There has been a lot of radio silence recently here on the development front which is something I want to clear up, especially since the last update was the conjuror beta which still hasn't moved to the main branch.
To be fully transparent I have been busy. Many aspects of life have been a bit of a jumble in the recent months. Between the changing restrictions from covid-19 meaning I am no longer (stuck) in my house, while also giving me more ways to connect to those I haven't seen, I've opted to devote time to aspects of my life I wasn't able to during the development of Strife: The Expanse and the covid-19 pandemic.
Furthermore my friends have also had similar changes to their lifestyle, meaning that I have had less time and opportunity to test changes and updates to the level of bug-free that I'd be comfortable selling.
Because I believe in transparency, even if this is a $2 game I want you to have all the facts.
I am still making content for Strife: The Expanse.
There is no guarantee this content, if ever, could release. I could suffer a freak accident, other life events could occur. I'm one poor grad student doing this as a side hobby. If you've purchased this game (or decide to) do so on the content available.
Any content I add to the game I plan on making free. I feel this is a fair tradeoff to the above uncertainty.
Conjuror Progress
Conjuror playtesting went well. No bugs or crashes occurred in playtesting so I am moving forward and adding achievements as well as doing a few more small changes, and cleanup such as editing the manual included with the game.
As previously mentioned the Conjuror is available in the Steam Beta branch. Try it out if you haven't!
Closing
I hope you all enjoy Strife: The Expanse. I hope to continue being able to add additions to the game for everyone to try.
Conjuror Beta Release
Hey everyone! Hope you are excited for new Strife: The Expanse content! Today marks the beta release for the Conjuror! Swap to the beta branch and try it out!
This post will serve as a small patch post as the character isn't totally finished and still requires testing.
Conjuror
This unit boasts good ranged damage on the basic attack, as well as the ability to buff allied teammates by increasing their attack stat by 3 and lowering their defence by 5. The numbers are still being tested and tweaked so I don't get too attached as this may change as it moves to the stable branch.
-The Archer special attack has been substantially improved and looks insane right now! I highly encourage you to check it out!
-A second page for more units has been added.
-Fixed issue with unit placing UI showing the name of the unit's c# class instead of the unit's actual name. (Ex Flame Wyvern would say Dragon).
To Do:
Achievements still need to be added for the conjuror.
Balance and playtesting still needs to occur.
Closing
Please keep and eye out for more development news and let me know of any issues you experience if you choose to play with the conjuror while she's still in beta! More units will be coming with time (all for free!)
Conjuror Development Announcement
Strife: The Expanse post-launch development has begun! And it is with great excitement I get to announce the first-post launch unit: The Conjuror!
Flavour
The Conjuror is a dark caster, controlling occult magic long since forbidden. This dark magic gives great power, but at the cost of one's life force.
Design Goals
Currently the only unit that interacts with other units' stats is the Shaman, who is able to debuff enemy unit defences substantially and preventing tanky units from being overly strong. However, even with the Shaman's push to go wide, there still seems to be a lot of favor for high defence high health total units. To remedy this the Conjuror will interact with both the attack and defence stat in order to encourage a more weenie/squishy meta. Furthermore a high risk high reward unit is always a good addition to raise the skill cap.
Current Mechanics (Alpha):
Currently the Conjuror casts a spell hitting all units adjacent with a buff/debuff that increases their attack by 3 but lowers their defence by 5 permanently. This will hit allies and enemies allowing you to use this as a high risk spot debuff on enemy units in a pinch, or a way to buff your weenies up. The cooldown is currently 3 turns, however it may need to be scaled with map size to prevent archers from reaching insane attack levels on longer maps.
Finishing Up:
Still plenty of ideas and design space for new units. I have 2 more ideas at the front of my brain for units I really want to add, as well as some additional mechanics to promote movement in matches. More to come!
Furthermore, the leaderboard beta branch is effectively ready to be moved over to main. I just need to do some Q&A to ensure oculus still behaves. Update: This change has been made live.
