Hey everyone, and Happy New Year!
It’s been a few weeks since my last update, but I haven’t really taken a break from developing Wave Defense: Trappist. Over the holiday period, we released the second patch to the demo, a major update focused on optimization and the introduction of the Photo Mode.
We also did a deep dive into the game’s music, crafted by legendary electronic musicians Joel Mull and Nima Khak (me!). If you haven’t already, check it out—it’s one of my favorite parts of the game!
This week, I’ve been working on a variety of updates, from UI improvements and new settings options to tutorial revisions and bug fixes. Let’s dive into what’s new!
UI Rework and HUD Improvements
The game’s HUD has been revamped with two main goals in mind:
- Minimizing screen clutter, giving players more room to enjoy the world and action.
- Clearer, faster access to key information.
Here’s what’s changed:
- The minimap is now circular, moved to the lower-right corner, and becomes semi-transparent when not hovered over.
- Stats and resource values have been moved to the right side of the screen, freeing up the lower center for a cleaner view.
- Added projected credits and crystal gains from buildings after each wave, a feature requested by players.
The Pause Menu has also received a significant upgrade with four new tabs:
- Perks Overview: Displays perks selected at each XP level.
- Mech and Weapon Stats: Shows detailed values for the current loadout, making it easier to see the effects of selected perks.
- Building Breakdown: Offers an in-depth overview of all buildings and related stats, helping players make informed strategic decisions.
- Photo Album: Players can view all the pictures they’ve taken in Photo Mode.
Revised Tutorial and New Lore
The tutorial has been reworked based on player feedback to feel faster-paced and more intuitive. Additionally, I’ve added some lore and background to explain why the player is in the Trappist system and the importance of collecting crystals. While I won’t spoil too much here, I’m excited to continue developing this aspect of the game and hope it adds depth to the overall experience.
New Settings for Performance Optimization
To help players on lower-end computers, I’ve introduced a new Downsampling option in the settings menu. This allows players to slightly lower the game’s graphics, which can significantly improve FPS without drastically affecting visuals. In my tests, even small adjustments made a noticeable difference. If you’re experiencing FPS drops, this is worth trying!
Bug Fixes
Here are a few bugs that have been resolved in this update:
- Fixed an issue where photos taken in-world weren’t saving to players’ computers.
- Adjusted some Photo Mode bugs for smoother operation.
- General stability and optimization fixes.
Looking Ahead
It feels great to kick off 2025 with so many exciting updates and improvements already in place. As always, your feedback is invaluable, so keep it coming! Join the Discord to share your thoughts, report bugs, and suggest new features—I’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for your support, and here’s to an amazing year ahead for Wave Defense: Trappist! See you next week!