Everpixel Tactics: The (Not) Abandonware Update

Overview

Firstly, Everpixel Tactics is not abandonware - I have not abandoned the game. This last year has been crazy between work (lots of overtime), hobbies (training for jujitsu tournaments), and everything else, but I'm getting back to the grind of finishing the game. So why have I been radio silent? Firstly, I did burn out a bit on the game, and it was obviously of my own doing. In a rush to get the game out of the door, much of the code became of a very poor quality, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to both add new features and fix bugs.

Additionally, I was growing increasingly unsure about the "campaign" portion of the game. Everpixel Tactics was always supposed to have a heavy focus on combat in a zany, procedurally-generated world. So, I spent a good chunk of the last year almost completely rewriting the core code of the game (it's much better off for it!) in order to refocus. Additionally, I've been playing a few games here and there looking for nuggets of inspiration (Faster Than Light comes to mind.)

Time is a finite resource, and between work, hobbies (MMA, jujitsu), and the game...I decided to eschew writing these updates as it takes precious time from developing the game itself. Having spent a lot of time rewriting the game, I'm prepared to give a laundry list of updates. I expect the newest version of Everpixel Tactics to come out later this year, but I'd be doing everyone a disservice in trying to predict a specific date at this time.

Finally--importantly--I've reduced the price of Everpixel Tactics to $0.99. I'd make it free if I could, but taking a formerly paid-game to a free game on Steam appears to be more difficult than it's worth. Why do this? Because I want to apologize to the community for how long this game has been in development hell, and I want to make sure that everyone can enjoy the game - whenever it finally comes out.

Changes

• Heavier on the Roguelike: Inspired by games like Faster Than Light, Everpixel Tactics's campaigns have been drastically reduced with an emphasis on replayability - expect roughly 10 missions per campaign. Sometimes less is more.
• Renewed Focus on Combat: The new version will have a renewed focus on difficult, gritty combat. I am doing away with exploring the campaign map (see point about time being a finite resource above.)
• Perk Trees: Some of the perk trees have been merged, changed, or removed entirely. Sometimes less is more, and the previous perk system was overwhelming. There will still be hundreds of perks and dozens of perk trees, but I'm looking for ways to make building a zany mercenary company more accessible.
• From Squads to Parties: Have I mentioned that sometimes less is more? The combat in previous versions could take a very long time with so many characters. The new version will allow for only 6 party members to be taken into battle at once. Expect fewer characters in battle generally.
• Simplified Stats: Everpixel Tactics had too many stats before. This came from a good place - to make sure players had to think about how to build the mercenaries they were hiring. But in reality, it was just too complicated and esoteric. So, many stats have been simplified or even entirely removed.
• From Squads to Parties: When I started Everpixel Tactics, I didn't know what I was doing with respect to much of the "video game stuff" (I'm a full stack software engineer with zero video game experience.) I have learned a lot over the course of development, and I have rewritten large parts of the user interface in order to get pixel-perfect aspect ratios. Expect a crisper, clearer presentation in the next version.