Version 1.1-alpha.4

2 years ago by Greenfoot5

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I supposed it’s about time I did one of these. For those of you on the Discord, there won’t by much new here, apart from the 1.2 clarification. Otherwise, I’ll try to keep the post in chronological order. But first, some important links:

What happened to 1.0?

The 1.0 build was removed mostly because I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing with Itch. I had no idea what I was doing with the various channels, or any of the stuff that makes the page work (I do know a lot more now). So it was all on the alpha channel. Which I used to publish the 1.1 versions…

But it’s alright! I can attach previous files to devlogs, so if you really want to play them (1.1 is much better) you can download the version for your operating system, along with the latest alpha version (1.1-alpha.4a).

What happened to Linux?

As of 1.1, as nobody was downloading the Linux versions, and I have no way to test that work, I chose to stop making the executable. If you would like it, please let me know, as I could do with someone letting me know it works!

This is just for alpha version. All stable releases will support Android, Windows, OS X and Linux. However, as there is no stable version at the moment (see above for 1.0 stable, 1.1 hasn’t fully released yet).

What is 1.1 all about!?

Bestagon Defence 1.1 is part 1 (of 2) for major releases in making the game how I envisioned it. Each part focuses on a major part of the tower defence. The turrets and the enemies. 1.1 is all about turrets.

The upgrades system has been completely overhauled. Instead of a single upgrade for each of the three turrets, you can now collect upgrades from the shop and apply them to any turret they work on (I can’t make bullet speed work on the laser, no matter how hard I try). You could stack one turret with soooo many upgrades nothing could get past it. You could evenly spread your upgrades across all your turrets, it’s really up to you! Luckily, it’s not that easy…

We reworked the shop! You can’t just buy turrets willy nilly anymore! Now, when you open the shop in a level, you’re presented with three options. Your first time opening the shop in any game will give you the choice of three turrets (with upgrades optionally pre-applied). Any time after that, and you’ll get a mix of turrets and upgrades. Will you fill the board with turrets, or just place one and apply every upgrade to it!?

The game looks good! As much as I’m sure you enjoyed the basic shapes, some of the design has got an overhaul and looks a lot better as well as new icons and level backgrounds! Full credits go to BLOODWIING!

As a bonus, the levels are also infinite, so no more beating level 16 and getting bored! You can compete with your friends to get the highscores! This will chance in 1.2…

When is 1.1 going to be ready!?

While you can play the alpha (it is fully working, but still very much a development version), 1.1 will be out when it’s ready. The main components are in code wise, but visually several areas of the game are still placeholder. So it could be spring, it could be summer, it could be 2023. When it’s ready, I’ll publish a stable build.

What’s 1.2 about then?

1.2 is all about Enemies. Currently there’s 15 waves that just repeat. Now we’ll be adding more wave variation, more enemies, more bosses, more abilities on bosses and generally making the game harder.

I might not end up adding any of this but here’s a few ideas I’ve had:

Much like you pick upgrades/turrets in the shop, you’d pick what wave set you want (12 waves) with a boss at the end.
Each wave set (12 waves) you get a boss. The boss is randomly picked
Wave sets are picked based on what the game thinks will defeat you (so if you haven’t got any area damage, it might send small faster enemies, or enemies in larger bunches)
Enemies that certain turrets can’t attack
Enemies that can affect turrets (give the turret status effects)
Granted a temporary, or permanent reward that applies to all turrets. Or possibly income/life count/progression

To clarify, these are just ideas, and nothing is set in stone.

Phew. I think I covered everything. I’ll try to do these devlogs/status updates every so often. You can get a more up to date news feed by being on Bestagon Defence’s Discord. There’s a bit below about helping out the project, and the download files for 1.0 (ignore that it says alpha) and the latest 1.1 alpha. Happy new year!

Want to help the project?

Great news! The project’s open source! You can make a pull request at any time!

I know Unity/Git but I’m not sure what to add…

Let’s have a chat! Discord is the best place. But there’s also the Github repository or even email: greenfoot89@protonmail.com.

I don’t know Unity or Git, but I can do a bit of programming, art and/or music

Discord is the best place here. I or someone else can help you learn the ropes, point you in the right direction and help you get started. While Github and email would work, it would be much harder.

I just want to help out, but I’m not sure if I’ve got any skills…

Discord is the place to be! It’s not just about programming, art and music. I need people to find bugs on the alpha versions (and report them!) I could also do with help balancing and keeping the Notion up to date. Levels aren’t built themselves you know!