Guards II: Chaos in Hell News

Hello there,

We are in the midst of refining the game. After providing the game for testing to 10-15 players, we've gathered a lot of valuable feedback. Our aim is to improve the player experience. While Guards have simple game rules, some players found them unclear. To address this, we've enhanced several menus and introduced a "Game Info" menu that contains 20 game tips, each explaining different game mechanics.

In this announcement, we've shared 10 of these tips. Our designer has strived to make them as clear as possible, and we believe he has succeeded. It's worth noting that the original game had only four such tips, highlighting how the game has significantly evolved into something more comprehensive. We've added four types of damage mechanics and two hero stances, which have had a notable impact on the gameplay.





Additionally, we're actively working on in-story comics. Considerable effort has been dedicated to this aspect, and we believe we've finally achieved the quality we aimed for. These comics will be relatively small but play a crucial role in enhancing the game's story involvement. All slides and text have been approved, and our artist is currently working on the final versions. We will showcase them at a later date.

The development of comics and the Game Info menu have introduced additional text lines. Consequently, we have prioritized finalizing these aspects before completing the remaining text work. We have now successfully achieved this milestone, and our colleague Rea is in the process of editing the last of the text. Following this, we can proceed with the game's localizations.

In terms of translations, our colleagues Raffael, Jose, and Almos have already completed the German, Portuguese-Brazil, and Hungarian translations. Thus, five out of the planned 12 languages are already integrated into the game.





Finally, we have commenced work on sound design. Our sound designer has concluded his work on Age of Defense, allowing him to dedicate time to Guards 2.

All these developments signify that Guards II no longer has any unresolved issues. We're now just a few weeks away from completing all the work. We appreciate your continued support, and you'll be able to play the game soon!

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Hello there,

We are diligently polishing the game, and we have some exciting updates to share. We've added the final missing piece to the game, the settings menu, which you can preview in the image above. Additionally, we've made the decision to incorporate hotkeys as another option for playing the game. With the addition of these menus, we're now in the phase of fine-tuning and perfecting the game.


In other positive news, we've distributed the game for testing to 15 individuals, and we've received a wealth of valuable feedback. Our team is currently working on implementing various improvements based on this feedback. To address player concerns, we've decided to include an option to reset upgrades, which can be especially helpful when players reach the challenging World #4.

We've made several enhancements to various menus. The Upgrade, Item, and Skill menus now feature a currency icon on the purchase button, as some players encountered difficulties with this aspect. We've also introduced animations to these buttons.


To clarify game mechanics for players, we've added tooltips to all icons. Additionally, we've decided to include a Help menu in the game, providing an alternative way to explain the core game mechanics, which we will present in the future.

To make it clear which missions are new, we've incorporated eye-catching pentagram animations in two different colors. It's now nearly impossible to miss them.


We've improved the visual elements of button highlighting by adding an additional striking border and effect.

Furthermore, we've made balance adjustments by shortening some missions and making them easier. We addressed concerns from players who found the game too lengthy and sought to make it more enjoyable.


Finally, we've made alterations to the game speed settings. There are now three options: new Slow Speed, which is equivalent to the old Fast Speed; New Normal Speed, with no delays between animations; and New Fast Speed, which accelerates all animations by 50%.

P.S. On the musical front, we have already commenced the creation of music for Guards II. Two composers are currently working on it, and another will commence sound design next week.

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Hello there,

We're continuing the development of the game, and we have some exciting updates to share. Firstly, our designer has completed the balancing of Mode #2. This means that all missions in the game are now ready to be played. We've also had discussions about various elements of the game and made numerous small tweaks. We've improved less popular items, strengthened weak upgrades, and more. The gameplay of the game is now 95% complete, and we don't anticipate any major additions. We're currently playtesting the game with late-game heroes to ensure they are not overpowered.

We've designed a total of 55 Steam achievements, and our artist has already created icons for them, as shown in the picture above. The programmer has already coded 49 of these achievements, so they will be fully implemented soon.



We've decided to make Guards II available in 12 languages. We've reached out to individuals who helped us with Warstone translations, and most of them have agreed to assist us again. However, we haven't received responses from French and Korean translators yet. Additionally, a fan of the console version of Guards 1 contacted us via email and offered to help with Hungarian translation, which we've decided to include. We've also noticed significant growth in the Turkish player base in recent years and aim to add Turkish as a language option. One of our team members met a Turkish player who wanted to help but has been offline on Steam for the past three weeks.

Translations for eight languages are currently in progress, with English and Russian already completed. We're actively seeking help for French, Korean, and Turkish translations. If you're interested in assisting us, please reach out to [email protected].

P.S. We've already begun creating music for Guards II. Two composers are currently working on it, and another will start sound design next week.

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Hello,

Guards II is steadily nearing completion. Our game designer has wrapped up the remaining missions of Mode #2, meaning the game is now fully developed. Another game designer diligently replayed all campaign missions and implemented numerous balance adjustments. Primarily, we've made the game more accessible on Easy and Normal difficulties. Before these tweaks, it was quite challenging, especially on Hard. Our mate Rea has contributed significantly by not only editing the English text but also acting as the initial game tester. With her valuable feedback, we've addressed bugs and confirmed that the game is enjoyable, particularly on Normal difficulty.



We've recently shared three in-game screenshots of the current version, showcasing pre-final graphics. Missions, units, and the user interface are nearly in their final state, providing a glimpse of how the game will look.

Our primary artist has completed the revision of all in-game animations. Now, the task at hand is to integrate them into the game, a task that demands a considerable effort from both the programmer and another artist. Nonetheless, we are making excellent progress and are close to completion.



We've also meticulously reviewed and approved all in-game text. Consequently, we are commencing the translation process into other languages. We've already reached out to individuals who assisted us with the translation of Warstone, and they have graciously agreed to help once more. Our goal is to make Guards II available in at least 10 languages. We are confident that the game possesses the potential to become a hit, and expanding the player base is a top priority. Fortunately, our prior experience with localization has prepared us well for this endeavor.

P.S. We have also crafted 55 Steam achievements, which we will unveil in a future announcement.

Stay, with us

Hello there,

We are continuing the development of Guards II. Our artist has completed the revision of all graphics, and we are currently integrating them into the game. Additionally, the artist is working on creating icons for Steam Achievements. Yes, we have already designed all 55 achievements, and our programmer is preparing them for implementation.

As one game designer fine-tunes the game balance for World #5 Mode #2, another is replaying the main game and making balance adjustments.

For Guards II, we've prepared four difficulty settings. The original game was too challenging for casual players but not deep enough for true strategy fans. We believe that all players will find Guards II enjoyable now. To prove this, we are testing the game on different difficulty levels. Our main game designer, who is a strategy expert, plays on the highest, fourth difficulty. The designer of the original Guards plays on the third difficulty. Rea, who helps us with text editing, is playing on the second difficulty. The easiest difficulty is intended to be very easy, suitable even for casual players.

During these tests, we are fine-tuning monster parameters and their abilities. We have already revised Worlds 1-4, and now we need to revisit World #5.

In terms of localization, Rea has reviewed all the text, so the English version of the game is now ready.



Speaking of World #5, it's a classic depiction of Hell, with the final boss being the classic Devil. Does that remind you of something? Yes, we like that game too. The monsters in World #5 bring a host of new abilities, requiring players to devise new strategies to overcome them. For instance, all satyrs have a "Spoil" ability that stacks on heroes, dealing more damage with each stack. Infernals are the only mobs in the game that spawn in the first row. Demons steal ability power upon appearing. Cacademons boost their damage for one shot. Nightmares instill fear in their enemies, preventing them from attacking twice in a row. Finally, the Demon Magister has the "Time Travel" ability and can swap heroes when they are weak. Overall, the last underworld becomes the most challenging one.

We hope you'll enjoy it.

P.S. The Devil has 666 health points, while a typical hero has about 10-15 HP at this point in the game, making him exceptionally strong. The final battle is epic, but players will have the assistance of a remarkable ally.

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