Starting Note

It's been a bit, but I've gotten a bit of work done on the update. Not a ton since Risk of Rain Returns came out recently. Since I've finished what I've wanted to with the game, I'll be able to more regularly work on TDTest Unity.

In this dev log, I'll go over the plans for v0.3. This update is aimed to be smaller in terms of new content, but a bit heavier for returning content. A lot of art is going into this update due to reintroducing skins, but there will still be plenty to mess around with mechanically.

Returning Content

• 4 of the 6 remaining towers: Cannon, Machine Gun, Aquatic Gem, and Aura Booster

  • Similar to most of the previous towers, all of these will be changed heavily due to changes with designs as well as Tier 3 upgrades.

  • For example, effects that don't feel like they're made for Tier 2s, such as Cannon's Grouped Explosions or Aura Booster's Recharger, will be shifted to Tier 3s.

• 1 of the 2 remaining heroes: Electro-Shock

  • Electro-Shock isn't going to be getting as big of an overhaul as Aerolyte did, but it'll still get a ton of changes. I'm still aiming for it to be decent in normal play, with its main niche aiming towards Time Trials.

• 3 of the 11 remaining maps: Long Walk, Loop, and Airborne

  • The changes with how pathing works will likely impact the design of these maps, primarily Loop and Airborne, but they should still remain similar to the original.

  • One thing to note, since Airborne is getting implemented this update, Tomb Raiser will be moved to Expert. Don't worry if you already have it unlocked or have progress on the map, as I'll ensure your unlocks aren't messed up too badly when the update drops.

• 8 of the 17 remaining tower skins: Bow, Dorito Blaster, Mecha-Sniper, Water Guns, Magic Wall, Incubator, Gold Mine, and Cauldron

  • Tower skins will still require stones to get, but will also require Tower Rank 5 to unlock, which will be available in this update. It'll require a ton of tower XP, so if you want, you can grind while waiting for v0.3, or do so when the update drops.

  • The skin system will take a lot of time to make, not only due to all of the art, but some systems will require quite a bit of changing in order to fully work with skins.

  • Note that the towers without skins this update can still rank up to Tower Rank 5, just there won't be any actual rewards for them.

New Content

• Map Display Settings

  • This will allow you to adjust the order that maps are displayed in. The options will include release date (either in the original or the remake), amount of medals earned or missing, and if the map is unlocked or not. You'll also be able to hide completed maps.

• Animations

  • This will primarily apply to menus (such as opening and closing animations instead of just appearing) and certain projectiles.

• Customizable Hotkeys

  • Exactly what it implies. Applies to every tower and enemy, as well as upgrading, pausing, toggling fast forward, etc.

  • This is planned to support use of SHIFT, ALT, and CTRL.

• More Settings

  • Various extra settings that could improve your experience, such as being able to adjust where the in-level UI is locked to.

  • While I don't think many people will really use something like the in-level UI adjustment, I still think it's best to at least give the option incase someone would prefer to use, say, the bottom left corner as the UI anchor instead of the default bottom right.

Ending Note

That's pretty much it for the content plans this update. It'll be geared more towards visuals and customization than gameplay this time around, as I feel it's important to get some extra early improvements done in that department before getting too deep into the game's development.

I'll see you all in the next dev log!