It's been almost 2 months since the last update!
Recently I've been seeing more and more people ask when the next update is coming. (Someone even emailed me asking if I was sick) So I guess it's time to talk about what's coming in the 1.0 launch!
When Early Access first started, my plan was pretty simple: just steadily finish all 4 regions, make all the towers and relics I had planned, fix the bugs, and the game should be ready for 1.0! Surely that would only take about a year...right? But once I actually started working on it, I realized things were completely different from what I had imagined. Players often suggested ideas or gave feedback to improve the game, and I'd also keep thinking of things I wanted to add myself. In the end, a whole bunch of things that I had never originally planned ended up being added to the game 😆. Endless Mode was originally going to be much simpler. Infernal Shards were only decided later, and Special Event Characters, holiday events, and the Enigma Sanctum were all things I suddenly thought of. (...And that's how Early Access somehow stretched into two years.)
Since I started planning 1.0 a few months ago, I've been struggling with what exactly should be added in the 1.0 update. I've seen some games where the 1.0 update is about the same as a regular update, but I feel like people still expect to see something new and exciting? But if I spend too much time preparing for 1.0, I'm also really worried that by the time I finish it, everyone will have already lost interest. After thinking about it for a long time, I feel that...the reason Emberward has been able to grow into what it is now is because so many players have supported it. So for 1.0, I want even long-time players who have already played a lot to still have something new to enjoy. If someone has supported the game for a long time, but then when the full release finally arrives, they feel like there's nothing to do because they've already played everything...that just doesn't feel right.
So yeah, as I mentioned in the last update, because there are now tons of things I need to finish, I've recently been putting all of my development time into 1.0! There won't be any other small updates before the full release. Right now, it looks like it'll still need at least two more months, so please wait a little longer! After the new content is done, I'll look for some players on Discord to help test it. So if you're interested in helping out, or if you really want to play it as soon as possible, feel free to join the server, and you'll get a notification later!
As for what's coming in 1.0...
(If you don't want spoilers, don't scroll down!)
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The fifth region!
In this new region, you'll step into a dungeon that has been corroded by void energy. It's filled with strange creatures, energy crystals, and void-covered areas spread across the map.
Oh, and portals. Lots of portals!
The main focus of this area is giving you more ways to change the monsters' paths.
In places covered by the void, you can freely place your blocks, and the blocks will sink down and become new ground. You can place blocks on top of them, or use them to change the route monsters take. By combining wall blocks, void areas, and portals, you can make a really complex maze! Of course, this mechanic gets more complicated in later stages, but...I'll just let you experience it yourselves when you get there 😈
(And yeah, there will be a new boss stage too!)
Title Screen Backgrounds
Besides the new area, there are also some features I had already planned to add in 1.0.
I've always really liked games where, after you defeat the final boss, you return to the main menu and see a new background reflecting what you've just achieved. Then one day I suddenly thought... Emberward has a boss stage for every region. Why not just do that for every region!?
So it became one of the must-have features for 1.0 😆
After you clear each area, you'll unlock its background, and the main menu background will change along with it. You can freely switch to any background you've unlocked, or set it to randomly pick one whenever you return to the main menu. Also, the previous Endless Mode event maps will have their own backgrounds too, which can be unlocked after clearing wave 20.
Block Skins
1.0 will also add some block skins that can be exchanged using EXP! During Early Access, I wasn't sure if I would add more features that used EXP later on, so even after players maxed out all their talents, they would still keep gaining EXP. But now I'm pretty sure that part won't be expanded much more, so I added this feature to give everyone somewhere to spend their extra EXP.
That said, I also don't want new players to feel like they need to waste time grinding EXP just to get skins, so the costs probably won't be set too high. (If you already have tens of thousands of EXP... you probably still won't be able to spend it all 😆)
Tower and Relic Reworks
Since this game has been in development for...more than 3 years now, some of the towers and relics designed early on don't quite fit the design direction of the later content, so they'll need some adjustments. However, this part is relatively lower priority. I'll see how much time is left after finishing the new area, and start with the more important ones first.
New Runes
Yeah, new runes are finally coming! This might be the only system that hasn't been touched during Early Access 😆
I noticed that when choosing runes, most players usually decide based on the numbers. If there's an elemental rune, they go for the element rune. If not, they take an attack boost. So I want to try adding some more utility runes. For example, the Mirror Rune below might not be the strongest in terms of raw numbers, but it can help you quickly set up early defenses, or give extra boosts to certain relics and towers. Some older runes will also get adjustments to make them easier to use.
New Achievements
With the new area coming, there will of course be new achievements too! I haven't decided on the final number yet, but my goal is to have at least 100 achievements in total.
Alright, that's about it for now!
Making this new area is already pretty complicated on its own, and since the game now has all kinds of different systems, I also need to make the corresponding Infernal Shard content, a new flame, achievements, and more at the same time. So the workload is huge! I'll try to finish it as soon as I can. Please be patient with me, and help me share the game with more players!
If there's anything you want to know about 1.0, feel free to leave a comment below! I'll also be sharing development progress for the new area from time to time on Twitter/X or Discord.
- Refi
