Tile generator
One of the complaints we got about the game was that the random tile generator was sometimes unfair. So we updated it to make it generate still random tiles but at a constant distance of three tiles between them.
Also we put more resource tiles near the initial seeder, so players can build more structures at the beginning to reduce the waiting for resource time during all the game.
We still need to test how the resource placement and resource quantity affects the gameplay and tune the difficulty accordingly.
Previous tile generator.
New tile generator
UI
We thought necessary to show how many trees of each type the player has planted. Also we added a time bar to indicate how much time is left before a new enemy cluster spawns. We needed to make the objective more visible so we ended up changing the layout to this.
The layout seemed too crowded so we decided to remove the objective and show it in a popup box that the player will need to close. The current objective will be shown in the pause menu too. The tree count was removed and the layout currently is like this
Colors
We have been experimenting with different color palettes to use in the game. During this process we had a new idea, to change colors depending on how well the player is doing during the game. This is the result.
Altars
As it is shown in the previous image, at the beginning of the game, there will be 4 new structures. Those are the altars and they can be attacked by the enemies, they will hold enemy attacks for a while, giving the player more time to build their defenses, and if the player ends the game with all 4 altars alive they will get an achievement.
Pause screen
Our friend Oscar gave us the suggestion to be able to move the game map while the game is paused. We’ve implemented this and also have a new pause screen.
Select difficulty screen
We’re in the process of implementing different difficulties in the game. We now have a select difficulty screen.
Other changes
Wooshes (the effect after planting a seeder) now make the game zoom out a little bit, so players can see that they kill enemy units. We’re experimenting with new graphics for resources but haven’t decided which to use.
What’s next?
We’ll work on the tutorial, saving the game status, experiment with new graphics and animations for roots and new animations for trees.