DevLog #11 – Tired of mining? Time to use easy automation!

Hello everyone!

Last time, I talked about the Steam page of Destroy The Monoliths and the release of v0.4. This update had some mechanics tweaks and a lot of internal reworks to get the code base more robust and easy to work with. Sadly, it had few new content. But today, I’ve got you covered. I am happy to release version 0.4a which adds new things to the game! Let’s review all of that together!

New content

Roll the neutronic balls!

You can play a new main offensive turret: the neutronic summoner. It changes the way how you attack monoliths. Contrary to the neutronic bomber, it has no range limitation. However, it attacks on the ground and not through the air. It spawns balls that roll towards monoliths. These explode near their target, but also if they get idle for too long. Since they collide with enemies, the player and the terrain, it forces you to keep a clear path from the summoner to the monoliths. Otherwise they won’t be any good. I hope you will find this new turret interesting and quite different to play from the bomber!

Automated mining

There is also a new starting pack: the miner pack. I believe it is quite special! Your initial weapon is not great. But you have access to a powerful building that mine blocks for you! The drill will destroy all blocks in range. This makes it easier to collect resources. But the specify of this pack is its absence of offensive turrets… The drill will also be your weapon! You start with a special relic where blocks create a strong blast when destroyed. And you also have the matter generator that creates basic blocs. So you want to have drills mine the blocks and thus damage all enemies. But what about ranged enemies? You have the attractive station to get them close to your generators!

You will have to be very tactical with your buildings placement to make this pack work. But I think it makes the gameplay very different and interesting. This is the goal of meta options to alter significantly how you play the game to have a new experience. Both the new main offensive turret and pack are available at the creation of a new campaign. They need to be unlocked though. I use a very simple quest system for that. You can hover the button to see how to unlock the meta option.

New relics and buildings

Overall in version 0.4a, you can discover 6 new buildings and 7 new relics. Except for the neutronic summoner that you can only pick at the start of a new campaign, everything can appear in game in the new technologies choices. You can see all of the new content on the picture below. Can you guess the effects of everything only by looking at the icons? Tell me in the comments, and launch the game to find out!

Monoliths upgrade system

In this version, I also reworked a bit the upgrade system of the monoliths. It was previously solely based on a timer. It was thus hard to control the difficulty balance. I felt it needed to be more tied to the actual progress objectives. Now, the monoliths level up based on the amount of XP they dropped from being damaged. The more you attack, the more aggressive they become to defend themselves. This means spawning stronger minions more often. This system seems more intuitive.

Does that mean you can safely ignore monoliths at the start of a mission and mine the whole map before getting offensive? No. There is still a timer involved. Monoliths will progressively level up even if you do not attack them. Waiting is a possible strategy but can be risky, since installing a besiege base is harder when enemies respond with strong minions from the get-go.

Other tweaks and quality of life changes

I also added plenty of polish and small tweaks. I updated all icons (relics included) to match the same style with a clear outline. Some turrets were reworked to account for some save issues. The enemies should get stuck less often thanks to some improvements to the pathfinding system. Some buildings now display a warning message if they effect cannot apply. The Core throws a notification when destroyed. Some particles emphasize the reveal of a monolith on the minimap.

One last mechanic change: the player now drops some resources on the ground when killed (but you can pick them back). I think it was necessary to have a penalty a bit more significant than just loosing time.

What is next?

You will find below the complete changelog for this version 0.4a. It is available on itch right now. So check it out and tell me if you enjoy the new content!

Next is adding even more content. I would like to also start enriching the “exploration” aspect of the game. I will share about my ideas once I’ve made some good progress 🙂

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

Full changelog (Alpha v0.4a)

Content added

• 1 new main offensive turret (needs to be unlocked through the meta progression system)
• 5 other buildings
• 7 new relics
• new miner pack available (needs to be unlocked through the meta progression system)

Changes

• Monoliths leveling system now relies on XP dropped (+ a timer if not attacked)
• The player now drops some resources when killed (but they can be picked back)
• Buildings now drop maximum 75% of their build cost back when deleted
• All minions are now automatically killed when the last monolith is destroyed
• Updated all UI icons
• Player resources are now capped at 999
• Changed the model and textures of the rocket turret
• Added particles on the minimap at the reveal of a monolith position
• Buildings can display a warning message if their effect could not trigger for some reason (for instance the Core relocator does nothing if there is no more Core)
• Added HUD notifications when the Core is destroyed and when the Core is moved
• Using new Radiant Sloth branding logos
• Added feedback button on the title screen (please feel free to use it!)

Fixes

• Reworked repairer / healer / charger to use repairing orbs / healing orbs / charging orbs which are restored more properly when loading a game save
• Fixed issue with repairer not detecting some buildings in range
• Fixed visual glitches with transparent meshes on map borders
• Improved the pathfinding to avoid minions getting stuck
• Fixed issue with end screen not appearing if quitting and reloading a save right before the end of a mission