Swarm Grinder News

Hey there, thanks for playing v0.7.0 and giving feedbacks. This hotfix (more like warmfix now) should solve these problems:

1. We hope, problems with last drill area are solved. Now you can find and open the cells on last drill area without any problems.
   
2. Late game waves are harder. You won't make it out alive.
   
3. Tentacle attack and Vortex Blade pull areas are now correctly represented.
   
4. Cursed Chests can be see from a bit farther.
   
5. Cursed Chests now open instantly. Some players stop expecting the game to stop instantly and enemies would catch up and damage the player.
   
6. Some little quality of life and text improvements:
   

• Hp regen upgrade in Workshop now correctly displays health regen, from 0.4 to 0.2.
  
• Main Menu -> Back to Lobby in Run End Screen
  
• Confirm prompt for refunding Workshop purchases
  
• Hovering over Gadget and Evolution selections in Selection menu now selects them and updates info text.
  
• Sometimes WASD and gamepad navigation would stop working in specific menus. They should mostly be fixed now.
  
• Some more unmentioned text and bug fixes.
  

We are aware of the issue preventing the game from opening only on the Mac version, and we are still working to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patient waiting, and we apologize for this unexpected problem.

v0.7.0


After Early Access, along with the feedback we received, we thoroughly reviewed the game to chart a roadmap for ourselves. We had a beloved gimmick, but the enhancements in the game were still rudimentary and superficial. Without making significant changes, none of the content we added would make the game satisfying in terms of depth and entertainment. So, we started working on a major rework where we revamped all the enhancements. This patch includes some significant extras along with the completed parts of this rework.


[h2]SUMMARY[/h2]

• The Dash gadget has been added, and a feature for extending the range of the Manual Trigger has been added.
  
• New soundtracks have been added.
  
• New upgrades have been introduced including specials, offering entirely new gameplay styles.
  
• The difficulty balance of the game has been overhauled.
  
• Reroll option has been added for abilities and upgrades.
  
• All menus in the game have been redesigned, and the ability to view the results of upgrades in-game menus has been added.
  

To make all these changes, we had to postpone our plans to expand content such as maps, characters, and modes that we had in mind. However, we are currently working on a content expansion that we want to present to you soon. The newly added Dash gadget is just a small part of this.


[h2]DETAILS[/h2] GADGETS

The Dash gadget has been added to the game with the revamp of the gadget system, first of many gadgets to be added to the game in full release. Now, when you find yourself in a tight spot or want to make faster progress in the game, you can dash in the direction you're moving by pressing the "Gadget Key". While the Dash gadget refills over time naturally, you can speed up access to it by opening cells!

Additionally, we've updated the Manual Trigger gadget to increase its trigger range per cell opened. This transforms it into a more tactical gadget in the early stages of the game and allows for triggering more enemies towards the end.

SOUNDTRACKS

New soundtracks have been added, including tracks for the final boss as well as for the Cave and Garden maps.

NEW UPGRADES AND PLAY STYLES

30 upgrade options have been added or reworked into the game, providing numerous different gameplay styles. Each ability now has at least two special upgrades. We plan to have three special upgrades for all skills in the full version of the game.

GAME DIFFICULTY

Alongside the new gameplay styles, we've reevaluated the game's difficulty. Dying has become much more challenging, but so has killing enemies. Our aim is to encourage players to explore gameplay styles that may break the game. Additionally, we've meticulously reviewed the waves, which we intend to be the game's primary challenge.

SKILL AND UPGRADE REROLL

We've introduced a much-needed Reroll feature to the game, free to experiment with until it will be unlockable using Bioshards in the full release. Currently, you have 2 Skill Rerolls and 3 Upgrade Rerolls that refresh at the start of each hand. This makes experimenting with play styles much more manageable.

MENUS AND UI

We've completely revamped the main menu, workshop, character, and map selection screens. Our goal is to make everything much clearer and selection much more comfortable before entering the game.

Before acquiring an upgrade in-game, you can now see exactly how that upgrade will change which ability. Additionally, from the pause menu, you can see the contents of all upgrades acquired and how they affect your abilities.

OTHER NOTES

We removed the Fuel Station from the game as it was emphasizing certain gameplay styles too much.

We are continuing our tease from last week! These changes will be coming with the next major patch in a week or two. Let’s see what we have…

MENUS OVERHAUL

Main menu is changing completely. We wanted more authentic, fresher look while also improving the ease of use.

Workshop now has a dedicated menu with a more meaningful setting.

IN-GAME UX IMPROVEMENTS

Upgrade descriptions used to be too similar to the upgrade effects under them. This feels a little awkward, so we are changing it. Upgrade descriptions are less filled with text and are easier to read. Just sentences with upgrade numbers embedded in.



Also, now we show how stats will change in the upgrade selection window! Now you will see the before & after of an upgrade before selecting it. This was hard to implement because of so many ways stats might change, and so it was hard to detect the before and the after, but it is finally here.



Build display in the Pause Menu now reads directly from the upgrade, so it will be consistent and more thorough. It will be able to show previous levels of the upgrade as well. That will come in handy during build theory-crafting.

As mentioned in the last week, rerolls are coming!

Hey all. We have been silent on the news for a while, because we’ve been working on a lot of big things! In this announcement we will tease a part of it and tease the rest in the next announcement.


UPGRADES OVERHAUL

The previous upgrades were sometimes lacking in specific synergies, and some upgrades did not lead anywhere at all. Some were downright a debuff. Now, the old ones are reworked into a lot of synergistic upgrades. They will be a lot more satisfying to combine.



2 MORE SPECIALS FOR EACH SKILL

With the new builds coming around, we are TRIPLING the amount of specials! Many people did not like the single choice of special, this should fix that. These specials will allow for a lot crazier synergies, let’s see what you can cook with the new arsenal of choices!



REROLL

Sometimes, the game forces you to take some upgrades or skills that you don’t want, and that is neither fun nor fair, as many of you rightfully told so. We are implementing a novel, never heard before mechanic, REROLLS! Now you will be able to reroll your skill drops and upgrades drops.


COMBAT OVERHAUL

No more instant deaths, no more rapid health loss and healing back up! The enemy damages and healings in the game has been lowered, so the combat will be much more stable.


ENEMY REBALANCE

Enemy types did not offer enough of a difference before, so they all felt the same. Now they are much more impactful, tanks will not be stalled so easily, and dashers will be flanking you unless you know how to deal with them, and more!

v0.5.1

We have been cleaning up our code, optimizing older systems and incorporating new systems to make the game run smoother and more consistent. This should increase FPS and minimize FPS drops noticably.