Major Content and Stability Update

Hello dear Tower Defense community,

We took our time, but it was worth it! In addition to the long-awaited base upgrades, we have implemented numerous new features and improvements – including a comprehensive controller overhaul.

The game has been completely revamped and expanded with many long-awaited features. We’ve also fixed all reported bugs. If you come across any more, feel free to report them in the Steam discussion or via the in-game F1 tool.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports us and provides regular feedback!

changelog

New

Base Upgrades:

The base can now be upgraded in the hub.
Pre-installed turrets are available and can be upgraded in multiple stages.
More HP can be added to the base.
A shield can be added to the base.
Two additional stairs for easier access to the base.

Level Overhaul:

Level 1, 2 & 3: Extensive rework – large parts of the map have been redesigned to improve graphics.
Level 4: Additional tower slots added and map errors fixed.
Level 5: Reduced in size to improve performance and allow for more details.

Wooden Barricade:

Can be crafted and placed on enemy paths.
Slows down or blocks enemies.
Has limited durability and can be destroyed.
Enemies avoid obstacles when possible.

Improved Enemy AI:

Enemies now target specific points of the base.
These attack points are visually indicated.

Revamped Tower Selection:

The tower selection has been completely redesigned and seamlessly integrated into the game.
A more intuitive interface allows for more efficient use during gameplay.

Ping Functionality:

Players can now place pings in the game to communicate important information.
The middle mouse button allows up to three pings to be placed simultaneously to highlight strategic positions.

The Logbook has been reworked:

Elite enemies are now displayed as well.
Additionally, the base upgrade table has been added.

Endless Mode:

New card added for the wooden barricade.
New card added for the mobile mining laser.
Cards now enlarge when over with the mouse/controller.

UI Optimization:

The info display in the level selection is now collapsed by default and can be expanded via a new button in the upper corner.
The tower selection area has been removed from this menu and placed in a new UI location.
The interaction window now opens faster.

Hub Overhaul:

Graphical rework of the hub.
New sound effects & animations.
Secret location added.
Reworked relic table.
Relics now have a floating effect.

Control Overhaul:

We have completely reworked the game controls in the background. While the gameplay may feel unchanged to you, this change was crucial for enabling future features like sneaking or quick-build mode. Previously, key bindings couldn't be used multiple times in different UI sections, which caused issues, especially with controllers. Now, the controls are more flexible and optimized – a big step for future updates!
Additionally, we’ve laid the foundation for allowing you to adjust UI sizes or hide certain elements entirely in the future. We're continuing to work on this to provide even more customization options!

Upgraded Towers:
Players now receive upgrade ores back based on the HP of upgraded towers.

New Secrets:
An additional relic has been hidden in Levels 4 and 5.

Statistics Overhaul:
The escape menu now displays how much XP is needed for the next level in the statistics section.

Player Upgrades with Description:
Before unlocking a player upgrade, a detailed description is now shown, explaining the benefits and effects of the upgrade. This helps you make informed decisions before developing your skills.

UI Update:
The font of the new wave display has been adjusted.

Trade Improvement:
Selling all ores can now be canceled by pressing the same button again.

Radio:
The radio feature has been reworked.

Translations:
If a language is missing translations, the English text will now be displayed instead of an error.

Tutorial Cutscene:
A new indicator in the tutorial now informs players that the cutscene can be skipped by pressing the spacebar.

Blueprint Table:
Now highlights in red if there aren’t enough ores available.

Voting Tool:
Controller icon added.

Sound Effects Reworked

Weapon shot sound: New
Weapon reload sound: New
Mining laser sound: New
Overworld spaceship hover sound: New
Out-of-ammo sound: New
Weapon switch sound: New
Rocket launcher explosion sound: New
Gatling gun shot sound: New

Inventory
The quantity of items in the inventory is now also displayed in the hotbar.

Balance Changes

The difficulty in Endless Mode has been adjusted to make it challenging but not impossible.
The "Deposit Ores" task has been removed in Levels 4 and 5 to significantly speed up the progression in these stages.
Railgun: Costs reduced from 800 units of ore to 150 units per ore.
Rocket Launcher: Costs adjusted from 750 units of ore to 300 units of turquoise ore and 400 units of purple ore.
The Elite 1 Exploder was previously three times as fast but has now been reduced to double speed. This allows it to be attacked more easily by other turrets, improving the balance.
The explosion resistance of the Elite 1 Slime has been removed.
The Elite 1 Mushroom is now resistant to fire.
In Endless Mode, the map that grants +5% damage for every nearby turret has been adjusted. Instead of -5%, the same turret now only gets -2.5%.
Some enemies have been removed from the tutorial to make it easier.

Bugs

In multiplayer mode, the player could no longer move in the base (hub) in certain situations. This issue has been fixed.
In the tutorial, it was possible to get stuck when leaving the level during an active tutorial animation. This issue has been fixed.
If an error occurred during saving, the save file would be reset. This problem has been fixed.
The flickering of lights in some levels occasionally occurred and has now been corrected.
Tower upgrades were not updated after crafting. This was just a display issue, which has now been fixed.
Player icons were no longer displayed on the compass. This problem has been fixed.
In the deposit terminal, the wave display overlapped in the UI. This has been corrected.
A display error related to the wave display has been fixed.
The term "Level" has been renamed to "Wave" to better reflect the game mechanics and flow.
The voting system can no longer be used in the UI, as it previously caused crashes and disruptions.
A visual issue, where "::" was displayed during tower upgrades, has been fixed.
The robot skin was not always displayed in the character selection in the lobby. This issue has been fixed.
The poison zone in Level 1 has been adjusted to better balance the gameplay.
Previously, only hosts could see the visual effects when an enemy was frozen. This has been fixed, so all players can now see the effects.
The issue with keybinds for weapon firing has been fixed.
The unwanted counting of stars in the Endless Mode tutorial for achievements has been removed.
A problem has been fixed where players would sometimes get stuck after their base was destroyed.
A bug where the level animation wouldn't continue after the base was destroyed has been fixed. This issue no longer occurs.
The hand animation of the build sequence has been adjusted so it no longer appears in the hub. This should permanently fix the issue.
The controller now works again in multiplayer.
The game start button is now usable with the controller again.
The back button in the game settings now works with the controller.
Controller keybinds can now be opened in the settings using the controller.
The lobby is now accessible again with the controller.
The player upgrade table now works with the controller again.
The level display now works again with the controller.
Endless mode maps can now be selected with the controller again.
The back button in level selection now works again with the controller.
The workbench now works again with the controller.
The tower upgrade UI is now controllable with the controller again.
Targeting can now be done with the controller again.
In the build menu, it was possible to move out with the controller, causing the player to get stuck. This issue has been fixed.
Skipping waves now works with the controller again.
While in the tower upgrade UI, players can no longer walk around.
The voting system now works again with the controller.
When using a controller, waves were sometimes spawned unexpectedly faster. This issue has been fixed.
Various spelling errors have been corrected.
In the settings, opening the logbook caused an overlap in the UI. This issue has been fixed.
In Endless Mode, the new wave display continued to show while selecting maps. This display has now been removed.
When briefly using the mining laser, the displayed number incorrectly jumped from 99 to 100. This behavior has been corrected.
Player upgrade level 15 is currently unreachable. Therefore, a placeholder with "WIP" and a question mark has been temporarily implemented.
If an info text was displayed in multiplayer and the window wasn't clicked away, the player could fly upwards. This issue has been fixed.
It was possible to move the health display if the tower or enemy was hit precisely, causing some enemies to have no health display. This issue has been fixed.
A bug was fixed where the mobile miner was duplicated if the building menu was opened during placement.
A graphic error related to the relic in Level 3 has been fixed.
If the base was destroyed in the tutorial, it remained at 0 HP without effect. This issue has been fixed.
Collision errors on the base have been fixed.
Tower upgrades now reappear in the list when using the cancel button.
The interaction UI is now hidden in the background when crafting in the tower.

We look forward to more feedback and wish you lots of fun while playing!

Thank you for your support!

Best regards,
Your Stellarcraft Team