v0.14 (2023-03-08) — more classes + combat log

another big release! two major new items this time around: battle log and 4 new classes.

battle log

it’s exactly what it sounds like: a log detailing all the little events that make up the combo round. it’s really helpful for parsing through the ways in which your abilities interact with one another, and is particularly useful further into the game when behavior becomes a little less predictable.

the log can be valuable in normal situations…

…but it really shines when the abilities start popping off.

the log forced me to do something i should have already done: build a general event system for reporting events and emitting them to subscribers. by structuring the log this way instead of writing to it directly, i’ve made it much easier for me to implement other interesting behaviors in the future:

• units speaking in response to specific events (or sequences of events)
• units taking action in response to specific events/sequences
• environment reacting to events/sequences

4 new classes

• VIGILANTE -> ?????
• SOLDIER -> ?????
• HUNTER -> ?????
• GUNSLINGER -> ?????

i don’t want to spoil the new classes, but i’ll tell you that they are all quite distinct. all classes now have second tiers: medics, saguaros and gym rats already had their tier 2 upgrades, and this update adds upgraded classes for gunslingers, hunters, vigilantes, and soldiers.

there are also two new class groups: cynics and villagers. cynics are those folks who are willing to win at any cost, or perhaps are more interested in saving their own skins than they are protecting the gulch. villagers are the exact opposite, the folks who take these classes are infused with the will to defend the gulch in ways that would make their ancestors proud.

remaining classes (7)

so, what’s next class-wise? the plan is for each base class to have two tier 2 upgrade paths. that means each of the 7 base classes need one additional class before the initial batch or “core” class set is complete. (there will be many more classes, though they may not make it to the itch version. we’ll see!)

personality system

this is just a vague idea i’ve been thinking about a lot, but once the core class set is complete i’m going to try and put it together. the basic idea is that the individual turtles — yes i know they don’t have shells, but they’re turtles to me — the individual turtles will have personality traits. those personality traits will be hidden until they are “triggered” by some event that makes them take an action and reveals their quirk. i’m not quite sure whether to have the personality traits apply to the individual unit or to the classes, but i know that i want them to be hidden and revealed in surprising ways.

there isn’t much else to say on this, except that this is where i want the moral “heart” of the game to lie. surprise is an effective way to trigger attention and understanding, and i’d like to use that here to make this game just a teeny, tiny, pinch-of-salt bit more meaningful than a puzzlebox tactics card game. nothing preachy, just a dose of interest to be a bit thought-provoking.

some aspect of this will definitely make it to the itch.io version, this will be a core mechanic and hopefully inseparable from the game as a whole.

THANKS FOR READING and THANKS FOR PLAYING!!