Nova Swarm · published
This update is a major clarity and visual-polish pass for Nova Swarm. Tactical choices are easier to read, combat effects are richer and important HUD information gets room to breathe.
Tactical Draft cards now put the important decision first: the augment name, its category, a plain-language explanation, and a clear Choose action.
When a value can be calculated honestly, the card shows the current value and the result after choosing it. Context-dependent effects explain what they do instead of inventing a misleading number.
Stacks, Permanent This Run, doctrine synergy, Fusion progress and active-build context now appear as compact secondary elements. The cards are tighter and better organized, with far less empty space.
The Active Build display is now a four-category command deck with clearer offense, defense, mobility and utility state, plus doctrine and Fusion status. Rescan, Hold and Ban remain easy to reach without competing with the actual choices.
Lives, immediate danger, bosses and the active objective now receive the strongest visual priority. Powerups and traits remain visible, while score, records, directives and other secondary information are calmer.
Flawless Streak, Sector Clear and Rank Up now share one protected presentation lane. Messages are queued instead of stacking on top of each other, and deferred information is still shown rather than discarded.
The old concentric circles, target rings, pixel debris, diamonds and decorative stars have been replaced across normal explosions, boss defeats, Wave Clear, Sector Clear and Fusion reveals.
Explosions now use four organic plasma styles: nova, ion shear, solar corona and void collapse, with asymmetric tendrils, fractured wavefronts and directional fragments. Normal explosions choose color-compatible variations without immediate repeats, while boss deaths combine multiple styles for a larger finish.
All four Fusion Protocol reveals now have their own emblems, plasma ribbons and presentation instead of sharing the same simple symbol.
All ten Cabinet Wonders now have their own full Nova Swarm hero artwork and visual identity. The older procedural effects remain only as restrained animated accents.
Rare Wonders still appear at most once per run and remain purely visual: they do not change the fight or your score.
The Tractor interceptor’s beam is less likely to white out the screen. It uses fewer lanes and rings, lower intensity, and keeps hostile projectiles clearly visible above it.
Late-sector Tractor health scaling is gentler, with an 85 HP cap from Sector 20 onward. Early-sector health is unchanged.
— Tiny Foundry