Dev Blogs

After a month of replacing mass amounts of code (after work and running on fumes), it was finally time to do the dreaded test run. Typically I prefer to test new or modified functionality as I go along - it reduces the scope of what could go wrong. My last round of testing was picking cards from a pool of randomly selected integers and displaying in log output - so theoretically it should all work.

Most of the recent work was integrating the GUI with the cards, then coding in all the abilities. Both were time consuming. The abilities are drawn from the weapon configuration, base upgrades and commander type. A key goal was to allow variation in tactics and gameplay experience - this time I spent time in spreadsheets planning everything out. All the various status effects, shadow components would all have some expression in the gamneplay. Several synergies were added in to create viable, tactical builds that were unique in nature. As with all things, the nature of abilities will progress over time according to feedback.

The first run was resulted in several minor exceptions, so no cards appeared at all. After a few retries and fixes, the gameplay started to resemble my intentions. Great news, considering that working on this game is very draining. Once it is playable I'll get the motivation to improve and refine it.

The main two issues are: - Shadow entity is not performing all of it's intentions (attacks, spells, defense) - The cards are not displaying properly - this is the larger piece of work

Once these two are done, then I can establish a baseline for entity toughness and the potency of player abilities. Each battle should last around a minute, two for the greater sieges. After that is achieved, I need to complete the following:

• Add lesser minions
• Add a manual targetting system for the player via tap
• Clean up the texture atlases for unused images
• Create a few dozen icons for abilities
• Add in the shadow artifact system, which will allow tactical synergies
• Polish the GUI
• Create the rest of the bosses
• Test and refine

The list seems infinite.