DR4X News

Hello again! The house buying process is still ongoing! And will be until mid-may.
Due to all of that (buying a house is indeed stressful) and me playtesting this week a bunch to avoid the stress most of the changes this week were balance changes.

The weeks of May 9 through May 20th (especially the week of the 20th since i will be moving my furniture into the new house on the 16th will likely not have weekly change logs at all, because that is when im properly moving and will be setting up everything at my new house. (though the second half of that week might atcually be more productive than usual if we get everything set up fast, so this is all still up in the air).
If any of you have ever gone through a big move/bought a house im sure you understand.

Anyway,
Most of the following was live as of last night! Lets go...

-More spookiness

-Game now enforces reality

-New lose flourish

-More spooky string changes

-Added option to change the deploy mode theme to options menu, there are now 17 unique themes to choose from because I lack self control! I'll probably add many more!
--This changes how tiles look/are colored when deploying units and buildings, here is what the grayscale theme looks like...


Here is what sparkling blood theme looks like.
We all like blood here.
Yes. You Do.


And here is a small sample of the names of the other themes (experiment to see which you prefer! )

The default is set to the way it looked before this update, now called the "Dark" Theme




-Nothing notable



-Swamp tiles now have advantage over deep water and shallow water
--This makes it so moving onto a swamp can be a valid tactical decision, if your opponent is invading through the water. But it still has disadvantage against everything else, and most tiles still have advantage over it. It adds a lot to the gameplay IMO, since you have to weigh it into your desisions now.

-Vargr lairs now generate half the resources they used to, on Smart AI they were pretty hard to fight back against previously, now it is quite a bit easier (if its too easy i may reverse this change...but it felt good to play for me)

-Increased vargr cost from 12->15 misery

-Increased vargr upkeep from 2->3 misery

-Silver vargr upkeep increased to 5

-Increased hell goat upkeep to 10

-Decreased hell goat lair resource gen from 20->15

-Increased demon portal resource gen from 24->25

-Increase dancer cost from 20->25
--This means it takes one turn of resources per portal to create one since demon portal now generates 25

-Increased dancer recruitment turn cost from 1->2
--Hence halving the amount of dancers the demon dark force could produce per turn slowing down their expansion a tad (It spammed them far too much and they are very strong units, but in the long run they can make more)

-Reduced saber bear lair resource gen from 16->15
--Just reduces "extra" resources for wildlife

-Increased hell bear lair resource gen from 6->10
--This will make hell bears more common, and encourage the AI to build more lairs



-Experiment with the new deploy themes
(And with faction names...)


No new DR4X videos this week except my own so here is mine!
Remember if you make a DR4X video i'll rol a dice to see which one gets in the next change log!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hey guys! This week I had less house buying stuff to worry about so I managed to add a lot of new content (over 30 new random events). But I am still rather busy with the whole process. (things likely wont cool down until i move in in may so!) Also more suggestions got in :)

Most of the following was live as of last night! Lets go...



-Ratman factions now get more approriate names (I plan to do this for all the factions that lack unique name generators eventually)


-Added ability to toggle the CRT effect in the options menu (As suggested on the steam forums by the ever helpful Tchey!)


-Added start game popup for survive the onslaught goal finally


-Added name generator for gambling halls
--It is like the inn name generator except way more seedy and gambling related

-Added new random event that spawns units with a tragic backstory to the dark forest wild force setting

-Added over 30 new random events (They are unique to specific wild force options) and not all options have events yet. (Most do though!)

-Added new "Ludicrously High" random event frequency

-Added new "Even Higher" random event frequency

-Added new "Dumb" random event frequency which has a 50% chance every turn (More common random events was a suggestion from my discord)


-If random event procs and still fails to do a random event it will re-attempt a random event

-Made wild force based random events more common

-Added 2 new random events that only happen if an Inn exists in the world, so you might want to build an inn just to get a chance of a free unit

-Added 2 new random events that only happen at gambling halls (gives you a seedy character :P)

-Added 6 new hints


-Nothing notable this time



-Some of the random events that were always good will now rarely have a bad outcome since it reattempts random events now. (More crazy insane murderous adventurers spawn on the dark forest setting) (They all have the possibility of bad outcomes now, but chance varies based on skirmish setting (eg nightmare mode has bad stuff more often)



-Try the here be dragons
wild force with "dumb" frequency.



Check out Myself playing dr4x!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

As I mentioned last week, I am moving to a new house in the near future. So this week, I was very busy with the whole, filling out paperwork to buy a house, cleaning apartment, and getting a mortgage thing and dealing with the stuff that comes with that, so i didnt get much game dev done at all, unfortunately. Which is very rare for me.

Sorry guys! Hope you understand :(

Next week should be more productive because I basically have all the paperwork done.

This week's changelog is puny. But it is suggested features. Next week will likely also be suggested features, just more of them.

Most of the following was live as of last night! Lets go...


-Changed delete save file tooltip to be very clear

-I now display Unit Resources in a better way
--The resources show up on the main unit info tab, on the far right of it, in addition to all the places they already show up


-New win music replacing the music added last week!

-Fixed some typos

-Made it so smaller maps have even less wildlife because it annoyed me.

-Secretty secret things



-Fixed bug where mapgen ui didnt load properly after loading a game setup.

-Fixed issue where faction color wouldnt save and load in game setups properly.

-Fixed issue where goal wouldnt load properly upon loading a game setup.

-Fixed some cases of bug where full "Magic Resistance" string wouldnt show up on combat tab of unit info screen for some things.

-Fixed bug where ranged units weren't able to capture treasure on towns like i intended them to be able to



-Removed Dark Castle from "Here Be Dragons" because it annoyed me, instead now you can get Giant Beatle Lairs
--There are still some cases in which dark castle will spawn on this setting, just less common and it will be based more on world age, also DHLKJFHGKLJFGHJKLHFLJKHFLJKHFJKLHFKJL!!!!!!!!11111 (Also i will probably come up with some other fantasy monster to add this weekend that isnt an ugly gross giant cockroach monster...)


-Honestly this week is quiet for testable things



Check out TheMysteriousGamer playing dr4x!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This week we have a massive changelog and have completely overhauled the tile art for DR4X to be absolutely beautiful!
And changed the UI when doing actions, and also updated a few of the 3d models to have better coloring!
Take that other hex games on steam
Also made numerous QOL changes, new map sizes and more!

This week I am doing the changelog a day early because i wont have time friday due to getting ready to look at houses this weekend (I am planning on moving house!)!

Here is some music to set the mood:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


-New art for all tiles, instead of saying each tile here are some screenshots,





-Improved model for Settlement, Town, Walled City, and Inn


-Added win sound!

-Added lose sound!

-Overhauled how tiles look when you can move to them to make them easier on the eyes!

-Made path unit will take when you are moving them a darker green



-Changed how tiles look when deploying!

-When choosing where to deploy, if you are deploying a building other buildings will be highlighted, and when training a unit other units will be highlighted



-Desaturated colors and changed how tiles look when they are highlighted for advantage disadvantage and neither when attacking

-Made team colors that get displayed on map tiles darker and less saturated

-Changed team colors on camapign maps to be easier on the eyes


-Made swamps and marshes have less opaque fog to compliment the new art

-Made it so swamp and marsh fog effect is hidden when displaying attack advantage, disadavantage, or neutral

-Made it so swamp and marsh fog effect is hidden when moving

-Made it so swamp and marsh fog effect is hidden when deploying

-Added new Map Size "Mini World" which is slightly larger than a tiny map 16x8 and makes for good screenshots.

-Added new Map Size "Screenshot World" which is pretty good for screenshots and is 20x8


-Gave all archer variants more exaggerated bows, so you can see it better from above that they are in fact an archer.



-Independents are now Gray by default on new games (on old saves they will still be yellow)

-Independent no longer color the outline of the tile they are on with their "team" color

-Independent's healthbars no longer display unless they are damaged.


-Fixed another case of the "Tile Not Colored Properly" bug.

-Fixed issue where tiles were just slightly the wrong shape



-When you get the resource influx form the Red King in the Mirefield Swamp mission you now also get a small amount of Iron. This makes all the difference.
--As the dev i can now beat this mission in 16 turns or less reliably, so it is still a challenge

-Mirefield mission no longer way too hard

-Tiny and Arena realms now get less wildlife and dark force spawns to reduce the chaos a tad

-Made less wildlife spawn on small realm sizes, such as the new maps, and the old Small Realm.


-Try it out!

I am adding a new section to these changelogs from now on!
Introducing...

Several lets plays popped up this week, I rolled a dice and today we are spotlighting Philososhy's series on DR4X! The video is from an old version, but it is still great!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Remember, if you make a video! There is a chance I will show it off here next week!

Also have a meme!

Oh boy do I have a lot of new stuff to show you guys tonight!
Also, big thanks to Tchey from the steam forums for diligently reporting all the linux bugs they found over on the bug report forums which are all fixed in this release too! If anyone else finds any bugs PLEASE report them!

Also there is a new section on the steam forum for feature requests so head over there if you have ideas after reading through this week's changelog!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1704830/discussions/0/

SO this week, I have added unique buildings and mechanics for each of the gremlin subfactions (to put them in parity with the red gremlins I improved last week!) as well as numerous QOL changes and bug fixes!
(Though they lack unique 2d art right now because my artist friend (Grimwit @Sir_Grimwit) who does all the awesome 2d art for the game https://twitter.com/Sir_Grimwit is on vacation this week!)

So lets get going!
As always what follows is a summary of all changes made this week to the game. This time most of this is live as of the posting of this changelog rather than last night!



-Added 2 puzzle pieces for ???

[h2]Gave All Gremlin Subtypes (That didnt have unique buildings) a unique building and mechanic that somewhat counters their weaknesses, [/h2]

-These also serve to add some more engaging gameplay to all of them

[h2]Dripping Gremlins:[/h2]
-Gave dripping gremlin hives a new Building option "Coral Tower" which can be built by their hive for a misery fee.
-The coral tower has a medium tier ranged attack and grants resrource bonuses
-Also gave dripping gremlin hive a deploy range of 2 instead of 1
--Reasoning: Dripping gremlins couldn't defend their hives well at all, and couldn't keep up on gold generation, these bonuses should work together to improve that situation.
(Hive pic was taken before deploy bonus was added)


[h2]Green Gremlins:[/h2]
-Gave green gremlin hives a new plant "Miserable Puppeted Plant" they can grow that also spreads on its own
-The plant is stealthed
-The plant has two action points and so can do two attacks a turn
-The plant can only attack adjacent enemies
-Each enemy unit it attacks rolls swiftness, if it fails it gets a "strangled" debuff which acts like "Stuck" and removes the unit's movement points temporarily
-The plant can also be "Harvested" by green gremlins for a massive one time permanent stat boost, which allows it to effectively attack buildings and grants it 6 health.
--Reasoning: Green gremlins lacked an effective counter play versus buildings and defenses of enemies since they main poison damage, now they can plant hidden buildings that are okay against other buildings and spread automatically. They can also now buff their gremlins so they can actually start seizing control points by harvesting the plants. Also its just cool that green gremlins can make traps now.


[h2]Brown Gremlins:[/h2]
-Gave fleshy gremlin hives the ability to build a new "Fleshy Kennel", which can produce a high tier cavalry unit called a Vargr Rider!
-It also produces a decent amount of gold and misery and is the most expensive of all the new gremlin buildings
-The Vargr rider has the same flags as a brown gremlin litter, with much higher overall damage, defense, and movement and the addition of Trample, and a Cavalry bonus.
-It has very high upkeep
-All research researched at the hive also effects vargr riders built from connected fleshy kennels, so by late game you can have some very overwhelming cavalry if you can afford the upkeep
-It is also faster than brown gremlins
--Reasoning: The brown gremlins lacked a ranged option, but I didn't want to give them a ranged attack, so instead I gave them a unique unit that is very fast and very strong, also brown gremlins had trouble breaking through enemy defenses, the vargr rider excels at this. Also I promised gremlin cavalry, and so here they are. Also they are just cool.


[h2]Red Gremlins:[/h2]
-Red gremlins were given this treatment last week but here i will describe my design reasoning for completion sake.
--Reasoning: Red gremlins are the slowest of the gremlins, but have high damage, and ranged attacks. So their weakness was their ability to push against enemy territory. So I gave them the volcanic tunnel so they could get their units to the front lines much faster.


-Added the ability to choose your resolution in the options menu
--The choices are based on your monitors aspect ratio

-Added the ability to change camera zoom speed in options menu



-Sped up mouse scrolling on menus more.



-Sometimes things weren't being highlighted properly upon mousing over a tile, this should always work now if it doesnt, let me know! some things to note: Water tiles actually mix the colors, so be aware of that.

-Fixed bug where cavalry techs didnt apply to cavalry properly

-Fixed bug where infantry armor tech didn't apply to infantry units properly (Technically it only applies to Humanoids but thats besides the point)

-Fixed bug where building that built a building would end up with the child building having a completely incorrect owning building name in its details.

-Game now adapts to your resolution properly at the start for linux users

-Fixed a bug where it wouldn't use the proper default resolution for certain folks



-Updated gremlin techs to only apply to units (it used to also apply to buildings!)

-Gave Kingdom Inquisitors a new command "Enact Inquisition" which removes the crime and gambling flags from the tile it is on for a small fee.
This means Kingdoms can finally counter Bandits bringing crime.

-All the gremlin improvements defintely count as balance changes aswell, see the above.




-Well try playing as the gremlins again!

This took me nearly an hour to write up O_O, thats a lot of changes.

Also simplyfungaming posted another video!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]