Our last update was in July. My hope was to have the game completed by now but there’s still a few months left of development before everything is finished. I wanted to get at least one update out before the final release because changing the graphics has made a big impact on the game.
The major change is obviously the graphics. There’s a new trailer and new screenshots to go along with the update. Our branding will look completely different. This is a much needed change! I’d say the graphics are about 95% complete. There are a few placeholder graphics in there now, and our artist is currently working on a few changes as well. (Most notably, there is a trap in the air dungeon that I had hoped to replace before this release. It’s supposed to be an electrified floor. You’ll have to imagine until I get the new graphics in).
I’m really happy with the graphics currently but I’d love to hear your input on things you’d like to see changed or improved!
There are quite a few changes aside from the graphics. I’m not going to try to create a formal change log. It’s been so long since the last update that I am not 100% sure about everything that’s been changed. Here’s a list of everything I can think of.
-There is an all new first dungeon called the “air dungeon”. It’s above ground and you can access it right away if you dare. However, I’d recommend full tin armor and weapons. You’ll find flying imps, air elementals and bats inside.
-You can no longer go straight to the underground with a tin staircase. You need a copper staircase that is found by defeating the first dungeon.
-Level 1 magic is now available before you ever go underground. This means there is a new gem you can find.
-Added the air spell. This spell fires a slow moving cloud that fires lightning bolts at every mob in range.
-Added the earth spell. This spell fires an earth spike at a specific point on the screen.
-No more stone tools and weapons. Believe it or not this is not a graphics issue. It simply felt redundant. When my wife and I were play testing we almost always skipped right over stone tools and went straight for tin. It just became clutter in your inventory.
-Portals are now found at the entrance of each dungeon. When play testing we found that traveling back and forth between dungeons was highly annoying. Portals allow you to get to and from the dungeon. If you’d rather, you can break the portal and place it anywhere you’d like!
-Dungeons spawn closer to the main spawn point.
-Night time spawning has been reworked. This is a first step in moving towards the games story. When you start the game air slimes (yellow) will spawn. Once you defeat the air dungeon, earth slimes (green) will spawn as well. When you defeat the earth dungeon, ice slimes (blue) will spawn. Night time will get progressively harder as you move through the game.
-Hidden chests in the overworld. Break stones (not to be confused with stone mountains) to reveal an x marks the spot. Dig here to reveal hidden treasure.
-Villager types are selected instead of randomly generated. I liked the random generation but it became frustrating. You’d take all the time it took to build a house and then you’d get the wrong villager. Give me your feedback on this. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I’m not 100% sure there will be new updates leading up to the final release but there might be. Stay tuned here to keep up to date!