TOP DOG

Released: Jan 29, 2025
Platforms
Last updated: 13 Sep 2026, 21:04 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

04 Oct 2025Developer post
Engine Security Patch
A patch for the Unity engine was released yesterday to fix possible exploits. 🫡
01 May 2025Developer post
v1.5D
Added operation name to start button
Added operation name to start button
Original post
27 Apr 2025Developer post
v1.5 - 'Restored'
This update started with an endless mode in mind but once again I couldn't tackle that without risking to mess with the whole game. If I'm going to try that again I'm pretty sure I'll do it with a spin-off/sequel-lite So, the next best thing was to optimize the difficulty curve,
This update started with an endless mode in mind but once again I couldn't tackle that without risking to mess with the whole game. If I'm going to try that again I'm pretty sure I'll do it with a spin-off/sequel-lite
So, the next best thing was to optimize the difficulty curve, increase a bit the average run time and... restore the old missiles system. The new system made things extra hard for some players, forcing them to use guns, took me some time off from the game (and a bunch of negative reviews) to realize that mistake
Talking about reviews, if you're enjoying the game and have some time to spare, please consider giving it a review 🙏
That's it, changelog below 🫡
Restored Missile System

No more need to kill enemies with guns to refill missiles: every 60 seconds you'll get a missile drop, or less, if you have 'Premium' upgrades
Restored the 'Premium+' upgrade so you can go for a missile-ish build
Operations & Enemies

'First Strike' and 'Endgame' are now both daily operations (with daily seed): for easy and hard difficulty
'Hostile Territory' is dedicated to random runs and now has a permanent board: difficulty sits in the middle with a new 'adaptive' difficulty
Sky Towers and Heavy Turrets will shoot only when you are facing them
Elites turn rate decreased a bit
Others

Updated engine to Unity 6
Fixed thrust vectoring animation for 'Vector' and 'Valkyrie' variants
Fixed some (rare) bugs related to bullets
Original post
18 Apr 2025Developer post
v1.5 Preview
Super quick update regarding the upcoming update. You can find it under the BETA branch (look for 'preview' and/or use access code 'topdogtopdog'), I'll write a proper changelog in the official update, here's the TL;DR: Old missile system is back Simplified operation system to 2
Super quick update regarding the upcoming update. You can find it under the BETA branch (look for 'preview' and/or use access code 'topdogtopdog'), I'll write a proper changelog in the official update, here's the TL;DR:

Old missile system is back
Simplified operation system to 2 game modes
Added a permanent leaderboard for random runs with adaptive wave size
Daily runs are a bit longer
Updated engine + some bugfixing
If you're interested, please give it a go and let me know your thoughts! 🫡
Original post
29 Jan 2025Developer post
v1.0 - Release
That's it, TOP DOG is officially out of Early Access! Changelog New main menu + improved settings/input menus Finished a bunch of 3d models Added sound feedback for picking up scraps Added 'operation time' to victory screen and leaderboards See you on the leaderboards! 🫡
That's it, TOP DOG is officially out of Early Access!
Changelog

New main menu + improved settings/input menus
Finished a bunch of 3d models
Added sound feedback for picking up scraps
Added 'operation time' to victory screen and leaderboards
See you on the leaderboards! 🫡
Original post
08 Jan 2025Developer post
v0.99D - 'Done'
This is most likely the final update before the imminent release out of Early Access Thank you for sticking by all these months 🙏 I wish I could have handled better the development between version 0.97 and 0.98 (almost a year gap): at that time I had a bit of a middle-age crisis
This is most likely the final update before the imminent release out of Early Access
Thank you for sticking by all these months 🙏 I wish I could have handled better the development between version 0.97 and 0.98 (almost a year gap): at that time I had a bit of a middle-age crisis regarding the game and spent a lot of time changing and trying new things that were taking the game too far from its core. Hopefully I learned my lesson for future projects
Changelog below 👇
Operations

'First Strike' turned into a proper operation: 5 stages long and with the smoothest difficulty curve of all ops
Increased a bit 'Hostile Territory' score/intensity: which now sits between the new 'First Strike' and 'Endgame'
Removed any daily gating to operations: you'll need unlock them only once (as before)
Space Elevator stage difficulty tweaked to be on par with Space Station stage
Missile System

'Premium' upgrade will now add a baseline missile refill: similar to how it was before the 'FAFO' update
Tweaked some missile refill stats
Miscellaneous

Added 3 simple tutorial screens to teach game's basic mechanics
Defeat/Victory screen updated with some daily stats: total time + sessions
Fixed a bug with the "Space Dog" achievement stats (Menu > Achievement screen): progress was not properly saved
That's it! 🫡
Original post
10 Dec 2024Developer post
v0.99B
Quick but important update that should address most of the hot issues caused by the new missile system Game Start Improved stats for base jet: you can dare to delay mobility upgrades now Improved accuracy and damage for base gun and AC-30 Missile System You now start with a full
Quick but important update that should address most of the hot issues caused by the new missile system
Game Start

Improved stats for base jet: you can dare to delay mobility upgrades now
Improved accuracy and damage for base gun and AC-30
Missile System

You now start with a full reload ready to drop
Tweaked refill rates + made structure/frigate hits refill missiles regardless of damage type
Removed 'Premium+' upgrade
'SWRM-6' refill rate adjusted
Scoring

Stage bonus is now shown all the time under the score, then becomes effective on stage end (as before)
Testing a mechanic where stage bonus decays only when firing: I'm not 100% sure to keep this but if someone wants to stress-test it I will appreciate the report 🙏
That's it! 🫡
Original post
07 Dec 2024Developer post
v0.99 - 'FAFO'
Title explained: F*** around (change the score system) and Find Out (that missiles are broken) This updated started (with v0.98G) as a simple tweaking pass and later become a rework of the missile system and a final pass on the new scoring New Missile System Missiles are now refi
Title explained: F*** around (change the score system) and Find Out (that missiles are broken)
This updated started (with v0.98G) as a simple tweaking pass and later become a rework of the missile system and a final pass on the new scoring
New Missile System

Missiles are now refilled by gun kills: adds a new tactical layer to the gameplay
Missile count is now carried over stages: no more free-lunches
Premium upgrades have been adjusted accordingly
Tweaked capacity of all missile types: 12 for Base and PRDTR-4, 24 for SWRM-6
Known issue: SWRM-6 should be refilled at twice the rate of PRDTR-4
Final Scoring

Nuked the accuracy bonus: it's an all you can shoot buffet now
Added back a time-based bonus ('Stage Bonus') but much more contained than the old combo system: it is given at the end of each stage and you'll briefly see it under the score before the stage ends
Stage bonus is scaled with stage total wave(s) size
Structures & Pickups

Pickups from Ground Outpost, Space Station and Space Elevator will spawn before complete destruction
All structures will now block the next wave until their pickup is spawned
Removed 'Repair & Reload' from the pickup random pool: it is now a simple coin-toss between 'Extra Life' and 'Extra Upgrade'
General Tweaking & Controls

Elites damage reduced by 16%
Frigate (engines), Sky Tower and Heavy Turrets health reduced by 33%: made consistent with the other capital ship weakpoints
Base regen bumped from 4% to 5% per scrap
'Mechanic' regen bumped from 8% to 10% per scrap
'Mechanic+' regen bumped from 12% to 15% per scrap
Added 'Stick Strafe Assist' option (Menu > Controls): on by default (current behaviour)
That's it! 🫡
Original post
01 Dec 2024Developer post
v0.98g
Base regen bumped from 4% to 5% per scrap 'Mechanic' regen bumped from 8% to 10% per scrap 'Mechanic+' regen bumped from 12% to 15% per scrap Pickups from Ground Outpost, Space Station and Space Elevator will spawn before complete destruction
Base regen bumped from 4% to 5% per scrap
'Mechanic' regen bumped from 8% to 10% per scrap
'Mechanic+' regen bumped from 12% to 15% per scrap
Pickups from Ground Outpost, Space Station and Space Elevator will spawn before complete destruction
Original post
25 Nov 2024Developer post
v0.98 - 'Line Up and Wait'
This is the last major update , lots has changed on the wave/enemy balancing so bear with me a little: v0.99/1.0 will be for the last balancing/polishing touches A lot of effort has been spent on making each run as unique as possible with varied and interesting waves and no biome
This is the last major update, lots has changed on the wave/enemy balancing so bear with me a little: v0.99/1.0 will be for the last balancing/polishing touches
A lot of effort has been spent on making each run as unique as possible with varied and interesting waves and no biome repetitions. Also the duration of the average run have been shortened: v0.97 runs were becoming a bit of a chore towards the final waves
There is some new content in this update but it is probably less than what you were looking for and I apologize if I gave wrong expectations: I thought I could do more with it but TD's dev cycle have been quite long and I felt it was more important to improve on the game strengths instead of adding things just for the sake of it and risk to ruin the game
Enough talking, changelog follows 👇
New Structures & Pickups

Added Space Elevator
Added Ground Outpost (WIP)
Updated Space Station with the new heavy turrets
When a structure is fully destroyed a random pickup will spawn: Extra Life, Extra Upgrade or Repair & Reload
New Scoring

Combo system removed and replaced with an accuracy bonus for each enemy damaged/killed event: reason for this change is to give more freedom of action, reward all play styles (not only aggressive) and have a tighter, more competitive leaderboard
HUD updated accordingly
Upgrades

You can now call for an upgrade as soon as the tech level increases: added new input mapping for it
Reroll system replaced by a single reroll option that will work like any other upgrade: reason for this change is to make each run more unique and encourage different approaches
'Armored': back to max hull increase only (extra life is part of the pickups)
'Scavenger': bumped scraps tech increase from 33% to 50%
'Adrenaline' changed: time-dilation when locked by enemy missiles
Enemy Tweaking & Balancing

Rogues are now aces (hexagon on the HUD)
No more invulnerability window for Rogues and Wing Leaders
Enemies are a bit more aggressive in general
'Viper Elite' renamed to 'Elite' and will appear in more biomes (not only space)
Operations & Misc

Back to 3 lives from start and changed the HUD representation: 1 triangle = 1 extra life
'Endurance' renamed to 'Endgame': made it shorter (3 stages) but more intense and with an extra upgrade at start
'Hostile Territory' is now a daily gateway to 'Endgame'
Retry/New buttons on defeat screen: except for 'Endgame' which uses a daily seed and will show only the retry button
⚠️'First Strike' progress will be reset and everyone will have to replay it: needed to gauge how difficult it has become
Visual improvements and tweaking for all biomes
That's it! 🫡
Original post
27 Apr 2024Developer post
SITREP #7 - What's going on
👆 This here (WIP) is a glimpse of where I'd like to take the game: a "somewhat curated" (short) campaign progression around structures/objectives (and not just a random progression of different biomes) but keep the roguelike elements for enemy wave composition and upgrades. Prob
03 Feb 2024Developer post
v0.97 - 'Streamlined'
⚠️ Last time that some achievements will be reset, I promise What changed 'First Strike' simplified and locked once completed: will be further tweaked to become the tutorial operation 'Hostile Territory' is the new 'random' operation which gets unlocked by completing 'First Strik
⚠️ Last time that some achievements will be reset, I promise
What changed

'First Strike' simplified and locked once completed: will be further tweaked to become the tutorial operation
'Hostile Territory' is the new 'random' operation which gets unlocked by completing 'First Strike'
'Endurance' got longer (12 waves) and more difficult in the end: it gets unlocked permanently when 'Hostile Territory' is completed for the first time
Removed 'Blitz': game works better when you build your aircraft from the ground up. Also it was an annoying (daily) gate to 'Endurance'
Tweakings

'Iceman' renamed to 'Adrenaline': slow-motion (less than before) + mobility boost during target locking (when the view is zoomed-in)
'Scavenger': in addition to better scraps attraction there is also an increase in the "scraps to tech" conversion rate
Some waves will now have a specific name to better identify (at a glance) their composition
Some tweaking to biomes
That's it! 🫡
Original post
20 Jan 2024Developer post
v0.96 - 'Reroll'
⚠️ Some stats and achievements will be reset Apologies for the long update: once again things got flipped around but I'm pretty sure this is the last major change to the game structure. With this one the game rolls back a little to how it used to be before the endless/operations
⚠️ Some stats and achievements will be reset
Apologies for the long update: once again things got flipped around but I'm pretty sure this is the last major change to the game structure.
With this one the game rolls back a little to how it used to be before the endless/operations updates: with more randomization and a simpler progression. Let me know what you think!
New Campaign Structure

3 operations: more might be added later depending on feedback
'First Strike' is randomized per run: stage/wave composition and upgrade choice will be different for each new run
The others are randomized per day: stage/wave composition and upgrade choice will stay the same throughout the day and reset the next day
'Blitz' operations are short, intense and start with pre-installed upgrades: currently there's only 'Valkyrie' (which is not very different from v0.95's) but more will be added later to the random pool
You now start with 2 lives instead of 3
Rerolls & Upgrades Tweaking

You now get 3 (upgrade choice) rerolls per operation
Tech leveling has been tweaked to allow quicker upgrading: runs will usually end at tech 6-8
Buffed 'GAU-30'
Added 'Premium+': unlocked with achievement 'Fox Two'
Changed 'Armored': max hull increase + extra life
Other Changes & General Tweaking

Increased Frigate jump time
Reduced invulnerability windows for Rogues and Wing Leaders
Removed Valkyrie sliding on surfaces
Restored triangle icon for Elite Vipers
Changed missile/drone icons to diamond shape
That's it! 🫡
Original post
18 Nov 2023Developer post
v0.95 - 'Operations'
⚠️ Some stats and achievements will be reset Sorry about the stats reset! Was not an easy decision but I managed to limit it to stats related to the new operations system, all the upgrade unlocks and kill stats are intact. Operations There are currently 4 operations: some of whic
⚠️ Some stats and achievements will be reset
Sorry about the stats reset! Was not an easy decision but I managed to limit it to stats related to the new operations system, all the upgrade unlocks and kill stats are intact.
Operations

There are currently 4 operations: some of which are unlocked at start and each with something special. I'm eager to hear your thoughts for making making new operations and/or tweak the current ones
Completing an operation will make it go up one tier (currently up to max 3): the idea is to increase the difficulty each tier and make all operations a viable choice regarding the score/challenge you can get from them
Leaderboard entries will show which operation was run and if completed (otherwise last wave number is displayed)
Main Changes & Tweaking

Replaced endless looping with operations system
Added Space Station enemy, first pass: destruction effects are not finished and its fight mechanics might be changed later
Frigates cannot jump if you destroy their engine
Wing Leaders got a bit more aggressive
Rogues can be killed with 1 normal/swarm missile: makes fighter class (triangle icon) more consistent
Bumped a little base scraps attraction force
GAU-30 damage tweaked
Armor cap restored at 250% (was 200%)
Fixed some inconsistencies with bullets raycasting
Vector: restored normal paint
Valkyrie: comes in black and can now "slide" on surfaces 👀
Achievements

Achievements page: merged stats into achievements
Added ‘Stronger Dog’ achievement
Added ‘Rabid Dog’ achievement
Added ‘Daily Dog’ achievement
Changed ‘Sky Dog’ achievement: now you have to successfully take an extra life from the Sky Tower
Changed ‘Elite Dog’ achievement: reach 1,000 total kills
What's Next?

Tweaking & balancing for the new operations system
Input system refactoring to support multiple devices and possibily a better input binding menu
First player experience: some kind of quick tutorial in the first operation
That's it! 🫡
Original post
04 Nov 2023Developer post
SITREP #6 - Update & 'Operations' Preview
⚠️ v0.92 ETA: Saturday 11th (18th at the latest) What's happening As you can see from the thumbnail, a new enemy is getting ready and as you probably gathered from last update we are going back to a finite number of waves and shorter runs. Your response on last update was very us
25 Sep 2023Developer post
v0.91d
No more tech limits for upgrades: not fun and uncessary nerfing Mechanic+ upgrade is back: same as above Getting Premium upgrade in the middile of a stage will sped up the current reload (if in progress) or do an insta-refill For new players: all upgrades are unlocked during the
No more tech limits for upgrades: not fun and uncessary nerfing
Mechanic+ upgrade is back: same as above
Getting Premium upgrade in the middile of a stage will sped up the current reload (if in progress) or do an insta-refill
For new players: all upgrades are unlocked during the very first operation
Original post
23 Sep 2023Developer post
v0.91 - 'Elites & Tweaks'
Focus of this update has been on tweaking the enemies/difficulty for later waves to avoid the session going on forever. Which brings us to a very important first poll I'd like to make about endless: what do you like about endless? The previous version with 10 waves was definitely
Focus of this update has been on tweaking the enemies/difficulty for later waves to avoid the session going on forever.
Which brings us to a very important first poll I'd like to make about endless: what do you like about endless?
The previous version with 10 waves was definitely too short and difficulty was not ramping up enough towards the final waves, current version does a better job up to the 20th wave, for those of you that go beyond that: at which point do you think the game gets hard enough to be satisfied with the run? (better to check out v0.91 first to answer this)
The reason I'm asking is because I'm thinking of going back to a finite amount of waves/stages, the more answers I get the more informed the final decision will be 🙏
All The Things

Viper Elites got their own icon and special (pew pew) gun
Frigates: main gun tweaking + new mini-jump behaviour
Wing Leaders: gun/damage tweaking
Adjusted tech progression ~~and introduced tech limits for some upgrades, example: Valkyrie appears only from level 6 onwards~~
Missiles tweaking: more damage for Standard and Swarm (2 hits for aces and elites, 1 hit for Vipers and Rogues) + tweaking clip size
Combo system reworked to better account for missiles usage
Armor capped at max 200% (was 250%)
~~Removed Mechanic+~~
Finished Valkyrie model
Some new stats added to the Achievements page
That's it! 🫡
Original post
09 Sep 2023Developer post
v0.90 - 'Endless'
Here it is: the endless mechanic is finally in with a bunch of new stuff and lots of tweaking all around. I've tried a lot of different things for this one, major one was to have a random selection of stages (even from the start) but it didn't feel quite right. The current implem
Here it is: the endless mechanic is finally in with a bunch of new stuff and lots of tweaking all around.
I've tried a lot of different things for this one, major one was to have a random selection of stages (even from the start) but it didn't feel quite right. The current implementation has mostly fixed stages but wave composition and upgrade choices is always randomized.
Balancing probably got broken here and there, so bear with me until we do some more testing and I hope you will enjoy the new stuff! 👇
Major Stuff

Added endless mechanic and reworked stage/wave progression
Upgrade system: now showing only unlocked upgrades + all choices (in case of branching)
Added 'Valkyrie' plane upgrade: Vector + Supersonic + Mecha legs
Added 'PRTDR-4' upgrade (missiles)
'IR-4' replaced by 'SWRM-6' (missiles)
Added 'AC-30': unlocked from the start and now necessary to obtain 'GAU-30' or 'AC-60'
Added 'Viper Elite' enemy: stage 'Zero-G' and 'Rabid Dogs 2' onwards
Added 'Elite Dog' achievement
Tweaking, Polishing & Bugfixing

Rogues are now giving 4 scraps total (was 2)
Frigates no longer give free scraps: you get only what you kill
No more collisions with Frigates and Towers small wreckage
Default missiles: better target tracking
AC-60: damage increase + worse accuracy when overheating
GAU-20: renamed 'GAU-30' + damage increase
Added 'Show Less Players' button to Leaderboards
Showing some stats in the achievements page
Fixed stage freezing when enemies get in the ground (rareish)
That's it! 🫡
Original post
14 Aug 2023Developer post
SITREP #5 - 'Going Endless'
What's happening Plans changed a bit from the last update, many of you have called for an endless mode and so I've been working on that: it wont be a separate mode but part of the main mode. If you are familiar with Nuclear Throne looping you get the idea. I think I need one or t
15 Jul 2023Developer post
v0.85 - 'Lean & Mean'
With this update all mechanics are more or less final : it took a while because I've spent some time testing a few solutions (of varying complexity) for target locking and upgrade selection but ended up streamlining those and not making major changes. Focus will now switch to con
With this update all mechanics are more or less final: it took a while because I've spent some time testing a few solutions (of varying complexity) for target locking and upgrade selection but ended up streamlining those and not making major changes.
Focus will now switch to content creation: enemy types (3-6 more), waves variation, player upgrades (at least 4 more) and polishing.
Game progression/session length is also quite final: 10 waves seem to be the right number but I'm considering adding a difficulty selection at the start of the run that will make the game more challenging for veteran players. What do you think?
All the things

Target Lock (B button/LMB) improved: aim assist + strafe-assist for stick controls
Score combo tweaking: less emphasis on aggressive play, combo decay is now affected by time and gun use
Disabled collisions with enemy fighters and aces
Upgrade selection streamlined: less waiting after a wave clear and bonus upgrade on last wave
IR-4 upgrade improved: ammo + maneuverability increase
Wing Leaders and Rogues invulnerability time tweaking: 30% decrease
AI sticks more to map center: this will lessen the problem of reaching map limits. I consider this one pretty much resolved except for maybe some HUD warnings approaching the limits at a later date
HUD flashing on hits: target icons and menus are no more affected by it
Intro music completed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6rwBrSenQ
Mouse input takes priority over other devices: should help solve input issues some of you are having
Shoutout to Splattercatgaming for covering TD 🙏
That's it! 🫡
Original post

Updates & announcements

Restored Missile System

Operations & Enemies

Others

Changelog

See you on the leaderboards! 🫡

Operations

Missile System

Miscellaneous

That's it! 🫡

Game Start

Missile System

Scoring

That's it! 🫡

New Missile System

Final Scoring

Structures & Pickups

General Tweaking & Controls

That's it! 🫡

New Structures & Pickups

New Scoring

Upgrades

Enemy Tweaking & Balancing

Operations & Misc

That's it! 🫡

What changed

Tweakings

That's it! 🫡

New Campaign Structure

Rerolls & Upgrades Tweaking

Other Changes & General Tweaking

That's it! 🫡

Operations

Main Changes & Tweaking

Achievements

What's Next?

That's it! 🫡

What's happening

Operations

That's it! 🫡

All The Things

That's it! 🫡

Major Stuff

Tweaking, Polishing & Bugfixing

That's it! 🫡

What's happening

That's it! 🫡

All the things

That's it! 🫡