes list:
added: can now also check on your Active modifier cards
added: NPC's with various items (random, red-card, power-card)
added: Modifier cards now also added to pause screen
fixed: oops! perma-buff cards were never actually activated :D - fixed!
Update v1.14.0: New Aliens and blindness!
A couple of tiny little aliens are added to the mix this week, and the black Ooze one comes with a new opponent-card: Ooze spit. Which will blind you for an X amount of turns! And when you're blind, your attack damage will not be a 100% certain! So watch out for that one.
Acido is another Acid based creature, but with a fast 2-turns movement speed. We just didn't have enough of those going around yet ;)
While adding blindness to the game, I also noticed the your sickness state isn't actually saved! not a big problem, and hardly noticeable (since nobody mentioned it) but it's fixed now !
Full changes list:
added: new creature: Ooze
added: new creature attack - Ooze spit
added: new creature Acido (fast acid spitting creature)
added: player can now become blind(ed) (by ooze spit)
fixed: saving Sickness state of player
Update v1.13.0: Set of new cards
Simple update this week, a small set of new cards. I included a couple of passive cards (those you get when you grow a level in between levels) and the rest is a couple of weapons and two other interesting ideas I had.
I especially love the "Bag of Sand" and the "Random" cards as they spice up things nicely! Let me know what you think, and if you have great ideas for cards, don't be shy and let me know!
While I have your attention, I made a fun little arcade game called Snake Core, and you can wishlist it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1262770 which would really help me by the time it releases (more wishlists, often help boost visibility) so thanks in advance!
Full changes list:
added: new item - Super-shocker - like shockwave but wider range
added: new item - "Overheated" gun card - will do good damage, but you'll drop some cards from your deck (due to hotness)
added: new item - "Sandbag" the sand will blind your opponent. Turning their attacks into random hit and mostly miss.
added: new item - "Random" when played turns into a random other card.
added: new passive card: Fruity - all fruit will be healthy
added: new passive card: Pillpop - sickness will not befall you!
fixed: Updated the wiki with new aliens+cards info
Update v1.12.0: Terminals and Datacards
Wall-terminals are here! and to operate them, I also included a couple of Data cards you need to find to operate them. The terminals will show up from level 3+. On some floors you'll now find that the exit has no power, so in order to activate it, you'll need to find a Power data card, and use it on one of the wall-terminals. This is one of the first little changes to make "roaming around" a bit more interesting, and less "find-the-exit-and-do-it-again". You'll also notice there's always a teleporter near the exit, so if you use them correctly it hopefully means you don't have to do too much grinding/back-tracking ... see.. it's all coming together now!
Not a lot of big changes this week besides these terminals, because I'm in the middle of wrapping up a new game: Snake Core.. so it's a lot of juggling with these projects currently!
One small thing, if you're enjoying the game, PLEASE leave a review! It will help me a lot getting this game into a wider audience, and that again helps in me keeping up these updates and supporting the game! so if possible, drop a little review on the Steam page? :) thanks!
Full changes list:
added: Wall terminals
added: new item: Power data card
added: new item: Fireman data card
added: Exit-consoles can now have no-power
added: Junk can now be punched (fists)
fixed: crashed space ship / big-statue aren't correctly solid/blocking player
update v1.11.0: New life and Teleporters
Captain, we discovered new life forms! I figured it was about time to add some fresh meat to the game, so you'll be able to encounter three new creatures, one of which is very fast: it can take 2 turns so might be harder to escape from!
The tornado's were still causing some issues here and there, so I added more code to (hopefully) avoid all issues where a tornado somehow seems to fling you into the big unknown: Space. Let me know if you still run into those issues (and preferably with a screenshot and through discord.gg/orangepixel .. thanks!)
Transporters now have gotten even more functionality, as mentioned last week, so now stepping onto a transportation spot pops-up a little choice. Either set it as a new safe-spot, use it to teleport to the last set safe-spot, or just ignore it (if you stepped on it by accident).
The last safe-spot teleport is also shown on the radar in Blue.. and I think it's about time to add some sort of legend to the map-screen in an update soon!
For now, enjoy the life-forms and teleportation functionality captain!
Full changes list:
added: Transporters now give the option to use them (beam out) set as safe spot, or leave them
added: latest transport spot is highlighted on the radar
added: new creature: Nilo
added: new creature: Brocko
added: killed aliens will sometimes lave a smelly corpse attracting other creatures
added: some creature can now have faster movement (2 tiles instead of 1)
added: "speed" info to alien-codex
fixed: tornado's flinging you around the map will check wider surroundings
fixed: multi-turn locks up player if alien dies with turns left
fixed: tornado-fling will also show your surroundings (calculate FOV)
Update 1.10.0: Let's eat FRUIT and rebalance
It's a big one this week! Version 1.10.0 comes with a host of new goodies, big changes, and some planning for future updates. So let's dive into the juicy stuff.
And IT IS juicy this week, you'll now find the planet has a host of different fruits and these are a little different from your normal items. Fruit is "instant" so if you pickup a fruit, it's effects will be instant and not card-based. In most cases the fruit will increase your health with +1 or +3 (depending on the size of the fruit).. but every now and then, the fruit can be rotten.. and there is always one type that's poison. So figure out which is poison, and avoid it as much as possible.
My idea behind this feature is that it is an alternate way to increase your HP, and it should help getting deeper into the game. Because it helps.. I of course had to add an opposing effect. So you might find that some of the aliens are now more aggressive. I've been rebalancing some stuff, and also made aliens more likely to attack you (to avoid being able to breeze through a group of aliens without ever getting attacked).
More balancing is done in the shape of increasing your XP, which should now be slightly faster, so it also makes it possible to level-up faster. Still tinkering with it!
Besides the fruit, there are some new level layouts, there is now a fruit-room, and a bunch of graphical changes left and right.
Another BIG change is the function of teleporters/safe-spots. I always found them a little underwhelming and function-less. SO let's improve it. The "Retreat" card in battles is now replaced with a "Beam out" card, which will instantly bring you to the last safe-spot (and end the battle). This makes the teleporters suddenly more interesting, because you can now trigger them near the exit, or near a fruit-room, or at least in a safe spot somewhere in the level.
I will be expanding on this idea for a future update, as one of my plans is to start adding some more "tasks" to the levels. Right now the only task is finding a red key, to open a red-door, and use the exit. But I want to add a few things like: the exit might not work, unless you activate/hack a few consoles somewhere in the level. Or the red-key isn't available in the level, but taken by a monster or a specific NPC has it (and yes, there will be NPC's coming to the game).
I got plans! For now, boot up the new version, give it a few goes, and let me know if I broke anything else while doing all these improvements ;)
Full changes list:
added: Fruit - instantly heals, but can be rotten (lowers HP) or poisonous (sickness)
added: Fruit-room
added: few new level building blocks
added: seeding number to pause screen (for bug fixing)
added: graphical destruction to walls near explosions
added: increased enemy spawns in later levels
added: replaced (fairly useless) "Retreat" card with "Beam out" card - taking you to last safe spot
added: Trinket info now shown every game on first pickup
added: visibility (field-of-view) now smaller when in darkness
added: Card stats now show passive/buff card info (and correctly sorts them)
added: teleporter spots near exits
fixed: minor background graphic improvements
fixed: in-teleporting aliens should never be sleeping
fixed: slight increase on alien attack-chance in later levels
fixed: phantom red-keys (when alternate routes are available)
fixed: level-generator bug in 4-direction rooms
fixed: small bug in random drops (items, cards, fruit, etc)
fixed: VERY rare bug where tornado could put you inside an unescapable small area
fixed: "Exit" button on "game completed" screen not working (because of all buff cards unlocked)
fixed: lowered "XP" steps required to unlock later XP levels
fixed: power-shield card ended turn (for no apparent reason)
fixed: monsters now more likely to avoid hazards when moving (like acid)
fixed: using medikit at HP station - doesn't cure sickness
Update v1.9.0 : New environments
This weeks big new feature comes in the shape of new environment graphics. I decided it was time to spice up the variation a bit, so there are now alternate versions of graphics for each region, and the game will alternate between those for the various levels. It's a tiny thing gameplay wise, but it does make the game feel fresh again!
While doing new graphics I also added a tiny amount of new level-layouts, so you might find yourself wandering in new areas now and then!
Most of this weeks code was preparing some under-the-hood stuff for future updates. I haven't been adding new cards because I made a thinking error in my code/design, making it hard to add new cards without messing up a bunch of things like statistics and unlocked buff cards, etc. The code to fix all that is now running in this version, which makes it possible again to start adding new cards in future updates.. I have some ideas already!
Finally I fixed a few bugs and small annoyances.. game on Captain!
Full changes list:
added: alternate graphics for every region (randomized for more variation)
added: new level building blocks
fixed: re-organized skills and buff card code handling for future updates
fixed: split tornado-event and single-tornado dialog text
fixed: healing (sickness) now only works when using a medi-kit or enhancer card
fixed: player energy wasn't correctly saved in saved-game
for support, questions, or just Space chit-chat, make sure to check discord.gg/orangepixel #spacegrunts !
Update v1.8.0 : Character customization
A much requested feature is some sort of character customization, so guess what! We now have character customization! It's not over extensive because the game doesn't really have a huge amount of statistics that change the game's progress. There is strength, defense, and tech and of course your health.
I might expand on this in future updates, but such an update will require a lot more work because any extra properties are required to drill down to every system that makes up the game ! So adding properties is easy, but having them connect with all the other game stuff takes some thought.
For now, I think this is a pretty cool step towards modifying the challenge of a single run!
I also made mechanical-walls show up more visibly on your radar, as I noticed some players weren't aware enough and at times missed the fact that some walls had walls that only open up when you are near them. This should remedy those problems.
There was also, still, some occasional problems with the boss-level not generating an exit/boss/ending. I added a few more checks for when such a thing might happen and then fix those cases.
Full changes list:
added: Character customization
added: mechanical walls are now visible on the radar
added: double check for levels creating an exit
added: transparency to walls blocking your view
fixed: Tornado's now vanish after tossing player 3 times
fixed: progress-menu items design
Update 1.7.0: Tornado season
Another week, another update! This one is a bit fun, I had this silly idea for a Tornado entity. You can't fight with it, or interact with it.. you can only try to avoid it .. OR NOT! Because bumping into it isn't pure good or bad.
When you hit the tornado it will reshuffle your full deck (always) and there's a fairly big chance that it will fling you around the map a bit; placing you on a nearby tile. Both the reshuffle and the flinging might actually turn out pretty well if you are in a crowded area!
There is now also a Tornado-Event added to the random event-pool, in which case those tornado's will be all over and in much bigger numbers than in a normal round.
So enjoy! :)
Full changes list:
added: Tornado entities - they shuffle your deck, and teleport you to last safe spot
added: Tornado season event (many tornado's)
added: new hints (on character select screen)
Fixes:
fixed: improved settings menu items
Update 1.6.0: Exploration
Let's change up the level layouts a bit for this update. The game now comes with a couple of new level-design blocks, and also a new "Mechanical wall". These are walls that slide up and down either automatically, or when you get near them. This makes for some interesting level designs and requires a bit more exploration to discover some hidden hallways.
I also rebalanced the end-boss. He was often found a bit overpowering and too strong to take out, even if you had a huge amount of energy. There's now some capping on his skills, and I think this makes him slightly easier to beat... of course, you first need to reach him!
Full changes list:
added: update info dialog at start
added: mechanical-walls
added: variation of new level design-blocks
Fixes:
fixed: better balancing on the strength of The Blob (end boss)
fixed: possible cause for rare crashing when using Vial card
fixed: Bio-dome showing up multiple times in a game
