'Moonstone Madness' Update now available!
Trolls vs Vikings: Reborn · published · build 17881831
Hey everyone, hope you're all hanging in there during these wild times. It seems Loki's up to his old tricks, tempting folks to chase after gold without thinking of the fallout.
Fittingly, our first content patch, Moonstone Madness, dives into the theme of taking risks for greater rewards. When we first dreamed it up months ago, it felt like a fun concept. Now, it mirrors the world around us more than we ever expected.
A few weeks into our launch, and things are looking up. We've gathered more than 50 reviews from players and curators—many of them glowing! It's fantastic to see that those who've joined us on this journey are loving the game. A massive thank you for playing and for taking the time to share your thoughts!
We've also spotted many streamers diving into the game. Watching skilled players tackle Trolls vs Vikings: Reborn has been both entertaining and enlightening. While we might not catch every stream, we're taking notes and learning heaps as we move forward.
Sure, our numbers are very modest compared to the big hitters, but Trolls is a labor of love. We're here for the long haul, committed to bringing you updates and new content.
Now, let’s dive into Moonstone Madness, our first content patch
From the title, you see that this special mission centers around Moonstone, and pre-placed Hacks in the levels. As the difficulty ramps up, these Hacks are forced closer to the frontlines, emphasizing that classic risk/reward balance.
- Early Levels: The first two are relatively forgiving, with four Hacks positioned mid-field.
- Cranking Up the Heat: By level 3 and 4, things get intense. I've played through various setups and found number 4 particularly challenging, with a personal success rate hovering around 40%. But with some trial and error, effective strategies do emerge.
- The Final Showdown: The last level is a wild ride. We've nudged the Hacks back a row due to the chaos, but losing any of them isn't an option! A top-tier spell and shard setup will be your best friends here.
Things get especially hairy when the Ram-bock minibosses charge in, hurling some of the fiercest Vikings straight at your Hacks. You'll need to have your spells ready and possibly some Zaps on hand off cool-down. Taking out those Vikings before they strike your Hacks is crucial. This mission can and will end brutally swiftly if your strategy isn't on point.
Our game designer, Thor (not the god, though he's pretty mighty in his own right), has woven a little story into the final level of this campaign. We're still gauging how much narrative to infuse into Trolls, but we enjoy crafting these tales, and we hope they add a touch of flair.
What's Else is Brewing:
- Bug Fixes: We've squashed several bugs and will roll out a detailed list when the patch drops. This includes some localization fixes and making the 'Kill Thor before his goats' achievement work again.
- Achievement Tweak: Based on feedback, notably from 先辈 dvN_ 🦋, we've adjusted the "War Without End" achievement. Instead of requiring 100,000 Viking defeats, we've dialed it down to 25,000. Still a hefty challenge, but more attainable.
- Shard Rewards Streamlined: Now, diving straight into harder levels will also unlock the shards from the easier ones. If you've got the skills, there's no need to grind through the easy stuff. Another player’s feedback thing, keep ‘em coming as this obviously makes the game better (and we missed out on it).
- Localization Efforts: We're kicking off a Portuguese translation, with a Brazilian freelancer on the job. Look out for this in our next content patch, aptly named "Moving on Up." We're also eyeing Korean and Chinese translations to welcome more players into our community, but this may take us longer to achieve. Regardless we shall add more languages to the Steam page itself, but we want to work a bit on a new text before those come. Tinker tinker!
- Visual Variety: We're exploring new backgrounds and considering adding more Trolls and Vikings to the mix. That said, for the next few updates, our focus will be on special missions, languages, quality of life improvements, and addressing your feedback (and those pesky bugs). And probably a couple of new backgrounds.
That's the scoop for today. The patch is slated to launch late next week. We'd love to hear your thoughts on "Moonstone Madness" once you've had a chance to dive in. Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to evolve the game
All the best,
Jørgen and Team Trolls Reborn