Build 26608780

Hi everyone,

This post covers the last few updates, and the big one is three new maps: THE SWAMP, LIVING FOREST and THE GLACIER. They're part of the base game, so there are now eight maps in all, each with a hundred waves, its own enemies, its own wave 50 boss and its own citadel.

THE SWAMP is a drowned town in green acid, with roads and causeways that light up as your network reaches them. LIVING FOREST fights back: its roots spread toward your structures, and you can see them glowing gold under the soil before they break through. THE GLACIER has avalanche chutes that load up with snow and slide down when they're full, so where you build matters.

They open as you go. Beating the wave 50 boss on THE ISLANDS opens THE DUNES and LIVING FOREST, THE DUNES opens THE CITY and THE SWAMP, and THE CITY opens THE TIDES and THE GLACIER. If you already beat those bosses, the new maps are open the next time you load.

Each new map gives you a unit for beating its wave 50 boss and another for wave 100. THE SWAMP gives the SKIMMER, a hovercraft that crosses water, and then THE SPITTER. LIVING FOREST gives IRONWOOD and then THE ROOTWALKER. THE GLACIER gives ICEPICK, a tank with two lasers that freeze enemies in place, and then a HOWLER of your own. There are six new achievements for those goals. Locked units show in the build bar with the map and wave that win them, so you know what you're playing toward.

The free demo now has LIVING FOREST next to THE FLOODED CITY, both to wave 50.

The newest update is mostly about the APEX, the boss waiting at wave 100 on THE TIDES. It's now a big armored eye. Its pupil follows whatever it's shooting, the slit narrows before each round, and the lids droop while it mends. On THE TIDES the enemy HQ holds the half-built eye in its claws and watches your soldiers until your first hit throws it open.

At half health it gets angry. It shuts its eye and shakes while six smaller eyes tear open across its armor. From then on it takes less damage, and every 8 seconds each small eye marks one of your units with a red line and fires a bolt down it a moment later. Move a marked soldier out of the way and the bolt misses. I wanted the second half of the fight to give you something to do with your hands, so tell me if it feels fair or just mean.

The new maps got more detail too. THE SWAMP's acid has drifting light, wreckage under the surface and vents that boil up every few seconds. On THE GLACIER everything leaves trails in the snow that match how it moves: legs leave footprints, wheels leave tire lines, and anything that hovers leaves nothing. Houses inside your network get chimney smoke, and a low sun throws long shadows across the ice. On LIVING FOREST, cut roots wither into dry gray wood.

ICEPICK is cheaper now: 395 on NORMAL, down from 530.

Fixes:
- Soldiers in a squad now turn on whatever is hitting them, then go back to the squad's target.
- The KETTLE stands off and shells your turrets on EASY and NORMAL too, the way it already did on HARD.
- Soldiers on THE ISLANDS no longer flash NO WAY THROUGH at the end of a bridge.
- STANDING ORDERS and SECOND WIND no longer fail over things that weren't really your fault, and TEMPO has a clearer description.
- The UNITS panel fits on one row on more screens, and older saves show their best wave on every map again.

If you've tried one of the new maps or made it to the APEX, I'd love to hear how it went. Thanks for playing!