Hello, this is runinzem, in charge of planning and art. In this notice, I would like to talk about the future direction of our game development.
First, I'd like to inform you of some changes to the existing update schedule. Previously, updates were carried out on a bi-monthly basis, but moving forward, Holosaga will shift to a non-regular update schedule.
There are several reasons for this change. The first reason is to allow more flexibility in our development timeline, enabling us to provide more stable updates. Our previous schedule was somewhat tight given the development resources available, making it difficult to thoroughly test updates due to the overlap between the update day and the deadline.
The second reason is to prioritize high-importance updates. Currently, there are many aspects of Holosaga that are inconvenient for users, such as the interface and controls. We determined that it would be better to divide the updates into smaller parts to focus first on these improvements.
As a result, future updates will be released irregularly, and the update plans will be announced not on a monthly basis but right before the update is released.
In this notice, we will explain the updates we are currently planning.
Switching Function Rework
Many of you have expressed that the switching function is inconvenient. Since switching is a core feature of this game that is used frequently, we believe that improving its usability should be our top priority.
The biggest reason why this function feels inconvenient seems to be the drag-and-drop mechanism.
Given that the gameplay involves continuous unit movement in real time, especially for PC users, the drag-and-drop method has proven to be a significant design flaw. The tiles are quite small, making it difficult to accurately click on a unit and hold that click. It is understandable that many users find this inconvenient. Therefore, we plan to change the switching method from drag-and-drop to simple clicking. After this update, you will no longer need to drag to switch units; instead, you will be able to relocate them by simply clicking on the unit and then on the desired tile.
Another issue that was pointed out regarding the switching function was the ON/OFF feature. Since switching is essential in this game, players always had to keep the function ON to play, which caused the top interface to overlap with the units, making it difficult to see important information like health, and the grid made the map look cluttered. To address this, we plan to make the switching function always active and remove the grid images that were provided previously. Instead, we will include grid markers within each map to prevent clutter.
We aim to implement the overhaul of the switching function as soon as it is ready. If there are other aspects of switching that you find inconvenient, please let us know, and we will continue to make improvements to the usability of the switching function.
In-Game Interface Improvements
The current unit profile information is difficult to see. The information is generally too small, and important details that should stand out are not properly visible due to poor layout.
We are currently exploring various design concepts to address these issues.
In the design above, we’ve placed information that doesn’t need to be checked in real time, such as level, upgrades, and artifacts, towards the top, while information that needs to be monitored constantly, like HP, current experience points, and POWER, is placed at the bottom.
Additionally, we’ve added an “over-spec level” indicator to the profile design to more intuitively show how powerful a unit has become.
This design is just one of our interface concepts, and we will continue to test various designs to implement the best possible update.
New Unit Additions
Among the units we are planning to add in future updates, we would like to introduce three units: Nanashi Mumei, Tokoyami Towa, and Yukihana Lamy.
Nanashi Mumei is being designed as a projectile unit with the concepts of “stacking” and “radial attack.” As she attacks enemies, she accumulates stacks, and once a certain number of stacks is reached, she will deal additional damage with a radial attack, making her a versatile unit that excels in both single-target and line-clearing attacks.
Tokoyami Towa is also a projectile unit, specializing in line-clearing with her “penetrating attack.” She can pull enemies from other lines to a specific point, and although her attack speed is slow, she deals powerful damage.
Yukihana Lamy is a Range-Attacker unit with a basic pattern that continuously deals damage to enemies in her vicinity. Since she needs to be placed deep within enemy lines to be effective, she will also have strong survival abilities.
We are currently designing many more units, and once development is complete, we will thoroughly test them before releasing updates.
New Mode Addition
In addition to the Standard and Infinite modes, we plan to add a “Single Mode.” In Single Mode, you select one unit, and that unit will be deployed four times for the game. The stage progression will be the same as in Standard Mode, and this mode is intended to feel more like a sub-content rather than a main content.
Speed-Up Feature Addition
Many users have suggested adding a speed-up feature.
We are currently considering this feature carefully. Since this game is a defense game, there aren’t as many actions to take compared to other games, which can make the game feel slow-paced. However, we are concerned that a speed-up feature might accelerate content consumption too quickly and make controls like switching and leveling up too difficult.
As this is an issue that requires careful consideration, if we determine that it can be added without major issues, we will review the potential problems again and proceed with the update.