Dome Keeper News

Greetings Keepers,

Fresh reports have arrived from the final stages of preparation for the Springloaded update! Details include revised info on several existing gadgets and notes that the R&D team also put their time into engineering a number of exciting Dome and device updates. The Guild put together the following brief to help in preparation for the coming new deployments:

[h3]Gadgets[/h3]
Keepers will want to be ready to take another look at some of the existing gadgets. Improvements to the probe, teleporter, and particularly our buddies Drillbert and Drilliam figures to make them more useful.

One scout reported forgetting that they had a snack with them when jumping into the teleporter only to find it still with them when they materialized back in the mines. And that even before feeding the little guy, Drillbert seemed to have made a lot more progress than expected. The Scout’s entry ends there as an attack wave hit, though it does mention that Drillbert started to cower in fear rather than falling asleep.



Loadout choices may also need a second look. Combat abilities on all three of the primary gadgets appear to be operating differently. Shields crackled with energy and the roots and canopy shield of the orchard do not seem to crumble away after each attack. Be careful with Wither, though, as it no longer seems to take out waves of enemies, though reports are that monsters were taking heavy damage from weapons fire while active.

[h3]All Domes[/h3]
Guild quartermasters are also ready to deploy new dome tech upgrades. Working in cooperation with Keeper debriefings, R&D have developed the following to support Keepers on their expeditions!

• Adaptive Wave Warner
  
• Auto Repair
  
• Exit Route
  

[h3]Sword Dome[/h3]
Also based on Keeper reports, the Sword dome gets improvements we think you are going to like. Higher power motivators have been developed that increase damage for both slice and stab. This upgrade also benefits the Javelin, which required a little additional tuning to feel just right. To handle the increased power, the dome has been strengthened and the Impact Recuperation upgrade boosted as well

[h2]We Need You[/h2]
Keepers, your feedback played a big part in our work on this update. We use it side by side with our designs to develop and improve the game. With so many Keepers going on so many runs we need a better way to understand all the experiences you are having.

So we will add anonymized in-game action telemetry through PlayFab with this update. This will give us super-valuable answers like, “how many players chose shield vs. orchard vs. repellant?” or “which gadgets do players most often shred for cobalt instead of using?” We only collect player actions with a randomly generated ID number without any personal info attached.

There is so much vital information about how you interact with the game and changes to make the game more fun. We implemented this as a setting in the options, so you can turn it on or off. An in-game popup will ask you first, and it is not turned on by default. We are very thankful if you can help make the game better by allowing telemetry. We’ll make sure to share some insight in the future. That should be interesting for everyone.

Now, would you believe there is even more to talk about for this update? Next time we’ll dig into the coming adjustments to both Relic Hunt and Prestige modes, and if all goes to plan let you know when the Springloaded update will be sprung.

With gadgets set to star in the free Springloaded Update - oh, had we mentioned that it will be free? Yeah, it is :) Anyway, this makes the perfect time for a deeper look at gadgets in the design of Dome Keeper.

Gadgets add variety to Keeper strategies. The primary gadget selected at loadout sets up a major element of the run ahead. Secondary gadgets found in the mines open up new tactics in the middle of the game. These offer interesting options affecting offense, defense, transportation, and information.

When designing gadgets, we look for creative ideas that boost one of these areas, or create a whole new way of thinking about it. New gadgets also need to be unique. They need to give players a whole new dynamic to play right in the middle of a run.

Starting with the Springloaded update, Keepers will be able to find three new gadgets buried beneath their domes.

[h2]The Autocannon[/h2]

The Autocannon is an automated defense gadget for the players that want a more direct helping hand with monster defense. focusing on the source of danger itself - the monsters. The autocannon comes with a series of tech tree options allowing you to choose what fits your needs for the current situation. The key attributes of the Autocannon are bullet damage, movement speed of the cannon, bullet spray, and the time between shots.


The Autocannon will have several upgrade options, one example is the Machine Gun. This upgrade will decrease your time between shots as well as slightly increase your bullet spray.


The Heavy Bullets upgrade however, is all about the impact. Increasing the size of the bullet as well as the base bullet damage.

The Autocannon really is the very first gadget that has strong offensive abilities. It will be interesting to see how you use it to complement your main weapons.

[h2]The Prospecting meter[/h2]

A new gadget to support and aid underground discovery and improve your chances to find valuable minerals to bolster your dome defenses. The prospecting meter points out how close different resources are, a bit like you are playing "hot or cold" with resources. Its main attributes are detection range, what resources it detecs and how often it refreshes this information.


The Prospecting meter starts out detecting iron, but can be upgraded to display the distance to water and cobalt too.


Its detection range can be upgraded to find resources even deeper underground.

Overall it will be an interesting alternative to the probe, especially as it does not even need a cellar slot. The probe in return also got some improvements, but more on that in another post.

[h2]The Spire[/h2]

A new state-of-the-art projectile defense system, the Spire is designed to detect, intercept, and destroy incoming monster projectiles through accurate auto-targeting. The main attributes for the Spire are how often it can shoot before it needs to recharge and the recharge time.


The spire has a few critical upgrade paths, focusing on one of two fire modes. You can either go for a burst fire mode, where the spire can take out many projectile sin a short time but needs serious time to recharge.


Or you can go for a sustained fire mode, where the spire recharges between each shot, but does this quite quickly.

For defense the spire also comes with two modes. In one mode, it can either split the monster projectiles into many small ones that do damage the monsters. Alternatively it can transform an incoming projectile into an energy trap, which blocks other projectiles and can even stun monsters.

We hope you’re excited to give these new gadgets a go in the upcoming free Springloaded Update. And this really isn’t all. Many gadgets, both primary and secondary, have been reworked. Take the stun laser. We couldn’t let the autocannon have all the fun. But more on that to come.

Incoming reports from scouts point to changes for gadgets on upcoming deployments! The Guild R&D department has given the codename “Spring Loaded Gadgets” to this information.

Readings from Dome sites beyond the next update show advancements to the known existing gadgets and three devices never seen before now. Two gadgets are unlike anything we have in the current catalog, and the third at first got misidentified as the stun laser. A closer examination of the readings showed they are not consistent with that gadget - it must also be something new. Additional data and analysis is needed.

Along with these exciting discoveries, evidence of improved versions of existing gadgets is being evaluated now. It seems the R&D team has also been working on a number of improvements to the standard gadgets as well as other core Dome components.

This preliminary report is only the beginning - please await further updates as we continue to collect more information and research.

Happy Base Building Fest, Keepers!

We celebrate the joy and happiness of setting up a solid base and protective dome with 25% off! We are counting on you veteran Keepers who have survived and thrived on the frontier to support the aspiring new Keepers joining every day – now might be a good time to share some of the accumulated knowledge!

Play the game however you want, if you happen to face difficulties; here are some tips from the Guild to get you started:

• Use your first few runs to get the hang of it and earn some unlocks. Get to know the tools at your disposal and then move on to bigger maps and higher difficulties. With that suggestion in mind, let's look at some of the considerations Keepers face on their runs.
  
  
• Use the pre-drop choices of dome and primary gadget to suit the way you like to play. Sure, experienced Keepers love to argue about the best loadouts. That doesn't necessarily make them your favorite. The Guild works day in and day out to make sure that every combination offers a good way for a Keeper to work their run the way they want to.
  
  
• Once on the surface, things start to happen pretty quickly. After the first level of resource gathering and basic defense upgrades, plans tend to change on the fly. Don't overlook the active combat ability of your primary gadget. It can come in handy during almost any attack wave.
  
  
• Secondary gadgets, found through digging, add another layer to the strategic choices a Keeper must make. They provide support for specific aspects of dome management. This gives you flexibility based on what you find. For example, get the Elevator and consider whether its resource transport function will allow you to upgrade other areas before taking the increased carrying capacity.
  
  
• You never know what combination of resources, gadgets and caves you'll find on each run. Finding the path to success is what Keepers do. Before you know it, you'll be facing challenging scenarios and coming back to discuss the finer points of dome building.
  

Additionally the Guild is in the p̴͍͑̉́r̸̝̈́̀̕o̶̲̺̐͜c̷̢̳̙̑̋ḛ̵̤̈̽͠s̸̨̺̗̈́͝s̶̢̉̈́͝ ̸̰̤͋o̷̳̔ͅf̴͚̀͒ ̵̼̪͈͋̌d̶̛̞͂̀e̴̝͌v̶̩̺̞͗͛͊e̸̡̙͉̿͌̈́l̵̬͈̉̃͆o̴̝͆p̸͇͋î̸͇̀̑n̶͇̙̼̏̊͒ǵ̴̱̱ ̵̠̳̭̑́n̴̙̬̿͗̿ẻ̷̬̓͠ẁ̴̮̬̚ … [the transmission is scrambled and has cut out, leaving only a scrambled image:

[h2]Greetings Keepers[/h2]
thank you again for your plentiful bug reports! We looked into the trouble with lasers letting some projectiles through, despite claiming to shoot them down. During that, we figured out another issue with laser, where shots could block the laser from reaching a monster.

In the meantime, we are working on bundling up some cool additions and improvements into a new update. We'll share something in the next weeks, stay tuned :)

WIP cool stuff :D

[h3]Changelog Hotfix v2.3.2[/h3]

fixed monsters not getting hit by laser, if there is a projectile between monster and laser
fixed destroyed projectiles still catching the laser, allowing projectiles behind it to pass through
fixed only ever seeing world 1 after unlocking the second one

• scarab won't flash white when invulnerable and hit
  
• fixed squidley getting stuck when trying to carry off a resource that is in the lift, but pushed onto an impassable ceiling
  

As always Should you encounter any bugs/issues while playing, please visit our support desk where someone can assist you https://rawfury.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/1

[h2]Have fun :)[/h2]