A few months ago, The Last Flame's beta begun! I was excited to see how players would react to the game! Overall, it has been very well received, and the support from the community has been way beyond my expectations. Thank you so much for all the help!
Understanding what part of the game was the most enjoyed, and which were the least enjoyed was crucial in making changes towards a better version of The Last Flame! The players' feedback have been extremely valuable in that regard. The Last Flame received numerous small and large updates in the past months! Here is an overview of these updates!
Keeping what's fun, and leaving the unnecessary secondary systems behind
There were many (many, many) systems in the game that decreased the accessibility which made it harder for new players to learn the game while not improving enough upon the core of the game. In some cases, less is more, and this was one of them.
- The map was heavily simplified to a Slay the Spire style map.
- The crafting system which had a 5 tabs panel + 3 resources was simplified to a simple no tab panel (only the actual forging), and no longer has any resource related to the system.
- The amount of resources was reduced (hammer, runes, epic souls were removed). Most of their use were changed into direct action, instead of having to rely on a resource.
- The origin talents mini-game was changed for relics. Simpler, and much more impactful!
- The trader location was removed, and the campfire location received some changes. Origins are now obtained at the campfire while it was previously obtained at the trader.
These changes and others got rid of players having to interact with secondary systems! Everyone can now focus on the core of the game which has been extremely well received.
Adding to the fun
Instead of focusing on secondary systems, I devoted more time to the core of the game which is making fun builds, and fighting challenging enemies.
- Players now receive more rewards at a quicker pace, and make more post-fight decisions.
- The new relics are very impactful! They will definitely impact the direction that you are going with your build!
- Non-combat relics is another addition. They provide a different approach to how you play the game at a macro level. They can impact the resources, the map, add new gameplay mechanics/options and so on. Every run now feels even more different from the last one!
- Hextile buffs is a new way of gaining power through relics. They are buff that are dependent on positioning, which spices up the preparation phase and requires the player to further strategize the fights.
- Normal items and gems were smashed into one versatile version of both: heirlooms. It increases how fast you can make changes to your build, and simplifies the crafting system by a lot.
- Changing your build mid-run should be encouraged, but before it was hard to let go of a high rank hero. Dismissing heroes now refunds some of their trophies(rank) back to you.
Polishing, lot's of it!
- The UI was almost entirely revamped or improved. The main menu still needs changes.
- The new map has new icons.
- The origins received a new look and illustrations.
- The old origin talents were changed to relics and received a new look as well.
- Hero and enemy cards received a new look.
- More gameplay setting options.
Learning the game
- With the removal of the secondary system, the size of the tutorial was reduced by around half.
- The tutorial was improved, and will still receive more improvements.
- Short videos of enemy spells were added to enemy cards to let new players understand more easily what enemies do at a quick glance. It is planned to add this feature for the heroes as well in the future.
Bug Fixing and performance improvements
There's too many to list them here, but let's just say that I am extremely grateful for all the testing and bug reports that have been sent by the community!
I couldn't have done it without my community and testers. Thank you everyone for playing the game, giving your feedback, reporting the bugs, and all of the support! You are amazing!