It's finally here!
This update is the most important update since we started early access just over a year ago. Yes, it has a bunch of fun new content including some seriously powerful cards. More importantly though, it fundamentally changes some of the core design and boldly corrects issues that were holding the experience back.
For a thorough breakdown of what those changes are, and why they are so important, check out our previous dev diary here
Or, an even better idea: Give it a try and let us know what you think!
Patch notes
Core Design Revisions
- Health now replenishes each camp, starting health values balanced accordingly. Health is no longer a long term concern, but a clock per day
- Cards are no longer crafting ingredients, and the days of your hand being clogged with branches are no more. Many are now resources, and others have become consumable cards.
- Consumable cards gained in the world now offer a choice of cards representing different ways to use the item
- Camp improvements now use ambition, which is gained by filling deck slots. Growing your deck now has serious benefits.
- Crafted cards have upgrades and a brand new UI
New Content
- A few new Grimp types have been added to fill in the difficulty curve from runt to monstrosities. The Sneaky Grimp has evade, while the Tough Grimp is a nuisance with higher health but low damage.
- Added many new powerful crafted cards, and expanded the tiers of others like campfires and decoys
Quality of Life
- When gaining a card in game, you have the choice to draw to your hand or discard that card
- Turrets no longer do lengthy animation on turn when not firing, instead showing possible target tiles in red
- Game checks for save file issues, and offers a UI to decide how to handle them
Tuning
- Several progression generation algorithm improvements
- Cards have been thoroughly balanced including buffing many max level cards
- Knockback and Stepback improved, including handling of big grimp knocking back from the 'pocket'
- Triobelisk card pool now contains all cards, previously exclusive cards added to the upgrade pool
- Traps and decoys can be placed anywhere on the map (this is super fun)
- Avenging grave doesn't spawn if the enemy killed is a spawn
- Conjuring bowl now offers resources, and has its own visuals with a cool new background
- Recipes are weighted, the chance of discovery is shown in the UI. The weight of upgrades vs initial cards grows with time
- Some categories of objects are placed with a better algorithm that spreads them out more evenly (food, resources to name a few)
- Eggs no longer sometimes spawn a tougher bug, which added randomness counter to the game's philosophy
- Rolling objects cut from game, wildstone source is now a huge crystal with high health. Note: we plan to bring them back in more puzzly scripted ways where they can shine!
- Graves drop loot when self destructing so there is no longer any hidden skill of knowing difference between grave and ghost loot.
Bug Fixes
- Rowan unlock fixed, and info is now clearer (just have chill of the wood active, and protect the friendly trees)
- Fixed several issues caused by an enemy dying on own turn and triggering an event with the wrong reference
- Camp UI no longer lies about possible crafting options
- Attempted fix for rare crash with regenerating weeds
- Invulnerable buff icon and tooltip info improved
- Weird scaling no longer happens when clicking a selected item in a choice UI
Thanks for playing ZOR, and hope to see you in the ridiculously dangerous wilds!
- Clint and Gavin