Due to some annoying real-life stuff, I'm late again (sorry). But on the other hand, this is likely the biggest recent Update mechanics-wise! After getting a bit of a new wave of feedback these last weeks, I've been able to pinpoint and better examine many of the cruxes that've been making the early UX of Endless Tactics "boring", or not engaging enough to keep players hooked.
... To start with, many balance adjustments have been made to give further emphasis on the "tactics" part of the experience - tougher choices, and more impactful decisions from the getgo; besides that, I've also added a brand new mechanic, Unit Modifiers (which is also a core part of the early game btw), and I'll expand upon it right below:
CHANGES
UNIT MODIFIERS - And finally, a brand new core-gameplay-mechanic (been a while since the last of these)! Unit Modifiers are essentially "rolls" for Units. Both for Player's (via Airdrops), and Enemies' (odds increased by Escalation). Whenever a Unit gets blessed (or not) by the RNG, it'll have ONE of its Stats permutated with another - such trade will occur to varying degrees (classified by a "rarities"-like system), whereas one Stat will be benefited, and the other will be detracted from (with dynamic weights and values to each). For example, a Unit with the [ EXTRA CHARGED ] title will be granted more Damage in tradeoff say Health (+3 Damage, -3 Health, for example). As a bonus, Units affected by this will also have entirely unique (and dynamic) visuals!
GUIDE - As (hopefully) the final nail into the tutorial-stage of Endless Tactics, the Guide is a mini-encyclopedia that retains ALL crucial data and info displayed through the very first Dialogue blocks of the Trial Run (plus certain one-shot Dialogue to explain mechanics like Weather Events and alike). There you'll be able to browser through every single aspect of the game, and even get hints to certain secret interactions. Whenever seeing a tutorial Dialogue for the first time, you'll be prompted to check its Guide entry, and you'll be also able to reset said Dialogue over there (aka trigger it again on next playthrough)... All of this directly answering a good deal of player-feedback I've been getting the last months, so I tried to make it as integrated and as encapsulating as possible to the current beginner UX. Viewable both in the Main and Pause menu, for your convenience.
NEW UPGRADES/ARTIFACTS - Plenty of new Artifacts related to the recently added mechanics, and an Upgrade that controls how many Airdrop Slots with Unit Modifiers you'll get at every Reroll! (by default, only 1 Airdrops Slot is granted to pop up with a Unit Modifier).
ITCH.IO RELEASE - As we've just reached Pre-Release status (as can be seen above), the Itch.io version is finally in! HERE IT IS - Will be constantly updated, just like the Steam version, and will also come with a free BETA TEST key (that grants you permanent access to the game) so you can also play the Steam full version right now if you buy it!
NEW ART - New Icons, Shield sprites, and more!
TONS OF BUGFIXES! - Crash fixes, dialogue-related fixes, UI-related fixes, etc...
MAJOR QOL - New more intuitive way to skip Trial Run (aka tutorial-run), new Assist Option related to Unit Modifiers, better scroll-bars, WIP Language prompts, etc...
MAJOR BALANCE CHANGES - Tons of Enemy Scaling and Stats related changes, alongside the inclusion of Unit Modifiers for Enemies as stated above. Operations should be a lot more intense from the getgo, but not unfairly so, as both this and other patches have been giving the Player a lot more tools and options to efficiently dispose of them... So this was mostly just me evening out the playing field.
DIALOGUE CHANGES - Several improvements/fixes to previous Dialogue text, and a few new entries added as well.
And much more!
We also just wrapped up our Artifact Anomalies giveaway contest a while ago, by the way (Suggest your Artifact Anomaly! (earn Steam Keys for the first 50 suggestions!) :: Endless Tactics Events & Announcements). Couldn't be more satisfied with just how many of you participated, and thanks for the input, everyone! Will surely be doing more contests like this in the near future, so stay tuned!
As always, most of the feedback gathered and addressed from our Reddit.
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- the_procrastinator