Monthly Transmission Manifest (April 2025) - Navigating The Map
This is the commander speaking!
Welcome to April devlog for Mini Tank Mayhem! For this month we’d like to keep this short as we will be describing how we overhaul our map node flow.
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[h2]Opening The Map [/h2]
Maps are core element shaping the whole game in general. The purpose of a map in roguelike is to bring navigation and pathway where you can go and where does it go. Our goal was to make the map expansive with branching paths. We decided to go sleek, sci-fi holographic aesthetic at first based on the theme of our game. The initial design of our map is inspired by Slay the Spire map so we embrace the fully randomized maps as in literal.
During our first private playtest, many people concerned because the flow of the map is lengthy to get to boss battle which makes them to less anticipated when reaching the boss stage. Back to design board, we simplified structure of the path and reducing branching routes. As a result, playtesters are positive to see with the changes. The second design can be seen as below where the path only breaks into 3 nodes only.
With the node issues out of the way, our logical next step is revise the map design. We wanted to make the map feels dynamic and approach like you are making progress as you start getting closer to the boss stage. We’ve drawn inspiration from Monster Train map where you descend to the abyss.
The final (for now) design of the map is resembles Monster Train map but you have to ascent to fight the final stage.
What do you think about the map node? don’t forget to connect with us on social media. We’re building this game with you, and your feedback makes all the difference.