Road To Early Access - Devlog #2

[p]Hello miners,[/p][p]I've got new, exciting things to share with you regarding the game, with things never seen before: a sneak peek at new environments and some insights on the brand new upgrade system for heroes that will be available at launch. Let’s dive in! [/p][p][/p][p]Tired of playing every run in the same environment over and over? We've got your back. At launch, the game will feature 3 unique regions, each with its own atmosphere and aesthetic differences. [/p][p][/p][p]Each region has its own main weather event you are guaranteed to experience at some point (the others have less chance of happening). For example, the Eclipse event is always guaranteed in a run that takes place in the Volcanic Region. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We might expand the differences each region brings during Early Access even further, like the type of special blocks you can encounter or the type of enemies.[/p][p][/p][p]In the demo update, some heroes received 2 new alternative powers (compared to the 3 they always had in the previous versions), which give more replayability to each one. But because only 3 powers were available each run, your options were still limited. That’s something I wanted to address before the launch of Early Access.[/p][p][/p][p]The goal is simple: I want to give more flexibility to players so they can experiment and try different things with each hero. [/p][p][/p][p]To do that, I’m working on some kind of skill tree, with all powers always available if you invest in a certain path. Players will also be able to invest their extra runes into bonus nodes that provide extra stat points. One big important change that comes with that is that the UI will be much less packed with texts. Powers will have unique icons and moving the cursor hover them will reveal their effects.[/p][p][/p][p]In the sketch above, letters are powers and numbers are bonus nodes. This is still a work in progress change, but I’m confident this will be a net improvement of the current system. This will also open more interesting combos. [/p][p][/p][p]Another thing I’m working on concerns the panel you have whenever you find a prison in the mine. The issue with this panel is that it provides unclear and misleading information on each hero available (especially with the synergy icons, since they are not unlocked from the start). [/p][p][/p][p]The reworked version should allows players to see each power that can be unlocked and what it costs. And because all powers will be accessible in every run (if the player invests their runes during the run), no bad surprises can happen. I’ll share more about this rework in another time.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for all the support and feedback, see you next week for a new sneak peek of the things we are working on for the release of Hold The Mine![/p][p]Paci [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]--------------------------------------------------[/p][p]Come be a part of the Hold The Mine community. Join us on Discord to talk with other players, share your tips, heroes composition and see what others are building underground. You can also find updates and discussions on Reddit and follow news and posts on Bluesky.[/p][p][/p][p]A special thanks to Angory Tom who covered the new demo this week! It was a real pleasure to watch his video. [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]