Bean Beasts News

If you prefer to keep the game's content a surprise, I would advise you stop reading now.

World 3 is now complete... that leaves only World 4 and endgame content to create, then localisation and QA testing before launch! ːer_waveː

-

[h2]New Music Track for World 3![/h2]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]ːsteamhappyː More levels![/h2]

Introducing new environments with unique hazards, quirks and challenges.



[h2]ːsteamhappyː New Enemies![/h2]

Get ready to face a new gang of troublemakers!



[h2]ːsteamhappyː Menacing Bosses Guarding The Hills![/h2]

As featured in the new trailer - these guys will pose a tough challenge to players!



[h2]Changes and Rebalance![/h2]

• Henge upgrade paths have been swapped.
  
• Adjusted Summon damage logic to prevent them wiping out bosses easily.
  
• Added a hitbox to World 2 boss so you can hit it's head.
  
• Improved the World 2 Boss Icon.
  
• Endless Maps 2-E2 and 3-E2 now have flying enemy indicators at the start.
  
• Flying indicators are now pixel art (placeholders replaced).
  
• All tower title sizes are now the same on the info bar so it's always consistently aligned.
  
• Improved Magic Blade's animation movements.
  
• Enemy damage to boxes increases after wave 30 on endless (30 - 40 x2 | 41 - 50 x3 | 51+ x4)
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a loading bug for challenges that track damage (sometimes it would not count the final hit of a wave).
  
• Updated info text for some Beasts / Traps for better accuracy and readability.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused enemies to become stuck when inflicted with both Fear and Force.
  
• Slightly changed inventory UI alignment to prevent text overlap clashes.
  
• Fixed a bug causing Haunted Hex to do Water damage.
  
• Fixed a bug causing enemies to avoid spaces where walls had once been on 1-10.
  
• Fixed a graphical bug where there's a tiny gap between tiles sometimes.
  

Cheers,

Josh.
Anxious Noob.

[h2][/h2]

[h3]If you've played the demo, please consider leaving a review. One of the most helpful things you can do to support a developer is leave a review because this helps with the Steam store algorithm, increasing exposure.[/h3]

[h3]Click the link below to visit the new Demo Store Page:[/h3]



-



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Feel free to like, share, comment etc. Exposure and coverage is always greatly appreciated. ːer_waveː

-



[h3]What's New?[/h3]
ːsteamthisː Added the new trailer.
ːsteamthisː "Skip" message now appears instantly so it's clearer when cutscenes and videos can be skipped.
ːsteamthisː The "Unlock All" debug option now unlocks all Beast/Trap slots.

[h3]Balance Updates[/h3]
ːsteamdeadpanː Endless mode difficulty scales faster after wave 30.
ːsteamdeadpanː Spikes damage slightly increaed and attack speed is up by 25%.
ːsteamdeadpanː Enemies now cannot be attacked when outside of the playable area of the level (behind/under walls etc).

[h3]Graphical Updates[/h3]
ːSBpenguinː Fright added to status legend on the level startup page.
ːSBpenguinː Info pages screenshots updated with latest UI and shop panel.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]
ːer_sadː Tower selector buttons sometimes get stuck when clicked during income boosts (Thanks Iggi).
ːer_sadː Music and SFX snapping to mute on main menu when set very low (Thanks Ian).
ːer_sadː Enemies sometimes getting stuck attacking a box forever even though their path is clear.
ːer_sadː Walls no longer infinitely reparable while using a gamepad.
ːer_sadː Direction buttons can no longer be pressed with a gamepad with insufficient energy.
ːer_sadː Quick Sell is no longer able to break the Tutorial.
ːer_sadː First time pressing continue - sometimes it says "Overwrite" instead of "Continue".
ːer_sadː "New" indicator keeps re-appearing when all inventory has been seen.
ːer_sadː Blanking (black bar) visible on the main menu.

-



[h3]New Content[/h3]
ːsteamthisː New bosses for World 3 - see if you can spot them in the trailer.
ːsteamthisː New Summon - Storm - Electrify the whole map and boost your Beasts attack speed and Bean income.
ːsteamthisː New Levels for worlds 2 and 3.
ːsteamthisː New Endless Maps for world 2.



[h3]Balancing Changes[/h3]
ːsteamdeadpanː Mallet / Crusher now shoots 50% faster and cost for lower levels has been reduced.
ːsteamdeadpanː Lightning Rod and Beast Mech have been rebalanced as they were quite OP.
ːsteamdeadpanː Slight rebalancing of the Summon total damage.
ːsteamdeadpanː Summon damage scales more proportionately to current wave on endless mode.
ːsteamdeadpanː (2-5) Damage requirement to break boss attack for waves 5/6 has been reduced.
ːsteamdeadpanː Doing a summon now prevents the wave from completing (preventing some issues with some challenges).

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]
ːer_sadː Flying enemies sometimes changing direction when ragdoll is inflicted.
ːer_sadː Frog tongue flying off into infinity if targeted enemies is teleported.
ːer_sadː Bosses various body parts can be hit with AOE attacks.
ːer_sadː (2-9) Opening Dragon UI is causing Burn Count to go up by 1.
ːer_sadː (2-9) Enemies pushed into Geyser not counting. (Thanks to Iggi)
ːer_sadː Sometimes the slow icon would flash irratically. (Thanks to Ian)
ːer_sadː (2-5) Enemies can be seen spawning on the far right of the map. (Thanks to Iggi)
ːer_sadː Typo fixed on the Lightning Rod info bar. (Thanks to Iggi)
ːer_sadː Snowy icon mis-alignment on selector button and info page. (Thanks to Iggi)
ːer_sadː (2-5) Boss can be hit by Beasts before the intro animation concludes.
ːer_sadː (2-E1) FrostScaly not "popping" when re-spawned.
ːer_sadː (2-8) Wave 11 totel enemy count reduced.

[h3]Known Issues (BETA)[/h3]
ːsteamfacepalmː When re-loading a wave, Dog can load in at max level.
ːsteamfacepalmː Nodes (for building Towers) can vanish if the wall or tower is destroyed (3-5).
ːsteamfacepalmː Using the keyboard shortcuts "1 to 7" for abilities can sometimes get stuck - I've been unable to reliably reproduce this bug.
ːsteamfacepalmː Additional minor bugs relating to the Beta which I will address in the next patch.

Thanks for checking out this update! I'll be reaching out to Youtubers and Streamers over the following months for Demo coverage, if you know any who would make a great fit please let me know :)



Cheers,

Josh.
Anxious Noob.

Happy new year everyone! I'd like to round off 2024 with an update on the development of Bean Beasts, an approximate release date and when playtesting will resume!

For the past few months I've focused on completing all the Towers (Beasts, Traps, Riders and Mounts). These guys take the longest to create, usually around 2 to 6 days of design, sprite-work, animation, coding, sound and testing. Now the roster is complete I can focus on level design and bosses!



This also enabled me to finally populate the shop with all the goodies players can unlock... but I'll keep some of it a surprise!



[h2]Playtesting![/h2]

I plan to resume playtesting early in the new year! I will reach out to those who have expressed interest in small groups with each batch of new content I make. Testing has proved invaluable for finding bugs, balancing and generally improving the game and I can't wait to watch people play with the new Beasts and Traps!

For each group of playtesters I plan on holding a mini competition - the winners of which will be able to add their own idea into the game: perhaps a level idea, enemy type or special decoration!

If you are interested in playtesting please see the list on the Discord of participants. If your name is not on the list send me a message to be added, if you are on the list and want to be removed let me know.

[h2]Launch Date![/h2]
[h3]Summer 2025![/h3]

As many of you know this is my first game and it's taking longer to create than I anticipated. I've allowed 3-4 months for development and 1-2 months for translation/testing before launch. Please note: if it's looking like the game will not be ready for Summer I would rather push back the release date than crunch out an incomplete/buggy game.

I will do an official launch date reveal sometime in 2025 once I'm further along in development.

Here is what's left to do:

• Complete World 3 and 4. (Environments, enemies, bosses, challenges, music etc)
  
• Create Beast Mode level variants.
  
• Create end-game rewards.
  
• Beta Testing for the full game once complete.
  
• Adding Achievements and getting Steam Deck Verified.
  
• Full translation into current supported languages.
  
• RELEASE!
  

-

[h2]DevLog - What's New!?[/h2]

[h3]New Mount - Crab![/h3]
Clobber enemies with huge claws! Slow but powerful.



Ability: Slab Shield - Become immune to damage and knock back enemies.



[h3]New Rider Weapon - Magic![/h3]
Zap enemies with a magic staff.



Ability: Amulet of Banishment - Teleports enemies back to their starting positions.



[h3]New Enemy - FrostScaly![/h3]
Warning - Their shields stun or damage nearby Towers.



[h3]New Enemy - FrostBat![/h3]
A faster variant of the dreaded bat.



[h3]New Enemy - FatSquid![/h3]
New enemy type: Spawns minions when defeated.



[h3]New Environment - Boreal Night![/h3]


[h3]New Environment - Lava Cave![/h3]


[h3]New World Boss - Surprise![/h3]

From now on I'll try not to spoil too much.



-

Lastly I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who is following and supporting me on this journey!

Cheers!

Josh.
Anxious Noob.

Exciting news! I've finished the Beasts and Traps and now I can focus on creating worlds, bosses, enemies and music!

Here is the final line-up of placeable Towers in the game:


[h3]ːsteamhappyː New Beast: Chameleon![/h3]

Changes it's element to whatever the enemy is weakest to!



Status Surge inflicts either Burn or Poison AND either Stun or Fear!



Ability: Elemental Storm - Blasts all enemies on screen with all elements!



[h3]ːsteamhappyː New Beast: Goldfish![/h3]

Generates Energy for the player. At higher levels generates Beans too.





Ability: Gold Rush - Converts Beans into Energy.



[h3]ːsteamhappyː New Beast: Coffee![/h3]

Boost other Bean Beasts attack, speed and range!



Ability: Beast Cry - Causes other Bean Beasts to use their abilities.



Cheers,

Josh.
Anxious Noob.

[h3]ːsteamhappyː New Trap: Beast Mech![/h3]

Part Beast, part machine: a super powerful trap!



Upgrade for a rocket backpack!



[h3]ːsteamthumbsupː Upgrade: Calamity![/h3]

A mechanical monster combining a Cannon, an Impaler arm and bomb breath.



Upgrade to nuke your foes!



[h3]ːsteamthumbsupː Upgrade: Abomination![/h3]

Magic eye blasts, chain attacking black bolts and a deadly magic blade!



Upgrade for some serious DPS!



These are the strongest traps in the game, however they only do blunt Impact or Magic damage, so may not be effective for all enemies!

Next I'm going to finish all the Bean Beasts!

Cheers,

Josh.
Anxious Noob.