GridHammer is now in Early Access! Here's everything that's changed since the demo.
GAMEPLAY
• Shatter system — all plates now have 3 durability (Hero → Rare → Common). The hammer falls every 7 turns, reducing all board plates by one tier. Plates that break shatter and recycle back into the forge pool.
• Forge Essence scoring — each player carries 30 Forge Essence. Captures drain 1 from your rival's vial, shatters drain 2. Reduce them to zero to win.
• Hand size increased to 6 plates per player
• Shared forge pool — both players draw from the same 45-plate pool
• Untimed local game mode — no turn timer, play at your own pace
AI
• Rebuilt AI from scratch as a 3-tier scored-rules engine
• Three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard
• Difficulty selection before every local match
BATTLE UI
• Aether Teal / Rift Rose ownership palette — your plates wear ring markers, rival plates wear diamonds
• Floating hand panels with 2×2 plate grid
• Battle log with event ticker — click to expand full history
• Forge Essence vials in the scoreboard
• Slam countdown pips in the top bar with directional hammer animation
• Combo chain pentagon on the side panel
• Bigger fonts on the victory panel with full Forge Essence breakdown
LEXICON
• Three tabs: Foundations of the Forge, The Clash, The Five Houses
• Interactive pentagon diagram with house-colored matchup arrows
• Rendered plate diagrams showing side values, directional captures, and multi-captures
• Strategy tab removed — the game teaches itself through play
FTUE & ONBOARDING
• Full first-time user experience overhaul
• Auto-advance dismiss timers (7s default, 15s for combo ring)
• Hammer FTUE single-play animation
• EA welcome tour for new players
AUDIO
• Full audio rebalance — 5-tier volume system across 58 SFX
• 101 sound effects sourced and integrated
POLISH
• Hybrid font system (AlumniSansSC for readability + pixel decorative)
• All text enforces 16px minimum
• Steam overlay pauses the game
• Controller disconnect pause + reconnect handling
• Settings scroll follows focus for controller navigation
PLATFORM SUPPORT
• Windows, Linux (Steam Deck compatible), and macOS