Desktop Defender News

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]3 days ago I let you all know that the Rebirth Update went into testing in the beta branch... And I'm happy to announce that it is now AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE! The game is also on a 20% discount, so if you haven't gotten the game yet or you want to recommend it to a friend, now's the perfect time![/p][p]What does the Rebirth Update change? Well, quite a few things.[/p][p]But before I start explaining the changes, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it! It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Rebirth Progression[/h3][p]Rebirthing now has a proper progression system, like levels do! At the moment, there are 14 unlocks across 100 Rebirths, but we may expand this in future updates! The bonuses that this new system provides range from big stat increases, to unlocking whole new mechanics like the new speed-up and stash system![/p][p][/p][p]Also, Rebirthing can no longer be done just by getting to level 150, but you also need to reach a certain wave depending on what Rebirth you're on. But don't worry! Reaching higher Rebirths is way more manageable than before now, thanks to all the bonuses you'll be getting along the way.[/p][p][/p][p]You might be wondering, if you have previously Rebirthed, how does your progress carry over to the new system?[/p][p]Well, since each Rebirth has an associated wave you must complete, the game will check your highest achieved wave in the current version and place you at the corresponding Rebirth! [/p][p]If you don't want to lower your Rebirth count though, you can still keep your current one. When you open the game after updating, a popup will appear explaining the new system as well as letting you decide whether you want to match your Rebirth to what is recommended or not. The exact changes will also be displayed in this UI![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Speed-Up Button[/h3][p]The first bonus you'll get while progressing through the Rebirths is the ability to use the speed-up button. You'll start off being able to multiply your game speed by 1.25x times, but as you progress more, you can unlock up to 2x game speed![/p][p][/p][h3]Stash & Loot[/h3][p]In a previous post where I explained my plans for this Rebirth update, I mentioned how I was planning to add a stash system. Well, I did, but it's slightly changed from how I explained it back then! [/p][p]Now, you'll unlock the ability to drop loot on the ground at Rebirth 2. This allows you to swap around what loot you want to have active at any given time, but it will be at the cost of limiting how much new loot you can get as there's a maximum loot amount that can be on the floor at any given time. As you progress through the Rebirths, you'll also increase how much loot can be on the floor! [/p][p]During testing, this gave the new system a neat risk, reward, and progression feel. I hope you all enjoy it![/p][p][/p][p]Beyond this, I've also added TONS of new loot slots that are unlocked through the Rebirth progression. This will let you get past those super high waves that were previously impossible (or super tedious).[/p][p]I also previously planned to add 2 extra loot rarity tiers, but in the end, they felt kind of forced. Instead, I decided to still add more loot, but at the Infinity tier! They are listed below:[/p]

• [p]Failed Experiment | +15 Shot Damage[/p]
• [p]Force | +120% Projectile Size, -50% Projectile Speed[/p]
• [p]Moon Health | +500 Max HP[/p]
• [p]Pushing Flow | +150% Knockback, -50% Projectile Damage[/p]

[p][/p][h3]More Changes[/h3][p]Beyond these changes, we've also made some smaller ones! This is both since the last update to the main branch, and since we put up this update into the beta branch. [/p]

• [p]Fixed bug that caused the Rebirth Update popup to display incorrectly for some players[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug that caused the "start with all weapons unlocked" Rebirth bonus to not properly apply in some cases[/p]
• [p]Improved the save backup system in case your PC forcibly gets shutdown due to power failure or other reasons mid-save[/p]
• [p]Updated some incorrect/awkward translations[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the Rebirth XP multiplier for better balance[/p]
• [p]Made it such that the loot that is able to be kept on the ground starts at 8 pieces of loot, and it gets upgraded as you progress through Rebirths. This means that loot on the ground is no longer tied to your loot slots.[/p]
• [p]Made it such that you can drop loot even if you have maxed out your on-floor loot capacity, but new loot will not spawn if you're over your limit[/p]
• [p]Small performance improvements on the CPU side[/p]

[p]I hope you all like what I've been working on during the past month, and I'm super excited to let you all get your hands on the update! Let me know if you have any feedback as well :)[/p][p]Also, as always, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it. It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Anyways, that's it for this post, and the next one will be for when the Rebirth update is out for you all to try out! Hope you enjoy![/p][p]- Conrad, Lead Developer[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]It's been a while since the last update, but I'm happy to announce that the Rebirth update we announced about a month ago is OUT NOW in the beta branch![/p][p]What that means is that while it's not available by default in the game, you can opt-in to play it before it goes out to everyone.[/p][p]Here's how you can play the update right now:[/p]

1. [p]Launch Steam and go to your game library where all your installed games are listed.[/p]
2. [p]Find Desktop Defender in your library.[/p]
3. [p]Right-click on Desktop Defender and select "Properties" in the dropdown menu[/p]
4. [p]In the "Properties" window, click on the "Betas" tab on the left.[/p]
5. [p]You'll see a dropdown menu next to "Beta Participation". Click on it, and select "beta - Early builds".[/p]
6. [p]Close the window, the game should be updating[/p]
7. [p]That's it![/p]

[p]The reason we're doing it this way is to test both for bugs and the new features' designs, so if you find anything, please report it on Discord![/p][p][/p][p]In terms of what's new in the update, I made a post when we announced the update. Read it to get up to speed![/p][p]I also wanted to apologise to you all for the update taking so long to release! It was really close to being done when the previous post was published, but because of the holiday period localisation took a bit longer than usual. This should be a one-time thing though and future updates should come way faster! In fact, the next one is already underway 👀[/p][p]I would also love to hear you suggestions for extra content for the game! Do you want more weapons? More loot? Different systems? Leave them here! I can't respond to all the comments, but I definitely read them all :)[/p][p][/p][p]Lastly, we're expanding the team! Until now, most of Desktop Defender has been a solo endeavour. Because I want to keep on updating the game at a good cadence, and I also have tons of ideas for new idle games, expanding the team is the way to go! I've made a post on Work With Indies, so if you want to work with us, definitely apply![/p][p]Also, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it. It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][p]Anyways, that's it for this update, and make sure to join the game's Discord to share any feedback you have about the new changes! The update on the beta branch is to test it out both in design and for bugs before it goes out to everyone, so bug reports and feedback are super appreciated![/p][p]- Conrad, Lead Developer[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]It's been about 2 weeks since my last post here, and weirdly enough it feels like much longer than that! Maybe it's because I spent 2 weeks doing daily updates...[/p][p]Either way, I'm happy to announce that in the next few days, the Rebirth content update will be released! First, we'll be putting it up on the Steam beta branch to make sure that there are no super game-breaking bugs, but a few days later it should make its way to the main branch![/p][p]In terms of what this update has, there are 3 main pillars[/p]

• [p]Rebirth progression[/p]
• [p]Speed-up button[/p]
• [p]Loot Stash & Loot Additions[/p]

[h3]Rebirth Progression[/h3][p]Rebirthing now has a proper progression system, like levels do! At the moment, there are 14 unlocks across 100 Rebirths, but we may expand this in future updates! The bonuses that this new system provides range from big stat increases, to unlocking whole new mechanics like the new speed-up and stash system![/p][p][/p][p]Also, Rebirthing can no longer be done just by getting to level 150, but you also need to reach a certain wave depending on what Rebirth you're on. But don't worry! Reaching higher Rebirths is way more manageable than before now, thanks to all the bonuses you'll be getting along the way.[/p][p][/p][p]You might be wondering, if you have previously Rebirthed, how does your progress carry over to the new system?[/p][p]Well, since each Rebirth has an associated wave you must complete, the game will check your highest achieved wave in the current version and place you at the corresponding Rebirth![/p][h3]Speed-Up Button[/h3][p]The first bonus you'll get while progressing through the Rebirths is the ability to use the speed-up button. You'll start off being able to multiply your game speed by 1.25x times, but as you progress more, you can unlock up to 2x game speed![/p][h3][/h3][h3]Stash & Loot[/h3][p]In a previous post where I explained my plans for this Rebirth update, I mentioned how I was planning to add a stash system. Well, I did, but it's slightly changed from how I explained it back then! [/p][p]Now, you'll unlock the ability to drop loot on the ground at Rebirth 2. This allows you to swap around what loot you want to have active at any given time, but it will be at the cost of limiting how much new loot you can get as there's a maximum loot amount that can be on the floor at any given time. As you progress through the Rebirths, you'll also increase how much loot can be on the floor! [/p][p]During testing, this gave the new system a neat risk, reward, and progression feel. I hope you all enjoy it![/p][p][/p][p]Beyond this, I've also added TONS of new loot slots that are unlocked through the Rebirth progression. This will let you get past those super high waves that were previously impossible (or super tedious).[/p][p]I also previously planned to add 2 extra loot rarity tiers, but in the end, they felt kind of forced. Instead, I decided to still add more loot, but at the Infinity tier![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I hope you all like what I've been working on during the past 2 weeks, and I'm super excited to let you all get your hands on the update! Let me know if you have any feedback as well :)[/p][p]Also, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it. It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Anyways, that's it for this post, and the next one will be for when the Rebirth update is out for you all to try out! Hope you enjoy![/p][p]- Conrad, Lead Developer[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]It's been a week since the last update, and I've been hard at work at finishing up the big Rebirth content update that will be coming out in December![/p][p]However, I wanted to write this update because Steam just opened their Steam Award Nominations! If you want to nominate the game for Steam awards, click on the link below, then right under the trailer you can click on "Nominate Your Favourites For The Steam Awards"![/p][p]Also, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it. It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]After you go to that page, it should allow you to nominate not only Desktop Defender, but all the other games that you've enjoyed this year for several categories![/p][p]Thanks again for playing and enjoying Desktop Defender, and I'm super excited to show you all what I've been working on with the next update![/p][p]- Conrad, Lead Developer[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]Today is the 14th day of daily patches, and it's going to be the last one that I do on a daily cadence! Of course, there are still many patches left in Desktop Defender's life, but in order to focus all of my attention on the big Rebirth Content Update, I've decided to stop doing them daily at this 2 week milestone. I hope you all enjoyed this initiative, it was super enjoyable for me as a developer because I was able to interact so much with all of you, and the game got so much better so quickly thanks to you all :)[/p][p]Also, if you're enjoying the game, I would REALLY appreciate it if you reviewed it. It's the best thing you can do to support the game if you're enjoying it![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Anyways, below are the patch notes![/p]

• [p]Added an option that allows you to display numbers in scientific notation (e.g. 1.2E6 instead of 1.2M for 1,200,000)[/p]
• [p]Increased Explosion damage by 25%[/p]
• [p]Reduced projectile lifetime of Sniper, Star, and Ballista to improve performance[/p]

[p]- Conrad, Lead Developer[/p]