Welcome Commander!
Thank you for your interest in Decimation! Today, the game's demo build is now live on Steam. Ready and available to download and play. Although the game's demo only includes the first two levels, it provides a solid preview of what the completed game experience will feel like. Hopefully it resonates with you and is a strong enough gaming experience to earn your support through the game's development.
In the past few months, the game has received valuable comments and feedback from players that got to try previous builds, and what you have before you is the result of their feedback and the internal drive to make the game better. But there's a lot more work to be done, and I'd love to hear your thoughts to help guide this game to its full potential. Decimation is a passion project that was started way back in 2011, was shelved, then revived on May 28th, 2024. I've been working on it consistently since then, and I'm committed to see this game completed.
This is also the game's first community post/announcement on Steam, so I'd like to take the opportunity to begin including relevant patch notes for the game here. The game should speak for itself, but for those interested in the nitty-gritty of how the game's development is being approached and worked on, then please do feel free to review today's patch notes:
DECIMATION PATCH NOTES v0.25.18 - DEMO CONTENT AND POLISH UPDATE
OVERVIEW
Comprehensive tutorial system overhaul, Level 1-3 difficulty tuning/balancing, enemy AI improvements, visual enhancements, and extensive polish for the 2-Level Demo release.
NEW CONTENT
Tutorial System Overhaul
Scene-Specific Tutorials: Replaced overwhelming info panels with guided step-by-step tutorials (info panels are still available for players that want the reference)
- Supply Depot tutorial sequence
- Workshop tutorial sequence
- Staging Area tutorial sequence
- Crafting tutorial sequence
Level 1 Tutorial Enhancement:
Streamlined opening experience
- Removed initial controls menu dump
- Tutorial now flows through in-game popups
- Controls accessible via pause menu when needed
New Build Turret UI
Radial Build Menu: Redesigned turret selection interface in preparation for more turrets to be added to the game
- Visual preview slots for upcoming turrets (Flamethrower, Sniper)
GAMEPLAY CHANGES
Level 1 - Difficulty Tuning
Wave Composition changes - Better credit economy to improve player’s ability to test turret upgrades
Increased credit acquisition in the earlier waves to enable more turret placements/upgrades during the later waves. The wave compositions and enemy counts have been buffed overall to allow the player to experience more turret upgrades. Since Level 1 is primarily a tutorial level, it’s best to give players more opportunity for better familiarity with turret capabilities during this level while not making it too difficult, since they’ll need this in Level 2, which focuses more on integrating turret management with hero control.
Level 2 - Difficulty Tuning
Starting credits increased: 400 → 500
Wave Composition Changes - Increased difficulty but increased/improved credit acquisition for more player build options during the level.
Similar to Level 1 tuning, increased credit acquisition in the earlier waves to enable more turret upgrades during the later waves. The wave compositions and enemy counts have been buffed overall to make the level more interesting/challenging, but build credits have also been made available earlier to enable the player to assign more turrets/make upgrades without adding an excessive difficulty spike overall.
Level 3 - Difficulty Tuning
Based on internal testing, Level 3’s current wave compositions feel underwhelming due to the upgrade cost reduction performed during the last patch. Wave composition changes were done to offset this, without introducing too much of a difficulty spike.
Boss HP increased: 10,500 → 11,500 (+9.5%)
ENEMY BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS
Nullseeker Swarmer Damage Buff
This enemy is introduced after the player has become familiar with hero controls and more acclimated to the general difficulty level of the game. As a later enemy in Act 1, it currently feels less of a real threat and more of a low-impact nuisance to the hero. Its ranged attacks are slow moving and can be avoided by active play, so actually getting hit by them should be more significant instead of negligible, until such time that the player is able to upgrade his/her hero’s defenses.
- Anti-Hero Swarmers:
- Base damage: 10 → 15 (+50%)
- Range: 20 → 25 (+25%)
- Elite Anti-Hero Swarmers:
- Base damage: 20 → 40 (+100%)
- Range remains 40
- Applied to all anti-hero variants and companion types
ENEMY AI AND MOVEMENT ENHANCEMENTS
Overall Enemy Movement Enhancement
- More Organic Movement System: Enemies no longer follow paths robotically (even if they’re robots???), have a slight speed variance, and they have a chance to wandering slightly from their paths
- Separation/Avoidance System added to prevent enemy position overlap and introduce a more natural feeling of the enemies avoiding bumping into each other.
Boss AI Fixes
- Enemy_Boss_Spectre Retargeting: Fixed movement bug. Boss now returns to its target structure after being lured away by a hero
- Ultimate Attack Hit Detection Bug Fixed: Corrected false-positive damage. Added secondary range check using actual distance calculation to prevent unavoidable damage when boss attacks a structure while hero is nearby
VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS
Health Bar Improvements
- Enhanced Visibility: Redesigned health bars for critical units
- Player Defended Structure health bars: Thicker, more prominent
- Enemy Boss (Spectre) health bar: Enlarged and repositioned
- Hero health bar: Similar Visual enhancement
Environmental Improvements
- Level 1 Props Overhaul: New environmental prop models for rocks, vehicles, containers, structures
- Level 2 Visual Polish: Enhanced smoke/haze effects
- Staging Area Enhancement: Added more environmental props to build atmosphere
VFX and Material Updates
Multiple effects have been added or tuned:
Smoke/haze/atmospheric fog
Flame effects
Tower construction effect
Boss Leap Attack: Added dust particle effects on jump initiation
AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS
New Audio Cues
Battle Alerts:
- New audio for starting new wave manually, initial enemy detection
UI/UX IMPROVEMENTS
Crafting Interface
- Visual Upgrade: Crafting results panel now matches other result panels
Workshop Enhancement
- Fixed Lighting Bug: Re-enabled three point lighting
Node Emission Enhancement
- Increased visibility of buildable nodes during battle
BUG FIXES
- Item Cache Bug: Fixed visual error when using a single item cache from multi-item selection UI.
- Act 1 Boss Animation: Fixed Spectre jump attack animation so that its landing matches the moment of actual damage application.
- Keybindings panel (in the Main menu) scroll sensitivity fixed.
NARRATIVE/DIALOGUE:
Various story/dialogue text has been streamlined to be more clear, concise and support better read-pacing.
DEMO SPECIFIC FEATURES:
Demo Boundaries
- Level 3 and 4 locked
OVERALL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS PATCH
Difficulty Tuning: The goal is to create an exhilarating experience for TD newcomers while still engaging veterans. For the early levels, front-loading build credits enables players to experiment with the turret upgrade system without being punished, building towards more epic later waves that rewards preparation.
Enemy Movement: The new organic movement system prevents robotic path-following while maintaining strategic predictability. Enemies should now feel more like individual units rather than scripted trains.
Tutorial Redesign: Instead of overwhelming info dump panels, tutorials now guide players naturally through mechanics at the moment they need them.
Version: 0.25.18-demo
Build Focus: Steam Demo Release & Polish