Dome Keeper News

Keepers! Thank you for all your support, ideas, feedback, and camaraderie as part of the Keepers Guild. While we are hard at work developing new content for the game, there is something only you can help with - The Steam Awards.

We are hoping you will nominate us for [h3]Most Innovative Gameplay[/h3]

Creating Dome Keeper has been a fantastic journey as we discover, develop, and improve various aspects of the game. If like us, you too enjoy the trek as we experiment, prototype, and create new types of gameplay, then please share the love with a nomination.

Thank you again for all for your continued support and we will keep being busy with all the new things we're excited to bring you.

Until the next one, Keepers

[h2]Hey Keepers![/h2]

thank you for the feedback regarding problems with the waves. In the Assessor update, we changed a bit how waves were generated, and that magnified a bug that always existed.
A bit of insight :)

[h3]Wave Designer[/h3]
The Wave Designer, one of many tools we made to make dome.

That's a small tool i built to help create snippets.

[h3]Snippets[/h3]

Snippets are small sequences of monsters. The intention of having them was to combine pre-designed challenges with procedurally generated waves.
Tasked with generating a wave, the wave generator would then look at all valid snippets, and combine them freely until the desired wave strength was reached. You can see that a monster either spawns left or right. Randomly, the whole snippet could also be flipped, to spawn on the other sides.

[h3]Do we even need snippets?[/h3]
In the last update, i removed all snippets except for single monster ones. With the stingray, it suddenly did not make sense to have all these premade flyer snippets - instead we'd need a stronger system to support "one of those" as a placeholder, like "use a tier 1 flying monster". Before doing that, i wondered if the snippet system was actually beneficial, or if not having it would feel any different. You see, this is complexity, and avoiding complexity is usually great. There are many risks in there too, like some monster appearing overproportionally often, because they are in many snippets. This gets harder and harder to balance the more monsters we have.
Because of this, i decided to remove all snippets and only keep single monster ones. So the most basic setup. Divers didn't appear as a single snippet, so i accidentally culled them too.

[h3]The Bug[/h3]
Remember i wrote that snippets could be flipped? What happened here is that flipping a snippet would cause every occurance of that snippet to be flipped. This is a bug - each snippet should be flipped or not flipped individually. Before, this was not very obvious, as every monster appeared in various snippets. But now with only one snippet per monster, it meant that all monsters of the same type would come from the same side. Very bad. Especially if you suddenly have 7 drillers coming from the same side.

That's not right.

[h3]Fixed[/h3]
It's an easy fix, just making all used snippets independent of each other (separate instances). But it shows well how bad complexity can be - in this case, it hid this bug that was always causing some obscure shenanigans. If you saw very strange waves that were lopsided, like 5 ticks coming from the same side, it might have been this bug. It can still happen now, which is also ok, but less often and we also know why it happens.

[h3]v2.0.15[/h3]

• fixed monsters of the same type only coming from the same direction within a wave.
• less lopsided waves - some of it is ok and interesting, but it's a bit less random now
  
• divers will spawn again
  
• fixed rare crash when starting a new game or loading an old save
  

I recently wrote a small post on the Assessor feedback, for which we are very thankful!
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1637320/discussions/0/3547176090237501720/

Hotifxes always have a chance to break some things, so please tell if you notice something being very off.

Have fun!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/

That's right, Keepers, Dome Keeper is now 20% off for the Midweek Madness sale!

Have you been waiting to get digging? Then here's your time to get going! With our new Assessor Update, there's even more new content for you to enjoy.

Now's the time to dig, survive and be kind to Drillbert; he needs his rest.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Dome Improvement: Meet the Assessor!
[/h2]
[h3]Greetings, Keepers![/h3]

We hope you've been having a smashing time (quite literally) in Dome Keeper and are diligently keeping your Drillberts happy, healthy, and full of delicious treats.

Today we'd like to introduce you to The Assessor, Dome Keeper's all-new Keeper! With an exciting new set of skills and abilities, we reckon The Assessor will turn the underground Dome Keeper experience completely upside down as up until now, you've only been able to experience the wonder of Dome Keeper playing as The Engineer, the gritty, non-nonsense miner who powers through the bedrock with force.

A band of technologists living right on the precipice of experimental science, one might think of the Assessor as the high-tech yin to The Engineer's brute force yang. Here's everything you need to know about the all-new Keeper and their unique skill set…

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Self assessor-ment[/h3]

Furnished with the latest state-of-the-art equipment from the Guild, Assessors are equipped with their trusty electromagnetic power pack. Unlike The Engineer's separate drill and jetpack, Assessors use their equipment to levitate both themselves and their finds, zipping through tunnels and mining out iron, cobalt, and water not by drilling but by smashing up the rock with their astonishing kinetic spheres!



Initially, you'll have two spinning spheres you'll launch toward the rocks. They'll hit the wall, damaging it, and after a few hits reducing that rock to rubble.

Things get even more exciting when you start unlocking upgrades. One pathway, for instance - Sphere Reflection - lets the Assessor reflect the spheres to rebound, essentially creating a mini-game of breakout. That lets you quickly chip away with good timing. Another option offers to add more spheres or buff how powerful they are, helping you mine much more rapidly.

Carrying your resources back to the dome works differently, too; thanks to the Assessor's mysterious force field, you'll not carry your resources back up to the dome as much as they'll levitate alongside you. You can even fire the resources off, flinging them closer to the dome or straight into there if you're a good enough shot!



But all of the Assessor's fancy tech also requires you to do one thing well: plan your shots! Once unleashed, you have little control over the spheres. A bad shot will vanish quickly, a great shot will destroy swathes of rock, so you always want to make sure you place your spheres where it matters.
Sometimes you won't find a great spot. Then you can rely on your rotational mining for help - often you'll be able to prepare the rock layout to maximize the power of your spheres.

[h3]Jeepers Keepers[/h3]

No longer will you be playing in the straight forward fashion you get with the Engineer. It'll be up to you to ensure you properly plan your sphere shots and time your reflections well, to maximize your mining capabilities!

So go on then, get in there and let those spheres fly! Let us know what you think, and what ideas you have for any future Keepers that may join the team!

Make sure you're following Dome Keeper on Twitter or join our Discord to meet and swap tips with other Keepers, as well as tell us all about your favorite map modifiers, gadgets, and anything you'd like to see us bring to Dome Keeper in the future!


[h3]Changelog v2.0[/h3]

added the Assessor, a new keeper based around control of gravity. Also comes with a completely new OST and 4 Achievements.
added a new monster, the Stingray. It's a lowest tier flying monster, bringing a bit of variety early on, replacing the flyer in some worlds.
improved sprites for Rockman
buffed orchard:
- Root explosion deals a fixed, high amount of damage.
- Fruit buff upgrades are much cheaper.
- Shield last for much longer and is a bit cheaper.
more community translated languages now available
reworked sword impact recurperation and added visual effect for when it's active. It will now activate during the battle, as soon as the damage threshold is reached.
added alternative tooltips for other controller types than xbox. Automatic detection should work for Playstation and Switch Pro controller.
• improved sprites for keepers in loadout screen
  
• added option to set how often music plays
  
• improved colors of orchard fruit in HUD, for better readability towards the end
  
• improved animations for unlockable screen
  
• improved some worm and sword sounds
  
• wave counter and inventory now cost 1 water
  

Until the next one, Keepers - Dome Sweet Dome!

Dome Improvement: Gadgets Galore

Although we've already spent time talking about the primary gadgets you'll encounter in Dome Keeper, how about a little more information about the other gizmos and gadgets you'll come across, too?

Sure, you get to choose your primary gadget before you kick off each new Dome Keeper run, but there's also an incredible smorgasbord of tools and gadgets hidden in the rocks below your dome. Here's a rundown of some of the types of gadgets you may find, and what benefits they bring…

Inspect-our Gadgets
As well as the minerals and resources your Keeper needs to make upgrades and keep your dome in tip-top condition, beneath the surface you'll uncover secret chambers that contain helpful little gadgets, too.

Bring one back to your dome, and you'll get a choice: select one of two randomized gadgets, or sacrifice it for two extra cobalt pieces… and what you choose can make a big difference to your run!

Take Blast Mining, for instance. Drag it - or fling it! - to your preferred spot and it'll detonate, instantly excavating an area and saving you a lot of time. Alternatively, you can upgrade it so it digs out a long tunnel instead of a small square.



How about a Lift – that sounds handy, right? Set one up, gather your resources, and you'll be able to send them back to the dome, giving you extra precious time to keep digging whilst the elevator does the heavy lifting… literally!

A Teleporter, on the other hand, enables you to move quickly back and forth between the mine and the dome, cutting down your traveling time which - let's face it - can be the difference between life and death in Dome Keeper! What's that? You'd rather send back resources and fly home the scenic route? Well, you can do that, too, via an upgrade available in the Teleporter's tech tree – for that matter, every found gadget has its own upgrade pathways, too.



That's not all, though! We have a Condenser - a nifty machine that auto-magically generates water, which can be used to overcharge your primary gadget - and a Converter, which does exactly what it says on the tin and lets you convert excess materials, which is particularly useful if you're running low on one resource but have more than you need of another.

There's even a Probe that sends out an electronic impulse to show you exactly where nearby resources are hiding, saving your Keeper time and effort and ensuring your digging pattern is much more targeted.

Last but definitely not least: have you met Drillbert? He's your super cute dino pal who loves to dig and will scratch away wherever you place him, leaving you free to drill someplace else, essentially doubling your chances of unearthing something valuable. When he hits a dead-end he'll take a brief nap until you reposition him. You may even discover that he'll dig a little faster if a tasty treat or two is up for grabs!



Because each tech tree offers plentiful pathways and branches to upgrade your gadget, there are many, many ways to customize your gadgets, with every branch specially designed to address a particular aspect of the game: traveling time, resource management, getting materials back to the dome, and so on. Use them together, though – in synergy – and you'll open all kinds of neat shortcuts and ideas, making every run feel fresh and rewarding.

Make sure you're following Dome Keeper on Twitter or join our Discord and tell us all about your favorite gadgets, including your wishlist for the future! And don't forget: Dome Keeper is out now!

Until the next one, Keepers - Dome Sweet Dome!