Sanctums
The game's design has a problem... later levels have 10 or 15 days and you end up with too many robots. But there is nothing to do with them! This is not the type of RTS where you fight with 500 units. I didn't optimize for that so it would turn your PC into a Toaster. To fix this toaster issue, I created Sanctums that kind of reduce how many robots you have.
In this game time, scrap, and robots have one thing in common. They are a resource that you can use. Scrap lets you build more robots. Robots can collect more scrap. Both actions cost time. You can also use scrap to get new buildings and upgrades.
That's good but a bit too simple for how long the game goes. Therefore I added the Sanctums to add more complexity to the game.
The Problems the Sanctums solve
Recently I learned that one solution should solve multiple problems. Here is the three problems the Sanctums solve.
Problem 1: "I have too many robots and scrap"
Sanctums let you sacrifice robots or scrap to get a reward. You should no more have too much unless you are really good. In that case you should play for a highscore or speedrun.
Problem 2: "The game's combat isn't complex enough, I just walk around"
There is six different Sanctums which all have three unique choices for you. Some are about getting more scrap/robots/upgrades in one way or another. Others give you powerful abilities. The abilities add a bit more complexity to the combat.
Problem 3: "I get lost in the big levels and I don't want to walk all the way back"
I totally never got lost in the levels, I myself created, and I definitely didn't add a map to help me and the player to not get lost.
Anyways, Sanctums have 2 extra functionalities.
They have a map you can use when you get lost when you want to strategize where to go next.
They act as fast travel points between your base and themselves. In big levels Sanctums are placed in key locations to let you get around easily.
Abilities
The active abilities are pretty simple yet very powerful so they allow you to turn the battle around. They have a cooldown that ranges from 20 to 90 seconds, so you better choose wisely when to activate them!
Active abilities:
1) you and your robots attack a lot faster and have almost no cooldown on their attacks.
2) you and your robots heal a lot immediately and then slowly over time even more.
3) you and your robots move faster and have a higher chance to deal critical hits.
Later upgrades give you special buff on critical hits. For instance "your critical hits reduce enemy healing" does wonders against the mini boss, since he constantly heals. The upgrade combined with the ability at the right time will make you beat the mini boss a lot easier.
Passive abilities:
1) Robot bullets put a stack on enemies hit. When you hit the enemy, you use up the stacks to deal extra damage. If the enemy has 50 stacks you deal extra max health percentage damage.
2) Your swordBots now have a shield that blocks enemy projectiles.
3) Your abilities cooldowns are reduced whenever a robot dies.
Thank you for reading!
- Deniz