This major update includes many new gameplay features, improvements, additional artwork, and bug fixes. There are too many changes to list them all, but here are a few of the highlights:
- Finished the design and implementation of chaos levels.
- Updated chaos level display to indicate progress within a phase.
- Finished the design and implementation of avatar abilities.
- Finished the initial pass for leader abilities that are upgraded by avatar abilities.
- Finished the initial pass for balancing the prestige resource generation and costs.
- Finished basic AI for computer player to upgrade avatar abilities.
- Rebalanced all player units as well as invaders.
- Added skeleton and zombie invader troops along with new artwork.
- Automatically send zealots to nearest magic source or ally fortress when portal is summoned over a magic source.
The gameplay is now much closer to how I envisioned it. The leader abilities are still a work in progress since I want to make them more specific to the leader classes. However, the structure of upgrades and overall concept are in good shape. Since so much has changed since the last update, I will explain some of the new gameplay in greater detail.
[Chaos levels and phases]
- 4-overall phases (gathering, rifts active with increasing invaders, invaders start reverting, apocalypse).
- Mini-waves during each chaos level (skeleton, zombie, slime, and random player troop types during apocalypse).
- All player units are partially healed at end of chaos levels, with more heal for higher tiers.
- Gathering (chaos level 0) lasts 5 minutes and leaders can summon fortresses over magic crystals during this time.
- All other chaos levels are 90 seconds each to provide constant action.
- Rifts become active at CL 1 and invaders increase until CL 8.
- Players start losing control of invaders starting at CL 9, with the time of control decreasing until CL 16.
- At CL 17, the final apocalypse phase beings, where unprotected fortresses are destroyed permanently, and fortification repairs are increasingly disrupted.
- During apocalypse, invader troops do extra damage per chaos level to help bring the game to a conclusion.
- Display chaos level in color that matches phase (green, yellow, orange, or red) along with a progress bar for current phase.
[Avatar abilities]
- All 4 avatar abilities can be upgraded to 15 counters, where every 5 counters is a level for associated leader ability.
- Implemented the counter upgrades (leader ability recast, structure damage, rage rate reduction, zealot banner effect) for all avatar abilities.
- Lower leader ability recast makes leader abilities refresh faster as well as the global action timer, which means players can use more leader abilities during combat.
- Increased structure damage applies to fortress fortifications, rifts, and towers (player units), enabling them to do more damage.
- Rate of rage reduction means that troops hold on to rage longer, which increases troop damage, allows leader abilities to utilize rage more, and increases heal amount at the end of chaos levels.
- Zealot banner effect gains more resources for players, and does more damage when enemies hit by its effect.
- Each avatar ability is also associated with a leader ability, where a level is gained every 5 counters, which adds effects to the leader ability (design still in progress).
- The zealot protection upgrade is not tied directly to its leader ability's effect yet, but it is very powerful. Structures can now kill multiple zealots per hit, depending on tier of the structure. The protection upgrade offsets that greater destruction and can even make zealots immune to some structures (rifts, T1 towers, and fortress that have not been upgraded to "guardian" in order to boost tier to level 4). T2 towers have an innate +1 tier bonus, which means they can always break zealot lines at max level tier 4 versus max 3-zealot protection of leader ability at level 3.
[Player unit and invader balancing]
- Tier 2 towers mitigate extra damage versus main troops and gain prestige for number of zealots killed.
- Fighter troops mitigate extra damage versus other troops.
- Ranged troops do more damage versus other troops, especially invaders.
- Siege troops mitigate extra damage versus other structures and inflict more damage versus towers, and especially rifts.
- Invaders do more damage versus other invaders, fortifications, and especially portals.
- Fixed issues with reflective/reactive damage that should not kill target entity.
I hope you enjoy the changes. I would love to hear all feedback. Thanks!