Hey!
This update has been a long time coming!
We have just released a new Playtest version on Steam, available to anyone interested.
All you have to do is visit our Discord channel to request an access key if you don't already have it!
If you choose to try it out, we would greatly appreciate if you also take a small moment to drop some feedback on our feedback-channel on Discord. This will help us improve the game and make sure you get a better experience playing it!
Feel free to record and share your gameplay with us, that is always appreciated and can be a very helpful insight into how the game is played!
Take note that the current Playtest is a limited version containing only the first two levels, and a handful of upgrade options. You can think of it as a limited access Demo of the game.
Remember to follow and wishlist the game on Steam as well, so you get notified on future updates and when the game is released!
So what have we been doing?
We'd like to let you in on our progress so far, as well as our plans going forward.
Below are some of the major features we've implemented since we last posted. Note that not all features are made available in the current Playtest build. We will disclose more info on them a little later though.
Vikingpedia
The Vikingpedia contains lore, stats and general info about the game. It's accessible in the lobby and through the ingame settings menu
We now have the following entries:
- Enemies (new entries unlock when meeting a new enemy)
- Bosses (new entries unlock when meeting a new boss)
- Towers (new entries unlock when you acquire new towers)
- Buffs/Debuffs (available from start)
- Tips/FAQ (available from start)
Gamepad support
The game now fully supports gamepad controller input, though there may still be a couple kinks that we need to work out.
Input Customization
You can now rebind each input action. Rebinding an existing input will dynamically swap the inputs and provide an info message. Inputs can also be reset to default layout.
Player attack systems
We have overhauled the players melee attack system, using improved hitbox detection, nicer melee trails and generally trying to increase the feeling of power to melee impacts.
Each class has a unique melee strong attack that do massive AoE/splash damage, stunning any enemies that are still alive after the impact. These can be unlocked with Firestone through the Mothership upgrade section in the lobby.
Damage types
There are two main damage types; Physical and Arcane. Physical works well against unshielded enemies, but do reduced damage against shielded.
Arcane is the opposite, working well against shielded enemies, but does reduced damage to unshielded enemies.
This system applies to damage towers and the player weapons. One thing to note is that the player melee weapons do equal damage to both physical and arcane, at the cost of being up close and personal.
Main towers
The main damage towers have gotten an overhaul, both technically and visually. Their targeting has been improved so they prioritize the enemies they work best for. Each tower level now also has a distinct look, an obvious necessity for quickly assessing the battlefield conditions. We've renamed the towers to keep them in line with a common theme.
This is the current available loadout:
- Drake - Turret tower dealing physical damage. It is the first tower available to players. It is a rapid firing, low damage tower that deals physical damage. Quite effective against low-level unshielded enemies.
- Rooster - Sniper tower dealing physical damage. Takes a long time to shoot, but has a great range and does a lot of damage to unshielded enemies.
- Boar - Mortar tower dealing physical splash damage. Shoots exploding cannonballs, which can be very effective against large groups of unshielded enemies.
- Kraken - Projectile launcher dealing arcane damage. Shoots heat-seeking projectiles. Has a pretty low damage, but can be quite effective against shielded enemies.
- Wolverine - Sniper tower dealing arcane damage. Takes a long time to shoot, but has a great range and does a lot of damage to shielded enemies.
- Arachnid - Mortar tower dealing arcane splash damage. Shoots exploding energy balls, which can be very effective against large groups of shielded enemies.
Preview examples of the Drake and Rooster tower levels:
Support towers
In addition to the damage towers there are 4 towers that provide passive support, either by debuffing enemies or buffing the players. Each of these are uniquely tied to their own class.
- Vulnerability tower (Berserker class) - Gives a vulnerability debuff to nearby, increasing the damage given by towers and players.
- Slow debuff tower (Nidingr class) - Gives a slow debuff to nearby enemies, reducing their movement speed.
- Healing buff tower (Hird class) - Gives a healing buff to nearby players, restoring some health over time.
- Energy buff tower (Smidr class) - Gives an energy gain buff to nearby players, increasing the divine energy gained from killing enemies.
Classes and Rank system
You have a choice between 4 unique classes; Berserker, Hird, Nidingr and Smidr.
Each class has a distinct look and weapons loadout.
Each class will gain a rank point when beating a level that they have not previously beaten. Each rank requires 2 "rank points" to increase to the next rank level, up to a total of 3 rank levels.
Each rank point will increase the base stats for the chosen class, e.g. more health, higher damage, higher movement speed etc..
Each rank level will unlock a special ability or a unique tower.
For instance, the Berserker class unlocks the following:
Rank 1: Vulnerability tower
Rank 2: Lower health increases melee attack damage
Rank 3: Shotgun Ultimate attack, a barrage of high-energy projectiles knocking down or stunning all enemies in front of the player
Enemy variation
We have added a bunch more variation to the enemy abilities/attacks. Some examples include:
- Some will start with shield
- Some will attack towers
- Some will be flying, which only some towers are able to target
- Some summon more enemies at their current position
- Some explode on death
- Some split into smaller version of themselves on death
- Some summon totems that buffs other enemies, disable towers, turn towers against the player etc...
Hard/challenge mode
We have added a hard mode that is unlocked after each level is defeated. At the moment it is essentially a harder version of the same level, but we are looking at ways to make it more interesting/challenging. When defeating a level on Hard mode you are rewarded with a Golden Bracelet. This can be traded for a single-use Nuclear missile that will wipe all living enemies of the map.
What is the plan going forward?
Our priority going forward is to finalize and polish enemy and boss behavior/abilities - and making sure each level looks and plays as good as possible.
Apart from that we're working on a few other features:
- More mothership upgrades/ultimate attacks
- Ingame voice chat
- Connecting directly to a lobby using an access key