Gameplay Updates
Hey folks,
This week we’re going to continue talking about the gameplay improvements we’re bringing to the game. This update is going to be focusing on changes to the Veins of Evil, pacing, and defences.
One quick note before we start: The research changes we’re talking about here are focused on multiplayer and skirmish, the single player campaign is going to have its own progression system.
The Problems
Multiplayer starts: The beginning of multiplayer matches were quite slow for various reasons, though the main one was that it took ages to get the gold, territory and Sins required to actually get a basic dungeon (and army) up and running.
The Foundry was too dominant: There were several Aspects outside of Sloth which required the Foundry to use (such as the Underminer). We wanted to clean this up to redouble the focus of the Foundry as a purely defence-centric room. As a result, it’s no longer a requirement for everything that doesn’t fit in this box.
Defence placement & mechanics: Following on from the above, we wanted to clean up the placement rules and mechanics of defences that could be placed anywhere on the map. Outside of trial and error it was difficult for players to understand the rules associated with all the different types of ‘defences’.
The Changes
Unit Spawning: Units will now only require their primary room before spawning. This means you can build a Beast Den or Foundry at the start of a level and units will begin to enter right away, allowing you to get your devious plans off to a flying start. Keep in mind that your minions will eventually get hungry and tired, so you cannot forego a Lair and Slaughterpen for too long.
Constructs: We’ve split Defences out into two categories – Defences and Constructs – with the latter being buildable anywhere on the map and no longer requiring the Foundry. We’ll be talking more about Constructs and the changes to Defences next week. Some examples of Constructs are the Underminer and the Warding Totem (both found in Wrath).
Free Aspects: Several Aspects have been removed from the Veins and are now unlocked for free (along with Lair, Slaughterpen and Vault), including:
- Heal
- Lightning
- Summon Worker
- Wooden Door
- Bombard
- Wooden Bridge
- Replacement Earth
Veins of Evil Layout: Based on the above changes, we’ve adjusted the layout of the Veins a little bit:
Some notes on the above image: One aspect is missing from the bottom of the neutral vein, two are missing from the bottom of Sloth, the super units are missing, and some icon artwork is placeholder.
The Results
Better starting choices in multiplayer: The combination of the unit spawning modification, free Aspects, and VoE layout changes means that you can get your strategy rolling right off the bat, no matter which direction you are going. Cultists will spawn and research as soon as you have an Archive, Gnarlings will spawn and train right away if you build a Barracks, Chunders will spawn and two defences will be available to build as soon as you have a Foundry, and Beasts will spawn as soon as you build a Beast Den.
Pacing changes in multiplayer: Giving free Aspects to players at the beginning of the game means that we don’t need to heavily speed up research in the first few minutes to get things going, as you already have a plethora of tools available (and as explained above, units far sooner than before), meaning we can have a far smoother research curve as you progress through the Veins.
Wrath is better at being Wrath, Sloth is better at being Sloth: The introduction of Constructs and the changes we are making to defence mechanics means that both of these Veins are generally going to be a lot better at what we want them to be doing: enhancing your offensive or defensive capabilities as an Underlord. We’ll be discussing these in greater depth next week.
Our whole team is working hard on the next update, but it’s still a few weeks away from being released, meanwhile our lovely code team has been working overtime on a heavily requested technical feature (however, it won’t be present in the next update, we’re saving it for later).
Until next time Underlord,
– WFTO Team
I know 7-8 people that will not buy this until some form of the “reaper” aka horned reaper is in the game, I am sure it has been asked a 1000 times. Sales counts. and getting some fashion of a close to horned reaper creature should be discussed! He doesn’t have to headline! But don’t ignore it! 7-8 people isn’t a lot, but its part of a statistic that isn’t alone!
Game looks fantastic so far! Sorry about the rant above, I just want this to do really well because keeping DK errr WFO, err DKWFTO is important! I have already baught the game, and to cover my complaining buddies ill but it for them if they won’t to support the game! Excited!
I agree with Adam! Horney added so much evil value to your dungeon. I don’t think we’re necessarily asking for THE Horney… but something along those lines! It wouldn’t be the same game without it!
A Grim Reaper could be a worthy addition/replacement… if Horney isn’t licenced. I personally still miss the Bile daemon if I’m honest. Other than that, I can’t complain much. I possibly think that too many people want a playable nostalgia.
Please tell me that the window will be ‘locked’ in the future. I keep on passing over onto my second screen because my cursor isn’t locked in 🙁 makes dragging a bit tricky.
This will be fixed in the future (probably before release). <3
Add a monster called ‘Danger Podus’.
It is a plant.
I agree with Adam 100% don’t ignore the Horned Reaper Subterranean! Your so close to something great! Don’t copy the reaper, you don’t even have to have a “reaper” what made the reaper so special was a few easy formulas. Strength, demonic look, uncontrollable, demanding, pricy, violent, everything enclosed in a psychotic force thats feared to be wreckoned with a sensation of power when he is roaming happily within your dungeon!
Hi Chris, You will be happy to hear that the have a successor to the reaper in the form of a returning creature, the vampire. Last I heard the vampire is a super late game creature who is summoned by a ritual that requires the sacrifice of several(I think 3) creatures. The Vampire is very powerful, but he is plagued by a bloodthrist that requires him to devour a minion every couple of minutes. If a vampire does not have a victim provided after a certain time, he will rapidly lose health and happiness until he reaches a breaking point, when he will chose one of your minions to eat.
Of course, none of this is final, but at least the basic idea will remain the same, I think ;).
The vampire…good to hear about having a creature like that. But I wish is wasn’t the vampire, doesn’t feel like “ultimate beast” to me
True, That is because the vampire is not “The” ultimate creature, just one who is difficult to control/maintain while offering a great deal of power in return. There are in fact Three(!) ultimate creatures, one at the end of each vein of evil. These “Super” units have basically zero needs, but you can only have one super unit at a time and they can’t be picked up. Each embodies the idea of it’s vein. The Wrath super unit crushes defenses and inspires fear in your opponents, the Sloth super unit makes your core nearly invulnerable and inspires your own troops, while the Neutral super unit buffs your army and summons temporary ghosts from fallen units.
You can read up on the vampire here:
https://wftogame.com/wfto-wednesday-78-the-vampire/
And the super units here:
https://wftogame.com/wfto-wednesday-52/
Note that there has been a change in Super unit summoning mechanics. You now just have to pay a sin point to summon them instead of sacrificing a max level cultist in a ritual.
Sounds and looks good. Though will the 12 blocked aspects in the veins of evil up there actually be filled with something else again or will they just stay blocked like that forever from now on?
[quote]code team has been working overtime on a heavily requested technical feature [/quote]
And that is…?
I have no confirmations, but my guess would be the ability to save/load games. See how “save” is italicized 😉
I can dowload it today?