The dust has settled after releasing Alpha20, and it seems that most players are greatly enjoying the new update. To those that had complaints about some of the new features: I heard you, and even if in the meantime I work on other things, I still remember about the old problems. It may take me some time to come up with solid fixes, though.

With this in mind, it’s time to announce the new upcoming features in Alpha21. This time I’m planning more high level changes, mostly involving new game modes. First of all, I’m going to make the campaign mode more competitive by removing most of the settings and limiting retired dungeons to just a few pre-made ones. This will make the runs more comparable between each other, and it will allow meaningful highscores (which will most likely be based only on the number of turns taken to win). The act of winning the game will also regain its meaning.

Rest assured that the current campaign mode will stay in the game, it will just be called ‘free play’ from now on. There will actually be more settings (more about them in future posts), and it will be something intended for more advanced players, who want to play the game by their own rules. The only caveat is that there won’t be highscores for this mode. I feel that this is necessary because of the possible abuse of the retired dungeon exchange, and the custom settings.

But that’s not all! I’m also introducing a new endless mode! The idea is quite simple: instead of conquering enemy bases, you are raided by creatures of increasing difficulty. The longer you survive, the higher your score.

This mode will take place on a campaign-like world map, but only with lesser villains and allies. Visiting them will be optional, and your main activity will be guarding your dungeon. There will be some tweaks and additions to prevent abuse, and to add an ongoing supply of resources. I see it more as an experiment for now, but I think it will be a fun mode. It’s something that quite a few people have requested. 🙂

There is one more major feature planned for the next update, and if time allows, quite a few smaller additions. I’ll be writing about them in the following weeks, and I’m looking forward to hearing your comments. Stay tuned!