Hi and welcome to the 14th development blog for Unleash!
Since the last game update, we have been working on countless different aspects on the game. Most of the changes, improvements or fixes are relatively minor, but a few larger topics have also been touched upon, including: loadouts, new scoring algorithms, new animated 3D models, integration of Steam Cloud and numerous balancing tweaks.
Loadouts
As mentioned in the previous Week 12 development blog post, we are working on a feature that we are currently calling ‘loadouts’ (a working title). The purpose is to limit the amount of monsters that are accessible in-game, without hurting the tactical considerations prevalent in the game currently. Many players have given us the feedback that Unleash can be overwhelming for a newcomer, especially due to the large number of monsters and towers available. This way, the amount of accessible monsters in-game decreases, so it should make it easier to get started. Thus, players will have to choose their loadout before entering a match. Included in the game now (from the next update) is the ‘loadout editor’, where players may customize or build their own loadouts - a bit like a deck building game! Later on, we plan to add much more to the ‘loadout’ selection. Stay tuned for more on that.
(The loadout editor used to create and customize loadouts and the selection of loadout happens in the lobby)
Scoring Algorithms
We have reworked the scoring algorithms for scoreboard / ranking purposes. Especially the overly simplistic scoring model for Line Tower Wars, simply subtracting losses from wins, was nowhere near satisfactory. The new model relies on a number of factors, the most important being how long you last in the game. The more (human) players you defeat, the better your score as well. This makes it possible for us to start building a ‘rating’ for each player, which may later be used for matchmaking. The Classic TD game mode has also seen its scoring model changed, although to a lesser extent. You are penalized less for building excess buildings, and scenarios have a modifiable ‘score factor’ used to multiply the final score of each TD scenario.
New Grumperjumper and Blubbertwister Models
Both the Grumperjumpers and the Blubbertwisters have received or are in the process of receiving a complete makeover. New animated 3D models based on new concept art drawings. The Grumperjumpers are basically a type of horrifically mutated mega-flies that easily leap over walls and towers. The Blubbertwisters could possibly see a name-change, since while the old model was a blubbery twisted worm (hence the name), the new model is inspired by a morbidly disturbed, skin-infected very large mole.
(Grumperjumpers and Blubbertwisters have new animated 3D models, based on new concept art)
Steam Cloud
Starting from the next update, we are now storing personalized settings and data using Steam Cloud, which means that it is linked to your Steam account and not your local PC. All game settings, both graphical, gameplay, UI and audio, etc., are stored in the cloud. All loadouts - customized or created from scratch - are also stored in the cloud. Additionally, any custom keybindings are stored in the cloud, making it a breeze to move between different machines.
Balancing Tweaks
We have carried out several balancing tweaks, some quite minor and some more substantial. The tweaks are based on long-time discussions and numerous internal playtests. Most tweaks are just health increases or decreases to attempt a better balance.
The single largest change is that upgrading a monster from Tier 1 to Tier 2 now costs more, from 500 to now 750. This is done to reduce the amount of early rushing of already upgraded monsters, as this proved to be an extremely hard-to-counter strategy. Certain monsters were especially potent when upgraded early on, such as the Bumblebeast, since it gains the ability to destroy wooden walls on Tier 2.
The Rifteye monster has been considerably buffed, since it was found to be grossly underused and just too weak. It now has much more health and starts with 50 % shield, making it much harder to kill. This should increase its usefulness, obviously, since surviving for longer means reaching further into the enemy base, which means unleashing monsters deeper behind enemy lines.
(The Rifteye monster has been considerably boosted, so it should now be worthwhile to employ - if used correctly)
Closing Remarks
This week has seen a substantial amount of bug fixes, balancing tweaks and small improvements to all aspects of the game. The larger topics were: loadouts, new scoring algorithms, fresh concept art for Grumperjumpers and Blubbertwisters - leading to new animated 3D models, and the Steam Cloud integration for persistence of settings and personalized data.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 9th of January at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Dev Blog :: Week 13
Week 13
Hi and welcome to the 13th development blog for Unleash!
Its Christmas so while we have worked on various task over the week, we will just wish all a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year.
Dev Blog :: Week 12
Week 12
Hi and welcome to the 12th development blog for Unleash!
We are approaching the Christmas holidays, and we want a lot completed before we all take a well-deserved break. This week we have been working on a number of features in Unleash.
BlubberTwister Update
Daniel has been working on the new BlubberTwister designs. They are basically the moles you don’t want to meet in your garden. Massive, burrowing, toothed beings that will eat the average gardner for breakfast, literally.
We plan to have them in one of the following updates.
Configurables Maps
Christian started work on assets for configurable maps. We already finished great assets for tiles where you cannot build towers, and tiles where creatures cannot walk and you cannot build. Currently in the shape of evil voids.
Also, Christian is making different beacons that will have special abilities that influence efficient base building.
When we have some time, we are planning on making a map editor, so you can build custom maps and ideally share them. Basically morphing Unleash into a customizable tower wars game. Oh yeah!
Loadout
Oh - yes, we are working on loadouts.
Loadouts will initially consist of 10 creatures and later on other entities such as special abilities etc.
So instead of having the full creature pool available, players will choose a loadout for each game. Players can create their own loadouts pre-game.
More to come on this!
Closing Remarks
This week was about new features. We love that!
Remember that we play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 19th of December at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile (https://www.twitch.tv/unleashgame). We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Dev Blog :: Week 11
(Showcase of the current state of the game)
Week 11
Hi and welcome to the 11th development blog for Unleash!
This week we have been working on a new look for Unleash. Additionally, a range of bug fixes and general game improvements have been implemented. Also, we are currently hard at work at a launch trailer.
Colors
We carefully studied color palettes to find out how we could ensure that all elements of the game presented themselves nicely and orderly. The first task was to map out the different elements in the game into different color spaces. We decided to ensure that the terrain and level elements used relatively low saturation and medium value.
We then went through different color schemes for the level and decided on a red-green-brown scheme. We decided to place monsters in above-medium saturation and value to ensure they stood out. In that process, we realised that many of the colors for monsters were all over the place. Consequently, we have started a process of bringing monsters into a better color range. This, however, will take some time to complete.
Particle systems will reside in the high value, low saturation space. In fact, most particles will end up with medium saturation to blend in with the rest of the look in Unleash, but their value will be in the HDR space to make them emissive.
Towers Hold Their Own
Towers are a story of their own. We reduced the emission on player colors to get a more grungy look. But since towers are a dark metal grey with some rust and brass highlights, they reside in their own part of the color space.
A Better Sun
We also toyed around with the sunlight to improve the look of the scene. It turns out that - surprise - contrast and mood is really affected by the angle and direction of the sun. It’s one of those things where you wonder why we didn’t do that long time ago. Funnily, we actually did, but thought it was too drastic at the time. Anyway, we opted for a slightly setting sun that gave a nice light with longish shadows to create the right effect and make colors and textures come alive.
The Arena
We then moved on to the arena which needed more work to convey the feeling of presence in the tournament. We ended up with some significant changes to the corners and side walls, with some nice new separators. To add some icing to the cake, we added braziers with flames, inspired by e.g. the eternal flame at the olympics.
The Technical Side
On the technical side we worked on drastically reducing the load time of the game. There were many different improvements, including realising that Substances are basically a no-no for runtime materials. Beyond that this week saw many small tweaks and refinements.
Closing Remarks
This week was mainly about the look of Unleash. We think we are getting closer to the images we have in our heads regarding where we want the game to go visually. But of course, you always realise that once you have arrived, you can go even further. So the quest for stunning visuals continues.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 12th of December at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Unleash Game Update 08-12-2017
0.1.812.114
Additions:
New scene visuals.
Changes:
Tutorial has been removed until an updated version is ready.
Adjusted lighting, post processing image effects and several textures in order to achieve a better, more contrastful look.
New arena pieces with new textures.
Concrete walls with new textures.
Small scale changes for some monsters.
Tweaked colliders (for selection) on monsters.
Minor UI tweaks.
Bug Fixes:
Disabled dropdowns will properly reenable when appropriate.
Creatures can no longer spawn disabled.
Drastically improved load time for the game.
Fixed some foot sliding on Razorlegs Tier 4.
Fixed a bug in swap/move to logic for lobby.
Small general performance improvements.
UNLEASH Otherworldly Nightmares Upon Your Enemies
On the 16th of January players will return to an abandoned Earth to challenge each other on a journey full of monsters and massive weaponry. Unleash establishes the player as a competitor in a life and death galactic tournament where the goals are to build up defenses for your base and to spawn hordes of abominable monsters to attack and destroy everything in their way through the enemies’ bases.
The game’s character arises from its ability to gracefully combine the gameplay of classic tower defense with competitive, thrilling, and intense combat. Furthermore, Unleash facilitates epic scale brawls between eight contestants, creating a unique approach towards the tower defense genre and more importantly, a unique experience for the player. In the early access stage players will encounter at least two distinct game modes : Classic Tower Defense and Line Tower Wars. Classic Tower Defense offers a nostalgic true-to-the-genre experience, while Line Tower Wars immerses you in an aggressively competitive free-for-all atmosphere.
Published and developed by DeSync Studios, Unleash redefines the tower defense experience for both seasoned players as well as newcomers. The game seeks to revitalize the core mechanic of Warcraft 3’s and Starcraft’s custom mod called Line Tower Wars. We envision Unleash to stand as the spiritual successor to those community driven games. We plan to give the players the freedom to contribute to the longevity of the genre through in-game editors.
The title is published and developed by DeSync Studios. For the latest updates and information, check out Unleash on Steam and our website, or follow Unleash on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch and on Imgur. Unleash is scheduled to release on the 16th of January 2018, for Steam Early Access on PC. For additional information and questions, contact us at info@unleashgame.com or join our Discord channel.
DeSync Studios are a group of young and passionate indie developers, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. People of vastly different backgrounds have joined together to pursue a common dream. Unleash takes an established genre and evolves it into a captivating experience full of surprises, running at a tooth-grinding intensity which will require players to make split-second strategic decisions. They will have to manage actively between reinforcing their defensive capabilities and besieging the enemy.
Hi and welcome to the tenth development blog for Unleash!
The game has seen a myriad of bug fixes during the week, as well as three game updates - including the one today. A lot of our work this week has been on preparing the game graphically for the launch trailer, which we have started working on as well. We need a new and better launch trailer before we release the game in Early Access. Some of the graphical refinements include new models for the Teleporter Tower and an animated audience present on the stands.
Launch Trailer
Our old gameplay trailer has become very outdated, as it is based on the old UI and the old lighting model, with no image effects on the camera yet. Thus, the game looks quite differently today than it did at the time of recording our first gameplay trailer. Therefore, we must have a new launch trailer in place before releasing in Early Access, so that we can show players exactly how the game looks and what state it is in.
(A very early test made with Cinemachine and Timeline to prepare for actual work on the Launch Trailer.)
The launch trailer is meant to show in-game footage captured in the game engine, but in a more cinematic way than the first gameplay trailer did. The idea is to show the game from an empty arena to a final state with huge bases and massive monsters. The camera is not restricted to normal gameplay and can for an example move in between towers and monsters, showing the game from their point of view.
Scoreboards
Scoreboards have been upgraded with nicer, more consistent UI, and a much nicer list view for selection of TD scenario. Additionally, scoreboards are now available for all TD scenarios and for the Line Tower Wars game mode. Together with the ‘game overview’ screen received after completing a match, it is possible to view the relevant scoreboard for the played game. Thus, ranking is now fully implemented for Unleash in its current state, although we are still considering how to structure Line Wars scoring practically for the future.
(Scoreboards are now accessible in-game through the overview screen after completing a match.)
Teleporter Tower Models
The Teleporter Tower now has new, unique 3D models for each tier, where it previously only had one model that was scaled across tiers. Thus, each upgrade level for the tower can now be distinctly recognized and there is a clear progression in the way that the models are made. They use the same particle systems, which should help with a sense of connectedness. This also means that all towers have unique models for each upgrade level as of today’s update.
(New Teleporter Tower Tier 2 and Tier 3 models in action.)
The Crowd
We have been working on the map design for weeks. This week we reached the point where we could release the first version of an audience or crowd with our own custom 3D model and animations. While they are still lacking sound and more variety, this first implementation shows the concept at work and helps reinforce the idea that the battle takes place within an arena of sorts.
(First version of a crowd/audience cheering the battle on.)
Bug Fixes
As mentioned a myriad of bug fixes were implemented during the week, including but not limited to: A range of fixes for the Classic TD game mode means that the game mode is finally fully playable in multiplayer with the new UI. Stats recording was also fixed, enabling scoreboards for Line Tower Wars game mode. Additionally, all button icons are now stored with high quality compression to avoid an unacceptable loss of quality in-game.
Closing Remarks
This week saw a lot of stability improvements, bug fixes and small upgrades. The larger theme is preparation for Early Access release, which includes preparations and testing ahead of a launch trailer. Additionally, scoreboards are now pretty much fully implemented, bringing ranking to all relevant game modes in Unleash.
We play Unleash every week, and you can join us for our play sessions. Next one is Tuesday the 1st of December at 17:00 / 5 PM (CET). Join us online for a multiplayer Unleash match!
If you want to see how we play, but cannot join the play session, you can watch gameplay videos without commentary through our Twitch profile. We live stream almost every session.
And remember… Monsters never come alone.
Unleash Game Update 1st of December 2017
0.1.112.107
Additions:
New Teleporter Tower icons that match the model better, especially with the addition of new Teleporter Tier 2 and Teleporter Tier 3 models.
Scoreboard is now available in-game for Classic TD and Line Tower Wars game modes.
Changes:
New models for the arena stands, which reduces the amount of crowd / audience on the stands - for better performance.
Monster spawn VFX is now player colored.
Increased wall-smashing damage of Bumblebeast tiers 2-4.
Reduced the effectiveness of the diesel tower's burn-over-time effect.
Reviewed and standardized the size of all monsters across all tiers for more consistent sizing.
Scoreboards UI has been reviewed, tested and improved; Including a nice list view for TD scenarios.
All TD scenarios now have a fixed random seed, which should give more similar replayability.
Temporarily removed the "Tutorial" button, since the tutorial is completely broken after the UI overhaul.
Bug Fixes:
Removed the background terrain again since it decreased performance too much.
Fixed Cracklecloud dot color to match its locality (air).
All button icons for structures and creatures are now compressed to high quality, preserving a better look.
Public/Private game state only available to the host/master client.
All players in multiplayer TD receives the game end screen now.
"Show all structures" button is not needed for TD scenarios and has thus been removed from the TD game mode.
Unleash Game Update 28th of November 2017
0.1.2811.104
Additions:
New models for the Teleporter Tower's Tiers 2 and 3.
Scoreboard for Line Tower Wars game mode implemented (score is only recorded if game has more than one human player).
New terrain added as background behind and beyond the lanes.
Changes:
New model for the 'cheering crowd' which is more in line with the game.
All new spawn particle system VFX, showing a 'portal' rather than just a light effect.
Bug Fixes:
Multiplayer TD can now be joined via Play Now without being told the scenario does not exist.
Fixed critical bug that broke the UI sometimes.
Fixed stats recording.
Unleash Game Update 27th of November 2017
0.1.2711.103
Additions:
Added the first version of a 'crowd' standing and cheering on the stands.
Leaderboards for Classic TD.
Changes:
New in-game UI is in place for the most part.
A number of updates to networking and the lockstep system.
