We've been making update posts on our social media, and every once in a while we'll compile them into batches for Steam so we're not clogging up people's news feeds.
Note: all visuals before and during the beta period are works in progress, as polishing is usually the last step to do.
Hub
Between runs, you head back to your home base to manage relationships, do a little customization, and hang out before setting off again
Action Points
A design change: instead of skill cooldowns and rules like Ephemeral or Slow, certain skills now use Action Points to cast, which is like mana shared across the whole team. You have a certain maximum amount, and every round you recharge some of it. Some skills can even give you action points, too
Tile Height
Another: the blockiness to the maps is not just aesthetic, tile height is a new mechanic. Instead of having "cliff" tiles everywhere, height can stop units from walking up or down. Being high enough can give you advantage, too. And if you also have a weapon advantage, then you get double advantage. Ranged weapons actually get a bit of extra benefit by default, too.
Tactician
Here's a story change: as you might have noticed, Astral Throne 2 has a protagonist. A tactician that you can customize a bit. All of your team members have some light customization with regards to starting items and stuff, but this is the only unit that you can name.
Answering Questions
Are you going to fix the remaining bugs in AT1?
Unfortunately, probably not until Astral Throne 2 is done or close to done. We’re a small team, and everyone who worked on AT1 is working on AT2, so we can’t really spare any hands. Truth be told, it’s a money thing. We don’t have a publisher or any investors, so we had to make the decision to either work on AT2 or continue polishing AT1, and we chose the former, we hope you understand. Once AT2 is released, our hands will be less bound.
Statement on GenAI
I can’t believe I have to say this, but there are NO AI-generated assets or writing in Astral Throne 2 (or AT1 for that matter). Our slop is hand-crafted, free-range, non-GMO goo straight from the trough.
So when demo??
The current plan is to put out a Beta, like AT1, sometime later this month. It will be light on content and story and its main focus will be to gain feedback on certain design choices like skill and map design. The real-deal demo will be released for Steam Next Fest.
Previous Roundups
If you want to see these updates as they come, join our Discord!
And if you want to be notified of our Beta release in the upcoming months, Wishlist the game!